Thank you so much for my #jolabokaflodswap package, @Deblovestoread - it's perfect! And your comments about this book make me even more keen to read it. I appreciate you, as well as @MaleficentBookDragon for putting it all together.

An enjoyable old school cozy. It's understandably dated - copyright is 1986 - and there was a lot I figured out far in advance, but it's such a quick light read that I was ok with that. #christmascrimechallenge @Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead

My very scientific approach for the Red Cover prompt was to go on Libby ➡️ browse Available Now mysteries ➡️ scan for red. Fortunately, the next Amelia Peabody qualified, not that you can tell here. It was great to spend time with these characters that I'm so fond of. Not sure that it's objectively good as a mystery, but I very much enjoyed it.

#christmascrimechallenge @Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead

My #jolabokaflodswap has arrived, to be enjoyed on Christmas Eve! Thank you, mysterious sender! @MaleficentBookDragon

My #jolabokaflodswap package is in the 📬! @MaleficentBookDragon

I don't love a locked room mystery - it feels like they're so focused on the puzzle and being clever, that the characterization seems to suffer? All brain and no heart which is not my bag. So I mostly only read them when prompted by something like the #christmascrimechallenge 😅. After reading this one, my feelings haven't changed. It's more than competent, if not entirely satisfying. A begrudging pick @Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead

Well, this was a fun romp! I forgot how much I enjoy Taylor's writing and wit. And it goes down so quickly and easily! Not sure which prompt I'll use this for with the #christmascrimechallenge - part of it does take place on a train, but it might be my reader's choice. Or arguably cozy? It depends how the rest of the month shakes out. 😉
@Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead

Inspector Alleyn and his loyal Fox look into the death of a barrister in a country pub. It was fine? It's solid, but nothing really remarkable about it. It's chronologically the next Marsh I hadn't read, but not one I'll likely remember.

#christmascrimechallenge (famous detective) @Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead

I've decided to slowly make my way through all of Laurie Colwin. And not just because I bought swell new copies for the library. This one is overdue and cannot be renewed, do it comes first 😅

At some point this week - I'm not sure when exactly because time is an illusion that all blurs together - I finished the #persephoneclub book from October. Very behind, but I felt compelled since it was my pick and I did want to read it. I'd say I liked it but didn't love it. When the only character you really like is the would-be blackmailer and murderer ... 🤷‍♀️ Some interesting food for thought though.

Read this for the mystery book club I help lead at work, but as rural noir, it works for the #christmascrimechallenge as well! It's very good and I'm sure I'll read the rest of the trilogy at some point.

This was the Victober group read for this year, which I finished this week and really liked! I will definitely read more Oliphant, maybe even this month to fit some other prompts ...

I loved this! I am almost always down for an epistolary book, and this one employs the form beautifully while giving me all the feels.

My expectations for this one were pretty low, based on other #furrowedmiddlebrowclub readers. It helped, so I think I ended up liking it better (or perhaps disliking it less) than many, but it's certainly not going to be a favorite. Lots of -isms at play. Really wish Peggy had been written older and Ronald had faced some consequences...

I have a good feeling about this. Hope my optimism is not misplaced...

There's a read along of this happening on Substack, for women in translation month, so decided to give it another shot. The first time I tried it, I only got a few pages in and have been a little dismissive of "Ferrante Fever" ever since. But, timing is everything, and this go-around I devoured and loved it. Really looking forward to the rest of the quartet.

So much packed into this slight novel! Such layered, complex characters in a story that did not go all the places I expected it to. A great #persephoneclub pick!

Such a good one!

Just as charging and cozy as I'd hoped it would be. I do love a found family story. 💜

Was also in the mood for some comfort reading this week (work has been a *lot* lately). So, Mary Stewart it is.

Playing a little catch up! Finished this earlier this week. Best read slowly. Super interesting and I feel like I know so much about hares now 😂.

There is a *whole lot* going on in this one - honestly, probably too much and it could've been more tightly edited. That said, I found it to be a pretty compelling read, that I mostly enjoyed.

Loved this.

Read for one of the book clubs at work. I'd forgotten just how marvelous French is. Terrific characters and atmosphere. Looking forward to the sequel, as well as figuring out where I left off with the Dublin Murder Squad.

I'm too lazy to pick up lots of arcs at ALA these days, but this is one I was very keen on getting. And like other books by Hallett, I found it nearly impossible to put down once I started it.

I've been really looking forward to this one and am glad to say it didn't disappoint. Maybe I'll finally get around to Testament of Youth, for non-fiction take? (It's in the bibliography and Brittain and Holtby are walk-on characters).

I think my expectations of this were slightly elevated, but it's still a sweet, very relatable collection of essays.

If historical fiction doesn't send you down countless Wikipedia holes, is it really good historical fiction? This one had me looking up articles on my phone in the middle of the night. 😂 I liked it a lot.

Hello, #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub pals! I haven't been online too much lately, but I did finish our May selection a few weeks ago.

At first, I thought that Scarlett's take on the Cinderella story might actually be *too* sweet for me and verge on saccharine, but I should've had some faith. I ended up being all about and finished the book with such a satisfied grin.

This maybe didn't hit quite as hard as Love & Saffron - which I read in one delicious gulp - but it still gave me all the feels and I loved it.

This was just what I needed this weekend.

Realizing that I never posted about the #furrowedmiddlebrowclub book in March, mostly I guess because I finished while I was sick. I should've expected to be tense and anxious, based on other Moore books and that was certainly the case here. As predicted, I did a lot of internal screaming 😂. In a good way, though!

Making the most of my Sunday, by doing very little 😏

When I mentioned maybe doing a year of spycraft reading, Justin (my partner) highly recommended this one, based on Maugham's experiences during the first World War. Interconnected stories, it was excellent! Bonus for being a very vintage copy, although I alternate reading it with an ebook.

This is quite the mish-mash, sort of Cold Comfort Farm mixed with light New England Gothic, but I'm enjoying it.

Realizing that I never posted about the #PersephoneClub book this month, which I quite liked a lot, despite being populated with so many unlikable people 😂. But it was so compelling and, as others have observed, such a strong picture of a particular time and class. I'll certainly read more Crompton in the future.

Really milking this holiday Monday.

Also, day off! I am getting my car checked out (leaky tire?) and reading the next Smiley at the cute local coffee shop I should really patronize more. Other exciting plans for the day are buying a broom and neverending laundry.

Finally finished our #furrowedmiddlebrowclub book from last month, and my thoughts echo what others have said. It wasn't my favorite, although I found bits of it amusing in its Over the Top-ness. Addie reminded me a bit of Elizabeth Taylor's Angel, in a kinder and more comic way. But rather melancholy and like I agree that it went in a bit too long. Not sorry I read it, just wish I'd liked it more. A low pick.

Can't concentrate on anything else at the moment, so the spycraft reading continues. The first le Carre/George Smiley. I'm in.

Finished this afternoon and haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Very much enjoyed this launch of a new series. I loved these characters and Osman's humor and style are very much intact. And while I'm not a big audiobook person, more like this might help convert me. We recently moved and it's certainly made the unpacking more enjoyable.

An excellent way to spent the day. Perhaps this will be my year of spycraft? I could see it.

In summation and on to the next 😃📚

Among other things, on a personal level 2024 will go down as the year I read War and Peace. I did it chapter a day (kind of/theoretically) with the Footnotes and Tangents Substack. I can't say I really loved it, or think it's one of the greatest novels ever, but I'm glad to have read it and found the online discussion and commentary enriching.

Christmas trip home went way too quickly. I will be glad to see the boy and our cats, but otherwise I would be ok with a little more time. Alas, her I am at the airport ...

Ok, #PersephoneClub friends - here's your next slate for voting! Sort of seasonal, for those who like that, but not overtly so (I think?). Can't wait to see what you vote for!

@LeahBergen @rubyslippersreads @elkeOriginal @Cathythoughts @Caryl @sisilia @Tamra @andrew61 @willaful @julieclair @Aimeesue @Gissy @Bookbuyingaddict @daena

I was in the mood for a little Stevenson. This one started well, but is meandering a bit at the moment ...

We'll then, this was completely delightful. And exactly what I needed. #furrowedmiddlebrowclub

Not necessarily my usual fare, but when looking through the new books at work I paged through it and ended up pretty much devouring it. Pretty trippy and fitting that it started on Reddit, as it will (has) spawn(ed) countless Internet threads. Fun, but I'm not trying to make sense of it!