It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.

OK, last Monday reading report of the year.  And, to be honest, I'm really not reading much of anything right now.  Still too much holiday-ing going on around here.  Just before Christmas I started one of Arthur C. Clarke's early classics, The City and the Stars. Haven't gotten very far along, but I've enjoyed the little I've read.

Lately, what I've mostly been doing (besides visiting, decorating, shopping, cooking, and generally just celebrating the season) is obsessing about all the 2015 reading challenges popping up now.  I've signed up for fourteen so far, and there are a couple more I'm thinking about.

Yes. I. Am. Addicted.

So, has the holiday season done a number on your reading routine? Or do you manage to make time for reading, no matter what else is going on?

Challenge Wrap-Up: Vintage Mystery Bingo 2014

Vintage Mystery Bingo 2014

Hosted by: Bev @ My Reader's Block

OK, I sort of wiped out on this one. I was working on the Gold Edition (books published before 1960), but only read two books that would qualify: The High Window (1942) and The Lady in the Lake (1943), both by Raymond Chandler -- and didn't review either of them. But both of those have been on my TBR list for decades, and I loved them. So I guess for me the challenge was actually pretty much a success. In fact, I'm considering taking another chance with the 2015 challenge.

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 Newbery Reading Challenge

2014 Newbery Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Julie @ Smiling Shelves

For the 2014 Newbery Reading Challenge, participants were assigned points for each book read. I signed up at the basic level ("L'Engle" / 15-29 points), and just managed to get my 15 points (if I've calculated correctly). Here's what I read:

1. Fog Magic. Julia L. Sauer (Newbery Honor Book, 1944) = 2 points 
2. The Hundred Dresses. Eleanor Estes; illus. by Louis Slobodkin (Newbery Honor Book, 1945) = 2 points
3. The House in the Night. Susan Marie Swanson; illus. by Beth Krommes (Caldecott Winner, 2009) = 1 point 
4. The Family Under the Bridge. Natalie Savage Carlson; illus. by Garth Williams (Newbery Honor Book, 1959) = 2 points 
5. My Father's Dragon. Ruth Stiles Gannett; illus. by Ruth Chrisman Gannett (Newbery Honor Book, 1949) = 2 points
6. Missing May. Cynthia Rylant (Newbery Medal Winner, 1993) = 3 points
7. The Cat Who Went to Heaven. Elizabeth Coatsworth (Newbery Medal Winner, 1931) = 3 points

I really enjoyed the reading for this challenge (thanks, Julie!), so I'm thinking of joining in on the 2015 challenge, too -- should go well with the I Love Picture Books Challenge I've signed up for.

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 Mount TBR

2014 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Bev @ MY READER'S BLOCK

This was one of my real failures this year. Signed up to read twelve books ("Pike's Peak" level), but actually read only five:

• The Only Problem. Muriel Spark 
• The Lady in the Lake. Raymond Chandler 
• The High Window. Raymond Chandler 
• The Quilter's Apprentice. Jennifer Chiaverini 
• The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

I just had too many new books calling my name. Also had a huge stack of ARCs that I felt obligated to read before I could attack any of my older "must reads." So, a lesson for next year, I guess. But I still think this is a worthwhile challenge, and want to thank Bev for continuing to host it. Now I just need to figure out if I should give it one more go in 2015.

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 ARC Reading Challenge

2014 ARC Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Teddy Rose @ So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Signed up to read 25 books, and actually read 23. Pretty good, if you don't consider the 20-some more I really should have read. And the fact that I didn't get many of them reviewed. But then, I totally washed out when it comes to reviewing in 2014. Hoping to do much better in 2015.

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

The 2014 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge was hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates' Book Reviews. It runs through this month, but I'm pretty sure I won't be finishing any series before January, so I'm wrapping it up now.

I have a bunch of series going (mostly mystery series), and at the beginning of 2014 I wasn't really sure which one(s) I wanted to concentrate on for this challenge. I ended up changing my mind a couple of times, and finally decided to go with Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe books. Didn't finish the entire series this year, but I did read two of the books out of the seven that I still need to read: The Lady in the Lake, and The High Window. Didn't manage to get them reviewed -- I pretty much wiped out on reviews this year; hoping to do better in that area next year.

Still, I loved both of the books I read, and want to thank Yvonne for hosting this one. Now the question is: Should I sign up for the 2015 challenge?

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 Chunkster Challenge

The 2014 Chunkster Challenge was hosted by Vasilly, and the goal was to read books with 450 (or more) pages.

When I signed up, I intended to read at least a couple of chunksters, but ended up only finishing one -- Ten Lords A-Leaping, by C.C. Benison (490 pages). I think it's extremely unlikely that I'll read another 400-page tome before the end of the year (OK, it's definitely NOT gonna happen), so I'm wrapping this one up now. Thanks so much to Vasilly for hosting.

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 Quick Fix Challenge

2014 Quick Fix Challenge

Hosted by: Jessie @ Jessie's Book Place
Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2014

The goal of the Quick Fix Challenge was to read books of fewer than 300 pages. I signed up at the "Paperclips" Level -- at least 15 books. Here's what I read:

1. Coup de Grâce. Marguerite Yourcenar (151 pages)
2. The Only Problem. Muriel Spark (188 pages)
3. Fog Magic. Julia L. Sauer (104 pages)
4. Andrew's Brain. E.L. Doctorow (200 pages)
5. The Book Boy. Joanna Trollope (94 pages)
6. The Thief of Always. Clive Barker (288 pages)
7. The Litter of the Law. Rita Mae Brown (233 pages)
8. Midnight in Europe. Alan Furst (272 pages) 
9. The Antiquarian. Gustavo Faverón Patriau (240 pages) 
10. The Lady in the Lake. Raymond Chandler (272 pages)
11. The High Window. Raymond Chandler (272 pages)
12. The Quilter's Apprentice. Jennifer Chiaverini (272 pages)
13. Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster. Terrance Dicks (192 pages)
14. The Colors of Space. Marion Zimmer Bradley (114 pages) 
15. The Transcriptionist. Amy Rowland (246 pages) 
16. The Mist in the Mirror. Susan Hill (288 pages) 
17. The Two Hotel Francforts. David Leavitt (272 pages) 
18. The Celtic Dagger. Jill Paterson (221 pages) 
19. The Dirty Book Murder. Thomas Shawver (220 pages) 
20. Murder at the Painted Lady. Barbara Warren (186 pages) 

This was such a good idea. Thanks so much to Jessie for hosting.

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 New Author Reading Challenge

2014 New Author Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Literary Escapism
Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2014

I committed to reading 15 new-to-me authors this year, and actually did a little better than that. Here's what I read:

1. Coup de Grâce. Marguerite Yourcenar 
2. Fog Magic. Julia L. Sauer 
3. The Universe Versus Alex Woods. Gavin Extence 
4. Tens Lords A-Leaping. C.C. Benison 
5. While Beauty Slept. Elizabeth Blackwell 
6. The Thief of Always. Clive Barker 
7. The Innocent Sleep. Karen Perry 
8. The Bookman's Tale. Charlie Lovett 
9. Love Story, with Murders. Harry Bingham 
10. Midnight in Europe. Alan Furst 
11. The Antiquarian. Gustavo Faverón Patriau
12. The Quilter's Apprentice. Jennifer Chiaverini
13. The Good Suicides. Antonio Hill
14. Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster. Terrance Dicks
15. The Colors of Space. Marion Zimmer Bradley
16. The Weight of Blood. Laura McHugh 
17. The Transcriptionist. Amy Rowland 
18. Island Girls. Nancy Thayer 
19. The Two Hotel Francforts. David Leavitt
20. The Celtic Dagger. Jill Paterson
21. The Dirty Book Murder. Thomas Shawver 
22. Murder at the Painted Lady. Barbara Warren 
23. Bliss House. Laura Benedict 
24. The Days of Anna Madrigal. Armistead Maupin
25. The Family Under the Bridge. Natalie Savage Carlson

This has always been one of my favorite challenges. Thanks so much to Literary Escapism for hosting.

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Historical Tapestry
Dates: January 1 - December 31, 2014

I signed up at the second level, "Victorian Reader" (5 books).

Here's what I read (still working on reviews):

1. Coup de Grâce. Marguerite Yourcenar (first published 1931; set in the last years of the first World War)
2. Midnight in Europe. Alan Furst (first published 2013; set mostly in France during 1937) 
3. The Two Hotel Francforts. David Leavitt (first published 2013; set in Portugal in 1940) 
4. The Mist in the Mirror. Susan Hill (first published 1992; set in England, early 20th Century)
5. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (Flavia de Luce #6). Alan Bradley (first published 2014; set in England in 1951) 

I'm a little surprised I didn't read more books that would qualify for this challenge, since historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. And, as usual, I'm lagging WAY behind in my review-writing. Still, I did hit my quota mark, and definitely enjoyed the challenge. Much thanks to everyone involved in this one.

Challenge Wrap-Up: 2014 European Reading Challenge

The 2014 European Reading Challenge was hosted by Rose City Reader (thanks, Gilion!), and runs through the end of next month. I signed up at the Four Star Level -- "Honeymooner," four books. Here's what I read, with links to the two reviews I managed to get posted:

1. FRANCE: The Only Problem. Muriel Spark
   (Even though the book is about English characters, written by a Scot, the action takes place in France.)
2. UK (Wales): Love Story, with Murders. Harry Bingham 
3. SPAIN: The Good Suicides. Antonio Hill
4. PORTUGAL: The Two Hotel Francforts. David Leavitt 

Teaser/Intro Tuesday: With Folded Hands

Tuesday again. First Tuesday of December -- if anybody knows what happened to the month of November, please tell me. Somehow it disappeared while I wasn't paying attention.

Anyhow, time for another Teaser Tuesday. And today I'm joining in on First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, hosted by Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea.

This week, my teaser/intro comes from Jack Williamson's classic story (or "novelette" as it was called back then), With Folded Hands -- one of the science fiction works I've got lined up for the Sci-Fi Experience hosted by Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings. It first appeared in the July 1947 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine. These are the opening lines:

Underhill was walking home from the office, because his wife had the car, the afternoon he first met the new mechanicals. His feet were following his usual diagonal path across a weedy vacant block -- his wife usually had the car -- and his preoccupied mind was rejecting various impossible ways to meet his notes at the Two Rivers bank, when a new wall stopped him.
The wall wasn't any common brick or stone, but something sleek and bright and strange....

July 1947 issue

So, what are your thoughts about this one? Like it? Hate it? Go on reading or not?

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Book Beginnings: Another Side of Bob Dylan

For this week's Book Beginnings on Friday I'm looking at Another Side of Bob Dylan, by Victor Maymudes and Jacob Maymudes, published in September by St. Martin's Press. These are the opening lines of Chapter 1:

Altogether my father recorded twenty-four hours of audio chronicling his relationship with Bob Dylan, Dennis Hopper, Joan Baez, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Wavy Gravy, David Crosby, Tom Petty, the rest of the Traveling Wilburys and a few others who made up his inner circle of friends.

Initial Thoughts:

That's quite a list of friends! Victor Maymudes was Bob Dylan's tour manager for many years, and also a close friend and confidante. He tape recorded his memories of those times for this book, but died suddenly before he could get the book written. His son Jacob stepped in to finish his father's work. I was attracted to the book as soon as I heard about it. I'm certainly not a "Dylanologist" and haven't really kept up with the man or his music in recent years. But when I was a teenager back in the '60s I was a huge fan, and still find the whole Dylan phenomenon pretty fascinating. Looking forward to reading an "insider's" report.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Book Beginnings: The Days of Anna Madrigal

Lately I've mostly been reading mysteries, thrillers, and ghostly tales. Which I love.  But the last one left me so spooked, I decided I needed something completely different -- and Armistead Maupin's The Days of Anna Madrigal is certainly that.  Here's the opening paragraph:

Summer had been warmer than usual this year, but the heat that throbbed in the East Bay was already coaxing pale fingers of fog into the city. Anna could feel this on her skin, the chilly caress she had come to think of as "candle weather." She had not owned a fireplace since her landlady days on Russian Hill, but to her mind the proper application of candlelight carried all the primal comfort of a campfire.

Initial Thoughts:

Well, I'm intrigued, I guess -- all that fog and candlelight and chilly caressing draws me in. Also, I know that Anna is 92 years old, and I'm always interested in books with older protagonists. I haven't read any of the earlier books in this series (this is number 9, and apparently the final volume), so this will be my introduction to Maupin's San Francisco tales. I've heard lots of good stuff about the books (and the TV mini-series, which I've also never seen), so I'm looking forward to getting immersed in this one.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Teaser Tuesdays: Bliss House

This week my teaser lines come from Bliss House by Laura Benedict:

She wouldn't own Bliss House if it hadn't been for the murder. The thought struck her with its full force. Another woman's blood had helped her become the mistress of Bliss House. (p.83)

It's definitely an unsettling read, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Teaser Tuesdays: Peter Pan Must Die

This week my teaser lines come from the latest novel in John Verdon's Dave Gurney series, Peter Pan Must Die. I love the Gurney books, and this new one is my favorite so far.

In this snippet, Dave is speaking with his wife Madeleine, about his grown son Kyle. (The quote is taken from an advance copy of the book, so please remember it might be different in the published edition.)

"I used to tell Kyle when he was a kid that one key to a happy life, a happy career, was to find an activity you enjoyed enough that you'd be willing to do it without being paid -- then find someone willing to pay you to do it. Well, not many people succeed in doing that. Pilots, musicians, actors, artists, and athletes, mainly. And hit men...." (p.281)

You have to realize that Gurney is a retired police detective who's investigated some pretty gruesome crimes -- it's given him a unique, if ever so slightly skewed, perspective on life. Well, maybe a little more than slightly skewed.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Book Beginnings: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

For this week's Book Beginnings on Friday, I'm looking at one of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce novels, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches. Here are the first lines from the book's Prologue:

"Your mother has been found."
Nearly a week after he had made it, Father's shocking announcement was still ringing in my ears.
Harriet! Harriet found! Who could believe it?
Harriet, who had been lost in a mountaineering accident when I was barely a year old; Harriet, whom I can't remember seeing, ever, with my own eyes.
My reaction?
Numbness, I'm afraid.

Initial Thoughts:
I read the first of the Flavia books, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, when it first came out back in 2009. Haven't read any of the others -- the one I'm quoting from here is No. 6, so I'm supposing I'll be doing some catching up with all the characters. I had forgotten about Flavia's lost mother, so hearing that she'd been found was sort of a double surprise. I enjoyed the first book, and so far I'm having fun with this one, too.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Monday Reading Update

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.

I didn't get a huge amount of reading done last week. Somehow, we'd managed to schedule a bunch of medical/dental stuff all in one week (I hate it when that happens), and that took up a lot of time that would have been reading time. Took my Kindle with me, and read as much as I could in the various waiting rooms. But that's not as easy as it used to be, now that all medical facilities have TVs blasting talk shows all day, and everyone in the place is on a cell phone. I find it so very strange that people will have the most intimate conversations right out loud on their phones, not caring who's hearing it.

But I digress.

I did manage to finish a couple of books last week:

• Children of the Revolution, by Peter Robinson (The latest Inspector Banks mystery - number 21! Enjoyable, as always.)
• The Dirty Book Murder, by Thomas Shawver (Which is the first book in a new mystery series set in the world of rare books and book collecting. And, no matter what the title and cover might make you think, not pornographic.)

OK, what's up this week? Well, the RIP/9 reading event/challenge ended October 31st, and I'm sort of mourning its passing. Just not ready to give up on reading the dark stuff. So this week, I'll be starting Bliss House, a ghost-y novel by Laura Benedict,

and possibly Blue Labyrinth, the new Pendergast thriller by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

And to balance out all that darkness, I'm also reading something a bit lighter (although still a suspense tale, but romantic suspense): Murder at the Painted Lady, by Barbara Warren.

So that's it.  Oh, and I'm also thinking of signing up for a new fall reading challenge I stumbled onto the other day.  It's called The Come Sit a Spell Challenge, and it's hosted over at Book Dragon's Lair. It's appealingly free-form, and I'm thinking it might be just what I need to keep me on track with my reading for the rest of the year.

Monday Reading Update

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.

Well, I really don't have a lot of updating to do this week.  I'm still reading the same book I was reading last week -- Children of the Revolution, by Peter Robinson. But the fact that it's taking me too long to finish isn't the fault of the book; I've just had a lot of STUFF going on lately that's kept me from reading as much as I'd like.

I'm hoping to get done with this one in a day or two and move on to something new.

I've also been doing a little more catchup work with reviews. I've been really very lazy about posting reviews this year, so I'm trying to write at least a few sentences about each of the books I've read -- just enough to remind myself that I did indeed read the book, and what I thought of it. Posted these over the weekend:

The Good Suicides, by Antonio Hill 

The Innocent Sleep, by Karen Perry

Love Story, With Murders, by Harry Bingham 

The Transcriptionist, by Amy Rowland

I'll probably be posting lots of short reviews in the days to come. Very short reviews. Anyway, that's the plan for the moment.

Reading Report: The Innocent Sleep

Written by Karen Perry
Henry Holt and Company, 2014; 323 pages

As The Innocent Sleep begins, Harry and Robin are young artists living in Tangier with their son Dillon.  One night, while Harry is preparing a birthday dinner for Robin, he suddenly remembers that he's left her gift at the café in town. Robin is still at work, and the café is only a five minute walk away, so Harry decides to run out while three-year-old Dillon is asleep upstairs. Dillon is a problem at bedtime, as he doesn't sleep easily, so once in a while Harry has been in the habit of slipping small amounts of sleeping pills into Dillon's nighttime drink -- something he knows is wrong, but on this night it does solve the difficult problem. Also on this night, though, disaster strikes. While Harry is out, an earthquake hits the city. Dillon is apparently killed when the house is destroyed, although his body is never found.

Five years later, Harry and Robin have moved back to their native Dublin and are trying to rebuild their lives, while still grieving for Dillon. Harry's career as an artist is beginning to take off and Robin, who has abandoned art to study architecture, has just discovered she's pregnant again. Things seem to be going well enough, until Harry gets a glimpse of a child he's sure is Dillon on a crowded Dublin street, and the past -- along with its secrets -- comes crashing back on them.

Could the child really be Dillon? How could he have survived the earthquake? And how would he have ended up so near them in Dublin? Was the sighting just a figment of Harry's guilt-ridden imagination? Or is someone playing a cruel and dangerous game?

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this one very much, in spite of a few slightly bothersome complaints. All the way through, I kept having the niggling feeling that there was just too much coincidence and convenient turn-around going on. But then it is a thriller, and you know, going in, there will definitely be surprises, twists and about-face plot developments. So I just made up my mind to go with the flow. As it were.

Also, the frequent changes in narrator/point of view got tedious very quickly. The two main characters, Robin and Harry, take turns narrating the chapters -- and I'm getting a little fed up with that technique. But those were really minor flaws and not enough to spoil the reading experience for me.

Certainly a book I'd recommend to anyone looking for a quick, suspenseful read.

(Just gotta say this. The whole time I was reading The Innocent Sleep, I had trouble getting beyond the fact that the author, "Karen Perry," is actually a two-person writing team -- Dublin-based authors Paul Perry and Karen Gillece. Not that I care whether or not a book has multiple authors; I think that's fine. But why not just use both names?)

Disclaimer:
I received my copy of The Innocent Sleep free of charge from the publisher, through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. No other compensation was received, and no one influenced my opinion of the book.