I got a POD of The Saggy Baggy Elephant for a new Great-grandchild's baby shower.

I wasn't pleased with the finished book. It was poorly put together so that the pages didn't open flat. Too near the date to return with a complaint.

I enjoyed Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano very much and am happy that there will be a sequel as I was puzzled by the ending which turns out to be a cliff-hanger!

However I have to wait until next year when this is published!

In the meanwhile, I continue reading my stack of Ann Cleeve's Shetland mysteries.

Back to new and different publishing practices for just a moment. Recently our mayor was being interviewed on a local radio program and he mentioned that his sister self-published an e-book-only on Amazon. (I suppose that is Kindle-only.) Amazon pays her NOT for the number of copies downloaded, but for the number of pages actually read (accessed) by customers who download her book. I found that astonishing. That seems to mean that Amazon is peeking at your reading habits when you download books to your kindle.

Kathy, to my mind that is a very creepy way of doing business!

Agreed, Frieda.

Nothing seems beyond those making Big Bucks in the world where money is king. We all must notice the ads that appear on our computers after we have 'looked up' a particular item. Everyday Amazon sends us so-called recommendations for "items that may be of interest to you" I often find after I have checked out a title of a book something else by the author appears on the screen, or, even more unnecessary, a title so unsuitable I have to hastily delete it.

It does seem impossible to get rid of these intrusive ads. I have an Adblocker which helps but doesn't cancel everything. I also have a DoNotCall on my landline but again some telemarketers are allowed to contact me, such as charities and others slip through the net.

I am smothered with library books and DVDs today! A load of my requests came in at once. I also spotted a new book I want which is on a waiting list but this was on a One Week Only loan shelf so I grabbed it! I never knew the library did this but it makes sense to have a quick turnover of a very popular title. I have only seen new publications before on these shelves that weren't on waiting lists.

Death Of An Avid Reader by Frances Brody.......an enjoyable cozy. It is my first Kate Shackleton mystery and I have decided to read more of them. The main character reminds me of Maisie Dobbs in some ways.

I'm half way through Nightb*tch by Rachel Yoder. At first glance it's and odd and sometimes disturbing story of a stay-at-home mom of a toddler who thinks she's turning into a dog. But woven into the story is an (IMO) accurate and near-raging commentary on "mommy wars", gender roles, the mental load of parenting/running a household, societal pressure to conform, generations of women's dreams deferred, and ultimately the endless and overwhelming love we have for our children. Really good, but really intense. That said, I find I just can't read it at bedtime, so I'm also reading my very favorite comfort book, Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym. Quite the contrast!

Yoyobon, I have read the Frances Brody books. I like them and agree they remind one of Maisie.

I'm reading two books--The Third Sin, the last of the "Big Marge" books by Aline Templeton, and The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah. I'm afraid of the direction in which the Hannah book is headed, so I'm alternating it with one where I know the ending will be satisfactory.

I just finished T. Kingfisher's newest in the Saint of Steel series about a small group of paladins who try to rebuild their lives after their Saint suddenly dies. Paladin's Hope is the third one, just as enjoyable as the first two, the first to feature a gay character. I pretty much like anything T. Kingfisher writes. Fortunately she has another book coming in the spring (not part of the series).

Now back to The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, this month's book club selection.

I'm reading The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I saw it on this month's game thread. I've read a couple other books by Erik Larson and enjoyed them, so thought I'd give this one a try. I'm progressing slowly due to many quotes written in 19th century English, which is very different from 21st century English! I'm interested enough in the story to keep going.

Donna

Donna, I will be interested in hearing how you like the Erik Larson book you mentioned. I have truly enjoyed all his other works.

I have almost finished "Travels with George" by N. Philbrick , and have been savoring it slowly. It is quite an enjoyable read for us early American history buffs.

Speaking of Erik Larson, I hear that his first book of fiction was recently released. It's a ghost story titled No One Goes Alone. And curiously, it is only being released as an audio book. Larson is quoted as saying, "Ghost stories, I feel, are best listened to aloud.”

Here is a New York Times article about this interesting turn of events:

No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson

I just downloaded The Family Vault by Charlotte MacLoud that was reccommended on another site I visit. I am also currently re-reading Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner for an online book discussion on another site I also visit.

Earlier this month, I read The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams. It is about a reading list of eight book titles that someone has planted multiple copies of in various places in West London. The people who find the list are curious about it, and begin reading the books. The novel follows the lives of an elderly recently widowed man and a young woman library worker who become friends because of the list. The man enters the library and asks for a book recommendation. The young library worker does not have the background needed to make suggestions, but she finds a copy of the list at the library and one by one recommends each book on the list. She too reads the books so she can discuss them intelligently with the man when he's finished. Both have adversity in their personal lives that the books help them overcome. It's a charming story for book lovers.

I've just finished The Third Sin and am so sorry to reach the end of the Big Marge books. Fortunately, SYKM gives me a list of Templeton's other books, so I'll be investigating them--all set in Scotland, I believe.

Night Of A Thousand Stars - Deanna Raybourn

City of Jasmine, Deanna Raybourn

That should be your next one, Yoyobon. It is actually a sort of prequel to the one you just read, and it is just as good. Derring do in the desert with Evie Starks and her one-woman airplane show.

JIM NEAT The Case of a young Man Down on his Luck by Mary J. Oliver

Mary J. Oliver’s debut is an unusual and striking coalescing of prose, poetry, found documents and photographs. It ranges across the history of 20th century England and Canada as she uncovers the life of her father, Jim Neat (b. 1904). She adopts a legal structure, making ‘the case’ for the worth of Jim’s life.

I finally finished Paris, the Secret History by Andrew Hussey. After reading in the prologue that he modelled it on Peter Ackroyd's London: The Biography, I was excited to read it, but it didn't live up to expectations. I could try to write down why, but I found a review on Goodreads that says it all - it should come up as the top comment if you click the link (a nag screen will pop up, exhorting you to sign in, but just use the X in the upper right corner to turn it off), but if not, scroll down to find the comment by a user named Warwick. I struggled through it anyway, since it did have some interesting stuff and maps in it, and because I have plans to visit Paris once I feel safe travelling internationally again.

After I finished it, I immediately picked up Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo. I read an abridged Icelandic translation of it when I was a teenager, but it will be interesting to read the whole thing, even if it's an English translation this time. At least it's not abridged.

I finally finished The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I learned a lot of facts about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, though I probably won't retain many of them! This was my third Larsen book, and I have to say I didn't really like it much. There were a LOT of details about the planning, construction and operation of the 1893 fair (more than I really wanted to know) and H H Holmes, the "devil", was a truly evil and horrific psychopath.

Now I've started The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny.

Donna

Donna - I felt the same way about The Devil in the White City. Generally I like Larson's books, but this one was not my cup of tea.

In preparation for my book club's Biography Night, for which we each read and report on any biography we choose, I read The Duchess by Penny Junor - a biography of Camilla Parker Bowles. It was interesting to read because it tried to set the story straight on Diana's statement that "There were three of us in this marriage, so it a bit crowded." According to this account, Camilla worked at staying away as soon as she realized Diana was jealous of her. Camilla and Charles were not having an affair at that time, this says. Anyway, Camilla was presented as a very kind, understanding, down-to-earth, funny, fun-to-be-around person which I think I believe.

Kathy, Penny Junor is a respected and well-regarded writer and commentator and would have had no 'agenda' in the Diana v Camilla debacle.

All very sad with hindsight.

As an aside. We had good friends who's granddaughter worked in London and wanted to change accountancy jobs so applied to an agency. They sent her a list of three places to visit. She went to the first interview and although not over-impressed thought she would take up the offer. The agency suggested she checked out the other places. The next interview was to work at St James' Palace in the office of the Duchess of Cornwall and she accepted the position. Although the pay was average apparently all the staff got on very well with C. and when the granddaughter was planning her wedding C arranged for the ceremony to take place at the Chapel Royal. Not something that happens every day . . .

Chapel Royal St James' Palace.

Wow, how great that your granddaughter was given that opportunity! I hope you were able to attend. The book did mention that people who work for Camilla are generally very happy with their jobs and their boss.

Kathy, not our granddaughter . . . our friends were very modest about it and gave no details . . .or juicy gossip.

Vee - Oh dear, I didn't read that very well, did I? Well, how nice for your friends.

I am taking a break from Ann Cleeves Shetland series by re-reading Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym. It was a Booker Prize nominee when I read it last and so Martin should have a copy.

Annpan, a new series of Shetland has just started on TV here.

Thanks, I shall keep an eye open for it!

I notice that the Two Rivers series will be televised. I have read the two books and although I can accept the same sex couple featured, I do wish that there weren't so many references to "his husband" where the person would be referred to more often by name if they were a female. eg. He wondered what "Mary" was doing rather than "his husband".

Cleeves seems to be emphasizing the point unnecessarily.

When I was attempting to like The Devil In White City, a friend suggested wisely that I read every other chapter and avoid the psychopath story. Even that did not make the book readable and I quit half way through it. I chose to watch the documentary Expo instead which covered the entire story in a more interesting and visual way.

I'm reading Unnatural Deaths by Dorothy Sayers, ending the library loans I had out so that I can begin A Change of Circumstance that arrived very promptly from Book Depository. I'm anticipating a lovely day tomorrow which is supposed to be rainy. Oh, frabjous day!

Callooh , callay !

We are anticipating rain here as well. Last year's rainfall was around 5 inches, so we are really pretty excited. October is the traditional start of the rainy season, though in recent years it has been mostly December.

I would love to stay indoors and read all day!

After reading Rosefolly's comment above about the amount of rainfall in her area I checked one of the many websites for climate data and found that here in (just) SW England we have about 30 ins of rain pa. and the average temp is 50.4 F. So by UK standards quite middling never too hot, cold or wet!

Thanks for the info. on

Devil in White City. I think I will skip that one!

I'm now trying to get into "The Last Garden in England" by Julia Kelly. It spans many years and several generations, beginning in 1907, and running through WW II, up until the present day. It jumps back and forth, with quite a goodly number of characters to keep track of.

I noted with pleasure the library now has ready for me to pick up Louise Penny's latest work.

I finished my re-read of Return of the Thief and based on a recommendation from another site I visit, borrowed a library copy of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I haven’t read anything by him before so I’ll see how it goes.

I finished The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny. I enjoyed it a lot! A while back someone here asked how L Penny's book titles were connected to the stories. This one uses the phrase "the madness of crowds" many times, right from the first chapter. :)

Now I'm reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Donna

I'm reading The Unlocking Season by Gail Bowen. It's next to the last published in the Joanne Kilbourn series, so I will have to wait a year after I read it. You really get enmeshed in the family in this series, but a lot of the people they know get murdered.

Carolyn, I’ve read the first two Joanne Kilbourn books. I plan to read the rest.

Donna

I just finished Pamela Terry's The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, a first novel which was quite engaging. Three Georgia-raised siblings gather after their mother's death and discover that their mother's life was not at all what it seemed. It was a very gentle sort of mystery (it reminded me a bit of Mary Stewart) and I found it engrossing and a page turner.

Next up is a book my daughter recommended, Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

Donna, I hope you enjoy the Joanne books as much as I have. I finished the one I was reading and have begun The Lincoln Highway. Mr. Towles certainly writes on a variety of topics. This one is set beginning in Nebraska in the 1950s. The Lincoln Highway runs from New York to California.

Popping in to say we got hour rain, 4+ inches, and a great deal more in northern parts of the state. That puts and end to wildfire season for 2021.

Meanwhile I finished The Personal Librarian. I did not love the writing style but I did find the subject and the character to be interesting. Years ago I used to talk on the phone with the librarians of the Pierpont Morgan Library on a regular basis as part of my work, so I had a great curiosity about the woman whose work helped to form it. My entire book club liked it a lot.

Carolyn, please let us know what you think of The Lincoln Highway. I just got my copy and I'm considering it for our December book group book.

A selection of short stories Mr Wrong by Elizabeth Jane Howard was easy reading at bedtime.

You'll Never See Me Again by Lesley Pearce was another undemanding book. Apparently Ms Pearce had a large following of fans who enjoy her work as so many of her characters are 'the same'. I had never come across her before and found though the story, set during WWI, was quite pacy I felt the heroine, a simple country girl, was amazingly lucky in finding employment with people who treated her as one of the family and by the end is able to marry a man way above her 'social station'.

Is it just me that finds many of these popular books set in 'times gone by' could be about 'modern' people? In the above book all the better-off houses have electricity and modern plumbing. Everyone is very clean with baths/hair washing etc happening daily. Women are shown as being 'empowered' with very modern attitudes. And my old bug-bear . . . farms have hay stored in barns not in hay-stacks and agricultural labourers drive tractors; with never a horse to be seen.

Nah, Vee, those writers do not know of what they write. I grew up on a small farm in rural Kentucky in the 50s, and we didn't do/have any of that stuff. Hair washing daily? Obviously the authors don't know about carrying the water from the well and heating it on the kitchen stove. We did have electricity by then, thank goodness, but I can remember kerosene lamps and kitchen stoves that burned wood. My mother said when they got their first coal burning heating stove, she thought she'd died and gone to Heaven. Gosh, I'm old.

I finished The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo last night. Meh. I found about 98% of it tiresome and repetitious. I did like the end, though.

I found Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian on our library's NYT bestseller list and downloaded it. I'm not sure I want to read about the Salem witch trials, but I'll give it a go.

Donna

Just finished Night Music by Jojo Moyes. Good to settle down to an entertaining story.

Carolyn, I usually feel old, especially first thing in the morning but recently an 'old-timer' from our village reminded me that they grew up with oil lamps and asked if I too had lived without electricity as a child. I had spent my early life in a town so had the sophistication of power, gas for cooking and running water and for a few minutes I felt quite young.

My DH who moved to a neighbouring village in this area in the late '60's was surprised that running water had only just 'arrived'. The place was on top of a hill and until an electricity supply was connected to the village water had to be collected from wells. The electric power enabled water to be pumped up from the mains so the locals could fit bathrooms and WC's.

Treasure those minutes, Vee!

I finished The Lincoln Highway last night. I did enjoy it but not as much as The Gentleman from Moscow, and I'm afraid I have pretty much forgotten Rules of Civility. They certainly are all different from one another.