Finished When the Sparrow Falls by Neil Sharpson, which is one of the best novels I’ve read this year. Strongly recommended SF.
Now I’m reading The Deadline Effect: Inside Elite Organizations That Have Mastered the Ticking Clock, by Christopher Cox.
I finished Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher. I enjoyed it quite a bit, Ursula’s trademark snarky humor and witty banter was as good as ever.
Finished Looking Glass Sound. It started off well, but the second half of the book was a mess…dreams, hallucinations, and previous events rewritten by different characters. In the end I didn’t know what had happened and didn’t care. Catriona Ward’s Last House on Needless Street was a big hit with me, but all of her books I’ve tried since then just aren’t getting it. I think I’m done with her.
Agents of Empire: Knights, Corsairs, Jesuits, and Spies in the Sixteenth-Century Mediterranean World Noel Malcolm
The conflicts of the 1500’s seen through the lens of an extended Venetian - Albanian family whose members served in various clerical, business and military roles.
Rather densely written, but I enjoyed reading it.
Started today on Her Little Flowers, by Shannon Morgan, a novel about a woman living comfortably with the ghosts in her ancestral home until she learns a shocking secret. 
I mean, the premise couldn’t be better! The writing seems a bit awkward but I’m hoping it turns out well.
Finished The Deadline Effect: Inside Elite Organizations That Have Mastered the Ticking Clock, by Christopher Cox, which was okay.
Now I’m reading Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, by Anita Loos.
Finished Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, by Anita Loos, which I enjoyed.
Now I’m reading Go Here Instead: The Alternative Travel List, edited by Rada Radojicic et al.
Reread “Abaddon’s Gate” recently, and hoping to go onto the rest of the Expanse series soon (I had previously read up to AG but never gone past it). Also reading QualityLand by Marc-Uwe Kling, and a few other books.
Finished Death in D Minor by Alexia Gordon. I’m probably done with this series. The ending explanation was so convoluted I didn’t follow it and was bored out of my mind. You know a book has lost your interest when you stop reading right before the climax to go to sleep.
Still reading the Count of Monte Cristo and I do intend to finish but it’s rough going. It got dark fast, and I find the main character contemptible and the others vapid and uninteresting. At this point I think it would have been better for him to never escape prison.
Next up: Probably something science fiction, as that tends to be my main genre. Maybe book 3 of The Expanse.
Finished Go Here Instead: The Alternative Travel List, edited by Rada Radojicic et al. It was mildly interesting, and I have little interest in travel. Someone who enjoys travel would probably enjoy it quite a bit.
Now I’m reading Dust & Grim by Chuck Wendig.
Finished Dust & Grim by Chuck Wendig, which was okay.
Now I’m reading Comedy Bang! Bang! The Podcast: The Book, edited by Scott Aukerman
I finished Andrew Blauner’s The Peanuts Papers, which he edited. It’s a bunch of writings, mostly by professional writers, cartoonists, and artists, about the comic strip Peanuts; most are personal essays about the influence the strip and the characters had on the writers, mostly but not exclusively while they were growing up. For someone who always has liked the strip (like me) it was fun to read.
That being said, there was a LOT of repetition, with multiple writers making the same points, sometimes in very similar language–the deceptive simplicity of the strip, the fact that the characters are children and yet they aren’t really children, the gloom that often pervades the strip; two writers even used the analogy of the Fonz taking over the TV show Happy Days to describe Snoopy becoming the central figure of Peanuts, and a remarkable number (to me) of the writers identified closely with Charlie Brown. I’m not sure what an an anthologist can do to ensure more variety among the pieces in a book like this–maybe nothing–but I found myself skimming through a few of the later pieces.
The best was an essay by Jonathan Frantzen, called “Two Ponies.” There were other good ones too, but this one stood out.
As an aside, there is a short piece in this book by Ira Glass of This American Life, a show which leaves me completely cold and whose appeal I have never understood. I now think I understand why I don’t understand its appeal–Glass says he never thought Peanuts was funny. Aha! He and I evidently have very, very different ways of approaching creative works. Now it all falls into place…
I just started the first Ms. Marple book by Agatha Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage - and it is fantastic so far. Witty and engaging with well-drawn characters, including the vicar’s “incompetent” wife Griselda, who I’d be friends with in a heartbeat.
Finished Her Little Flowers…My Big Mistake. Ha! No, not really, but I couldn’t resist the snappy review. It’s a better book than I will ever write, because I am not an author. But as a reader I was itching to edit or give constructive criticism throughout. Pacing problems, odd phrasing choices, unlikable characters. Mostly, I hate that this is being marketed as a horror novel when it’s really a cozy romance. I wouldn’t have finished it, but I’m suffering a paucity of library books at the moment.
Finished Comedy Bang! Bang! The Podcast: The Book, edited by Scott Aukerman. Not recommended.
Now I’m reading The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson.
I read Red, White, and Royal Blue because my kiddo read and loved it a couple of years ago and wanted me to catch up so we could watch the Amazon Prime movie version together. The book was pretty entertaining–a cute romance with some funny moments. The movie captured bits and pieces of it, but didn’t have as much charm.
I finished The Boys From Biloxi by John Grisham. Another well-spun yarn from one of my favorite authors. The protagonists in this tale are members of two prominent area families on opposite sides of the law. If you like Grisham, you’ll like this book.
I listened to the audio book. It was masterfully narrated by Michael Beck, who somehow managed to create many different variations of the Southern dialect.
Started today on The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell.
I read it last month and quite enjoyed it as well. I’ve heard enough about the movie that I think I’ll steer clear.
I finished Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher. It was pretty good, even if it needed some fluff cut out. Won’t be one of my favorites of hers, but I regret nothing about reading it.
Dunno what’s up next… maybe some manga.