Ok-the first Michael Connelly that I didn't enjoy very much-Void Moon. Told from the perspective of a good-hearted ex-con. One final con and the kidnapping of her adopted out daughter and she thinks she's through. It tries to make her sympathetic and a heroine-I was, frankly, bored. Even when a detective does awful things his motive is to get the bad guy. In this case none of Cassie's motives are "good" and "bad" things happen as a result of those motives. Hope the next one's better.

Back to Michael Connelly-Angels Flight-and back to Harry Bosch. Angel's Flight is a short inclined railway carrying people up Bunker Hill in downtown L.A. There are two bodies. The important one is a lawyer who has made it his life work to hunt out any real or perceived injustice-large or small-by the police and bring a lawsuit against the "racist, paramilitary organization known as the LAPD". Obviously, the police have motives and Harry is not appreciated by those who don't like the fact that he's tying to solve the case. Harry also finds himself being framed and has to solve that problem as well. Unfortunately, he is also in the middle of a one-year-old marriage that is rapidly coming apart.

The book that my book club read was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I'm afraid that I was the only one in the room who did not care for it. It seemed shallow, full of platitudes that are abviously true but bear no connection to the undeveloped characters or plot. The Secret has also been a huge hit these last couple of years and my reaction to both was the same. These things are not 'secret'. Following them is hard but they are not new.

An absolutely delightful book-Counting My Chickens and other Home Thoughts by The Duchess of Devonshire. My cozy little used bookstore has a table at the very front where there put out off-beat or interesting-looking titles. I always stop there first and found this fun little book.

Chatsworth is the traditional home of the Dukes of Devonshire and under the Duchess's supervision it has become one of England's most fequently visited great houses with more than 400,000 visitors a year as of 2001 when the book was written. She has a very firm grasp on the rights as well as the responsibilities and burdens of those "privileged to own land". There is a fair amount of bemused frustration on her part about those who have no connection to the land whether it is farmland or fields or forests who think they know best how to care for them without taking any thought as to the science or art of keeping them in a usable and pleasing state. That forestry, including the cutting down of trees, is not vandalism but truly tending the land. As she puts it "In the 1970s, the Environment was invented."

She is also, a very funny writer, able to poke fun at herself and find funny situations in the most mundane of events. And she is acquainted with the likes of Tom Stoppard, Evelyn Waugh, John F Kennedy, and is the niece of Harold Wilson, a former Prime Minister. This was a very quick, easy, fun read and it's astonishing to find out that she had absolutely no formal education and very little informal education other than what she was interested in and picked up on her own.

Slowly, but surely working my way throught Michael Connelly. That sounds like I'm not enjoying them but, actually, I am, very much. As my daughter says, I have a fairly high "gore tolerance". And I guess I do-as long as it's fiction. I have no interest in true crime or slasher or horror. Also, I think I have it figured out that I like the after-the-fact trying to solve the puzzle and the relationships-work and personal. I don't like seeing the actual violence although showing and dealing with the aftermath doesn't bother me-CSI, House, ER (back when it was really a medical show and not a soap opera). I'm not sure what that says about me.

At any rate- Blood Work is pretty darn good. I was under the impression that Connelly only wrote one continuing character but that is obviously not true. This hero is Terell McCaleb, a retired FBI agent specializing in serial killers. He's retired because he has just had a heart transplant. The sister of the women whose heart he has has tracked him down and wants him to find her sister's killer-vehemently against doctor's orders.

Just a very short note today. The book is Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. Yes, that John Grisham, he of the legal thrillers. However, this one reads as if he was on vacation and was writing just for fun, just for himself, about something that just happened to catch his fancy. A very mediocre NFL quarterback finds himself in Italy playing for the Mighty Panthers of Parma. This is the story of his 9-month stay. Unfortunately, it is not very interesting, doesn't go into any depth or description of his experiences, and doesn't even have a definite wrap-up to what he's going to do next. The words used by the reviewers on the bookcover were lighthearted, winsome, delightfully comic, charming, etc. Oh well.

This post will be almost a duplicate of the last one.

Another book about a group of women who come together somewhat randomly and end up best friends. The Professor's Wives' Club by Joanne Rendell. Rendell has a Phd in literature and is married to a professor so I'm assuming that there is some accuracy in her writing about this environment. However, it didn't really feel any different than The Friday Night Knitting Club. And it's interesting that the cover has a quote by Kate Jacobs, author of that book. Maybe that's a telling point. There is a thread that runs through women's friendships that is similar no matter where or why they meet so that "women's" literature all starts to sound alike. Someone who loves this genre may get believe that I am belittling the style. That would not be true. I love murder mysteries but I would be the first to admit that there are more simlarities than dissimilarities between them. Just as someone who loves John Wayne movies can tell them apart and can recite all the nuances while someone else who recognizes John Wayne as a unique talent may still see them as all seeming to be so similar as to be "another John Wayne movie" rather than a particular movie with a title and specific plot.

The second book is Trunk Music by Michael Connelly. I'm still working my way through the set that mom gave me. This one goes back to Harry Bosch. The language is still pretty rough but it would not be possible to write this particular type of murder mystery without some reference to this type of language. And it's not used gratuitously. Connelly does a good job of allowing Bosch to be quite introspective. He frequently analyzes his emotions as well as his actions so that you come away feeling as if you are getting to know him. This book has a happy ending-his honeymoon in Hawaii.

Two books-very different, both fun.

There seems to be a plethora of books about cooking, knitting, women's groups, etc. This first book came from mom. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. It's a first novel by a women who worked for Redbook, Family Life,
and Working Woman. And it reads exactly like a continuing novel out of one of those magazines. That's not an insult-it's just a recognition of the style. It was actually a rather pleasant read. A woman finds herself pregnant and the father takes off. Through a series of misunderstandings, stubborness, and unwillingness to be hurt again she raises the child (who happens to be mixed race although that is almost a non-issue, hallallujah) on her own, building a successful yarn store business and gathering an assortment of other lonely and alone women friends. The man reenters her life (of course) and they rebuild their relationship. The twist at the end is that she has cancer and dies leaving her daughter and the business in the hands of the father, newly found extended family, as well as the friends. If you're looking for a "woman's read" this one was a satisfying as any other.

The other was actually a lot more fun. Opem and Shut by David Rosenfelt. This one was a randon pick by me in a used book store. That's a plug for used book stores everywhere-not the chains like Half Price books which I don't think are much of a deal but the honest to goodness community bookstores. The one in my hometown doesn't even waste money on a telephone, but then again it's a very small home town! This another first novel published in 2002 so I'm hoping there's another one out there by now. It's a lawyer book-Andy Carpenter. The refreshing thing about him is that he's young, witty, and claims an upbringing free of disfunction or undue grief, love for his parents and no left-over psychological issues to deal with. He's generally happy with life. He is coming to terms with a divorce but it doesn't seem to be leaving any nasty scars. A dying request from his father compels Andy to take on an appeal which has no hope of getting his client off of death row. Surprise!

The second Michael Connelly is The Poet. It turns out that Connelly has more than one protagonist. This one is Jack McEvoy. He is a journalist who chooses his own homicide stories and writes the backstory. This time it's the murder of his twin brother, the victim of a serial killer who is targeting homicide cops-each of whom has a case that haunts them that they are unable to solve. This had a couple of good twists at the end so you didn't really know who-done-it until the very end. Interesting, complex characters. I wonder who the next book will be about.

Just as an update-we're still doing Olympics! To be fair, only Mitchell is watching at this point. I'm really just waiting to see the closing ceremonies. However, every once in a while I'll watch the synchronized swimming-not because I think it ought to be an Olympic event, but because, like rhythmic gymnasstics it's just kind of fascinating to watch!

One other note-our main TV in the family room has died. Do we spend the $400 to fix it or just buy a new one. We'll have to do some comparison shopping. I think they are significantly cheaper now than when we bought it-2003 I think.

My mom has taken to collecting authors. When she finds an author she likes she tries to find all his books and then keeps track of when both she and dad have read them. She's happy to pass them along providing you keep them together so I get the benefit of this book collecting.

The last author she gave me was Michael Connelly. His continuuing protagonist is Harry Bosch (Hieronymous Bosch! How's that for a great name!). I've just read the first one called The Concrete Blonde. I don't believe this is the first in the series-just the first of the ones mom has collected. To be honest, I haven't decided if I like these books, yet. It's fairly dark, combines both police/detective work and courtroom drama. Maybe it's a little too dark and the language a little bit rough for me although I have to admit it kept me until the end. Harry is an interesting, intelligent, broken character and Connelly uses the story well to advance our knowledge of his past.

These last couple of weeks I have also read Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg. This was written in 1992 in Denmark and translated to English the following year. Smilla Jasperson is a Greenlander living in Denmark and the book talks about the difficulties she feels in not being completely comfortable in either society and in the injustices foisted upon one culture by the other. Smilla is brilliant, anti-social, tough, and intriguing. She becomes attached against her will to a little boy, also a Greenlander, in her apartment building. One day she arrives home to find that he has fallen off the roof and died. However, because she "knows" snow and how it looks in any situation she knows he did not simply fall. The book becomes a suspense thriller, a detective story, and a psychological description. I found it to be an absorbing story and beautifully written.

My bookclub chose it and then it was "unchosen" because of the fear that some would find it inappropriate or be offended. Sad decision. We read Infidel and I can't imagine being more offended by anything than that. One of the decisions we had made in our first meeting was that the person whose turn it was to choose the book did not have to have read it-only to have been intriqued by it. If it was found to be inappropriate or offensive each person could choose to continue or stop reading and that itself would constitute part of the discussion. Why and how it was offensive, where the original recommendation came from, do we continue to take recommendations from that source or not, etc. I spent some time debating about even continuing in this club. I'll bring this problem up next week at our meeting and see where it goes in discussion.

Just for fun-we're still finishing up the Olympics. I think it's lasting longer this year than aver before!

A couple more books read during the Olympics. One was amusing, one I couldn't even get through. I'll list it so that we remember not to ever pick it up again. Skeptic by Holden Scott. This I can't even give a decent synopsis of the book because it was just boring. Something about biomedicine, murder, hallucinations, toxins, ghosts, a beautiful Chinese CIA agent, the Chinese Revolution......the back calls it a medical thriller. Oh, well.

The other one was Timeline by Michael Crichton. Always a fun read-Jurassic Park, Sphere, The Andromeda Strain, ER on TV.

This one requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief but was fun. The premise is a multinational corporation that is developing the technology to send people to alternate universes that looks like time travel. The result of this travel is found by a group of young archeologists who then are sent to that space to rescue their professor who has been stranded there. I did say you had to suspend disbelief!!!! There are a lot of historical accurate descriptions and explanations for the 1300s.

I have read a couple of books during the last couple of weeks of Olympics mania. Nothing too heavy-going because I had to read during the events. This, however, is something I've always done-watched TV and read at the same time. I love both activities and they always seemed to dovetail very neatly for me. My husband and kids don't like it, however, because I'm frequently saying things like-"who's that? wait, what's going on? what did he say? I don't understand-how does that fit in with (fill in the blank)?" That's got to be better than swearing that I never saw something because I actually slept through most of it-which is what I did most of the time when our kids were little. And now, of course, with the miracles of fast forwarding and rewinding, I can keep up-although that makes my daughter want to kill me.

Anyway, here's one of the things I read during beach volleyball, or maybe dressage, or was it sabre fencing? Murder is Academic A Cambridge Mystery by Christine Poulson. This is her first book and I enjoyed it. I mentioned in an earlier post that I love English mysteries-this one has an added benefit-it's an English mystery set in an English university. It's an OK read, the plot was a little thin but I did enjoy the setting and the people were well described. I'd give Poulson one more chance if I find her.

I have done almost nothing for the last three weeks except watch the Olympics-and we still have hours recorded that will have to be watched! Not only do we record daytime coverage but also the 8 hours of nighttime coverage.
If you add up the hours in the day and figure you have to devote a few to sleeping it's easy to see why our Olympics can last 4-5 weeks while other poor souls only have a couple of weeks.

I am up to date on Michael Phelps (with fond memories of Spitz) and the gymnastics events. The team sports don't actually interest me although I have seen a lot of them because my husband watches EVERYTHING even if he fast forwards through some. The Olympics seems (seem? I need my daughter to edit that for me) to do best when it's the best of the best individuals even though there may be a team backing them up-as in gymnastics. Although I have to admit to boredom during the rifle events and the sabre fencing. And while I am in awe of the women's beach volleyball, I am equally appalled at the requirements for their uniforms. I gather it is one of the events where the stands are always filled (this has been a problem with the Beijing Olympics). No wonder-everyone likes to watch strong, graceful, talented, NAKED women.

P.S. My sister in law speaks Chinese and says the correct pronunciation of Beijing is with a hard "j". As in Jingle Bells, not as in shut.

I had no idea, when I sat down to write, that I was going to write about the olympics but there you have it!

Two terrific books in a row. Last entry it was Dick Francis. This time it's an autobiography called Infidel by Ayann Hirsi Ali. Hirsi was born in Somalia to a strict, traditional Muslim family and upbringing. She was raised in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya and ends up as a member of Parliament in the Netherlands. This sounds like a fairy tale come true but she is constantly under death threat by reactionary Islamists, lives under armed guard, and has been disowned by her family and clan.

I came away with immense admiration for this very strong, intelligent individual. She may not have a very good grasp of numbers and statistics (she tells of her struggles getting into courses and colleges in the Netherlands) but she thinks, speaks, and writes with clear logic while never abandoning emotion.

Her life is startling in, and of, itself but she was not generally known by the public and was certainly not an international figure until the murder of Theo Van Gogh, a film maker, in 2005. They had made a short 10-minute film together called Submission, about the life of a Muslim woman. This woman might live anywhere in the world but has no individual freedom. This movie was the final straw that put her under armed guard and required her escape to the US for a year for her own safety, and resulted in the murder of Van Gogh. I remember being shocked by the event when it happened in that small, peaceful country but only being vaguely aware of the background.

She is anything but politically correct. Her indictment of Islam is profoundly sad while scathing at the same time.

When people say that the values of Islam are compassion, tolerance, and freedom, I look at reality, at real cultures, and governments, and I see that it simply isn't so. People in the West swallow this sort of thing
because they have learned not to examine the religions or cultures of minorities too critically, for fear of being called racist.

It makes for some serious thinking about the events in the world.

I've just come across a new website that looks interesting. WhatShouldIReadNext.com. I'm pretty sure the caps aren't necessary but it helps to figure out what it says the first time you see it.

Two books this time. The first is frankly not worth the time to read-Highland Laddie Gone by Sharon McCrumb. Not a bad book, just not very good. It's set at a Scottish Festival in West Virginia. One of the review blurbs inside the cover calls it a social comedy. It's certainly more that than a murder mystery but also it wasn't very funny.

The next one is the polar opposite. Hot Money by Dick Francis. If you've never read anything by this author you're in for a real treat. He was the queen's jockey in England and knows the racing world forward and backward. Every book he writes is in some way connected to racing, however, the world of horses and racing only serves as a backdrop to the incredible writing and character development he manages to create book after book. He only has a couple of continuing characters and that worried me when I was first introduced to him (courtesy of my mom) because I enjoy following the lives of the characters. However, now I grab a new one whenever I have a chance. It doesn't matter what the dust jacket says about the plot. He could write about anything and it would be worth reading-and difficult to put down til it's finished. When you do finish there is the distinct mixture of satisfaction after finishing a really well written book and dismay that you have to leave that world.

I checked his website-DickFrancis.com and it says that his last one was published in 2000 but I thought I read in the paper that he had a new one out this last year. However, it did list 38 novels and a collection of short stories so there are enough to keep us going for a while. Francis is 88 years old so we can only hope he continues writing as long as possible.

I just read some of the posts to his site and several (dated within the last week) mentioned his latest-Under Orders-written with his son. So I was right and his blog is just not quite up-to-date. Yeah, I have another one to find!

I've been reading a book that stinks-literally. I received it from a book swap with the warning that the front cover was folded as if the book had been read in one hand with the front cover bent around the back. That doesn't bother me because I'm one of the worst abusers of books (my own-I'm very careful with others'. However, I have taught my kids the same bad habits, much to the dismay of my husband). I don't think a book is properly readable until the back has been broken and I love used books with comments in the margins. I even love an old book musty smell. However, I was not warned that at least one of the previous owners was a smoker-and obviously loved to smoke while reading (hence the folding back of the book cover? book in one hand, cigarette in the other?) I had to hold it uncomfortably far away from my face and turn the pages one at a time, slowly or I would get a waft of cigarette smoke. I would only hold it with one hand because my hand would come away smelling like smoke and I was very careful what surfaces I set it down on. I can't remember ever actually throwing a book away-not a huge fan of censorship or book burnings! However, when I finish this post this one goes straight into the recycle bin!

This is all very unfortunate because the book is Harm Done by Ruth Rendell. She writes a continuing character by the name Inspector Reg Wexford. I like police procedurals even though they are everywhere and, generally speaking, people frequently look down their noses at them-probably because they have been so prevalent in the last several years. The only thing better than an American police procedural is an English one. This one is set in Kingsmarkham-a small town in the English countryside. That's as close to locating it as I can get.

This one was a little annoying because it started off with a crime to be solved that turned out to be only tangentially related to the major crime that becomes the focus of the book. A lot of time was spent setting up the circumstances of the original crime and I kept wishing she would bring the story back into line with that until I realized that it really wasn't important except in how it set up the later episodes

I realize that I've gone on too long-again. Suffice it to say that I will continue to read Ruth Rendell. I thoroughly enjoy her characters, I like spending a little bit of time in England, and I do like police procedurals.

Ok, Ok, Ok! I finally finished Hitchhiker! About halfway through it I was derailed so I could read my bookclub book-and then I lost momentum and had a hard time getting back. But today I've been really sick and didn't feel like doing anything so I picked it up and finished it in between falling asleep for short naps. I wasn't falling asleep because I was bored (although I was), the naps just sort of snuck up and attacked me for short periods.

So I can now say with experience to back up my opinion that I really don't care for Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm still trying to figure out why. I was one of the first and most enduring fans of the Star Trek series' (all but Deep Space Nine-I had trouble with that one). I get a kick out of Dr Who. During all the Stargates I was either out of the country or raising kids so I'm just now watching that series-all out of order (drives my 17-year-old crazy-she wants to watch it in the order it was made. But if I wait to do that I'll be on Medicare). So it's not like I don't like cheesy, silly, sci-fi. But Hitchhiker just seemed to have no point and no likeable characters.

I still haven't finished Hitchhiker. But I have a good excuse, or at least an excuse. About a month ago I helped organize a book club. The first meeting to actually discuss a book is tomorrow evening. I had ordered the book from the library and it didn't come in until last week so that's pretty much all the "fun" reading I've been doing.

One of the main reasons (at least one of my main reasons) for joining a book club is to find out what other people are reading and to discover new genres or books that haven't made it into your world view. Fortunately, this doesn't require that you like any of the chosen books-just that you read them with an open mind and listen to other's opinions and viewpoints. If you find a gem, so much the better. At least you've broadened your horizons just a bit, increased your abilility to respond to new ideas and, hopefully, enjoyed the company of the rest of the group.

These is My Words, The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901, Arizona Territories by Nancy E Turner is not a book that I would have picked up on my own so I had a hard time diving right in and being as devoted as I would be with a murder mystery or sci-fi or something that just caught my eye. The beginning reminded me of the Little House series. And, while I loved that particular series, I generally am not interested in that period of time, or stories of the wild west or the settlers, or westerns. So I struggled to stay motivated. However, it became easier as the book progressed. It started out using the voice of a teen girl who had never been to school and had taught herself to read and write. The language and grammar progressed along with the book and became more sophisticated. There are no chapters as such, just diary entries and the writer does a good job of letting the girl grow into womanhood and describe her life and activities, and helping us care for the people in her world. In short, (because I'm trying hard to stay short!) I did become involved. I still would not choose that era to read about but I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to hearing what others have to say about it as well.

Well, I did it again! After I posted the last blog I realized it was just as long as all the others! Ok, I will keep trying to shorten them.

Earlier I talked about the author Robert B Parker and in going through my bookshelf I found 3 more of his books. I'm not going to talk about them, other than to list them so that they are included. The first is a Sunny Randall book-Blue Screen. The other two are Spenser books which is where I started with Parker-Sudden Mischief and Hundred-Dollar Baby.

I'm staying really short this week. I don't have a finished book. However, the one I've started is Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I've started it a dozen times but never managed to finish it. But my 17-year-old found it and I've decided this time I'm actually going to finish it. I'll let you know.

My 17-year-old daughter tells me that my blogs are "long". She's a good kid and never hurts anyone's feelings on purpose and she says that if I'm saying what I want to say then they're OK. I'm sure that by the blogging world's standards they are too wordy. But I don't know how to talk about books without using words! At any rate I'll try to keep them a little shorter. No promises just a try!

Here's the book of the week. What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman. She has a series with a continuing character by the name of Tess Monaghan. I have not read any of those and picked this one up-where? Books do that sometimes-they just appear on my bookshelf and I have no recollection of having bought (or heaven forbid!) borrowed them from anyone. Do they migrate here knowing it's a safe haven? Do I go into a book fugue state where I pick them up unconsciously? I don't know but this one showed up on the shelf next to my bed and I read it.

This would probably be classified as a crime novel, although not true crime which I don't read. I get enough true crime from the nightly news and the newspaper. When I read for fun I want fiction. But it could also be classified as a mystery, a thiller, a police procedural, a psychological thriller, and perhaps even a touch of women's fiction (whatever that is) although there is no romance, no white night, no dark and brooding stranger, or any of the other cliches.

There are two sisters, young teens, who disappear from the local mall-and are never found. Decades later, as a result of a traffic accident, a woman announces that she is one of the girls. She knows the details but cannot or will not provide any concrete proof for the police. Lippman does a good job of weaving today and previous years together without getting lost. She tells the story of both the family which is left after the girls disappear and the life the girls led-or at least this woman claims to have led.

I enjoyed this. It was a good puzzle with a good surprise. I will probably keep my eyes open for more Lippman-or maybe they will recognize a friendly home and just find their way here!

First of all, check out the link to the right for What's On My Bookshelf. This site lets you trade books using a simple point system. The more books you register and send off the more points you get and the more books you can request. You pay for the postage to send the book to someone who has requested it and in return, when you request a book it shows up in your mailbox with no postage due-makes the day feel a bit like Christmas! Credit to my daughter for showing me this site.

Today, I wanted to share an author that I actually found while watching TV. I'm a fan of murder mysteries on screen as well as in print and several years ago I started watching the Spenser for Hire series. I was disappointed when the series ended but one day I stumbled over Robert B Parker and was thrilled to find all the same characters and the same tone.

Parker took a detour and started a new series inhabited by Sunny Randall who also lives in Boston. If you're a dog lover, like me, you'll love the idea of a private detective combined with her black and white, miniature, English bull terrier, Rosie. Parker has inhabited Sunny's world with a cast of characters who give the series very much the same "feel" as the Spenser books. The dialogue is witty and intelligent, the plots are suspenseful, and the characters are eccentric.

I have two Sunny Randall books sitting in front of me-not recent reads but I will be registering them on What's On My Bookshelf and I thought I'd share them with you first. They are Shrink Rap and Melancholy Baby. In Shrink Rap Sunny is hired to protect a woman from her ex-husband who is a shrink. To get some leverage on him Sunny decides to become his patient. Not only is he a stalker it turns out he's a good shrink and she discovers the beginning of some hard truths about herself. In Melancholy Baby Spenser's Boston and Sunny's Boston intersect in the form of Dr. Silverman who is also a shrink and Spenser's significant other. Sunny's ex-husband is getting remarried and she needs to sort out her emotions. She obviously can't continue with the stalker!

Before I sign off for today, I want to tell you about one more series that Parker has created. This is the Jesse Stone series. A couple of them have been made into movies starring Tom Selleck. It's worth checking out from your local DVD store as well as getting them in print. Parker is obviously savvy enough to maintain control over content when he agrees to allow his books to be filmed. The problem with books with continuing characters is that the author simply can't write them fast enough and eventually they end. Fortunately, Parker has created these three different, satisfying series.

I just finished a book that is distinctly more serious than the last one I talked about. It's the Color of Water by James McBride. The subtitle is A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. It's partly autobiographical and partly biographical in that he set out to discover who he was and in the process learned who his mother was as well as his grandmother.

His grandmother was a crippled Orthodox Jewish emigree from Poland. His father was a travelling rabbi-travelling because he was not well-liked and his contracts were never renewed. Finally he bought a large rickety barn-like building in Virginia at the end of one of his contracts and became a shopkeeper. Not only was he not well-liked by his synagogues, he was not beloved by his family either. He abused and tormented them alI.

The store was in the black section of town and their daughter left home as early as possible and found herself drawn to Harlem in New York. She met a kind, caring, solid black man who felt the call to become a preacher and start a church. They loved each other and after several years of being together braved all convention and got married. Her family had long since disowned her but the black community welcomed her with open arms. In the process she also converted to Christianity and was passionate about it her whole life. Her first husband died, however, she was fortunate enough to meet another good man, also black, who took care of her. In all she had 12 children, all of whom attained graduate degrees.

James, the author, is a writer, composer, and saxophonist. He spent years pulling his mother's story out of her, frequently meeting with the answer that he should mind his own business. She had had a hard life in spite of having been lucky in love. Her childhood left many scars and she was not eager to talk about them or pass them along to her son. James was not even aware of his Jewish heritage until adulthood. He just knew he was different. His skin was dark, his mother's was light, and everywhere they went they created a scene because of the size of the group! His mother's response to his race was that he was a human being and without an education he would be a nobody. The most important things in her life were education and the church. The most important thing to remember was that God's spirit was the color of water.

The book is masterfully written, interspersing chapters about his grandmother and mother with his own life. The book is not long but it took me a long time to read it because I felt the need to take frequent breaks and read easier, less mentally and emotionally challenging books along the way. However, it's now time to hand it back to my mother who loaned it to me so that she can send it back to the friend who loaned it to her! If anyone else has read this book I would love to know what you thought about it.

This is my first time out. I'm very much a newbie so I'm hoping you will all be patient with me.



I read-a lot. And I'm always interested in what other people are reading. If I'm out in public and I see someone with a book I'll go through all sorts of contortions to see the title of the book. My husband tells me I'm just nosy (I also like to "overhear" conversations in restaurants) but I really do want to know what people are reading. I'm interested in everything and have read a little bit of everything during my lifetime. I do, however, have a guilty pleasure. When I want to just relax and enjoy I read murder mysteries. When I first decided to write this blog I thought I'd concentrate on the different types of murder mysteries. However, there are so many other genres that I don't want to miss out on any gems. So while my reading may be weighted in that direction it won't be restricted to that.



I'll let you in on what I'm reading and I'd love to hear what you are carrying around with you, or what you curl up with at the end of the day-or the beginning of the day-or whenever you think you can get away with it! Tell me how you like it, information about the author, who you share your books with, anything about your reading life that you'd like to share.



Here's the first book to share with you. I needed an airplane book. Something light, easy, fun, something to counteract the noise and discomfort of travel these days. I actually picked this up at the airport. Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke. It's the first book of hers that I've read and they all have a continuing character. Hannah Swensen, who owns a bakery. They're all named after a yummy dessert and include several recipes. I'm going to try her popover recipe this afternoon. It was fun, lighthearted, and only took a few hours to read. Exactly what I was looking for, although it was frustrating to have to wait until I got home to try any of the recipes!