For Janice - Books Part 11

 

It seems we've had the worst of our brief, oh so brief, cold snap. Jo and I stayed home yesterday... well, I went out for an hour to run some errands but other than that, it was relax with the puppies on the sofa for most of the day. Not sure what we're going to do today. Maybe I'll do some ironing!

I'm making steady progress on Eve by Cat Bohannon. It's my Tome challenge and I'm trying to read a chapter a day. Very interesting book.

Family Room bookshelf

But for today, I'm going to continue looking at bookshelves and the books on them. I have moved into the family room and discussed the visible shelves.

Behind the closed doors

Today I'll start with the bottom shelves behind the closed doors. Have I stoked enough mystery?

The A's

There just isn't enough space to put all of these books on our shelves so a lot are stored here. I do read them and set them free. Honest. There are in alphabetical order from top left - top right - bottom left and finally bottom right. For the most part they are stacked three deep so I'll do one shelf at a time. Let's begin with the A's. Mostly mysteries to start but there is a mixture. I was introduced to Elizabeth Acevedo this past year, an interesting writer who tends to tell her stories in verse. The two books I read were favorites of 2023. Jussi Adler-Olsen writes the Department Q mysteries set in Denmark. I've enjoyed the 1st two books and need to get back to this series as it was excellent. Dead Dead Girls is a mystery by a new author for me, Canadian author Nekesa Afia, who sets her series in Harlem. Omar El Akkad is another Canadian author. What Strange Paradise won the Giller Prize in 2021. I have a few of Margery Allingham's books spread throughout the house, depending on their size mostly. She is author of the Albert Campion mysteries. I mentioned her previously as one of the 4 Queens of Crime; Allingham, Christie, Marsh and Sayers. Chester Anderson, The Butterfly Kid, is another new author. I saw the book at 2nd Page Books in Courtenay and it did sound interesting. Piers Anthony wrote some of my favorite Sci Fi / Fantasy series. Unicorn Point is the 6th book in the Apprentice Adept series. Kate Atkinson is an author who can do no wrong. Whether it's her Jackson Brodie mystery series or an others of her excellent books, she does know how to spin a tail. Atkinson was the focus of my most recent reading update. Canadian author Margaret Atwood is another favorite. I've enjoyed her fiction, Sci Fi (The Handmaid's Tale), her poetry, her essays. Prodigious and excellent author. Old Babes in the Woods is her most recent work, a collection of her short stories.

The A's to C's

2. A's continued - C's. Another Atwood starts this row. For some reason I've never read Alias Grace. Jo and I enjoyed the TV mini-series based on the book very much. I finally picked up a copy of the book. I've mentioned Iain M. Banks before. He wrote the excellent Culture Sci Fi series. I'm still working through that. He also wrote many standalones. Transition falls within that category. The next two are new mystery authors for me; Base & Emory are Canadian authors who have started the Priscilla Tempest mystery series. Quentin Bates has set his mystery series in Iceland. Belinda Bauer is an English author. Finders Keepers is the 3rd book in her Exmoor trilogy. The Facts of Life and Death is a standalone. I've enjoyed her work very much so far. S.J. Bennet is another new mystery writer, featuring Her Majesty the Queen as an investigator. We'll see. Rock, Paper, Tiger by Lisa Brackmann was such an excellent surprise as a new mystery writer for me. I look forward to trying the 2nd book in her Ellie McEnroe series, Hour of the Rat. Alan Bradley is a Canadian author of the Flavia de Luce mystery series, featuring the precocious, irritating but interesting youngster, battling with her sisters and solving mysteries. Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse, is a new author for me. I've heard good things about the book. I mentioned Ken Bruen when I talked about books in other rooms. I guess they should all be together. He writes the excellent Irish mystery series featuring crusty detective Jack Taylor. Also an excellent TV series. John Burdette, author of Bangkok Haunts, obviously sets his mystery series in Bangkok; featuring excellent stories, corruption, all sorts of neat stuff. Andrea Camilleri sets his Inspector Montalbano series in Italy. I can't say how much I like it yet as I've only read one and it didn't blow me away, but it was still entertaining. John Dickson Carr featured Dr, Gideon Fell in his mysteries, written in the 30s and continued into the 50s. I liked the first book. Jonathan Carroll is a new author for me, writer of Sci Fi and Fantasy. I enjoyed his collection of short stories, The Panic Hand. It was excellent.

C's to F's

3. C's continued to F's. As usual there is a mix of new to familiar authors and of genres. Coq au Vin is the 2nd book of Charlotte Carter's Nanette Hayes mystery series. This one takes place in Paris. She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is a new author for me, a historical fantasy set in China. And yes, it probably should be under P... LOL. I have quite a few of Ann Cleeves mysteries. Harbour Street is one of her Vera Stanhope series. Also a great TV series. I read the first book in Gary Corby's Athenian historical mystery series and The Ionia Sanction is #2. Edmund Crispin is an odd, unique mystery writer and his Gervase Fen books have been enjoyable. I do look forward to reading them all. I bought Consumed by David Cronenberg to see if his writing is as weird as his movies. Elizabeth Daly wrote her Henry Gamadge mystery series in the 40s, The Book of the Dead was #8. I saw the David Demchuk book, Red X, when I was down in Nanaimo. It's a 'horror' story set in Toronto's Gay district. Sounded interesting. Sky to Sky is a mystery series set in BC, featuring truck driver / mystery solver Hunter Rayne. I liked the first book. Adrian Edmondson is a British comedian and this is basically the story of his life. Martin Edwards is a new mystery writer for me and seems to be prolific. Gallows Court is the first in his Rachel Savernake golden age mystery series. Liz Evans is most enjoyable. Her mysteries feature English PI Grace Smith, kind of a cross between Stephanie Plum and Kinsey Milhone. The first two books were most enjoyable. Charles Finch writes another historical mystery series featuring armchair detective Charles Lenox. I enjoyed the first book enough to try the 2nd in the series. Karin Fossum writes a mystery series set in Sweden featuring police inspector Sejer. I've enjoyed the first book I tried very much. Finally in this cabinet is Francis Fyfield's Shadow on the Mirror, the first book in her Sarah Fortune mystery series. I've tried her work and enjoyed but struggled to the the first books in her Sarah Fortune and her Helen West books. Looking forward to exploring more.

So there you go. Enough books to check out for you? Enjoy your upcoming week.