March Monthly Blog
It’s almost springtime -- clocks go forward (March 9), Dr. Seuss is celebrated (March 2) and children are encouraged to read, and one of my favorites, for no reason at all, St. Patrick’s Day is March 17th. Of course St. Patrick’s Day is on the heels of the Ides of March (the 15th) so watch those ravens and crows! We meet March 23rd with Heather Weidner as our guest author. I am really excited to hear her speak. I’m reading and listening to two of her books and plan to ask her what made her start a new series. Don’t forget to RSVP for the meeting.
Speaking of cozy mystery books that we’re reading, have you noticed the plethora of cozies that have “cutesie” covers regardless of the contents? I’m speaking of all of the book covers that have cartoon-ish characters and backgrounds. I simply had my head under some pillows when that style began. I’m not fond of it and tend to stay away from cozies that do have that style of book cover. I might be limiting myself from reading an excellently written novel, but I do wonder what age reader the author thinks this type of cover would appeal to. Let me know what you think. Am I being too old fashioned? Is my aesthetic way out there?
So…we’ve changed the colors of the website to address our aesthetic sensibilities. Tahlia has done a lot of tinkering, I simply say “yes” or “no” to hues, and it should be more spring-like. It’s good to have a change once in a while.
My daughter also changed things by moving her bedroom around as well as changing the color scheme. She’s even changing the drawer pulls on her dresser to keep with the other changes. Of course Barnaby, our dog who thinks that he’s a real human toddler boy, is completely confused and has hurt feelings about the changes. He generally sleeps with Diana and is now finding that his pillows need to be mushed better, his bed position needs to be prefaced with innumerable circle walking until he’s sure that he can plop down, and he needs to rub on his back so that the duvet smells and feels just right. The agony that Diana’s changes have caused our dear boy will probably be reported to neighbors who care to listen. He is only placated by treat-treats. I think the bedroom looks amazing, and I can say that without treat-treats.
What I’ve been reading
I mentioned last month that I’d read Murder before Evensong by Richard Cole. It’s actually going to be a miniseries. I was so surprised when I read that piece of television gossip. The book isn’t brand new, but hey, why not? I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I’m reading The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie. I’ve seen the adaptation on BritBox dozens of times, but the novel is quite different from the television version. It’s one of Christie’s better written books. Read it and tell us what you think. Don’t laugh -- I’m reading Honey Drop Dead, a Tea Shop Mystery #26 by Laura Childs. I know, I know -- how could I -- but I’m addicted to the tea shop type of cozy. It keeps me thinking that one day I’ll go back to Charleston as an adult (I was an early teen when we lived there and had my nose in a thoroughly wrinkled position for most of a year. Thus, whatever I saw is shadowed by my own shadow.). Childs just published #29 so I’m a bit behind.
Behind is definitely what I am with Swamp Spook, A Miss Fortune Mystery by Jana Deleon. It’s a Halloween theme and has elements of an episode from Brokenwood, a cozy mystery program on Acorn. It’s the episode with the Day of the Dead theme despite the fact that the town is celebrating in the summer. At any rate, one of the props in the episode, similarly to the prop in the Swamp Spook, turns out to be a real corpse.
Sherlock Holmes’s short story The Adventure of the Priory School will require me to read it again, research it, and then mull it over. Being part of a scion for Sherlock Holmes is serious stuff and I want to do well on the quiz we take at the beginning of each month’s meeting. It’s a lot of pressure (and fun).
What the Club has been doing Most Recently
We met last Sunday and played our Story Cube game after talking about The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches. There were mixed feelings about the protagonist, but generally the novel was well received, and members wanted to read more of the series. Lori won the game and is receiving an Agatha Christie book, Ordeal by Innocence. Maureen, Georgina, and Waslyna are getting Amazon cards for coming in second and third.
Don’t forget to RSVP for our Heather Weidner meeting March 23rd. It will be a really good meeting.