What, am I nuts? I must be. Went to the library AGAIN on Friday and added more must-read titles to my Library Loot pile. This pile, of course, is separate from the must-read titles that I already own. But new books come out every month and every now and then I must pay attention or I risk getting too far behind with my favorite authors! (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.)
So now I'm doing some shuffling around because I am, first and foremost, a 'mood' reader. No matter what the rest of the world is up to or celebrating or recommending - I read only according to my mood. It's always been this way. It will continue to be this way. I am currently not in a non-fiction mood, so those books will have to wait their turn.
I am loving my vintage books but I am also trying to squeeze in newer titles, especially since at some point the books I borrowed from the library will, after all, have to be returned.
So, while the laundry gets done, I'm trying to organize what's what, reading-wise. I finished another Mary Roberts Rinehart last night which I am not going to review. It was damn good, though. Title? THE WALL. (1938) Why no review? I can't review everything I read. It's as simple as that. I am, however, going to review another of her titles which I finished a day earlier. Stay tuned for that one.
THE WALL takes place at the usual M.R.R. summer house and I love the matter-of-fact way she describes the arrival of the summer people and their entourages, while the search is on for a woman who's disappeared: Day after day trucks laden with trunks rumbled along the highway, station wagons passed loaded with servants, and there was the usual procession of cars with liveried chauffeurs.
Murder with manners. Murder in a rarified atmosphere, that's for sure. I do like all these summery mysteries set among the 'moneyed' set, either pre or apres-war. I am re-reading Mary Roberts Rinehart and having a fun time doing it.
A couple of the books I brought home on my last Library Loot adventure have already been returned - mostly because I couldn't finish them. (I do make an attempt to read what has been recommended, but, well, sometimes either the writing and I can't get along or I've fallen out of a mood.) But I still have the main bunch of books I brought home. I've just added more:
A RED HERRING WITHOUT MUSTARD by Alan Bradley. Well, I had no choice, I was on a waiting queue for this one and who knows when I'd have the chance again. The list is long.
Flavia de Luce is very popular. This is a great series and you have to strike while the iron is hot.
ONE OF OUR THURSDAYS IS MISSING by Jasper Fforde. Another one on which my queue turn came up. Another great series. Thursday Next, literary detective's adventures continue. Wait until you see the wonderful map J.F. has devised.
BODY LINE by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. Well, this is the absolute latest in an English police procedural series that I love. It features the introspective Inspector Bill Slider and his crew. (I have a sneaking suspicion I missed the last one, so I'm probably going to be reading out of order here till I can make up the difference.)
TO LOVE AND BE WISE by Josephine Tey. After Les at CLASSIC MYSTERIES told me I must read this, well, I had no choice - did I? The truth is I'd never heard of this one. AND it's an Allan Grant mystery! Gasp! And since the library conveniently had a copy...
MISS PYM DISPOSES by Josephine Tey. Okay, another Tey. Can't remember having read this, though I think I probably did. Carol from her blog CAROL K. CARR, recommended this.
When all this will get read, your guess is as good as mine. But, eventually it will all sort itself out.
I don't like reading under pressure and occasionally I've been known to stop completely if I'm feeling too overwhelmed. A reading-break. But I don't feel one coming up anytime soon. HA!
Sounds like fun. Hope you let us know how you like these books.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I haven't read Josephine Tey, except I did read one while in high school, but don't remember which one.
I have a feeling Indridason's "Voices" went back to the library. That, in my opinion, was the worst one by him. If you try again, try "The Silence of the Grave," or "Hypothermia," maybe "Arctic Chill," which I liked.
Kathy: Actually, VOICES is still here. I haven't begun it yet. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll review as best I can. But I can't promise to review everything I like. TOO MUCH WORK. Ha!
I'll do my best, kiddo.
It's a common complaint this 'libraryitis'. I can't keep it at bay either. If I don't go at least once a week I get withdrawal. I must try Jasper Fforde, I have the first book in that series on my tbr pile so there's no excuse. And Josephine Tey. Sometimes I wish there weren't so many wonderful authors...
ReplyDeleteCath: I join you in that wish. But then, without all these great authors to choose from we'd all be reading the same thing. ;)
ReplyDeleteBefore the book blog world brought me to my senses, I though I'd read just about everything. HAHA!!!
I laughed when I read the part about becoming overwhelmed occasionally and having to stop reading. I've done that. But a few days without a book and I'm back at the library or looking for things I can download for free on my Kindle. It's an addiction, but such a good one.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you totally about reading books that one is in a mood for rather than the ones the whole world is shouting about.
ReplyDeleteCarol: Oh, I definitely have been known to take a reading break. Sometimes they go on for days and even, now and then, a couple of weeks. But then the mood passes, and I'm back with my books. Happily, this hardly ever happens. :)
ReplyDeleteneer: For sure. If I'm not in the mood for something, it takes a really, REALLY good writer to get me back in the mood. And sometimes it still doesn't work. So I put the book down and pick it up another time. Sometimes it's not the book's fault, but mine. (Lots of 'somes' here but you know what I mean.)
ReplyDeleteSounds like great reading, Yvette. I know it's hard to review everything you read, but please let us know how you like them. I have a Rinehart coming up next week - her first, "The Circular Staircase." I do think you'll enjoy the Teys - been a while since I last read Miss Pym Disposes; I've got to put that back on the re-read list. They just keep on coming...
ReplyDeleteLes: Coincidentally, I'm writing a post on THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE as we speak. I can't wait to see yours. We'll compare. :)
ReplyDeleteThere are so many books I must try.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is the library is sending me movies galore--classic and new--but hardly any books, and I'm going into withdrawal. I must have choices at all times.
I think the library buys hundreds of new dvd's, and the vintage ones aren't in big demand usually. And then they don't buy a lot of books unless they're best sellers. And now, they're putting a lot of older books out of circulation. So it means more purchases or waiting a decade.
Kathy: When a library has a booksale, that's the time to stock up on the oldies. Those are the ones that are usually 'decommissioned.' Unfortunately, it's been ages, since my library had a sale of any kind. But I do keep an eye out.
ReplyDeleteMy library has NO John Dickson Carrs (except for his bio.) and no Edmund Crispin and very few other vintage authors. Frustrating.