Some favorite books...

Some Miscellaneous Favorite Books & Authors....

in no particular order....

for no particular reason....

Seeing Trees:  After reading this book, you will want to look closely at trees and all nature.
By Nancy Ross Hugo
Waiting for the Biblioburro: First saw a short film on PBS; inspiring story of delivering books in rural Columbia.  (Children’s book)   By Monica Brown
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Alexander McCall Smith --- I like all his series:  #1 Ladies Detective Agency; Isabel Dalhousie; 44 Scotland Street; Corduroy Mansions;  the stand alone title, La’s Orchestra Saves the World is a delight.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson (reprint of 1938 title; also a film) -- Due to mistaken identity a dowdy, incompetent nanny gets a taste of the glamourous life as an assistant to a nightclub performer.

Two other earlier writers I enjoy are E. F. Benson, who wrote the very amusing Lucia series; and Dornford Yates who wrote both humorous tales (Berry & Co) as well as mild thrillers (Blind Corner).  These are periodically re-issued or may turn up among used books.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson  In an English village an unlikely friendship develops between a widowed retired Major and the Pakistani proprietor of a village shop.

Sound of a Wild Snail Eating  by Elisabeth Tova Baily -- nonfiction; the gift of a wild snail becomes an object of great interest to the bedridden author.

Anita Brookner -- I like all of hers but especially Hotel du Lac -- a young woman runs out on her wedding just before the ceremony.  Brookner’s books are character studies more than plot oriented books.

Mary Wesley -- British author’s debut novel published when she was 70; most well-known title is Camomile Lawn, set in the summer before WWII; made into a film.

Barbara Pym -- gentle, yet penetrating, character studies.

Joanne Harris -- favorites are Chocolat ; and Five Quarters of the Orange in which a woman recalls her childhood during the Nazi occupation when her mother was accused of collaboration.

Joanna Trollope -- her books revolve around changing family relationships, but she avoids the blatantly dysfunctional cliches;  she writes believably and sympathetically of children who are caught up in the changes.  Favorites:  The Rector’s Wife; Marrying the Mistress; A Spanish Lover

Penelope Lively -- Short books, that tell a memorable story.  Favorites: Consequences; Making it Up; How it all Began

Cory Doctorow  -- I’ve read a couple of his young adult novels -- Little Brother which is about teens fighting back against constant surveillance; For the Win about online gaming and gold-mining -- fast-paced, engrossing, and thought-provoking

Neal Stephenson -- science fiction, and not so-far-in-the-future fiction  Favorites: Diamond Age;  Cryptonomicon; Reamde

William Gibson -- science fiction, especially the related titles Pattern Recognition; Spook Country; and Zero History which show a society built around marketing

Mystery Writers / Series

Kerry Greenwood -- Phyrne Fisher - set in 1920’s Melbourne
                                Corinna Chapman - set in contemporary Melbourne

Elizabeth George -- getting back on track with the Lynley series  after Helen’s death   

Martha Grimes -- Richard Jury -- last couple with Johnson are a bit odd but Jury and his neighbors are still interesting

Good Thief’s guide to...  series by Chris Ewan -- reformed thief, now mystery writer, finds himself in situations as dire as those he creates for his main character.  

Mrs Pargeter mysteries by Simon Brett -- Mrs P. is a widow who, fortunately,  never  inquired too deeply into her husband’s business affairs; his former associates are only too happy to assist her when necessary.

Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Susan Albert Wittig -- the author of Peter Rabbit appears as a character in these gentle mysteries, but the other characters and the stories are fictional.  The animals can communicate with each other and are distinct characters.

Robert Barnard -- author of short mysteries that read quickly and effortlessly.

Henning Mankell -- Kurt Wallander series; but he also writes stand alone novels such as Man from Beijing which has a riveting beginning, and Italian Shoes, which is not a crime novel at all.

Three Bags Full; a Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann  -- unique mystery in which a flock of sheep try to unravel the mysterious death of their shepherd.