Needles
Friday, January 31, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Kerry Greenwood
I'm going to tell you today about one of my favorite authors. (Remember the other day when I said I could only think of one at Barnes and Noble? - Well this is the one)
Kerry Greenwood writes two different series of mysteries. Both of them take place in Australia. This in itself makes it interesting to me because of the language idiosyncracies. I have to google her words with some frequency to find out what she's talking about. Usually I can infer it, but I like to double check. Examples: She talks about loading up an Esky - which is like an Igloo cooler. One of her characters also drinks chateau collapseau wine. I haven't gotten a definitive on that yet, but I think that's like boxed wine.
The first series that I started reading about has a main character named Phryne Fisher (pronounced fry-knee). This woman is living in the 1920s. She was raised in England and then as a young woman inherited a bunch of money which allowed her to leave her horrid family and move to Australia. Because she was mistreated when she was growing up, she has a lot of empathy for the working class and poor people. And because she is independently wealthy, she has a butler, and a cook, and a maid, etc. etc. etc. She also is very high spirited, and pretty much does whatever she pleases. (Which of course she can do because she is rich). She has a Chinese lover, at some point during the series adopts a couple of orphans, and speaks her mind. I think Greenwood has written more than 20 of these, and I still like them. (You know how it is when sometimes someone keeps trying even after they should have stopped writing about a certain character - and then the books just get silly? Sort of like sitcoms that don't end when they should?)
Because she pretty much does what she pleases, she meets lots of interesting people, and has friends all over. In one 'episode' she joins the circus, in another she learns how to fly a plane (which was very new of course at that time.) She loves clothes, drinks a lot (but of course never gets drunk) and sleeps around a bit (although she mostly stays with her Chinese lover - who - by the way ends up being married to someone else after a while, but of course since it's Phryne, everyone - including his wife - is okay with all of it.) She drives a fast car, carries a little gun, and pretty much does what she pleases. She's tiny, and lovely and elegant.
When I saw that Kerry Greenwood had another series, I figured I had to check it out. This one is the newer of the two, so there are only about 5 in this series so far. But believe me - I check every time I'm at the library, or cruising my Nook, or at the bookstore for something new from her.
The second series is in some ways far different from the first, and similar in others.
The second series is about a baker in present day Australia. She is large, doesn't worry about how she dresses, and has trouble managing her hair. I of course love her because she is a size 20 and very comfortable with that. She's not trying to lose weight, and has a fabulous Israeli lover. Who thinks she is absolutely perfect. Which I love.
Corrina (the baker) lives in an odd apartment complex. It was built in a Greek style, and has shops on the main floor. The people who own the shops have apartments above them, and then more people live in the other apartments Although I've seen floor plans, and read all about these shops and apartments, I still have a bit of a hard time figuring out how it all fits together. But I'm working on it. With each re-reading I garner some new piece of informatoin. There is a rooftop garden, a large basement area, and the building is filled with unusual characters. Corrina's best friend is a witch, there's a weaver in one apartment, a gay couple in another, a couple of young wanna be actresses (who work for Corrina in the shop) - you get the picture? Not othat they're all odd, but it's definitely an aclectic group. Almost everyone has at least one cat - except for one woman whom everyone hates, who has a dog.
These stories are very modern - they involve people on drugs, homeless people, going out on 'soup runs' to feed the homeless in Melbourne, etc. But much of the stories revolve around Corrina baking and being in her shop. I love that part of the books. (And she includes recipes at the end - of course!)
Some day I'd like to meet Kerry Greenwood. If she ever is near my home I'm sure going to try. Here's why. Besides loving her books, she seems like a really cool person. You know that part of the book where the author writes about everything being fictional and any mistakes are theirs and no one elses? Well, in one of her books, she basically says - hey - if you find something wrong historically, or there's a store in the wrong place or something - don't bother writing to me, because I don't want to hear about it.
I laughed out loud when I read that. I thought - You GO Kerry Greenwood. And keep writing about Phryne and Corrina because I'm always looking forward to the next episode!!
Kerry Greenwood writes two different series of mysteries. Both of them take place in Australia. This in itself makes it interesting to me because of the language idiosyncracies. I have to google her words with some frequency to find out what she's talking about. Usually I can infer it, but I like to double check. Examples: She talks about loading up an Esky - which is like an Igloo cooler. One of her characters also drinks chateau collapseau wine. I haven't gotten a definitive on that yet, but I think that's like boxed wine.
The first series that I started reading about has a main character named Phryne Fisher (pronounced fry-knee). This woman is living in the 1920s. She was raised in England and then as a young woman inherited a bunch of money which allowed her to leave her horrid family and move to Australia. Because she was mistreated when she was growing up, she has a lot of empathy for the working class and poor people. And because she is independently wealthy, she has a butler, and a cook, and a maid, etc. etc. etc. She also is very high spirited, and pretty much does whatever she pleases. (Which of course she can do because she is rich). She has a Chinese lover, at some point during the series adopts a couple of orphans, and speaks her mind. I think Greenwood has written more than 20 of these, and I still like them. (You know how it is when sometimes someone keeps trying even after they should have stopped writing about a certain character - and then the books just get silly? Sort of like sitcoms that don't end when they should?)
Because she pretty much does what she pleases, she meets lots of interesting people, and has friends all over. In one 'episode' she joins the circus, in another she learns how to fly a plane (which was very new of course at that time.) She loves clothes, drinks a lot (but of course never gets drunk) and sleeps around a bit (although she mostly stays with her Chinese lover - who - by the way ends up being married to someone else after a while, but of course since it's Phryne, everyone - including his wife - is okay with all of it.) She drives a fast car, carries a little gun, and pretty much does what she pleases. She's tiny, and lovely and elegant.
When I saw that Kerry Greenwood had another series, I figured I had to check it out. This one is the newer of the two, so there are only about 5 in this series so far. But believe me - I check every time I'm at the library, or cruising my Nook, or at the bookstore for something new from her.
The second series is in some ways far different from the first, and similar in others.
The second series is about a baker in present day Australia. She is large, doesn't worry about how she dresses, and has trouble managing her hair. I of course love her because she is a size 20 and very comfortable with that. She's not trying to lose weight, and has a fabulous Israeli lover. Who thinks she is absolutely perfect. Which I love.
Corrina (the baker) lives in an odd apartment complex. It was built in a Greek style, and has shops on the main floor. The people who own the shops have apartments above them, and then more people live in the other apartments Although I've seen floor plans, and read all about these shops and apartments, I still have a bit of a hard time figuring out how it all fits together. But I'm working on it. With each re-reading I garner some new piece of informatoin. There is a rooftop garden, a large basement area, and the building is filled with unusual characters. Corrina's best friend is a witch, there's a weaver in one apartment, a gay couple in another, a couple of young wanna be actresses (who work for Corrina in the shop) - you get the picture? Not othat they're all odd, but it's definitely an aclectic group. Almost everyone has at least one cat - except for one woman whom everyone hates, who has a dog.
These stories are very modern - they involve people on drugs, homeless people, going out on 'soup runs' to feed the homeless in Melbourne, etc. But much of the stories revolve around Corrina baking and being in her shop. I love that part of the books. (And she includes recipes at the end - of course!)
Some day I'd like to meet Kerry Greenwood. If she ever is near my home I'm sure going to try. Here's why. Besides loving her books, she seems like a really cool person. You know that part of the book where the author writes about everything being fictional and any mistakes are theirs and no one elses? Well, in one of her books, she basically says - hey - if you find something wrong historically, or there's a store in the wrong place or something - don't bother writing to me, because I don't want to hear about it.
I laughed out loud when I read that. I thought - You GO Kerry Greenwood. And keep writing about Phryne and Corrina because I'm always looking forward to the next episode!!
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Tongue tied about books
I was in Barnes and Noble last weekend looking for something new to read. This time of year especially I feel like I have read every book in my house about a thousand times and can recite some of them almost from memory.
I was of course in the mystery section (where I always start the process). There was a worker there putting away books and we were chatting in that way you do with someone you don't know. She asked if she could help me find anything, I said no, I was just looking for something new to read and mysteries were my favorite. And she said 'Me too. Who are your favorite authors?'
Now, this has happened to me before and it's kind of funny. I have many favorite mystery authors, and could recite a bunch of them to you right now, but when someone asks me, I often can't think of any of them off the top of my head. I don't know if it's because I'm more visual - when I see the books and recognize the titles I look for more by the same author? Or I just can't think off the top of my head?
I felt really stupid. I stammered out a couple of names, and she starting asking me more about one of the authors that she had not heard of - where she was from, etc, and again - I felt like I couldn't really answer - even though I've read this particular authors biography a hundred times, and her books probably more than that.
Weird, huh? I feel like after I leave they think - yeah - she's a reader. Not.
I ended up buying a biography to try to stray outside my comfort zone. It was fairly interesting. It took me about an hour and a half to read it, and now I'm done - and it cost $16. And it's probably not interesting enough to read a whole bunch more times. A reminder of why I should always go to the library.
I was of course in the mystery section (where I always start the process). There was a worker there putting away books and we were chatting in that way you do with someone you don't know. She asked if she could help me find anything, I said no, I was just looking for something new to read and mysteries were my favorite. And she said 'Me too. Who are your favorite authors?'
Now, this has happened to me before and it's kind of funny. I have many favorite mystery authors, and could recite a bunch of them to you right now, but when someone asks me, I often can't think of any of them off the top of my head. I don't know if it's because I'm more visual - when I see the books and recognize the titles I look for more by the same author? Or I just can't think off the top of my head?
I felt really stupid. I stammered out a couple of names, and she starting asking me more about one of the authors that she had not heard of - where she was from, etc, and again - I felt like I couldn't really answer - even though I've read this particular authors biography a hundred times, and her books probably more than that.
Weird, huh? I feel like after I leave they think - yeah - she's a reader. Not.
I ended up buying a biography to try to stray outside my comfort zone. It was fairly interesting. It took me about an hour and a half to read it, and now I'm done - and it cost $16. And it's probably not interesting enough to read a whole bunch more times. A reminder of why I should always go to the library.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
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