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[Werner]

Earlier today, Barb and I started reading the latest installment of the Barks and Beans Cafe' mystery series by Heather Day Gilbert, Knight Brew, which will bring us up to date with the series. Since I've read nine of them so far, I've mentioned these books frequently on this thread. :-) This particular one is set against the backdrop of a Renaissance Fair taking place in our series setting, Lewisburg, West Virginia.

[Werner]

Although I've read novels by both Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Anne is the only one of the three sisters whose work (until today) I hadn't sampled. So, to remedy that neglect, today I started reading her first novel, Agnes Grey (1847). The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (which is on my to-read shelf) is generally regarded as the superior of the two; but at present, I want a shorter read, and wanted to "save the best for last." :-)

[Werner]

Another group I'm in is doing a common read of And the Shofar Blew (2003) by Francine Rivers during the month of August, and I'll be taking part. But since I'll be out of town visiting family from Aug. 1-5 (and I don't take my personal reading along with me on vacations, where the object is to spend time interacting with people I don't often see), I went ahead and started on it a bit early, so as to keep up better.

[Werner]

My Goodreads author friend Liane Zane kindly sent me a paperback ARC of her latest supernatural fiction/paranormal romance novel, Helsing: Demon Slayer, which arrived on the same day I finished reading my preceding book; so I was able to start it immediately! It's meant to be the opening book of The Dragon's Paladins, a spin-off series from her earlier trilogy, The Elioud Legacy.

[Werner]

I'm taking part in our group's read of Benito Cereno!

[Werner]

Years ago, I watched and really liked the 1995 movie A Mother's Gift (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113859/ ), starring the under-appreciated actress Nancy McKeon; and ever since then, I've wanted to read the novel it's based on, A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich. I've finally gotten a chance to work it into my reading schedule while I'm waiting for an October group read, so I started on it this past Friday.

[Werner]

I put the anthology Golden Age Detective Stories, edited by Otto Penzler, on my "being read intermittently" shelf earlier this year; but since I read only a couple of pages then (long story!) I didn't mention it here. Now, however, I'm dipping into it seriously before starting a common read in another group on Oct. 1; and after that, I plan to get back to it later this year, while I wait for an interlibrary loan book.

[Werner]

Barb and I have now begun the fourth and final book of the Sheriff Bride series, Sheriff Bride Rob's Story, this one written by Joi Copeland. (All of these are short books, a bit over 100 pages each.) Although I was intrigued by the premise of the series, in my estimation both the actual writing and the production of the books themselves is amateurish. But Barb enjoys them more than I do; so I'm enjoying her pleasure in the reads. :-)

[Werner]

The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral (1991) by British author Robert Westall is a common read this month in another group, and I'm joining in. I'd previously read and liked this author's short story "The Haunting of Chas McGill" (which appears in Favorite Ghost Stories); so when my Goodreads friend Bionic Jean made me aware of this book last year, my interest in reading it was piqued.

[Werner]

Around the end of August, another one of my groups started on a long, slow read (basically, a chapter per day) of Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens; and I finally joined in today. However, since I read at my own speed, and also don't take occasional breaks like the group does, I'm confident of my ability to catch up. Though I discovered Dickens' work as an eight-year-old kid, there are still quite a few of his novels that I haven't read; but I hope to read all of them if I live long enough.

[Werner]

Louis L'Amour is Barb's favorite author, and I've liked all of his fiction that I've read. So his 1974 historical novel Sackett's Land was a natural choice to be our next read together, and we started on it yesterday. (Goodreads treats it as Book 1 of the Sacketts "series;" but the books are loosely connected over many generations, and I don't approach them as a series.)

[Werner]

The book I started reading this week (which will occupy me most of this month) is The End of the Ancient World and the Beginnings of the Middle Ages by French historian Ferdinand Lot. I originally read it some 60 years ago, and had recently gotten a copy by interlibrary loan so that I could refer to it while doing a retrospective review; but I quickly came to the conclusion that I couldn't do it justice without a full reread.