Top Ten Tuesday for June 7!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish each week...on...TUESDAY!!

(Although sometimes I actually post on a Wednesday!)

I tend to post when I like the topic and have time to do so!

This week's topic? 

The Top Ten Reasons I love ________!

I am going to give you my reasons for loving Historical Fiction and Mysteries!

First up: Historical Fiction

Here is my Historical Fiction page!

#1 I love to learn! 

I love to read and I love to learn from my reading, but I despise dull boring recitations of FACTS, period! I think the majority of people who read at all have the same opinion. I learn so much history from "historical" fiction!

#2 I mainly read for characterization!

This may seem counter-intuitive when considering historical fiction, however, in my opinion, it is a writer's skill to create well-drawn historically accurate characters that impresses me so much! It is through the characters that so much else is depicted and divulged!

#3 I want to "feel" a setting/environment! 

     (You know. That "Calgon-take-me-away feeling"!)

Historical fiction that is well-written makes me "feel" as if I am right there with the characters! Whether it is in 1920's Kenya, 1920's western United States, or 1945 Eastern Europe. 

#4 I want a 'frame of reference' and/or understanding of others from the past.

I want to understand a person's or people's behavior a bit better, and by placing people in their own place and time from the past, it makes the motivations for their actions much easier to discern. Though many times unpleasant to my current-day sensibilities, I can at least better understand "where they're coming from." Facts alone do not give this much information and many times NO context. 

#5 I want a clearer picture of the whole historical process. 

History is not just a collection of bits and pieces of data, but rather a fluid evolution of ever-changing ideas, opinions, and interpretations, which eventually lead to social/cultural change. I like to try to understand how one thing can lead to another, to another... This knowledge is imparted most effectively through a character's thoughts and feelings than in any listing of facts. 

Last, but by no means least: Mysteries

Here is my 2016 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge Page!

#1 I love a good puzzle, and really, a mystery is just a puzzle to be solved!

As I can recall, the very first mysteries I ever read were Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys series. I started reading these at 9 years of age and never looked back! It was always so much fun to try to solve the mystery myself!

#2 I mainly read for characterization!

No, you are not seeing double. Yes, this is the same #2 reason I love historical fiction and I am using it once again as the #2 reason I love mysteries! Why? Mysteries, by definition, are somewhat similar--a puzzle to be solved! But one huge way to set a mystery apart and make it unique is by creating imaginative characters. Some of the series I enjoy most for their characters: the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley, and the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt. And there are so many more I could list...but for once, I will try to restrain myself! :) (And do not get used to it!)

#3 I love a good challenge!

Nothing better than an author who can make me suspect each and every character at least once throughout a mystery book! I enjoy NOT knowing "who did it" until the end, or at least close to it! :)

#4 I enjoy a truly compelling read!

While I don't appreciate being "scared," I do appreciate the tension and suspense of not knowing and wondering...and not wanting to wait much longer to KNOW! Mysteries are more likely to keep me up late at night than any other genre! There is nothing quite so satisfying as just turning the pages...burning right through them...over and over and over again! :)

#5 Mysteries are the books I am most likely to reread.

That might seem strange and not make much sense. (Though we are talking about me, after all! So perhaps that isn't unexpected. :)) After all, if I've read a mystery once I already know "who did it," don't I? Well, frankly, the older I get the less true this becomes. Seriously, I often don't remember right away, and I just have some series that I can pick up and reread at any time and know I'll enjoy myself immensely! I have reread the Stephanie Plum books, the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, the Sunday Philosophy Club series featuring Isabel Dalhousie by Alexander McCall Smith, Agatha Christie books, and, of course, although they also involve fantasy, the Harry Potter series! :)

What do YOU love? 

January 2016 Library Checkout

January 2016

A great monthly check-in about Library reading hosted by Shannon of River City Reading!

The start of 2016 has been good to me regarding great books! And...the start of the Little House Read-Along I am cohosting with Bex of An Armchair by the Sea. There are currently 15 other readers registered to join us in this event!! YAY!! (Twitter #littlehouseRAL)

I am so excited to have discovered and begun using the listing function on my local library's network site! I now have a list for the books I will check out and read for the Book Challenge by Erin 4.0, a "diversity" listing, a "Really really want to read, once available" list, and a "Nonfiction" list! (My nonfiction reading last year was woefully low and mostly autobiographies. I will correct that!) I can add books whenever and then when I want to place holds, voilà! There they are--easy peasy! :)

Books Read: 

**Reviews/blog posts can be viewed by clicking on the title. 

If I have not yet completed a blog post, it will link to my Goodreads review.

1) First Degree by David Rosenfelt
This is the second in his Andy Carpenter series. Another great mystery along with Rosenfelt's typical subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, humor, and always a compelling mystery!

2) A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante
This is for the Literary Wives online book club, read #19!! It was great discussion starter! So complex and yet so very easy to follow. It can appear to be deceptively simple on the surface...

1) Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
One of the best books--EVER!! I love this! It is so much deeper than you might expect! This is the next book review blog post in the works. So difficult, 'cause I want to say so much about this one! Just know that it is a quick read and so very unique, in my opinion!

2) H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald.
I have read so many bloggers' reviews, all raving about this book, and I couldn't resist and placed it on hold and it has arrived! This was a phenomenal read. It does my heart good to see this writing style receive such acclaim! (I think I may have talked my husband into reading it, too!)  A selection for Book Challenge by Erin 4.0!

8) The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin
One of my Goodreads friends stated in her review that this book is "comfort food" and I couldn't have said it better myself! It really is! I loved this story on so many levels. Such hidden relationships as well as those that are visible/known!

9) Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
I can so understand this premise and relate to these older folks making their lives as comfortable as possible in whatever way it works best for them! I did connect with this book to such a degree! And I despise Gene. How could a grown child be so cruel to his own mother? I'm quite certain I would have stayed and relied on Louis, had I been Addie. This is such a quick read (one evening) and so poignant! 

Currently Reading: 

3) Laughing Boy: A Navajo Love Story by Oliver La Farge
One of our Borders Book Club members who winters in warmer climes is reading this for her "other" book club and it sounded fascinating! It won the Pulitzer Prize for Novel in 1930. I am finishing this one today. I love the information it provides regarding Navajo beliefs and communication, etc. And it is not just a narrative of such, but a true depiction as played out in peoples' lives. Even better!  

Checked Out, TBR:

1) Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
This book was mentioned as one that Ivoe, Jam on the Vine's protagonist, was reading. This is a classic! 

2) My Son's Story by Nadine Gordimer
A selection for Book Challenge by Erin 4.0! 

3) Ana of California by Andi Teran
Supposedly a modern-day retelling of Anne of Green Gables. I typically stay away from retellings but for some reason was attracted to read this! Probably due to the Green Gables Read Along I completed last year!

Hopefully two more will be added to this list this evening! (See below in the "On Hold" section!) 

Returned Unread:

None...yet! Although that will most likely change as I have resigned from my local library's Board of Trustees (Let's just cite "insurmountable philosophical differences" with a majority of the Board membership as my reason!) and will no longer have that enviable "no fine" perk! This will be a challenge for me, but may help me not get quite so "hold crazy" in the future...as I obviously was in January! :)

On Hold: 
Oh, my gosh! I went hold-crazy in January! That is what happens when you're literally stuck at home ill!! (At least that's my excuse, and I'm using it!) :)

1) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The only reason I am not purchasing? Trying not to bring any more books into my house for keeps! :) I am excited that 6 months have elapsed from the release date so I can obtain a copy through the local interlibrary loan network! I just can't imagine that this will not be a great read for me! 

2) My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
The first book selected for Emma Watson's Feminist Book Club on Goodreads! :) This one is actually waiting for me at the library...the new and more convenient library from which I will do most of my library 'business' in the future! :) Actually, I'm picking this one up this evening!

3) Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa
I plan to check this out when I pick up Steinem's book tonight! I am soooooo anxious to read this! 

What have you checked out lately at your library? 

December Library Checkout

December 2015

A great monthly check-in about Library reading hosted by Shannon of River City Reading!

This month has been another great one for good reads! Though I am not as caught up as I had wished prior to the start of the Little House Read-Along I am cohosting with Bex of An Armchair by the Sea. (But that's okay!) There are currently 11 other readers registered to join us in this event!! YAY!! (Twitter #littlehouseRAL)

Books Read: 

(**Reviews/blog posts can be viewed by clicking on the title. If I have not yet completed a blog post, it will link to my Goodreads review.)

I completed reading these as preparation for the Little House Series Read-Along, cohosted by myself and Bex of An Armchair By The Sea, beginning now! :) I have NEVER read a Wilder book and after participating in Reeder Reads' Green Gables Read-Along last year, I decided reading one of the Wilder books per month would be a great way to read them all during 2016! Then both Bex and I posted on the Classics Club site that we planned to host the same read-along, and a cohosting team was born! Bex's introductory post is here and mine is here! Be sure to register using the link on either of these posts! It is going to be fun! There are already 13 of us committed to this monthly project! And, please, if you wish to only follow along with the reviews/comments, that is also fine. Or if you only wish to read of few of these books and participate for only those months, that is also fine! Whatever works for you, works for us! :) The introductory January posting is here and you can link to your review and/or comment there once you've read the first book, Little House in the Big Woods.

1) West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder to Almanzo Wilder, San Francisco 1915 by Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Roger Lea MacBride.

2) On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

3) A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert. A very revealing historical fiction account of Rose Wilder Lane's life and her rather strained relationship with her mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder. (Albert is one of my favorite writers!)

Currently Reading: 
Not currently reading any library books. (I keep reminding myself about the #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks challenge!) 

Checked Out, TBR:
Quite an eclectic group, eh? 

1) First Degree by David Rosenfelt
This is the second in his Andy Carpenter series. While I'm anxious to get to it, I am also anxious to read the first installment of the Little House series, Little House in the Big Woods, and am anxious to read further in the Maisie Dobbs series!

2) H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald.
I have read so many bloggers' reviews, all raving about this book, and I couldn't resist and placed it on hold and it has arrived! 

3) Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
I am rather curious. The premise of this book is centered on a kissing contest. He'll need to be a really good author for me to find this engaging... We shall see! :)

Returned Unread:

None. One huge perk to serving on the Board of Trustees is that I never accumulate or owe fines! So I can keep books as long as no one else places a hold on them, with no penalty. :) However, in all fairness I have only taken advantage of this a few times over the past few years! :)

On Hold: 
I currently have none on hold. Though I know that will change with my resumption of daily commuting back and forth to work as of this coming Monday! I will need an audiobook or two, at the very least! 

What have you read from your library lately?

Especially for any young readers, I can highly recommend 

the Vet Volunteers series by Laurie Halse Anderson! 

I read the fifth installment and loved it.

November Library Checkout

November 2015

A great monthly check-in about Library reading by Shannon of River City Reading!

This has been a good month for my reading goals! Time off from the 5-day work week is likely to blame for my increased reading productivity this month! :) My December reading goal consists of "catching up" on the two read-alongs I've yet to complete and various blog posts to be composed and posted on some of my absolutely favorite reads from 2015. I want these done before launching into the Little House Read-Along with Bex and all the other readers who will participate with us beginning in January! YAY!! Cannot wait! 

Books Read: 

(**Reviews/blog posts can be viewed by clicking on the title. If I have not yet completed a blog post, it will link to my Goodreads review.)
1) Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt

A mystery and first in a series! I loved this book and series, especially Rosenfelt's writing style. I have placed a reserve on the second in the series! I would love to be able to sit and inhale all of them, but work and life disrupt! :) 

2) Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

Man Booker Prize winner in 1987. Wow. I loved Lively's writing style. This book really made me think and consider. Although I would classify it as historical fiction (?) it included so many aspects of life. And, frankly, this is the first I can remember reading of an incestuous relationship (between siblings), ever. Amazingly, I felt as if I could understand that concept with these two people, though it still seems a bit creepy, if you're basically raised in an isolated situation...well, life can be different. I will post a review and hopefully soon, but this is definitely a thought-provoking book on many levels. (12/28/15--The above link now directs you to the blog posting, and please also check out some of the quotes I listed on my "Others' Words of Wisdom" page!) So glad I read it and I want to read others she has written.

3) Andrea Martin's Lady Parts by Andrea Martin

Looked like it might be humorous and enjoyable--a break from some more intense reads. And...it was enjoyable, and perhaps not as humorous as I had expected. Martin definitely is heroic in revealing her own battles with 'demons' such as an eating disorder. This was an intimate portrait of a character actor/comedienne, etc. She has certainly had a varied life with many experiences! A review to come soon, hopefully! :)  (12/15/15 Above link now directs you to my blog posting!)

4) Last Wool and Testament (A Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery) by Molly MacRae

I'm certain this is what most would call a "cosy." I cannot remember how I got onto this author/series/book, but it didn't prove to be as enjoyable to me as I might have hoped. It was enjoyable but definitely not my favorite of writing styles. MacRae's characterization is a bit too 'surface' for me, I prefer more in-depth characterization overall. Though I am definitely in the minority. This book has won the 2013 Lovey Award for Best Paranormal/Sci-fi Novel and was listed in the Suspense Magazine's Best of 2012. 

5) Jam on the Vine, Part 1, Part 2 by LaShonda K. Barnett

Read this for a campus book club meeting on November 13 and absolutely loved it! It was a fantastic discussion-starter as well! This is amazing historical fiction! Must post a review and return the book! :)

6) Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson

I am still listening to this in the car! I really want to keep it, but will relinquish it this week. Perhaps Santa will gift it to me! :)

7) Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

I am planning to actually read this book so I can provide some quotes in a review, but it was a wonderful audio experience, too! 

Currently Reading: 

There are three awaiting my attention (see below), but am trying to concentrate on blog posts/reviews today! :)

Checked Out, TBR:

Although I have yet to start reading any of these, there are three books I'm previewing in preparation for the Little House Series Read-Along, cohosted by myself and Bex of An Armchair By The Sea, beginning this coming January! :) I have NEVER read a Wilder book and after participating in Reeder Reads' Green Gables Read-Along last year, I decided reading one of the Wilder books per month would be a great way to read them all during 2016! Then both Bex and I posted on the Classics Club site that we planned to host the same read-along, and a cohosting team was born! Bex's introductory post is here and mine is here! Be sure to register using the link on either of these posts! It is going to be fun! There are already five of us committed to this monthly project! And, please, if you wish to only follow along with the reviews/comments, that is also fine. Or if you only wish to read of few of these books and participate for only those months, that is also fine! Whatever works for you, works for us! :)

1) West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder to Almanzo Wilder, San Francisco 1915 by Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Roger Lea MacBride.

2) On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

3) A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert.

Returned Unread:

None. One huge perk to serving on the Board of Trustees is that I never accumulate or owe fines! So I can keep books as long as no one else places a hold on them, with no penalty. :) However, in all fairness I have only taken advantage of this a few times over the past few years! :)

On Hold: 

I did relent and place a hold on First Degree by David Rosenfelt, the second in his Andy Carpenter series. :) 

The dangers of assuming a criminal case is "Open and Shut"...

Open and Shut by 

David Rosenfelt

This book proves that so very much can be 

'faked' and 'overlooked' when dealing with 

a criminal case, if the evildoers have enough control.

I do not recall how I initially became aware of Rosenfelt and his Andy Carpenter mystery series, 

but I am grateful to have found it!

I want to read them all!

I love Rosenfelt's characterization--not only do I feel as if I know each character well, I love that even "the good guys" aren't perfect! And the "bad guys" aren't all bad...well, except one or two... :) And there was no fear of me figuring out the whole story, though every once in awhile I would have a glimmer of possible insight, Rosenfelt was good at building the mysteries, for truly, there was more than one!

The book begins with a description of driving through the Lincoln Tunnel on his way to northern New Jersey from New York City. 
  I'm one link in an endless chain of drivers, all moving our cars through an atmosphere of one hundred percent pure carbon monoxide. Tunnel workers patrol walkways along the walls; I assume they are there to make sure no car achieves a speed above three miles an hour. Their lungs must have a life expectancy of an hour and a half. (1)
I found this first passage of the book to be a good example of Rosenfelt's writing style: realistic with sarcastic humor thrown in! I laughed and chuckled throughout the book, though the story line was definitely serious. 
  Suddenly, without warning, a burst of speed by the cars ahead lets me gun the accelerator to almost five miles an hour. At this rate, there's a chance I might make it home in time to leave for court tomorrow morning. (3)  
I cannot imagine driving in such traffic jams every single day. I have been stuck in commuting traffic in Baltimore, Chicago, Washington DC, and Atlanta. Those make the traffic I sometimes encounter in my own workday commute pale in comparison, which makes me feel fortunate! 

And anyone who can write about a canine companion as well as he does most certainly deserves to be read! 

  There is nothing like a golden retriever. I know, I know. It's a big planet with a lot of wonderful things, but golden retrievers are the absolute best. Mine is named Tara....The only problem she has ever caused is that I spend so much time with her in the mornings that I am almost invariably late for work. (4)

On his way into court:

I'd love to take her with me, and she often comes to my office, but the bailiffs take a dim view of canines in court. What they don't realize is that she's smarter than half the lawyers that practice there. (4) 

Okay, admittedly, it should state "who practice there" for grammatical accuracy, but...I do understand his statement! :)

Andy is known for his trickery in the court system. I could truly appreciate several of those depicted in the book, particularly the fact that if a jury could possibly believe someone else had just confessed to committing a specific crime, then they were NOT convinced beyond a "reasonable doubt" of the defendant's guilt. Good point! I have served on two juries and it can be tricky! You must keep your mind open and consider all possibilities. In contrast, his father, who was a venerated ex-District Attorney was known to be 'true blue' and never do anything untoward during his legal career--playing strictly 'by the book.' 

Rosenfelt manages to insert a bit of philosophy here and there:

  Today the Yankees are playing the Red Sox. I used to hate the Red Sox...and anybody else not in pinstripes. But I don't hate anymore, I'm too arrogant for that. To hate is to grant a level of importance that those teams don't deserve. We dismiss our opponents, we don't hate them. They are not worthy of that. (13)

Ha! I really like this. I have learned in my almost 60 years that the less I can allow myself to react emotionally, the better. That especially includes negative feelings toward anyone or anything. It's difficult to describe, but it does make my life much happier, much less chaotic, and my outlook much calmer. I work hard to coach myself to simply accept and deal in the best way possible, realizing situations over which I have absolutely no control and those upon which I might be able to make some positive impact.

More humor:

  I also was leery of mixing business with pleasure, cognizant as I was of the difficulties that can result. But the main reason I hesitated to sleep with Laurie is because whenever I brought it up she said no. Two weeks ago she changed her mind, which coincidentally was the exact moment I stopped hesitating. (19)

Ha! More of that 'tongue in cheek' humor! :) And later...

I haven't mentioned this to Laurie yet, and I tell myself it's because I haven't seen her. I also tell myself that I don't owe her anything, that we have no commitment to each other, but I can't quite get myself to stop feeling like a shithead. (29) 

And he was acting like a shithead, but it is true, isn't it? We all have times when we just can't make ourselves do what we know we should do...

Andy is representing the fruit stand owner's son and she is paying him with fruit every few days...

  On the way into the office I'm stopped by Sofia Hernandez, standing and waiting for me in front of her fruit stand. She hands me two cantaloupes, the second installment on her son's legal bills.

  "Thank you," I say. "You know, the best thing about being paid in cantaloupes is that they don't bounce."

  She doesn't come close to getting the joke. If a joke is told in a fruit stand and nobody gets it, did it make a sound? (45)

Oh, my. There is so much in this passage. Mainly, though, Rosenfelt demonstrates that humor is always the last nuance of a non-native language that will be understood by a non-native speaker. Humor is so closely tied to the specific culture that it is unfamiliar to the other person. Useful information to have and use! 

Such great descriptions! As he enters the prison's death row to visit with a client:

  The place seems entirely gray, as if I am looking at it through black and white eyes. The stench of hopelessness is everywhere; it feels like the animal shelter in which I found Tara. Everybody in cages, just waiting until it's time to die, knowing no one is coming to set them free. (25)

Whew! That's a pretty strong image and I imagine it is true. 

I admit that I was relieved to hear the truth about his father's actions 40 years earlier, as was Andy. There are several different mysteries involved in this one book, though in some ways they are intertwined. Although this book does involve a "conspiracy" it is not 'formulaic' as I would describe many of the writers who incorporate conspiracies into their mysteries. Rosenfelt is much more involved in the characters' personalities and motivations than just actions, and that's the kind of mystery writer whose works I most enjoy! Oh, it will be difficult not to just immerse myself in the rest of his books immediately! Library wishlist here I come! :)

Have you read any of Rosenfelt's books? 

I would heartily recommend you give this series a try!