September 29, 2014

The Blood of an Englishman by M. C. Beaton

What a surprise… Agatha Raisin has an iPad and a cellphone!  I haven’t read or listened to an Agatha Raisin in a while and was pleasantly surprised to find that she has moved into the new millennium.   The Blood of an Englishman had all of the elements that I would expect in an Agatha Raisin mystery, including the rural English villages and Agatha’s quirky personality.  I listened to and loved the Audible.com version of this M. C. Beaton mystery.  Definitely a good listen and I’m sure it’s an equally good read.

Currently Reading

There Was and There Was Not  by Meline Toumani

I was thrilled when a Goodreads First Read Selection; There Was and There Was Not arrived in the mail. The topic of historic and current conflicts between Turkey and Armenia is of great interest to me.  I, like the author Meline Toumani, live in New Jersey, where there are both Turkish and Armenian communities.  I’ve had personal experiences that have involved dealing with people from both communities and recognize that there is a serious, long-standing conflict between the two cultures.  When I saw that there was a book that dealt with these conflicts and was written by an Armenian-American, I was immediately interested.  Setting all other books aside, I started reading it last night.  The book is very engaging and enjoyable reading so far.  More to follow…

The Intellectual Devotional: Biographies  by David S. Kidder

My husband and I found the Intellectual Devotionals several years ago, in a Barnes & Noble sale bin.  Intellectual Devotional: Biographies is our second book by Kidder and we’ve been reading it for less than a year.  We’re on page 262+… on track to finish by the end of the year.  We read at mealtime, usually breakfast.  It gives us food for thought and discussion.  We often find ourselves looking up more on our iPads.  Some of the biographies are like a history review.  Others are people we’ve never heard of.  It’s educational and keeps our minds working.  It also gives us something to discuss besides the daily barrage of depressing world news.  Actually, reading about history helps to put some of the current events into a different perspective.  Definitely a good oral read to share with a partner… more to follow.