The wonderful Mary Ann Corrigan, author of the upcoming By Cook or By Crook, the first in her
Five Ingredient culinary mystery series, and short stories in the Chesapeake Crimes anthology series,
tagged me in the September Sisters In Crime Blog Sinc Up. Taggees are given a
choice of questions, including the opportunity to dish on what books are on
their nightstand.
Books on my nightstand? How about the books by the cozy
chair in the living room, the books on the coffee table/foot rest in the family
room, the books in the tote bag, or the books by the front door waiting to go
back to the library? And the book club book on tape I’m listening to on my
commute. (Flight Behavior by Barbara
Kingsolver. Beyond good, go check it out).
The chaise longue is furniture made for reading. Its arms wrap around you as you recline in Victorian-lady comfort. There’s
even a spot on the arm that’s wide enough to hold a cup of tea or margarita –
depending on what I’m reading. Yes, it’s a couch with a built-in, stealth cup holder.
Sisters in Crime wants to know about my TBR book stash, so
here is a list of the books by the chaise: The
Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah (Thanks for those bags under my eyes,
Sophie. Your infernally twisted book kept me up way too late last night); The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, a story
in that special category reserved for books that change the way you look at
life; and classics of two kinds: Peter Lovesey’s Skeleton Hill and David Simon’s Homicide:
A Year on the Killing Streets.
Sisters and Misters in Crime are represented in the TBR by
Louise Penny’s latest, The Long Way Home;
a copy of Ellery Queen Magazine; Fat Cat
at Large by Kaye George/Janet Cantrell; and Murder Strikes a Pose by Tracy Weber. Was Dorothy Gilman a Sister?
I adore her Mrs. Pollifax books. She’s represented in the TBR by Mrs. Pollifax Pursued.
Last, but not least, is the book that makes my husband
nervous, Deadly Doses: A Writer’s Guide
to Poisons by Serita Stevens. Just a little light reading before bed, I
assure him.
Many thanks to Mary Ann for the tag.
What books are on your
nightstand?
Thank you, Shari, for giving us a glimpse of a librarian's bookshelf and letting me tag you. My husband had a similar reaction as yours to that book of poisons for writers when he saw it on the kitchen counter next to my cookbook. On the subject of poisons, one of the books on my shelf is Michael Gerald's The Poisonous Pen of Agatha Christie, which analyzes how Christie uses poisons in her fiction. The writer is a professor of pharmacology as well as a Christie fan.
ReplyDeleteI’m still working my way through the Left Coast Crime and Malice Domestic book bags (Jan went as well so we ended up with twice as many). Between those, books I’ve bought in paper or electronically, my TBR numbers over 100 – a year’s supply, assuming (incorrectly, I assure you) that I don’t add anything before I get through those.
ReplyDelete~ Jim
Hi Maryann,
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, thank you for thinking of me. Michael Gerald's book sounds like my cup of tea - my poor hubby is definitely going to start worrying.
Jim - 100, wow! You will have a lot to keep you busy on those snowy UP days. I hope you find some real gems in those stacks.
ReplyDeleteLet's see.
ReplyDeleteThe nightstand contains a rather eclectic collection. The White Masai, by Corinne Hoffmann, a nonfiction account of a rather ditzy Swiss woman who married a Masai and moved in with his tribe in Kenya (translated from the German); Intervention, by Robin Cook; Runaway by Alice Munro, who won the Nobel prize for literature; Seeds of Evidence by Linda J. White, a Christian mystery set on an island off the Virginia shore; Cemetery Lake by Paul Cleave, a mystery set in Christchurch, New Zealand.
And that doesn't begin to cover the books on my Kindle or sitting in other places around the house!
Carl Hiiasen, Sara Pretsky, Rys Bowen and Carolyn Hart wait impatiently to close one of them
ReplyDeleteKathleen, that's an eclectic list. I have to admit that now I am intrigued by that story of the Swiss lady and her adventure in Kenya.
ReplyDeleteWarren, I picture all the authors on your nightstand jumping up and down saying, pick me! pick me!
I'm currently reading Steeled for Murder by KM Rockwood. The characters and setting feel so real! I have several books neatly stacked (ha ha) waiting for me to read--Writing Screenplays that Sell by Michael Hauge; Death Rides the Zephyr by Janet Dawson; Thirty Years a Detective by Allan Pinkerton (thanks for the recommendation, Shari); and Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders by Susanne Alleyn.
ReplyDeleteI love your fainting couch with the stealth cup holder.
Hi Kara,
ReplyDeleteI've had several offers for the couch!
I read KM's Send Off for a Snitch and really like her Jesse Damon character; I'm hoping for more time so I can read the rest of the series.
Screenplays? That's intriguing...
Shari and Kara, thanks for the kind mention of Jesse Damon and the series! To tell the truth, he doesn't feel like "my" character; he's taken on a life of his own.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is interested in trying the series, I would be happy go give you a copy of one or more. My email is kmrockwood@comcast.net.
Shari, I hauled two paperback books to San Francisco with me and finished both; Careless in Red by Elizabeth George and Wild by Cheryl Strayed and finished them both. I also bought The Likeness by Tana French in the Benicia Book Store and started it before heading home and read much of it on the way home so it's beside my nesting chair along with All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I have some TBR beside my bed, too, as well as shelves of Malice books TBR that I've gotten over the years at Malice and want to at least start to read to see if I'll like them. I've read all of Louise Penny's books now, The Book Thief, too, and all of KM's excellent Jesse Damron series except for the 6th which I still need to get, and Carla's Caleb Knowles excellent series and Jim's two Seamus McCree books which I enjoyed as well as Warren's young adult book, and all three of Linda's excellent books.
ReplyDeleteMany of the Malice bookmarks I collected are on my list, like Jim. I just caught up with a dog series by Donna Ball that I love (was behind by two books), and found a new author who I think will have a successful series. The book, The Walker on the Cape, by Mike Martin is set on Newfoundland. It's very much in the small milieu as the series by Ann Cleaves set on the Shetland Islands. I also fell for a historical series set in Rhode Island by Alyssa Maxwell. The second book in the series is due any day now. There are so many other books that I can go on and on!
ReplyDelete