What I have been reading

I just took a stack of books back to the library and in a act that shocked the librarian, I checked no new books out, just renewed the 6 I still have out.

Just the 6.

I haven’t had less than 12 books out in over a year.

The problem is I am in the mood for rereading books I already own right now.

But let me tell you about some other things I have been reading'.

Magic, Mensa & Mayhem

Very entertaining read. I love Vern. He's the the best dragon ever. The Faerie characters are very well done. I love the puns, the sarcasm & the wit. The whole world of the Faerie & the Mundane and how they relate to one another is well thought out & hangs together. The plot did seem a little rushed at the end, almost as if there were so many threads running the author felt the need to grab one and pull to close it up, but it was still enjoyable. I want more Vern & Grace stories. There were so many references to past events & I want to know more about them. I hope the author can get her next book Live & Let Fly published soon. Grace is a nun in the Faerie Catholic Church and Vern is the dragon that St George (of St George & the dragon fame) defeated. They are both working for the Church so there is references to the Catholic view of religion & morality and the One True God throughout the book but it’s not the focus. The focus is keeping the Faerie from running amuck among the Mundanes, finding out why the Elves are suddenly becoming so abrupt and tracking down a bunch of brownies who are committing random acts of tidiness all over the place. It is such a fun read. This is the second time I have checked it out & is now on my to be bought list.

The Spies of Sobeck

This is a mystery set in Ancient Egypt, at the time of queen Hatshepsut, and features Amerotke, Chief Judge of the Hall of Two Truths as the sleuth. It is 7th in a series. Fanatical Nubian worshipers of the hyena goddess Nema are trying to topple the Pharoah by murdering people, using red strips of cloth to strangle them. They are also poisoning army scouts and making royal messangers disappear. Soon they murder the Chief Prosecutor and attempt to murder Amerotke and Pharoah herself. This is really well written. Lots of period detail. Great atmosphere of deceit, intrigue, superstition and fear.  I have only read one other book in this series & that did not detract at all from being able to read this. I didn’t feel I was missing a bunch of background the way you often to this many books into a series.

Urn Burial: A Phryne Fisher Mystery (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Paperback))

I have been working my way back through the Phyrne Fisher series lately & had this and another one out.  Urn Burial is probably my least favorite of the series. Everyone is a little too much of a stereotype, including the crocheting version of Miss Marple. I find it hard to care who killed the girl or why the homeowner was being blackmailed. It just fails to hold my interest. I used to think my least favorite was Blood & Circuses (the first book of the series I had ever read,but the 8th in the series). But it has grown on me in rereadings & I actually own a copy of it now. Urn Burial has fallen in my estimation on rereading

Lastly, I have

Murder in Montparnasse (Phryne Fisher Mysteries (Paperback))

Which is my favorite of the Phryne Fisher books. She is asked by friends to help find out who is murdering some of their number. They were all ANZAC troops in Paris at the end of WWI & they had seen someone pushed under a train while they were there. Phryne was also in Paris at that time having been discharged from her job driving an ambulance at the front & now living with the bohemians,including an unsavory lover. We learn a lot about Phryne’s past in this book and it is a good mystery as well. I enjoy nearly every books in this series & highly recommend it.

So, what have you been reading lately?