Tara ’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2017)

Tara ’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

On the audiobook discussion, they are great to listen to while cooking, cleaning, or doing walking errands in my neighborhood (although I find my mind tends to wander when I am grocery shopping and I often have to rewind to spots I miss). They are excellent to fall asleep to as well--my mind is too active for things like ocean waves or falling rain, so I will put on an old favorite with a timer, and I'm out like a light!

Jan C wrote: "Tara wrote: "Starting a read by another new author to me, Craig Rice. This is the first in her John J. Malone series, Eight Faces at Three: A John J. Malone Mystery...."

Its zany, but fun. I really don't know how people could drink that much and survive, let alone solve a murder.

Starting a read by another new author to me, Craig Rice. This is the first in her John J. Malone series, Eight Faces at Three: A John J. Malone Mystery. Craig had quite the sad history, being abandoned by her parents when she was a baby, working her way through 4 husbands, becoming an alcoholic and eventually dying from an alcohol and drug overdose at only 49. But she was also incredibly popular in her day and was the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of TIME magazine.
In terms of the book itself, I am not that far into it, but I like where it is going. The sidekicks to our mister Malone are Helene Brandt and Jake Justus, who seem to be a bit of a riff off of the comedic stylings of Nick and Nora Charles.

Randomly decided to start watching the old 90s series Sharpe, starring the underrated Sean Bean. When traipsing through used bookstores this weekend, I came across one of the Bernard Cornwell books the show is based on, Sharpe's Fortress, and decided to grab it. I am going down many rabbit holes researching all of the military terms I am not familiar with, but he's a likeable character already within the first chapter.

Franky wrote: "Tara wrote: "Franky wrote: "I'm plunging into the classic The Thin Man. I have watched bits and pieces of the film but never actually read the book."

I'll be starting this tonight too..."

I suppose it could also work as a Christmas movie, albeit not in a traditional sense. I'm finding the book to be rather close to the film portrayal, even recognizing bits of dialogue.

Sid wrote: "Tara wrote: "Adding a few more books to my groaning currently reading pile:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. "

I loved that, Tara. Never bothered with the film, ..."

So far, so good Sid! I love letters so; that aspect of the novel is the primary charm for me.

Franky wrote: "I'm plunging into the classic The Thin Man. I have watched bits and pieces of the film but never actually read the book."

I'll be starting this tonight too! Love the film, let's see how the book compares.

Susan wrote: "I am reading The Black Echo the first Harry Bosch novel - a series I have meant to try forever."

I liked the first few seasons of the show, although I haven't bothered with the latest one. I enjoyed Black Echo, but haven't read any others in the series.

Adding a few more books to my groaning currently reading pile:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The movie was forgettable, but given its a epistolary novel, I'm willing to give it a try.

Now that we are into the Lenten season, I'm reading The Man Born to Be King: A Play-Cycle on the Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Dorothy L. Sayers. I've only read Sayers as a mystery writer, so I am keen to see her work outside of that realm.

Icewineanne wrote: "Tara wrote: "I'm a few chapters into The Cat Saw Murder: A Rachel Murdock Mystery by Dolores Hitchens This is an author I've never read before, but apparently she is..."

Yes, seemingly the book was originally published under one of her pseudonyms, D.B. Olsen, but in all of the titles in the American Mystery Classic series, they always use the author's primary nom du plume to avoid any confusion for readers. Many authors of that period (such as Cornell Woolrich and John Dickson Carr) were so prolific, they published under several different names to get more of their works printed.
Its a unique book for sure, I hope you enjoy it if you choose it read this one!

Its so hard to know what we might want to read, or re-read in the future, as reading preferences can be so much mood based. I also go through phases in terms of what books I like to read, so I end up with quite an eclectic mix. But thats the fun of being a reader, and you never know what new gems you might find.

My husband and I own a second home in the Pocono Mountains in PA, so with my birthday coming up in a few weeks, we'll spend a week there, with many day trips to used bookstores! I never tire of exploring dusty shelves for random finds. So much more fun than shopping on ebay.

Having really enjoyed my read of The Old Curiosity Shop, I've just started Bleak House. I just adore Dickens' use of language.

Sid wrote: "Tara wrote: "I have listened to some of their post-Zep work, particularly Plant's solo work in the 80s, The Honeydrippers, and The Firm, but I have to say that I prefer the bluesy rock that their o..."

I hadn't seen that before, but its a fun watch! Certainly something about that time and place that resulted in magic. I'm also enjoying Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track, which I read as I listen to the albums. Very cool stuff.

I'm a few chapters into The Cat Saw Murder: A Rachel Murdock Mystery by Dolores Hitchens This is an author I've never read before, but apparently she is an early writer of domestic mystery. We have an elderly spinster detective, ala Miss Marple, although she is rather pretty and stylish rather than being fluffy and absent minded. It also has a bit of a convoluted timeline, going back and forth in time, but I have not found this too confusing.

Susan in NC wrote: "In all fairness, went to the “Thin Man” page to add to TBR list, and this is the blurb:

Nick and Nora Charles are Hammett's most enchanting creations, a rich, glamorous couple who solve homicides..."

In the film, I've often wondered how the guy could see straight, let alone solve a murder. That sure was a lot of martinis! I'm interested to see how the book compares.

Sid wrote: "Tara wrote: "Reading Led Zeppelin: The Biography by Bob Spitz. Zeppelin is my favorite band of all time..."

Wow - that takes me back to university days, Zeppelin oft..."

Sadly they were already broken up by the time I was born, but I believe that Earl's Court performance is on DVD of a bunch of their performances and is a great watch.

I have listened to some of their post-Zep work, particularly Plant's solo work in the 80s, The Honeydrippers, and The Firm, but I have to say that I prefer the bluesy rock that their original work had to offer.

Reading Led Zeppelin: The Biography by Bob Spitz. Zeppelin is my favorite band of all time, and although I own a bunch of biographies on the group and individual members, I haven't read many of them yet. This is proving a fantastic and fascinating read.

I feel like urban living is really for the young. I loved the vibrancy of NYC when I was in my 20s--restaurants, clubs, wine bars all were so exciting. There is still the draw of museums and libraries, but the dirtiness, crowds, noise, and lack of natural beauty are huge negatives. Of course there are pros and cons to every type of living environment, but I think one of the biggest draws for me to a more secluded lifestyle is the autonomy and self-sufficiency of rural communities.

While it certainly was plodding, as a watcher of true crime shows, the authenticity of how a real investigation might go was appealing to me. The one area where I would say it wasn't realistic is that cases that go that long unsolved generally never are. Those trails dry up and new ones just never appear. If they are ever solved, its usually through forensic evidence that couldn't be tested at the time of the crime.
Somehow, perhaps due to a brief pause in my reading, I forgot all about Duke, so when he was revealed, I was both surprised and thought, of course! I'm not sure if French had ruled him out entirely, although it seemed as though he had. Perhaps police of that era were much more accepting of death without a body than they would be today.