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February Reads: For The Love of Cozy Books
I don’t think I’m saying anything groundbreaking when I say that February often just kinda sucks. It’s dark and wet and cold, but summer is just too far off to look forward to. This past month hasn’t been terrible for me, but it has felt disjointed, incredibly busy, generally tough, and I honestly did not have the time or the focus to really connect with a book. However, over the last week or so, I have felt a shift and had the most lovely series of book moments, all centered around the kind of cozy, sweet books that feel like a cup of tea and a warm blanket (there was…
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Miss Marple: 4.50 From Paddington
Hello everyone, Sorry for the late post. I am going on vacation this weekend, forgot my personal computer, and didn’t get this out in time. Instead of a 5 fun things this week, please enjoy reading about my latest Miss Marple book! Miss Marple continues to be the BEST. Today’s installment is great, but I have to say this is the first time when my clear favorite was not the book but one of the TV adaptations (and it was amazing). The book I have today is called 4.50 From Paddington (also sometimes called What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw). The Book Overall, this was really enjoyable. One of the things that…
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Miss Marple: A Pocket Full of Rye
“Wherever there is a question of gain, one has to be very suspicious. The great thing to avoid is having in any way a trustful mind” p165 Hello Everyone, It feels like a while since I wrote about a Miss Marple book! This week I have a fun one for you. In this book it really feels like Christie has locked in the key elements of Miss Marple’s method and character, as the quote above indicates! The Book As well as locking in Miss Marple’s character, you can tell in this one that Christie also recognized that “murder in a small town” plots were possible starting to get old, so…
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Miss Marple: They Do It With Mirrors
“People will quite often do anything for money.” Good morning! Today, I have a fun Miss Marple book to share with you all in which we get a delightful image of Miss Marple as a young woman and see the lengths she goes to to keep those she loves safe. This is a cast of characters, “house party” type of mystery, and one that I quite enjoyed reading despite the fact that there are a LOT of characters for such a short book. The Book In They Do It With Mirrors, Miss Marple effects her first “disguise” of sorts when she reconnects with two old friends who she went to…
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Miss Marple: A Murder is Announced
“Really, I have no gifts – no gifts at all – except perhaps a certain knowledge of human nature. People, I find, are apt to be far too trustful. I’m afraid that I have a tendency always to believe the worst. Not a nice trait. But so often justified by subsequent events. ” p77 Hello everyone, I’m back this week with a lovely Miss Marple novel that really hit the sweet spot. I also have to say, I’m loving the Miss Marple attitude in general, and leaning into some of the qualities that I was thrown by at first. In the books Marple is completely non-judgmental, has a ton of…
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Miss Marple: The Body in the Library
“I must say,” said Sir Henry ruefully, “that I do dislike the way you reduce us all to a general common denominator.” Miss Marple shook her head sadly. “Human nature is very much the same anywhere, Sir Henry.” p84 Hello! Welcome to the third installment in my Miss Marple blog series. Today, I have the first reread (for me) in The Body in the Library. I liked quite a bit more this time than the first time I read it, and I really enjoyed it! The Book This book is the story of Miss Marple’s friends who wake to find the body of an unknown woman on their library floor.…
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January 2021: A Month Full of Cozy, Comfy Reads
Hello everyone, My reading year got off to an OK start this year. It has honestly been great, but I am aware of the fact that I am focusing mostly on comfort reading that doesn’t have a ton of substance. I did try and pick up a more serious book at one point, and ultimately decided to give into my need for comfort reading of all kinds. I got to start my Miss Marple books (HERE and HERE), and I really enjoyed some great cozy reading. Great Comfort Reads Of course I have comfort reads to share with you this month! The two favorites I have to share with you…
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Miss Marple: Murder At The Vicarage
“I know that in books it is always the most unlikely person. But I never find that rule applies in real life. There it is so often the obvious that is true.” p 216 Hello!Welcome to the first post of my 2021 Miss Marple read through. In which the choice of first person narration is confusing, we visit St Mary Mead, and the inimitable Jane Marple solves her first case with very little effort and lots of knitting. The character of Jane Marple was inspired by Christie’s grandmother, although “much more fussy and less spinsterish”, and I have always enjoyed her calm, observational style of murder solving. She is the…
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Announcing: The Miss Marple Reread
Hello everyone, For the last couple of years, I have started every year by treating myself to a special edition of something and rereading a classic. Two years ago, I reread all of the Anne of Green Gables series (you can read my final thoughts on that HERE), and last year, I reread all of Jane Austen’s books from a really beautiful boxed set. This year, I am reading Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple books! With everything that has happened in 2020, I have found murder mysteries to be weirdly satisfying, and no one is better at weaving entertaining mysteries than the wonderful Agatha Christie. I also found a set of…
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August: diverse genre books (and slumps)
Eek, First of all, where has this summer gone!?! One minute it was June, and now I feel like I blinked and it was September. Honestly this month has been the most “splumpy” I have had this year (although I did get married and write my organization’s annual budget, so perhaps there is a reason for the slump. This month, I have what I consider to be a small success which is that the majority of my books were by BIPOC authors, which leads me to be give you a few recommendations of the diverse author variety, particularly in diverse genre fiction. One of the things I am working on…
because stories are important
