This book was so good I read it twice through immediately! Book Love, by Debbie Tung is a collection of her cartoons that explain exactly what it is like to be a reader! A rainy day is perfect for reading. So is a sunny day. There is never any question as to whether or not go to the bookstore. Having lots of books on your 'to be read' pile is a source of comfort. Books are a way to travel in space and time as well as just across the country or around the world. Books bring back wonderful memories. Seriously folks, if you love to read, don't miss this book!

I seem to be doing a fair amount of reading of books about books, or about readers and this continued with Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, by Anne Fadiman. I enjoyed it, for the most part (we disagree on a few things), and especially liked the essay on how to organize books (and the dreadful story when a friend of a friend hired a decorator and came home to find their library had been organized by color), or how to combine collections when a reader marries a reader. My favorite though, might be the one on the book Ms. Fadiman was given when her first child was born. It was a book that had belonged to her great-grandmother (so it was written in the 1860's or thereabouts). It was a book about women. And wives. And mothers. Written by a priest! She read it again when her second child was born, and will pass it on to her daughter on the birth of her first child.

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Death at the Tavern, first in the Higgins and Hawke Mystery Series, by Lee Strauss, is also the first book by this author that I have read. I will be checking out other titles! Set in Boston, in 1931, the main characters are a reporter (a single mom with an opinionated mother-in-law) who longs to get away from the 'fluff' stories, and a medical examiner. Make that assistant ME since she's female. There is a body (of course), death is a gunshot wound, supposedly from the outside, shot through a window. However, the trajectory shows he was shot from inside. Samantha (Sam) Hawke and Dr. Haley Higgins meet at the crime scene and realize they make a good team. Just a wonderful start!

G.A. McKevett has a wonderful series out called the Savannah Reid Mysteries. I have read many and enjoyed them, but, it seems, none since I started my blog. I will have to remedy that! In the mean time, Crafty Reader recently informed me there was a new series by this author, about the Grandmother (who is featured in the other series) set in the time when Savannah was young. Murder in Her Stocking is the first in the Granny Reid Mystery series, and what a great start it is. Granny Reid happens to be in the area when the murder takes place ... it's the town ... 'lady of the evening' (it's a very small town). The murderer is not the obvious chice (wait until you read about the funeral!) and the unhappy childhood of Savannah and her siblings is resolved in an unexpected way (sort of). Can't say too much other than this author creates nice characters and interesting situations (just who did paint handlebar mustaches on the town creche scene? Including the sheep?)

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I enjoyed Hey Ranger 2: More True Tales of Humor & Misadventure from the Great Outdoors, by Jim Burnett just as much as I did the first. Campers (and this is being polite) get lost, pitch tents below the high tide mark, ignore warning signs, head off on hikes in shorts, tees and flip flops ... fortunately, there are Rangers around to help. And of course there are always those duties that fall under 'other duties as assigned' such as answering tax questions or rounding up a fleeing ostrich. The author has an engaging style of writing and this is an easy book to read. And keep reading. :-)

Here's a book that will make those of you who know me chuckle: Clueless in the Kitchen: Cooking for Beginners, by Evelyn Raab. It features easy recipes, all made from real ingredients, no box cake mixes, etc. There are hints about shopping, too, and storing various foods. I like that it explains something in very simple terms, says to follow the recipe exactly as written ... the first time ... then suggests you try any and all sorts of variations. There are some nice touches of humor, too. I've not tried any thing in the book as yet, but several look like even I can't mess them up. :-)

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Another of the books that arrived on the last Game Day was Arrowood, by Mick Finlay. The main character is someone who does not like Sherlock Holmes. At all. He maintains that Holmes only takes the cases he knows he can solve, and then has a partner who writes them up for the local papers. He also moves in the higher levels of London society. Arrowood does not, and he takes on cases because he needs the money. He too has a 'Watson', and a housekeeper (it's his sister, who arrives one day unannounced, unexpected, and not really welcome ... with her suitcase. And her tuba). His 'Baker Street Irregular' is a young lad of just nine years. Well written, with a good story, but be aware that this is a dark, dark read. Times are violent, young girls are kidnapped and sold to brothels, brutal fights and beatings happen for little or no reason, someone can be killed and dumped into the river just because the boss thinks he might have said something to someone. This is definitely not a cozy!

Posie Parker is headed to Venice for her wedding. Turns out to be anything but idyllic as there is a fire in the house (palace, actually) where she was to stay, and then a murder in the house where she and the others have been put up. There are hints that her intended is not the man she believes him to be, and a returning character who really isn't, but says so right up front (think spy, undercover, etc). I rather like this series, there are good characters and wonderful descriptions of the city, but I found Murder in Venice, the sixth in the Posie Parker Mystery series, by L.B. Hathaway, to be a bit darker than the earlier stories.

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If you were given a limit of 50 items what would you pick to represent the state of Washington? Harriet Baskas did just that in Washington Icons: 50 Classic Views of the Evergreen State. Did you know that Father's Day started here? Or the slinky pull toy? From apples to orca whales, the Peace Arch to the Columbia, see if you agree with her choices.

Washington is a state with strong, outspoken, stubborn women and you can read about many of them in Extraordinary Women Conservationists of Washington: Mothers of Nature, by Dee Arntz. They stood up against big business, big corporations, and, well, a lot of men to save forests (some of the oldest left in the lower 48), to keep our water and air clean, and to cleanup or prevent hazardous conditions. I'll admit, it gets a bit political for this reader, but I'm sure glad they were out there fighting!

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Aunt Bessie Knows, one of the Isle of Man Cozy Mystery books by Diana Xarissa, is the last one of these on my to be read shelf until Canadian Reader comes later this spring. Aunt Bessie reluctantly agrees to attend a New Year's Eve party to support a friend of hers. The daughter of this friend is home for the holidays and has invited a group of her friends over to celebrate the new year. One of them was not originally on the list and the reason for that soon becomes clear! She is very drunk and has flirted shamelessly with every man at the party, the last one being Constable Hugh Watterson, so when her body is found, he becomes the prime suspect. His supervisor was also at the party, so he cannot be involved in the investigation, leaving it to someone Bessie does not trust at all. She will have to find to do her own investigating ... carefully.

It was supposed to be a holiday for just the five sisters, but one brings along a co-worker. She is quiet and unfriendly. Why is she so secretive? Then they come across an injured dog. A few days later the dog and the coworker vanish. Turns out this might be the valuable truffle dog that was stolen. The Girl in the Empty Dress, by Lisle McClendon is the second Bennett Sisters novel, and takes place in France, at the home Merle unexpectedly inherited in the first. The dog thieves are inept: they lose the dog, kidnap the wrong sister, and then the wrong priest! Mostly a good read, I, personally took exception to the dog being called 'it', and the phrase 'it's just a dog'.

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Flavia de Luce's sister is getting married. It is a beautiful ceremony. Until a human finger is found in the cake (not a spoiler, this is on the back cover!). And so starts The Golden Tresses of the Dead, the next of the Flavia de Luce Novels by Alan Bradley. Flavia and Dogger are on the case, discovering where (and to whom) the finger belongs. Poisons are involved, naturally, something Flavia loves, and two rather mysterious missionary ladies, in town to give a talk on their time in Africa. Are those coffee beans really coffee beans? The interaction between Flavia and Dogger is a delight to read.

I am cautious about reading animal stories, and Riding Reader knows this, so when A Dog's Way Home, by W. Bruce Cameron appeared under the Christmas tree I was willing to give it a try. This book brings up all kinds of issues: rescuing feral animals vs. tearing the buildings down where they are hiding ('progress'); issues and treatment of returning veterans (and how dogs help); laws concerning BDL (breed discrimination legislature) which can condemn dogs just because they look like a particular breed; and of course, the love dogs bring into our lives. Told from the view point of Bella, it proved to be worthy read.

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The little history book by Dr. Ritter sent me on a quest for others about Washington that might also have short bits of history and I found two, both featuring old postcards. The first was Greetings from the Washington Coast: a Postcard Tour from Columbia River to the San Juan Islands, by Cherie Christensen. It looks as if the postcards here came from the author's collection and it is a fun journey up and down the coast, and back into time. There are many familiar places here, when they were pretty much unpopulated! And a great postcard of the glass floats found along Long Beach ... these days, if any were found, they'd probably be plastic! Old ferries, huge crabs ... what postcard would you send home to your family?

The second book was Greetings From Washington: a Glimpse of the Past Through Postcards, by Lane Morgan. This is a nice look at our past from all parts of the state: high desert to ocean, wheat fields to islands. There are 'movers and shakers' and important events as well silly images of the huge produce supposedly grown here. There's 'new' (as in not horse drawn) fire trucks, a steaming Mt. Baker, and lots more. You'll need at least two cups of tea. :-)

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Nicola Pearson, the author of the Callum Lange mysteries I so enjoyed has also written a couple of books for children, one of them being A Dog in the Big Courthouse. It's about something new to me, courthouse facility dogs. Such dogs are there to bring comfort to children and/or families who must testify in court, something that can be very scary. The dogs are there to offer their unbiased support. Yet another wonderful thing dogs can offer! Illustrations are by Maya Keegan.

While not a picture book in the traditional sense, that is, a book for children, A Girl's Best Friend: Stepping Out with the Dogs We Love, with artwork by Susie Muise was filled with charming pictures with a vintage look. At first I was put off by the idea of a dog as an accessory, but soon learned that that was not the intent ... the quotes contained within are proof that dogs are so much more! Those quotes might be familiar, but this is worth a look just for the pictures. :-)

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January 15, 1919, in Boston, there was a flood like no other ... it was a a flood of molasses. A huge holding tank (millions of gallons) had collapsed sending out a wave 25 feet high and 160 feet wide, and, at first, moving at 35 miles per hour. Shortly before this, a huge delivery had arrived and the tank was fuller than it had ever been. And, it was filled from the bottom, layering warmer molasses under colder, which caused a reaction that put stress on the rivets. Lives were lost, it would take days to find them all, buildings were destroyed. What happened? USIA (United States Industrial Alcohol) claimed it was the work of anarchists which had been active in the area. Others claimed negligence. The tank had been built in a hurry, people noticed it leaking from the start (management finally had it painted the same color as the molasses), some heard it creaking and groaning. The court case would take years. The Dark Tide: the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, by Stephen Puleo, is the history of this odd event, made all the more compelling by the author's use of personal stories of those directly involved. First printed in 2003, I read the 100th anniversary edition.

Washington's History: the People, Land, and Events of the Far Northwest (Revised Edition) by Harry Ritter is a book designed to fit in a backpack, or glove box (are they still called this?). Short, two page entries on the history of the Evergreen State have just enough information about, well, just what the title indicates ... the people, the land and the events. Great for those born here as well as visitors. :-)

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