When work got so overwhelming it was affecting his health, Nick Albert decided to make a huge change in his life. He and his wife liked taking an old house and fixing it up, but they took that to the extreme when they moved to Ireland. Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds: Living 'The Dream' in Rural Ireland is that story. Talk about contrast! Pretty much everything is different between London and their new home: traffic, crowds, how business is done ... how they make the transition is a gentle, humorous read.

A while back Wandering Reader heard a story on NPR about a man, mostly forgotten these days, who was a pioneer of flight ... and that there was a book! I missed the story on NPR, but I did find the book: Lincoln Beachey: the Man Who Owned the Sky, by Frank Marrero. Lincoln Beachey grew up in San Francisco and once took up a challenge to ride his bike, without brakes, down steep hills (sometimes several in a row). This same bravado took him on to not only be one of the first to fly, but the first to do what became stunts, although one was actually pulling out of a stall, which would be good for any pilot to know. He would draw HUGE crowds to his shows. Others would try and copy what he did, many of them dying in the attempt. What he did, that they didn't, was to start slowly, figure out what the plane could tolerate, or how to build a better plane. Although he tried to explain this, not many listened. He also tried to convince the military that future wars would need a well trained air force. Again, not many listened. This was a great, if sometimes sobering, biography. Loved all the pictures and newspaper clippings.

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There was an unexpected twist to Game Day this past month ... books! Not just talk about books, that always happens, but actual books! Three were a series by Nicola Pearson, the Callum Lange Mystery series. Set around Sauk Mountain, the descriptions of the area will be familiar to many of us. Callum Lange is a retired NYC detective who spent his summers growing up here with his uncle and decided then that he would retire here, far away from the noise and crime of the big city. That time has come and he is living in a yurt until he can build his cabin. The Case of the Barking Dog is the first time that he helps the local police (but you know it won't be the last). A body has been found, and nearby, some seeds. What is the connection? And of course, there is a barking dog. These are short, easy to read, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Next in the Callum Lange Mystery series, by Nicola Pearson, is The Man in the Mudroom. This time there have been a series of minor thefts: fire wood, and milk, and just why is there a man in the mudroom? Then a woman is reported missing, one who is in to wildcrafting (you'll learn a bit about this, too) and some amazing painted gourds. I'm enjoying the characters here, and the gathering of clues as the mystery unfolds.

What is the DEA doing 'way out in the middle of nowhere'? This is just what Callum Lange asks, and the answer is that it's a good place for a drug drop. The Body in the Blackberries is the third Callum Lange Mystery books by Nicola Pearson. What Lange and the DEA agent find, of course, is something worse than a dropped bag of drugs. Could there have been a plane in the early morning hours? And what about the lost dog? Have some of the local kids (some not so young any more) be involved? Another wonderful entry to this series, I sure hope there will be more!

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If you are a fan of Christopher Fowler and the Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries and his aging detectives then you should get a chuckle with Bryant & May: Hall of Mirrors where the reader is taken back to the early days of their partnership. Think the 1960's and what was going on, what was being worn, what was popular ... and then imagine our detectives as young men ... They have been assigned to protect a man who is due in court in a few days, and could be at some risk. He has been invited to a weekend 'do' at an old manor house. Due to a snafu in reading a map, the local military will be holding 'war games' in that area, closing down all roads and communication (such as it was at that time). What could possibly go wrong? ;-)

Music to Die For is the sixth in the Falconer Files Murder Mystery series by Andrea Frazer. There is a small town band (sort of). They meet once a month to rehearse and eat and drink .... make that eat, drink and rehearse. They are in need of a director and the vicar is sure he has found the perfect man for the job. Turns out it's not such a good fit: he is rude, condescending, demanding, and manages to insult all of them before their first practice has ended. (You can see what's coming, can't you). Once again DI Falconer and his partner, DS Carmichael are sent to the small town to figure things out. This is a nice series, with quirky characters, good reads for a cold day. :-)

Anne Boleyn as a tall, robust, blond? A slender Henry VIII? Posie Parker has little interest in the film industry, and this sort of casting is not improving that! Still, she has been hired to protect one of the stars who has been receiving death threats. To make things worse it's the hottest summer on record, and her best friend is behaving oddly. It's hard to make progress when everyone lies, things aren't what they seems, and bits of the past keeping popping up. Murder of a Movie Star, by L.B. Hathaway, is the fifth book in the Posie Parker Mystery series, and to me, one of the hardest Posie has had to deal with. Just what IS the truth? I love how the author brings all the details together and lets you follow along as Posie has her 'light bulb' moments.

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Were you or your folks living in this area in 1962? That was the year of the huge storm, the biggest to hit this part of the world. John Dodge has written an absolutely amazing book about it, one that I highly recommend, and may end up next to a birthday cake or under the tree this year! In A Deadly Wind: the 1962 Columbus Day Storm, the author explains where and how the storm started, why it got so strong, and what it might look like from a satellite, something not available then. He follows the storm up the west coast describing the damage it caused. There are the forecasts, those that actually went out, many areas were without power. The author interviewed those in the weather profession as well as 'regular folks' about what it was like to be here then. It was the year of the Seattle World's Fair and there's an amazing description of what happened to the Space Needle. As if all the wind and rain damage weren't enough, there were two attacks by lions! He goes on to compare the Columbus Day Storm with other big storms., and what it might be like should such a storm hit the same area today. An absolutely mesmerizing read!

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Louise Penny is one of my most favorite authors so I was pleased to finally get to read Kingdom of the Blind. As usual, it was fun meeting up with all the wonderful characters again and it would have been a one day read if I'd started earlier! There is an odd letter, telling three people they are the liquidators of an estate ... of a woman none of them knew. There is a connection with an old family in Europe. There is a drug, a horrible, deadly drug that could soon be released on the streets of Montreal. All woven together with the author's wonderful style of writing. She's right, we are fortunate to have found each other in Three Pines. (from the acknowledgments at the end, don't skip it).

I started with book two in this series: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery, so it was nice to go back and learn how a young woman from Kansas ended up in Scotland! The Cracked Spine, by Paige Shelton, explains how Delaney Nichols, by answering an ad and having a phone interview ends up completely changing her life and moving to a foreign country. She finds herself in a most unusual shop, with quirky coworkers and a somewhat mysterious boss. Before she can settle in and get used to her new surroundings, there is a murder (of course) and a missing book. Not a bad start! :-)

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Recently PBS aired a rerun of a show I'd seen before: Secrets of the Tower of London. I watched it again just to see if it included the author of a book I finished the day before, and it did! One of the Yeoman Warders introduced was Christopher Skaife, who wrote The Ravenmaster: My Life With the Ravens at the Tower of London. This a delightful, charming read! There's the history of why there are ravens at the Tower, how care for them has changed over the years, and where to find ravens in literature and poetry. And, having seen the author 'live', it's easy to imagine him giving tours, which, by the way, are always the same. It is a planned and rehearsed script so that there is no omission of facts, or embellishment of the same.

It might be hard to believe that Rodgers and Hammerstein's musicals were considered 'revolutionary', but they were. For a nice history of all that, plus how they worked (in reverse order of most musical teams), where they got their ideas and so on, read Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution, by Todd S. Purdum. I enjoyed the historical perspective here, learning when and why these musicals fell out of favor, and then back in again. The author didn't gloss over the bad stuff, either. Loved the little bits of trivia: Rodger's father delivered two of Hammerstein's children. Tickets for shows were so popular there was a market for fake stubs to display on your coffee table. There was a hair curling product that was popular when South Pacific was playing. Well researched and written.

Just how much of what you see in the stage play and movie of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is true? Find out in Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: the Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse, by Jayme Lynn Blaschke! In another time, and profession, 'Miss Edna' would have been a remarkable business person. There were rules, and they were followed, period. There was no alcohol other than beer (and even that was in moderation), no drugs, no swearing, no fights, and anyone (staff or client) was tossed out if they disobeyed whether they were the son of a local farmer, or a high ranking politician. The 'girls' had good food, good health care, and had time off each month. It really did cause very few problems for the local sheriff, paid all the necessary taxes, and supported local schools and so on. Remember Charles Durning and his wonderful 'dance a little two step' from the movie? It could have been based on some of the speeches found here. If you liked the movie (or stage version) you should enjoy this, too.

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Author T.A. Warger is back with another local history book. Murder & Mayhem in the Fourth Corner is the third book about true crimes from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Nicely researched and written, I have been enjoying this series, even with a rather grim and grisly subject! The author will 'set the scene' creating the motive, and then describes the investigation, trial and verdict for several heinous crimes. Do note: there was a problem with the layout, and sometimes a new chapter will start on the page before the actual chapter heading. A bit odd, but easy to figure out. ;-)

At the age of ten life changed dramatically for a young girl in England. In December of that year her uncle, wishing to marry someone deemed unacceptable for a royal family, abdicated his position as King of England. She remembers being able to hug her father when he left the room for his coronation, and then having to curtsey to him when he returned. That young girl, of course was Elizabeth II. There are treasures to be found on the bargain table at Village Books and this is one of them: Elizabeth: the Queen and the Crown, by Sarah Gristwood. It is a wonderful blend of text and pictures of a woman who has given her entire life in service to her country. There are some nice pictures of her wedding and coronation dresses (look at the detail on the latter, with Tudor roses, shamrocks for Ireland, a thistle for Scotland, and a leek for Wales!). And, in one of those fun/odd coincidences, there is a fiction book on my 'to be read shelf' about the wedding dress!

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The title of this next Iona Whishaw Lane Winslow Mystery is a clue: It Begins in Betrayal. I know how good these books are so I cleared my schedule (okay, there was snow on the ground and I'd planned things so I did not have to go out) so as to spend the day reading, which is pretty much what I did. Something that happened during the war (four years back) has come back to haunt Flight Lieutenant Darling and he is called back to London to stand trial. If convicted, he will hang. Is he really guilty? Not one to stand by and wait, Lane follows him to see if she can help. Meanwhile, Constable Ames has been put in charge of a murder of an old woman. She's been in the area for forty years, but could there some sort of family connection from the old country?

Tall Reader recently shared a book with me: The Matter of the Deserted Airliner, by Steve Levi. A plane on a routine flight from Seattle has arrive in Anchorage with no crew and no passengers. How could this happen? Then the ransom demand arrives: the kidnappers want gems, lots of them. Vacationing Captain Heinz Noonan is called in to help. I like that this is a 'thinking' mystery, no guns blaring, or wild chases, and I chuckled over the difference between the those who look good on camera (politicians) and those who do the actual work! It looks like a self-published book though, and there are some errors that should have been caught. (What can I say, Mom was an English teacher) ;-)

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History might indicate that a lot of people, especially those in, or in line for, great power were poisoned. That might be true, but given the times, it could also have been their food, clothing, medicines, and living conditions. The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine and Murder Most Foul, by Eleanor Herman was a fascinating, and disgusting (!) read. What all those beautiful movies about grand meals, huge palaces and royal intrigue don't show is what a dirty time that was. Men relieved themselves in the corners of the hallways, chamber pots were emptied into the moat, no one bathed (they wore the same linens 24/7 for days, weeks, months). Lice were everywhere, from the mice to the most royal. Arsenic, mercury and lead were used in many beverages, 'medicines' and cosmetics. There are also chapters on the exhumation of various possible poisonings where modern day tests proves that right or wrong. And, finally, the author discusses poisonings that continue to this day. Nicely researched and written.

If you remember a show that aired on KVOS TV (longer ago than I care to admit) called Dave Allen at Large, then you should enjoy a book I found about him. His casual delivery earned him the title of a 'sit down stand up comedian'. The Essential Dave Allan, edited by Graham McCann, is part biography, part memoir, and a collection of many of the jokes I remember from the show. There's also a beautiful poem written at the time of the moon landing. An interesting combination of witty and crude!

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