January Blog
Happy New Year everyone! I don’t know about you but my list of resolutions has hit an all time high. Of course, I immediately forgot my very first resolution which is to keep a daily journal. I’ve been promising myself that I’d do this for several years in a row and generally start out the year with writing soul filled entries two or three times and then mess up and skip. As soon as I skip one day I give myself permission to skip again and the resolution falls by the wayside. When I pick up the journal a few months later and review my couple of entries I ask myself “Who was that person? Oh my goodness what a load of something or other!” That becomes the end of it for that year. Then there’s my second resolution: wake up early, shower, do my medicine stuff, and get dressed before breakfast. Today I did that. I’m really proud of myself. My day is starting efficiently (now I have to write that in my journal—ha ha). The third resolution is to finish my second book. This is a heavy resolution. I’ve been having trouble visualizing how the body got moved where I’ve placed it. I will try to be artful with it and refuse my creeping writer’s block. The rest of the resolutions are the usual—lose weight, exercise, keep track of the books I’ve read, read more, paint, sew, work on my needlepoint, drink more water, etc,, etc,! What’s on your list?
What I’m Reading
I’ve been reading Heat Wave ostensibly by Richard Castle. Do you remember the program? I can watch reruns on Prime. I was sorry when that program ended, but apparently the two main characters didn’t like each other in real life. They deserved Emmies for hiding that so well. It’s a fairly short book, but in my opinion starts out slowly and then picks up its pace. The two sergeants from the show are not featured as much in the book. It’s a good mystery book for a rainy day (will it ever rain in Los Angeles?), but not a cozy mystery book.
The play “The Mousetrap” by Agatha Christie is a superb read. It’s clever, full of red herrings, and has the usual dramatic pauses and stage entries and exits that make a play so fun to see on the stage. I think that a play’s pace had different demands than a book and Christie handled both excellently. Get it and enjoy the read.
I listened to Murder at the Mayfair Hotel by C. Archer. That was fun and the narrator was able to navigate the voices for the different characters quite effectively. Reading it or listening to the book – either way – you’ll enjoy it. It takes place at the turn of the last century when women were supposed to know their place. Our heroine wasn’t satisfied with that. The author describes the clothing worn and the expectations for women quite well. It’s a cozy mystery that deserves your attention.
Finally, I’m reading Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles. I’m not very far along, but so far it’s a great cozy. The author has the reader engaged immediately. I think it will be a fast read. I’ll let you know.
Our next meeting is on January 26th at 2:00pm Pacific. We’re reading We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. We’ve read a Richard Osman book before, one of the Thursday Murder Club books, and liked his writing very much. I thought the book was a grand hoot and enjoyed every page. RSVP on the Meetup website. After discussing the book we’ll be playing jeopardy with answers and questions from the novel. I look forward to seeing you.