Thursday, June 1, 2023

May 2023 Wrap-Up


Books Read: 
To the Letter: A Celebration of the Lost Art of Letter Writing by Simon Garfield (2013)  4/5 stars
This nonfiction book is exactly what it claims to be: a celebration of letter writing.  Garfield gives short biographies of some of the most famous letter writers in history, discusses the art and history of letter writing, and breaks the chapters up with the love letters written between a solider in World War II and his girl back home.  He covers a lot of territory and not always in depth, but it's a genuinely enjoyable experience, especially for one who still writes, receives, and cherishes letters.

Audiobooks Completed:
I continued my reread of Laurie R. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series this month.  I enjoyed these three even more this second time.
Garment of Shadows (2012) 4/5 stars
Dreaming Spies (2015) 4/5 stars
The Murder of Mary Russell (2016) 5/5 stars

I began the 15th of the series, Island of the Mad, but did not enjoy it nearly as much as my review showed I did previously.  I listened to about a third of it, and then decided not to finish. As I had read the most recent two of the series within the last twelve months, I decided it was time for new authors.

The Body Politic by Catherine Aird  (1990) 3/5 stars
The plot is somewhat convoluted in this well-written mystery, but the book is fully enjoyable,  Aird's sly wit is laugh-out-loud funny at times, and the performance of the audiobook narrator, Derek Perkins, adds to it immensely. 

The Great Mistake by  Mary Roberts Rinehart (1940)  5/5 stars
I'm a long-time fan or Rinehart, and to me, this is one of her best.  It has a complicated plot, but all the pieces are available, and it makes sense in the end.  The Great Mistake is well-written, slyly humorous, and nicely plotted, and her famous tongue-in-cheek "had I but known" foreshadowing is excellently done.  This thoroughly enjoyable mystery would make a good introduction to Rinehart for those who enjoy the mysteries of the 1940s.


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