Bafflement leads to a change of reading plans

A week or so back I began reading CITY OF VEILS by Zoe Ferraris (set in Saudi Arabia) on my Kindle.
I found it difficult to get into and even started again.
Most of you will know that I very rarely DNF a book, and so I looked for reasons why I was having a problem.

I came to the conclusion that the main reason was that I felt I was missing too much back story about the main investigator, and in particular his relationship with one of the other characters in an incident that had occurred some months before.

I knew that CITY OF VEILS was Zoe Ferraris' second book, so I thought the cure was probably to try to locate a copy of her first. It is not available on Kindle, but I eventually tracked it down at my library.

That was after I discovered it had been published under 2 titles.
The Night of the Mir'aj (2008)
     aka Finding Nouf
The bonus: Macavity Awards First Novel nominee (2009) : The Night of the Mir'aj

And finally, why am I reading THE NIGHT OF THE MI'RAJ (aka FINDING NOUF) ?
- as part of the 2010 Global Reading Reading Challenge - where I have 5 books (out of 21)  to go.

Here are my plans:

Africa

• BAIT, Nick Brownlee (Kenya) - Kindle
  

Asia

• ANARCHY AND OLD DOGS, Colin Cotterill (Laos)

Australasia

• BEAT NOT THE BONES, Charlotte Jay (New Guinea)
  

North America (incl Central America)

• HAVANA BLACK, Leonardo Padura (Cuba)
  

Wildcard  novel

• THE NIGHT OF THE MI'RAJ, Zoe Ferraris (Saudi Arabia)

Sunday Salon - 24 October - a quick post

I seem to be a bit short of time today but have a few things to broadcast.

I've just finished editing the October edition of the Agatha Christie Blog Carnival. It is a great one, with 40 items from 22 contributors.
Check it out here.
If you occasionally review Agatha Christie titles, then you could become a contributor too.

Posts this week:

• Review: THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST BRITISH CRIME 2010 7
• Published friends
• Forgotten Books: CRIME FOR THE CONNOISSEUR, Gerald Sparrow
• Read on my Kindle
• Is this a Gun I see before me?
• Agatha Christie Quotations
• 2010 Anthony Award Winners

Headlines & News

• Agatha Christie Blog Carnival #9 posted
• Crimespree Awards 2010
• Book Review Blog Carnival #54
• 2010 Anthony Awards
• Peter Carey's Parrot and Olivier in America shortlisted for NBA 2010
• Barry & Macavity & Book of the Decade Award winners
• Shamus Award Winners 2010
• Macavity Award Winners 2010
• Ellis Peters Historical Mystery Award 2010 Shortlist
• Howard Jacobson wins the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2010
• PD James wins BBC's Nick Clarke Award for journalism

Most Recent Reviews:

• Review: THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST BRITISH CRIME 2010, edited by Maxim Jakubowski - Sunday, 24 October 2010
• Read on my Kindle - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
• Review: NECESSARY AS BLOOD, Deborah Crombie - Thursday, 14 October 2010
• Review: FEAR THE WORST, Linwood Barclay - Monday, 11 October 2010
• REVIEW: THE LABOURS OF HERCULES, Agatha Christie - Sunday, 10 October 2010

TBRN (To Be Read Next)

• now - A COTSWOLD MYSTERY, Rebecca Tope
• next - THE BLOOD DETECTIVE, Dan wa
• next on Kindle - CITY OF VEILS, Zoe Ferraris (Saudi Arabia)
• now on Audio - THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN, PD James

To finish the Global Reading Challenge:
* CITY OF VEILS, Zoe Ferraris (Saudi Arabia) Kindle
* HAVANA BLACK, Leonardo Padura (Cuba)
* BEAT NOT THE BONES, Charlotte Jay (New Guinea)
* BAIT, Nick Brownlee (Kenya) - Kindle
* ANARCHY AND OLD DOGS, Colin Cotterill (Laos) 

Review: THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST BRITISH CRIME 2010, edited by Maxim Jakubowski

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 839 KB
• Print Length: 544 pages
• Publisher: Robinson (April 29, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Product Description

The must-have annual anthology for every crime fiction fan - the year's top new British short stories selected by leading crime critic Maxim Jakubowski.This great annual covers the full range of mystery fiction, from noir and hardboiled crime to ingenious puzzles and amateur sleuthing. Packed with top names like Colin Dexter, Christopher Fowler, Alexander McCall Smith, Robert Barnard, Peter James, Natasha Cooper, Sophie Hannah, and many more.


This looks like a who's who of  British crime fiction - a real treat. I have read full books by most of these authors, and for the most part enjoyed re-acquaintance through these tasters.


I've included a full list of the 38 stories at the bottom of the page.
From my point of view the ones I enjoyed most were

• finding out why Morse didn't get his degree: MR E. MORSE, BA OXON (FAILED),Colin Dexter
• an Australian one: THE BLOOD PEARL, Barry Maitland
• THE RAT IN THE ATTIC BY Brian McGilloway was quite clever
• A BLOW ON THE HEAD by Peter Lovesey was up to expectations, as was
• WALKING THE DOG by Peter Robinson
• ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE, Alexander McCall Smith
• 12 BOLINBROKE AVENUE, Peter James
• FUNERAL WEATHER, Kate Ellis

I didn't much enjoy ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT ALREADY by Tony Black although it did have an unexpected ending which redeemed it a little. I struggled with HOGMANAY HOMICIDE by Edward Marston both in terms of length (it made me impatient for it to finish) and because I don't think it would have had any context for me if I hadn't read Martin Edwards' DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN earlier this year.

Overall, there was the usual problem you have with a collection of short stories: some are excellent, while others just didn't seem worthy of the space.  It is quite a long book.

My rating: 4.3
List of stories
MR E. MORSE, BA OXON (FAILED),Colin Dexter
GHOSTS,John Harvey
THE BLOOD PEARL, Barry Maitland
THE COMMON ENEMY, Natasha Cooper
BLOODSPORT, Tom Cain
THE RAT IN THE ATTIC, Brian McGilloway
ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT ALREADY, Tony Black
HOGMANAY HOMICIDE, Edward Marston
FRUITS, Steve Mosby
A PLACE FOR VIOLENCE, Kevin Wignall
FOUR HUNDRED RABBITS,Simon Levack
HISTORY!,Toby Litt
THE MASQUERADE,Sarah Rayne
TAKE DEATH EASY, Peter Turnbull
THE PARSON AND THE HIGHWAYMAN, Judith Cutler
SPECIAL DELIVERY, Adrian Magson
A BLOW ON THE HEAD, Peter Lovesey
CHICAGO, Jon Courtenay Grimwood
THE HOUSE THAT GOT SHOT, Barbara Nadel
THE OCTOPUS NEST, Sophie Hannah
WALKING THE DOG, Peter Robinson
THE VELOCITY OF BLAME, Christopher Fowler
SOMEONE TAKE THESE DREAMS AWAY, Marc Werner
ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE, Alexander McCall Smith
12 BOLINBROKE AVENUE, Peter James
APPETITE FOR MURDER, Simon R. Green
THE OTHER HALF, Mick Herron
SWORD LILIES, Sally Spedding
LOVE HURTS, Bill Kirton
FUNERAL WEATHER, Kate Ellis
A YEAR TO REMEMBER, Robert Barnard
TIME OF THE GREEN,Ken Bruen
VIVISECTION, Bernie Crosthwaite
STAR’S JAR, Kate Horsley
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A VICTIMLESS CRIME, Paul Johnston
AND HERE’S THE NEXT CLUE . . ., Amy Myers
FRECKLES, Allan Guthrie
HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Val McDermid

Published friends

A post by Dorte at DJsKrimiblog today announced
An e-book anthology, Discount Noir, is not only in the shops, but also on the streets! More than forty dark or funny (or dark and funny) flash fiction stories which began as a flash fiction challenge hosted by Patti (she of Friday's Forgotten books notoriety on MiP).

It contains stories not only by Dorte Hummelshøj Jakobsen, but by Patti Abbott, Charles Ardai, Jack Bates, Eric Beetner,Fleur Bradley, Cormac Brown, Bill Crider, JohnDumond, Daniel Maddox, Chad Eagleton, Loren Eaton, Garnett Elliott, J.T. Ellison, Anne Fraiser, Ed Gorman, Chris Grabenstein, Allan Griffiths, Evan Lewis, Sophie Littlefield, John McFetridge, Toni McGee Causey, Kyle Minor, Donna Moore, Daniel B. O'Shea, Eric Peterson, Bryon Quertermous, Keith Rawson, James Reasoner, Stepeh D. Rogers, Randy Rohn, Kathleeen A. Ryan, Sandra Scoppettone, Sandra Seamans, Kieran Shea, Gerald So, Jay Stringer,  Albert Tucher, Jeff Vande Zande, John Weagly, Steve Weddle,  and Dave Zeltserman.


I bought my copy at  Untreed Reads Store and then sent it off to Amazon for free conversion to Kindle.




An announcement earlier this week came from Brian Kavanagh that A CANTERBURY CRIME, the latest in his Belinda Lawrence Murder Mystery series, is available both at BeWrite Books and Amazon.

The ancient walled city of Canterbury has held many secrets over the centuries but none more mysterious than the death of Professor de Gray.

Called in to evaluate the contents of his Tudor Manor House, Belinda and Hazel are confronted with a number of suspects who would benefit from the book the Professor was about to publish; a book he promised would re-write the history of St Thomas Becket who was murdered in the Cathedral in 1170.

The unfriendly secretary Miss Mowbray, the live wire student Tommy, the volatile amateur historian Peter, the respected publisher Sir Justin, and Quentin the upstart publisher prepared to obtain the book at any price. Add to them the local Doctor and Funeral Director and the cast of suspects is complete.

Confirming the Professor was murdered proves to be a challenge and gradually as they get to know those associated with the Manor House Belinda and Hazel discover another murder and an intricate web of secrets that leads them to life-threatening danger and finally to the killer.

This fourth mystery provides Belinda and Hazel with another exciting adventure; Hazel being larger than life yet again and Belinda shocked by an event that will change her life. 

Neither book is going to break the bank, so do support my friends!

Forgotten Books: CRIME FOR THE CONNOISSEUR, Gerald Sparrow

This week's contribution to Pattinase's Friday's Forgotten Books appears in my records in April 1981, and really remains almost a mystery.

This cover image (to the right) appears on at least a couple of sites, but I haven't been able to find a blurb. Frustratingly those who list it in their second hand stock don't tell us what it is about.

It seems that Gerald Sparrow (1903-   ) [though surely now deceased] published at least 46 books between 1954 and 1975, some of them with at least 2 different editions.

CRIME FOR THE CONNOISSEUR was one of his last books, published in 1974.
I think it is likely that his books were mostly "true crime" rather than fiction. CRIME FOR THE CONNOISSUER appears to have consisted of case studies, was 199 pages, and had 8 illustrated plates.

Other "facts"

• Justice Gerald Sparrow, a 20th century British barrister who served as a judge in Bangkok in the International Court for two decades
• A British Judge, however, favours polygamy for totally different reasons. Polygamy, to him, is a solution for the problem of the numerical inequality in the sexes.
  Mr. Justice Gerald Sparrow. who recently returned to England after 23 years in Siam, and who is now. 60, [1955?] declared: "Unless we come to it, thousands of women who now have to lead unwomanly lives will remain unhappy."
  "At present we have about a million women in Britain who cannot have husbands. It is a tragedy. Many of these women suffer terribly from frustration."
  But Mr. Sparrow himself has decided to settle for only one wife, a pretty Siamese whom he married secretly. source
• He appears to have been a regular contributor to Argosy Magazine beginning in 1961. For example in 1973 he contributed a story titled The Scourge of the West Country.
• In 1974 during a visit to South Africa Sparrow became involved in a protest against the sporting isolation of South African teams through the Club of Ten.

So, who remembers Judge Gerald Sparrow?

Read on my Kindle

So far this year I have read 106 books, with approximately 1 in 4 read on my Kindle, which I must confess goes almost everywhere with me. Sadly there are only 3 Australian books on the list. Hopefully the balance will eventually get better.
Here they are (I've included my ratings)
They are all linked to the reviews I've written.

Belinda    Bauer    BLACKLANDS     5
Chester D.    Campbell    THE MARATHON MURDERS     4.1
Agatha    Christie    THE LABOURS OF HERCULES     4.3
William    Dietrich    DARK WINTER     4.2
Barbara    Fister    ON EDGE     4.5
Leighton    Gage    THE BLOOD OF THE WICKED     4.9
Tess    Gerritsen    THE SURGEON     4.7
Heather    Graham    GHOST SHADOW     4.2
Kerry    Greenwood    FORBIDDEN FRUIT    4.3
Kerry    Greenwood    DEAD MAN'S CHEST     4.3
Noel    Hynd    MIDNIGHT IN MADRID    3.8
Brian    Kavanagh    BLOODY HAM     4.2
Stephen    King    UR    4.3
Henning    Mankell    THE MAN FROM BEIJING    5
Peter    May    FREEZE FRAME     4.6
Peter    May VIRTUALLY DEAD    4.2
Peter    May    THE RUNNER    4.6
Alexander    McCall Smith    THE DOUBLE COMFORT SAFARI CLUB     4.3
Rick    Mofina    THE PANIC ZONE    4.8
Jacob    Ritari    TAROKO GORGE    4
Luis Miguel    Rocha    THE LAST POPE    4.3
Santiago    Roncagliolo    RED APRIL     4.6
Maria    Schneider    EXECUTIVE RETENTION     4.2
Jon    Talton    DEADLINE MAN    4.4
Joseph    Teller    OVERKILL     4.4

Is this a Gun I see before me?

Book gun sculptures created by Robert The

Visit the site to see them from different angles and at different stages

Agatha Christie Quotations

There are several sites where you can "get" Agatha Christie quotations.
I'm not quite sure where the originals come from, but here are some of them:

Brainy Quotes has 34.
 Here are a few

An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets the more interested he is in her.

Any woman can fool a man if she wants to and if he's in love with her.

But surely for everything you have to love you have to pay some price.

Crime is terribly revealing. Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul is revealed by your actions.

Curious things, habits. People themselves never knew they had them.

Good Reads has 134. 
Again here are just a few to whet your appetite.


"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."

"Never do anything yourself that others can do for you."
 
"It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them. " 

If you are looking still more try Quote Lucy, Famous Quotes & Authors, The Quotations Page, or a Google search.

2010 Anthony Award Winners

The Anthony Award winners (nominees are here) were announced Sunday at the Bouchercon brunch:

BEST NOVEL

THE BRUTAL TELLING - Louise Penny [Minotaur Books]

BEST FIRST NOVEL

A BAD DAY FOR SORRY - Sophie Littlefield [Minotaur Books]

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

STARVATION LAKE - Bryan Gruley [Touchstone]

BEST SHORT STORY

"On the House" - Hank Phillippi Ryan, QUARRY: Crime Stories by New England Writers [Level Best Books]

BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK

TALKING ABOUT DETECTIVE FICTION - P.D. James [Bodleian Library/Knopf]