I was one of thousands who was captivated by Amy Schneider when she was on Jeopardy! What a great run she had! So, I was intrigued to learn she'd written a book and knew I had to read it. In the Form of a Question: the Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life proved to be a most interesting read. You'll discover people and events who influenced her, a diagnosis of ADD (which she prefers to ADHD) ... and I loved that in eighth grade she was voted 'most likely to appear on Jeopardy!' Like some of the reviews I read there was maybe a bit too much about a few things, but overall this was a good read about a bold person ... queer and transgender, taking on the world on her own terms.

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Live and Let Diet, by Morgana Best, was also in the box sent up by Wandering Reader. Looks to be the first in the Australian Amateur Sleuth series. It starts out with a familiar theme: main character, Sybil, has moved to a small town to make a new start. (There is a most unpleasant ex-hubby). She will be living in a small house that is part of a larger, somewhat rundown and rather spooky mansion. Residents there are a bit ... quirky. There is a death, one which looks to be from natural causes, but she smells cyanide, something not everyone can do (I did not know this!) and convinces the local police to at least test for it ... which puts her at risk. There was a twist at the end that I did not see coming, and, something I don't think I've read before. See what you think!

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It will come as no surprise here that I love books. I love the feel, the touch, the smell (mostly anyway). I like flipping through the pages (more these days to check on the size of the print because of aging eyes). And, I tend to start at the back with a note from the author, acknowledgments, and in the case of non-fiction, an index and/or bibliography. So, when I found Index, A History of the: a Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age, by Dennis Duncan, I knew it was a must read! (I even chuckled at the main title, in public!) Author is good ... he got my heart racing describing holding, and looking at, the book with the very first ever ... page number! (see p. 86) (Remember, books started as scrolls, so the look we know today was, at one time, a new invention). How to find something in a book soon followed ... with breaks in the text, new sections, then chapter headings and then lists, usually at the back, of where to find things. This lead to all sorts of controversy (seriously!) ... the concern was that readers would read JUST the index and not the book! Then it became popular for a rival, or even an enemy to make an index for a book that would include rude comments on the life, politics, education, and so on, of the author. For a while fiction books might have an index with references to tears, duels, crying, etc. (This did not last very long). The internet has changed the ways we search but consider this: when you use a search engine, the example given was with Google, you are searching with the Google index! All indexes are a reflection of the indexer. Don't miss the appendix at the end with a few pages of an index created by AI. It was not good! The book, however, was! :-)

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I have enjoyed the books in Heathcliff Lennox series by Karen Baugh Menuhin, and in the 10th in the series, Murder at Ashton Steeple, and it was nice getting back to her characters again. This time though, I did not much care for the 'other' characters, the ones involved in the murder and so forth ... they were greedy, and devious, unfaithful, and petty ... but then, maybe they were written that way on purpose! This time it involves an investment club (and not a nice one), and the transfer of power, and who will inherit, who expects to inherit and so on. And one very unhappy butler. A very, um, satisfying read. ;-)

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There once was an award winning beer in Yorkshire but it's not been brewed since Richard and Emily's father died, taking the recipe with him. They have set up rival breweries in town. One of the issues seem to be that women cannot brew beer properly (they can), an attitude felt so strongly that someone scribbles hateful graffiti on the walls of Emily's establishment. Then the former town bully shows up (after many years away, during which no one missed him). He claims he has the recipe to the old beer and will let it go to the highest bidder. Not long after, his body is found, face down, in one of the fermentation tanks. DCI Oldroyd and Andy Carter will have a hard time on this one, there are lots of folks with motives! The Brewery Murders is one of the Yorkshire Murder Mystery books by J.R. Ellis and might go well with a pint of ale! (Or in my case, tea).

After reading several books that just did not catch my interest I opted for the next Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy books by Diana Xarissa: Roses and Revenge. It was nice to get back to the familiar characters again. This time, Fenella, Daniel (and yes, even Mona) are in Buffalo. Fenella has returned to New York to attend the wedding of her former boyfriend, Jack. Daniel comes along, hoping to do a lot of the 'touristy' things he's read about. The bride's former husband, George, crashes the engagement party, claiming that the bride to be (Linda) is still in love with him and he wants her back. This, of course, causes much turmoil, and then his body is found in found in a dumpster outside the hotel where many of the wedding guests are staying. This puts Fenella and Daniel right in the middle of the investigation, and while Daniel has no jurisdiction in the states, his experience proves useful to the investigation, and and Fenella do end up helping out. There's lots of past history between many of the wedding party, could someone have some sort of motive because of that? Almost a one day read. :-)

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Looking at the reviews for The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse, by Charlie Mackesy readers either loved (more of these) or hated it. (As in one star ratings on Goodreads). It's my first graphic novel, and a gift. It was excellent! I quite enjoyed the gentle drawings, some in full color, others not, and the growing friendship(s) between the characters. Some reviews said it was the growth of you as one person, but I prefer the ones that say it's about friendship, with diverse characters, ones you can learn from, trust, and become a better person.

The books in the Kitty Worthington Mystery series, by Magda Alexander, are cozies at their very best. A murder, or more, yes, but then engaging characters, helpful folks, and just a jolly good read. In A Murder at Oxford (#6) it's a cold case, a murder from a decade ago. The remains of a body have been found, and what clues are left lead to Robert. He and Kitty plan to marry, but he could face a hanging instead. Time is short, and information is hard to find ... people lie, or can't be found ... the race is on! Set in the 1920's, in, as the title suggests, Oxford.

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Recently Wandering Reader sent me another box of books! These are always fun as they are new (to me) authors and series. One of those this time was A Killer Cake, Book 3 in the Classic Diner Series by Jessica Beck. Victoria and her family run a nice little diner in the small town of Jasper Fork with good food and regular customers, most of whom are nice ... with one exception ... Roy Thompson. He is so rude one day that Victoria finally kicks him out, tells him he is no longer welcome at the Charming Moose Diner (so named for her Grandfather). He is a local businessman and threatens to sue. Soon after, at the local bicentennial celebration he dies ... over a piece of cake from the diner. Victoria, and her grandfather are determined to prove it wasn't the cake (seems they've helped solve mysteries before and have a decent relationship with the local police). Turns out, there is more motive than they thought.

Albert and Rex are headed for York, to learn about Yorkshire puddings and (hopefully) a nice quiet visit. Instead they thwart a robbery which seems to set off all sorts of unfortunate events. There is an upcoming competition, not only to see who can make the best Yorkshire pudding, but also a challenge to make the biggest Yorkshire pudding ... ever. When a chase after a most annoying cat results in bags of flour bursting open, it is learned that it has been tainted, someone is trying to sabotage the competition ... but why? Then someone who should have been in charge, but wasn't, is found dead. Head down in a large mixing machine. Then are complaints the finals for the rounds leading up to the 'best' pudding are fixed. The man in charge goes missing ... pretty much nothing is going as it should. All this, over Yorkshire pudding? Death of a Yorkshire Pudding is the fifth book in the Albert Smith's Culinary Capers mystery series by Steve Higgs.

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