grundyscribbling

Ok, so there was a bunch of reading in Germany also, but I didn't think to write down all the titles.

I do know Myrrhe, Mord und Marzipan because I bought it (this was one of the many books contributing to the 'will she make the weight limit' question packing to come home last week.)

I didn't read much new in the past week - Night Watch and Hogfather, along with an Agatha Christie. (Don't remember which one, only that it was Hercule Poirot.)

I also just finished a re-read of the entire Anne of Green Gables series, all 8 books. (Don't ask why, I don't know, but I had the urge to read it, and it was strong enough that I hunted out the books in the attic after I discovered the editions on my Kindle are shockingly bad - not just occasional missing words, but whole missing passages.)

You thought I forgot, didn't you?

I did not. I've just not had a lot of reading time lately. But I did manage one book this past week.

Percy Jackson & the Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan
Another fun romp from Riordan. The latest installment of Percy's adventures sees him continuing his quest for college recommendations, this time via Hecate. In addition to Percy, Annabeth, and Grover learning a bit about themselves (all part of their ongoing quest to grow up without dying, despite being demigods), we also learn a bit about Percy's mom Sally and her past. I hope all these crazy kids make it.

The Blackbird Oracle by Deborah Harkness
Somewhat disappointed. The All Souls trilogy is a guilty pleasure, but this feels less like a follow-up to the original trilogy than tossing out at least half of what was previously established. ( Spoilers. Sorry, I can't adequately gripe about this without them. ) Gallowglass is MIA in the present day but has a cameo in historical memories, Fernando is mentioned only in passing, as are Marcus and Phoebe, and there is nothing at all of Jack. Baldwin was about the only one who didn't seem to have had a character transplant. At this point, I'd kinda like the next book to be about him. And to top it all off, this was clearly mostly setup for another book or two. I pre-ordered this book; next one I'm borrowing from the library first.

Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy by Damien Lewis
You couldn’t make Josephine Baker up. If you wrote her as a character in a book, your editor would be screaming that she wasn’t believable. And she kept that up during WWII – knowing it was a fight to the death with the Nazis, she was all in for the Allies, even if the country she was from didn’t want her.

The Gilded Age Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from America’s Golden Era 1868-1900 by Becky Libourel Diamond
In fairness, I think I am not the target audience for this one – I'm not much enamored with the Gilded Age, only picked this up from the library out of curiosity. Also, what was fancy pants cuisine back then is less so now between time and improved kitchen tech – the recipes just register as classic (blueberry cake, broiled steak, roast chicken au jus) or curiosities (Saratoga chips, Fish House punch, Boston brown bread) with the occasional recipe not well known any more (devilled spaghetti, anyone?) That said, if you’re into this era, the book is very nicely put together, with information about Pullman travel, different classes/professions, daily life, holidays and entertaining, etc. There are also probably a few recipes in here that will be used to even those used to the classics. I’m curious to try out Queenie’s Cornmeal Potato Muffins and see if the Sweet Potato Croquettes can be adapted to work well without frying.

Hallowe’en Party
Guessed part but not all of the who; got the why.

Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case
I’d already been spoilered (if one can call it that when the book is 50 years old) so part of the fun was seeing how Agatha did it rather than trying to work out whodunnit. It does show in spots that it was written earlier than the last of the Poirot books Christie wrote in her lifetime. I can’t help feeling she authorized publication when she did because she knew after Elephants Can Remember that it was time – and also that she had fully expected to be dead before it came out, so no one could remonstrate with her about the points Poirot makes about how he had played fair.

And now everyone can heave a sigh of relief, for I have gotten the Christie out of my system for the foreseeable future. On to other things…

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai
Someone told me a while back that translated books are nearly always worthwhile, because they have to have been good in the first place to be translated. That certainly held true for this little gem, which is a love letter (in equal parts) to Kyoto, food, and love. And best of all, there’s another book – will be looking for The Restaurant of Lost Recipes when it comes out in October.

It is Wednesday, isn't it?

Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories by Amitav Ghosh
Basically the author did a lot of research for his Ibis Trilogy, and ended up with enough to write a non-fiction book about the history of opium and colonialism. (The British Empire: the original narco-state.) I found it fascinating, particularly because – surprising no one familiar with the American education system – the only mention of India in history in school was about early civilizations. So I’ve been trying to catch up, and this ties in nicely with a few other things I’ve read. (Me, reading: “I read her book!” A few references later: “Wait, I need to add that one to my to-read list.” Related: if you have not read Priya Satia, do yourself a favor. Empire of Guns and Time’s Monster are both well worth it.) Aside from the crash course in the history of India, it turns out a surprising number of American fortunes rested on opium as well – “Boston Brahmins” indeed. There is also a chapter on parallels looking at how the infamous Sacklers were really only different from previous well-heeled moneyed drug pushers in doing it to white Americans.

Weird Medieval Guys: How to live, laugh, love (and die) in dark times by Olivia M. Swarthout
Sometimes things on the library new books shelf just look fun. This is one of those. Though it probably helped that I’d seen some of the author’s stuff on social before. This is a compendium of marginalia from medieval manuscripts – with some modern commentary. (Some of it tongue firmly in cheek.) Much fun.

And now to the continuing Poirot kick... (For those indifferent, cheer up, I'm on the home stretch.)

Hickory Dickory Dock
Interesting outing, focusing more on others than on Poirot. I rumbled why but got stuck dithering between two likely candidates for who. ( Spoiler ) Haven't watched the adaptation yet, as I literally just finished the book half an hour ago.

Elephants Can Remember
One of Christie’s last novels. She can, I think, be excused some of the lack of continuity, but the repetitiveness is very noticeable – at over 80, it’s possible she was suffering cognitive decline. But fair on her still writing at 80+. I was very muddled at guessing the solution – the repetitiveness and unreliable ‘witnesses’ made it difficult to keep track. (It’s almost as though Christie might have been musing on her own memory.) One of the rare times I prefer the David Suchet adaptation to the book – less because they went a slightly different route than because they trimmed out the repetitiveness and made things a bit clearer to follow.

Look, I remembered! Even though it felt like Tuesday all day, because the long weekend has thrown everything off!

Once again, much Poirot... (which is of course all Agatha Christie)

One Two Buckle My Shoe
One has to admire Christie’s knack of putting a clue in the title.

Five Little Pigs
Ugh, I fell for it – picked the wrong little pig. (I thought it was the same one the dead woman thought it was.)

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
So close – got it right about when the old man was killed, and ( spoiler ) but I got the wrong one.

Just the one this week, but expect much more Poirot next week, as I just got several books in...

Lord Edgeware Dies - I'd cheated and watched the adaptation first, but there was still a bit of suspense. (They might have changed whodunnit for the adaptation.) Bit of casual anti-Semitism in the book that the adaptation sensibly left out, but I can't tell if that's Christie, or Christie being accurate about what folks in that time and place of that class would have been like on the subject. To be fair, there's a whiff of anti-Catholicism too. The Catholicism is at least somewhat relevant to the plot, whereas various background characters being Jewish or possibly Jewish hasn't a blessed thing to do with the price of tea in Chiswick.

I'm blocking out some time this weekend to catch up on reading. Besides all the new Poirot books, I picked up a couple books in Vermont that I haven't had time to so much as look at, and there's a few library books that need to be read and go back...

And I really need a spring reading icon.

The Poirot tear continues. All of the below by Agatha Christie.

Cat Among The Pigeons
There's a whiff of sexism and racism, but this is far better than some of Christie's earlier works. She’s trying! There’s a murderer loose at an exclusive girls’ school, and no one knows who may be next. Christie lets you see the motive very clearly, but the question is who. Poirot doesn’t actually come into it until maybe the last third of the book, just in time to solve it. This one was fun. (I narrowed it down to the right two people, and was prepared to be quite cross if the one I liked better as a character turned out to be the one who dunnit. Happily for me, it was not.)

Sad Cypress
This one is interesting as it opens with a woman on trial who (the summary tells us) is innocent, but sure isn’t going out of her way to look it. Poirot is asked by a friend to do what he can to help. While there’s a few shady characters, I guessed this one based on it having a similar tell to a previous Poirot. (Will say in the comments if anyone wants to know which one.)

Dead Man’s Folly
Oh my. Christie was quite clever with this one, using what the reader who knows her expects to be her own flaws to muddy the waters. Didn't see it coming at all.

The ABC Murders
Another fun one – Christie misleads while apparently letting the reader in on what Poirot and Hastings don’t know.

On another Christie kick, this time Poirot...

The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie
The one that started it all... The first glimpse of Poirot (and Hastings). I think I'll still prefer Miss Marple, but Poirot is fun too.

The Murder On The Links by Agatha Christie
Despite the title, the only golf involved is a golf course that was being constructed and was a handy place to hide a body. If you are looking for a murder mystery involving golf or golfers, this is not it. It is, however, another fun romp with Poirot, and has cemented my opinion that Hastings is a fool when it comes to women.

I have requested another Christie from the library and have two on order with Blackwell's, so expect this to continue for a while.

Re-reads: Starting the Percy Jackson books all over again after watching the Disney series. So far I've finished The Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters, and The Titan's Curse. (Can't wait to see season 2 of the series. I think the changes made in season 1 work quite well, eager to see what they do with s2.)

Complete:
Winter's Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch
This novella in the Rivers of London series follows Kimberley Reynolds on an adventure to the great white Native north. A retired FBI agent calls in something that's her kind of hinky, so off she goes to northern Wisconsin to investigate - only to discover that things are much, much worse than anyone expected. There's a few mentions of Peter Grant (and the Nightengale), but this is Kim's show. (Signs point to Peter not being the only one looking to settle down. Not sure who got the worse situation - Peter with Bev's family not entirely thrilled about him, or Kim with her person of interest getting advice from what appears to be a new genius loci who seems to view matchmaking as fitting right in with his mission to make his bit of the world better...)

In Progress:
Indigenous Continent by Pekka Hämäläinen.
4 chapters in, and just getting to the Eastern Woodlands vs the English... (The Spanish vs Pretty Much Everyone, including occasionally the Spanish was quite interesting.) Though I'm going to be looking for books with similar scope from the Native perspective* after this, as I hear there have been critiques. If nothing else, Hämäläinen does know how to frame things to get attention.

*Thinking The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of US History by Ned Blackhawk might be a place to start.