Cozy Mystery Corner discussion

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to select our monthly reads. It is not too late to join in - simply post your interest in this thread or the nominations thread and we will add you to the list. If many members are interested, we might assign two members to each month, with each member selecting one book.

Selecting Monthly Reads 2012
January - Stephanie
February - Stephanie, with group nominations
March - LynnB
April - Jaxnsmom
May - Amy
June - Tara
July - Kristina
August - Michelle
September - Candy
October - Ashley FL
November - Tasha
December - Kimberly

For your month, please choose two cozy titles. You may go about this however you would like: selecting on your own, posting polls of any kind, requesting nominations, tailoring your picks to the holidays or season, etc. Have fun with it! Just make sure your picks are SERIES FIRSTS!

Can I do December?

I'll do a month -- fun!

I penciled you both in!

Thanks Stephanie! I'm looking forward to the hunt!

Thanks!

Oh - if you can select your books at least one week before the start of the next month, that will allow members to acquire the books more easily. One of the moderators will send out an email to remind you to send us your picks so we can post them!

I'll do November if you still need someone in that spot. :)

Got you in, Tasha! Thanks!

I cannot wait to see what you all pick to read together!

Since I'm up for next month's choices, I decided I'm going to pick a new series (new to me at least) and then have you all vote on a couple of older series that I really like and we'll all read #1 (of course) of whichever you pick. That will be a re-read for me, but should be interesting to compare how the series has evolved. Watch for a poll around this upcoming weekend!

excited to see what we have coming up Lynn! :)

Hi everyone - I just posted the poll for one of our March reads (I'm selecting the other book myself). Just click on "polls" in the upper right of our group home page. It's open until next Tuesday.

Good choices Lynn! It's going to be a tough choice.

The March book poll is just about over, so vote (or change your vote) soon!

Also, since Stephanie's computer is down at the moment, I wanted to let you know that after a long look through the cozies I have sitting on my shelf, I decided that our 2nd book for March reading will be Murder Past Due by Miranda James. It's A Cat in the Stacks Mystery #1. Hope we all enjoy it!

Cool, can't wait!

Thanks Lynn!!

The March poll winner is Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert.

--And I even picked up a copy of "Murder with Peacocks" because for some odd reason I thought that would win, but a re-read (for me) of "Thyme of Death" will be very good, too. It will be interesting to look back on the series to see how it's developed over time.

Just put a hold on Murder Past Due and will pick it up tomorrow. I'm going to try and re-read Thyme of Death, 'cause it's been a loooooonnng time since I read it.

YAY!!! April is my month to choose what to read. Although I love forcing books on people, I liked the way Lynn chose one and had a poll to choose the other one. I've chosen a few 'oldy but goody' series and will narrow it down to one this weekend. I'm setting up a poll for ya'll to choose a series that's new to me. The poll will be open until midnight of Monday, the 19th.

Jaxnsmom brought up a good reminder in her e-mail today. if you set up a poll, it runs from 12 AM on the day you set as the start, until 12 AM on the day you finish -- which means the day you set as the end is not a voting day! It's strange, but that's how Goodreads has set it up. I had a problem with that on the first poll I set up, too. It says it right above where you set the dates, but I think our eyes see it as being up to midnight the evening of that date (because that is what common sense would infer).

As you've probably noticed, we have our winners for April. We'll be reading Them Bones by Carolyn Haines, the first book in one of my favorite series, and I hope you'll like it too. The other book is Cookie Dough or Die by Virginia Lowell. This is a new series for me, and I look forward to starting it.

Í'm with you on "cookie dough or die" which is in my tbr pile and a new series for me.I hope I'll find them Bones as well.This is the first month for me but I hope to keep up till December with the monthly reads from now on!

I preordered the second Sherlock Holmes movie(due out in June) with Robert Downey Jr and it was 24.99 and for 1 cent more I get free shipping... I ordered Them Bones used but it was with an amazon fulfillment so there was no shipping. They always send the books out so you don't have to wait...except this time. I don't know whether to order another copy and then when I get the other one put it up for a swap or just wait and see. Nothing ever runs smoothly.

Peggy wrote: "I preordered the second Sherlock Holmes movie(due out in June) with Robert Downey Jr and it was 24.99 and for 1 cent more I get free shipping... I ordered Them Bones used but it was with an amazon ..."

Did you ever receive Them Bones?

New to the group but on my way to order both books as I do not have either one. I will order from Amazon but for my kindle fire as it seems I am always on the go so I can read it anywhere & so easy to dl.
Looking forward to the books & being part of the group.
Hugs,
Maria

E Maria wrote: "New to the group but on my way to order both books as I do not have either one. I will order from Amazon but for my kindle fire as it seems I am always on the go so I can read it anywhere & so eas..."

Welcome to the group, Maria. Glad to have you join us.

Welcome Maria. Hope you enjoy being part of our group!

Sigh...I forgot to include the end date for the poll, and I can only bother ya'll once a day.

The poll is open until 11:59pm est Saturday night.

Hope you'll all take time to vote this week!

Just saw this...yes but what I did was cancel the order and reordered with out the dvd and finally received it. Have I read it yet..Noooo But with the selection of the April books, I have already read three of them so hopefully I can get it read.

jaxnsmom wrote: "Peggy wrote: "I preordered the second Sherlock Holmes movie(due out in June) with Robert Downey Jr and it was 24.99 and for 1 cent more I get free shipping... I ordered Them Bones used but it was w..."

Just joined. I think this will be a great group. Could someone catch me up?What are we reading in May?

Karen wrote: "Just joined. I think this will be a great group. Could someone catch me up?What are we reading in May?"

Welcome to the group Karen!

Our May reads are Homicide In Hardcover by Kate Carlisle and Pick Your Poison by Leann Sweeney. Under the 'Featured Series and Cozies' folder you'll find discussion topics have been set up for each book. Since only the first five show up on screen, you'll need to click on the folder to see all the topics. I'm going to change that this week so current reads will show up first.

Hi thanks for letting me join your group :) I am real excited to join!

I'd love to do a month if there is still something available. This is very new to me so I hope I'm posting this in the correct place. Either way, I'm am avid reader and am very excited to be part of this club.

Oh wow - I just realized May's already half over.

Tara - you're in charge of picking our books for June. Can you do that this weekend, and post them by Monday? Or if you want to do a poll, can you have that ready Saturday? Or I can set up the poll if you want.

I thought you already posted my books on the bookshelf. At least I see them as upcoming reads. :)

I picked

A Paranormal Cozy:

and
A Hometown Cozy: (set in Virginia the state I live in)

Tara wrote: "I thought you already posted my books on the bookshelf. At least I see them as upcoming reads. :)"

You did, and they are. All I can say is that I posted that message around 2:30am after a long and busy day, and even though the June books were right in front of me, I did not see them :) Just another moment of senility rearing it's head.

I read it a little too late as well, so I admit I had to check that I actually sent them to you like I thought I had. LOL.

Did you know that J.B. Stanley has 6 series written under 4 different names? All of them are set in VA or NC. She writes 2 series as J.B. Stanley; 1 series as Jennifer Stanley; 2 series as Ellery Adams and has a new one as Lucy Arlington. Whew!! Is the June read for only one of her series or any that we may have in our TBR?

Here's a link to her author page on SYKM
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/S_A...

The June read is specifically for Carbs & Cadavers. But comments on other books in that series are ok, as long as you preface them with the book name and number in the series.

I gave up on trying to figure out who was really who, and decided I would think of each alias as a separate writer, otherwise I just got too confused :) I assume they want to distinguish between the their different cozy styles without being compared to another of their series.

jaxnsmom wrote: "I gave up on trying to figure out who was really who, and decided I would think of each alias as a separate writer, otherwise I just got too confused :) I assume they want to distinguish between their different cozy styles without being compared to another of their series. "

I'm sort of with you, sort of not... I agree that the publishers probably want to distinguish the series from on another. Like you, I also read them as separate series/writers as I read. My enjoyment of a series isn't affected by knowing the author is a favorite--it still has to appeal to me on its own.

However, when I go to buy, I definitely check "aliases" for editions I haven't read. Though finding new authors is great, I know I will pick up a book by the alias of an author I've read and enjoyed quicker than I would another because I know I will more than likely enjoy it as well. [Okay... that's if I'm in a hurry. Otherwise, I peruse and choose based on covers, blurbs, a few pages (if necessary), etc.]

That's how I found Tim Myers. I picked up his Cardmaker (Elizabeth Bright), Soapmakeing (Tim Myers), and Candlemaking (Tim Myers) series separately in a day at Half-priced Books. I read the cardmaker series first and really enjoyed them. When I went looking for more in the series (sadly, no more) or more by Elizabeth Bright, I found "Elizabeth" *was* Tim Myers and wrote the other series I'd picked up. I then found his Melissa Glazer (Pottery) and his Tim Myers (Innkeeping) series. His latest are his Pizzamaking series written as Chris Cavender and his Puzzlemaker series written as Casey Mayes. I like "crafting" cozies, including the puzzlemaker, so chances are had I seen those series under the "different" monikers I still most likely would have picked them up. However, I don't know if I would have picked up the Pizza series as quickly as I did had I not known it was a "Tim Myers" series.

I have enjoyed all the Myers books I've read. I would love to see more books in the series he's done. I love the crafting information and projects as much as the crafting of the stories and characters.

Nell wrote: "Here's a link to her author page on SYKM"

Stop You're Killing Me (SYKM) is one of my favorite places for Cozy Mystery information!!

I also like Cozy Mystery and Books 'n' Bytes. They all help me keep my lists (authors, what to read, what's coming, etc.) up to date.

Nell wrote: "Did you know that J.B. Stanley has 6 series written under 4 different names? All of them are set in VA or NC. She writes 2 series as J.B. Stanley; 1 series as Jennifer Stanley; 2 series as Ellery..."

Wow, I did not know that and I did not know he wrote a series that took place in Richmond either! Will have to check that one out!

Karen wrote: "jaxnsmom wrote: "I gave up on trying to figure out who was really who, and decided I would think of each alias as a separate writer, otherwise I just got too confused :) I assume they want to disti..."

I picked up the first Pizzamaking series by Chris Cavendar at a library book sale and have the first Melissa Glazer series. I did not know that Tim Myers was the author of both even though I know he writes under other pseudonyms.
Really it's so confusing. Seems it would be easier to use the same author name and identify what series it is on the front cover. Wonder from the author's perspective how it affects their writing - do they take on a different persona and become a character themselves?

Karen wrote: "Nell wrote: "Here's a link to her author page on SYKM"

Stop You're Killing Me (SYKM) is one of my favorite places for Cozy Mystery information!!

I also like Cozy Mystery and Books 'n' Bytes. The..."

Books 'n' Bytes is a new site for me. Thanks Karen.

If it's not too late...
I have an October release, Iced Chiffon the first in my Consignment Shop Mystery series with Berkley Prime Crime.

To pay for rehabbing the dilapidated Victorian house she loves, Reagan Summerside opens the Prissy Fox consignment shop on the first floor and gets involved in the lives of her Savannah customers, neighbors, ex husband and the attorney who screwed her over in the divorce.

Murder and mayhem at the consignment for the ex, his Cupcake and the badass attorney

So sorry I'm late to the party. I just found you guys. :-)

Duffy wrote: "If it's not too late...
I have an October release, Iced Chiffon the first in my Consignment Shop Mystery series with Berkley Prime Crime.

To pay for rehabbing the dilapidated Victorian house she ..."

Sorry, Duffy, but as the first post says, monthly reads are selected by members. Later this year I will be taking names of those who want to participate in selecting the books.

Duffy wrote: "If it's not too late...
I have an October release, Iced Chiffon the first in my Consignment Shop Mystery series with Berkley Prime Crime.

To pay for rehabbing the dilapidated Victorian house she ..."

Hi, Duffy! I know who you are - you're Becke's friend! I'm a regular on her board, and am known as Dulcinea on B&N.

I'm August! At least I think it's me. Are there other Michelle's? When is my deadline for book selecting?

Hey Michelle -

Maybe if you could shoot for within the next week or so, especially if you are planning on posting a poll?

If Jaxnsmom has another idea, she will let you know!
Have fun!

I just posted a poll to select August's featured books! Poll will be open for a week!