This week's books and Is anybody out there.

[Carol Dickinson]

I finished "The Concubine's Children" a family biography of a Canadian Chinese family. The father leaves his pregnant wife home in China and travels to Canada to get rich. He carefully saves his money and sends it home so that his wife can buy additional land to grow food 1/6 of an acre at a time. Eventually from lonliness, he arranges for a friend to find him a concubine, whom he imports on false papers. She is only 17. When she arrives her takes her to a tea house for a meal, introduces her to the owner and tells her she will work for him for the next 2 years to pay back the money he borrowed for her transport.

With the depression and WWII in their future the family does not do well. The "husband" is unable to get full time work, the concubine not only supports the Canadian family, which in the end has 4 children, but the Chinese family as well.
With the communist takeover in China, the 2families becomes permanently separated. It is the story of the human spirit clinging to hope, and rising above adversity. Several months ago I mentioned Lisa See's "Shanghai Girls", the story of the daughter of American immigrants who went back to China to participate in the idealistic new communist China. This one would be the balance to that story, since the Canadian family were supporters of Chang Kai Shek. Between the two, I had my eyes opened to a lot of the history of new China which I was too young to understand when it was happening.

This morning I finished Tamar Myers "Monet Talks". She had been my favorite author for years, especially her Penn-Dutch series, but she seemed to run out of steam on that and it got stale. I also read her Congo series, but only had Den of Antiquity series left on my shelf and I hadn't picked one up for a while. I was so pleased with it. Plenty of comedy and a good plot. There is no murder, but her Myna bird is stolen, and her Mom is kidnapped, while her husband has disappeared along with his best friend. She has half a dozen suspects each one more unusual than the last and the clues seem nonsensical, but it all makes sense in the end. She's back near the top of my favorite authors list again but not #1 of course, since that's my addiction to Gabaldon.


Is this still a functioning group? Seems there's only about 3 or 4 of us posting lately. Howard seems to have stopped, so I guess we must assume he has passed on. I shall miss him.

[Nyssa]

Post by Carol Dickinson
I finished "The Concubine's Children" a family biography
of a Canadian Chinese family. The father leaves his
pregnant wife home in China and travels to Canada to get
rich. He carefully saves his money and sends it home so
that his wife can buy additional land to grow food 1/6 of
an acre at a time. Eventually from lonliness, he arranges
for a friend to find him a concubine, whom he imports on
false papers. She is only 17. When she arrives her takes
her to a tea house for a meal, introduces her to the owner
and tells her she will work for him for the next 2 years
to pay back the money he borrowed for her transport.
With the depression and WWII in their future the family
does not do well. The "husband" is unable to get full time
work, the concubine not only supports the Canadian family,
which in the end has 4 children, but the Chinese family as
well.
With the communist takeover in China, the 2families
becomes permanently separated. It is the story of the
human spirit clinging to hope, and rising above adversity.
Several months ago I mentioned Lisa See's "Shanghai
Girls", the story of the daughter of American immigrants
who went back to China to participate in the idealistic
new communist China. This one would be the balance to that
story, since the Canadian family were supporters of Chang
Kai Shek. Between the two, I had my eyes opened to a lot
of the history of new China which I was too young to
understand when it was happening.
This morning I finished Tamar Myers "Monet Talks". She had
been my favorite author for years, especially her
Penn-Dutch series, but she seemed to run out of steam on
that and it got stale. I also read her Congo series, but
only had Den of Antiquity series left on my shelf and I
hadn't picked one up for a while. I was so pleased with
it. Plenty of comedy and a good plot. There is no murder,
but her Myna bird is stolen, and her Mom is kidnapped,
while her husband has disappeared along with his best
friend. She has half a dozen suspects each one more
unusual than the last and the clues seem nonsensical, but
it all makes sense in the end. She's back near the top of
my favorite authors list again but not #1 of course, since
that's my addiction to Gabaldon.
Is this still a functioning group? Seems there's only
about 3 or 4 of us posting lately. Howard seems to have
stopped, so I guess we must assume he has passed on. I
shall miss him.

Yes, it's still a functioning group, and at least *I'm*
still reading it whenever someone posts.

I've read several books over the past couple of weeks, but
only one of them could be considered a mystery, "Between a
Clutch and a Hard Place" the first in the Myrtle Crumb
series.

It was a piece of fluff, somewhat humorous, but I had the
gimmick figured out well before the halfway point of the
book.

The main character is a 65 year old widow, retired, who
seems to spend most of her time watching TV shows when
she isn't poking her nose into things.

I'm really getting tired of the stereotyped over-50 females
that most of these cozies portray. Not well educated, watch
too much TV, reference celebrities and movies I've never
seen (or care to), and have cutesy grandchildren who say
cute things. Oh, and seem to care a lot about clothing and
whether or not they can find a new man. <bleah>

I guess that's why I embraced the Miss Henry series: a
strong, capable, educated over-50 female who does something
useful with her time and works for a living. No ex-or-dead
husbands either.

I picked up a paperback of "The Chocolate Cookie Murder"
when down in the Big City a couple of weeks ago, mostly to
use up the dregs on a B&N gift card I got last Christmas.
I was shocked at the slim pickings in the store, especially
in the mystery section. It seemed they stocked up on a few
select authors' series and not much else. Not one Ben Rehder
(which was what I *really* wanted) or any of the other
authors that I've been reading. If you wanted the former
best sellers, fine and dandy, but anything else...forget it.
Ditto in the cookbook section.

Perhaps things will pick up once the weather changes down
here in the Lower 48 and keeps us indoors cuddled up with
our books, Kindles, and Nooks. I know I've got a LOT of
yard work to do before the cold weather hits, so it's going
to impact my reading time until then.

Nyssa, who has a forest of weeds in what was supposed to be
a vegetable garden thanks to the local deer population

[Carol Dickinson]

Post by Nyssa

Post by Carol Dickinson
Is this still a functioning group? Seems there's only
about 3 or 4 of us posting lately.

Yes, it's still a functioning group, and at least *I'm*
still reading it whenever someone posts.

Well yes, but I was counting you in the 3 or 4.

Post by Nyssa
I'm really getting tired of the stereotyped over-50 females
that most of these cozies portray. Not well educated, watch
too much TV, reference celebrities and movies I've never
seen (or care to), and have cutesy grandchildren who say
cute things. Oh, and seem to care a lot about clothing and
whether or not they can find a new man. <bleah>

Yes I know, that's another of the cookie cutters things.

Rita Larkin writes a whole series with a group of people
living in a retirement home. Larkin is a senior herself so
she doesn't sterotype folks.

Corinne Holt Sawyer also wrote 6 mysteries set in a retirement
home. She had 2 sleuths Caledonia and (I don't remember). Of course
these were written a couple decades ago and are probably out of
print. Only the sleuths were main characters. The others were
a couple of police detectives who liked them, and a waitress at
the home who was in love with one of the detectives. I liked
this series better.

And Maddy Hunter who is a newer author writes a series where
her main character does travel tours for her grandmothers buddies
from the retirement home. Although these ladies are not of the
cookie cutter ilk. And they are very funny.

Patricia Guiver also wrote a series about a dog detective, but
I think they are out of print too. She looked for dogs as I recall.

Carol

[Nyssa]

Post by Carol Dickinson

Post by Nyssa

Post by Carol Dickinson
Is this still a functioning group? Seems there's only
about 3 or 4 of us posting lately.

Yes, it's still a functioning group, and at least *I'm*
still reading it whenever someone posts.

Well yes, but I was counting you in the 3 or 4.

Post by Nyssa
I'm really getting tired of the stereotyped over-50
females that most of these cozies portray. Not well
educated, watch too much TV, reference celebrities and
movies I've never seen (or care to), and have cutesy
grandchildren who say cute things. Oh, and seem to care a
lot about clothing and whether or not they can find a new
man. <bleah>

Yes I know, that's another of the cookie cutters things.
Rita Larkin writes a whole series with a group of people
living in a retirement home. Larkin is a senior herself so
she doesn't sterotype folks.
Corinne Holt Sawyer also wrote 6 mysteries set in a
retirement home. She had 2 sleuths Caledonia and (I don't
remember). Of course these were written a couple decades
ago and are probably out of print. Only the sleuths were
main characters. The others were a couple of police
detectives who liked them, and a waitress at the home who
was in love with one of the detectives. I liked this
series better.
And Maddy Hunter who is a newer author writes a series
where her main character does travel tours for her
grandmothers buddies from the retirement home. Although
these ladies are not of the cookie cutter ilk. And they
are very funny.
Patricia Guiver also wrote a series about a dog detective,
but I think they are out of print too. She looked for dogs
as I recall.
Carol

Thanks for the warnings. I definitely do NOT want more of
the retirement home types of mysteries, although Myrtle
Crumb wasn't in a retirement home, she ticked the boxes of
all the things I don't like about a character with her
other-character friends filling in most of them as well.

Of course I could say the same about many of the non-over-50
mysteries and their characters, mostly the previously
discussed "cookie cutter" ones with the sweet young naive
thing starting her own business (usually a bakery), her
standard-issue hunky boyfriend, either a dog or a cat, and
lots of inane dialog. Oh, and a very easily solved mystery
that has the meanest character the one who done it. Bleah!

Yeah, I'm hard to please. With the cost of most books
rising ever higher, I expect something decent for my time
and money.

More Blanco County and Miss Henry please! Or at least more
on that level of complexity, enjoyment, and writing quality.

Nyssa, who has her standards and expects a "professional"
writer to be able to fill them and at least understand and
apply the basics of grammar and spelling

[Carol Dickinson]

Post by Nyssa
Thanks for the warnings. I definitely do NOT want more of
the retirement home types of mysteries,

Well gee whiz, I wasn't trying to warn you away from them.
I loved the Corinne Holt Sawyers, and I was using them as
an example of ones that weren't what you described.

Of course the Rita Larkin ones have characters, while not
what you described, are definitely set in the retirement home,
unlike the Sawyers.

The Maddy Hunter series are retirees who travel extensively
and have wacky adventures. A new favorite author for me. Her
protagonist is the tour guide, the grand daughter of one of
retirees who won a bazillion dollars and takes her buddies
on trips all over the world. The tour guide is an American
from Iowa but she's dating a cop who lives and works in Italy.

Carol

[p***@gmail.com]

Post by Carol Dickinson
I finished "The Concubine's Children" a family biography of a Canadian Chinese family. The father leaves his pregnant wife home in China and travels to Canada to get rich. He carefully saves his money and sends it home so that his wife can buy additional land to grow food 1/6 of an acre at a time. Eventually from lonliness, he arranges for a friend to find him a concubine, whom he imports on false papers. She is only 17. When she arrives her takes her to a tea house for a meal, introduces her to the owner and tells her she will work for him for the next 2 years to pay back the money he borrowed for her transport.
With the depression and WWII in their future the family does not do well. The "husband" is unable to get full time work, the concubine not only supports the Canadian family, which in the end has 4 children, but the Chinese family as well.
With the communist takeover in China, the 2families becomes permanently separated. It is the story of the human spirit clinging to hope, and rising above adversity. Several months ago I mentioned Lisa See's "Shanghai Girls", the story of the daughter of American immigrants who went back to China to participate in the idealistic new communist China. This one would be the balance to that story, since the Canadian family were supporters of Chang Kai Shek. Between the two, I had my eyes opened to a lot of the history of new China which I was too young to understand when it was happening.
This morning I finished Tamar Myers "Monet Talks". She had been my favorite author for years, especially her Penn-Dutch series, but she seemed to run out of steam on that and it got stale. I also read her Congo series, but only had Den of Antiquity series left on my shelf and I hadn't picked one up for a while. I was so pleased with it. Plenty of comedy and a good plot. There is no murder, but her Myna bird is stolen, and her Mom is kidnapped, while her husband has disappeared along with his best friend. She has half a dozen suspects each one more unusual than the last and the clues seem nonsensical, but it all makes sense in the end. She's back near the top of my favorite authors list again but not #1 of course, since that's my addiction to Gabaldon.
Is this still a functioning group? Seems there's only about 3 or 4 of us posting lately. Howard seems to have stopped, so I guess we must assume he has passed on. I shall miss him.

I got so tired of Tamar Myers years ago. BTW, Penn-Dutch has nothing to do with the Dutch for y'all. It's just that people couldn't deal with pronouncing Deutch, as in German. That area is/was heavily populated very early by the Mennonites, a religious group originally from the German (Deutch) area of Switzerland. The Amish is the exreme fundemental right wing of the Mennonites.

There is a rather large off-shoot of the Mennonites in my home town in west-central Minnesota and others in Iowa, Kansas, Illinois and wherever.

I haven't read a Tamar Myer book in many years. They just became so repetitive and boring.

Makes me think of my Mother reading that romance writer, Danielle something. I would scan through so I could talk to Mom. (She had Alzheimers and I needed to keep her reading and discussing, don't ya know.) I decided THAT writer had a script and she would just plug in new names, designers and maybe, a new twist to the romance/suspense. Myers got to that point for me.

Wow, I just checked my online hoarded stash of books, and I acutally got rid of all my Tamar Myers books. How interesting. I must have really decided I didn't like her anymore.

Pam

[Nancy Spera]

Post by p***@gmail.com

Post by Carol Dickinson
I finished "The Concubine's Children" a family biography of a Canadian Chinese family. The father leaves his pregnant wife home in China and travels to Canada to get rich. He carefully saves his money and sends it home so that his wife can buy additional land to grow food 1/6 of an acre at a time. Eventually from lonliness, he arranges for a friend to find him a concubine, whom he imports on false papers. She is only 17. When she arrives her takes her to a tea house for a meal, introduces her to the owner and tells her she will work for him for the next 2 years to pay back the money he borrowed for her transport.
With the depression and WWII in their future the family does not do well. The "husband" is unable to get full time work, the concubine not only supports the Canadian family, which in the end has 4 children, but the Chinese family as well.
With the communist takeover in China, the 2families becomes permanently separated. It is the story of the human spirit clinging to hope, and rising above adversity. Several months ago I mentioned Lisa See's "Shanghai Girls", the story of the daughter of American immigrants who went back to China to participate in the idealistic new communist China. This one would be the balance to that story, since the Canadian family were supporters of Chang Kai Shek. Between the two, I had my eyes opened to a lot of the history of new China which I was too young to understand when it was happening.
This morning I finished Tamar Myers "Monet Talks". She had been my favorite author for years, especially her Penn-Dutch series, but she seemed to run out of steam on that and it got stale. I also read her Congo series, but only had Den of Antiquity series left on my shelf and I hadn't picked one up for a while. I was so pleased with it. Plenty of comedy and a good plot. There is no murder, but her Myna bird is stolen, and her Mom is kidnapped, while her husband has disappeared along with his best friend. She has half a dozen suspects each one more unusual than the last and the clues seem nonsensical, but it all makes sense in the end. She's back near the top of my favorite authors list again but not #1 of course, since that's my addiction to Gabaldon.
Is this still a functioning group? Seems there's only about 3 or 4 of us posting lately. Howard seems to have stopped, so I guess we must assume he has passed on. I shall miss him.

I got so tired of Tamar Myers years ago. BTW, Penn-Dutch has nothing to do with the Dutch for y'all. It's just that people couldn't deal with pronouncing Deutch, as in German. That area is/was heavily populated very early by the Mennonites, a religious group originally from the German (Deutch) area of Switzerland. The Amish is the exreme fundemental right wing of the Mennonites.
There is a rather large off-shoot of the Mennonites in my home town in west-central Minnesota and others in Iowa, Kansas, Illinois and wherever.
I haven't read a Tamar Myer book in many years. They just became so repetitive and boring.
Makes me think of my Mother reading that romance writer, Danielle something. I would scan through so I could talk to Mom. (She had Alzheimers and I needed to keep her reading and discussing, don't ya know.) I decided THAT writer had a script and she would just plug in new names, designers and maybe, a new twist to the romance/suspense. Myers got to that point for me.
Wow, I just checked my online hoarded stash of books, and I acutally got rid of all my Tamar Myers books. How interesting. I must have really decided I didn't like her anymore.
Pam

You aren't the only one who got tired of Tamar Myers years ago. Her
Mennonite series was set just east of Pgh in the Somerset/Bedford area.
That wasn't what set me off (my college roommate was raised Mennonite
near Meadville, PA) but both her series kept after the idea they didn't
want or need men after bad experiences. That and the repetition.

I'm currently reading the first in a new series by Connie Shelton
called "Diamonds aren't Forever: The Heist Ladies, Book 1" about
4 women in search of one woman's inherited diamond/emerald necklace
made by her grandfather for the tsar. A con man managed to have it
stolen from a museum exhibition. A banker, a young computer whiz
and a stay-at-home mom round out the quartet. I enjoy her Charlie
Parker and Samatha Sweets series but this one seems to fall flat
as they go from Phoenix to the Cayman Islands to Zurich to Nice.

Nancy...still reading if not posting as often


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