I've been writing very few book reviews so far this year, and none at all over summer. That does not mean I've not been reading - but since my macular degeneration problem (diagnosed back in the autumn), I'm now reading (and re-reading) even more books "by ear" (i.e. listening to them as audio books) - and I do usually find it harder to write reviews from just listening.
In March/April, I listened (again) to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, all three books.
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| My old paperback box of LOTR (from 1977) |
In March, I also started re-reading (now as audio books) Elly Griffith's series (15 books) about Ruth Galloway, archeologist, and DI Harry Nelson and his team, investigating crimes in one way or another related to archaeology - set in Norfolk, England. Most of them I previously read on Kindle, and I think I've reviewed all of them on this blog in the past. As this is a series I do find worth reading more than once, I decided to now get them all as audio books as well. (Most of them I was able to get at reduced price.) So between the beginning of March and the end of July, I re-read/listened to that whole series - with one or two exceptions, in the order that they were written. I enjoyed that, and I'm sure I'll do it again. Some of the individual mysteries I remembered better than others - some I found I had forgotten almost completely. But there is also an ongoing story in the background stretching through all of them, involving the main characters with families and friends.
* Ruth’s First Christmas Tree is a short story set between the fourth and fifth books
In between those, I also read/listened to a couple of new additions to two other "cosy crime" series that I've also been following for years by now. With both those series, too, I always enjoy getting back together with the main characters/detectives. Both also have the customer-friendly advantage of offering Kindle+Audible version at reduced price (and have stuck to that throughout).
The Canal Murders by J.R. Ellis
(Yorkshire Murder Mysteries, Book 10)
Narrated by: Michael Page
An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey
(A Lady Hardcastle Mystery, Book 11)
Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
In August, I've also listened to the latest (4th) book in Elly Griffith's series involving detective Harbinder Kaur: The Last Word. (Narrated by: Nina Wadia)
(Personally, I do prefer the set of characters in the Ruth Galloway series, though.)
Publisher's summary
A cosy, twisty mystery that reintroduces the glorious characters we met in the bestselling The Postscript Murders - shortlisted for the Gold Dagger.
Natalka from Ukraine has quit her job as a carer and joined up with retiree, Edwin, to run a detective agency on England's south coast. Despite a steady stream of minor cases, Natalka is frustrated, longing for a big juicy investigation such as murder to come the agency's way. She is now living with dreamer, Benedict, who continues to run his coffee shack. Life gets complicated when her Ukrainian mother, Viktoria, joins them from her war-torn country - three's a crowd. Viktoria invades the tiny flat, cooking borscht and cleaning things that are already clean. To add to Natalka's irritation, Benedict and Viktoria get on brilliantly.
Edwin is a big reader of obituaries, so when a local obit writer, Dan Haynes, dies, Edwin decides to look further, only to discover a series of unexpected deaths. Are the clues in the obits themselves? Edwin decides to write an obit to see what clues it throws up. Then he disappears.
The chase to find him takes the team to London and back to the south coast, where the solution lies remarkably close to home.
After that one, I've also listened to three books by a Swedish author, but as her books don't seem to have been translated to English, no use giving details here.
And I've started a few others that I feel I'd better start over, as I kept nodding off too often... (Whether because of the book, the narrator or just myself being tired is not always easy to sort out!)
19 comments:
It was only this year that I learned about the term "Cozy Murders". We recently watched The Lord Of The rings movie series and they are really good.
Oh! The Canal Murders is new, right? I need to check and buy it for my Kindle first thing tomorrow morning.
I've also been enjoying audio books, but find myself either bored or confronted by terrible mahem...liking mysteries. Good to know about these, and I'll check on a few of them.
I wish my mother had been able to listen to books like you do, she was blind the last 4 years of her life and bedridden. at the time we could buy talking books on cassette tapes abd we bought a littel casset player with ear phones for her, this is so much better. I also wish I would do waht you do and track the books I read. I have tried twice to do it and start it and then end wondering if i read the book and find I did on my kindle..
When I do long distance driving, I love audio books
Happy Birthday to you, Monica!
That's odd - I found that I have bought the book for Kindle back in April, but somehow it ended up in my Kindle's archive instead of on the "main" page where I see all my current books... Anyway, I have now sorted it and am already looking forward to reading it as one of my next books.
With the exceptionally hot weather we're experiencing, it's too hot to be out of doors for most of the day, so I'm very glad of my Kindle. I must have read at least one book every day or so and am currently reading "An Assassination on the Agenda", having read all the previous books in the series. I have read some of the J R Ellis books and have The Canal Murders waiting to be read. Normally I'll wait until a book is offered at 99 pence (maximum 2 pounds for a really good story!) before I buy. Somehow I've acquired around 200 unread books, yet I still keep buying new ones!
Happy Birthday!
Ginny, I like the movies too, but I find they tend to have a bit too much focus on big war scenes compared to the books.
Meike, I seem to recall that it was from you that I first heard of this one (whether already published or about to be so). Not sure where or when, though!
Barbara, I too prefer the kind of mysteries that focus on the "puzzle" rather than on too many gory details.
Sandra, I started listening to audio books back in the days of cassette tapes myself - moving on gradually to CDs, then mp3 discs, then downloading to phone... On my computer I've been keeping a Works Database of books that I've read or listened to ever since 2002.
Ro, I haven't been driving since back in the 1990s myself, but I can well imagine audio books being good company on long solo drives.
Thank you, Meike! In spite of not really "celebrating" it's been quite a busy day :)
Carol, I keep doing that as well (especially with free/cheap Kindle ones, even though by now I probably have enough to last me the rest of my life...)
Hey dear friend, have a wonderful day August 29. I love the Tolkien books and the Elly Griffiths series with Ruth, I read the first 10. It could be fun to listen to them on audio, I have not tried that yet. Have you read the Dorothy Gilman mysteries about Mrs. Polifax, a senior who becomes a spy and has dangerous assignments around the world.
Thanks Terra. Actually on the list I've been keeping since 2002 the very first book is 'Mrs Pollifax and the ---' I don't even have the full title, and I had borrowed it; and after 22 years, I have no recollection whatsoever of the content, except for recognising that name...
PS. Terra, I also received your birthday card, thanks very much!
Meike, your birthday card arrived today - thanks very much! (We only get post delivered 2-3 times a week here now and yesterday was not a delivery day!)
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