All things Books and Reading thread - 2017

[Mamanyt1953]

I have new books in the mail. The Vickie Nelson, PI series (six books...got them all) and the first four books of the Dulcie Schwartz Mystery series featuring, of course, a cat. OH...and a copy of "A Witch's Brew" which is actually a book on making beers, wines, and meads. And how to flavor different wines with herbs. I had it YEARS ago. It's out of print, but my used bookstore came through for me!

Yes, I could have ordered another bookcase, but I was out of new stuff to read. And those were all on my "must have in paper format" list.

 

[debbila]

That sounds really good. I've just put the e-book on hold at my library.

Sounds like you like reading suspense. Think I've read all of the Dean Koontz novels. I like suspense movies too. I've seen Don't Say A Word, The Others, and Sixth Sense. I watch the old Alfred Hitchcock Hour shows on t.v. Which books and movies do you recommend?

 

[rubysmama]

Sounds like you like reading suspense. Think I've read all of the Dean Koontz novels. I like suspense movies too. I've seen Don't Say A Word, The Others, and Sixth Sense. I watch the old Alfred Hitchcock Hour shows on t.v. Which books and movies do you recommend?

Funnily enough, I'm not a big suspense fan. Especially if they are creepy, gory, violent or gross. But that book sounded interesting.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

The mailman just dropped off the Vickie Nelson, PI series by Tanya Huff! Guess what I'LL be doing tonight?

 

[catspaw66]

Yes, it is. I bought the 8 book set from Amazon. Everybody likes Mudge. I sometimes use his blue-eyed bandicoot references. He may be the inspiration for Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Next set to buy is the Flinx and Pip series.

He also wrote "Splinter of the Mind's Eye", a sequel to the first Star Wars movie, that is better than the second movie.

Amazon has the 15-book set of the Pip and Flinx series for $115 in Kindle format. It is actually cheaper to buy the books individually. I picked up the first two today.

 

[Margret]

I disgraced myself in a used bookstore today -- I wasn't expecting to be there, so I didn't write anything down in preparation for the visit, and I had to actually ask at the counter for the name of the author of the Joe Grey series! I'm so embarrassed. As soon as she said "Shirley Murphy" I thought "That's Shirley Rousseau Murphy," so it isn't like I don't know her name. (To make it even worse, I did know to say that "Grey" is spelled with an "e," not an "a." And in case you're wondering, they had four of them in stock, all from the last century. ) I also couldn't remember Tanya Huff's name, or enough of the book titles to ask, but at least I remembered that it began with "H" so I went through that part of their SF and Fantasy department pretty thoroughly, and I would have recognized her name if it had been there.

I read most of the earlier Pip and Flinx books many years ago; lately I've been picking up individual books in the series whenever they pop up in BookBub.

Margret

 

[Winchester]

I loved the Pip and Flinx series. (So did my son) I'm getting them as I go around and find them. I really need to get the Spellsinger series (again as my son took my set after he lost his).

From the library on my iPad:
Cat of the Century - Rita Mae Brown
Behind Closed Doors - B.A. Paris
Dating Can Be Deadly - Wendy Roberts
The Awakening - Heather Graham
Die Again (Rizzoli and Isles) - Tess Gerritsen

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'm still working on the "Vickie Nelson, PI" series by Huff. There are six of them and I'm on number three right now. I've ordered the first four of the Dulcie Schwartz series, which features a cat also. Two have arrived, but of COURSE #s 3 & 4 came in before #s 1 & 2!

 

[Margret]

I bought a book on BookBub last month, Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favorite Songs, by Erik Didriksen. My enjoyment is somewhat hampered by the fact that I'm not much of a pop music fan, but the ones I actually recognize are hilarious! Didriksen's take on "Alice's Restaurant" is wonderful. I read it out loud to some friends and I could see recognition dawning in their faces as they realized what it was, before the end, where it actually says:

So if it's peace thy noble heart should want,
pray, sing of Alice and her restaurant!

Note: Much as I would like to post the entire sonnet here, I'm restraining myself because I don't want to violate copyright. Two lines, however, are well within the norms for a book review.

BTW, does anyone know of any good tunes that scan to the metric scheme of sonnets?

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Um...no? Maybe? I'll think on it...

Still on Volume Two of the VNPI. I keep thinking it is taking me forever to read it, but just 3 days in now, and it is a two-book volume! Looking forward to the Dulcie Schwartz series! Should be on that by the end of the week unless I decide to finish the Josephine Fuller series (mysteries about a plus-sized woman who solves crimes, a natural for me!) first.

 

[Margret]

I'll probably end up asking my choir director; he's well up on obscure music, and I'm sure he'd love the Alice's Restaurant sonnet, probably all of them.

Margret

 

[catspaw66]

I am buying Pip and Flinx ebooks on Amazon. When I finish one, I get the next one. Amazon Prime is too easy. I could spend thousands on e-books easily.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

LOL...JUST realized that I had posted that I was on volume THREE when I meant volume TWO. I am now actually ON volume three!

 

[Winchester]

From the library on my iPad:
The Strangers on Montagu Street - Karen White
The Night is Alive - Heather Graham
The Night is Watching - Heather Graham
Grey - EL James
Flirting with Disaster - Sherryl Woods

Am I the only one who likes Karen White and Heather Graham? Has anybody else read their books? I like them.

 

[debbila]

Am I the only one who likes Karen White and Heather Graham? Has anybody else read their books? I like them.[/QUOTE]

I googled both authors and I think I'd like Karen White's books, since I like suspense but not murder mysteries. Which one do you recommend I read first?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'm a secetive fan of Heather Graham. I LOVE her "Harrison Investigation" series, and the Krewe books. Also love the Bone Island trilogy. I'm a few books behind on the Krewe series, but they are on my "to get" list.

 

[catspaw66]

I wish my library had e-books to borrow. Nope, not a single one.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Um..."selective" fan. Sorry about that.

I'm done with Huff now, and on to the second book in the "Josephine Fuller" series. There are only one or two more, sadly. It was kinda nice to have a series about a plus-sized, intelligent woman, full of spunk.

 

[debbila]

I wish my library had e-books to borrow. Nope, not a single one.[/QUOTE

They might be able to have some sent from another branch like they do when you request a book they don't own. It's worth a try .

 

[Winchester]

Am I the only one who likes Karen White and Heather Graham? Has anybody else read their books? I like them.

I googled both authors and I think I'd like Karen White's books, since I like suspense but not murder mysteries. Which one do you recommend I read first?[/QUOTE]

I'm so sorry, debbila , that I didn't get back to you right away. My apologies. I liked her Tradd Street series. Start with The House on Tradd Street and then go from there; it's probably best that you do start from the first book. It's a good series and I enjoyed it.

I enjoy Heather Graham's Krewe series, but haven't read the Bone Island trilogy. Will have to check it out. Thanks!