Reading Plan for the Rest of 2013

Hello All,

I'm going to do something radical for the next 2 months. I'm only going to read fiction, and I'm only going to read WHAT I WANT TO READ. Crazy, I know!

By no means have I been reading books I don't want to read. But I seem to be reading things that I think I should read (new fiction, nonfiction books regarding health or maybe a social issue); this isn't working for me right now, and I'm not enjoying reading like I should be.

I do realize I will never run out of things to read--I read new books, old books, and I re-read books I love. And I also re-read books to get back on track with a series that somehow I've missed a few of the more recent entries. So I decided to take care of me and have a lot of fun, because that's what reading, and life should be all about!

Some of the books in the To-Be-Read pile of fiction include:

(From the library)
Adams, Ellery; A Killer Plot (mystery)
York, Sheila; A Good Knife's Work (mystery, 1940s)
Jenkins, Beverly; Destiny's Embrace (historical romance, western)
Aaronovitch, Ben; Midnight Riot (mystery)
Rowell, Rainbow; Attachments (fiction)
Miller, Leigh Rae; The Summer I Became a Nerd (young adult fiction)
Hines, Jim C.; Libriomancer (fantasy)
MacLean, Sarah; A Rogue By Any Other Name (historical Regency romance)
Jamison, Sugar; Dangerous Curves Ahead (mystery/romance)
Weber, David; Treecat Wars (with Jane Lindskold) (young adult science fiction)
Parker, Robert B.; Silent Night: A Spenser Holiday Novel (with Helen Braun) (mystery)
Donaldson, Julianne; Blackmoore: A Proper Romance (historical romance)
Gilbert, Elizabeth; The Signature of All Things (fiction)

(At home):
Michaels, Barbara; Ammie Come Home (romantic suspense)
Balliett, Blue; Wright 3 (children's mystery)
Nguyen, Bich Minh; Pioneer Girl (advance copy) (fiction)
Allen, Sarah Addison; Lost Lake (advance copy) (fiction)
Crusie, Jennifer; Tell Me Lies (romance, fiction)

Recent books by the following authors:
Jenn McKinlay/Josie Belle, Julie Hyzy, Julia Spencer-Fleming (actually catching up on her series), E. J. Copperman, Juliet Blackwell, Naomi Novik and John Scalzi (all at home).

And some Christmas reads and re-reads will be thrown in during December, especially those by Connie Willis, and Jill Shalvis (romance, Christmas in Lucky Harbor, which contains the 1st 2 Lucky Harbor books, plus 2 Christmas novellas). And possibly Charlotte Macleod's Rest You Merry (mystery, almost an annual read for me), Miss Read's No Holly for Miss Quinn (fiction, another annual read) and Sandra Boynton's Christmastime (long out of print, but worth tracking down; it's hilarious).

And who knows what else might catch my eye over the next 2 months...?

Happy Reading!!!
Patti

PS No, I do not intend to hibernate over the next 2 months; there will be sports-watching, socializing and, of course, working :).

The Passion of the Purple Plumeria by Lauren Willig

Hello All,

The Passion of the Purple Plumeria by Lauren Willig was a lot of fun for this reader. It combined romance, adventure and mystery in a classic Regency setting.

Gwendolyn Meadows has been second-in-command to the spy the Pink Carnation in Paris. She returns to England to help find the Pink Carnation's younger sister who has gone missing from  her boarding school. Young Agnes has run away accompanied by her friend Lizzy, whose father has returned from India to be with his daughters. Gwen ends up joining Lizzy's father, William Reid, and together, with compatriots, they search the English countryside for the girls.

Gwen and William's adventures include witty banter, each taking care of the other as situations arise, and a romance begins despite their worries.

One of the best things about this book for me was the age of the characters. Gwen admits to being in her forties, and William is in his fifties. Yet they are not kept on the shelf or made to be comic characters on the sidelines. This is their story and their romance is front and center. As a reader in my late forties, I thank the author for writing this particular book.

Highly recommended!

Happy Reading!
Patti

The Passion of the Purple Plumeria by Lauren Willig 2013 Penguin 9780451414724

This book was sent to me for review by Penguin; no other compensation was offered or accepted for this review.

The Tucson Festival of Books

Hello All!

I'm so excited to be participating as a panel moderator at the Tucson Festival of Books again this year. The Festival is being held the second weekend of March, Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10. I am moderating three(!) panels, which has definitely been some work, but will definitely be fun over the Festival weekend.

For those of you in Arizona, and for those of you who are interested in things I'm doing and authors I'm reading, below is where I'll be and when next weekend:

Tucson Festival of Books 2013

Patti’s Panels

Different Voices

When: Saturday 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Where: Student Union - Santa Rita Room
Genre: Mystery

Authors	Moderator
Spencer Quinn Elizabeth Gunn Naomi Hirahara	Patti O'Brien

Keeping it Cozy

When: Sunday 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Where: Student Union - Santa Rita Room
Genre: Mystery

Authors	Moderator
Lisamarie Jelderks Rebecca Hale Jenn McKinlay	Patti O'Brien

Reluctant Detectives

When: Sunday 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Where: UA Bookstore
Genre: Mystery

Authors	Moderator
Naomi Hirahara Kate Mathis Donis Casey	Patti O'Brien

http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/

Hope to see some of you there!

Happy Reading!

Patti

Patti's Picks of 2012

Patti’s Picks:Favorites of 2012

The following is a list of books I enjoyed reading the most in 2012. Happy Reading in 2013!!!

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim (fiction)

In a Witch’s Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell (mystery with witches)

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (YA fantasy)

So Damn Lucky by Deborah Coontz (mystery)

Necessary as Blood (bk 13) and No Mark Upon Her (bk 14) by Deborah Crombie (English mysteries)

Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie (screwball romance)

My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison (1500s Irish mystery)

A Discovery of Witches (bk 1) and Shadow of Night (bk 2)  by Deborah Harkness (fantasy)

Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn (fiction)

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elias MacNeal (1940s English mystery)

Fatal Winter by G. M. Maillet (English mystery)

The Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron (mystery)

Red Velvet Revenge by Jenn McKinlay (mystery)

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (Quebec mystery)

Redshirts by John Scalzi (humorous science fiction)

Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow (Alaskan mystery)

A Lonely Death by Charles Todd (1920s English mystery)

Blackout by Connie Willis (time travel)

Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (1930s English mystery)

Nonfiction:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

The Truth About Style by Stacy London

In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero 
by Otto Penzler

Benediction by Kent Haruf

Hello All,

I am a lucky reader of an advance reader's copy of Benediction by Kent Haruf. I fell in love with Kent's writing and characters with Plainsong, which remains my favorite of his books.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/benediction defines benediction as 1. A blessing.
2. An invocation of divine blessing, usually at the end of a church service, among several other definitions. These two I feel are most appropriate to this book.

As with other books by Mr. Haruf, this book has several storylines: the end of Dad Lewis's life as he succumbs to cancer; the story of young Alice as she adjusts to living with her grandmother, neighbor to the Lewis's; how a minister and his family come to an early end of his career; and how a older mother and daughter move in and out of the lives of these people of Holt, Colorado.

There is sadness in this book, but also happy moments, as people come together, and look over the good moments in their respective lives. Regrets exist too, but those are there for everyone.

I believe the title Benediction refers to the blessing that people can be in other people's lives. Almost all of these characters are a blessing to each other. It's what we can do for others, and what we can appreciate when others do for us.  

Happy Reading,
Patti

Benediction by Kent Haruf 2013 Knopf ISBN 9780307959881

This book was sent to me for review by Knopf; no other compensation was offered or accepted for this review.

Murder Most Austen by Tracy Kiely

Hello All,

Murder Most Austen by Tracy Kiely is an excellent into the world of all things Austen. In this adventure, Elizabeth Parker and her great Aunt Winnie travel to England for a Jane Austen Festival being held in Bath. First they stop in London to enjoy some of its wonders, and then move on to Bath and the Festival.

On the plane to England, aunt and niece overhear, then become involved in, a conversation that renowned Professor Richard Baines is having with a female student about the deeper meanings he has "discovered" in Jane Austen's works. All of these meanings/stories are sordid, and go against all Jane Austen scholarship. Before the professor can share his "findings" at the Festival, he is murdered, and Elizabeth is the unfortunate one to find his body. Elizabeth and Aunt Winnie are pulled into some amateur sleuthing, by family members of the professor, and by a friend of Aunt Winnie's who is accused of the murder. As they find out that detecting in England is not all Miss Marple, they discover another body and eventually solve the murders.

I loved the settings and atmosphere of London and Bath. I also loved the setting of the Jane Austen Festival, and hopefully a real one exists. This is one of the few books I've read where I would have liked more descriptions of London, Bath and the Festival; usually I look for a little less description, but this was a trip I wanted to know more about. I also thought that the character of Professor Richard Baines was perfectly despicable and I liked that I felt that way.

I found Murder Most Austen by Tracy Kiely to be a good read and I recommend it!

Happy Reading!
Patti

Murder Most Austen by Tracy Kiely 2012 Minotaur Books ISBN 9781250007421

This book was sent to me for review by Minotaur Books; no other compensation was offered or accepted for this review.

Blog Sabbatical

Hello All!

As you may have noticed, I have not written a blog post in over three months. I seem to have some kind of writer's block.

For now, and possibly for the summer, I'm going to take a sabbatical from blogging. I've had some positive changes in my life (Tucson Festival of Books, visitors from out-of-state, started learning blues and swing dancing, & more); maybe these other adventures are keeping my brain from focusing on writing.

I hope to be back soon!

Happy Reading!!!
Patti