Waiting on Wednesday - The Woman In Blue

This is a weekly event that highlights a book we can't wait to be published.  It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Every year I'm so excited to see that Elly Griffiths will add another Ruth Galloway mystery to her wonderful series.  This year is episode #8 and I cannot wait.  I love Ruth and all her friends.  Forensic archaeology has never been so much fun!  My choice for this week:

The Woman in Blue

by Elly Griffiths

Publication Date:  May 3rd

Known as England’s Nazareth, the medieval town of Little Walsingham is famous for religious apparitions. So when Ruth Galloway’s druid friend Cathbad sees a woman in a white dress and a dark blue cloak standing alone in the local cemetery one night, he takes her as a vision of the Virgin Mary. But then a woman wrapped in blue cloth is found dead the next day, and Ruth’s old friend Hilary, an Anglican priest, receives a series of hateful, threatening letters. Could these crimes be connected? When one of Hilary’s fellow female priests is murdered just before Little Walsingham’s annual Good Friday Passion Play, Ruth, Cathbad, and DCI Harry Nelson must team up to find the killer before he strikes again.

Tuesday - First Chapter - First Paragraph - Asta's Book

Each Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea shares the first part of a book that she is reading or thinking about reading.  This week I'm sharing the first two paragraphs of Asta's Book by Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell), written in 1993.  I'm reading this book for Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine month with my mystery book group.  I read it years ago, but decided to revisit.  See what you think:

     My grandmother was a novelist without knowing it.  She knew nothing about how to become a novelist and, if she had, it would never have occurred to her as feasible.  The alternative path she took is now well-known. 

     This is a collection of papers and memories:  my grandmother's diaries, an account of a crime and a transcript of a trial, letters and documents and the things I remember.  It is a double detective story, a quest for an identity and a quest for a lost child.  At the same time it is a voyage of discovery and a witness to the triumph of chance.

Blurb:

Lonely, ignored by her husband, a stranger in a strange land, Asta Westerby turns to her diary for comfort shortly after moving from Denmark to East London. Starting in 1905, she records the details of her new life and the development of her newborn daughter, Swanny. In the end, her journal spans five decades and becomes a literary sensation, offering an intimate view of an Edwardian life. But though the diaries are well known, few are acquainted with the dark tale hidden in their deleted passages.

Asta’s Book is at once a crime novel, a historical romance, and a psychological portrait told through the diary itself and through the voice of Ann, the granddaughter bent on unlocking the diary’s excised mystery.


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Have you read any of Ruth Rendell's books?  She was the Queen of the psychological mystery for many years.  This book was written under her pseudonym, Barbara Vine.  This prolific author died last year.

Just 'one word' for 2016? Here's where I'm choosing to put my focus....

I think I first read about the 'one little word' project on Sheila's blog, Book Journey.  Probably last year or maybe even before that.  I noticed other people joining in and thought it was an interesting concept.  Sheila wrote a very affecting post recently about her 2015 word and how it came to mean things that she never imagined - One Word...What Can A New Year Bring?  She also shared her new word for 2016 - courage - Retiring a Word...Bringing in A New One.  Her life is very different in 2016 than she ever thought it would be.  I look forward to hearing how her word, courage, plays out this year.  I support her and send her my thoughts and prayers and hugs.

For me, my thoughts went in a different direction.  At the end of 2015, the minister at my church did a series on the word JOY.  I found it very meaningful and I shared a series of thoughts on my Facebook page during December.  Yes, I do have a Facebook page, but I don't have it connected with the blog here.  I don't post very often there and I use Facebook mostly to connect with family and non-bookish friends.  Anyway, the word JOY has been on my mind for several weeks.

I decided to continue exploring my thoughts on JOY.  That's my 'one little word'.  JOY.

The definition of JOY according to Merriam-Webster is this:

1.  the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune
2.  a state of happiness or felicity
3.  a source or cause of delight

Well, no offense to Merriam-Webster, but I don't think happiness or a constant state of that is required to experience JOY.  I also think that JOY can be something that comes in short bursts or even pin pricks.  And I think that sometimes, it must be searched for, sought out, almost tripped over.  That is how it has been for me, especially in those times where it was hard to find - those darker days.

I want to share two quotes that come from books written by Louise Penny, a favorite author of mine.  The first illustrates how I feel that JOY comes to us.  It's from her book, How The Light Gets In, and is a quote that was originally written by Leonard Cohen.  He graciously gave Louise permission to use it.

There is a crack in everything.  That's how the light gets in.

I think of JOY as that light.  And all of us have 'cracks' in our lives, our personalities, our ways of doing things.  In order to appreciate JOY best, we need those cracks - those life experiences that may not be the most pleasant - that indeed may be filled with grief and sorrow.

The second phrase comes from The Long Way Home and it is repeated over and over in that book:

 

Surprised by joy...

My goal for 2016 - to search for JOY every single day.  No matter what life brings me.  And to consciously attempt to share this elusive thing with others.  Every single day.  So that they might recognize that we can all be 'surprised by joy'.  I look forward to seeing what I can learn from 'one word' this year.

Joining the TBR Triple Dog Dare....and I will succeed!!

Have I said before that I'm not really into challenges?  Well, if I haven't let me just say - I'm not really into challenges.  I'm way too moody in my reading.  I do have a book group that I'm part of and reading those books is about as far as I can go.  This is why I haven't joined in the various lovely challenges that are encouraging the participants to 'read their own books' or 'clear out their e-reader' or whatever.

I have joined this year's TBR Triple Dog Dare.  James at James Reads Books is the leader and he says this is the last one.  About time I joined in.  It's not a challenge - it's a dare.  To read only books that were already in your stacks as of December 31, 2015.  This dare continues until the end of March.

The only exceptions to the 'rules' that I'll have is if I need to acquire a book for my mystery book group or if I decide to join in on another book group and the same thing happens.  Also, I am attending the Left Coast Crime mystery conference at the end of February.  Books will be acquired there.  I can guarantee it.

That's it.  My pledge - only my current books until the end of March.  We'll see if I can manage that.  If I succeed (I'll succeed - yes, I will!), then I might extend my personal 'dare'.

Happy New Year!!! 2016 - Goals? Plans? What I'm thinking in that regard...

First of all, may I wish everyone a very Happy New Year!  My wish is that 2016 be a year of peace, joy, and hope for all of you.  Plus some great books!  And reading.  And blogging.  As sad as our world has been lately (for so many, many reasons), there are still wonderful people, events, and actions all around.  I'm thankful for all of you.

So, what's the plan for this year?  Do I have goals or aspirations for these next months?  Well, I guess I do.  I'll share a couple of things that I'd like to consider goals for me.  First the reading side of things:

Reading Goals for 2016

I have been so pleased to get involved again in the blogging world in 2015.  Yes, I did take some breaks, but that was my compromise with myself when I returned to blogging.  Take breaks when needed.  And that is the plan for the future as well.  One of the results of a renewed interest in blogging has been a huge, huge wishlist.  And also lots of new acquisitions in the form of print books and e-books.  So, it's time to get realistic again.  Exactly how many books can I read in a year and how many books do I own?  Do the math and figure out how many years of reading are on my shelves (hint:  more than 10 years).

2016 Reading Goal - Read my own books.  Not completely or exclusively, but mostly.

Read. My. Own. Books.  That is all.


Personal Goals for 2016

At the beginning of 2015, I shared some health goals.  They were mostly to notice what I ate and move more.  I then had a 'wake up' call in May through some blood tests.  My doctor told me to either get real about those fitness/eating goals or I'd have to take more meds and be diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic.  I got real.

I've lost 30 pounds in 2015.  It has not been easy, but it's definitely been something I could do.  I've stepped up my walking on a regular basis and added activity all around.  My aim for the holiday season was to pretty much maintain and then step it up again in the new year.  I've done a decent job at maintaining - only a couple of pounds gained.  My blood test in August was a bit mixed - better in one area and not in another.  My test in December was much better.  I've moved below any threshold for diabetic diagnosis and as long as I continue my current path, I will continue to improve even more.  Yay, me!!

2016 Eating Goal - Continue to watch my eating and seek out new ways to enjoy healthy food.  Don't be afraid of being actually hungry sometimes (we forget how that feels, don't we?).  Watch the carbs. The weight will come off a little at a time (and I have a bunch more to lose).

2016 Fitness Goal - Step up the walking.  Check out a couple of classes at the rec center - yoga or pilates or some kind of strength-building class.  Keep moving forward. Keep progressing.  It's all good.  And it helps my moods so much.

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Thanks for listening and stopping by.  For your patience as I work out what comes next for me.  I enjoy the company of all of you.  Good luck with any goals and aims you set for yourself in 2016!  And if you don't do that, here's to a fabulous year of good reading, good book talk, and sharing our lives with each other!  Again, my thanks!!  

Best Of 2015 - A look back at 10-ish book favorites....OK, more than 10!!

I can't believe that 2015 is just about at an end.  Where did the time go?  I've been thinking about the books I read and listened to this last year and considering which ones I remember best.  I've also been reading some very interesting 'Best of 2015' posts by all of you.  Some great, great books being talked about.

I read fewer books in 2015 than I did in 2014 and I don't think that was such a bad thing.  In one of my first posts on this blog, I said that I felt I rushed through my reading at times in 2014 and my large (for me) final total was a bit deceptive.  Does it count when you don't remember much about the book?  Not sure.

Total Books Read in 2015 - 113
Kindle Books - 51
Personal Books in Print - 12
Audiobooks - 50

Non-Fiction - 3
Fiction - 110

Male Author - 18
Female Author - 95

These numbers are just that - numbers.  Probably interesting only to me.  I do think it's of note that audio has crept up to almost 50% of my reading.  My male/female author ratio is about the same as previous years and I've mentioned more than once that non-fic is not my preferred book type. Tomorrow, I'll share a goal or two for 2016.

Here are the books that I enjoyed the most for 2015.  My link is to my review or if there wasn't a review, the post I mentioned the book or books.  I did cheat a bit by having a category for some series that I read in their entirety and loved.  These are not in any special order.

Kay's Best of 2015

Into The Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

The Chessmen by Peter May

One Kick by Chelsea Cain

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Honorable Mention (because it was so fun to listen to)

As You Wish by Cary Elwes

Best Series Read in 2015

There were four mystery series that I read in their entirety this year.  Each of them was new to me.  Well, even here I'm cheating a bit.  I read the first book in Jane Casey's series last year.  I'm listing the first book for each and linking to that review.  

Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler series (8 books)

The Various Haunts of Men

Nicci French's Frieda Klein series (5 books)

Blue Monday

Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan series (6 books)

The Reckoning (2nd book in series)

Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike series (3 books)

The Cuckoo's Calling

I had an excellent reading year.  So many great books - new series - new authors.  Lots and lots of fun.  Tomorrow, I'll be around to say 'Happy New Year' and talk a bit about what I'd like to do in 2016.  Thanks for stopping by and checking out my 'Best of 2015'!!

Bookish Nostalgia - December 2015

I know we are right at the end of the month, but let's go ahead and do this Bookish Nostalgia anyway.  Plus it will give me a chance to get my blog post writing legs under me again.  So to speak.  And it's also cold and windy outside.  My cough is better, but there's no sense in making things worse by heading out into the cedar pollen that my area is full of.  Oh yes, we were doing a nostalgia post.  For Decembers of the last 20 years, here's what I was reading:

December 1995 - Killer Pancake by Diane Mott Davidson - This is the 5th book in Davidson's Goldy Schulz, caterer deluxe, series.  In this episode, Goldy is catering a banquet for a cosmetics company.  The only problem is that there are animal rights activists protesting and soon, one of the cosmetics employees is dead.  Goldy, who was supposed to be providing low-fat and also delicious delights, finds herself in the middle of the investigation.  Have you ever read any of Diane Mott Davidson's mysteries?  There are 17 of them, but not one published since 2013.  I believe that this author might have been one of the first to include recipes along with her mystery stories.  When the initial book was published in 1990 (25 years now), I thought that was the most clever thing.  Still do and I always meant to try some of the recipes.  Recently, Ms. Davidson released a new book, which is a cookbook, that I want to read - Goldy's Kitchen Cookbook: Cooking, Writing, Family, Life.  Sounds like fun.

December 2000 - Death Comes As Epiphany by Sharan Newman - This is the 1st book in author Newman's Catherine LeVendeur series - which has 10 books.  Last series entry was published in 2004.  I remember really loving this book, but sadly did not continue reading the series.  I must remedy that.  Catherine LeVendeur is a scholar in 12th century France.  She comes to stay in a convent to consider her sin of pride.  She is then sent on a mission by the Abbess Heloise (yes, that Heloise).  The convent's reputation is at stake, along with the Abbess' and Catherine finds adventure on her quest.  Newman is herself a medieval scholar and this series might compare well with the Cadfael books.

December 2005 - The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini - This is a favorite book of mine that I have read more than once in the last 10 years.  Chiaverini has written many books using quilts and the Elm Creek Quilting group to tell tales and this is the first.  I think she might have finished this series, but she has now turned her attention to mostly historical fiction, which I suspect also contain quilt lore and needlework as part of her storylines.  In Quilter's Apprentice, we first meet Sarah McClure and an older lady who comes to be her mentor, Sylvia Compson.  I love this series and may think about rereading it this next year.  Each book has a bit of a mystery, a lot of drama, and usually relates events from the past through quilting.

December 2010 - Blood Memory by Greg Iles - This is a stand alone book by Iles, though a couple of characters show up in other books.  Cat Ferry is a forensic odontologist and very well thought of.  She has a panic attack at the scene of a crime in New Orleans and goes home to Mississippi to rest.  No rest for the weary or panic stricken though.  What she finds are secrets from her family's past and Greg Iles, being the master Southern storyteller that he is, well, things get complicated.  As is usual for me with this author, I loved it.  I'm not sure he can write a bad book, in my opinion anyway.  The South is full of creepy when you visit it with Greg Iles.

Well, that's it for this edition of Bookish Nostalgia.  As this feature continues in January, our years will move forward as well to 1996-2011.  Looking forward to revisiting my old notebooks to see what I might find.  See you in a week or so for the January 2016 Bookish Nostalgia.

Hello again!! I'm back...

Hello everyone!  I hope you've had a joyful, peaceful holiday time while I've been on my break.  Merry Christmas belatedly to all who have celebrated.  I'm looking forward to getting back to blogging and thought I would check in and say 'hi'.

We hosted my husband's family for Christmas Day and it went pretty well.  I've been battling a laryngitis/sinus thing for a week and I'm still not over it.  However, the hubby stepped up and was amazing in doing all those last minute things - like baking cookies and picking up ham and turkey, making dressing, even setting tables and hosting pretty much solo.  I was in the background croaking and blowing my nose.  Honestly, my husband is really the best.

I've been reading pretty steadily, although the usual holiday doldrums came in that regard.  What is it about busy times that makes it so hard to settle to reading?  Anyway, I'm in the midst of a quilting mystery series that I'm having a good time with at the moment.  I'm on book #3, Quilt As You Go, which features a Civil War reenactment and quilt patterns from that era.  I don't sew or quilt, but I've always wished I did.  Reading about it is my compromise.  This series is set in Washington State and so I'm enjoying the descriptions of the scenery as well.  I'll probably write about the series as a whole at a later date.

I'm listening to Asta's Book, written by Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell).  My mystery group is having a Rendell/Vine reading month for January and I'm planning on listening to two of her books.  I read this one years ago and remember liking it.  It has a slow start, but that suits me right now.  Any book that includes a mystery and a diary is OK by me.

I'll return later this week to share my December Bookish Nostalgia and also, if I get it put together, my 2015 'Best Of' list.  Next week, I'm planning on getting back to normal in a lot of areas and, hopefully, this sinus thing will be gone by then.  I have been reading your blog posts, although not commenting much at all.  That will change a bit, the commenting part, and I'm looking forward to 2016 and talking books and life with all of you.  I've had a good break, but have missed the chatter and book talk.  Ready to go again??  

A blogging break until 2016!

How's your schedule for the rest of November and December?  Mine is filling up fast.  My desire to blog is still almost non-existent.  So, I'm going to officially take a blogging break until 2016.  That way I won't be stressing about it.  I was out on my back porch a couple of mornings ago, drinking a cup of coffee and taking a picture of the morning fog (see above).  I found myself planning out my day and wondering when I would have time to write anything on this blog or get around to yours and comment.  And as I looked at the peaceful scene in my backyard and watched a deer munching under the trees, I thought...it's time for an official break.  

So, no stress.  No worries.  I'll revisit the issue as December comes to a close.  And I'll be around to see you guys as I can.  

Take care and have a wonderful holiday season!  

Bookish Nostalgia - November 2015

Hello everyone!  Happy November to you!  So how do you feel about November?  For me, it holds my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.  Don't get me wrong.  I love Christmas, but Thanksgiving is my favorite.  And I never, ever, ever shop on that weekend.  It's all about being thankful, family, and maybe a little football.  Or maybe more than a little football.  OK, at our house, football is part of Thanksgiving Day.  First the Dallas Cowboys and then the University of Texas Longhorns.  Neither team is having a banner year at all.  Ah well.  Let's see what I remembered best or loved most in Novembers of the past 20 years.

November 1995 - Rosemary Remembered by Susan Wittig Albert - I think I shared in last month's post that 1995 was a time when we were not in our native Texas, but living in Portland, Oregon.  A wonderful place.  However, I was a bit homesick and November's favorite was the 4th book in this author's China Bayles series, set in the fictional Texas Hill Country town of Pecan Springs.  China is a former attorney and herbalist and all the titles have herbs included.  There are now 24 books in the series and I have read exactly 2 of them.  This one finds China investigating the murder of her accountant, Rosemary Robbins.

November 2000 - Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend by Laney Katz Becker - I've shared several times how much I like epistolary novels.  This book tells the story of two women who meet online on a breast cancer support website.  One is in New York and one in the Midwest.  They become great friends and offer each other the encouragement and love that they need at such a scary time.  A very touching book.  I think perhaps that it came out of the author's own experience with cancer.

November 2005 - The Healing Quilt by Lauraine Snelling - I don't really intend to read about women with cancer in November, but this book has a breast cancer storyline as well.  And I have shared that this time of year makes me thankful for so many things.  Perhaps that is why books such as this one and the previous one touch my heart in a special way in November.  The Healing Quilt is the story of Dot Cooper who has a project to raise money for a new mammogram machine for her town.  Her Aunt Teza's test results were inconclusive and Dot wants to help out.  She and her friends will make a wonderful quilt and auction it off.  As they sew, they share their stories.  Another sweet book about friendship and faith.

November 2010 - Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny - This is the 6th book in this author's Three Pines series starring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and it is one of my favorites (well, they are all my favorites, but this one is an extra favorite).  Not everyone likes the Penny books that are not primarily set in Three Pines.  This book takes us to Quebec City in winter where Gamache has gone to heal from injuries suffered in the previous book.  It has a lot of history included and I loved it.  Louise Penny spent a lot of time researching her story and I can remember her sharing in newsletters that she and her husband rented an apartment in Quebec City for several months while she worked.  And I love the cover - the melding of fall and winter - which is November, right?

We come to the end of my November 2015 Bookish Nostalgia.  I hope you enjoyed it.  I certainly did.  I love going back over my lists for previous years and finding which book I'd like to share with you.  Join me next month to see what I was reading in Decembers over the years.