Sunday, October 13, 2013

Planned Parenthood Book Sale 2013 (Part 2)

A final post to highlight some of our purchases at the book sale.My husband and son are much more restrained than I. Here are lists of some of their purchases.

My son is into fantasy novels, and his choices reflect that.
Dread Brass Shadows by Glen Cook
In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
The Callahan Chronicles by Spider Robinson
The Road to Mars: A Post-Modem Novel by Eric Idle
Deathstalker by Simon R. Green
The first two of those are of particular interest to me. The Glen Cook novel is part of a series about a human P.I. in a world of fantasy. In the Garden of Iden is a time travel novel and the first in the Company series.

My husband's tastes fall in many genres:

Fiction:
truecrime by Jake Arnott
Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctorow
Devil Said Bang by Richard Kadrey
A Weekend at Blenheim by J.P. Morrissey
The Informer by Akimitsu Takagi
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Eddy Deco's Last Caper: An Illustrated Mystery by Gahan Wilson
Nonfiction:
Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben McIntyre
Operation Mincemeat by Ben McIntyre
L.A. Noir: The City as Character by Alain Silver & James Ursini
Of these books, most hold some interest, with the possible exception of The Little Stranger, which may be too creepy and tense for me. L.A. Noir, about film noir set in Los Angeles, is on my list to read soon.
And the following books, with cover images, are some of my favorites that I found at the sale:

 
Sugar Skull (2003) by Denise Hamilton

Los Angeles Times reporter Eve Diamond usually works out of the paper's San Gabriel Valley bureau, but she's taking a weekend shift downtown when a distraught Vincent Chevalier breaks through security and demands her help. His fifteen-year-old daughter, Isabel, is missing, and the cops won't go looking for her until forty-eight hours have passed.

This book fits into my collection of books with skulls or skeletons on the cover. I have the first book in the series (unread) so I didn't buy it only for the cover.
Sugar skulls are decorations used for Day of the Dead celebrations. Usually they are edible, but the skulls are generally used for decorative purposes.

Dia de los Muertos or the “Day of the Dead” is a Mexican religious holiday. The celebrations start on November 1st, the day after Halloween. See more information on Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertas at this site.

Photo by Nathaniel C. Sheetz at Wikipedia Commons.


Capital Crimes (2011) by Laura Wilson

From the author's web site:
It is winter in London in the early 1950s: John Davies confesses to strangling his wife and baby daughter. It promises to be a depressingly straightforward case for DI Ted Stratton of West End Central. When Davies recants, blaming respectable neighbour Norman Backhouse for the crimes, nobody, including Stratton, sees any reason to believe him. Davies is convicted and hanged. But after a series of gruesome discoveries, Stratton begins to suspect that there has been a terrible miscarriage of justice. 

A Capital Crime is based on two of the most notorious cases of the 1950s.


Reaper Man (1991) by Terry Pratchett

I know very little about the Discworld series, but I collect books with skeletons or skulls on the cover. And I will give this one a try, just to see what it is all about. What I am not sure about is whether I should read any other book in the series first. This was the eleventh published, but I understand that they are grouped into sub-series.






An Uncertain Place (2008) by Fred Vargas

Another book in the Commissaire Adamsberg mystery series. The link points to a list of the books in order at EuroCrime, which also has links to reviews.

This is the 6th in the series. I have read the first two and have the 5th one. So still looking for the 3rd and 4th ones (Have Mercy on Us All and Wash this Blood Clean from My Hand).
.



Death in a Cold Climate (2012) by Barry Forshaw

From the back cover of my edition:
'Death in a Cold Climate is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the fictional underbelly of the Nordic psyche, whose popularity has become the publishing sensation of the century. Perceptive, witty and awesomely well-researched.' - Andrew Taylor, author of The American Boy

I have this book in e-book format and have read about two-thirds of it but I wanted a paper copy for easier access when I want to look up an author.
See Sarah's Review at Crimepieces
And an interview at the Rap Sheet blog




Slip of the Knife (2007) by Denise Mina
Also published as The Last Breath in the UK

Paddy Meehan has it all: flash car, flat, job as Scotland's leading columnist, and giant packet of biscuits all to herself, but the groggy bliss of a Saturday night in front of the TV is shattered when the police knock politely on her door, smiling sadly when she answers it. Someone close to her has died, but she's staggered when they tell her who it is.

This is the third novel in the Paddy Meehan series. Denise Mina has three series: the Garnethill series, the Paddy Meehan series, and the Alex Morrow series. I have read none of her books yet but I have read a lot of praise regarding her writing.






Poor Tom is Cold by Maureen Jennings

The third book in the Detective Murdoch series. My husband found this lovely hardback edition for me.  I have read the 1st one and have a copy of the second one on order.

Per a review at Publisher's Weekly:
The plethora of historical mysteries makes it difficult for a writer to carve out a time and place uniquely her own. However, Jennings has laid strong claim to the Toronto of the late 19th-century with the Anthony award-winning Except the Dying and Under the Dragon's Tail, and she cements her hold with this deft combination of mystery and social issues.






The Midnight Choir by Gene Kerrigan

I have one other book by this author (unread). The book is The Rage, and it had been highly recommended at several blogs. So when I saw this Europa edition in good condition at the book sale, I could not pass it up.

Description at Europa Editions:
A sophisticated crime story of contemporary Ireland, The Midnight Choir teems with moral dilemmas and Dublin emerges as a city of ambiguity: a newly-scrubbed face hiding a criminal culture of terrible variety.







First Wife, Twice Removed by Clare Curzon

I actually had another copy of this book, a mass market paperback. But this one with the skeleton hand I just had to have. I have been searching for years for earlier books in this series to start with, but now have decided I will read this one -- the eighth book in a series of twenty four books -- and see what I think.

Description from Fantastic Fiction:
Two disturbing deaths have Superintendent Mike Yeading's team spread out from the Thames Valley to Amsterdam looking for answers. As the investigations of the separate incidents develop in sinister parallel, the people of the Thames Police Force will confront more untimely death before tangled skeins come together to create a diabolical tapestry of murder.


33 comments:

Judith said...

I luxuriated in this post. What a wonderful, bountiful book sale! I envy you that. Thanks for all the great reading suggestions.

Judith (Reader in the Wilderness)

TracyK said...

Thanks, Judith, I hope you do find some of these books and enjoy them.

Bill Selnes said...

Of your husband's choices I have read Zig Zag by Macintyre and think he is an excellent writer. Zig Zag is disillusioning in how inept many WW II spies were in real life.

Death in a Cold Climate reminds how close many titles are to each other. It made think of Scott Young's book Murder in a Cold Climate.

I have had Poor Tom is Cold for a long time. It is in the bookcase before me when I am on the computer. I am going to have to get it read this coming year.

You have lots of good reading before you.

TracyK said...

Bill, I have Zig Zag and we both plan to read that one. He is reading Operation Mincemeat right now and enjoying it.

You are right about similar (or even identical) titles. Robert Barnard wrote a mystery titled Death in a Cold Climate. There are several mysteries with the title Nemesis (Joe Nesbo, Agatha Christie, Lindsey Davis, Bill Pronzini).

I am looking forward to all the reading I have ahead.

Peggy Ann said...

I am so jealous, Tracy! All your books look delicious. I'm drawn to Capital Crimes most though! We never have great book sales around here. The libraries is coming up this month but its not that big. Happy reading!

col2910 said...

Some nice finds Tracy, I have Mina, Kerrigan and Vargas in common with you and McIntyre and Arnott with Glen.

Your son is the odd-one out. More likely that I'm the odd one to be honest!

Anonymous said...

Tracy - Oh, you've got some wonderful finds there!! I'm really excited for you. I really hope you'll like, especially, the Mina, the Kerrigan, the Forshaw and the Vargas. Looking forward to your reviews.

TracyK said...

Peggy, I was very excited to find Capital Crimes. I have been looking for it and it has not be released in the U.S. yet.

TracyK said...

Col, I hope Glen likes the Arnott book. He just thought it looked interesting. Has no prior knowledge of the author.

As far as odd, I like "odd" (and weird) in a person. So I would say you are both odd.

TracyK said...

Margot, I am looking forward to reading these books. Especially the Mina and the Kerrigan. It will take me a while to get to the Vargas, since I have to find some earlier books in the series first.

Carol said...

Looks like you all picked up some great reads. Enjoy!

Katrina said...

That looks like a very interesting haul. The only author I've actually read is Denise Mina. I've been disappointed in the couple of her books which I've read, mainly because she writes about Glasgow (my birthplace) but somehow doesn't manage to capture the atmosphere of the place. It's a great city with wonderful characters living there but they don't appear in her books. Mind you if you don't know Glasgow then you won't know what you're missing.

TracyK said...

Thanks, Carol, we will. And luckily, I want to try some from all of our "new" books.

TracyK said...

Katrina, that is interesting about Mina's books. I find sometimes that crime fiction doesn't depict a variety of types of characters for a locale, but only those related to crime. I will have to keep an eye open for other series set in Glasgow.

Anonymous said...

I think Denise Mina's Garnethill trilogy captures the feel of Glasgow. That's one reason I liked those books. But it's not a city I know nor have ever visited. I'm just reading about it from afar

Anyway, you have some great reading ahead of you.

Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) said...

Fantastic haul TracyK - I want to read ALL of these! Well done you guys - family that reads together ...

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Tracy, I often pick up and read a book only because I liked the cover, in which case I'd have been reading all these books. Terry Pratchett is one author I have been meaning to read for a long time. Excellent books all round.

TracyK said...

Kathy, I want to try all three of Denise Mina's series. I have some of the Paddy Meehan and I think the first Garnethill, but none of the Alex Morrow.

TracyK said...

Sergio, thanks, it is a good group of books, isn't it. My husband buys much more nonfiction and keeps me stocked up, whenever I can tear myself away from crime fiction. Which is not often. And my son keeps up with sci fi and fantasy.

TracyK said...

Prashant, These are luscious covers, aren't they? That is the main problem I have with e-books, you can't pick them up and just enjoy the cover. But there are all those vintage editions of books out there for me to get. (If I could afford them.)

Sarah said...

I enjoyed 'The Little Stranger' by Sarah Waters so I'll be interested to hear what you make of that. I am *so* jealous of the books sale.

Anonymous said...

I have liked most of Denise Mina's books, but I think the Garnethill trilogy, and the Alex Morrow books The End of the Wasp Season and Gods and Beasts are the best. But I liked Paddy Meehan, too, and I got a real feel for the ending of the newspaper business as we know it, with high technology replacing many of the staffs.

I did not like the first in the Alex Morrow series, and I wasn't alone in that view, but then it picks up.

Your family sounds great; everyone reads. What could be better?

TracyK said...

Sarah, the reviews I read sound good but it is a ghost story. I am sure I will give it a try. My husband was glad to find a copy.

TracyK said...

Kathy, I am looking forward to all of the books by Denise Mina. I am glad you warned me about the first Alex Morrow book. Now I won't give up if I don't like that one.

We are lucky that we all enjoy reading in my family. I must have inherited my love of fiction and mysteries from my grandmother, because neither my mother nor my father read fiction at all.

Clothes In Books said...

What, there's more? You did do well. Loved reading through the lists - I think your son and my son have some books in common. There's some goodies there I should follow up on, I like the sound of Weekend at Blenheim. Covers with skulls: do you have Hercule Poirot's Christmas with a skull in a Santa hat? I think it's a fabulous cover image.

Anonymous said...

My parents read, my father read everything -- history, politics, sports, math, science books as well as journals and newspapers. He also read lots of fiction, including mysteries, and he started me on the original detective, Shirley Holmes, when I was in high school.

He also read good books, and he'd take me to the library each week, and I'd get fiction, including mysteries, and sit up in my room and read until the wee hours.

My mother read about music and art, biographies, anthropology. She had me reading a book by Zola and a few others, but she read little fiction.

It was a reading household, and I've kept that up, and read lots of contemporary fiction. About five years ago, I switched to primarily mysteries, although I always read the Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton and Marcia Muller mysteries with strong women detectives and Donna Leon's books. Blogs have introduced me to so many authors and characters since then. It's great.

Anonymous said...

I mean Sherlock Holmes. This must mean I'm wiped out, which is true. Now Shirley Holmes, a woman detectives. Well, Laurie King has created a match for the great detective, Mary Russell, and she's done a terrific job at that.

TracyK said...

Moira, Oh my goodness, that does sound wonderful, a Santa skull. I will have to look for it. I have the book but under the title A Holiday for Murder.

Another one I want to find is Sparkling Cyanide, with a skull behind the image of a glass of champagne.

TracyK said...

Kathy, I know what you mean about blogs introducing so many new mystery authors. It never ends. Your household growing up sounds very nurturing in the intellectual area especially. I have memories of my father bringing home stacks of non-fiction books, many about art, from the library.

I agree with you on Laurie King's Mary Russell series, although I have only read one of them.

Clothes In Books said...

Tracy I will send it to you. If you email me clothesinbooks@hotmail.co.uk with your address I will pop it in a jiffy bag. Would love to contribute to your collection!

TracyK said...

Moira, that is very kind of you. I will get in touch.

w said...

Can't say I've read any of these authors but I do own titles by Denise Hamilton and Maureen Jennings. Great haul.

TracyK said...

Keishon, Most of these authors I have not read either. It was a good haul and now I have increased my backlog of books.