Challenge: 50 Books discussion
Finish Line 2011
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Arlene's 2011 list
1 Last Scene Alive January 1, 2011I started this one in December but finished it at work on New Year's Day.
In the first book of this series we found small town librarian, Aurora Teagarden, going off to her club meeting, "Real Murders", where members discuss details of real murder cases from the past. To her horror, she finds one of the club members murdered in the kitchen. She is staged like the murder that Roe is scheduled to present that evening. She also meets the handsome writer, Robin Crusoe, who has just rented the townhouse next door while he teaches a creative writing class in near-by Atlanta.
Now Robin has written a best seller about the earlier events and has come back to town with the film crew to make a mini-series about the "Real Murders" case. Unfortunately, Roe finds another body, this time it is the actress who would have been playing her in the TV movie.
2 Poppy Done to Death January 3, 2011Roe and her sister-in-law are supposed to meet their other sister-in-law, Poppy, at the meeting of the "Uppity Women", an exclusive group in their small town, where Poppy will be inducted as the newest member.
When Poppy is a no-show they go by her house to see what kept her from coming and are shocked to find her dead in the kitchen. Poppy has a led a colorful life to say the least so there are many possible suspects. To complicate matters, Roe's "little" brother shows up at her work. He has hitch-hiked across the country to escape his life in California. Also it is Thanksgiving and Roe's current flame is bringing his mother to Thanksgiving dinner.
Another quick read for me. This seems to be the last in this series but I will be searching out others of her books to read (but I am resisting those vampire books!)
3 Eggs in Purgatory January 8, 2011The Cackleberry Club is a funky cafe/tea house/knitting store/book store that has been opened by three friends who have lost their husbands. One is a widow, one divorced and the third's husband is in a nursing home because of Alzheimer's. They are shocked when one of their recent customers is found murdered in his truck out in their parking lot. The twists and turns that the investigation takes made for a quick read for me.
4 Hush My Mouth: A Southern Fried Mystery January 10, 2011Avery Andrews is a big city lawyer who has returned to her small town. She has an office in an old mansion which she is doing some upkeep on to try to make ends meet. A team of ghost hunters think the mansion would make a good place to look for spirits since it used to be the town mortuary. A client shows up looking for her "sister" and Avery is soon involved in solving two mysteries, one a recent murder and one the twenty year old murder of the victim's aunt. Were they related killings?
5 Mortar and Murder January 13, 2011Avery and her boyfriend have bought an old colonial house on an island in Maine to flip. As they start their renovations they find the body of a young woman floating in the sea on the way out to the island. The scrap of paper found on the body has an address written in Russian. The clue leads to their friend and realtor, Irina who is from the Ukraine. Despite the admonitions of the local deputy to stay out of it, Avery is drawn into the mystery by finding a secret room in their house and another body floating by the pier.
This was another quick read for me.
6 Delectable Mountains (Benni Harper Mysteries January 16, 2011Benni Harper finds another body, this time in her church sanctuary. She and her husband Gabe, the local police chief, also have unexpected company, his cousin Luis. Add in the side mystery of a violin that has been stolen from a local museum. A satisfying mystery.
7 Swan for the Money January 17, 2011Meg has been roped into organizing the local rose show for the garden club. Her efforts are hindered by the fertilizing efforts of her father, the animal rights investigating of her grandfather and the black swan and fainting goats of the show's hostess. Throw in a missing dog, a murder and an attempted murder and it is almost too much to take.
8 The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse January 19, 2011Jillian Hart has moved to a small town with her husband, then he dies. She hasn't made many friends until one of her cats goes missing and then she gets involved in a murder mystery.
9 The Cat, the Professor and the Poison January 22, 2011Jillian Hart makes little quilts for cats. Her friend has a cow that goes missing, then shows back up. Then there is the question of the stray cats that also show up. She follows one kitty and discovers an adjacent farm with at least 50 cats being held in runs. When the authorities arrive they find the body of a strange professor. Jillian doesn't want to investigate the death, she just wants to help the missing cats.
10 Still Alice January 23, 2011This story is about Alice Howland, a professor at Harvard. One day on her way home she gets hopelessly lost and after several other incidents, she goes to her doctor. After multiple test, including a genetic test, she is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Her journey and the reactions of her family to the diagnosis make this one of the scariest books that I have ever read. Then CBS's Sunday Morning re-ran "Jan's Story" this morning about the same subject. The title is a play on words, at the end of the story she is still Alice as opposed to being not Alice but she is also "still" or quiet because she is losing words.
11 Grace Under Pressure January 25, 2011Grace finally has her dream job when she returns to her childhood home to become the assistant curator of Marshfield Manor. Then the curator Abe is killed and Grace is suddenly thrust into the mystery, wanting to help the woefully unprepared, small-town police.
12 Lucid Intervals January 27, 2011Stone Barrington is the reluctant lawyer for Herbie who hires him with a large retainer. The constants of the series are Stone, Dino and their meals at Elaine's. I do enjoy reading them.
13 The Tale of Hawthorn House January 30, 2011I love the way this author had Beatrix Potter as a character in this series. In this one she finds a baby on the doorstep and she and the village constable try to find out where baby Flora has come from. As a side story, Jemma PuddleDuck is trying to become a mother because she wants to prove to everyone that she can stick it out and hatch a clutch of eggs herself.
Total for January: 13 books, 4067 pages
14 Eat, Pray, Love February 10, 2011This book came with a lot of hype and a Julia Roberts movie. I still want to see the movie, mostly because of the locations and Julia Roberts. I was disappointed with the book, I don't think that it lived up to the hype.
This book is in three parts: Eat-which takes place in Rome; Pray-which takes place in an ashram in India; and Love-which takes place in Bali. She undertakes the journey after a crushing divorce and the break-up of the rebound love affair which follows. She has the resources to undertake the journey because her publisher gave her an advance on this book - we should all be as lucky for someone to pay us to go overseas and eat and learn to meditate better. It did seem to be a good way to overcome her depression although when she goes off her meds, she backslides. I liked the third part of the story the best. All-in-all an interesting journey.
I will probably read the follow-up book, but I will try to borrow it!
15 The Mayor of Lexington Avenue February 12,2011This book took place in different decades going from the story of two friends in New York in the 50's to the story of a murder and trial of a "slow" young man, Rudy, in Florida and then ten years later the legal battle to save Rudy from execution for a crime he didn't commit. It really grabbed me in the last part of the book.
16 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, February 2011 February 15, 2011I like to keep one of these magazines in my bag to read a story when I have a minute.
17 The Backup Plan February 17, 2011Dinah is a world famous war correspondent who suffers from a terrible loss when her camera-man, lover is blown up in a car bomb. After suffering from depression and PTSD her boss wants her to take a break or vacation or move to another assignment but she quits instead and goes home to Charleston to find Bobby. They had had a "back-up plan" 10 years earlier but he is now engaged and his brother Cord wants to protect him. Things go from there.
18 The Lincoln Lawyer February 19, 2011Mickey Haller is a defense attorney in Los Angeles. He doesn't have an office, he practices law out of the back of his Lincoln. One of his former clients is his driver, working off a fee. One of his ex-wives is a prosecutor and the other one is his secretary, receptionist. He defends a variety of clients including drug dealing members of motorcycle gangs, hookers and rapists. His latest client is a rich real-estate agent who is seemingly innocent. Mickey is hoping that this one will be a "franchise case" with lots of billable hours. Events go south from there as Mickey is confronted with evil and a truly innocent man.
I stayed up late to finish the book!
19 River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze February 28, 2011 I met Peter Hessler at a book signing at the Tattered Cover book store. This is the story of Peter's Peace Corps experiences in China. I really enjoyed reading about all the challenges that he faced because I am also a RPCV. I was interested to see the similarities and differences between his time in China and mine in the Philippines; between his time in the 90's and mine in the 70's; and his experiences as a single man and mine as a married woman. I would recommend this book to all RPCV's; anyone interested in China and travel.
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Total for February: 7 books; 2654 pages
20 Santa Fe Edge March 4, 2011This book had several interconnected webs as we first find lawyer Ed Eagle being hired by a golf pro who is being accused of murder. Then in another plot line, Ed's ex-wife manages to escape from prison in Mexico and she comes gunning for him. Throw in a third plot line with former CIA spy Teddy Fay arriving in Sante Fe and you need a program to keep track of the players. I found myself wondering why they are all in the same book. This is definitely a "junk food" read.
21 The Nanny March 9, 2011 Jo is stuck in a routine, working as a Nanny in her small hometown, Niblet-upon-Avon; sitll living with her parents; dating the same bloke for 6 years; and thinking, "this is it?" The Fitzgeralds are losing another nanny and have placed an advert in a magazine. Jo decides to reply to the ad and gets hired. She leaves the town behind and goes to the city. The rest of the story is about how her life is changed by her decision.
22 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2011 March 14, 2011I was delighted to find my favorite Ellery Queen short story author in this collection, Edward D. Hoch. He had appeared in every issue of the magazine for 36 years until his death brought an end to the string of wonderful stories. "The Long Way Down" was first published in another magazine in 1965. It is an impossible mystery: a man commits suicide by jumping out of a 21st story window but he doesn't land on the street, he just disappears.
23 The Aloha Quilt March 18, 2011This is another book that I borrowed from the quilt guild library. I have read several of Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek novels and I enjoy the stories about the quilting ladies of Pennsylvania. This one involves Bonnie who is trying to survive a bad divorce. While her husband is angling to take everything that she loves she is helping an old friend set up a quilt camp in Maui. Bonnie's time in Hawaii is spent learning about the unique history and culture of the islands, planning a quilt camp in an old inn and even help to serve the current guests. She makes new friends and learns how to make one of the lovely quilts that Hawaii is known for.
24 Creatures of the Kingdom March 26, 2011This was started for a author's challenge from another group. We are to read a book by James A. Michener. I finished Creatures of the Kingdom. It was a collection of animal stories, mostly from his longer books. There were stories from Alaska, Centennial, Chesapeake, The Covenant, Hawaii and Texas. I recognized several of the stories. I think my favorite was the last story, "the Colonel and Genghis Khan" about a squirrel who keeps invading the bird feeder in the retired officer's back yard. I don't think that this one was in any of his other books.
25 True Believer March 29, 2011Jeremy is a science writer who loves to debunk pseudo-science and explain the paranormal. After a successful appearance on TV, he receives a letter about ghosts who walk in a small-town Southern graveyard. He loads up some equipment and heads to Boone Creek. There he indeed sees the light. He finds the cemetery and along the way he also finds the girl, Lexie, who is the town librarian. In true Nicholas Sparks fashion, the mystery of old ghosts becomes a love story. Can the two find happiness when they come from such different backgrounds?
26 Fang April 4, 2011The focus of this book in the Maximum Ride series is Fang, the co-leader of the flock and teen-age love interest of Max. Clairvoyant bird girl, Angel, says that Fang will die and soon. Then another cute teen bird boy shows up. Dylan has been created by another misguided scientist who says he has been made to be Max's mate. She isn't happy with this. I thought this book was more juvenile than the earlier books in this YA series but I will still keep reading the series.
27 The True Love Quilting Club April 6, 2011Trixie Lynn Parks had one good year in High School when she lived in Twilight, Texas, then she and her father moved again and she even found out why he didn't love her. She left home at 18 and went to New York to become an actress following the path of many young women, roles in off-Broadway and with waitress jobs to pay the bills. Then she got a call to return to Twilight to star in the town play and she found her high-school crush and what she was missing. Can she leave it all behind to go on with her acting dreams?
28 Scene of Crime April 10, 2011Detective Chief Inspector Judy Hill is in the Riverside Theatre group when there is a violent death of the wife of the amateur playwright. It seems like there are just too many suspects - the petty thief, his brother who has unexplained bruises, the neighbor, the Doctor's partner, the partner's wife - or some random burglar.
This is a British police procedural novel.
April 18, 2011I am counting this book as 3 books because it originally appeared as a trilogy of books.
29I got hooked on the first book Born in Fire which is the story of Maggie Concannon. Maggie's story starts with the sale of her first piece of blown glass and the celebration in the local pub with her father. The owner of a series of galleries shows up to buy more of the glass and persuade her to sign him as her exclusive agent. Of course this is a romance so sparks fly as he pursues her.
30 The second book in the trilogy was Born in Ice, the story of her younger sister Brianna who has turned the family home into a B&B. A famous American author decides to stay at her little inn while he works on his latest thriller. He is drawn into the life of the Irish village and has a taste of what a real home would be like. He just wants the romance without strings and plans to return to his nomadic life after the book is done.
31When Brianna finds letters from an American woman addressed to her father the sisters are shocked to learn that they have a half-sister. Maggie and Brianna hire a detective to find the woman and her child and find Shannon Bodine on the day of her mother's funeral. The third book, Born in Shame, is the story of that newly found sister, Shannon. She travels to Ireland to find out who she is and finds a strange connection to the land and a 'dance' of stones in her dreams.
32 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May 2011 April 21, 2011I like carrying around one of these short story magazines to read when I have a few minutes. I think that my favorite story was "A Drowning At Snow's Cut" about a trip taken by a father and his grown son on the Dad's new boat. The son is annoyed at spending time with his dad, worried about his job, missing his Mom.
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Total for April: 7 books 1813 pages
33 The Mammoth Book of Arthurian Legends May 5, 2011This book is full of over 40 stories about King Arthur. Some of them are several hundred years old. The language of some of the older stories was difficult to read but others were very enjoyable. I think my favorite was the story, "Sir Marrok the Wolf" about a knight who was bewitched and turned into a wolf. It follows what happens over a number of years while he is a wolf. It was published in a book in 1902.
34 English Country House Murders May 12, 2011This anthology includes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, P.D. James, and other famous English mystery writers in a series of delightful stories that take place in English country houses. I liked all of the stories in the book. I especially liked the one called "Death in the Sun" which has a corpse found nude on the roof of a villa and "The Man on the Roof" where everyone in the house and the village would benefit with the death of the Duke.
This book is to be recommended to all who like a satisfying little murder.
35 How to Make an American Quilt May 14, 2011The author takes the members of a small-town California quilting circle and explores their histories and connections. Also included is a lot of history of quilts and quilting. It is told by the granddaughter of one of the quilters who is trying to decided the way her life will go. I liked it.
36 Stitch of Courage: A Woman's Fight for Freedom May 15, 2011This book is based on the story of Maggie Kennedy who followed her brothers to Kansas in the 1850's. She was the great-great-grandmother of the author. It is told in letters written to her sister in Ohio and follows the trials and troubles of the Lawrence, Kansas area before and during the Civil War.
37 Heart of the Sea May 17, 2011This is the third in a trilogy by the romance queen, Nora Roberts. I like her books because there is a good story with likable people in each one. This is the story of Darcy Gallagher and Trevor Magee. Trevor has come to Ardmore to build a theater connected to a traditional Irish Pub run by Darcy and her brothers. He chose the village that his grandfather had left with his wife and young son years ago. While building proceeds, Trevor explores the area and his roots, meeting a ghost and hearing the story of a fairy king.
38 Kokopelli: Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers: The Hunchbacked Flute Player May 19, 2011This little book is full of photos and drawings of Kokopelli, the flute player that is found all over the Southwest in petroglyphs. Explanations and a bibliography are also included.
Arlene wrote: "38 Kokopelli: Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers: The Hunchbacked Flute Player May 19, 2011"Thanks for this reminder. A few years back my parents, who had relocated to Arizona, gifted me with a bracelet made of linked Kokopelli dancers. I had to ask if it was some sort of subliminal message - giving their unmarried 30 something daughter a fertility symbol bracelet.
I love him because he is a flute player. I have a collection of flutes that I have bought all over the world.
39 The Beach Trees May 26, 2011I got sucked into this story that follows Julie Holt from the East coast to New Orleans and Biloxi when she inherits the guardianship of a 5 year old orphan and 1/2 ownership of a grand house near the beach. When she gets to Mississippi she finds that the house was destroyed by Katrina and that her friend Monica has come from a family with quite a past and many buried secrets. Julie doesn't know whether to stay or go.
40 Presidential Cookies: Cookie Recipes of the Presidents of the United States May 28, 2011
I got an autographed copy of this book at the Cookie Cutter Collector's Club Convention in 2010 in California. I really enjoyed reading about all of the presidents from Washington to Obama and their times. The cookie recipes are really interesting. The author has taken historical recipes and adapted them for use today with step-by-step instructions and modern ingredients. I was surprised at a few of them, especially the Press Cookies for the term of Andrew Johnson because I didn't know that the press was available in the 1860's. Even if you don't cook this book is very enjoyable.
41 The Rana Look May 30, 2011I had started another book but really didn't feel like reading a blood-and-guts thriller and found this little romance on the table in the break room where people share books. It was a quick read.
Rana is a beautiful girl who has been managed by her mother. She became a top model but drew the line when her mother wanted her to marry the heir to a cosmetics empire. She packed up her things and went to Galveston, Texas where she is trying to be anonymous by wearing shapeless clothes and large blue tinted glasses. She is staying in a boarding house with an elderly woman named Ruby. She starts her own business of hand painting silk clothes and selling them in an upbeat boutique in Houston. The name she signs to her creations is Ana R. Everything is going well until Ruby's nephew moves in to the other apartment in the house. He is the quarterback of the Houston football team who is going to take some time to heal his shoulder. Rana is a beautiful girl who has been managed by her mother. She became a top model but drew the line when her mother wanted her to marry the heir to a cosmetics empire. She packed up her things and went to Galveston, Texas where she is trying to be anonymous by wearing shapeless clothes and large blue tinted glasses. She is staying in a boarding house with an elderly woman named Ruby. She starts her own business of hand painting silk clothes and selling them in an upbeat boutique in Houston. The name she signs to her creations is Ana R. Everything is going well until Ruby's nephew moves in to the other apartment in the house. He is the quarterback of the Houston football team who is going to take some time to heal his shoulder.
42 The First Love Cookie Club May 31, 2011Sleep with Kismet cookies under your pillow on Christmas Eve and you will dream of your own true love. Sarah dreamed of the same man every year when she was staying with her Gram in Twilight, Texas until she was 15 and she made a fool of herself by going to his wedding on Christmas day. Her Gram died the next year and Sarah never went back. Flash forward to the present day when Sarah has become a best selling children's author with a book about Christmas wishes. Her publicist wants her to go to a book signing connected with other activities around the town's pre-Christmas celebrations. A letter from a young fan, a little girl who is very sick, tips the balance towards the trip. The only sticking point is that the town is Twilight. Can she go there?
My only problem is that the book I got didn't have the cookie recipes!
Arlene wrote: "42 The First Love Cookie Club May 31, 2011Sleep with Kismet cookies under your pillow on Christmas Eve and you will dream of your own t..."
Got you all cookie craving and didn't come across with the recipes? That's just wrong! And mean.
43 The Run June 2, 2011Will Lee is a senator from Georgia when he learns a secret that could change history. Then the President of the United States falls ill and everything changes. It is election year and the whole race is thrown into turmoil when the Vice-President (and acting President) announces that he will not be running. The rest of the story is about the campaign and crazies that literally come out of the woods.
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille (other topics)The Nanny (other topics)
Indulgence in Death (other topics)
Fall of Giants (other topics)
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2011 (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Wilson A. Bentley (other topics)Kenneth Libbrecht (other topics)
Margaret Coel (other topics)
Tony Hillerman (other topics)
James A. Michener (other topics)
My goal is to read mostly books that I own and to buy fewer books, my bedroom bookshelf is overflowing with books I haven't read! But I do "cheat" a little too. My bff loaned me a bag of books that I am plowing through now and I work at an airport so sometimes books get left by accident or on purpose in the concourse. People hardly ever go to lost and found for books so they get passed along by crews and agents.