Month: March 2019
Matin Durrani & Liz Kalaugher: Furry Logic – The Physics of Animal Life
A bit on the fluffy side … … but I’m at the point where I basically celebrate any Flat Book Society group read that actually makes a serious effort to deliver (popular) science content without authorial grandstanding, fashion commentary and similar distractions — and notwithstanding a few silly jokes too many, this book certainly does […]
Read MoreThe April Buddy Reads
Reblogged from: Moonlight Reader All right, everyone, open thread for April buddy reads/readalongs/etc. What I know so far: April 1: Discworld is reading the 4th Discworld book, Mort, which is also the first in the “Death” subseries. The buddy read starts on April 1, and continues through the end of April, so you can jump […]
Read MoreAfrica Reading List – Seeking Recommendations
In connection with my Around the World in 80 Books reading project, I have created, as an additional reference point, a reading list containing the books currently on my TBR with an “Africa” shelving: http://booklikes.com/apps/reading-lists/974/africa The list includes the three books set in Africa I already read in 2019, but none read prior to this […]
Read MoreDorothy L. Sayers: Whose Body? (Narrated by Mark Meadows)
Finally an audio version that does justice to this particular book. I don’t know if this January 2019 release signals a new series of audios of all of Dorothy L. Sayers’s Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, but if it does, please God let them all be narrated by Mark Meadows. Although my overall favorites still remain […]
Read MorePatricia Wentworth: The Gazebo
This is more like it. (More than The Alington Inheritance, that is.) — Still a bit too much of a whiny heroine, but at least we’re firmly back in true and trusted Maudie territory. And it has to be said, while the victim is no Mrs. Boynton (cf. Agatha Christie, Appointment With Death), by the […]
Read MorePatricia Wentworth: The Alington Inheritance
If you thought Patricia Wentworth couldn’t go any lower than “Grey Mask” … … don’t go anywhere near this one. Whiny, immature, TSTL special snowflake heroine. Insta-love. Completely implausible, “fortuitous” (*major headdesk moment*) first encounter between hero and heroine. Weak plotline that is further weakened by an “inverse mystery” structure — it certainly does NOT […]
Read MoreMatin Durrani & Liz Kalaugher: Furry Logic: The Physics of Animal Life – Reading Progress Update: 127 of 304 Pages
Almost done with chapter 3 and so far, so fluffy and easily digestible. It reminds me a lot of some of the animal-related science programs on TV that I used to be glued to as a kid (and that I sometimes still enjoy watching) — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; they did / do […]
Read MoreRosario Ferré: The House on the Lagoon / La casa de la laguna
A Poor Man’s (or Woman’s) “House of the Spirits” Ugh. If this hadn’t been my final “Snakes and Ladders” book I’d have DNF’d it. This is essentially a Puerto Rican version of House of the Spirits minus magical realism, plus a plethora of characters and episodes that don’t greatly advance the plot (think 500-episode telenovela) […]
Read MoreThose old cheating dissembling tricks …
“To the office, where all the morning sitting and did discover three or four fresh instances of Sir W. Pen’s old cheating dissembling tricks, he being as false a fellow as ever was born.” — Samuel Pepys (@samuelpepys) March 8, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js This (originally from Pepys’s diary of March 8, 1666) was the first […]
Read MoreGood Omens …
Armageddon is coming to a screen near you on May 31! Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/1855536/post Related Posts: Good Omens Book Review Good Omens Screen Adaptation Review Good Omens: Favorite Characters Narrativium: Where the Falling Angel Meets the Rising Ape – Terry Pratchett and Discworld Project Page Reviews and Blog Posts
Read MoreSnakes and Ladders Poll: TA’s Final Book to Read? – Decision
OK, executive decision time then! Of the two books that are ahead of the others by just about a nose (1 vote) at this point — namely, Chitra Banerjee Divakarumi’s Sister of my Heart and Rosario Ferré’s House on the Lagoon — Ferré’s House on the Lagoon is calling more to me at this point. […]
Read MoreSnakes and Ladders Poll: TA’s Final Book to Read?
I’ve made it to square 100 (yey!), which calls for letting the BookLikes crowd decide my next read. So, please vote: Which book should I read next? Chitra Banerjee Divakarumi: Sister of My Heart Rosario Ferré: The House on the Lagoon Alexandra Fuller: Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight Elif Shafak: Three […]
Read MoreWhat a Nice Discovery
I was listening to the Agatha Christie Close Up CD while adding covers to some of the books imported by MbD earlier this afternoon — and guess what I discovered? Penguin Random House is publishing a new series of Christie editions under the Vintage imprint! And very pretty covers they have, as well … […]
Read MoreFor Linda: Richard III / Leicester
“The” parking lot Commemorative / explanatory plaque on a wall near the parking lot gates (right-click on the top image and select “display” for a larger view) The parking lot is down a narrow alley from Leicester Cathedral The Tomb in Leicester Cathedral (Usually surrounded by people — luckily I was travelling alone, because I […]
Read MoreAgatha Christie: The Lost Plays (Butter in a Lordly Dish / Personal Call / Murder in the Mews)
Buddy Read Invitation: HERE. Listening Progess Updates 29 of 160 Minutes: First one down, Butter in a Lordly Dish … so far, so fiendish! (Even if I had an inkling what was going on partway through.) No implicit connection with After the Funeral intended, however, I think. (MR?) Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/1853284/reading-progress-update-i-ve-listened-29-out-of-160-minutes 55 of […]
Read MoreAgatha Christie: The Unexpected Guest
Good news … … for those of us looking for a quick Christie audio fix but who want to make sure they’re listening to Dame Agatha’s own words and not one of the novelizations of her plays by Charles Osborne: You can do just that! The 1981 full cast BBC audio version of The Unexpected […]
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