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Thursday, October 1, 2015

Bookish Nostalgia - October 2015



And now we are in a 'real' fall month - October.  I do like October.  It's not usually yet fall in my part of the world - we have a very short fall season, but it is mostly out of the 90's.  And sometimes Halloween is actually nippy or even cold.  We'll see how this year goes.  It's time to share my best remembered books that I read in the years 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010.  You'd think that they would be ghostly or spooky perhaps.  Well, they are at least all mysteries - shocking, I know!  Here we go:



October 1995 - Under The Beetle's Cellar by Mary Willis Walker - This was a local author for me, who wrote about a journalist, Molly Cates, from Austin.  At the time I read this book, we were living in Portland, Oregon.  And I was a bit homesick.  Under The Beetle's Cellar won several mystery awards and honestly, I just remember it scared me.  It was about religious fanatics and an Austin school bus driver who was kidnapped, along with the schoolchildren.  This was only a couple of years after the David Koresh thing in Waco, which weirded all of us out.  I might need to go back and reread Under The Beetle's Cellar.  Time has passed and 20 years later, there have been a lot more strange cult type groups uncovered.  I'm curious as to what my reaction would be now.



October 2000 - Seven Sisters by Earlene Fowler - This is the 7th book in the Benni Harper mystery series that I talked about last week in the 'My Name In Books' post,  I shared that each title of these books is a quilt pattern and that Benni is a quilter and director of a folk art museum.  She's also married to the police chief.  In my reading journal (in which I very rarely wrote notes), I mentioned that this was the 'best Benni Harper book yet and that the characterizations were improving'.  The Seven Sisters is apparently a challenging quilting pattern and the mystery here was also challenging.



October 2005 - California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker - This was a stand alone book by this author and I remember really, really liking it.  In fact, after my library branch agreed to let me start up a mystery book club, it was one of the early books that we read and discussed.  The story of some Orange County, California brothers and their relationship with a girl who is eventually murdered.  It takes place over decades and we see what happens to each brother.  Lots of California culture and history in this one.  I found it fascinating.  Another one I ought to reread.



October 2010 - Crying Blood by Donis Casey - This is the 5th book in Casey's Alafair Tucker mystery series.  Set in early 20th century Oklahoma, it's a series I've mentioned several times.  Crying Blood is primarily Shaw Tucker's tale.  He is Alafair's husband and in this book, Shaw goes hunting with his brother and their sons.  Stuff happens and it's nice to see things from Shaw's point of view.  Shaw is part Native American and there is a whole storyline that follows the lore and legends of the Native people in Crying Blood.  Enjoyed this one very much.

And that's the end of our tour of books for October.  Join me next month when I see what was capturing my attention in November.

20 comments:

  1. I have never been able to bring myself to read Under the Beetle's Cellar. Sounds too creepy. I wasn't in the Mystery Book Club when it first started but sure am glad the library let you start it.

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  2. I always think of October as the real start of autumn I must admit. It must be quite nice when the 90F temps start to drop... that would be the hottest of summers here and very unusual. Enjoy your October reading, Kay!

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    1. Well, it was still 93 yesterday, so not much temperature drop yet, but it will come. Just happy that the 100s are gone. LOL

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  3. Perfect October reading, I'd say - though they are all unfamiliar to to me. Surprise, right? ;-)

    We got down to 38 degrees last night. Brrr!

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    1. And we were in the 60's, which is a good thing. I'm not surprised that these are new to you. Our reading paths are a bit different, but that's OK too, right?

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  4. I love that you do this. I keep meaning to begin myself, but haven't yet. Have you talked about what that statue is? Lady Bird?

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    1. No, I don't think I talked about it. It's in front of the library that I use most often - Cedar Park Library. Not sure who the woman is, but kids sure love to play around the whole sculpture.

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  5. I love this nostalgia feature each month-- a chance to find older titles that might appeal to me but I didn't find out about when current.

    I've only heard of Earlene Fowler's, as I used to read many Benni Harper books (a friend passed them on to me after she read them). I don't quilt but they are pretty to look at and fun to find out about how they're made, plus I enjoyed Benni's relationship with her parents and her husband. I stopped with book #8- Arkansas Traveler. I just checked and was surprised to see that the series has ended, oh well.

    Thanks for a fun post!

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    1. Yes, I think Earlene Fowler wrote 15 of the Benni Harper books. She's not published anything for a bit. Hopefully, one day she might revisit or she may just be done with writing. I saw her at an event in Arizona one time and I felt very fan-girl-ish. LOL

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  6. Under The Beetles Cellar sounds fascinating - love your monthly recap of the years gone by.

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  7. Thanks, I've reserved several of those picks, except Under the Beetle's Cellar, which I decided to try her first novel first.

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  8. Oh gosh, I remember the Waco situation and it was so surreal. I was living in Dallas at the time and just couldn't believe that something like that would happen in Waco of all places! Anyway, I remember reading that book too but it's been so long I hardly remember anything about it! Great look back at Fall reads!

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    1. I know what you mean about Waco, Iliana. You just don't think about that in a place that has Baylor University and a Dr. Pepper museum. LOL

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  9. -clapping hands- I think I solved the "Blog Size Issue" for Everyone!!!!!

    Tessa

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    1. Well good for you, Tessa. That seems to be bothering some so much. Good luck.

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!