Classy and Trashy Readers' Salon

[Moorhead Public Library]

We'll use this space to discuss any books we want. If you'll be revealing any spoilers make sure to click on the "some html is ok" to see how to keep the spoilers hidden from people who might not want to see them. This way we can discuss back and forth even if some might not have read a particular title but others want to dive deeper into it.

[Deborah]

I'm currently reading (listening to) a cozy mystery, And Then There Were Crumbs by Eve Calder. It's not blowing me away, but it's not bad either. The main thing that annoys me is that it's based on a premise that doesn't seem realistic. A character has been arrested for a murder and his friends are trying to solve it to clear him - basic cozy mystery stuff. But there doesn't seem to be any hard evidence against him! The DA and police are all set to throw the book at him, but at least from what's been revealed in the book, they don't have anything resembling a strong case. So although the mystery of who actually did it has captured my interest, I keep wanting to yell at the characters and point out obvious things.

Also just a heads-up for anyone looking for some excellent cozy mysteries in audiobook - we're adding the Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews to our overdrive collection! The first one, 'Murder with Peacocks' is already up, and the second one should show up tomorrow.

[Kathy]

I'm starting The Dutch House next week. It has come up for me on Libby and I can't wait to get started! (Of course, I have one that I must finish first; hence the delay in starting!)

[Moorhead Public Library]

Kathy wrote: "I'm starting The Dutch House next week. It has come up for me on Libby and I can't wait to get started! (Of course, I have one that I must finish first; hence the delay in starting!)"

I know - I've heard such good things about it! I'll make sure we have a Discussion Post dedicated to it. - deb

[Karen]

I'll have to refresh my memory on The Dutch House because I listened a while back. I think Tom Hanks was the narrator, so that was fun.

I'm currently listening to The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel, third in the Cromwell trilogy, which is good. The second and third books are much easier going than the first because she makes sure to clarify when "he" refers to Cromwell himself vs other people, which was really confusing in Wolf Hall.

I'm also reading Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend, which I'm enjoying when I can carve out reading time (which I'm not good at). It was supposed to be for the Tea Time Book Club at Carlson, but I think that might have been this past Monday if the library had been open. Or not? Not sure but it arrived for me before our library closed, so I'm reading it.

[Deborah]

I finished And Then There Were Crumbs....it wasn't bad. I liked the whole who-done-it part, and the characters weren't bad (maybe a little on the saccharine-sweet side), but in the end I didn't really like how the clues were laid out and how the characters reacted to them. I guessed the possibility of the murderer pretty early on (and I'm not that good at that), and would have liked it better if the characters had too and then worked to find the proof. Now I'm listening to another cozy mystery - Murder Offstage - which has the bonus of a British accent (I'm a sucker).

[Deborah]

Hannah wrote: "I've been reading Stella Park's BraveTart, a cookbook of classic American desserts. Aside from the recipes, the book also has segments describing the history of particular desserts and how they bec..."

I think I've seen this one at the library! However, I get intimidated pretty easily w/ cookbooks. Which is sad, because the pictures always make everything look so good. - deb

[Diane]

I just finished the Jane Hawk trilogy by Dean Koontz and seem to be on a thriller and mystery kick at this time! ( like cozies too) Will finish The Stand when I get the e version back.

[Moorhead Public Library]

Diane wrote: "I just finished the Jane Hawk trilogy by Dean Koontz and seem to be on a thriller and mystery kick at this time! ( like cozies too) Will finish The Stand when I get the e version back."

Hi Diane! Glad you found us on here - I'm also still figuring out how to do everything. Somebody once told me I might like Dean Koontz, I think when I was reading some suspense/supernatural books. Do these have supernatural overtones? And do you have any favorite cozy mysteries? I have to admit, I've been gravitating towards the security of those right now. - deb

[Kathy]

Deborah wrote: "Hannah wrote: "I've been reading Stella Park's BraveTart, a cookbook of classic American desserts. Aside from the recipes, the book also has segments describing the history of particular desserts a..."

This sounds like fun! It would be so interesting to know the origin of many of our American desserts.

[Karen]

I finished both of the books I mentioned above. I thought Enchanted Islands was good and it was the first book that I can recall that was partially set in the Galapagos Islands.

I think The Mirror & The Light was better. Kind of long, but good. I'm glad I knew some of the history of Henry VIII's reign because there were a lot of characters and a lot of events and some familiarity with some of them made it a little easier to follow and keep up with things. There were things that I didn't know about or had forgotten too, but the people/stuff I did know about helped me. It was interesting to follow Cromwell's perspective since in other novels I've read about this period, he wasn't the central character and he was involved in - or aware of - a lot of things that were going on. If you like historical fiction, I think the trilogy is very good and Hilary Mantel did a huge amount of research for it.

I've heard some interviews with HM, including a short one at the end of the audiobook, and I find her voice a little unusual, but she has some really interesting things to say.

I'm now listening to Conjure Women by Afia Atakora, which is the latest B&N Book Club selection. I'm about halfway through and it's good, but I keep thinking that I could use something light and fluffy and that hasn't been the case and I think 5 audiobooks came in for me on OverDrive in the past 3 days, so I'm not really looking for something that fits light & fluffy at the moment, alas.

I started reading a little of Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, which I've been meaning to read for years. I haven't gotten far, but it's interesting so far.

[Moorhead Public Library]

Just 2 quick shout-outs: first - Hoopla is now available for people with a Lake Agassiz Regional Library card! Let us know if you have any questions about using it. Unfortunately, Ann Patchett's The Dutch House isn't available through there, but the audiobook of The Stand is. 2nd - I finished Murder Offstage. It wasn't bad. It was easy to listen to, which was appreciated right now. It's also available on Hoopla, and it's one of the ones that doesn't count as one of your 5 checkouts if anyone else wants to check it out.

[Karen]

I just heard that Madeline Miller - author of Circe and Song of Achilles, will be speaking online at 6 our time tonight. I signed up and we'll see if I can manage it. Here is the link: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/circe?utm_...

[Moorhead Public Library]

Karen wrote: "I just heard that Madeline Miller - author of Circe and Song of Achilles, will be speaking online at 6 our time tonight. I signed up and we'll see if I can manage it. Here is the link: https://www...."

I just downloaded the audiobook of Circe!

[Deborah]

Over the weekend I listened to Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch. It's the second in his Rivers of London series, which so far seems to be a pretty solid urban fantasy series, made excellent by the narrator, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Has anyone else read or listened to them? I'm currently listening to the first book in Deborah Crombie's Kincaid and James series, A Share in Death. I read some of this series years ago (seriously, when it was first coming out so almost 30 years ago) but lost track of it. I'm now going back to the beginning to see if I still like it. And it's on Hoopla, so that's nice :)

[Deborah]

Moorhead Public Library wrote: "Karen wrote: "I just heard that Madeline Miller - author of Circe and Song of Achilles, will be speaking online at 6 our time tonight. I signed up and we'll see if I can manage it. Here is the link..."

Were you able to catch this, Karen? And if so, how was it? What's she like?

[Karen]

Deb - I have listened to the first two Ben Aaronovitch books, too, since they came highly recommended on one of the boards I check. I enjoyed them, but haven't gotten to the third yet.

And, yes, I did listen to the Madeline Miller talk and I thought it was fantastic. There was another non-fiction author there too who is an expert in the classics, but I don't recall her name and her book is "something something Antigone" I think, but I wasn't able to find it with that little memory. MM said that what tends to inspire her writing is rage - about the way some characters are treated in the stories she's read, which I thought was an interesting insight and does make sense with how she created Circe's story. She said lots more too - like her current project relates to Caliban and Miranda from The Tempest and I think what happens after the action of the play.

And, I have started listening to the new Louise Erdrich book: The Night Watchman and so far it's a good listen.

[Karen]

Me again. I hope it's OK to double post here. I finally finished The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. It was certainly interesting, but I found it a bit of a slog at parts. My impression was that it was an amusing and interesting read, but it was far drier and more clinical than I expected. So, I liked it and thought the cases were intriguing, but I didn't find it a great read, if that makes sense.

Yesterday, I finished listening to The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. I loved the title and really wanted to love the book - it came highly recommended by a friend whose taste often matches mine, but this one just didn't grab me as much as I hoped. I got so frustrated with some of the characters (largely the husbands), that I was annoyed for a chunk of it and that didn't help my overall liking. Oh, well.

On a not-perfectly-related note that i wasn't quite sure where to ask: after receiving the email newsletter yesterday, I got a library Bingo card. Are these supposed to be things I've done in the past week or so? For example, I told my husband about getting a library card online right after the shelter-in-place started, so can I include that space? Does Goodreads count as social media in terms of talking about an item I enjoyed? Can I type out a joke here, or do I have to call the hotline? you know, all sorts of important question and I only have a few more days, apparently.

[Kathy]

Hi All! I finished The Dutch House this afternoon. An unusual read but interesting and quick. I'm looking forward to hearing other thoughts when we discuss. Any interest in meeting over Zoom to discuss it? Are we also discussing on the 3rd Tuesday??

[Moorhead Public Library]

Karen wrote: "Me again. I hope it's OK to double post here. I finally finished The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. It was certainly interesting, but I found it a bit of a slog at parts. My impression is that..."
It's definitely okay to double post! I was thinking I'd do a monthly Salon discussion to keep it a little neater because obviously we're going to keep reading.

As for the other questions - for the bingo card, I'd say anything since we closed the building is fair game, so you can count all of those things: telling your husband about the online card; talking about things on here; telling a joke on here. In fact I'll get the ball rolling with the only joke I ever remember (so you've probably heard it from me before): What did the zero say to the eight? Nice belt! hahaha.

[Moorhead Public Library]

Kathy wrote: "Hi All! I finished The Dutch House this afternoon. An unusual read but interesting and quick. I'm looking forward to hearing other thoughts when we discuss. Any interest in meeting over Zoom to dis..."
Hi Kathy! Karen also expressed interest in meeting up - check out the May Pick: The Dutch House post if you want to post any thoughts before then and for updates about when/how we'll meet. I'm leaning towards the third Tuesday just because it's our regular time. I just got the audiobook on Libby, so am starting it myself!

[Kathy]

Moorhead Public Library wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Hi All! I finished The Dutch House this afternoon. An unusual read but interesting and quick. I'm looking forward to hearing other thoughts when we discuss. Any interest in meeting ov..."

Moorhead Public Library wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Hi All! I finished The Dutch House this afternoon. An unusual read but interesting and quick. I'm looking forward to hearing other thoughts when we discuss. Any interest in meeting ov..."

Is there a third thread to follow for The Dutch House discussion? If so, I need a bit of guidance to get there.

[Karen]

Deb - I don't think I remember you telling me your joke. Like you, I basically have one joke that I ever remember, so some of you may have heard this before too:
Why don't aardvarks get infections?


Because they eat all those ant-ibodies. ;-) (Actually, that seems a little more topical for these times than it has been when I've told it other times.)

[Karen]

Me again. I finished The Lager Queen of Minnesota this evening and enjoyed it. Is anything happening with Pop Lit? This is a bit early for me to have read it for One Book One Community since I'll forget so much, but I had it on hold and scheduled for this time period because it was supposed to be Pop Lit's May pick.

I also recently finished Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris, which is a follow-up to The Tattooist of Auschwitz, focusing on one of the minor characters in that one. It focuses mostly on her time in a Russian gulag where she was sent after surviving Auschwitz so it's hard to say I liked it, per se, but I found it a good listen.

Oh, and I just downloaded and started listening to my first audiobook (which is my first item) from Hoopla! Always fun to have new options. :-)

[Karen]

Hannah wrote: "Karen wrote: "Me again. I hope it's OK to double post here. I finally finished The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. It was certainly interesting, but I found it a bit of a slog at parts. My impr..."

It's nice to know that you had a similar reaction to Grady Hendrix books. So, I'm not the only one. I suppose I wasn't supposed to like the way the husbands were acting so my reaction might have been a sign that it was well-written, but I didn't end up loving it so that says something too.

Thanks for the info about The Arcadia Project series. I hadn't heard about it before and I don't ever remember reading about someone with Borderline Personality Disorder, so it sounds intriguing.

[Moorhead Public Library]

Karen wrote: "Me again. I finished The Lager Queen of Minnesota this evening and enjoyed it. Is anything happening with Pop Lit? This is a bit early for me to have read it for One Book One Community since I'll f..."
Hi Karen! Jess's Pop Lit is on Facebook in the Groups section. I think she's posting videos and would love to hear back from people.

And yay for Hoopla! I love having that option for audiobooks - they have A LOT that we don't have in overdrive (although I have to admit, I like the libby app better than the hoopla app)

[Diane]

Hi Everybody, Just to send a greeting. I have been reading a mix of things - mostly easy reading- We read an Agatha Christie in another book club and now I am reading several more of her books. I read many years ago but am finding them fun, clever books now. Also almost finished with all the On Death (Eve Dallas) books by JD Robb. I have quite a few new books on reserve so suppose they will all come at once!! Hope you are all having a good summer, nice to have more opportunities for activities. Stay well!!

[Amy]

I have been reading through Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series. I am on #9 now. I really enjoy them, especially the ones that take place in the winter—helps me to not obsess about how stupid hot and humid summer is in North Dakota! I recommend checking out the series if you have not already done so.

[Moorhead Public Library]

Amy wrote: "I have been reading through Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series. I am on #9 now. I really enjoy them, especially the ones that take place in the winter—helps me to not obsess about how st..."

Hi Amy! Just a heads-up - there's actually a new salon post for each month to limit how far we have to scroll down :) so feel free to check out the "Classy and Trashy Readers' Salon: July 2020" or, soon, the August one. Also - I still need to get back to the Gamache series - I think I'm on the 4th one, 'A Rule Against Murder.' But as I think I've mentioned, I've been completely sucked into the Deborah Crombie Kincaid/James series - definitely recommended for fans of Gamache. - deb

[Moorhead Public Library]

Hannah wrote: "Hi everyone! I've been catching up on the Alex Versus series. It's an urban fantasy series about a wizard who specializes in seeing the future and has to navigate all these magical politics. I enjo..."

Hi Hannah! Heads-up for you too - we've been creating a new Salon Discussion thread for each month to manage the length; feel free to check out the Classy and Trashy Readers' Salon: July 2020 (and soon August 2020). Also - I've read one of the Alex Versus Series! It was ages ago though and I totally don't remember it - just that I thought it wasn't bad, but I wasn't sucked in enough to continue to ILL the books. But I keep seeing it on lists compared to Butcher and Aaronovitch, so it's stayed on my radar :) - deb