For Janice - Books Part 14

The snow has stopped but it's sort of rainy now. We're enjoying the finals of the Curling on TV. The Scots have won the men's championships. The ladies are about to start. Go Rachel Homan!

On that note, time to finish the hidden shelves in the Family Room. The R's to the Z's follow.

R's to S

1. R's to S. As per usual, it's a mix of new and familiar authors and the same with genres. J.D. Robb is a new author. I've seen the books many,  many times but thought, after reading some reviews that I should give her in Death series a check. I've read graphic novels by Canadian indigenous author. I enjoyed them and bought the books in the Reckoner series to get the back story of the graphic novels. Jo bought me the Michael Robotham books as she'd heard his mysteries, set in Australia, were interesting. I'm looking forward to reading the first book. I've had Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff for a little while. I've also wanted to watch the TV. So many books / TV shows, so little time. LOL. One of my favorite books & movies was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It was written by Betty Smith. I was watching Joy in the Morning on TCM one day and realized that Betty Smith also wrote that. So now I have that to try. John Scalzi wrote a Sci Fi series I've been meaning to try, The Old Man's War, and Red Shirts is one of his standalones. The First Lady of World War II is written by Shannon McKenna Schmidt and is about Eleanor Roosevelt and a trip she took to the Pacific war zone. I saw Shannon interviewed on Stephen Colbert's show and thought I'd like to try the book. I read the first Dr. Bannerman veterinarian mystery set in Winnipeg and it was entertaining. Six Ostriches is the 2nd book. I've not read John Sladen before. The Complete Roderick is a collection of stories featuring robot Roderick. And yes, it sounded interesting says the broken record. I've enjoyed Karin Slaughter for a long time. Her mysteries, set in Georgia, are gritty and interesting. Timothy Sojka sent me one of his books to review one time and I enjoyed it. Payback Jack is another of his thrillers. The Dead of False Creek is a time travel mystery set in Vancouver. How could I resist? I've yet to read Neal Shusterman although I've purchased a few of his Sci Fi books. Not sure which I'll try first. I did enjoy the first book in Amy Stewart's historical mysteries featuring the Kopp sisters. Lady Cop Makes Trouble is the 2nd book. And.... I've read one of Maggie Stiefvater's young adult fantasies, The Scorpio Races. I've since discovered some of her other books and look forward to trying them. I hope they are as interesting.

S - W

2. S - W. Two more Maggie Stiefvater books start off this shelf of books. An Easy Thing by Paco Taibo is a noir mystery set in Mexico, yup, another new author. If I like, there are 3 more books in the series. The Voices is a horror novel by new writer F.R. Tallis that I also want to try. The next four authors are all ones I've enjoyed reading; Jodi Taylor's time travel books, Josephine Tey's Alan Grant mysteries, Victoria Thompson's Gaslight mysteries set in 1900 New York & Lesley Thomson's Detective's Daughter mysteries set in England. All worth checking out. Miriam Toews wrote Women Talking, a fascinating, disturbing novel which was also turned into a movie I'd like to see. Fight Night is her most recent book. You can probably guess what The Sisters of Auschwitz is about. I've read a few non-fiction books set in the Nazi concentration camps. Books that some people on the right should read as the espouse their hatred. (enough of a rant, I guess). I've enjoyed a few books in the Bruno, Police Chief books set in France. They are like Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti mysteries set in Venice; great characters, yummy sounding food and interesting mysteries. Jo Walton's Farthing mystery series is set in WWII London but with a twist that it's an alternate reality where Hitler has negotiated a peace / truce and now has direct influence on England's state of affairs. I've read the middle book in this trilogy. I totally enjoyed Scott Westerfield's Leviathan young adult fantasy trilogy. It was excellent. Now to try the Risen Empire series, of two books thus far.

... and winding up.

I do have some new books to fill in the gap. 😎 

3. W - Z. Jo and I like to made day trips down to Qualicum Beach for lunch and to check out the various shops down there for a change of scenery. I found the Iona Whishaw book in one of their book stores. It's a historical mystery series set in the interior of BC. At least the first book is. Oddly enough I also bought a couple of books by Colson Whitehead at the same store. Harlem Shuffle was an ok mystery set in Harlem. The Intuitionist is more of a Sci Fi story as I read from the synopsis. Blackout is another of Connie Willis' Oxford Time Travel books. I enjoyed Doomsday Book very much. Two of my favorite non-fiction authors are Bill Bryson and Simon Winchester. Jo bought me his books about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. I loved it and have read a few of his other books since. Jacqueline Winspear writes the Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series set in London after the War. I have yet to try the Last Policeman trilogy but I'm looking forward to reading the first book. Rebecca Yarros and Carlos Ruiz Zafon are both new authors to finish off this book shelf. 

The Study a few years back. Not much different now.

My last room to check out is the Den. Just a few shelves there. Enjoy your upcoming week.