April Books

Hi everyone.

As we are into early May, it is time for me to write my monthly book post. I write these as my references back to the books I read the previous month, but I know some people love book posts. Please feel free to read on if you like book posts, but I understand if you're not into books and skip this post. 

April was another good reading month, and I'd say my definite preference was for nonfiction and (as always) mysteries. I went through a lot of books in April, mainly because most of these are fairly short.  All my books were good reads/listens, and some  were  suspenseful enough that I stayed up late reading.

(FYI-this is a long post.)

My first book for April was this mystery by Agatha Christie. Curtain was the last novel published while Christie was still alive. It came out in 1975. An interesting fact I read (and you might already know) was that this book was actually written during the 1940's. Christie wrote it so Poirot's story could be neatly wrapped up just in case she  didn't survive the war. I actually have a great old hardcover copy of this book (that I paid 25 cents for years ago in a used book store) that not only has Curtain in it, but also has The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I'm guessing it was a special edition  by her publisher Dodd, Mead and Company. These 2 mysteries are Christie's first and last Poirot novels, both set at Styles, a country home, and both also written from the point of view of Poirot's friend Hastings. 

I need to go back and read her first mystery (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) again soon.

In Curtain,  Poirot is now old and arthritic, but his mind is still clear.  He let's Hastings do his leg work to discover who among the guests has caused several murders to happen. I hadn't read this mystery since I was in my twenties and bought this dual novel book, but seeing a favorite detective in failing health now that I am older is definitely more touching. Christie wrote an excellent mystery and wrapped up the series perfectly. I think she was genius bringing back her main characters to Styles.

And it is amazing what bits I remember from this book.

Although it is sad to see a series come to an end, the beauty about Agatha Christie is she wrote so many books, and they are definitely readable again and again. That way you never really have to say goodbye to Poirot, or any of her characters. 

Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz was my first listen for April. In this book, Newitz looks back to 4 archaeological spots to trace the development of modern cities.  The long gone cities she discusses are 1) a neolithic city called Catalhoyuk in Turkey, 2) the Roman vacation town of Pompeii, 3) Angkor in Cambodia and lastly 4) Cahokia, which would be located where East Louis, Missouri (US) is located today.

I found this  book fascinating. It discusses what was known of the life as well as the physical structures found in these long vanished cities based on  archaeological evidence. Even with Pompeii, which was the only one of these 4 places I thought I knew something about, I realized how little I did know. And I've even been there. 

I never thought that the concept of cities  was such a huge development for human society.  Nor did I think that cities  actually evolved over the millenniums.  I  knew cities could disappear, but I never really thought about how cities die off, as did all the cities in this book. I wish the author had written more about Cahokia as she did with the other 3 cities, but even so,  I really enjoyed this book. It was eye opening and an interesting listen. If you're into archaeology or city planning, you might  find this book as interesting as I did. If you like history, you might also enjoy this book.

When I finished reading Curtain, I then picked up  I Married a Dinosaur which was first published in 1950. This story is Lilian Brown's first of 3 books about her life with her husband, Barnum Brown. Barnum Brown was a paleontologist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York in the early decades of the 20th century, and  he traveled much of the world looking for fossils. This book isn't so much about fossils, but is a vintage travel story. The setting is most likely from adventures in the 1920's and 30's, although it isn't specifically dated. It is written from the perspective of Brown's wife Lilian.  Although it is written for a 1950's audience,  it is a very fun and interesting  read.

In this book the Browns travel to India and what was then called Burma (now Myanmar). They ride on camels, live in tents, have monkeys try to disrupt their camp and then leopards prowl through it at night. They have a pet baby elephant while in Burma/Myanmar. Brown discusses  Nats, Myanmar/ Burmese wild "spirits", roughly similar to fairies or elves, who you don't want to upset. In fact, she discusses a lot of culture of that country. The Browns meet some fascinating people and take you back to a place and time that probably doesn't exist any place on Earth any longer.  

Lilian Brown is a good writer and that makes this book  an easy and enjoyable read.  The relationship between the author and her husband is definitely what I expect was usual in the 1950's, with him at least looking like he's wearing the pants, but Mrs. Brown is no silly slouch. She did write this book, which I very much enjoyed. I want to see if I can track down the other 2 she wrote  as it looks like those 2 are out of print. 

My next listen was another non-fiction book. This time it was all about fabric.

Just like I never really thought about the idea of cities before, I never really thought about the history of fabric before. I love fabric, as well as thread and yarn. That's why I was drawn to this book, The Golden Thread, by Kassia St. Clair. 

The story in this book takes us through some moments in history and how fabric made those moments happen.  It starts with the origins of weaving, takes you through ancient Egypt, then onto the Vikings and medieval England. The story  continues on through cotton in America, wild adventures to the Earth's poles and into space, and finally to new fibers being developed artificially. Of course this is a very brief and incomplete synopsis of a book rich in  stories because I didn't mention silk and the silk road nor did I mention wool or lace. And lots of other fabrics in the book.

 

This book is well researched and full of interesting info. Even though this book was a little over a 10 hours listen, there are so many fascinating stories and people that I had a hard time shutting it off.  It only took me  a couple of days to listen to it. ( And I only listen to books when I am am doing something; I don't just sit and only listen.) I liked how the author talked about fabric through these stories. I highly recommend this book if you like cloth, histories and stories. 

The Sacred Bridge by Anne Hillerman is her latest book in the mystery series started by her father Tony Hillerman back in the 1970's. This is one of my favorite mystery series, and I was waiting for this new book to be released.

In this story Jim Chee is exploring Lake Powell and Rainbow Bridge National Monument in hopes of finding a cave that his mentor, Joe Leaphorn, told him about. Chee, Leaphorn and Chee's wife Manuelito are Navajo Police, although Leaphorn is retired. Chee finds a dead body while searching for the cave, and that starts the whole story which circles around Native American artifacts and how so much sacred land was lost when Lake Powell was created.

While Chee is looking for a murderer, his wife Manuelito goes under cover after seeing a murder happen. This novel was quite suspenseful and literally had my heart in my throat through part of it. I wanted to get to the end but worried what might happen when I got there. I did enjoy this story, and this is another very good book in the series.

The Mistress of the Art of Death is the first novel in a series of 5 mystery novels. This one begins in the 1170's in Cambridge, England. There have been  some murders  of children, and the people of Cambridge are accusing the Jews of being involved. Adelia is a medieval  doctor who specializes in forensics.  She is from Sicily where women can be trained as doctors in this era, and she has  come to England because she is called on by the King of Sicily to help out in the case. The King of Sicily is getting involved at the request of King Henry II  for help to solve these gruesome deaths. 

I listened to this novel this time around, but I did originally read this book after it came out in 2007. In fact, I had read all first 4 books in this series and really enjoyed them. The last of the 4 books, A Murderous Procession, came out in 2011, and it ended with a cliffhanger. Then sadly the author, Ariana Franklin, the pseudonym for Diana Norman, died in 2011. She was never able to complete the series, nor wrap up the cliffhanger.

A few weeks back I was poking around books on Amazon one night, and I discovered that Franklin's daughter, Samantha Norman, completed the series in 2020. It's been awhile since I read these books, so the background and characters are a little sketchy in my head.  I figured before I read the final book, I should reread the series. I've been wanting to do that anyhow.

This book was a good as I remembered it, and I highly recommend it if you like mysteries and even more so, if you also like reading stories whose setting is historical. This book introduces some fantastic characters,  and is an excellent mystery. I'm surprised I didn't remember more of this book it was that good. 

My next book was this one from 2003. Untangling My Chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccardi is about the time the author lived in Kyoto Japan in the mid-1980's.  Riccardi had studied cooking for a year at Le Cordon Bleu in France, and after graduating from both culinary school and  college as well as  after working  at a job that wasn't satisfying her for a couple of years, she went to Kyoto to study tea kaiseki. 

Have you heard of tea kaiseki? I hadn't. I had heard of the Japanese tea ceremony, and tea kaiseki has to do with food served before (or occasionally after) this tea event. I even learned more about the Japanese tea ceremony from this book also. But this book is not just about the tea kaiseki. This book is the story of Riccardi's months living in Kyoto, and her insights into living in Japan. 

I don't know how much Japanese life has changed since the 1980's, but I definitely enjoyed this book. I even realized and remembered some of the things I learned while being in Japan 4 years ago. If you're interested in Japan and travel and/or cooking memoirs, then this might be a book for you.

For my next  actual book for April, I was back to Agatha Christie. This time I read Miss Marple's last case.  Christie didn't write as many Miss Marple mysteries as she did with Poirot as the detective, and  I hadn't read one with Miss Marple  as the detective in a long time. 

It's interesting to read a bit of the history of  Christie's novels. Sleeping Murder was publish posthumously in 1976 and was Christie's last published book. I also read that Sleeping Murder, although the last Miss Marple case published, was written as early as 1940 or 1941 and then set aside to be published after Christie's death. Once source says Christie wrote this during the blitz, which might have been why she wanted it published after she died, perhaps thinking she might not survive the war.  The last Miss Marple mystery Christie ever wrote  and published chronologically was Nemesis,  which came out in 1971.

Just like with my Curtain novel, I have another 2 novel hardcover that I bought for 25 cents back in the 1980's. This time it has the first published Miss Marple book, Murder at the Vicarage, and also the last, Sleeping Murder.  In this story (Sleeping Murder),  Gwenda buys an old home is the south of England while she waits for her husband to come home. As she tried to modernize the house, she keeps having weird premonitions, and she finds the stairway particulary frightening. When her husband arrives home, Gwenda tells him what she has felt, and he starts to investigate what this means. That's when Gwenda asks Miss Marple, a recent acquaintance, to help her figure out what's going on. She soon realizes she witnessed a murder in this same house as a very young child. 

In typical Christie style, this story has lots of twists. The reader gathers information in glimpses along with Gwenda and her husband Giles about what actually happened. Also in typical Christie style, this is another very good read. 

My next listen was a light, cozy style mystery that was a lot of fun.

This mystery, Dog On It by Spencer Quinn,  is narrated by Chet, a German Shepard who flunked out of K9 obedience school. His owner and best friend is Bernie, a private detective. They live in the southwest of the US, and in this first book of the series, they are looking for a teenage girl who is missing. 

Chet made me laugh and smile a lot. The author certainly has had dogs in his life. Plus it's a good mystery story. I am glad I listened to this book after several sequels have been released otherwise I would have been quite stressed hearing how Chet ended up captured by the "bad" guys and also ended up in an animal shelter. At least I knew he made it back to Bernie and could help solve the crime. Chet's such a  good boy.

This story made for fun and light listening. The actual recording narrator was Jim Frangione, who did a great job.  Dog On It was an enjoyable story that may not appeal to cat lovers, but should be on the reading list of every dog and cozy mystery lover out there. 

And last but definitely not least, I read this Japanese mystery by Keigo Higashino. This book introduces a physicist at  Tokyo Imperial University whose name is Yukawa.  Yukawa is referred to as  Detective Galileo because he often helps out his friend (Detective Kusanagi) who is with the police. 

In this story a woman kills her ex-husband who is extorting her for money and who, during their marriage, was violent. Her neighbor also gets involved to help her. I was hooked right at the beginning and found this book hard to put down. It was a great story plot because the neighbor is a math genius and  between him and Detective Galileo the physicist, the crime and solving that crime  revolved around logic. This book is well written, full of fascinating Japanese culture, and keeps you in suspense right until the end. The review adjectives on the cover (as you can see in the photo) are absolutely true, at least for me.

And speaking of the ending,  I never saw the twist coming. I am glad there are more books in this series because this was  a good read. I'm not sure if someone from the blogosphere recommended this series because this book was in my to-read list, but if you like mysteries and haven't read this one, then I recommend you do. 

As I wrote at the beginning of this post, April was a great reading month. Thanks for sticking with me through this month's book post.  Have you read any good books lately? I'd love to hear if you did.