Numbers 11 and 19

My television died this weekend, thank goodness for books. And thank goodness for series. The number 11 above is for Margaret Maron's "Rituals of the Season". In this book Deborah ties the knot with Dwight. That is the main point of interest, unfortunately the story is very predictable, but the Knott family is in its usual high form and therefore the book was fun to read. The number 19 is for the alphabet series that Sue Grafton writes. She is now up to "S is for Silence". My wonderful library provided me with this book. I don't know if I was too tired when I read the end of the book, but it wasn't 100% clear to me why the killer did it. But Kinsey Millhone was in fine form, her investigation was very credible.

Vlad, David, and Will

I have recently finished Elizabeth Kastova's "The Historian", therefore the picture of Vlad Dracula. It was a fun read, but it is always a bit difficult to swallow stories that have real undeads in them. One interesting part of the story is the portrayal of some of the Eastern European countries during the Cold War. Sometimes the way the hero and heroine managed to get in and out of both Hungary and Bulgaria is almost as difficult to believe as are the vampires.
The David in the title of this entry is from "Skugorna och regnet" by Håkan Nesser. This book was the first one after Nesser finished the Van Veeteren series. It was alot like the Kim Novak book. I doubt that anyone will translate this one to English. I understand that Nesser's latest book is the first in a new series with an Italian detective.
The third name is Will Trent, the main character in Karin Slaughter's new stand-alone "Triptych". I have to admit I miss Sara, Jeffrey, and Lena. But this was a good one and I can recommend it for those who liked the other books. Well now that I've read almost all my library books, it is time to see what has been returned after all the long summer loans - the shelves should be filled again!

The Globe and Home

More terror in airline travel, but this time averted in London. Daily reports of the new flare-up in the Middle East. The world pushes in. So too the themes of some of the books I've read this week. One was a real gem of a book, "Small Crimes in an Age of Abundance" by Matthew Kneale. Just as the writer of the review I am not usually a fan of short stories and indeed tend to actually avoid them, but a "mistake" at the library landed this book in my hands and I can only agree with the reviewer, it was an increadible read - and about the western world's relationship to the rest of the world. (Unfortunately my library doesn't have Kneale's lauded "English Passengers", but I will certainly read it some time in the future).
Another book that puts the recent news into a more personal perspective is Dan Fesperman's "The Warlord's Son". This was a book full of suspense and, amazingly enough, hope. The ending was perhaps more "happy" than it should have been thereof the hope. The third book this week was a new Fannie Flagg offering called "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven". A bit corny, but a feel good book for us old-fogeys.

Göteborg, Reading, and L.A.

I've spent the past week in Sweden's second largest city - Gothenburg to those who don't know how to pronounce Göteborg. Didn't read too much during the week because I was visiting such cultural places as IKEA. El-giganten, and Claes Olsson. And when I wasn't enjoying the shopping culture I was unpacking boxes and putting together furniture. But I did see a good bit of the city - the harbor is nice, riding trams is fun, and people are friendly.
It has been awhile since I read a Jasper Fforde novel. I am truly a Thursday Next fan and loved all four books. Now Fforde is exploring the Nursery Crime Division headed up by Jack Spratt in "The Big Over Easy". I was pleased to note that I knew all the nursery rhymes referred to in the book by heart. Although I enjoyed to book it was not as much fun as Fforde's previous efforts. Anyone who has not tried the Thursday Next series should rush right out and get ahold of "The Eyre Affair". Fforde's website is also a lot of fun - be sure to visit!
One of our local book stores sells out English paperbacks for about $5. So before the 4 hour train ride to Göteborg I visited their "sale bin" and bought "Scavenger Hunt" by Robert Ferrigno. I guess after reading the book I can understand why it landed in the bin, but it was entertaining. I am, however, not going to rush out to try to get ahold of one of the other 8 or so other books Ferrigno has written. On checking Google I found that there is another known Ferrigno - Lou, alias the Incredible Hulk. How's that for real trivia?