Book Round-Up

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson: A sharp, genre-savvy mystery about a killer who seems to be replicating the "perfect" crimes from eight classic novels. I could see trouble coming from different directions for the bookseller at the center of the story, but it never turned out quite like I expected.  There are some similarities to The Forgers, but this unreliable narrator is more authentic and (ha) honest.

Fanning the Flames by Victoria Dahl: A short story that's part of a series of novels (you know how romance writers love their trilogies/tetralogies). It's basically just the two characters -- widowed and divorced -- coming together, but they were likeable enough that I would have enjoyed a whole novel about them.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: a charming young adult contemporary fantasy about, well, peculiar children -- people with unusual abilities, like levitation and super strength -- who are hiding from the world at large. (So like a fantasy version of the X-Men.) What makes this novel different is that Riggs developed the concept and story from his collection of weird, vintage photographs, which are in the book as illustrations. The photos are so weird! But, I suppose, no weirder than some of the memes and gifs we circulate today.

The Ten Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler: the fourth in the Bureau of Peculiar Crimes. The crimes are still unusual and disturbing, Bryant and May are still unorthodox, pencil-pushing types are still trying to get the Bureau disbanded, and the whole was still enjoyable. This novel, written in 2006, is remarkably cynical about young people -- unfairly so, in my opinion, given how young people are currently leading the BLM protests and fighting for a better, more just future.

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa: A light contemporary romance that I wanted to like more than I did. I certainly enjoyed it, and I loved the diversity of the characters presented as no big deal, but the pseudo-hostility between the two protagonists was a little tedious and the setting (the wedding planning world) was not my thing. I'll probably check out some of Sosa's other novels.

Caught Up!

(With blogging my instastitching, not the instatitching itself.)

Even More Instastitching

More Instatitch with Sue

Oh, I'm Way Behind in Showing Off my Instastitches

(Good thing I'm only doing 42, not 90.)

More to come!

Book Round-Up

A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths: This is the fifth in the Ruth Galloway series about a forensic archeologist, but my library did not have the the first four in e-book form. It's written in the present tense, which was sometimes distracting, and the personal lives of the characters were soap-operatic (soooo many affairs, love triangles, and extra-marital babies). But the mystery was great, and I had a hard time putting it down every night.

Damoren by Seth Skorkowsky: The first in a series about a secret group of hunters who kill demons and monsters with magic weapons. The fetishizing of the weapons had me rolling my eyes quite a bit, and the narrative was distressingly blasé about the large number of innocent casualties, but the world-building was fun and Skorkowsky sure can tell an exciting story.


 The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones: This fun novel, Jones's last and published posthumously, had the standard fantasy tropes only slightly off-kilter and satirical. The ending was a little rushed, though (probably because her sister had to finish it).

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym: one of my favorite novels,* and a comfort-read when I can't get to the library. Excellent women are those spinsters and widows who keep churches and communities functioning by taking on the tasks no one else wants. Mildred is such a woman, often underestimated and taken advantage of but intelligent and observant, with a good understanding of human nature.

Emma by Jane Austen: another re-read in preparation of the digital release of the latest movie version (which is supposed to be great). Emma is rather famously a snob and meddler who comes close to ruining a lot of lives before she finally learns to mind her own business. Austen's novel is, like her others, witty and frothy but also teeming with sharp social commentary.

*So much so I'm writing about it again!

"Lilacs are May in Essence"

I miss the lilacs at my old house. I miss the lilacs I walked by on my way to the subway. I miss the lilacs in a big bouquet at my job.

This necklace was inspired by my favorite flowers, and by the gorgeous pendants and pins Alicia Paulson embroidered.