Classy and Trashy Readers' Salon: May 2020

[Moorhead Public Library]

The plain Readers' Salon discussion is getting unwieldy, so I'm going to post one for each month. So feel free to continue our discussions from the Salon in this post - sorry it's a little late! - deb

[Deborah]

I've read (or listened) to a few things since I last posted. Most recently I finished the third book in Deborah Crombie's mystery series, Deborah Crombie. I didn't like it as much as the 1st two (some character stuff I just thought was cheesy), but I still enjoyed the overall mystery and I like the narrator of the audiobooks. I already checked the next one out on hoopla to continue.

I also went for pure escapism this past weekend and cruised through most of Nora Roberts' Chesapeake series. Inner Harbor I thought about listening to more of The Dutch House, but truth be told I was pretty worn out and didn't want to think. Roberts was there for me and I completely enjoyed it. And I ended up thinking a little bit anyway because I find romances really highlight how there's been a massive shift in portrayal of gender and relationships just within the last 5-10 years. Or in this case, 20 years since that's about how long it's been since the 1st book came out. There were enough scenes, usually with how the male was portrayed, that jarred me enough to make me ponder it a bit.

I also don't think I posted on here that I finished the 3rd book in the Ben Aaronovitch series, Whispers Underground I liked this one better than the 2nd one and plan to continue the series. I can't say enough good things about the person who narrates them - and I think (although not being British, am not sure) the author does a great job with the language. It seems like really good writing of the language as it's spoken. At least it sounds super cool to me.

Still also listening to Circe and The Dutch House....but obviously not as quickly as the fluffier picks :)

[Karen]

I can't remember what I was reading when I last posted, but I need to update my current listen to The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow which focuses on Mary Bennet from Pride & Prejudice. I'm a little over halfway through and I'm really enjoying it. I also happen to be reading a Jane Austen biography recommended on the free online JA course I've done 4 times now, so there have been some connections there too.

I recently finished A Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, which I'd never read before and was not quite what I expected (though I'm not sure exactly what I did expect - just not a "church" characterized by nudity and multiple sex partners) and Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden which is nonfiction about two educated society women who went to small-settlement Colorado to teach in 1916. The author is the granddaughter of one of the women and had lots of letters that inspired her to write it.

[Deborah]

Okay - I'm now on book 8 ('And Justice There is None') in Deborah Crombie's mystery series. I'm really enjoying them - they're like Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters/Kate Morton/Susanna Kearsley/Midsomer Murders and a dash of soap opera all rolled into one. Maybe a little Dan Brown too.

I was a little worried when they switched narrators on the audiobooks, but turns out I like both narrators - they start w/ a male narrator for the first few books, then switch to a female narrator, and now on the 8th book they're back to the male narrator. I feel like I maybe connected more with Gemma's character when listening to the female narrator, and now I'm curious if those books featured Gemma's perspective more or if it was all just my perception? I might have to read them again to figure that out.

I really like the mix of mystery and drama, although sometimes some the characters seem to make really stupid decisions in order to create the drama. And I love the bits of supernatural drama that are sort of there too...