We have rattlers here, though we only see them on our property every couple years or so. They are all over the hills we live in. Our previous dog Freya was bitten by one and was lucky to survive. Yes, I am afraid of them. I don't like the mountain lions, either.

Still working on A Gentleman in Moscow. I actually am enjoying it quite a bit, but the pacing is episodic. This makes it easy for me to read a chapter then put it down until the next day. There is no rushing narrative intensity to pull me along to see what happens next.

Rosefolly, I think that is one of the features I appreciated about Gentleman, I felt that one chapter was a singular tale and I could happily pick up the book the next time and not feel as though I had to recall all the minute details of what I'd read. Because I wanted the book to last, I read a chapter at a time then put it down and savored the delight of the story.

Snakes do go out at night! I have a friend here in SC who was caring for a dog she was walking in her yard at night and it was bitten by a venomous snake. I've not seen snakes here in the city of Charleston, but we do have a lot of tiny, beautifully colored lizards.

Here in Charleston, we have had exactly the weather msmeow described in Florida. February was mostly 3 weeks in the 80's --- much too warm for normal. Now, March is colder than usual, with nights down to freezing, and days filled with icy winds off the rivers. Very unusual reversal of spring.

I've just finished re-reading "Pan" by Knut Hamsun, set in a Norway forest and rural village in the 1800's.

Woodnymph, the weather folks are saying we're supposed to get dangerous storms tomorrow, maybe even tornados! I don't mind a storm, but I hope it's not bringing more cold weather. :(

Donna

We (four family members) are coming to Charleston and Savannah early in April. I hope the weather will improve by then!

I'm now reading The Calling, a creepy murder mystery set in Canada and written by Inger Ash Wolfe. This is a new author for me, and the book flap says his/her name is the pseudonym for a North American literary novelist.

Reading Coventry by Helen Humphreys. I loved The Lost Garden by this author.

I really enjoyed The Lost Garden , however, her other books just don't seem as enticing. Any suggestions as to which would be the best to choose ?

Woodnymph.....have you ever read any of Josephine Pinckney's novels ? Most take place in old Charleston.

I finished Crooked Heart last night. I did finally get into it - about halfway through. I liked the ending. :)

Now I plan to start Two Nights by Kathy Reichs. I haven't read one of hers in a long time. I also found a new David Baldacci on the library's website and downloaded it. It's says it's the second book in the Will Robie series.

Donna

Carolyn, the weather in Savannah and Charleston should be ideal in April and that is the peak of the blooming season here. Enjoy all the gardens!

Yoyo, I have heard a lot about Charleston author Josephine Pinckney. I have not yet read her work because I have not been able to find it, but it always generates a lot of talk amidst old-time residents. I do know one of her descendants, who lives here, also an author, by the same name.

Woodnymph, if you are interested in Great Mischief I have a copy I will happily send you if you can send me your address via e-mail .

I started Plum Tea Crazy by Laura Childs today. The main character owns a tea shop in Charleston.

Woodnymph, I'm hoping that good weather prediction holds true. We are looking forward to the trip (and some of those good pralines from the Market).

Woodnymph and Carolyn, this Kathy Reichs book is based in Charleston.

I just finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow. When I was about halfway through it picked up the narrative urgency I originally thought it was lacking. I read the entire rest of the book in a single day. To me it was perfect in every way. I am passing it along to my husband to read next when he finished his current three books. I told him not to start it until he finished the others so that he could concentrate properly.

I've staggered through The Life of Mary Wesley by Patrick Marnham. MW didn't have a book published until she was in her 70's and them became very popular for about ten years. This 'life' is really an overblown tale of C list minor aristocracy (MW was descended from the Duke of Wellington and somewhere along the line the late Queen Mother) and her young to middle-age life seems to be a list of lovers when her 'War Work' appears to have been 'entertaining the troops' of all the nations. She makes Wallis Simpson look like Mother Teresa.

The book is over-long with way too much information on the 'bit-players'. Everyone having 'affairs', divorcing, re-marrying, getting into debt, family quarrels, difficult children, being 'stalked' . . . until what the author sees as 'redemption' when MW and newish husband convert to the RC Church where they are re-baptised (C of E baptism doesn't count) and are told to live as brother and sister because they have been divorced . . . a regulation they do not keep.

The author breaks a golden rule of including asides about himself (MW's RC church was the same one he attended etc) none of which is relevant to the book.

Perhaps I should try reading something by Wesley?

I did read a little of one of her books and was so disgusted by something involving public urination that I have never bothered since. Yuk!!

Carolyn, I've read a few of the novels of Laura Childs since moving here. A couple were good, but I felt the ones that followed became formulaic and were not as intriguing. It is true that Charleston tearooms are a unique tradition here in the city. In spring, many of the downtown churches open their gardens to serve tea, low country recipes, including the wonderful "Huguenot Torte."

For a taste of the low country, SC, I recommend the fiction by Dorothea Benton Frank. Then, there is also Sue Monk Kidd's "The Invention of Wings", about the Grimke sisters of Charleston who freed their own slaves and moved North, quite radical for two southern women. The Grimke home still stands in the city.

I ordered the movie "The Darkest Hour" from my public library, but they sent the book instead. It promises to be interesting, in that Churchill secretly contemplated a peace pact with Hitler, during WW II. The author, Anthony McCarten, wrote the screen play for the film.

Annpan, re Mary Wesley. Her book The Camomile Lawn was made into a TV series a few years ago. Do you remember it? A fine cast of actors including Jennifer Ehle who played Elizabeth Bennett in the well-known version of P&P.

Her work seems similar to that of Elizabeth Jane Howard; same sort of social class, country-house and WWII settings. I'll have to look for something from the library for some 'compare and contrast'.

The Camomile Lawn

Mary, my daughter is a Dorothea Benton Frank fan. Her birthday is in September, so for one of her gifts I always buy the new Frank book (released yearly around that time) and, of course, read it before giving it to her.

I picked up Sunday Silence, the new Frieda Klein book, at the library this morning and have read ~50 pages so far. It picks up immediately following the end of the Saturday book.

Vee, no, I haven't seen that. It may not have been shown here. I don't have any subscription channels so miss a few things until the DVD comes out which I either buy or borrow from the library.

The penalty of not having to pay for TV licences in this country is the loss of revenue to buy recent programs to show on the Free to Air's Australian Broadcasting Commission ! We are viewing Death in Paradise Season 6, Season 7 is available on DVD now. I relish their "locked room" mysteries.

I bought a job lot of old Heyer paperback Regency romances (I used to have the full set at one time!) and to my surprise the first chapter of "False Colours" has been bound in twice!

I have never had that happen before and wonder how it came about!

Perhaps someone on the night shift at the printers?

I finished The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin today. I was keen to read this book based on its premise. As children, four siblings pool their allowances and seek out a meeting with a fortune teller who is reputed to be able to predict the date of your death. The rest of the book is about how their individual prophecies affect each of their lives and the choices they make. It's interesting. It certainly WOULD affect your choices if you knew (or thought you knew), you know.

I finished Sunday Silence very late last night. A page at the back says it started with Monday but doesn't end with Sunday and to brace yourself for the breathtaking series finale in summer 2018.

I finished Two Nights by Kathy Reichs this morning. I have to say I really didn’t like it. I’m not sure why I stuck with it to the end. The snarky ex-cop was too cliched, and the story was very violent and dark.

Donna

Regarding fortune tellers... When we were on a trip to China, my husband had his told out of curiosity. The man said he would live until 93, had six children ( that was four I and my two never knew about!) but was correct about him having many friends, who were so supportive when he actually died, aged 61. When he knew about his terminal illness, my husband told me to go back to China and get the money back!

That's a good story Annpan!

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, and finally turned to a favorite re-read, Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym. For some reason, her books always get me reading again. I'm not usually a mystery fan, but I had two Flavia de Luce books sitting unread, Thrice the Brindled Cat Hath Mew'd and The Grave's a Fine and Private Place. I zipped through both of them. I adore Flavia, she's such an entertaining character, but I'm so inept at picking up clues, etc., that I rarely enjoy the mystery part of the story. Somehow, though, I clicked with both of these.

Next up will be Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (who wrote The Storied Life of A.J. Fickry which I enjoyed very much, but about which I recall almost nothing a year later) for my book group next week.

Based on recommendations here, I also picked up a used copy of Crooked Heart, and hope to get to that soon, too.

I have been reading The Monk Downstairs by Tim Farrington. It is a delightful book about a single mom who rents her basement to a monk who has left the monastery. The male author did really well with a female main character.

Sheri - I will be interested to hear what you and your book group think about Young Jane Young. I've read it. I'll keep quiet until you've read it.

I have now completed two enjoyable "thinking" books in a row, and now I want fluff. I picked up next month's book club selection, The Leavers by Lisa Ko. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and fifty pages in I simply hate the characters. Well, I don't have to read it right away so I'll put it aside for now.

This is a lot like craving pie and ice cream when you start a diet, Even healthy food that you really like quite a bit is not appealing when you think of the calorie rich sweets you are avoiding. I'm sure I will really like some of the more literary books I have piled up when I sit down to read them. It is just that I want to be amused, not enriched.

Rosefolly, it depends on what amuses you. If I want a change from cosy murders, I go for Irish authors in the Relationship section of the library. Although I disapprove of genre sections and prefer my authors in alpha order, it does make life simpler in some ways!

The Irish authors write pleasant chatty tales that get me involved and I am sad that Maeve Binchy books have now ceased. If I can't find one of those kind of books, I pull something out and check the back for a summary, which is how I found Kate Fenton and re-discovered Barbara Pym who had stopped writing for a while since I first read her books in the 1950s.

Carolyn......yes ! I really enjoyed The Monk Downstairs also. After finishing it I ordered it's sequel: The Monk Upstairs .

Currently I am loving The Golem And The Jinni and very happy that an avid reader/friend suggested it !

So many good books on my TBR pile including : My Willis War, Cutting For Stone , Sound Among The Trees and an older one by Beverley Nichols : News Of England....to name afew !

You'd think with all those wonderful books to read that I'd be hunkered down all day long ! But I also find time for my latest interest, weaving.....as well as knitting creatively and traditional rug-hooking. Not enough hours in my day for sure.

Yoyo, I also loved The Golem and the Jinni, it kept me turning pages without any idea how things would play out.

I went through a Beverley Nichols phase during which I read all his garden books and a few of his others, but I'd never heard of News of England .... I did find it free to read onlinehttps://archive.org/details/newsofenglandora028301mbp: https://archive.org/details/newsofenglandora028301mbp

Kathy, I'll let you know what I think of Young Jane Young.

Yoyobon, good to find a new interest. I can't do much these days but I have started painting my nails again. I haven't done that for about 60 years!

When I worked in a subscription library run by Boots The Chemist, we were encouraged with a large discount to use and promote their beauty products.

Then I left to work in the Public Service and never bothered again.

A lot of nail bars have sprung up locally using false nails but my own nails are long and strong so I had them done around the New Year for fun. I was so pleased with the result, I have bought a ton of stuff to do nail art for myself.

People notice me now! Especially the young shop assistants when I pay for groceries. I am the Nanna with the jazzy nails!

I don't know how long this interest will last but it is something I can do while sitting at home this coming Winter!

I am still reading the Heyer books I bought as a job lot but have some Gladys Mitchell reprints on hand when I have finished. Still sticking with Golden Age writers at present but they are marvellous comfort reading.

Ann......lol, we need to keep ourselves relevant ! I had my eyebrows waxed for the first time in my life the last visit to my hair salon . I feel very " groomed" :0)) The way I look at all of it : We're not dead yet ! Go for it.

I forgot to mention that I followed the recommendations and read Crooked Heart. At first I did not think I would enjoy it, as I actively disliked almost all of the people in it. But as the book continued and the characters improved, I came to quite like them. By the end, I was quite fond of the two main characters after all. (I am being vague so as to avoid spoilers).

A few days ago finished Coventry by Helen Humphreys because it is only 177 pages long and well written, but the bleak topic made for difficult reading. It is about the bombing of Coventry on the night of Nov 14, 1940. Most of the novel takes place as a middle-aged woman and a young man walk through the city during the bombing, trying to get to his house, where his mother is. The historic part is based on descriptions by witnesses of the actual bombing and witnesses of the bombing of Bagdad.

Yoyobon,

You asked:

I really enjoyed The Lost Garden , however, her other books just don't seem as enticing. Any suggestions as to which would be the best to choose ?

About a year ago, I got another of Helen Humphreys books from the library, The Frozen Thames. I read part of it, but couldn't finish it before it was due. In the introduction the author says she wrote it as a meditation on the nature of ice. The Thames has frozen solid forty times. Humphries wrote a fictional short story for each of those times. I liked what I was able to read (about half the book). It is a good book to read in summer, when the temperature is in the 90's.

reader-in-transit, my parents first met on the night that Coventry was bombed. They were both serving (without much enthusiasm) in the army; Dad in the 17th 21st Lancers and Mother in the Signals. They had unwillingly joined friends at a 'do' in an army hut, dancing on a cement floor in army issue footwear. Mother said that Dad was the first polite soldier who asked "May I have this dance?" instead of being grabbed and held in the hairy khaki embrace of a squaddie. They could hear the drone of wave after wave of bombers heading North and she always claimed that Dad said "I bet they are going up to bomb Coventry." This was on a base a hundred miles or so further South on Salisbury Plain, centre of Southern Command and still known today for its garrison towns and military hardwear. . . and now the city where the dreadful poisoning of two Russians has just taken place.

OT, adding we in the UK/Great Britain are very grateful for the support shown from SO many countries in Europe, the Commonwealth and the US against the horrible incident. The first chemical weapons attack since WWII.

Rosefolly, I felt exactly the same about Crooked Heart! I stuck with it and about halfway through I realized I had started enjoying it. :)

Vee,

What an indelible night to meet your future spouse, even if so sad from the historic point of view.

BTW, towards the end of the book the new Coventry cathedral is mentioned (I won't say any other spoilers). Online I learned that they decided to rebuild the cathedral the morning after its destruction "as a sign of faith, trust and hope for the future of the world". This led the cathedral to a ministry of reconciliation that continues to this day.

http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/wpsite/our-history/

Vee, wasn't there a Soviet defector poisoned by some chemical about ten or more years ago? I don't remember the details at all, but when I first heard of this, my immediate thought was, "Oh, another one!"

Yes, Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium in 2006, understood to have been administered while drinking tea in a London hotel. I believe the 'trail' left by the substance could be followed in/out of the hotel and along the street even some time after the event. He suffered a lingering and horrible death.

Alexander Litvinenko

And another death of a Russian in Surrey (S of London) at about the same time as the Salisbury incident. Very little is being said about it by the police but . . .

Another Russian Death

Today was a good day bookwise. The new books of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Finch both came in for me at the library. Weatherwise, it was rainy and drear all day, but that only made a good day for reading. I started the Winspear one first, of course.

Vee, in the US we have heard a lot about the Russian and his daughter who were poisoned, but almost nothing about the man in Surrey. And they keep mentioning that a police officer who tried to help the pair in Salisbury was injured, but they never say more than that. Did he come into contact with the poison, too?

I started Mrs. Fletcher but after about four chapters I was thinking, "meh", so I've put it aside. I plan to start Crime Scene by Jonathan & Jesse Kellerman.

Donna

Donna, the police officer who went to the aid of the couple was in hospital for a couple of weeks and has now been allowed home. Very little is being said about the condition of the Father and Daughter and, now the 'substance' has been identified they seem to be shifting their search back to the home where it may have been 'administered' . . . if that is the right expression.

Nothing further about the Surrey case. Espionage is a very murky world.

More eg's below

Other Examples

Good morning, is there someone who knows if the Clifton series by Jeffrey Archer has yo be read following an order, or it isn't important, because a couple of days ago I bought The Sins of the Father without realizing it belonged to a series

I just finished Maria Shriver's newest book, I've Been Thinking, a collection of short essays from (I believe) her blog/website. They were well-written and overall pretty interesting. Several were about empty nests, launching your children into the world, and moving on to the second act of your adult life. Since I'm firmly in that demographic, I enjoyed it.

I followed that with newest Patricia Briggs paranormal, Burn Bright (part of her Mercy Thompson universe). It was just OK. There was nothing specifically wrong with it other than the entire book seemed to function simply as a recap of all that went before and a set-up for the next story arc of whatever she is planning for the future. The last Mercy Thompson book (Silence Fallen) did a similar thing, setting up a whole new set of bad guys and complications, but not really working IMO as a good story. I'm expecting a lot more "wow" from the next books in each series, though I'm starting to suspect that she's run out of ideas for these characters.

Young Jane Young is definitely next as I only have a few days before my book group meets. I know what I'll be doing Monday.