BonnieJune's books

I'm going to try group reads this year.

1. Murder on Capitol Hill
2. Firestorm By Nevada Barr
3. The Alienist
4. Bruno's Dream
5. The Street of Seven Stars
6. Strangled Prose
7. The House Without a Key
8. Falcon at the Portal
9. A Child's Garden of Verses
10. The French Lieutenant's Woman
11. He Shall Thunder in the Sky
12. The Double Image
13. The Sins of the Wolf
14. T is for Trespass
15. A Severed Head
16. Under the Lilacs
17. The Color Purple
18 The Laughter of Dead Kings
19. Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist
20. Conversations with Rabbi Small
21. A Study in Sin
22. The Fountainhead
23 Phineas Finn
24 The Deer Leap
25. One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross
26. Someday the Rabbi Will Leave
27. The Decision at Delphi
28. Dinner at Antoine's
29. The Portrait of a Lady
30. A Most Contagious Game
31. The Transcendental Murder
32. The Eustace Diamonds
33. Miss Pinkerton
34. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
35. Lady Audley's Secret
36. I am the Only Running Footman
37. Five Bells and Bladebone
38. The Nursing Home Murder
39. Sins of the Fathers by Ruth Rendell
40. Wolf to the Slaughter
41. Dear Enemy
42. Damaged
43. The Day the Rabbi Resigned
44. That Day the Rabbi Left Town
45. Sleeping Lady
46. The Wind in the Willows
47. Shoulder the Sky
48. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
49. Murder inside the Beltway
50. Devil-May-Care

I liked the story and there are some interesting villains. I thought the main character was boring though and she had no sense of humor. Murder on Capitol Hill

Welcome back! I've never read any of the Margaret Truman mysteries. WHat did you think f it?

They're sort of average. I started them because I had visited Washington DC. Setting is interesting but the characters are all just too serious.

I liked Firestorm. Anna Pigeon is someone that I could admire and hang out with. It's set amidst a unit fighting a forest fire at a national Park. I definitely feel like I've been off visiting another world.

I like Anna Pigeon too, but there are some who don't.

I think it's annoying if you don't like the main character but you know the author expects you to like them. Is there anything in particular that people don't like about Anna?

The Alienist had a nice mix of interesting characters. It was a bit grim for my taste.

I like the Anna Pigeon series too. I really need to return to the books at some point. It has been quite a while since I read them.

I'm still in the early ones. I'm trying to read them in order.

I finished my first group read Iris Murdoch 's Bruno's Dream. Here is my review.
I finished my first trip to Murdochia and quite enjoyed it. I admit her characters don't quite make likable but they are interesting. One or the other is usually good enough for me. Since I'm a bit Asperger'sish myself, my standards for personal interaction skills is a bit low. I liked her line "He loved her wholeheartedly but with too ordinary a heart. If I don't like a character and I feel the author is trying to force them on me as a role model, that is when I get annoyed.IM wasn't doing that. She had lots of things happening usually unexpected things. She had philosophical musings but they were interesting, didn't go on for pages and most importantly were from a character's POV. I don't like authors who come in like an omniscient voice stating how people are or ought to be. Her prose is beautiful.

I finished The Street of Seven Stars by Mary Roberts Rinehart. It is a romance from 1914 by an author who is known for mysteries. The publisher put it on a list of gothic mysteries but it is not a mystery and I don't think there is anything sinister enough to be gothic. The beginning is very good and the ending is fine but it bogged down in the middle.
The setting is an American student colony in Vienna.
The description of the city at the time and the wide variety of characters from various walks of life and different nationalities was the best part. The main character is Harmony a violin student. She is on her own in Vienna. I thought that was unusual for a genteel heroine in that era. Seems like there is usually relatives or an employer who is charged with looking after her. They may be nasty or negligent but they are theoretically there. Harmony's love of playing music is conveyed well but I wanted to know how she felt about performing for strangers. Her past life was also missing. The middle needed more going on. The novel may have suffered from censorship. There is a weird section where the author criticizes the advice given to Harmony but we are never told what the advice was. I think it was about Free Love but I had to go back and reread that section and think about the context. It was like reading someone's angry blog response on the Internet and discovering the offending article has been pulled. I thought it was interesting that a woman who was passed from one medical student to the next along with an apartment was a developed character. She was a foreign trollop though. Maybe foreigners were allowed different standards. It was nice having sexual proprieties and how to pay bills addressed.

Strangled Prose by Joan Hess This is the first of the Claire Malloy cozy mysteries. It was a quick read. Like many cozies the dialogue wasn't realistic. It was trying too hard to be funny. I liked the two teenage girls. The mystery was good. It involved a romance novelist.

The House Without a Key This is a fun mystery. There is a wide range of characters whose paths have crossed in 1925 Hawaii. Thanks to the older characters we even get a taste of 1880s Hawaii. The victim's history is interesting . There is a little romance. I always loved Charlie Chan movies. I now understand his quirky but eloquent speech. He just loves words. And English has given him an almost unlimited amount to string together. I love words too and I can see
how you could want to use new words but not care about new grammar.

The poems in A Child's Garden of Verses are charming. My copy has lovely illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith.

The Double Image Nice Cold War spy novel with a bit of old Nazi's thrown in. It is set in Paris and Greece. It is typical of the author and as usual has a bit of romance included.

The Sins of the Wolf I like that Anne Perry
finally left London. This time for Scotland. Like most detective series there is a problem in that there's such a strict limit as to what could happen to the main characters. I suppose if I actually read anything when it came out I might wonder if somebody was going to die or something. I do really like the personalities of Monk and Hester and the historical flavor of the novel.

T is for Trespass I may actually get caught up on a series. Ironically it's one where the characters stay in the 80s. In other series I'm still reading the books that were written in the 80s. I thought it was a good idea for a different sort of plot in a series that has been going on for a long time. I really like Kinsey and the rest of the characters. They seem interesting but real. I also like Kinsey's different little PI jobs.

Just stopping by to say hello and put a star here.

I pretty much like Kinsey Milhone books, but try not to read to many in close succession, as at my advanced age, that soon becomes tiresome, particularly with mysteries. If I really like the series, I want to stretch out the pleasure. If they're just okay, I don't want to get bored or sick of them.

Highly recommend the Dr. Siri books. Intriguing, funny, exotic locales--just really fun reads.

The Dr. Siri books look good. I do love mysteries in exotic places.
I seem to enjoy my favorite series best if I don't read more than two or three of them a year. If I give a series a rest for a year or two then I'm happy to see my old friend Amelia Peabody or Kinsey Milhone.

I finished A Severed Head. I didn't like it as well as Bruno's Dream. I decided that my main problem was that I didn't like following Martin around. I wanted to go find out more about Georgie or Palmer. The characters are all pursuing their own happiness. Antonia is wonderfully revealed as a person who puts a great importance on looking like a nice person but doesn't care if she really is nice. All of the relationships in the book seem to support my theory of the world that people bruise each other through indifference not malice. The blurbs called it a comedy. I wouldn't call the book funny but I can see how the film version must be funny.

Under the Lilacs is a charming, old-fashioned children's book. I suppose I was a bit of an old-fashioned child. I really related to the opening scene with the girls playing with their dolls. We also put on our own shows in the backyard with no prompting or involvement from adults. We just invited them as guests. I love Ben's look at being a child working in a smalltime circus. I was enthralled by the film Toby Tyler as a child. It was about his ups and downs as a boy in the circus.
My copy is an old library book with line drawings by Ruth Ives. More happy memories.

I only got about two thirds through The French Lieutenant's Woman in February. I like it enough to keep going but I doubt if I read anymore of Fowles. I'm reading it on my iPad and I keep looking up definitions and googling names used. I've seen paintings by Millais and and learned who Mr. Jorrocks and Mad Jack Mytton were. My favorite word is Ernestina being souffrante. It is French for unwell. That is perfect for a Victorian lady who wishes to call in sick to her life of paying calls. I suppose I'm a bit of a hypocrite because I complained about the author going off on tangents and I keep going off on ones of my own making.
I enjoyed this book better once I realized that I was mad at Fowles for being mean to his Victorian characters. He kept breaking in and criticizing their ways. I mean there are better fights than protecting imaginary people from a dead guy. A book group question in the back described it as a deconstruction of a novel. He wasn't really trying to tell me a story. He was experimenting with form. This was an interesting change from my usual reading.

I was infuriated this time with The French Lieutenant's Woman. The writing was fine, plot mildly interesting, but the ending? Say what? I was just wild with anger, for about 2 weeks. The funny thing is, the first time I read it (probably 100 or so years ago), I thought it was great. It was an unpleasant surprise when I found that somehow the book had morphed into something I intensely disliked.

I signed up for the Fowles in February group read. Somehow I missed both the film and the book back when they first came out. I was expecting a straightforward historical novel. I saw enough spoilers in the group read thread to know about the endings. But I know what you mean about wanting to slap him around for not writing a proper novel. I think it assuaged
some of my guilt for not reading nonfiction. It was a bit like reading an essay on writing.

I read The Color Purple mainly to put some variety in my reading. I was surprised by how much I loved it. I saw the film when it came out and I've seen the musical more recently. I just love the message of surviving and learning to find joy where you can.
I've read many books written in the first half of the 20th century where an inherent blanket racism is obvious. The writers and their intended readers clearly do not regard poor uneducated black people who speak differently as real people. It was nice seeing the tables turned and seeing what the black people were thinking of them. I like lines like "You know how white folks never listen to you." There are a few good men and whites in the book. I don't think there are any good white men but really there aren't very many at all.
I listened to an audiobook read by the author.

The Laughter of Dead Kings is the last Vicky Bliss mystery. It was okay. There were some funny madcap parts and a poignant scene with an Arab family. But there were seven people trying to solve the mystery and they spent a great deal of time debating theories and deciding on what to do next and what to eat. In my silly mysteries, I like to see people go careening off in dopey disguises. Also there are so many references to her other books that I felt like I was taking a quiz on Elizabeth Peters and her works. (I failed the quiz).

Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist was a fun quick read. I have almost finished the series. I wonder if there are any other cozy spy stories. She meets many interesting people while taking you all over Jordan.

Conversations with Rabbi Small is an appendage to a mystery series. It is not a mystery and it borders on nonfiction. The Rabbi explains Judaism to a young couple. I found it surprisingly interesting. I don't do well with nonfiction. It's like I was traumatized by textbooks as a child. If any book reminds me of one I shut down. But I seem to like learning things as long as they're sugarcoated with some story. The story surrounding the lectures is slight but I did like the characters in their relationship.

A Study in Sin This is a well-done modern day twist on Sherlock Holmes and his co-horts. Remy has enough of Holmes characteristics while keeping an identity of her own. There are also American counterparts to Dr.Watson and Scotland Yard. I liked the modern reaction to someone who acts like Holmes.

The Fountainhead I spent 3 months reading this off and on. It's astronomically too long. The characters bore so little resemblance to anyone that I have ever known that I had to think of them as space aliens to get through it. I did find the story interesting. The plot certainly didn't follow any formula that I know of. As wrong and contradictory as I found Rand's opinions, I have to admit she made me think about the kind of world that I want to live in and what drives people to their choices.

Phineas Finn Finn has more than his fair share of looks and charm but he is neither terribly good nor a complete rake. I found that refreshing. I found the political maneuvering interesting. I also liked how a marriage that seemed like a good idea could slowly and quietly become intolerable.

The Deer Leap I like Grimes' quirky but believable characters including the ever present precocious child. The ending of this one is a problem. I had to go back and reread parts in order to understand how it was solved. This involves protesting against fox hunts. I got the fox hunters' perspective in the Anthony Trollope novels that I have been reading. I could see the excitement of the sport but also sympathize with the injured horses. I had to go to the Grimes for the fox's viewpoint.

One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross I like for my serial detectives to find a reason (any reason) to solve a mystery off their usual turf. The Rabbi visits Jerusalem in this one. The squabbles with his congregation are on the back burner. There is a good mix of characters and a nice sense of time and place. His books give an insight into the generation that was middle-aged in the 1980's. Their parents were emigrants or near emigrants and their children are hippieish. I suppose I find dated a good thing.

Someday the Rabbi will Leave I liked the look at small town politics in this one. There is also young women tentatively finding their way away from their mom's traditional roles.

The Decision at Delphi Helen MacInnes is in fine form in this vintage spy thriller. The history of Greece during and after WWII was absorbing. The pace is fast. The romance works and the girl has some brains.

I finally finished it yesterday. The Portrait of a Lady
I read the Shmoop and lots of other reviews after I finished. I think it improved my opinion of the book.
People who love the book seemed to either relate to Isabel or they like to analyze how novels are written. There is certainly no one correct answer about what you're supposed to take away from the novel. I decided to think about the novel as being about Ralph not Isabel. I did not relate to her and I don't think she's interesting. That is probably just my old junior high loathing of the popular girls cropping up. I think an idea of Daniel Defoe's from Moll Flanders applies to Isabel. Pretty girls are slow to realize when they're being used. People have always adored them so when someone tells them that they are wonderful they naturally believe them. Everyone else loves them. Why should this person be the exception and lie about it. John Malkovich plays Osmond in the film. I can't see Nicole Kidman though. Since HJ leaves a couple of blanks in the plot one of the bloggers got very creative in filling it in. I decided to follow her lead and fixed part of the novel to my liking too.

A Most Contagious Game is a nice British mystery from the sixties. They are solving both an old mystery and a new one which I always like. I particularly like the amateur sleuth. He is a business executive who is bored after being forced into an early retirement in the country.

The Transcendental Murder I finally read the first of the Homer Kelly mysteries. I collected about four of them years ago. This one wasn't illustrated. I wasn't disappointed and I'm looking forward to reading the rest. I loved all the quirky characters and all the history that was added in. There is a great sense of what it was like to be in 1960s Concord Massachusetts.

The Eustace Diamonds is my favorite of the Anthony Trollope novels that I have read. The heroine is a bad person but she is bad in a believable way. She is totally self-centered and she puts no value on the truth. She is beautiful and the charm that she has developed includes being able to tell white lies and whoppers with equal aplomb. She is not even a hypocrite about it. She doesn't really mind other people lying to her. She regards people who don't lie as being dull and mean. I know people who lie about things that I don't see any reason whatsoever for telling the lie instead of the truth.
I just found it really funny. Poor Lizzie does serve as a reverse example as to why you should live by the Golden Rule and tell the truth. Her relationships with her family, friends, suitors and servants are all unsatisfactory in the long run because nobody really likes her.

Miss Pinkerton has two short stories and two novellas. I thought the short stories worked best. The novellas didn't seem to have any more content than the short stories. It was just all drawn out. She had lots of repetition and liked to include her own spoilers. Chapters would start with lines like "Clara was murdered that day". The Haunted Lady is slow-moving and I didn't like the solution. Characters didn't really have individual personalities. Even though no one is desperately poor, you do get the sense of how the Great Depression just put an aura of gloom and despair over everybody.

Just stopping by to say hello and see how you're doing. Everything okay, I hope...
Hadn't thought of The Transcendental Murder in years, but remember loving it when I read it.
The Trollope book sounds great; can't wait to get to it.

Hi! thanks for stopping by. I really need to get caught up on this.

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew I don't remember this from my childhood. I love visiting the pleasant land of Classic children's books too much to have considered giving this one up but it isn't the best for an adult. The first half reminded me of Dick and Jane type readers. There were boisterous siblings interacting while speaking in stilted language. The action centers on baby sister Phronsie. I had an audio book. I kept imagining reader-style illustrations. I got the feeling that the author had never been poor herself. Her Wikipedia bio seems to confirm this. The Pepper family seems to be her idea of what the deserving poor should be. Alcott and Dickens used more of their own life.

Lady Audley's Secret I just loved this wonderfully Gothic Victorian novel. Great atmosphere, great historical details, fast moving. You can guess a lot of what is going to happen but that worked for me. There are still surprises and everything that is foreshadowed doesn't happen. Robert Audley is why I like amateur detectives. He is trying to fix a situation to his liking which may or may not involve knowing the truth. He isn't in the cut and dry situation of solving the case.

I am the Only Running Footman Not Martha Grimes best. The characters most involved in the plot were kind of boring. There were some good minor characters. It needed more of her precocious kids. I love them. Afraid the comic relief wasn't funny to me.

The Five Bells and Bladebone is a better Richard Jury mystery. In every mystery that I have read lately I have wanted the characters to switch identities or have multiple identities. I finally got it with this one. There are interesting characters and a good puzzle.

The Nursing Home Murder is a nice period piece. It is set in 1930's London with Communists , eugenics, and the current sexual mores. I happened to read several books that dealt with eugenics or bad blood in one way or another.

Sins of the Fathers has an amateur detective investigating an old murder with the police involved on the side. I love Ruth Rendell's characters and all the psychological goings-on.

Wolf to the Slaughter was a little heavy on unlikable characters . Rendell has some strange twists but for some reason I have been better than usual at guessing them.

Dear Enemy is wonderful classic children's book. The characters are fun. The pace is fast. Running an orphanage is an interesting subject. I love having the author's sketches illustrate the letters. I took off a half ofa star for the creepy eugenics.

Damaged is a mystery that my brother gave me because it is set in Pensacola, our hometown. The Pensacola references seemed accurate. The pace was very fast. It was a bit gorier than I like. I hadn't read any of earlier books in the Maggie O'Dell series. She is an interesting detective.

The Day the Rabbi Resigned In Rabbi Small mysteries the murders tend to happen quite late in the book, sometimes not till the second half. I particularly enjoyed this one because I managed to avoid reading any blurbs, introductions etc. and was able to try guessing both killer and victim. The characters were interesting if not that likable. I liked the college politics.

That Day the Rabbi Left Town This is the last of the Rabbi Small mysteries. He has retired from the Temple and become a college professor. It is pretty good. I would have liked more likable characters. There is lots of college politics. I actually finished a series.

Sleeping Lady It is a good mystery set in the world of Alaskan pilots. The main character is interesting and well-developed. I felt like I had been to Alaska.

I read the The Wind in the Willows for the first time and absolutely loved it. My favorite aspects of the book are the beautiful lyrical prose and the friendship and personalities of Ratty and Moley.

Shoulder the Sky This is the first D.E.Stevenson novel that I have read. I quite enjoyed it and plan to read more. It is the third in a trilogy and think it would help to read the earlier ones. The plot lines are different from the typical romance novel. I liked the remote setting in rural Scotland and the emphasis on married couples.

Whoops not even close to 75. I thought about reading all my picture books at the last moment but I didn't even do that.

Meh, 75's over-rated. We just like to spy on other people's reading! :)

True

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was a fun book that still included the hardships of life. I am ifilling in a lot of the books that I seem to have missed in childhood.

Murder inside the Beltway is the last of the Capitol Crimes series. I have only read a few of them. I am usually compulsive about reading series in order but my sister started this when we went on a trip to Washington DC. When she comes across one she gives it to me and I read it and vice versa. She had some interesting characters and the plot was okay. I like the dynamics between old-school cops and young college-educated cops. It also deals with politicians' wives who don't want their whole lives ruled by their husband's career. I think my major problem with this series is that there just doesn't ever seem to be any humor. It doesn't have to be Stephanie Plum level crazy but an occasional absurd situation would be nice. I also preferred it when they dealt with a specific Washington institution but at 24 she kind of ran out of them.

Devil-May-Care is an okay mystery. The plot was fine and some of the characters were good. The romance didn't work for me. Shakespeare did it much better in much ado about nothing. She didn't manage to make the Virginia location seem very interesting either. I like more exotic places. Maybe I just read too much Elizabeth Peters. I finally done with the 2013 thread.