Linda Reads

The Accident

linda — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:21:09 +0000

Linwood Barclay is one of my favourite authors, and his latest book The Accident is destined to be as big a hit as his previous ones. He writes suspenseful thrillers. Unlike most mystery novels where the focus is on the police solving a crime, his books don’t lean in that direction, making them just a bit different and more intriguing than the usual. In this book Glen Garber, a contractor in Connecticut, waits for his wife Sheila to get home from an accounting course she’s taking at night. But she never shows up. Frantic with fear, he gets in the car to see if he can find her, and comes upon a road block where an accident has taken place. It doesn’t take long for him to recognize the car and learn that Sheila is dead. But it soon becomes evident that things just don’t add up… Sheila never went to her class that night, and police reports indicate that she was drunk, and is responsible for killing 2 people in addition to herself. Glen knew this was so unlike her that he found it hard to believe. When one of her best friends also dies in a strange accident, Glen takes it upon himself to see if there isn’t more to the picture than meets the eye. Illegal activities soon surface in their placid little Connecticut neighbourhood, adding to the complex set of circumstances surrounding both deaths. The story is really gripping, and the book flows so easily that you’re hooked and half way through before you know it. Barclay is definitely the master of suspense. He has hoards of fans and you will be one too if you read this book… or his previous - Never Look Away, Fear the Worst, Too Close to Home and No Time for Goodbye. They’re all fantastic!

A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life

linda — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:32:05 +0000

This is such a fun book. It’s huge, and hefty, and is definitely a coffee table book, as opposed to a novel. (If you’re lucky and have a beautiful, large powder room it might even be fun to have it there for guests to poke through.) As soon as I heard about it I put my name on the list at the library, and I had to wait for it, so obviously I’m not the only person out there eagre to learn what to do with all their “stuff”. A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life by Mary Randolph Carter is full of beautiful photos, side captions, and bits & pieces of info on how to organize your life and home around clutter, collections, work, kids, pets, and messy husbands. You can pick it up and open it at random and be transported into the lives of others out there who seem to have way of displaying their stuff so it all looks terrific. Though it looks easy since their stuff seems to be all collectibles. Mine seems to be all junk. But there is a photo in the book showing someone’s office and it’s way worse than my hubby’s, which I thought was next to impossible. I chuckled when I read how the author’s mum wrote her important phone numbers on the wall next to her bedside table after she couldn’t keep track of her address book. Now that’s creative, and besides – who cares (the grandkids did think it a bit odd since they’d been taught not to write on the walls) and who sees her bedroom anyway. Leaf through this book at random and I’m sure you’ll find some good advice to help you over the hurdle of that mess I call life. But as the author says on the back cover “Don’t scub the soul out of your home.” Read this… it’s lots of fun!

The Joy of Books Video

linda — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:14:15 +0000

I don’t usually do this… in fact I don’t think I’ve ever done this before… telling my readers to watch a youtube video is SO not me… but I’m doing it now. Click here to see the sweetest, neatest, most amazing little video. It was shot at Type, a Toronto bookshop at 883 Queen St. W., with the aide of many, many, helping hands. The amount of work involved in producing this just boggles my little mind. If you love books, love to read, and I’m sure you do if you’re reading my blog, you’ll LOVE this short video. You’ll want to watch it over and over again. It will make you happy! Guaranteed!!

The Lost Daughter

linda — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:00:26 +0000

The Lost Daughter is the second book I’ve read by Lucretia Grindle in as many months. It follows a similar path to her first, The Villa Triste - it’s set in Italy, the book alternates between the present and the past, and once again features Alessandro Palliotti, one of Florence’s most senior policemen. This time he is called upon to investigate the disappearance of American student Kristen Carson. Thinking she’s just another student gone off on a wild weekend, Palliotti and his team don’t seem too concerned until they discover she has been seeing Antonio Tomaselli, a member of the notorious Red Brigades who has recently been released from prison where he was serving time for his role in the 1978 kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro, one of Italy’s most famous politicians. When her step-mother Anna also disappears everyone sits up and takes notice and Palliotti and his team realize they have to move quickly to find two missing Americans. The story is multi-layered, like her first, and the complexities add to the intrigue and depth of her writing. She’s a ”beautiful” writer… I love this sentence “For the poor at least, for those who labour with their hands, childhood is a modern invention.” and now she’s definitely on my list of favourites. Pick up both of her books and hunker down under a quilt for a great winter read.

Only Time Will Tell

linda — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:59:48 +0000

It’s nice to start a new year with Jeffrey Archer. I’ve been a huge fan of his ever since I read Kane & Abel many years ago. When I heard he had a new book out I didn’t give it a second thought, I just went and bought it. Then I put it aside to read in winter, and now it’s winter. I’m always eager to read what he’s written. He’s a reliable storyteller, easy to read, yet always comes through with something that will grip you til the very end. Only Time Will Tell is no exception. This is the first in a trilogy called The Clifton Chronicles, and I can’t wait to read the next two installments (part 2 is due out in the spring). This book spans from the Great War to the outset of WWII. Set in Bristol, England, it is the story of Harry Clifton from before he was born when his Dad worked on the docks in Bristol, to the moment Harry lands on the shores of New York City at the outbreak of the Second World War. I love how Archer has titled each chapter after one of the leading characters in the book. We get a look at events from that character’s perspective, each chapter adds layer upon layer to the fascinating saga of Harry, from the time he skipped school to accompany his uncle to the docks when he was a wee lad, to his adventure crossing the Atlantic during the outbreak of the Second World War. And leave it to Archer to end the book with a sentence that no one could have seen coming. A definite “now what?!” moment. Don’t peak!! So of course you’re hooked and need to follow up with book #2. Smart thinking, smart writing, smart story. I loved it!

My Winter Reading List

linda — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:11:53 +0000

You probably don’t care, but I’m writing this anyway… the winter is long, cold, and dark, plus icy and… can you tell I’m not a fan? Like a squirrel hoarding away nuts to make sure he survives the winter, I stack books to get me through the doldrums of despair while I check off the days on the calendar til spring. And this year I’m so lucky because some of my favourite authors recently released new books. So, sitting on my coffee table waiting to be read are:

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
I’ll See You in My Dreams by William Deverell
The Accident by Lynwood Barclay
Tell It to the Trees by Anita Rau Badami
The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

The end of an era

linda — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:44:43 +0000

George Whitman died at the grand old age of 98 this week in Paris. He was the owner of one of the most famous English bookstore in the world. Situated on the left bank of the Seine River, Shakespeare and Company was home to many a wandering bibliophile for more than half a century. Whitman allowed would-be writers and travellers in need of a bed to crash in the store in exchange for some help around the shop. One such person was Jeremy Mercer from Ottawa who ended up writing a really great book based on his “adventures” in Shakespeare and Company. The book is called When Time was Soft There and it’s a great and timely read.

Erasing Memory

linda — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:25:40 +0000

I can’t resist wandering into every bookstore I see. It drives my friends crazy. And I love it when I discover a new Canadian author, which sometimes happens when you just wander up and down the isles. Erasing Memory is Scott Thornley’s first book. He’s well known in the design industry. He designed the Gemini Award for the Academy of Canadian Television, as well as the logos for Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid. He’s obviously very creative, and his creativity has translated really well into his first mystery novel. Set in the southern Ontario industrial city of Dundurn (hmmm… it sure smells like Hamilton to me) senior police detective MacNeice (Mac to his buddies in the force) and his team are called to the discovery of a murdered young woman. Lydia Petrescu’s body is found in a summer cottage, dressed in an evening dress, with the Schubert Piano Trio playing in the background. Right away he is reminded of his wife’s recent death… they both had the mark that distinguishes dedicated violinists – that telltale bruise under the chin. Lydia was very talented, and had just graduated from the Conservatory. The appalling, gruesome circumstances of her murder lead the team to uncover her family’s connection to longstanding grievances in Eastern Europe, and MacNeice and his team set out to discover who killed Lydia and why. All the characters are well written and interesting, but as hard as I tried I could not remember MacNeice’s first name, and I couldn’t find it when I flipped through the book afterwards. Maybe he doesn’t have one – yet. I’m hoping there will be many books in this series.* This first book is great start to a new career path for someone who is obviously very talented.

* I’ve just discovered that book #2, The Ambitious City, is due out in May 2012.

A book that’s DEFINITELY for me

linda — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:55:16 +0000

I heard about this book on the radio and immediately went to look it up because the title was so captivating, plus it made me chuckle. It’s called A Perfectly Kept House is a Sign of a Misspent Life: How to Live Creatively with Collections, Clutter, Work, Kids, Pets, Art, Etc. It’s by Mary Randolph Carter. It sounds fascinating so I immediately put my name on the list for it at the library – yes it even has a waiting list. So I’m not the only person who is surrounded by clutter, dust bunnies, and, well let’s face it – junk. And I though here’s a woman after my own mind when I read the comment “don’t scrub the soul out of your home”! I am so intrigued by this book that I can’t wait to get my paws on it.

The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor

linda — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 22:01:28 +0000

Wow, Wow, Wow!! What an amazing woman and what an amazing story. I can pat myself on the back for finding this book all by my lonesome. What made me choose it? A comment from a reader on the web said “In 5 years of our book club… this was only the 2nd book that was unanimously loved by our whole group.” The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor is written by Sally Armstrong. You probably recognized her name from Homemaker’s Magazine. More recently, she’s an author and human right’s activist, reporting from Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda and Afghanistan. Her great, great, great grandmother, Charlotte Taylor, was one of the very first women to settle in what is now New Brunswick. As a young girl she fled from England to Jamaica with her family’s black butler, causing such a rift in the family that she never heard from any of them again. When Pad, her lover, dies she’s alone in this far off land with no prospects of a decent life anywhere near what she left behind in England. Through the grace of Commodore George Walker she ends up on a ship bound for the east coast of Canada where she’s told she can soon catch another ship back to her family in Britain. But she never sets foot on that ship. How can she, she’s pregnant with a black servant’s baby. From the moment she sets foot on Canadian soil, her life story becomes mingled with the history of New Brunswick. She lives among the Mi’Kmaq for awhile, marries 4 times (all husbands die tragic deaths) and manages to raise 10 children. It is a totally engrossing story that at times made me think that all generations of women since are slightly wimpier than the last. I just can’t imagine the hardship, loss, vulnerability, and back-breaking work that she was forced to endure. This is a riveting book. It’s found in the fiction section of the bookstore, but based on fact. Armstrong did a huge amount of research into her family tree to pull it all together, and she does it really well. She’s a wonderful writer. I can see why any book club would unanimously agree that it is one of their favourites.