Reading Year in Review 2025

In spite of the fact that my brain was in a fog (teaching overload) for almost six months this year, I managed to squeeze in quite a few reading gems. Here is the list: 

Favorite re-read: Charlotte's Web audiobook (read perfectly by E.B. White)

Biggest effort, but worth it: Metamorphoses by Ovid (review forthcoming)

Favorite light reads: Elizabeth Caddell's Wayne Family series (reviewed here)

Favorite book by a new-to-me author: Old Herbaceous by Reginald Arkell (1881-1959). I cried buckets of tears over this bittersweet fictional memoir. (review forthcoming)

Best non-fiction: John Oswalt's audiobook on the book of Isaiah, and Pages from a WWII Chaplain's Diary (reviewed here.)  And, although I'm not finished with it, Gerald Wilson's NIV commentary on the Psalms brought me many hours of delight.

Favorite mystery: Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn #10), reviewed here.

The novel that made my blood run cold: Address Unknown (letters exchanged before WWII between a Jewish American and his German friend from 1932-1934.)

The book that lived rent-free in my brain for weeks: Beauty by Roger Scruton (A difficult book that I'll be reviewing next month.) 

The book that delighted me quite unexpectedly: Cinderella (29 Different Versions)

Honorable mention goes to a YouTube channel that I've really enjoyed, The Commonplace with Autumn Kerr. Although my homeschooling days are over, I enjoy her wonderful book recommendations. (Also, her emphasis on how to live like a human in a digital world.)

Here is the list of all the books I read in 2025: Goodreads link

What about you? What were your favorite books of 2025?

Blessings,

Reminiscing about Books #6

My last post was on the literary riches of 2011, but the next year was no different. In truth, because I read a book per week (sometimes two), 80 percent of them aren't worth blogging about. BUT the "cream" that floats to the top makes it all worthwhile. 

In 2012 I read a mix of theology, biography, detective fiction, and classic children's literture. I read my first Betsy-Tacy book, and was enchanted. (Review here.) Andrew Murray's book on The Two Covenants was profound, and gave me a deeper appreciation for the Old Testament (and for how all of it pointed to the future reality of the Cross.) I reviewed it here.

I rarely read modern titles, but Unbroken by Lauren Hildebrand was so highly tauted that I caved in. I could hardly put it down! (Review here.) Another WWII favorite that year was Helmet for my Pillow (reviewed here). 

I love books, but am very careful to wait for good deals so that I can stay within my budget. Anyway, when I heard about The Truest Fairy Tale, based on the writings of G.K. Chesterton, I went against all my financial principles and sent away for a copy. It was worth it! (Reviewed here.) 

The last two highlights were Elizabeth Goudge's The Dean's Watch (reviewed here), and the Lord Peter/Harriet Vane mysteries by Dorothy Sayers. (I reviewed the first book, Strong Poison, here.) What a glorious year!

Blessings,

Reminiscing about Books #5

Well, 2011 brought quite a revolution to my reading life when my husband gave me a Kindle! I was not interested at first. (Some of my regular readers may remember that I wrote many blogs about how digital reading causes us to read less deeply), but I finally succumbed because I could carry dozens of books with me when I travelled and because my favorite genre, literary classics, was almost always free. 

Anyway, my Kindle opened the door to discovering some lesser-known vintage authors such as O. Douglas, Ralph Henry Barbour, and C.N. Williamson, whom I have thoroughly enjoyed when in need of light, clean reading that is not dumbed-down. (I wrote two posts on favorite titles here and here.)

I was introduced to three wonderful new-to-me authors in 2011: Jon Hassler (review of Green Journey), Joseph Crosby Lincoln (review of Fair Harbor) and Maurice LeBlanc (review of The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin). 

It was also the year I first read the first two Lord of the Rings books. Truly, you are never quite the same after reading them. 

A good year for literary riches!

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in October 2025

One of the items on my schedule recently was to fly to Sri Lanka and speak at a few events planned by my sister who is a missionary there.

The 20-hour trip allowed me to watch more than my usual quota of movies so I was able to watch three that have been on my radar for a couple of years. "Sullivan's Travels" (1941) had come highly recommended by Anthony Esolen (in his monthly newsletter "Word and Song"). It managed to be quite funny while still addressing some serious issues. "The Miracle Club" (2023) is a story about four women who leave Dublin to go to Lourdes seeking healing for various maladies. Mostly, they just need healing for their brokenness. Will God grant a miracle? Or is it all false propaganda? The movie shows that there is more than one way to be cured. It was especially poignant for being Maggie Smith's last performance.

The final in-flight movie was "The Great Escaper" with Michael Caine, the true story of an 80-year-old WWII veteran who flees from his nursing home in England to attend D-Day celebrations in Normandy. Caine is brilliant in the role and I loved the conclusions made about the value of a life well-lived. (Please note that airplane movies are often edited to be more family friendly so I do not know if the original movies had bedroom scenes or heavy profanity.)

I was able to do quite a bit of reading during my travels and enjoyed two Ngaio Marsh titles: Surfeit of Lampreys (#10 in the Roderick Alleyn series) and Death and the Dancing Footmen (#11) both of which were excellent mysteries.

When I got back to Brazil, I read two books about WWII in the movies, and watched a film (on YouTube) from 1943 called "First Comes Courage" about a female spy in Norway. It had its cheesy moments, but it was VERY suspenseful.

I also enjoyed an abridged version of Emma, wonderfully narrated by Emma Thompson.

Finally, I had a glorious serendipitous moment this month. I've been reading three fables a week from Ovid's Metamorphoses. On a Monday I read the story of Pomona, a woman gardener who I had never heard of before. On Tuesday, I was reading a Richard Crashaw poem about rotten apricots and he blames Pomona (!) Later I saw a reference to her in Little Women.

Don't you just love the literary life?

Blessings,

The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

What if you were accused of a crime that you did not commit when the accuser had all the evidence against you, and you had nothing to prove your innocence? That is the premise of The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey. Though it is the third novel in the Inspector Grant series, he plays only a small part.

The “star” of this book is Robert Blair, a small-town lawyer who has spent his life in moderate tranquility, living with a maiden aunt, playing golf on his off hours, and working mostly with people who want their wills written. As the novel opens, he is sitting down to his habitual afternoon tea: At 3:50 on every working day Miss Tuff bore into his office a lacquer tray covered with a fair white cloth and bearing a cup of tea in blue-patterned china, and, on a plate to match, two biscuits.

Suddenly the monotony rankles him. “Isn’t there more to life?” he wonders. Within moments he receives a desperate phone call from a woman he has never met pleading with him to help prove her innocence. His life changes abruptly as he is drawn into the troubles of Marion Sharpe and her elderly mother who have been accused of kidnapping a 15-year-old girl.

The rest of the novel shows Robert acting as amateur sleuth, following up every possible lead to discover the truth. With all the evidence against them, the reader sometimes wonders if the Sharpe women are lying to him, which adds to the tension of the story. Though most of the townspeople turn against Marion and her mother, there is a rich cast of characters who risk their standing in the community to support them and they do their best to help Robert solve the case.

The characters are well drawn and the writing is lovely. There is a hint of romance, but it takes a back seat to the mystery. I liked this book when I read it a few years ago, but I loved it this time around because of the excellent audiobook narrated by Karen Cass.  

This was an especially timely read because it shows how trusting people can be of the media, never questioning if something in print might be true or not. Tey is not heavy-handed about this, but it is interwoven into the story in a way that kept me chuckling throughout.

A very unusual mystery!

Blessings

Reading Year in Review 2024

It's always fun to look over the year and pick out my favorite books. The most challenging books still "haunt" me many months later - probably because they demanded so much of my heart and mind when I was reading them. Here's the list:

Favorite Light Reads: The last eight books in Jan Karon's Mitford series (four of which were new to me) and three Agatha Christie mysteries: Sad Cypress, Five Little Pigs, The Secret of Chimneys

Most Challenging: Till We Have Faces (The Lit Life Podcast episodes from 2020 added helpful commentary.)

Favorite Audio: The Iliad (lectures by Elizabeth Vandiver) 

Favorite Non-fiction: When Morning Gilds the Skies (reviewed here)

Favorite Vintage: Set in Silver (reviewed here)

Most Delightful Discovery: The poetry of William Wordsworth

Classic that I Tackled (for the second time): Dante's Inferno. I have physical copies of  Ciardi's translation, but longed for something more beautifully written. Happily, I found Hollander's delightful audioversion on Chirp for 99 cents! Reading along with the 100 Days of Dante group was one of the highlights of my year.

The Book That I Loved In Spite of Myself: The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. Such a dark story, but so beautifully written. Many important religious themes.

Favorite of the Year: The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling. Brilliant storytelling (reviewed here)

This link  to Goodreads shows all 95 books that I read in 2024.

It was a very good year for building my literary muscles! What about you? Did you read something good that caught you by surprise?

Blessings,

Audible Haul – Bargain Basement or Money Pit?

Spending more than a few dollars for a book puts me in panic mode. But when I tried Audible.com ten years ago, I enjoyed the many bargains I was able to get. There has been no need to re-subscribe now that my library offers digital downloads of almost everything. So why on earth did I fall for the “3 Months free” offer earlier this year? Pure greed.

Not only did I get my three free books (technically 13 books for 3 credits), but my wish list had become so extensive that I bought three more credits (for a small discount). The folks at Audible are not stupid. I wonder if anyone really ever signs up for the free months and gets away unscathed. Here is what I ended up buying:

For the free credits: C.S. Lewis Essential Audio – nine of his non-fiction books (39 hours), Hercule Poirot Short Stories (35 hours, reg $50), Homer Box Set: Iliad and Odyssey by W.H.D. Rouse – (25 hours) but it came with a BOGO offer so I also received George McDonald’s Fairy Tales)

For my purchased credits, I got the C.S. Lewis Essay Collection (reg $23), Ten Charles Dickens novels (reg $25), and the first five Lord Peter Wimsey novels (38 hours, reg $32)

Did I stop there? Oh no, dear reader. How could I turn down Charlotte’s Web read by E.B. White? ($10), and The Magic Apple Tree by Susan Hill ($13), and 36 hours of Agatha Christie for ONE DOLLAR?

Was my heart satisfied? Not yet. I had to have my favorite, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir ($10) and 12 hours of Miss Marple’s short stories (when it went on sale for $8), and Sean Bean reading King Arthurand the Knights of the Round Table by Benedict Flynn (another $8), and James Herriot’sTreasury for Children ($5)

Well, I’m not sure if I did well or if I was just plain hoodwinked. My three free months led to a spending spree of around $90 - something I would never actually spend in a real bookstore.

Granted, if I had used their regular prices of $15 per credit, I would have gotten only 6 books for that amount. As it happens, I purchased 32 books and dozens of short stories so I am not too disappointed. All I need to do now is to cancel my “free” subscription before my husband checks our credit card statement. And to find time to start listening! 

Do you do Audible? What do you think? 

Blessings, 

Reading Goals for 2024

My tentative goals for 2024 are these ten titles:

The Inklings and King Arthur, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Pickwick Papers or Oliver Twist, Bodies from the Library #1 (vintage detective stories), Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry, Time for Poetry by Arbuthnot, The Literary Lives of the Inklings, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson and, for my theology class, Pentecost and Santification in the Writings of John Wesley and Charles Wesley by Laurence Wood (a former professor of mine). 

Since I read about 80 books a year, the rest will come from "grazing" on my Kindle, my Hoopla account, and my Audible library. 

I have several series that I need to finish: Ngaio Marsh mysteries (I'm up to book 9), Jan Karon's Mitford series (book 7), and Narnia (book 4). I may dip into some of the books being covered by the Literary Life Podcast. Looking forward to discovering a few new favorites along the way!

May your new year be replete with good food, good books, good company, and God's blessing.

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in September 2023

I enjoyed everything that I read this month. Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh (#8 in the series) was delightful, and I enjoyed A Child's Anthology of Poetry (edited by Elizabeth H. Sword, a thrift store find for 99 cents) as my bedtime book. C.S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy (another 99 cent purchase) was my hands down favorite. Because of it, I downloaded (and paid way too much for) Volume 1 of his letters. The book I almost didn't finish was Stories of King Arthur and His Knights by U. Waldo Cutler, but it took a turn for the better in the last half. I finished a Bible study called God's Blueprint for Bible Prophecy, which was a deep dive into the book of Daniel. Not an easy study, but worth the effort. I appreciated Madeleine L'Engle's views on faith and art in her book, Walking on Water.

We didn't have much time for movie viewing this month. After I finished Cutler's version of the Arthurian legends, I watched Camelot (1982 HBO available through my Hoopla app). I remember hating the 1967 movie when I saw it 40 years ago, but now that I am familiar with the stories, I could appreciate the nuances in the HBO version. The lyrics by Lerner and Loewe were absolutely brilliant. Dan and I enjoyed A Puzzle to Die For (Hallmark Mystery, also via Hoopla). Dare I admit that when we had a short span of time for visual amusement we watched a few episodes of Petticoat Junction? Not having a TV in our present living situation has certainly enhanced my reading life!  

Blessings,

Lord Peter Wimsey Books 11-15 and One More

It took me three years, but I have finally made it through all of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels. And what a wonderful ride it was! I had my favorites along the way, but I can see myself revisiting ALL of them again.

9. (#11 was accidently reviewed in my previous Wimsey post.) Hangman's Holiday - All of the stories in this book had me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed the protagonist, Montague Egg. My full review is here.

12. Gaudy Night - The 3rd novel with Harriet Vane. Lovely to watch their relationship deepen. Review here.

13. Busman's Honeymoon - the last official Lord Peter novel. My very favorite. Reviewed here (w/ spoilers).

14. In the Teeth of Evidence - Good stories, but not enough Lord Peter.

15. Striding Folly - A quick fun read. Only three stories, but two of them are about Lord Peter as a father. Very endearing.

The Wimsey Papers - A collection of letters and documents supposedly written by the Wimsey clan during the first year of WWII. I enjoyed eavesdropping on many of the characters from the previous novels. Though it was all too short, I thought it was a great way to conclude the 15 books in the series.  

The novels are quite pricey at Amazon, but I was able to get all of these through my library via digital download. I bought a compilation of the short stories (books 4,9,14, & 15) when it was on sale for $2.99. Also, I saw that you can buy the first three novels and a dozen short stories for 99 cents. (the price at the time I wrote this post.)

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in February 2023

I read a mixture of theology, light fiction and ancient classics this month. 

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh is a fun mystery and In the Teeth of the Evidence by Dorothy Sayers is a pleasant set of short stories. I read Aristotle's Poetics for the Lit Life podcast and also a children's version of the Iliad by Jeannie Lang. Light fiction included O. Douglas' A House that is Our Own, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also read The Awakening of Miss Prim and the delightful At Home in Mitford. (review forthcoming) Once a year I try to read a title on John Wesley so I read John Wesley and William Law by Green. I liked it, but think it would be boring to any but an avid Wesley fan.  

As far as movies go, we had our yearly viewing of Kenneth Branagh's Henry V. I enjoyed the novel Busman's Honeymoon last year so I watched the black and white movie on YouTube. Lord Peter was played by an American so you can imagine what a desecration it was! I watched it anyway. But worse disappointments were on the way. On the Wings of Eagles is a sequel to Chariots of Fire that barely mentions Liddell's faith and the final episode of season 3 of The Chosen fell flat for me. Is it just me or are seasons 2 and 3 just a shadow of the fine productions we saw in season 1? 

Have you read any of these books? Watched anything that you can recommend? Thoughts on The Chosen?

Blessings,

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh

I generally don't like romance novels, but I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction of a love interest for Detective Roderick Alleyn in this sixth Ngaio Marsh novel, Artists in Crime. Returning from New Zealand where he went for rest and ended up crime-solving (see Vintage Murder), Alleyn meets artist Agatha Troy on board ship. Their relationship gets off to a rocky start (of course!). Conveniently, the murder happens in Troy's art studio back in England and our protagonist has an opportunity to redeem himself.

I enjoy the literary allusions and Alleyn's ability to quote poetry, Shakespeare, French, etc. Not only did this book have Pride and Prejudice vibes, but it also reminded me of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels I read recently. Like Wimsey, Alleyn is a genteel detective who enjoys solving the mystery, but suffers from remorse at finding the guilty party. And like Wimsey, he also has a wonderfully charming mother in Lady Alleyn. There are nods to other fictional detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Thorndyke. And some hilarious jabs at D.H. Lawrence. 

The writing is getting better with each novel: Up and down the passages the silence was broken only by the secret sound made by an old house at night, small expanding noises, furtive little creaks, and an occasional slow whisper as though the house sighed at the iniquity of living men. (p. 210)

Though not as lurid as modern mysteries, Artists in Crime has a little too much swearing, philandering, drugs, and grisly deaths to be in the "cozy" category. Oddly, I read these stories more for the charms of Detective Alleyn than for the mysteries.

Blessings,

Reading Year in Review - 2022

Happily I am well out of the slump that I had during the pandemic and read quite a bit this year. Here are the highlights...

Best Contemporary Fiction: Gentleman in Moscow. I usually ignore popular books, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this wonderfully told story (reviewed here). 

Best Devotional Classic: A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law (reviewed here).

Favorite Vintage Fiction: The last two Lord Peter and Harriet Vane books by Dorothy Sayers, Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon. (reviewed here and here)

Favorite New Author: Ngaio Marsh. I've only read the first six, and while I did not always enjoy the mystery, I always grew in appreciation for the Shakespeare quoting detective, Roderick Alleyn, and his two sidekicks, Inspector Fox and Nigel Bathgate. A potential romance gets off to a rocky start in Artists in Crime, which I enjoyed very much because it had some Pride and Prejudice vibes.

The Audiobook that Knocked My Socks Off: Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson (review still to come)

Best Non-fiction (and FAVORITE of the year): You Are Not Your Own by Alan Noble (reviewed here).

The other 81 books I read are listed at Goodreads.

What about you? Have you read any of these? What were your favorite books of 2022?

Blessings, 

Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers

I don’t know the last time I’ve enjoyed a book this much. I read the whole thing with an impish grin on my face and a constant chuckle in my throat. 

At the end of the last book (Gaudy Night), Harriet Vane finally accepts Peter’s proposal of marriage. Busman’s Honeymoon begins with various letters expressing opinions on the match, which are delightful in their cattiness. Then there were darling extracts from the Duchess of Denver’s (Lord Peter’s mother) diary, which primed the pump for my continued enjoyment of the book.

If you are looking for a cracking good mystery, you may be disappointed with all the dialogue about marriage, but for me those conversations were what made the book my favorite of all the Lord Peter novels. Sayers herself described it as “a love story with detective interruptions.”

Sayer’s novel are loaded with scrumptious literary references. Lord Peter and Inspector Kirk cheerfully exchange quotes from the Bible, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Browning, Keats, etc. I wish I could find an annotated version of this novel to save me time from looking up translations of the Latin and French, but as it was, I looked up about half the references and was richly rewarded in discovering their meaning. Frankly, most of them were discreet reference to sexuality that would have made me blush considerably in my younger years.

There is a lot of (discreet) talk about previous liaisons, expectations for the wedding night, etc., which I could appreciate after my three decades of marriage because they showed Peter and Harriet wrestling with every aspect of their marriage, not sugar-coating the past, but showing their growth in understanding of what true love entails. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them come to grips with the tough realities and indescribable joys of marital commitment.

In spite of all the fancy quotes, Lord Peter finally concludes: And what do all the great words come to in the end, but that? – I love you – I am at rest with you – I have come home.

As if the love story weren’t enough, the mystery is quite good. AND BUNTER GETS HIS DUE as the devoted, unruffled servant - so much so that Harriet jokes that maybe she should have married him instead of Lord Peter. I don’t know a thing about wine, but the care with which Bunter handled the liquor in this book was laugh-out-loud hilarious.

A delightful read from start to finish. This is not a stand-alone novel. It is necessary to read the previous novels to get the full impact of how Harriet and Lord Peter are piecing their new lives together. Bravo to Dorothy Sayers for showing the beauty and complexity of it. 

Blessings,

Hangman's Holiday by Dorothy Sayers

I loved Gaudy Night and couldn’t wait to read the next installment (Busman’s Honeymoon) in the Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane novels. Then I saw that I’d missed a book in the sequence and “had” to go back and read it, living up to my box-ticking “J” status in the Myers-Briggs world.

No one can quibble with the fact that Sayers is a master storyteller. All of the stories in Hangman's Holiday had me on the edge of my seat and quite a few were creepier than I’m used to.

It was fun to be introduced to the new-to-me protagonist of Montague Egg. He is a wine salesman who stumbles onto several crime scenes and freely shares his wisdom with the investigators. Just so you don’t take him too seriously, he often throws in some adages from the Salesman’s Handbook such as, “Whether you’re wrong or whether you’re right, it’s always better to be polite.” (These are even funnier when you remember that Dorothy Sayers worked in the advertising business and had a knack for coming up with these ditties.)

As always, I love any references to Wimsey’s love of books so I was not disappointed when in the very first chapter, a man picks up the novel that Wimsey had been reading and Wimsey waits patiently for it. When the man realizes what he has done and offers it back… “It doesn’t matter at all,” said Wimsey graciously, “I know it by heart. I only brought it along with me because its’s handy for reading a few pages when you are stuck in a place like this for the night. You can always take it up and find something entertaining.” How charming to have a book that you know so well that opening it up to random pages will always give you pleasure.

Another winner from Dorothy Sayers.

Blessings,

Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers

"Do you find it easy to get drunk on words?"

"So easy that, to tell you the truth, I am seldom perfectly sober." 

This is just one example of the rich dialogue between Lord Peter and Harriet Vane in their third novel together, Gaudy Night, which I enjoyed immensely.

A "Gaudy Night" is a kind of college reunion at the University of Oxford. While attending her ten year reunion, Harriet stumbles upon an obscene drawing and flushes it down the toilet in disgust. Later she learns that there have been a spate of similar incidents and is asked by the dean to stay on and help discover the culprit. 

In some ways the mystery is secondary to the main theme, which is the role of women in modern society. The story takes place in an environment where women have purposely chosen the single life in order to focus on academic pursuits, but within that environment, there are women who would rather be married. Sayers is definitely not advocating a "one size fits all" for women's roles. Harriet's own struggle with accepting Peter's proposals has to do with her fear of not being able to be fully herself while "tied down" to domestic life.  

Sayer's novels are not easy reads because of her frequent references to mythology, Shakespeare, etc. (A handy guide to many of them is found here.)  The closing lines are in Latin and I had to quickly google them to find out what had actually happened! There are several bewildering references to "Mr Jones of Jesus," who turned out to be a hypothetical rival to Wimsey's affections (a man from Jesus College in Wales). In spite of the befuddling quotations, Sayers is definitely worth the effort for her well-drawn characters and her thorough exploration of societal issues. 

Plus she's funny! I laughed out loud when one of her characters said, "It would have been such a bore to be the mother of morons." And again when Lord Peter was waxing eloquent on "How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks." After reading the lines Lord Peter added to her sonnet, Harriet, "went to bed thinking more about another person than about herself. This goes to prove that even minor poetry may have its practical uses." Ha!

This is the longest (and the most full of swearing) of the Wimsey novels I have read, but has by far the best dialogue and most endearing scenes. While I thoroughly enjoyed this book without the help of outside commentary, I greatly appreciated the insights shared on the Literary Life podcast (three episodes) that I listened to afterwards. Angelina and Cindy clarified a lot of details that I had not rightly understood, and showed what a genius Sayers was in weaving together every detail of the story. Angelina mentions that Sayer's essay "Are Women Human?" is the non-fiction version of this novel so now I need to get my hands on that.

Have you read Gaudy Night or Are Women Human? Any thoughts?

Blessings,

What I Read in June

This may have been the best reading month I've had so far this year: two good murder mysteries, a children's classic, a lovely Bible commentary and a modern novel that I actually liked!

The murder mysteries were from the Golden Age of Detective fiction. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers was a bit difficult because a key component of the crime had to do with the art of change-ringing (which I knew nothing about), but I'm glad I persevered to the (surprising) end. The other mystery was The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh, another fun entry in the Roderick Alleyn series.

It was a joy to re-read Wind in the Willows with the Literary Life podcast group. I listened to the Librivox version by Adrian Praetzellis. Warren Wiersbe's commentary on Leviticus, Be Holy, was a wonderfully helpful tool for understanding a difficult book of the Bible.

Finally, I read A Gentleman in Moscow. I came to the story with a lot of misgivings, but was pleasantly surprised at the great storytelling. The author masterfully describes the lives a small group of people who live and work in a Russian hotel during Stalin's regime. It made me want to learn more about that time in Russian history.

I will be posting more detailed reviews on some of these books soon. Unfortunately, the links to these books are pricey. I got all of them for free from my library or when they were on sale for Kindle. 

Have you read any of these? Any thoughts?

Blessings,

Lord Peter Wimsey Novels 6 -10 by Dorothy Sayers

I continue to work my way through the Lord Peter novels. (The first five were read in 2021 and reviewed here.) The fun begins in earnest with Strong Poison when Harriet Vane is introduced.

6. Strong Poison - Darling Miss Climpson (from book 3) makes a reappearance. Lord Peter falls in love. The banter is delightful throughout. Although I've read this twice before, I only vaguely remembered how the murder was committed and my enjoyment of the novel was not diminished in the least.

7. Five Red Herrings - An artist is murdered and six other artists have good motives (and lousy alibis) for doing it. Painstaking detail is given to train routes and timetables, which made it very hard to follow at times. This was my least favorite in the series so far. Too many red herrings and not enough Lord Peter. 

8. Have His Carcase - I love books that make me chortle and Wimsey's continued proposals of marriage to Harriet Vane delighted me every time. You sense Harriet weakening a little near the end of the book when Lord Peter forgets to ask her the all-important question and she feels let-down. The mystery was complicated. Still, I'd gladly re-read this for the lovely repartee. 

10. (I accidently skipped #9 and will review it in my next Wimsey post.) Murder Must Advertise - Lord Peter goes undercover in an advertising agency to investigate the suspicious death of a former employee. A very unique crime, but not a very satisfying ending to my thinking. 

11. The Nine Tailors - This was a little hard to enjoy at first because it deals with the complicated art of change-ringing. But once the mysterious dead body was found, it was fun to see Lord Peter figure out who it was and why/how he was killed. No Harriet Vane in this one.  

(The next in the series is Gaudy Night, which is almost everyone's favorite, so I'm looking forward to digging in!)

Anyone else partial to the Vane/Wimsey romance?

Blessings,

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982) is considered one of the queens of the golden age of detective fiction. Born in New Zealand, she passed her time between NZ and England. She was interested in the arts, especially theater, and helped run a handicraft store in London in the 1930’s. Around this time she wrote her first murder mystery, A Man Lay Dead, the first of 32 books including Inspector Roderick Alleyn.

Honestly, the book did not grab me at first. The murder takes place at a country house party and it was difficult keeping all the guests straight, particularly when they are sometimes referred to by their surnames (Mrs. Wilde) and at other times by their first names (Marjorie). But once the murder occurred, I was invested enough to sort them all out and enjoy Alleyn’s careful detective work. The real culprit took me by surprise which is always a sign of good detective fiction.  

I enjoy British novels for their literary references and Alleyn throws out random quotes that had me scurrying to find their source (Julius Caesar and Just So Stories!) Then there is the dry humor that creeps up on you unaware like the first sentence of chapter four: Nobody got up very early at Frantock on Sunday mornings. Nigel, wandering down to breakfast at half-past nine, found himself alone with the sausages.

I paid special attention to descriptions of the inspector knowing that Marsh would continue to develop his persona in the following novels. He was very tall and lean, his hair was dark, and his eyes grey with corners that turned down. They looked as if they would smile easily, but his mouth didn’t. Later there is a hint that he comes from a wealthy background and that he began in the Diplomatic Service and for private reasons became a policeman. I can’t wait to find out more about him. Marsh looked back on this novel as one of her worst, which can only mean that the sequels will be better. (I actually liked it just fine, although there is mild swearing throughout.)

Anybody else familiar with this author?

Blessings,

Reading Goals for 2022

My goals are loosely set, but these are some books that have been coming to my mind lately. I'll probably do a few on the Lit Life Challenge, but prefer to follow my own whims for the most part.

The Chronicles of Narnia (It's been ten years since the last time.)

More Lord Peter Wimsey (I read books 1-5 in 2021)

Finish the Betsy-Tacy series (I read books 1-4 about five years ago!)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (already on my Kindle)

Everthing Sad is Untrue by Nayeri (free via Hoopla)

I've also had a hankering to re-read the Miss Buncle books.

Also something by the wonderful Elizabeth Goudge. (I own Green Dolphin Street and The White Witch.)

What about you? Any opinions on this list? Any reading goals for the year?

May your new year be replete with good food, good books, good company, and God's blessing.

Blessings,