SuSu and the 8:30 Ghost, by Lilian Jackson Braun

This short story was a nice break from her better-known "Cat Who..." mystery series. It isn't so much a whodunit, but leans more to the mystery of the preternatural.

The basics:
setting-- a port town on the East Coast, possibly NY
characters-- SuSu (cat), Mr Van (disabled antiques dealer), Gertrude (librarian) Unnnamed sister (narrator), Frank (Van's aide)
conflict-- vengeance, greed
best quote-- "I prefer cats before they are reincarnated as people."

3rd story read for the 100 Shots of Short Reading Challenge, master post here

I also posted another Thursday 13 over on my Farmwife blog.
**two weeks in a row, go me!**

Listen and Listen Good, by Marcia Biederman

A Chinese student in America copes with the death of her brother during the Tianamen Square Massacre. While having lunch, she overhears a conversation that spurs her to action; she can't do anything for her brother, but perhaps she can save other innocents. She does this even while she admits that her understanding of spoken English is poor.
The basics:
setting-- New York City
main character-- Fan, college-age student from China
conflict-- language barrier
best quote--(Fan) "Why do you care? It isn't your country." (Walter) "It's my people."

While this was an easy enough read, I thought that the author could have left a few elements out, or pared them down to much smaller bits so that other parts of the story could have been developed further, and made the flow less choppy. Not a bad read, but it didn't motivate me to look for her longer works, either.


Second story read for the 100 Shots of Short Reading Challenge, master post here

Arts and Crafts, by Mary Jo Adamson

If I can see a full novel coming from a short story, I can get more entertainment value from it, as I can imagine which plot points and characters would be developed and how. This is important because when I can figure out who is going to die (and how AND why) by the time I've finished the first page (as I did with this story), my motivation to care about the characters loses a lot of steam. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, merely the difference between entertainment (destination known, but how will we get there?) and involvement (keep me wondering for a good long while).

The basics:
setting- Boulder, Colorado
characters
- Rosa (waitress, cook, Jack's wife)
- Jack (student, artist, former Navy)
- Birch (herbalist)
- Mama Sofia (restaurant owner)
conflict- obligation versus evolution, and living versus survival
best quote- "To me, living is doing what you love, but sometimes I think survival is knowing what not to do."

* for the 100 Shots of Short Reading Challenge, master post here

The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog, by Elizabeth Peters

Quotes:
"The aim of literature is to improve the understanding, not provide idle entertainment." (Amelia)

[to be continued, autosave seems to be on the blink]

Well-fried

my brain, that is...

It's been too long a weekend, and I'm really wiped out. I will report back on yesterday's book festival tomorrow. Here instead is a book review:

The Blessing Way, by Tony Hillerman (first in the Joe Leaphorn series)
finished 10/30/08

I've been slowly acquiring the books of this series, and had planned to start reading them after I'd caught up with at least two more of the other mystery series I follow. However, when a friend informed me of Hillerman's recent passing, I thought it would be a fit tribute to him to read and review it now. I listened to the audiobook over a 3-day period while I either pumped breastmilk or nursed my daughter to sleep. That has (so far) been the only way I could get through any books, and to even think about reaching my goal total and various challenges.

Aside from Hillerman's portrayal of the crimes to be solved (which was complex without being confusing), I really enjoyed the way he shared the Navajo culture, history, and spirituality in a genuine, respectful manner. Hillerman's approach to telling this story was a new style for me: the reader doesn't see everything through the sleuth's (Leaphorn's) eyes. Considering the foundation/background mystery, it only made sense to show the appropriate events from McKee's perspective.

This book was nominated for a Best First Novel Edgar, but he only had to wait until his next book (Dance Hall of the Dead) won a Best Mystery Edgar to join the ranks of the lauded.

These websites are full of good information about the man and his books:
http://www.dancingbadger.com/tony_hillerman.htm
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/tony-hillerman/
http://www.umsl.edu/~smueller

What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman

This book is the first I've read from this award-winning author, and I can see why her writing's been honored. Even though the clues to the mystery woman's identity are pretty clear early on, Lippman still manages to drive the plot so as to keep the reader second-guessing herself throughout the remainder of the story.

Lippman also writes family dynamics very well. Her treatment reminds me of Caroline Cooney's Janie series; the criminal, tragic disruption of the Bethany family accelerates the cracking of their happy facade. One has to wonder how any family can survive a blow such as this.

I think the only less-than-fully-believeable aspect of the story (however crucial it was to the plot) was the Dunham family conspiracy. Even given the father's past career (or perhaps especially because of it), I find it difficult to buy into the great lengths to help the protagonist. I also find it amusing that she thought of her new family as normal.

Overall, I found this to be a good read, and a quick one. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more titles by Lippman.

Disclosure: I received this book from Harper Collins in exchange for a review.

Painted Truth, by Lise McClendon

It's been a few years since I finished Bluejay Shaman, so I thought I'd move along with this short series, and this on also helps me toward the Seconds Challenge, which ends soon.

With this book, I learned a little about the art world (and again feel grateful I've nothing to do with it), and a little more about arson investigations (although I'm sure they come off better in real life). The mystery itself got a bit out of hand, however, and the relationship closure was awfully harsh. I found the protagonist to be little more stereotypical than necessary--I find it hard to believe that Nordic stoicism won't call a slut to the carpet for knowingly using the wrong bed. Ew! I'm also getting impatient with characters who tough it out through concussions. For Pete's sake, can't authors write some believable recovery time?

There are at least 2 more books in this series, which I'll see through unless the next book (Nordic Nights) sends me into fits.

Review two-fer

I may have come up with a solution to my severe reviewing backlog! Up until now, as I've read a book, I've taken notes, or at least marked pages to which I need to return (say, for quotes I want to discuss). However, I don't usually do this with much of my non-classic fiction. After I've finished reading, I draft my review on binder paper, thus setting up a (large) space to fill. I think that, in the case of these long-ago-read books, I'm putting too much pressure on myself to write that much about a book I barely remember, and in most cases, have no notes from which to draw. So, I found a stash of index cards from a long-abandoned project, and I am using those as my draft papers. Hopefully, this will further my goal of getting these older books out of my house, and in turn make more room on my bookshelves so that I can someday dismantle and repurpose my brick-and-board setup. I will probably still have to invest in some new shelving (at least 6 of my current units are double-shelved), but freeing up that wall space in favor of a better-laid-out office will help our living situation a lot.

Anyway, here is my first Index Card review, of Death at Gallows Green, by Robin Paige:

I find it interesting that they introduced Beatrix Potter as a character in the tale. I didn't know it at the time I'd read this book [a few years ago now], but at some point during the research, the decision was made to give Potter her own series--which is now on its fourth of eight titles.

Team Paige writes a good mystery and believeable characters; they also use the results of their research to good end. They are not over-cautious about what naughtiness they unveil, and their tension-building (in terms of the Ardleigh-Sheridan romance) flows at a reasonable pace.

I also find the English versus American theme to be highly entertaining and informative. It's interesting to see how different authors handle it; I'm currently reading Wharton's Age of Innocence and am finding the undercurrent of snobbery quite similar.

This is the second in the series; Death at Daisy's Folly is next [it also needs reviewing]. I can't remember offhand if I've read the fourth (Death at Devil's Bridge) yet. This particular book goes in the "give back to friend" pile.

Another tack I'm going to try with my reading: I've a few dozen (at first pass, anyway) books that should be readable in a short sitting, and hence also quickly reviewed. Those books are in a stack, which I'll pull from daily until they're gone. By doing this, I might have a chance at reaching my goal of 100 read for this year.

So, the first book I chose (because I have to send it to my expecting-within-a-month sister very soon) is:

First Six Weeks: Baby Tips (Little Terror series), by Charlotte Preston and Trevor Dunton

A nice, quick read (perfect for the fact that new parents don't have time to read), only a few questionable pieces of advice, which may actually be a factor of the published date of the book [it's nearly 10 years old].

The points I found lacking: when listing the "cons" of formula feeding, they missed the ones about future weight gain and risk of developing diabetes; I also don't understand what they mean by stating that babies don't cry at will for the first 3 months--that just doesn't sound right, or at least not how I'd describe what's going on with the crying. The author also suggests highly diluted orange juice to treat constipation, whereas my sources say that citrus juices should not be introduced so early. They also talk about the safe use of covers (in the interest of preventing SIDS), whereas now, someone's come up with sleepsacs, which are much safer, and quite easy to find.

I do like how the author reminds the parents to keep communication lines open, and that she's honest about the energy level that's to be expected.

I'm all caught up with my page count for Age of Innocence. I may try to get ahead tonight, just so I'm not rushed to finish just before I drive into Austin for the book group discussion.

Red Harvest, by Dashiell Hammett

Our Canon book group decided to tackle a classic in the mystery genre for this month; we went with the "American hardboiled" style this time. I'm hoping we can read and discuss a title of its overseas cousin (the English cozy). This particular story is a fix-up (of several previously-published shorts) that Hammett collected and changed to make a smooth and fast-paced narrative for his novel (it's less than 200 pages, far smaller than most of today's standard paperbacks), published in 1929. I split this read into 3 short sittings (more by necessity than design), and only had a little trouble keeping the characters and their connections straight in my head. [A factor of age? dunno]

Hammett drew on his experiences as a Pinkerton agent for the narrator/character Continental Op and for the setting Person/Poisonville. The author does a good job of portraying the end of an era while including the experiences of both the power brokers and of the more common folk. I also found it interesting to read about Prohibition-era America and its accompanying batch of "criminals" who made their money from dealing alcohol.

This book reminded me of a much older genre--the Greek tragedy--in the sense that nearly everyone winds up dead by the end. Continental Op manipulated people and events to the overall but secondary goal, even though it put him at risk of having to ditch his identity or perhaps die. It certainly begs the question of whether the reader can consider C.O. to be on the side of "good." It seems to me that he's just as corrupt as the people he takes down. My bet is on the possibility that this was Hammett's point exactly. It must have seemed (back then) that the world was truly falling apart, that individuals could only live and act for themselves, and that there was no longer any real good in the world. Hammett captured that mood splendidly.

One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich

I'd handled books in this series via my (former) library job since I'd begun working there in 1996. I knew they were very popular, but then so is Danielle Steel [disclaimer: no judgement is meant upon her as a person nor upon her fans, she simply isn't my cup o'tea]. I finally decided to start reading the series after I'd leafed through a discard of High Five and liked what I read.

Evanovich decided to start her character out as a neophyte in the crime-solving business and to pair her up romantically with a vice cop. I acknowledge that this is good for character and plot development in general for the mystery genre, but I hope that the mentor-student aspect doesn't continue for the rest of the series. I realize that I'm being picky, but if the mystery-solving in books to come involves as much direct danger as Stephanie got herself into with this book, I want her to become more independent and less of a chick-tied-to-the-tracks. Evanovich may be an entertaining author, but Stephanie is NO Kinsey.

For a first novel, Evanovich has created a likeable heroine, a plot that moves along easily (even for a 1-3:30 AM read), good twists, and colorful secondary characters.

[originally posted on BookCrossing 4/15/03]