Resolutions

Finally I came up with a resolution that shows a little common sense. For years (at least 12) I have belonged to Poisoned Pen Bookstore's First Mystery Club first means I buy 24 books each year that are, obviously, an author's first published mystery. This year I am going to read those books and decide if I am getting enough books that I like to make the club worthwhile. If I want to support the store I could buy 24 books each year that I really wanted to read and keep instead of getting 24 automatically that I may or may not read.

There are some books there that I like very much but there are too many, I think, that I was never tempted to open or read very far if I opened them. I know I haven't read half of the books but I'll try and see if I like what I have.

This year I read Alice LaPlante's Turn of Mind, which I thought was very good but at the same time very sad. I'm not even sure if I would classify it as a mystery, although there was crime. The main gist of the book was the protagonist sinking deeper and deeper into dementia and what is going on around her as this happens.

I also read Clean Cut by Theresa Monsour from 2003 that I liked. I'll see if I keep reading these books and my opinion of the ones I read. Maybe I should do it monthly to keep me going.

After the snow and freezing temperatures of last week, we have a virtual heat wave this week. Love it. Temps are in the high 30s again, the sun is shining, and the snow is melting.

My other reading resolutions are to keep up with Kerrie's All Over the World Challenge and read books I have had on my shelves for a long time. This month is M, N, O. I think I can combine that with the Poisoned Pen Challenge since they seem to overlap.

Now I'll go finish The Confession, Charles Todd's latest Ian Rutledge, which is excellent. I like the series and this one is exceptionally good, imo. Then I'll start my Buddy Read book by Henning Mankell, The Man Who Smiled, which is an M mystery that has been on my shelf for over a year.

With Downton Abbey on PBS tonight, I have a busy day but one I can certainly enjoy to the max.

Top Reads of 2011

I just looked back to last year's books and I read more books in 2010 than I did in 2011 but maybe that's because I started playing Bridge again and that's taking up a lot of time. First I joined a regular bridge club which led to a duplicate bridge group followed by subbing and then three marathon games. Hmm, went from none to almost too many. I'm still playing Mah Jongg once a week also but not very regularly: too many distractions for the group.

Back to books. I read 159 in 2010 and 147 in 2011, that's almost a whole month of reading. Did I lose a month this year? On the other hand, there were a lot of really good books that I read. Maybe it was quality over quantity. Why not?

My top reads were:
Watson, S J, Before I Go To Sleep
Adler-Olsen, Jussi, The Keeper of Lost Causes
Followed by
Nesbo, Jo, The Leopard
Meyer, Deon, Thirteen Hours
The next ones were all equal
Connelly, Michael, The Drop (He has always been one of my 10 favorite authors)
Crombie, Deborah, No Mark Upon Her (Another favorite author)
Penny, Louise, A Trick of the Light
Finally
Hurley, Graham, Borrowed Light
James, Peter, Dead Man's Grip
Kepler, Lars, The Hypnotist
There were several more that very easily could have been on that list like The Boy in the Suitcase or The Day is Dark or A Thousand Cuts.

Next I'm going to check for how well I did with my reading resolutions. More later.

New Year/New Resolutions

My new resolutions are to write more regularly, read more of the books that have been languishing on shelves for years and be more organized in what I do. Not to be pessimistic but these resolutions will probably go the way of most of my others which is nowhere.

It's only the 7th of January and I'm starting one of them: I'm here writing. The others are still waiting for their turn.

I have my top ten reads of the year so I have accomplished one bit of organization. I still have to sort by country and see if I met my goals from last year. That sounds like a job for tomorrow.


I loved these first two books and I still keep thinking about them.
Watson,  S J, Before I Go To Sleep
Adler-Olsen, Jussi, The Keeper of Lost Causes


These were my next two favorites and then the others are tops to make ten in no particular order.
Nesbo, Jo, The Leopard
Meyer, Deon, Thirteen Hours

Crombie, Debora, No Mark Upon Her
Connelly, Michael, The Drop
Kepler, Lars, The Hypnotist
Hurley, Graham, Borrowed Light
James, Peter,  Dead Man's Grip

I had a really good reading year with only a few clunkers. I read 146 books or at least I remembered to enter that many in my log. Sometimes I forget and then may or may not catch it.

So far this year I've read a so-so book by Peter Lovesey, Stagestruck, which wasn't up to par for him and now I'm reading Ian Rankin's The Impossible Dead which is much better. Even though it's not a Rebus, I'm enjoying the adventures of Fox and his crew from the Complaints. The mystery is intriguing and I have no clue who the present day killer is.

I think it's time to go find out a little more about what's going on in Scotland with crime so I'm off to my book