Looking ahead for the rest of 2014 plus general stuff

Today is Jo and my 12th wedding anniversary. She's downtown today, but we had a nice morning and will spend the evening relaxing, watching Doctor Who and a Kate Bush special that we found on line. I got Jo the painting above. I found a lady in Victoria who paints animals and sent her pictures of Nikki and Norman, our previous dogs and of Bonnie and Clyde, our current puppies and this is what she cam up with. I thought it was perfect. Clyde and Bonnie on the outside and Nikki and Norman in the middle.. Lovely, eh?

Looking at books, I've realised that we're 2/3rds of the way through 2014 so I've been thinking a bit about some of the books I'll read for the next four months.

Currently Reading

1. Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers - This is the second Lord Peter Wimsey book. I mentioned it in my last Blog as I tried to sort out some of my future Challenge books; my Bed-time reads. I'm enjoying the Peter Wimsey books very much so far and if this one continues to grab my attention, then I'll be getting all the rest of the books in the series, I'm sure. This is the synopsis of this book "The Duke of Denver, accused of murder, stands trial for his life in the House of Lords. Naturally, his brother Lord Peter Wimsey is investigating the crime - this is a family affair. The murder took place at the duke's hunting lodge and Lord Peter's sister was engaged to marry the dead man. But why does the duke refuse to co-operate with the investigation? Can he really be guilty, or is he covering up for someone?" I'm about 40 pages into the story so far and enjoying so very much.

2. The Bookwoman's Last Fling by John Dunning - This is the fifth and final Cliff Janeway mystery, a favourite series of mine. I like the fact that Janeway is a book seller and hunter and that hunting for old books features in his mysteries. And the stories are just very well-written and interesting to read. The synopsis "When wealthy horse trainer H.R. Geiger dies, Denver bookman Cliff Janeway encounters the legacy of the man's wife, Candice, a true bookwoman who left behind an assortment of rare first-edition children's books. Sent to assess the collection, Janeway soon finds that several titles are missing, replaced by cheap reprints - while other hugely expensive pieces remain. Why would a thief take one priceless book and leave an equally valuable volume on the shelf? Suspecting foul play, Janeway follows the trail of Candice's shadowy past to California's Golden Gate and Santa Anita racetracks, where he signs on as a racehorse hot walker. Eavesdropping on the chatter among the hands, he doesn't like what he hears. And when he goes to the house where Candice died to look for answers, Janeway finds much more than he bargained for."

3. Murder on Gramercy Park by Victoria Thompson - This is the third in the Gaslight mystery series, set in New York City. I'm reading this book as part of my alphabetical Mystery author's challenge, in fact, I put that challenge aside until this book arrived in the mail on Friday. The first two books in the series were both excellent, the second better than the first so I'm hoping the trend continues with this book. I'm enjoying the introduction so far. "At a summons from Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy, Sarah Brandt arrives at the elegant home of famed magnetic healer Edmund Blackwell to find his wife in labour - and the good doctor dead from an apparent suicide. Only Malloy sees what no one else wants to: that Blackwell was murdered in his own home. After a successful delivery, the Blackwell baby falls mysteriously ill. Relying on her nurses' training and woman's intuition, Sarah discovers the source of the baby's sickness - and discovers a scandal that leads Malloy's investigation down a gilded path paved with greed, deception and desire.. "

So there you have the first three books of the rest of the year. I figure I can read at a minimum 7 books per month, so a total of 28. I have some challenge to finish off. I have two more books left in my 12 + 4 Reading Group challenge; My Week With Marilyn/ The Prince, the Showgirl and Me by Colin Clark and A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester. I plan to finish those before the end of the year. As well, my September genre challenge is Westerns and I plan to satisfy that challenge with Colorado by Louis Bromfield, a book that's been on my shelf for ages. Not even sure where we got it; I think as a book in a box of books we bought at a local auction a few years back. So that's six books and if I manage to read the books I mentioned in my previous Blog for my Bed-time table challenge, that will be maybe another 14 books; 20. That leaves me with at least another 8 books. I can satisfy my Alphabetical Mystery Author's challenge with another 4 books; 2 from the beginning of the alphabet and two from the end. Let's see, I'm into the J's at the beginning of the alphabet, so a P.D. James would be next, probably  Original Sin, the 9th in the Inspector Adam Dalgleish series and then the first in Peter James' Inspector Grace series, Dead Simple. At the end of the alphabet, I'm in the T's, so working back, I'll start with a book by Josephine Tey, maybe The Franchise Affair and then Andrew Taylor's An America Boy or The Scent of Death. I need 20 books to finish my Goodread's challenge of 90 books this year. I'm sure I'll make that challenge.

It's been a great reading year so far and a great year overall. In November or December, I'll start looking at 2015.. Oh the excitement!!

For now, off to walk the dogs. The much - needed rain has stopped and there is a nice cool breeze.

Enjoy your weekend. I'll try and sum up my August reading sometime this weekend.