I generally enjoy Agatha Christie, and I love Miss Marple, but this is not one of my favorite of her books. On the other hand, the 1985 BBC adaptation starring Joan Hickson is a longtime favorite and a comfort movie for me.
Category: Book Reviews
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, by Judi Dench
This book grew out of interviews that actor and director Brendan O’Hea held with esteemed Shakespearean actress Dame Judi Dench. In it, the pair discuss a number of Shakespeare’s plays, particularly in terms of the great female roles Ms. Dench has played in her time… The whole book is a masterclass in how to read, understand, and play Shakespeare, and more generally, how to act.
Weaving Hope, by Celia Lake
Weaving Hope is a very gentle, very slow-burn closed-door romance set in magical 1920s Britain.
The Lost Flock, by Jane Cooper
The Lost Flock: Rare Wool, Wild Isles and One Woman’s Journey to Save Scotland’s Original Sheep by Jane Cooper Narrator: Jane Cooper Published by Chelsea Green Press on 9/14/2023 Genres: History, Memoir, Nature Format: Audiobook Source: the library Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible… Read more »
The Teller of Small Fortunes, by Julie Leong
I loved The Teller of Small Tales, Julie Leong’s debut novel. It’s a cozy quest fantasy with a found-family vibe, set in a vaguely British renaissance-era world.
Buried Deep and Other Stories, by Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik’s Buried Deep and Other Stories is a stellar collection of short fiction that displays all of her skill as a writer as well as the breadth of her imagination. I read it slowly, savoring each story.
It’s All A Game, by Tristan Donovan
It’s All a Game starts off with the ancient games of senet, the “royal game of Ur”, and the many forms of mancala, then delves into a truncated history of chess before moving on to the board games many of us grew up playing.
From the Vault: The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Calculating Stars was easily one of the best books I read in 2018. (Note: I reread it in January 2025, and although I have tweaked a word or two of this review for greater clarity, I wouldn’t change a single sentence.) The story is gripping; the characters are depicted so vividly they could be standing in front of you; and the details, from the physics of an asteroid impact and the experience of piloting an aircraft to the chauvinism of many men involved in the space program, appear to be spot on.
Wooing the Witch Queen, by Stephanie Burgis
Wooing the Witch Queen was an absolute delight, from its sweet, sensitive, traumatized cinnamon-roll hero to its introverted, reclusive, but decidedly not evil heroine.
On the Edge, by Ilona Andrews
It took me a little while to get into On the Edge, but once I did, I was totally hooked. This paranormal romance has great worldbuilding, compelling characters, external threats and internal conflicts that each inform and heighten the other, and a romantic pairing that I was initially dubious about and ended up loving.
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