Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Orlando is a beautiful novel. The writing is smooth and descriptive. Orlando, man or woman, is charming and intelligent and introspective. He/she cares about literature and nature, love and (sometimes) people. It's rather plotless. Time passes, fashions change, but not much really happens. And the things that do, like Orlando becoming a woman rather than a man or living 300+ years, are treated as no bigger, no life-changing than day to day events. Orlando handles everything with grace and honesty. at heart, she is the same person he had always been. Reading Orlando in 2020 is not the same as reading when it was first published. When Orlando becomes a woman, she cannot inherit her own home. She can't be an Ambassador again. She feels she needs to be more aware of others see her. We forget that at the time women were just gaining the vote when this was published, and Woolf uses her book to show the...
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The Black Cat Murders by Karen Baugh Menuhin

The Black Cat Murders by Karen Baugh Menuhin

I'm becoming rather fond of this series. This time around, Lenox visits another country house, this time the home of a childhood friend for her wedding celebration. There are several activities leading up to the wedding including a couple of operas performed in the theater on-site. (Yeah, several of the guests find this a bit odd, too.) During one of these performances, a man is killed when a trapdoor gives way under him. It's considered an accident at the time, but the doctor thinks it's fishy and asks Lenox to do a bit of investigating while he's there. Lenox is in the difficult position of helping Scotland Yard's investigating, pursuing his own leads, and not disrupting the wedding party. I liked how everything wound together, the paintings, the various characters, the swords. I felt all the clues fell together well, although I'm not sure I actually liked who the culprit turned out to be. It made sense, but only up...
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Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg

Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg

At heart, Lost Hills is a police procedural. Eve is new to the homicide division, having been promoted more due to sway public opinion than because of her actual skills. This is her first major case and it has the potential to make her a star or to go terribly awry. The crime is gruesome, and a lot more bloody than most books I read. Eve is tough and intelligent. She knows fate threw her a good turn with the new job and she's determined to prove she belongs. She's no-nonsense and super dedicated. She's paired with an older detective who is close to retirement. He provides some of the funnier moments, but he also supports her when it seems reasonable, lends his experience and authority to the investigation, and reminds her to do things like eat and sleep. He believes in balancing life and the job, which is an example she clearly needs. This is police work that doesn't...
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The Big Kahuna by Janet Evanovich and Peter Evanovich

The Big Kahuna by Janet Evanovich and Peter Evanovich

The Big Kauna is the 6th in the Fox and O'Hare series, but can totally be read as a stand-alone. And maybe should be. It's a good adventure, just doesn't fit well with the rest of the series. Kate is FBI forced to team up with Nick, a con man/crook. Throughout the series, the relationship between those two has been the draw. They are attracted to each other, and equals in intelligence and toughness, but their different morals cause the tension. Here the chemistry wasn't as charming. It was more Nick makes a pass, Kate blows him off. I didn't buy it. They banter wasn't amusing, it was awkward. And I thought their relationship was a little close after #5 than it appears here, but I could be misremembering. In addition to Nick and Kate, we always have a rag-tag crew. Kate's dad is along to provide all the necessary explosions and big weapons. We've also got an instragram celebrity, her...
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Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham

Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham

Campion is contacted by Joyce Blount, who is engaged to a friend of his. Joyce lives in Socrates Close, Cambridge, surrounded by the old, eccentric Faraday family. The matriarch of the family is Caroline Faraday, widow of a famous academic. However, Uncle Andrew has gone missing and all is not well within the household. As a favor to his friend, Marcus, Campion goes to the house and helps with the investigation. Upper-class families are always at least a bit more open to others like themselves than to detectives. It turns out Uncle Andrew is dead, just the first of the murders. The family members don't get along well, but they all rely on Mrs. Faraday, since none have money of their own. To be honest, I really enjoyed them. One Aunt was a bit of a religious fanatic, an uncle is a closet drinker who wants to be braver than he is, Joyce is just sweet, Carolin is as tough as...
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Why We Can’t Sleep by Ada Calhoun

Why We Can’t Sleep by Ada Calhoun

This summer was the first time someone referred to me as "middle-aged." I'll be honest, it threw me for a bit of a loop. Usually, people tend to think I'm younger than I am, but this person has known me since I was a kid and knows exactly how old I am. He's also not the most tactful of people. Apparently, Gen X-ers are hitting middle-age. Why We Can't Sleep is for and about us - middle-class Generation X women in America. Calhoun has done a lot of research, historical and social, and spent a lot of time interviewing women from across the country. If you're one of us, at least parts of the book will strike a chord. She talks about watching the Challenger explosion at school, about Oregon Trail, about being new to the workforce during the early-2000s recession and about buying our houses right before the housing crisis. She looked into housing costs, HR trends, credit card...
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