I read mainly mysteries. And have been since my late teens and twenties. I enjoy vintage mysteries and newer mystery series. I prefer more traditional mysteries, but there are thrillers I have enjoyed, and the line between mystery and thriller is often blurred. My favorite vintage mystery author is Rex Stout. Currently my favorite contemporary writer of mysteries is Elizabeth George. And I am often inspired by reading mystery blogs to try new authors and sub-genres.I was surprised. Rex Stout is still my favorite vintage mystery author, but Elizabeth George is entirely off my radar. Her latest mysteries have been very, very long and the stories don't maintain interest for that length.
So which authors have become my favorites in the last three years?
My second entry on the blog was a review of Berlin Game by Len Deighton, and in March 2012 I reviewed (very briefly) Mexico Set, London Match, and Winter by the same author. Since then I have read five more books by that author.
Other authors I really enjoy are John Lawton and Olen Steinhauer. In the last year I discovered Mick Herron, reading one from each of his two series. I am sure there are others I am forgetting at the moment.
I have discovered Canadian authors that I really enjoy. My favorites are L. R. Wright, Maureen Jennings, and John Brady. But again, too many good ones to list them all.
I have added more science fiction and fantasy books to my reading in the last couple of years, as I discovered challenges featuring those genres. I especially enjoy books that combine mystery plots and science fiction or fantasy, such as the Last Policeman series by Ben H. Winters or the PC Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch.
For this post, I have featured two old editions of books I purchased at the Planned Parenthood book sale 7 or 8 years ago. Both are in very bad condition but appeal to me. The Rex Stout is a book club edition. I plan to read them sometime this year. Of course, the Rex Stout book will be a re-read.
47 comments:
Congrats on three years. I'm sure you are going to be around for a long time!
Congratulations on 3 years of blogging! I've recently discovered you via Nan's Letter From a Hill Farm blog. I came back to blogging this year after being away for a while and am so pleased that I did. You just can't beat the discussions and opportunity to learn more about what you'd like to read. I mostly read mysteries, but I do throw a few others in from time to time. My book discussion group will talk about THE LAST POLICEMAN next Wednesday night. I'm excited about that.
Congratulations on three years of sharing your reading and your analysis of it. Fun to read!
Well done Tracy - I haven't been around as long as you, but am happy to have crossed paths. Thanks for all the banter and recommendations - just don't tempt me too much with more books in the future please!
Tracy - Congratulations on three great years of blogging! I learn every time I visit your blog, and I look forward to many, many more visits. :-)
Congrats. It is nine years for me. So incredible that I have spent so much time on something I have never heard of much before that. I enjoy reading your blog very much. Always well done.
Congratulations Tracy. I love how you discussed how your reading has evolved over that time. Book blogging has widen my reading horizons too. So glad to have you and your blog as part of my reading life!
Congrats, Tracy. The book blogging community is the best thing about the net in my opinion. So many people I would never have met and so many books I would not have read if I had not been part of it. Very nice to have met *you*. :-)
Congratulations! I'm a relatively new follower of yours, attracted to your blog because I like mysteries, too, especially older traditional mysteries. I've added several books to my TBR list because of your blog. I had tons of Rex Stout paperbacks and got rid of all of them during our last move. I regret that now because they're harder to find than I thought they were. BTW, I feel the same way about Elizabeth George. I started to wonder if she got paid by the word!
Congratulations Tracy. Always a pleasure to visit your blog. Here's to many more years of discussing books.
Thanks, Ryan, I hope so. Blogging is much more fulfilling than I could have imagined.
Thank you, Kay, I have also enjoyed keeping up with your blog. I look forward to seeing what you think of THE LAST POLICEMAN.
Thanks, Barbara. It will be interesting to see what changes happen after another three years.
Col, I hope I get around to reading some more books that might tempt you. But I know we both have way too many. I still want to make more progress on counting my TBR books.
Good show (as we say in the theater world)! And thanks for reading books I may never discovered on my own. I tend to visit your blog (and others ) to find *contemporary* books worth reading. It's a good reminder to keep up with what's new and not immerse myself in the dusty tomes I'm addicted to.
Congrats on three years. The older covers always amaze me, they are so uncomplicated and often look like there was some cut and paste involved and not the computer cut and paste.
Ann
Thank you, Margot. That goes double for me. You have introduced so many books and authors to me and have a phenomenal memory for the details in books. I forget details so fast nowadays.
Happy blog-birthday to you, Tracy! I'm always interested in your posts even if I don't have time to comment. And I hope to finish my first Stout sometime this year.
Thank you, Patti. Nine years is a long time and a lot of effort. I look forward to a nine year anniversary.
Huge congratulations on the three years! And here's to the next three! Interesting how tastes change; I'd have read Elizabeth George years ago but not now.
Peggy Ann, your blog was one of the first I started reading after I started blogging. And I am glad you started the Read Scotland challenge. I have some books from that area I am eager to get to this year.
You are so right, Cath, about the book blogging community. I have enjoyed your blog and the exposure to fantasy and sci fi books along with the mysteries.
Thanks, Joan. It hurts to think about the loss of your Rex Stout paperbacks. I loved the early Elizabeth George books and even re-read a few of them in the last 10 years. Oh well, often series change and it is the author's right. I just don't have to read them.
Congrats TracyK, very well done - how time flies in great company! Have a nice jam scone to celebrate! And great to be able, through your blog to chart your progress since then! :)
Congratulations TracyK. I enjoy dropping by your blog. I appreciate your style of writing. There is a nice blend of information and opinion.
I am glad the Great White North has become part of your reading experience. My reading around the world has expanded through blogging.
I look forward to your posts for years to come.
Happy blog-birthday Tracy, I like it that our blogs are almost the same age. I really enjoyed reading this post about your changes in reading, as I always do enjoy your reviews..,
Happy Blogiversary, Tracy. Here's to many more years to come.
You are so kind, neer. I do look forward to many years visiting your blog.
Thanks, John. I would love to find some of those dusty tomes you are addicted to. Often I am quite envious of your book finds.
Thank you, Ann. I only wish that I could afford all the old books with great covers that I lust after. It is wonderful to find them at sales and I can live with the tears in the dust jackets, but even the battered copies are hard to find.
Thanks, Rebecca. I hope you like your first Stout. Like any author, he is not for everyone, but there are those who love his books.
Thank you, Linda. My biggest complaint with Elizabeth George is the length. I have thoughts of reading the latest book because it features Barbara Havers, but then I notice the length and I am not sure it is worth it.
Happy blog birthday Tracy. It's fascinating to see how people's tastes change over time. I used to be a huge fan of Elizabeth George too but she's gotten way too long-winded for me.
A jam scone sounds wonderful, Sergio. It has been a nice journey.
Bill, I have enjoyed adding Canadian authors to my reading, and you have introduced me to many of them.
Thanks, Moira, I knew blogging had made a difference in my reading, I just did not realize how much.
Thanks, Steve, I do look forward to many years of reading and blogging.
Thanks, Bernadette. I can handle some longer books, as we have discussed at your blog recently, but in her case the books haven't worked for me.
Congratulations on 3 years of blogging. I'm a Rex Stout fan too although his books aren't that easy to find here. I can't wait to see which books you'll be reading for the Scotland Challenge.
Thank you, Katrina. I am eager to try William McIlvanney, so I hope to get to him soon. And more Denise Mina for sure. A. D. Scott too. I am always surprised to find out how many authors are Scottish.
Happy Blog-o-versary to you! And here's a toast to many more informative posts and discussions among commenters.
It's always good to turn to this blog and read everything, even about books not in my comfort zone. I always enjoy the information and opinion about them.
I am a Rex Stout fan. He was one of the mystery authors I became acquainted with in my teens due to my father's tutelage. And because one of the on-call detectives has my last name, I was intrigued in those days. Although I stopped reading them for years, when I returned to the West Side brownstone, it was as though I'd picked up where I left off. It's always fun to read of that eccentric bunch.
I was sent a box full of Stout's books and I must dig in.
I must admit I'm envious of your having Too Many Detectives and the other two stories in the volume. That is a rare book, indeed.
I hope you keep this blog going for years to come; it's always a pleasure to visit.
Thank you, Kathy. I always enjoy your comments. I discovered Rex Stout in my teens also, although I must have just run into his books in the library. Some of them, especially the novels, I have read so many times I have them memorized.
Tracy, many congratulations! I admire your dedication to reading different kinds of books and reviewing them on your very engaging blog with such punctuality. I also like your review style, particularly the personal touch to your reviews. Good luck to you for many successful years of blogging.
Yvette over at Yvette Can Draw also loves Nero Wolfe and the gang. She rereads them again and again. She sparked my renewed interest in the eccentric detective and I'm so glad.
Also, these books are great to read when one is in a bad mood. They're like chocolate, elevates one's mood in a flash.
Thanks for the kind words, Prashant. I look forward to many more years of blogging and visting your blog.
You are so right, Kathy, the Nero Wolfe stories are comfort reads for me.
And I do remember how much Yvette likes the Nero Wolfe series too.
Post a Comment