42 Skelton's Guide to Domestic Poisons, David Stafford. This is both a good and odd book. Set in 1929 in the lead up to the so called "Flapper election". It starts with Arthur Skelton being lauded after getting his client found not guilty. This raises his reputation and his visibility in the public eye. He is offered a case defending Mary Dutton, who is accused of poisoning her husband Ted. He came home from WW1 a changed man and was abusive to Mary. #books@bookstodon tbc
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And here comes the odd element. Arthur is not necessarily interested in finding the truth, his aim is to defend his client against the charge. So the question of who did murder Ted is never fully resolved. The police corruption and embezzlement is never got to the bottom of. There are any number of loose threads left dangling because they are not useful to Arthur in the defence of his client.
@bookstodon#books
So while it is categorised as a mystery, it is a mystery without resolution. You are left with speculation about the murderer and their motives.
There are plenty of interesting characters in here. Arthur is an outsider, being from a working class background. As is his clerk. And his wife is unusual, being a school teacher with socialist leanings.
It's an enjoyable read but not one if you like your mysteries all neatly solved and tidied up at the end.
I'll read book 2 soon.
Hi there, @bookstodon , what are you reading these days? I'm half-way through Normal Rules don't Apply, Kate Atkinson, and it's really good! (a collection of interconnected short stories) Deliciously ominous, with unexplained deaths and weird job interview / date questions. "If you were a (sandwich / vegetable / disease), which would you be?" #amreading#bookstodon#shortfiction#stories
@ferngirl@bookstodon "Murder Road" by Simone St. James (a favorite author), which I am thoroughly enjoying! She writes paranormal thrillers, so very creepy but not straight up horror.
After that will be, "The Dead Detective" by William Heffernan, about a detective with the ability to hear "the postmortem whispers of murder victims." Okay, then.
Plus, a collection of short stories, "Memphis Noir," which caught my attention because I live in Memphis.
@ferngirl@bookstodon Some "golden age" mysteries- the current one is "Touch and Go", a Patricia Wentworth thriller/mystery from 1934. I find them soothing, and some of them are even good!
Queer Romance Club June pick: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (The Last Binding #1)
(QRC is open to all, read the pick at your own pace over the month and post about it under #QueerRomanceClub and @queerromanceclub — CW for spoilers if you’re going into details)
I particularly enjoyed this book (and the whole trilogy) the first time I read it (it’s another of my favourite queer romance historical/fantasy trilogies, more here: https://wendypalmer.au/2024/02/11/books-favourite-queer-romance-trilogies/), so I’m happy for chance to re-read. And I’m looking forward to a new Marske book coming out later this year.
I like the Edwardian setting: this feels like a relatively under-used era in (queer) fantasy, compared to Regency and Victorian eras. Off the top of my head, only CL Polk’s Witchmark uses the Edwardian (I’m sure there’s plenty more!). Every other early 20th example that occurred to me was actually between the wars (prohibition, bright young things)…This setting gets to maintain the 19th century formality of relations, class disparities and sexism that makes for good plot and character tension, but also use our knowledge of the coming Great War to cast a long shadow.
The opening chapters do a great job laying out the era, magical system, and opening dilemma, and introducing the two MCs and their problems and backgrounds.
Also:
Robin, about Edwin: he has a eminently punchable face
Edwin, about Robin: he’s half-witted and incurious, not enough wit, not enough sense
😊 It’s basically a nerd-jock dynamic, let’s face it.
I’ll post a bit more on the book in coming days (under spoiler warnings from here on in), but I have the audiobook reserved for later in the month, so I’m looking forward to reading it in a different way to see what strikes me differently.
Years ago I got my rights back from my previous publisher for all 17 books I had with them.
Five of them I revised, tweaked, deleted bits, moved others, and generally reworked them, and submitted them to my wonderful publisher @evernightpublishing
They accepted them!
I'm so happy and excited. That will mean I have traditionally published 35 books!
@bookstodon just finished Robert Kagan's The Jungle Grows Back, as an audiobook.
Well written, it presents the conventional view of post-WWII history, with America as The Essential Nation. All our interventions were well intentioned, though many of them were flawed. It doesn't go into, say, the CIA manipulation of the Italian election. It argues strongly for the need for continuing vigilance and the American role as ballast and keel for the liberal world order.
@bookstodon it would make an interesting curriculum to start with this and explore backwards and sideways to see how well it holds up. (Spoiler alert: imperfectly, at best, even if you buy the fundamental premise.)
@rdviii@bookstodon it will briefly interesting to live in a world where every nuclear-armed state is a right-wing dictatorship / kleptocracy. Will also answer the Fermi Paradox locally.
@bookstodon
A very, very good book, nuanced and thoughtful. To my eye, its explanation of how we got where we are is spot on, but then, he is a member of the elite talking to another member of the elite (by education, if not income; I have a PhD).
But in the end his policy pronunciations seem...timid, given the scope of the problems we face.
I’d like to show you the Brazilian edition of Star Wars: Thrawn (Timothy Zahn), by Aleph Publishing. All Star Wars books released by Aleph follow the same format and layout, being items that look beautiful in the collection (I am not sponsored by the publisher at all, it is my opinion as a consumer).
Today I will un-hauling all the books I own by Christina Dalcher including Femlandia which is a book I absolutely loved and have raved about but finding out the author is a raging Transphobe who almost puts JK to shame is a deal breaker for me.
I won't support these vile people in way and don't want their books in my house.
What I can't figure out is why some authors speak out in obviously offensive ways like this in the first place. Why court controversy? It's not just horrid, but also harms their careers. Maybe hatred is something people just can't hide?
Attacking an already vulnerable group, who are just trying to exist, is absolutely unforgiveable.
Five stars: Gótico by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Alexander Páez García (Translator) (2021) is the Spanish translation of Mexican Gothic. I re-read it in translation, curious to see how the translation worked for or against the story.
At the store and came across a pretty discounted hardcover copy of "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver. It is worth purchasing a physical copy? I usually try to stick to library books and purchase books I really like, but the library wait list is long and the price is tempting.
About to travel and was looking for something good to read.
Thank you for your comment. A varied reading list keeps boredom away and helps to improve mood. After all, it is said that “variety is the spice of life”.
I see that Penguin are reissuing Karl Polanyi's Great Transformation as a Penguin Classic.
About time; for many critical political economists Polanyi has been one of the key figures underpinning work on social forces in economics.
The last re-release (the 'third edition') had a high profile forward by Joseph Stiglitz, this edition has a forward by well known Polanyi scholar Gareth Dale.
If you only read on book on economics this year, make it the Great Transformation.
Indeed, that was prompted my post - I didn't link to it as the author seemed to think Poianyi was a lot more obscure & under-published than he actually is....
@MagentaRocks@bookstodon Many thanks for linking that eye-opening article! I'm a big e-book borrower and knew that libraries pay more than the standard commercial price — but I had no idea how bad it really is. Plus, I've run into "piracy" complaints about the Internet Archive before and now know that's basically untrue trash talk.