Easley Library Bookworms discussion

This month, Anthony Hope's 1894 novel The Prisoner Of Zenda is a common read in another one of my groups, and I'm taking part. (This isn't the cover art of the edition I'm actually reading, which has a very bland, monochromatic cover, as does the one Goodreads displays first at the book description; but I thought this one looks better, and more interesting. :-) ) Again, this is a pretty short book (and some space is taken up by illustrations), so I expect it to be another quick read.

Earlier this year, Goodreads author E. M. Bosso sent me a review e-copy of his humorous writing guide, Writing Tips #42: The Incomplete Guide For the Self-Published, and I've started reading this on my Kindle app. I'm expecting it to be quite a quick read.

In paper format, I'm finally reading a book I've had on my to-read shelf forever as a "must read": the werewolf novel Moon of the Wolf by Les Whitten. I read and liked his vampire novel Progeny of the Adder as a kid back in the 60s, but wasn't aware he'd written anything else until I saw the movie adaptation of the book I'm now reading in the 70s (although the film differs from the book in significant ways).

Although I haven't read any of his work in awhile, I count Charles de Lint as a favorite author. His stand-alone fantasy novel The Harp of the Grey Rose is another book Barb and I read together back in the 90s, and have sufficiently forgotten that it's like a new read; it's also another one that I haven't reviewed here, and could use a refresher before doing so. So, we've started reading it again!

One of my other groups starts a common read on Oct. 1; so until then, I wanted to pick a short book I could finish in the meantime. The one I opted for is The Apocalypse Door by James D. Macdonald. (Actually I'm reading the hardcover edition; but I think the paperback has much cooler cover art! :-) ) This has been on my must-read list ever since I read reviews of it back in 2002, so I'm delighted to finally get around to reading it.

Since I was ready to start a new book today, I began reading the October common read in one of my other groups, Black Creek Crossing by John Saul, slightly early. (That won't put me too far ahead, since I won't get to read tomorrow; my reading time is limited on most days, and at 459 pages, it's a relatively thick book.) John Saul is a veteran author of horrific fiction, having written over 30 best-sellers. But this is my first exposure to his work (on the whole, I don't read many big-name authors).

As of last night, I've finally started reading my review copy of Ebolowa, by Goodreads author Simon Miller, on my Kindle app. So far, I'm actually favorably impressed with it; I'm finding it well-written, and a solid, workmanlike approach to the mystery genre conventions. Although it's the second book in a series, it's a new case for the detective protagonist, and I haven't experienced any feeling that I'm missing anything in relating to him.

For the rest of this month, I don't expect to have much chance to write book reviews. Since I like to write them while the books are still as fresh in my mind as possible, I wanted my next read (having finished one today) to be thick enough that I wouldn't need to review it until I have more time --but not so thick that it'll greatly interfere with a common read coming up next month, which will also be of a thick book. It remains to be seen whether I gauged that well in my choice. But there are no consequences for being off of schedule, and I expect to greatly enjoy both books!

The book I started today is The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard. REH is one of my favorite writers, and Conan one of my favorite fictional characters; so I've had my eye on this posthumous collection ever since the Bluefield College library acquired a copy. As an added plus, all of the stories collected here are new to me; there's no overlap with the previous Conan collection I read, The Essential Conan.

Finally, I've started reading my review e-copy of FBOM by E. M. Bosso. The unfortunate acronym doesn't mean what you're probably thinking --it actually stands for "Foundation for the Betterment of Mankind." (Though whether or not the latter organization is really appropriately named remains to be seen....)

Earlier today, I started reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas, which is a common read this month in another of my Goodreads groups. I'm expecting this one to be a very worthwhile read.

Barb and I started on a new "car book" yesterday: The Witch of Blackbird Pond (1958) by Elizabeth George Speare. Despite the title, it isn't supernatural fiction; it's a historical novel set in 1687 Connecticut. Barb read and liked it, and recommended it to me, back in the 90s; but she's now mostly forgotten it, so I suggested reading it together. Speare is a new author to me; I never read any of her work as a kid.

On my Kindle app, I've started on my review copy of City of the Shrieking Tomb by Goodreads author Patrick A. Rogers, which is set in modern-day India. Since this is apparently his first novel, I don't really know what to expect; but I'm hoping the best for the read! :-)

In keeping with the season, this month another of my Goodreads groups is doing a common read of The House Without a Christmas Tree (1974) by Gail Rock, a new-to-me author, although I saw the last part of the movie adaptation decades ago. Having started on it today, I'm very late to the party; but since it's quite short, I expect to finish it in a day or two.

To meet my current goal in the annual reading challenge in another of my groups, before the end of the year I need to read one more book featuring an action heroine. I've had my eye on a YA novel in the BC library, Pirates! by Celia Rees, for quite a while; I think it's potentially a book that would qualify, and I'm expecting it to be a relatively quick read. So I started on it this morning.

My friend Andrew Seddon gifted me with a copy of his latest story collection, In Death Survive: Ghostly Tales last fall, and I was finally able to start reading it this weekend. Having already beta read, and greatly liked, all or most of the stories (though it's been a while). I expect this to be a quick and rewarding read!

Over the weekend, I started reading two books. One I'm reading to myself; it's Bring It (Sabel Security #2), the second entry in my Goodreads friend Seeley James' Sabel Security series. (It's taken me six years to follow-up on this series, so it's about time!) The other one, Sharpshooter in Petticoats by Mary Connealy, I'm reading aloud to Barb. I gave her a copy for Christmas, so she's been looking forward to getting started with it.

On my Kindle app, I'm currently reading the novella Delayed Justice by D. E. Heil. It's a minor work that he gives away as an e-book to anyone who signs up for his electronic newsletter. (Although the words "True Justice Series" appear across the top of the front cover, the Goodreads description states that this is "A novella related to the author's True Justice series, but not actually part of the series.")

Related to my most recent post, I've now started on reading a review copy of the second installment of the True Justice series, Righteous Justice. I'm expecting this one to be a fairly quick read.

I have just started reading Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas. My mother recommended this to me. She lives in Kansas City, MO and suggesting books to each other and sometimes reading the same book at the same time has become a way that I can connect with her since she is so far away. She taught me to love reading and music and to delight in the sounds of words.

While I'm waiting for a book I've requested on interlibrary loan, I'm filling in the time with a short story collection I picked up a couple of years ago at the local mall bookstore, Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves and Ghosts: 25 Classic Stories of the Supernatural. Since I'm reading this as a book to dip into between other books, it's actually on my "being read intermittently" shelf, rather than the "currently reading" one.

Since we put aside our "car book," Sharpshooter in Petticoats, until we can read the first two books of the trilogy, in the meantime Barb and I have started reading Love Finds You in Calico, California by Elizabeth Ludwig. It's one she's already read a few years ago (it was a Christmas gift from me); but she'd recommended it to me, and was willing to read it again, having liked it the first time. In a sense, this is also part of a "series" of historical romances from this publisher, all titled Love Finds You in...., and set in various real-life American locales; but the novels themselves are all independent of each other and written by different writers. (And yes, this was a rare case where I was captivated enough by the cover art to buy the book just because of that. :-) )

I'm currently "reading" an audiobook recommended to me by an Instagram friend. It is called "I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. It is really causing me to think and evaluate much about me and others. Our attitudes mostly.

Last year, I did a review of Plantation Trilogy: Deep Summer, The Handsome Road, and This Side of Glory by Gwen Bristow --from roughly 48-year-old memory, since I read it around 1970. Because I gave it three stars, one of my Goodreads friends read it, but his reaction was less favorable; he felt, in particular, that Bristow's take on slavery was more sympathetic to the "peculiar institution" than I remembered. Since I respect his opinion, and since I know I'm more sensitive to racial issues now than I was as a teen, I've embarked on a reread in order to evaluate it with a more mature perspective. I don't want to present an inaccurate review of the trilogy to other readers; so I'm prepared to correct it if need be!

I'm currently reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I'm about two or three chapters in and it's very good! I love it when I can't wait to get back to reading a book and that's how I feel about this one. This is a new author for me. I'll write a review of it when I'm done!

I'll look forward to your review, Lynne! (And glad your comment saved after all, despite the apparent glitch this afternoon.)

I've finally started reading my PDF review copy of the newly-released latest novel by my Goodreads friend (and one of my favorite authors) Shane Joseph, Milltown. It's set in his adopted country of Canada, roughly in the present (2008, which is basically close enough :-) ). As is typical with this author, I'm already engrossed after two chapters!

Earlier this year, my Goodreads friend Seeley James sent me Kindle e-book versions of the five books that I haven't yet read of his Sabel Security series. I call these "review" books, but he didn't actually request reviews; basically, he just gifted me with them because he's a kind friend, and knows I'm a fan of the series and its heroine, Pia Sabel. (The first two novels got five stars from me.) Yesterday, I started reading the third installment, Element 42.

I'm still waiting on an interlibrary loan book, J. B. Lynn's series opener Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman, which will be my next read. (I've already read the third and fourth installments, so I'm wanting to pick up the two that I missed so far.) While I'm waiting, I'm dipping into another short story anthology, Lighthouse Horrors, which I picked up a couple of years ago at a thrift store.

Usually, I read short story collections on an intermittent basis, as something to dip into while I'm waiting for other reads that for some reason I can't start right away. But yesterday, I started on Peter O'Donnell's story collection Pieces of Modesty as a regular read. It's short, so I don't expect it to take long; it furthers my goal of making progress on some of my "dangling" series; and it'll count towards an annual reading challenge I'm taking part in over in the Action Heroine Fans group.

Today I actually started reading two books. One is a "car book" that I read out loud to Barb when we're driving together; it's Doctor in Petticoats, the opening volume of Mary Connealy's Sophie's Daughters trilogy, focusing on three independent and strong young women making their way in the late 19th-century American West. We're not very far into the book, but I'm already liking the heroine very much!

The other book I'm reading to myself. It's Emma by Jane Austen, one of several of her novels that I've never read, even though I count her as a favorite author. (I did, though, watch the captivating 1996 movie adaptation starring Gwyneth Paltrow: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116191/ .) This year, I hope to finish reading all of the Austen canon --something I owe to myself as a bona fide Janeite. :-)

Usually, when I'm posting about my current reading, I include a link. Right now, though, I'm beta reading a book not yet published, so it has no Goodreads link. It's a collection of seven short supernatural stories by my friend Andrew Seddon, each one focusing on one of the traditional seven deadly sins (and its supernatural comeuppance), titled The Deadliest Sins. Since it's just a bit over 70 pages long, I expect it to be a quick read.

Next up, though, will be a book that does have a link: a review copy (or, at least, I'm prioritizing it like one) of The Ulysses Man by another Goodreads friend, Shane Joseph. Shane's a European-descended native of Sri Lanka, who immigrated to Canada during the devastating civil war in the former nation, and experienced the challenge of building a new life in a strange country. This also describes the protagonist of the novel. ("Coincidence? I think not." :-) )

As a fill-in book while I'm unexpectedly between novels, I've begun dipping into The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (by, of course, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

Continuing my program for this year of Jane Austen reading, I've recently started Northanger Abbey.

While I'm waiting to start a common read next month in another group, I've been filling in the time by reading short stories from a couple of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes collections that I own. Having recently finished The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, I've now started on The Return of Sherlock Holmes. So, the latter book has moved to my "being read intermittently" shelf.

I'll be taking part in the Fans of British Writers group's common read of Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis next month. Although I'm a day early, it's not practical to start on anything else at this point; so I'm going to go ahead and start on that one later this afternoon.

As part of my continuing program this year of reading the four Jane Austen novels which, as of Jan. 1, I still hadn't ever read, I've now started on Lady Susan. This novella, written possibly as early as 1794 but not published until 1871, is untypical for Austen in some ways (it's her only work to use the epistolary format, for instance), and probably her least known work --I'd never heard of it until I stumbled on it some years ago in the BC library's copy of The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Traditions in English.

As a kid back in the mid-60s, my first introduction to Sarah Orne Jewett's work was her historical novel The Tory Lover (1901). I liked it at the time; but I don't remember enough about the plot now to do it justice in a review, so it's been on my to-reread shelf for ages. Finally, I've decided that I have a window of opportunity for a reread; so I started reading it again last night. (Some of the lines in the opening description were still familiar! :-) )

Continuing along with our reading together of Mary Connealy's Sophie's Daughter's trilogy. Barb and I started on the second installment, Wrangler in Petticoats while on the road trip we just returned from.

In another of my Goodreads groups, there was some discussion recently of British travel writer H. V. Morton and his books, including In Search of Scotland. I thought that might be the same book I read back in the mid-60s, but had forgotten author/title information for; and when I checked it out by ILL, it proved to be! Before I can do it justice in a review, I need to reread it; so, having a copy in hand, I'm proceeding to do that now. :-)

As of last night, I've started reading my review e-copy of Death and Dark Money, the fourth novel in Seeley James' Sabel Security series. (I've mentioned the author and the series on this thread several times before!) Pia Sabel is one of my favorite fictional heroines, and all of the earlier novels in the series have gotten high star ratings from me; so I'm expecting to enjoy this one quite a bit as well.

Closing in on my goal for this year of reading all four of the Jane Austen novels that, as of Jan. 1, I still had never read, I've now started on the last one (last one to be read by me, that is --not the last to be written, since I've read them out of that order!), Mansfield Park. This one and Lady Susan are the only completed Austen novels that I've never seen an adaptation of, so I'm coming to it with relatively little previous knowledge.

This month, in another of my groups, there's a mini-common read of Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake going on. So, I started on this YA supernatural fiction novel today. Though I'm getting a late start, I expect it to be a fairly quick read. I've also just started beta reading my Goodreads friend Bill Kerwin's first novel, Big Sleep Boogie; but that one is still unpublished, so isn't in the Goodreads database.

Next month, another of my groups will be doing a voluntary common read of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot. Since it's a thick book (over 650 pages in the edition I checked out from the library), I started on it a couple of days ago. That's not jumping the gun as badly as it seems, since I'll have no time to read today or Monday, and will be leaving on Wednesday to visit family for the rest of the week (and I don't bring books along on those trips, except for the one I'm reading to my wife in the car).

Speaking of reading to Barb in the car, we've started a new car book: on the heels of finishing the second volume of Mary Connealy's Sophie's Daughters trilogy, we've started the third book, Sharpshooter in Petticoats.

This past Thursday, I started reading The Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories, edited by Tom Shippey. (He's also the editor of the companion volume, The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories, which got five stars from me; and Oxford Univ Press' fiction anthologies always have a high standard of quality.) Since this will be a read for occasions when I'm spending time at the public library in Harrisonburg, Virginia, it goes on my "being read intermittently" shelf.

A few days ago, I was able to get, for free, a short e-novella by Kelly Armstrong, Double Play, a continuation of her Nadia Stafford trilogy, for my Kindle app, thanks to an Amazon credit earmarked for e-books. (I've never read the trilogy, though I hope to sometime, since one of my Goodreads friends rated the first book highly; but I know enough about it that I figure I can start with this story and not be lost.) Last night I was able to start reading it, sooner than I'd expected (long story!).

Next month, another group I belong to will be doing a common read of two books by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: first, The Cost of Discipleship, followed by Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. Since I was ready to start a new book, I've begun reading the first one a day early! (I've actually read both of these books before, in my early 20s; but I think I'm better able to fully appreciate Bonhoeffer's thought now than I was back then.)

Barb and I recently finished Sharpshooter in Petticoats, the third novel in Mary Connealy's Sophie's Daughters trilogy (review to come on Friday, hopefully). One of the supporting characters there, Abby Linscott Sawyer, obviously has a fascinating back story. Back in the summer, I'd bought Barb another Connealy book, Wildflower Bride, since we both like this author's work. It turns out that the latter novel focuses on Abby; so we've started reading it as our new "car book."

To fill in the time between now and next month, when I'll be taking part in a common read in another group, I've started reading a thick anthology I picked up this summer at the Barnes and Noble in Harrisonburg, Virginia: Great Ghost Stories: 101 Terrifying Tales. I expect to be dipping into it periodically, when I'm between other reads, for well into next year.

Apropos of the season, I've just started on an Agatha Christie mystery, Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938). It's a common read (multi-person buddy read) this month in another group, and given its date, fits into a thread dealing with classic Christmas writings in another, classic-themed group. But despite the Christmas connection, this isn't the sort of read that's apt to be adapted as a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie anytime soon.... :-)

My friend, Goodreads author Andrew Seddon, loves dogs in general but has a special soft spot for German Shepherds. His latest book, Bonds of Affection, is his homage to the breed, a collection of previously written short stories that feature fictional German Shepherds, interspersed with nonfiction memoirs about the real-life German Shepherds he's owned, or still owns. (All profits from sales of this book will go to support German Shepherd rescues.) He kindly gifted me with a copy earlier this year; but because of my various other reading commitments, I didn't have a long-enough bloc of free time to start on it until today.

All of the stories appear in earlier collections by the author (or, in one case, in a magazine issue which I reviewed like a book) that I've reviewed earlier, and I've commented on at least several of them in those reviews; I also beta read versions of all of them. But since some or all of them have undergone revisions for their appearance here (and since I don't always recall every detail of the earlier versions, just basic outlines), I'm reading the whole book. Sorry I can't show the cover image; the book entry in the Goodreads database still doesn't have it, and because Andrew is a Goodreads author, I'm not allowed to edit that entry :-(

Since I'll be starting a common read on Jan. 1, I need short reads to fill in the intervening time; so yesterday I started on The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder. I'd previously read (and greatly liked) it back in my high school/junior college flurry of reading classics in order to become an "educated" person; but I've been wanting to read it again in order to do it justice in a review, and have been resolved to make this the year I do that.