Third in the Markham Sisters Cozy mysteries by Diana Xarissa is The Chalmers Case. The first official guests to the B&B prove to be .... prickly. The next couple seem nice, but is it a front? Why are the two couples suddenly such good friends? And what's with all the easels in the back room in the antique store? Is there something criminal going on? These are great little cozies, they won't take you long to read.

I've been enjoying the Maggie Hope Mystery series, by Susan Elia Macneal, but I must say that The Prisoner in the Castle felt a bit dark to me. Lots of deaths here. Still, I enjoyed the spin on Agatha Christie, and perhaps something from Shakespeare. Just why has Maggie been sent to the island? She feels like she should be somewhere else, doing something to help the war effort. Everyone there is a highly trained agent of some sort, for some department or agency. Is one of them a spy? Or a double agent? How will she get off?

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Have you noticed speeches, books and/or articles that use the wrong word? Or where you think the wrong word has been used? It seems to be happening more and more. Siblings Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras thought so and started their research. That Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means (the 150 Most Commonly Misused Words and Their Tangled Histories) is the result. This was a fun read! Some words I knew (and am using correctly), some words I did not recognize, and some (sadly) I did not know the proper definition. There are examples, right and wrong, for each entry as well as a bit of the etymology of the word. I wish my Mom was still around to read this book with me, she would have loved it!

If you haven't read enough on words, take a look at Vulgar Tongues: an Alternative History of English Slang, by Max Decharne. Dense and detailed, well researched and well written, there's a wonderful bibliography and index ... but in spite of the title I guess I was expecting fewer ... vulgar words! I browsed through a few pages, as I usually do when looking at a new book and was intrigued to learn things like 'nincompoop' was once a really nasty description of someone, or that 'groovy' was first seen in the 1940's as a word connected with jazz. I liked how the author traced words through time, and how who used them, and the meaning, changed. Still, it all got to be a bit much, so, to be honest, I did skim through some of the chapters.

I have several friends with chickens so just couldn't resist Art of the Chicken Coop: a Fun and Essential Guide to Housing Your Peeps, by Chris Gleason. Much like the cook books I've used in my blog, I loved the pictures and descriptions but skipped the instructions on how to make each coop. ;-) There is chicken trivia included as well, and that was a lot of fun. Did you know that the folds in a chef's hat indicate how many ways he/she can cook eggs?

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I have Kiwi to thank for the recommendation for Dream Big Dreams: Photographs From Barack Obama’s Inspiring and Historic Presidency. It is "a book for young readers" by Pete Souza, the former chief official White House photographer. Absolutely amazing! Mr. Souza had worked with and for Mr. Obama before, and over the years they became great friends. His photos capture the President at work, with his family, at play, and a couple of times, just being silly ... this is a wonderful book.

Now, for a memory book with a difference ... while author Jim Chambers did indeed grow up in the 1950's, his book Recollections: a Baby Boomer's Memories of the Fabulous Fifties is more like a little history book of what happened rather than just his personal memories. Every so often he includes something specific to him or his family, but mostly this was just a nice gathering of events, good and bad, local (he grew up in Georgia) or national. Dare I call this an 'age appropriate' book? I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I do think it helps to be a senior citizen!

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Just in case you want another book on trivia, here's one that was a lot of fun: The Perfectly Useless Book of Useless Information: You'll Never Need to Know Anything That's In This Book... But Read It Anyway, by Don Voorhees. The title pretty much says it all! It is part of a series on 'Useless' Books which might make for some fun reading on the coming darker days of winter.

I haven't done a book of quotes for a while so when Butter My Butt and Call Me a Biscuit and Other Country Sayings, Say-Sos, Hoots, and Hollers, by Allan Zullo and Gene Cheek caught my eye, I just had to read it! The authors are from the south, so it has a regional twist: some are familiar, some are new, some are just plain silly, many are fun ... and these will be different for every reader. :-)

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Canadian Reader and I have discovered another series by Diana Xarissa, one about the Markham Sisters. We first met the sisters in Aunt Bessie Decides and now they are off on adventures of their own. Recently retired, they have decided (well, mostly) to open a Bed and Breakfast and have purchased a large house for that purpose. They've bought the house through a trust set up by the recently deceased previous owner. Her son is not amused. Will he cause problems? First in the Markham Sisters Cozy Series is The Appleton Case. These are shorter stories, considered novellas and the first four were published together in A Markham Sisters Collection - ABCD. This proved to be ... interesting .... I really intended to read just one book at a time, but it was just so easy to continue immediately on to The Bennett Case ... and that's just what I did! This time unexpected people keep showing up, one claiming he'd already reserved a room  and that it should be honored, even though the B&B really hasn't opened yet. There is a con man on the loose, he recently escaped from jail. Might one of the 'unexpecteds' be the man the police are looking for? And if so, which one? So far no bodies with this series, just some nice mysteries. (Note: You can find the books individually, too).

Kate Sharp works for a small company in Los Angeles that seeks out location sites for movies. The project at the moment is yet another version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The problem is, no one has heard from their scout in England. Kate is sent to find out why. Interesting characters and a nice small town feel here, Death in the English Countryside is the first in the Murder on Location series by Sara Rosett.

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Long before texting made use of single letters to convey a word there was William Steig and his delightful book C D B! I loved this book in the (ahem) sixties, and I love it today. It's a 'must read out loud' sort of book, even it's just to the dog. And, if there are some you can't figure out, there is an answer key at the back of the book.

In a recent rerun of Frasier there was a turn of phrase that had two interpretations, either "seek help" or "sea kelp". Both fit the situation and always made me chuckle. Then I found I Scream, Ice Cream!: a Book of Wordles, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Serge Bloch. According to the author, wordles are a group of words that sound the same but mean different things and there are several examples here. Some seem a bit of a stretch (to me, anyway), and my favorite was not included, but overall, not a bad book. :-)

If you enjoy codes and puzzles, take a look at this book: Look! What Do You See? An Art Puzzle Book of American & Chinese Songs, by Xu Bing and illustrations by Becca Stadtlander. Look at the pictures, study the symbols very carefully and I'm betting you'll figure them out! I figured out the American songs, the Chinese songs took me a bit longer (I'll admit, knowing the melody helps). I'm hoping the 'youngins' of today are learning these older songs .... a sign of my age, I'm sure. :-)

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A Death in the Dales, by Frances Brody, is part of her Kate Shackleton Mystery series. Kate has brought her niece, recovering from diphtheria, to the country from London because the air is better. She will be staying in the house of a woman who died recently and is surprised by a visit from a friend of the deceased with notes about a murder, arrest, and hanging from ten years earlier ... she was convinced the wrong man was arrested. Was he? And how can Kate go about proving it? A classic English cozy!

People are dying in the small town of Pomme Valley and there's a hint in the title of J.M. Poole's next Corgi Case Files mystery: Case of the Muffin Murders. As with the earlier books in this series, it's fun to watch the Corgi dogs at work, they really are part of the team! Why would anyone use muffins as weapon?

In the stack of books that Canadian Reader left is the fourth in the Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy series by Diana Xarissa. A loose dog is found on the beach. Fenella knows the dog, and knows the owner would never just turn him out alone. When she goes to look for him, however, he is not to be found. Soon another dog is found. Is someone targeting dog owners? And why? Dogs and Danger has the answers.

Also in the stack from Canadian Reader was Inkier Than the Sword, the third in the Falconer Files Murder Mystery series by Andrea Frazer. Again Inspector Falconer is partnered with Sergeant Carmichael, but, Falconer must admit, he is improving. In a nearby small town someone is sending 'poison pen' letters to the residents, each time mentioning a dark secret from that person's past. Who, and why? When the local, famous author ends up dead, all signs point to her ... but that would be too easy, right?

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