What are you reading the week of April 8, 2017?

Frances McNeil, also writing as Frances Brody, is an English novelist and playwright, and has written extensively for radio.

She is the author of eight Kate Shackleton mysteries. The latest is Death at the Seaside. The previous episode, A Death in the Dales, was longlisted for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger, and is now available in the US. The first six Kate Shackleton books are also available in the US, where A Woman Unknown was shortlisted for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, an Edgar award of the Mystery Writers of America. Minotaur Books now publish two Kate Shackleton books a year, moving towards coinciding publication dates on both sides of the Atlantic.

"The series began," explains Frances, "with a picture in my head of a man trapped behind a high wall, unable to return home. Someone needed to discover who and where he was. Along came Kate Shackleton, sleuth extraordinaire. She stepped from our family album like the genie summoned from the lamp."

As Frances Brody she writes a series of 1920s crime novels featuring Kate Shackleton. The sixth in the series, An Avid Reader, is set in the Leeds Library, the oldest surviving subscription library of its type in the UK.

She wrote three novels under her own name, which were republished in 2016 under the name Frances Brody. Sisters on Bread Street is partly based on the story of her mother, who lived on Bread Street in Leeds as a child; it was published in a limited edition just after her mother's hundredth birthday, published in an expanded edition as Somewhere Behind the Morning, and republished in 2016 under its original title. Sixpence in her Shoe relates to the Leeds Children's Holiday Camp Association based at Silverdale, Lancashire, about which she has also written a factual history, Now I am a Swimmer (the title being a quote from a child's letter home). Sisters of Fortune is the tale of two girls of different financial backgrounds growing up in Leeds, and was republished as Halfpenny Dreams.

Her plays include Tressell, about Robert Tressell, author of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.

• Dying in the Wool (2009)


• A Medal for Murder (2010)


• Murder in the Afternoon (2011)


• A Woman Unknown (2012)


• Murder on a Summer's Day (2013)


• Death of an Avid Reader (2014)


• A Death in the Dales (2015)


• Death at the Seaside (2016)

Additional information from her website.

Finished up my reading from last week, and I've begun two new books.

All the Kremlin's Men: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin by Mikhail Zygar. This is a well researched, well written book on Putin's rise to power. It's far more readable than Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia? by Karen Dawisha which was so dry that you could feel it sucking the life out of you. It's also far superior to Masha Gessen's The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin. Gessen's credulous journalism often leaves me annoyed at her missionary zeal.

I'm also reading Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati, a book about the discovery and archeology of the enigmatic Indus Valley Civilization. Bronze age history and archeology has been getting more and more of my attention lately.

Has anyone read any of Frances Brody's Kate Shackleton mysteries? Her books caught my attention while I was at the bookstore yesterday.

I'm almost done with My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem. It's made me feel thankful for her!

I'm still reading Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind: Practical Strategies for Raising Achievement by Eric Jensen. It's had some helpful reminders and data.

Still rotating thru Eclipse 3, Come Sundown, Foreigner, and The Alien Years.

At long last, I seem to have found my reading rhythm again, and have finished the profoundly moving A Strangeness In My Mind by Orhan Pamuk. I also finished listening to the less than satisfying second Harry Hole novel (thank goodness I have read several excellent later installments which are vast improvements in my opinion), Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo.

I am now listening to How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid. I am about to start reading the Early Reviewer (and way overdue to be finished) Human Acts by Kang Han.

I've been binging on Netflix instead of reading, but when I do settle down to a book, it's the fascinating A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.

I am half way through The Mine by John Heldt. I realized I have prioritized reading classics over newer authors and need to read some of the books I have waiting on my kindle. I am hoping to get through a few books this month.

Birds without Wings by Louis De Bernieres. I have about 150 books on my Kindle that I haven't read. My reading goal this year is to read a newly acquired book and then an older book. This way maybe I can keep up with the newer books but clear out some of my TBR. At least I can dream...

>6 ahef1963: I loved A Tale for the Time Being but it began slowly. Once I got into both of the characters though, I felt like my life wasn't giving me enough time to read because I was so drawn to it. I think of it often and suspect that I will re-read it in the future.

On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker
A'Lelia Perry Bundles
4/5 stars
This is fascinating in depth look at the life of the ambitious Madam C.J. Walker, who rose from slave to entrepreneur and philanthropist amid the historical events of the late 1800's and the early 1900's. Bundles who was related to Madam Walker and is a writer and news producer writes of the struggles and triumphs of Madam Walker as she hawks her hair products and employs poor women across the country to demonstrate her products and to help themselves out of poverty.

Just started The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Finished Eclipse 3 edited by Jonathan Strahan. Mostly underwhelming.

Next into the rotation is Snow Woman by Leena Lehtolainen.

I finished Howard Norman's My Darling Detective. I loved being back in Norman's Nova Scotia, near the Lord Nelson Hotel, meeting the author's new cast of quirky, smart, very dear characters, and this one is especially meaningful because part of it is set in a library. In fact, librarians and libraries -- and photographs -- are at the heart of this story.

Next up: Hisham Matar's memoir, The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography today.

Started A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories
by Lucia Berlin.

Gutenberg’s Apprentice – Alix Christie
3.5***

In her debut novel, Christie explores one of the most momentous events in history: the invention of the printing press. The author used the real people involved, researching historical documents to support way she imagined the scenario unfolding.

I generally like novels such as this one, but for some reason I had a very hard time getting engaged in this work. It took me nearly two weeks to read it, about double the amount of time I usually need for a 400-page book. I did find the information about the conflicts between the guilds, the ruling class, and the Church interesting, but it went on for so long that I grew tired of the political and personal intrigue, and by the time the climax came I didn’t much care what would happen to the relationships between the three central figures: Gutenberg, Fust, and Peter.

I have always read the notation at the end of print books, telling me what type face was used for that edition. That information holds new meaning for me now, as I imagine the original artist carefully carving the alphabet in a new design. In this age of digital print, it is all the more wonderful to imagine the creativity, skill and hard work that went into this marvelous invention.

The Penelopiad –Margaret Atwood
Book on CD read by Laura Merlington
3***

From the book jacket In Homer’s account in The Odyssey, Penelope—wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy—is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. … In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged maids, asking: “What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?”

My Reactions
I studied Homer’s epic in high school but had really forgotten much except for the basics. Atwood delves into the background of both Penelope and Odysseus, as well as the political (and personal) reasons for the Trojan War and her moves to protect her husband’s estate for their son. She gives us a woman who is intelligent, caring, and tenacious. This Penelope is not simply a woman who is content to stay at home waiting for her man. She is actively working to achieve her goals, carefully (if not always successfully) developing allies in help with her scheme.

Atwood uses the twelve maids (who are hanged as complicit in the plot) as a chorus to fill in some of the gaps. This is an effective technique in this novella … in print format at least.

The audio is read by Laura Merlington. Her performance was fine when voicing the chapters narrated by Penelope. But the audio used an incredibly irritating digitally enhanced “multiple voice” for the chorus. You know those “disguised” voices used to protect people when interviewed on a news show? That’s what this chorus sounded like! Skip the audio; read the text.

Reading Before the Fall, a novel by Noah Hawley. I've never heard of this writer before and am not sure where I heard of this book, but it is gripping and fast-paced. About survivors of a private plane crash, a man and an unrelated boy, the book goes back and forth in time, before and after the crash and delves into the mysteries surrounding it.

>14 JulieLill: I've been reading A Manual for Cleaning Women for a couple of months, a few stories a week. I'm over halfway now and I really don't want it to end. I find myself thinking about her characters (and about Lucia herself) so often. I'll be interested to read what you have to say about these stories. Enjoy.

>17 framboise: I really enjoyed After the Fall. I didn't have very high expectations, for some reason, but I thought it was pretty gripping and timely, as well. I still think about it which is a good sign!

>18 mollygrace: I got the title from someone here or on Goodreads- it was probably you if you mentioned it here. I am not a big short story reader but am enjoying these stories.

>9 whymaggiemay: I enjoyed most of A Tale for the Time Being but was disappointed with the magical realism of the last sixty pages of the book. It's a literary device I'm not fond of, and it spoiled the ending for me. Otherwise I found the book utterly engrossing and it's certainly original stylistically.

So I've finished reading that, and I'm going to read The House at Riverton next. I'm not well - have had stomach problems for days now - and am planning to climb back under the covers soon and spend the evening reading/dozing/watching TV. A good dose of Kate Morton will be engrossing and will keep me from whinging about my upset tum.

>21 ahef1963: You have all my sympathy. You're doing all the right things for yourself & make sure you get lots of rest. :)

Finished How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. Next up for listening is the debut short story collection, What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky by Leslie Nneka Arimah.

>21 ahef1963: Hope you're feeling better soon.

#21 ahef-feel better

I finished Laura Pritchett's latest, The Blue Hour. She is a local Colorado author who writes beautifully about the residents of the fictional town of Blue Moon Mountain. It's passionate, raw, and heartbreaking - I already miss the characters.

>21 ahef1963: You've reminded me that I've had A Tale for the Time Being on the shelf for a while now. Also Kate Morton. I have at least two of her books waiting to be read. Hope you're feeling better!

>21 ahef1963: Take care.

>22 enaid: >23 hemlokgang: >24 mollygrace: >25 cdyankeefan: >26 Copperskye: >27 seitherin: Thanks for all your kind wishes, it's greatly appreciated. I actually figured out what is wrong with me last night. I've been having abdominal horrors and occasional dizzy spells and general malaise for a month now - it is exactly a month since I started taking blood pressure pills. A quick check assures me that all of these symptoms are common side effects of the medication. I've stopped taking it and will see my doctor next week to find a new but less horrid drug.

>26 Copperskye: A Tale for the Time Being is well worth reading. It's a slow-moving book, but has a unique style and a dramatically ingenious story.

I'm officially reading The House at Riverton, but I took myself out for lunch without bringing a book, and so turned to All the Light we cannot See, which I have on my phone. It's very compelling and I think I will read both, although reading more than one book at a time is not something that I usually do.

Finished the ARC of Come Sundown by Nora Roberts. Very predictable. Added Starfire by Dale Brown into my reading rotation.

I finished Where We Belong by Catherine Ryan Hyde and really loved it.

I am now reading The Vortex by Jose Eustasio Rivera and it also, so far, is great. I am reading it in anticipation of a trip down to Colombia, at its Amazon entry-point, on the borders of Peru and Brazil.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke
Book on CD performed by Simon Prebble
3.5****

From the book jacket: In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England--until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight. Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell's student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear.

My Reactions
Fantasy is really not my thing, but I did enjoy this book. I liked the play / counter play between the two magicians, and particularly enjoyed the scenes where they are influencing the Napoleonic Wars ... an armada of ghost ships made of rain! Or moving an entire city to the United States! I also really liked the subplot involving Stephen.

I thought Clarke did a fine job of creating this magical world, peopled with a host of interesting characters. Her writing is very atmospheric and I could almost hear the eerie strains of music at a ball, or the caw of ravens.

That being said, however, this was just way too long. I found my mind wandering as much as the plot did. And by hour 29 (out of 36 hours of audio) I was ready for it to culminate.

I certainly understand the popularity of the novel, but as I said at the beginning, it's really not my thing, and I wouldn't go out of my way to read another novel by Clarke.

I listened to the audio ... I think I would listen to Simon Prebble read his grocery list! He does a marvelous job. 5***** for his performance.

Wolf by Wolf – Ryan Graudin
2.5**

From the book jacket: The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. They host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across three continents. The prize? An audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo. The resistance has given Yael, a former death camp prisoner, one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler.

My reactions
This is interesting speculative fiction dealing with “what might have been” had Germany & Japan won WW2. It was that aspect of the book which initially caught my attention. But Graudin takes this a step further by introducing an unusual twist: As a result of experiments she was subjected to in the death camp, Yael can now “skin shift,” altering her appearance at will, which provides an incredibly valuable disguise in virtually any situation. In this case, she is impersonating Adele Wolfe, last year’s winner of the race.

The plot moves as quickly as the racers bound from Germania to Tokyo. Yael is a strong heroine – resourceful, intelligent, physically and mentally fit for the challenge. There’s a complication to Yael’s plan, when two boys close to Adele make it all the more difficult for Yael to pull off the masquerade.

I thought there were several holes in this plot, and I didn’t much care about the interpersonal drama between Adele/Yael and the two boys. I also think I would have enjoyed this kind of speculative plot without the “skin shifting” aspect. The ending is abrupt and leaves more questions than answers – could Graudin be planning a sequel?

While I recognize the appeal for the target audience, it really wasn’t the book for me, and I’m in no hurry to read anything else by this author.

I finished The Unquiet Daughter which is a memoir of a woman's quest to learn who her father was and the history of her mother's life around the time of her birth which takes place in the US, Vietnam, and France. It is well written and the story is fraught with anguish and intrigue.

Almost through reading The Travelers an ER suspense spy novel by Chris Pavone. Still Reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

The new thread is up over here.