strange and random happenstance

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
Published by: NAL
Publication Date: February 7th, 2005
Format: Paperback, 428 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
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Amy Balcourt has spent her exile in the sheep infested fields of Shropshire dreaming of the day she can return to France. Her and her mother were lucky, they escaped France before her father's head rolled. But Napoleon and his ilk have to pay. Amy longs for revenge. She has dreamed of nothing but the day she could return to Paris and join the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and foil those Frenchies with witty asides and raids on their secret files. But then that dratted Pimpernel went and got unmasked, so who's league would she join now? All the training Amy and her cousin Jane spent in disguises and teaching the sheep stampeding formations would go to waste unless another spy stepped forth for jolly old England. Of course another spy did step forth, The Purple Gentian. Now Amy and Jane just have to wait for the opportunity to go to Paris, which handily comes in a note from Amy's brother who hopes she will return to the family home during the (temporary) peace with France. With their neighbor, Miss Gwen and her trusty parasol, as their chaperon, Amy and Jane set out for the continent and the League of the Purple Gentian. Instead what Amy finds on the packet to France is an annoyingly cute Lord Richard Selwick. Amy has no inkling about his extra curricular activities as the Purple Gentian because his cover is too good. His "support" for Napoleon is believable and she finds hate stirring in her breast for Lord Richard Selwick. Not to mention his interest in Amy is very inconvenient. How is she going to skulk around the docks and overhear crucial bits of information to get an in with the league with him dogging her heels? But eventually lurking beneath desks and listening through keyholes pays off, Amy learns of details pertaining to the plans to invade England, she also learns that, though joining the league of the Purple Gentian has always been her goal, perhaps kissing the Purple Gentian is preferable. And kiss him she does, as they seem to have a magnetic attraction from the moment they meet. Of course the Gentian is of two minds, both of which want Amy, both of which want her safe and sound. With midnight assignations and lusty boat rides how can Richard stop the invasion of England with his mind so firmly on Amy? Or course things could be worse, your whole family could descend on you en masse to "help" with your secret spy ring. How long will it be till the Purple Gentian is unmasked just as the Scarlet Pimpernel was? And how long till the Pink Carnation steps in to fill the void, just as the Gentian did in his day?

I have been a fan of Lauren Willig and the Pink Carnation series since approximately the very beginning. Technically it was right after the third book, The Deception of the Emerald Ring, was released that I became an addict/aficionado, but with twelve books in the series and the countless other books Lauren has written it's as close to the beginning as makes no nevermind. I was drawn in by the ingenious hypothetical of a simple what-if. What-if the Scarlet Pimpernel was real and not a creation of Baroness Orczy. That she was just his biographer. Throw in a Bridget Jones angle with the "modern" adventures of Eloise Kelly and The Secret History of the Pink Carnation brought a modern sensibility to Regency literature. With similarities to Austen and Heyer we get a Regency romp that is more accessible to modern readers. There is the wit, there is the romance, and there is the man in black; just think Carey Elwes circa Princess Bride not Ella Enchanted. And not to slam Austen here, but I feel a greater emotional depth and connection with Lauren's characters. They are more human, less an archetype. Austen's great lovers have a remoteness. You feel a step removed from the action. You can admire the characters and wish to live Lizzy and Darcy's fairy tale, yet somehow you can't imagine yourself as half of that fairy tale couple as easily as you can with imaging yourself as Amy, crouching under the desk waiting to announce herself to the Purple Gentian. Lauren Willig has created a world you become a part of and don't want to leave, hence her devoted followers which she so generously spends time with, and in fact that's why I've picked up this book yet again. Starting in February of 2021 Lauren begin a year long Pink Carnation Read Along with a Zoom meeting with a "special guest host" at the end of each month. The last time I had re-read all the books was when the final volume in the series, The Lure of the Moonflower, was being released and my blogging friend Ashley and I did Pink For All Seasons from September 2014 to August 2015. So I felt it was time to re-read the whole epic adventure from Amy's first frolic with a sheep to Jane's final adventure. Plus, getting insights into the book? What book nerd doesn't want that?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Baroness Orczy, Carey Elwes, France, Jane Austen, Lauren Willig, Napoleon, Pink for All Seasons, Regency, Regency Romp, The Purple Gentian, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Million Dollar Demon by Kim Harrison
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: June 15th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
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The official patter:
"To save the city, Rachel Morgan will need to show some teeth in the next Hollows novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison.

The new master vampire of Cincinnati has arrived...and she wants Rachel Morgan out. No matter where Rachel goes, Constance is there - threatening Rachel's allies, causing city-wide chaos, and, to add insult to injury, even forcing Rachel out of her current quarters. Ever since Rachel found a way to save the souls of vampires, the old undead's longtime ascendancy has been broken. Now Constance sees eliminating Rachel as the key to consolidating her own power.

Rachel has no desire to be enthralled or killed - and she's terrified of what may become of the city if Constance forces a return to the ancient ways. But even a witch-born demon can't stand against the old undead - at least, not alone. And if Rachel refuses to claim the role of Cincinnati's master demon, the city will tear itself apart, taking her and all those who stand beside her with it."

Urban fantasy at it's finest!

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: June 15th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love - she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.

After years of waiting for her Calling - a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers - the one thing Voya Thomas didn’t expect was to fail. When Voya’s ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees - and then is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic.

Voya is determined to save her family’s magic no matter the cost. The problem is, Voya has never been in love, so for her to succeed, she’ll first have to find the perfect guy - and fast. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. Her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. What she doesn’t count on is being paired with the infuriating Luc - how can she fall in love with a guy who seemingly wants nothing to do with her?

With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she’ll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. And in witchcraft, blood is everything."

This feels like it was written for younger me, it's like a dark Charmed with a dark Sabrina the Teenage Witch (the OG!)

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: June 15th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
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The official patter:
"After solving the case of Truly Devious, Stevie Bell investigates her first mystery outside of Ellingham Academy in this spine-chilling and hilarious stand-alone mystery from New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.

Amateur sleuth Stevie Bell needs a good murder. After catching a killer at her high school, she’s back at home for a normal (that means boring) summer.

But then she gets a message from the owner of Sunny Pines, formerly known as Camp Wonder Falls - the site of the notorious unsolved case, the Box in the Woods Murders. Back in 1978, four camp counselors were killed in the woods outside of the town of Barlow Corners, their bodies left in a gruesome display. The new owner offers Stevie an invitation: Come to the camp and help him work on a true crime podcast about the case.

Stevie agrees, as long as she can bring along her friends from Ellingham Academy. Nothing sounds better than a summer spent together, investigating old murders.

But something evil still lurks in Barlow Corners. When Stevie opens the lid on this long-dormant case, she gets much more than she bargained for. The Box in the Woods will make room for more victims. This time, Stevie may not make it out alive."

OK, calling the camp Camp Wonder Falls made this a must read for me.

The Tangleroot Palace by Marjorie Liu
Published by: Tachyon Publications,
Publication Date: June 15th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestseller and Hugo, British Fantasy, Romantic Times, and Eisner award-winning author of the graphic novel Monstress, Marjorie Liu leads you deep into the heart of the tangled woods. In her long-awaited debut collection of dark, lush, and spellbinding short fiction, you will find unexpected detours, dangerous magic, and even more dangerous women.

Briar, bodyguard for a body-stealing sorceress, discovers her love for Rose, whose true soul emerges only once a week. An apprentice witch seeks her freedom through betrayal, the bones of the innocent, and a meticulously plotted spell. In a world powered by crystal skulls, a warrior returns to save China from invasion by her jealous ex. A princess runs away from an arranged marriage, finding family in a strange troupe of traveling actors at the border of the kingdom's deep, dark woods. Concluding with a gorgeous full-length novella, Marjorie Liu's first short fiction collection is an unflinching sojourn into her thorny tales of love, revenge, and new beginnings."

If you have no idea who Marjorie Liu is I'm no longer talking to you until you've read this book and ALL of Monstress to date.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Published by: Celadon Books
Publication Date: June 15th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession, that further cements "Michaelides as a major player in the field" (Publishers Weekly).

Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike - particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.

Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge.

Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld?

When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything - including her own life."

Because I'm ALL about Greek Myths right now!

Unravelled Knots by Baroness Orczy
Published by: Pushkin Vertigo
Publication Date: June 15th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 284 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Another classic collection of mysteries from the Golden Age of British crime writing, by the author of The Scarlet Pimpernel.

It has been twenty years since Polly Burton last saw the Teahouse Detective, but one foggy afternoon she stumbles into a Fleet Street café and chances upon the cantankerous sleuth again. The years have not softened his manner, nor dulled his appetite for unravelling the most tortuous of conspiracies, shedding light on mysteries that have confounded the finest minds of the police.

How did Prince Orsoff disappear from his railway carriage in-between stations? How could the Ingres masterpiece be seen in two places at once? And what is the truth behind the story of the blood-stained tunic that exonerated its owner?

From the comfort of his seat by the fire, the Teahouse Detective sets his brilliant mind to work once more."

Because Baroness Orczy was about way more than The Scarlet Pimpernel!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alex Michaelides, Baroness Orczy, Charmed, Greek Mythology, Kim Harrison, Liselle Sambury, Marjorie Liu, Mauren Johnson, Monstress, The Hollows, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Teahouse Detective, Wonderfalls

The Swallows by Lisa Lutz
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
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The official patter:
"A teacher at a New England prep school ignites a gender war - with deadly consequences - in this dark and provocative novel by the bestselling author of The Passenger.

When Alexandra Witt joins the faculty at Stonebridge Academy, she’s hoping to put a painful past behind her. Then one of her creative writing assignments generates some disturbing responses from students. Before long, Alex is immersed in an investigation of the students atop the school’s social hierarchy - and their connection to something called the Darkroom. She soon inspires the girls who’ve started to question the school’s “boys will be boys” attitude and incites a resistance. But just as the movement is gaining momentum, Alex attracts the attention of an unknown enemy who knows a little too much about her - and what brought her to Stonebridge in the first place.

Meanwhile, Gemma, a defiant senior, has been plotting her attack for years, waiting for the right moment. Shy loner Norman hates his role in the Darkroom, but can’t find the courage to fight back until he makes an unlikely alliance. And then there’s Finn Ford, an English teacher with a shady reputation, who keeps one eye on his literary ambitions and one on Ms. Witt. As the school’s secrets begin to trickle out, a boys-versus-girls skirmish turns into an all-out war, with deeply personal - and potentially fatal - consequences for everyone involved.

Lisa Lutz’s blistering, timely tale of revenge and disruption shows us what can happen when silence wins out over decency for too long - and why the scariest threat of all might be the idea that sooner or later, girls will be girls."

Lisa Lutz is literally a favorite author of mine and to have my birthday share a birthday with her new book is beyond exciting. 

Pride, Prejudice, and Poison by Elizabeth Blake
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
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The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Laura Levine and Stephanie Barron, Elizabeth Blake’s Jane Austen Society mystery debut is a mirthfully morbid merger of manners and murder.

In this Austen-tatious debut, antiquarian bookstore proprietor Erin Coleridge uses her sense and sensibility to deduce who killed the president of the local Jane Austen Society.

Erin Coleridge’s used bookstore in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, England is a meeting place for the villagers and, in particular, for the local Jane Austen Society. At the Society’s monthly meeting, matters come to a head between the old guard and its young turks. After the meeting breaks for tea, persuasion gives way to murder - with extreme prejudice - when president Sylvia Pemberthy falls dead to the floor. Poisoned? Presumably…but by whom? And was Sylvia the only target?

Handsome - but shy - Detective Inspector Peter Hadley and charismatic Sergeant Rashid Jarral arrive at the scene. The long suspect list includes Sylvia’s lover Kurt Becker and his tightly wound wife Suzanne. Or, perhaps, the killer was Sylvia’s own cuckolded husband, Jerome. Among the many Society members who may have had her in their sights is dashing Jonathan Alder, who was heard having a royal battle of words with the late president the night before.

Then, when Jonathan Alder narrowly avoids becoming the next victim, Farnsworth (the town’s “cat lady”) persuades a seriously time-crunched Erin to help DI Hadley. But the killer is more devious than anyone imagines."

Any book that starts with killing a pompous member of the Jane Austen Society gets two thumbs up from me.

And Then They Were Doomed by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 276 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Zoe Zola is one of ten invitees to an Agatha Christie symposium. Tempers flare...and then there are nine. Can Jenny Weston save Zoe from murder on the Upper Peninsula?

Little Person author Zoe Zola believes that one of the unluckiest things in life is to receive an invitation - in the form of a letter edged in black - to an Agatha Christie symposium at an old Upper Peninsula hunting lodge. Her reluctance dissipates when she learns that the organizer is named Emily Brent - the name of a character poisoned by cyanide in Christie’s And Then There Were None.

As a dreary rain soaks the U.P., Zoe and nine other Christie scholars - each of whom bears a vague resemblance to one of the classic mystery novel’s characters - arrive at the lodge. At the opening night dinner, arguments flare over the experts’ discordant theories about Christie. Next morning, the guests find one particularly odious man has gone - whereabouts and reasons unknown. Such a coincidental resemblance to a work of fiction is surely impossible; therefore, it appears to be possible.

As the guests disappear, one by one, Zoe resolves to beat a hasty retreat - but her car won't start. She calls her friend, amateur sleuth/little librarian Jenny Weston, but Jenny will have to wait out a storm off Lake Superior before she can come to the rescue. If Zoe’s to stay alive to greet Jenny when she eventually arrives, she’ll have to draw on everything she knows about Agatha Christie’s devilish plots in Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli’s fourth tantalizing Little Library mystery."

How did I not know about this cozy series? Seriously, HOW!?! 

The Case of Miss Elliott by Baroness Orczy
Published by: Pushkin Vertigo
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A classic collection of mysteries from the Golden Age of British crime writing, by the author of The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Mysteries! There is no such thing as a mystery in connection with any crime, provided intelligence is brought to bear upon its investigation.

So says a rather down-at-heel elderly gentleman to young Polly Burton of the Evening Observer, in the corner of the ABC teashop on Norfolk Street one afternoon. Once she has forgiven him for distracting her from her newspaper and luncheon, Miss Burton discovers that her interlocutor is as brilliantly gifted as he is eccentric - able to solve mysteries that have made headlines and baffled the finest minds of the police without once leaving his seat in the teahouse.

The Old Man in the Corner is a classic collection of mysteries featuring the Teahouse Detective - a contemporary of Sherlock Holmes, with a brilliant mind and waspish temperament to match that of Conan Doyle's creation."

I am IN LOVE with these Baroness Orczy re-issues from the Golden Age of detective fiction!

Death Comes to Dartmoor by Vivian Conroy
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The mist-shrouded moors of Devon proffer a trove of delights for two vacationing zoologists - but also conceal a hoard of dark secrets reaching down to the fathomless depths of the ocean.

Miss Merula Merriweather barely saved her uncle from the gallows after he was wrongly accused of murder - and now, she’s left the bustle of Victorian London to recuperate in the fresh air of Dartmoor with her fellow zoologist, Lord Raven Royston. The trip offers a unique treat, as they’ll be staying with a friend of Raven’s, who owns a collection of rare zoological specimens - including a kraken, a sea monster of myth and legend.

But all is not right in the land of tors, heaths, and mist. Their host’s maid has vanished without a trace, and the townspeople hold him responsible, claiming that his specimens are alive and roam the moors at night, bringing death to anyone who crosses their path. Merula and Raven are skeptical - but the accusations become more ominous when they find several specimen jars empty.

As the two hunt for clues across a desolate and beautiful landscape, a stranger appears bearing a shadowy secret from Merula’s past. Could there be a connection between her family history, the missing girl, and a fearsome monster that could be on the loose? The race is on to find the truth."

A fearsome monster on the loose in Dartmoor? My Sherlockian heart beats for joy! 

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The #1 International Bestseller.

Obsession is an art.

In this “sharp, scary, gorgeously evocative tale of love, art, and obsession” (Paula Hawkins, bestselling author of The Girl on the Train), a beautiful young woman aspires to be an artist, while a man’s dark obsession may destroy her world forever.

In 1850s London, the Great Exhibition is being erected in Hyde Park and, among the crowd watching the dazzling spectacle, two people meet by happenstance. For Iris, an arrestingly attractive aspiring artist, it is a brief and forgettable moment but for Silas, a curiosity collector enchanted by all things strange and beautiful, the meeting marks a new beginning.

When Iris is asked to model for Pre-Raphaelite artist Louis Frost, she agrees on the condition that he will also teach her to paint. Suddenly, her world begins to expand beyond her wildest dreams - but she has no idea that evil is waiting in the shadows. Silas has only thought of one thing since that chance meeting, and his obsession is darkening by the day."

The Great Exhibition, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, what other of my obsessions does this book hold? You must read to find out!

Petra's Ghost by C.S. O'Cinneide
Published by: Dundurns
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A man's pilgrimage becomes something from his darkest nightmares when secrets arise and ghosts haunt his path.

A woman has vanished on the Camino de Santiago, the ancient five-hundred-mile pilgrimage that crosses northern Spain. Daniel, an Irish expat, walks the lonely trail carrying his wife, Petra’s, ashes, along with the damning secret of how she really died.

When he teams up to walk with sporty California girl Ginny, she seems like the perfect antidote for his grieving heart. But a nightmare figure begins to stalk them, and his mind starts to unravel from the horror of things he cannot explain.

Unexpected twists and turns echo the path of the ancient trail they walk upon. The lines start to blur between reality and madness, between truth and the lies we tell ourselves."

YAS! Just so much yas! It's a book that you read the description and instantly want to drop all other books to read. 

A Keeper by Graham Norton
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When Elizabeth Keane returns to Ireland after her mother’s death, she’s focused only on saying goodbye to that dark and dismal part of her life. Her childhood home is packed solid with useless junk, her mother’s presence already fading. But within this mess, she discovers a small stash of letters - and ultimately, the truth.

Forty years earlier, a young woman stumbles from a remote stone house, the night quiet except for the constant wind that encircles her as she hurries deeper into the darkness away from the cliffs and the sea. She has no sense of where she is going, only that she must keep on.

A Keeper confirms Graham Norton’s status as a fresh and evocative literary voice, and illustrates his clear-eyed understanding of human nature and its darkest flaws."

A love Graham SO MUCH! What I wouldn't give for a US signing tour, just saying...

The Night is Short, Walk on Girl by Tomihiko Morimi
Published by: Yen On
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A college student spends an evening out, unwittingly attracting the attention of various men whose paths she crosses. One in particular, an upperclassman who has been nursing a crush on her for some time, has chosen this night to make his true feelings known.

Will the two come together, or will this girl just keep on walking...?"

That cover is just too cute for words! 

Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black by Marcus Sedgwick
Published by: Walker Books US
Publication Date: August 13th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Harry Black is lost between the world of war and the land of myth in this illustrated novel that transports the tale of Orpheus to World War II–era London.

Brothers Marcus and Julian Sedgwick team up to pen this haunting tale of another pair of brothers, caught between life and death in World War II. Harry Black, a conscientious objector, artist, and firefighter battling the blazes of German bombing in London in 1944, wakes in the hospital to news that his soldier brother, Ellis, has been killed. In the delirium of his wounded state, Harry’s mind begins to blur the distinctions between the reality of war-torn London, the fiction of his unpublished sci-fi novel, and the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Driven by visions of Ellis still alive and a sense of poetic inevitability, Harry sets off on a search for his brother that will lead him deep into the city’s Underworld. With otherworldly paintings by Alexis Deacon depicting Harry’s surreal descent further into the depths of hell, this eerily beautiful blend of prose, verse, and illustration delves into love, loyalty, and the unbreakable bonds of brotherhood as it builds to a fierce indictment of mechanized warfare."

I couldn't think of a better pairing than WWII and Orpheus, it just seems so right. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Baroness Orczy, C.S. O'Cinneide, Cozy, Dartmoor, Elizabeth Blake, Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli, Elizabeth Macneal, Graham Norton, Lisa Lutz, Marcus Sedgwick, The Swallows, Tomihiko Morimi, Vivian Conroy

Anthony Berkeley Cox is one of the lesser remembered writers of Britain's Golden Age of Detection, yet was oddly one of the leading members of the genre at the time. While not educated in the hallowed halls of Oxford or Cambridge, like many his contemporaries, he attended the secular University College London. After serving in the British army during WWI, Berkeley took to writing as a journalist for such magazines as Punch and The Humorist. Berkeley published under many pseudonyms, such as Francis Iles, Anthony Berkeley (he omitted the Cox) and A. Monmouth Platts. In fact many people might recognize his writing as Francis Iles more, because his book, Malice Aforethought, was made into a BBC Movie staring Richard Armitage, and when I say staring, it's really a minor role, but it is staring to me.

In his writing, Berkeley is most known for the creation of the novice sleuth Roger Sheringham, who appeared in Berkeley's first novel, The Layton Court Mystery, which he published anonymously. Berkeley's book The Poisoned Chocolate Case staring Sheringham, is considered a classic of this classic genre. While he continued writing for The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times and The Gaurdian until his death in 1971, it wasn't his writing that Berkeley is most famous for.

In 1930 he co-founded the legendary Detection Club with Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Baroness Orczy, G.K. Chesteron,  and other established mystery writers. The club had regular meetings where the authors would discuss their projects and get help with the technical aspects of their books. The club is noted for the fact that they adhered to a code of "fair play." Meaning, in their writing, they were to give the reader a fair chance at guessing the guilty party. While the club still exists, the fair play rule has become even more lax... in fact their were several members of the original club who didn't adhere to the rule at the time. They published several anthologies and co-authored many books, which Berkeley contributed to. Because of Berkeley's involvement in the club he is considered a key figure in the development of crime fiction and a worthy inclusion in my Golden Summer.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Anthony Berkeley, Baroness Orczy, Detection Club, Dorothy L. Sayers, G.K. Chesteron, Golden Summer, Punch, Richard Armitage, Roger Sheringham, The Layton Court Mystery

To Kindle or not to Kindle, that is the question. It could be the end of proper publishing or the beginning of more wide spread dissemination of literature to those less likely to pick up a book and more likely to have an iphone. I will just have to see, I am new to the Kindle (I just got it for my birthday), but I gotta say, everything ever written by Wilkie Collins for $4.79!?! I'm over the freakin' moon!

My Pros:
Coolest packaging ever! The box is matte black but spirally out from the kindle logo, all done in glossy black, are letters and symbols. So freakin' cool.

Classic books that are out of print or hard to find available for next to nothing because they are in the public domain, ie Wilkie Collins, Baroness Orczy, the Brontes, Jane Austen, the list goes on and on.

Light, compact library in your hands, great for travel.

Books that are almost too heavy to hold, like Richardson's Clarissa, one of the longest novels in the English language, now fits in the palm of your hand for only $1.20.

The screen really does read like real paper. I thought that maybe they were exaggerating, but really, it's amazing.

I love that you can order right on the Kindle or on the Amazon website and it goes straight to the device.

Books that are more trashy or guilty pleasures, almost throw away novels, are easier to get and cheaper. I think the Kindle will lead to an increase in romance sales, being able to automatically download what you might be too embarrassed to get at a counter, obviously a plus.

All the shelf space I will save.

The books are generally cheaper than printed books.

When the Kindle goes to sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity you see awesome pictures of authors, so far I have seen Edgar Allen Poe twice, Thomas Moore twice, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Oscar Wilde, some really cool Roman lady, John Milton, Lewis Carroll, The Book of Kells, I think Dante, Emily Dickinson and finally Jane Austen. And yes, I have been letting it go to sleep to see the pictures, of course I also found by flicking the power switch you can see them too.

If I want to read a book before picking up a signed edition at the events I love to frequent, now I can buy the Kindle version and not have to spend so much money twice.

Cons:
I will probably still be buying printed books and now have double the income drain.

I love printed books, the feel and way they look on your shelf. You don't really get the feel or grandeur of a "library" with Kindle's library.

Being battery powered means that the battery could run out and a printed book never runs out of power.

The move to a paperless world. I would be heartbroken if someday, during my lifetime, that books ceased to be printed and became only available digitally. (Of course this could circumvent the horrible incidents with the Vashta Nerada as seen on Dr. Who...in other words, the only advantage to not having paper books exists in a fictional tv show, ie there is no advantage).

Lack of footnotes. The Kindle is notorious for omitting footnotes. With authors like Lisa Lutz, and in particular Terry Pratchett this is horrific! Some of their best material is in the footnotes.

Not having a hardcopy of a book. Having it only exist in digital format makes me worry about what will happen in the future, when this technology is outmoded, which it will be, what will happen to my "books"?

Slow connection to get the books depending on where you are.

To Sum Up:
I am thrilled with it so far. At first it took a little time getting used to the controls, but they aren't overly complicated at all. I also accidentally voided the first purchase I made and then it took me a few hours to get it back. But I have gotten a wicked lot of classic for almost nothing and I look forward to reading them all. So, I'll have to get back to you all on final thoughts once I play with it and read on it some more, but I would love to hear what you think about this newest form of technology that is sweeping the globe.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:53 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Amazon, Baroness Orczy, Bronte, Clarissa, Dr. Who, Emily Dickinson, iphone, Jane Austen, Kindle, Lewis Carroll, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Richardson, Wilkie Collins