Woman Reading, by Louise Catherine Breslau
For the last few weeks, I’ve had my nose in some very interesting books, as my Dad used to say to me. And I’m enjoying every minute of my reading right now. Isn’t that a nice thing to be able to say!
I finished Louise Penny’s The Brutal Telling, a story of another murder in Three Pines (the murder capital of the world?). I loved the references to the artist Emily Carr, and the trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands made by Chief Inspector Gamache as he worked to understand and solve this mysterious death.
from the publisher:
Chaos is coming, old son.
With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. As families prepare to head back to the city and children say goodbye to summer, a stranger is found murdered in the village bistro and antiques store. Once again, Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are called in to strip back layers of lies, exposing both treasures and rancid secrets buried in the wilderness.No one admits to knowing the murdered man, but as secrets are revealed, chaos begins to close in on the beloved bistro owner, Olivier. How did he make such a spectacular success of his business? What past did he leave behind and why has he buried himself in this tiny village? And why does every lead in the investigation find its way back to him?
As Olivier grows more frantic, a trail of clues and treasures— from first editions of Charlotte’s Web and Jane Eyre to a spider web with the word “WOE” woven in it—lead the Chief Inspector deep into the woods and across the continent in search of the truth, and finally back to Three Pines as the little village braces for the truth and the final, brutal telling.
Then I read another book by Nevil Shute, Mysterious Aviator, which kept me captivated for a couple of days. This book was published in 1928 under the title of So Disdained.
from the publisher:
When Peter Moran, a former World War I pilot, picks up a man on the roadside while driving through a bitter rainy night, he is startled to discover that the bedraggled man is a wartime comrade of his who has just survived a crash landing. As he learns more about his old friend’s strange mission, Moran finds himself entangled in treasonous international plots, flying adventures, and tests of both his bravery and his loyalty.
After the tragic fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, I decided to start listening to the audiobook version of Ken Follett’s, The Pillars of the Earth, the first book in his Kingsbridge Novels trilogy about the building of a medieval cathedral, and it has completely carried me away!
And as if listening to 44 hours of The Pillars of the Earth wasn’t keeping me busy enough, I read a lovely review by Jane @Beyond Eden Rock about Greengates, by R.C. Sherriff. It sounded so interesting that I searched for a copy but couldn’t find it at Powell’s or at my local libraries. I finally found that it was available for my Kindle so I downloaded it, started reading, and have loved every minute of it!
From the Persephone Books catalogue:
The plot is timeless and simple: a man retires from his job but finds that never were truer words said than ‘for better, for worse but not for lunch’. His boredom, his wife’s (suppressed and confused) dismay at the quiet orderliness of her life being destroyed, their growing tension with each other, is beautifully and kindly described. Then one day they do something they used to do more often – leave St John’s Wood and go out into the countryside for the day. And that walk changes their lives forever: they see a house for sale, decide to move there, and the nub of the book is a description of their leaving London, the move, and the new life they create for themselves.
I have so many more interesting books to read next, but I also have a garden to plant, much weeding to do, meetings with my Moms Demand Action team, my fitness class schedule, and a 5k race to walk on Sunday morning. All of a sudden, life is very busy!
A Fondness For Reading 
Yes, Three Pines appears to have a very high murder rate, doesn’t it?! Rod and i have watched a Netflix program called Murder in Paradise and it’s a bit comical that so many people tend to die in that small little island town! 😉
Oh, how I loved Pillars of the Earth and the other two books in that trilogy. They are excellent audio books, which I hope to listen to again someday!
Your life sounds as busy as mine! It’s all good, though, right? Better than sitting around feeling bored. 🙂 We’re enjoying our 3-week road trip, but I am missing my mah jong pals, as well as pickleball, book club and yoga. Who knew retirement would be so busy!
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Les, I’m sorry it took so long for me to respond to these nice comments. I, too, didn’t realize how busy retirement can be! I am enjoying listening to PIllars of the Earth, although I have also been reading other things and listening to Pillars mostly when I’m in the car. I need to start a new knitting project so that I have some more listening time!
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I absolutely love Greengates, his attention to detail (material and emotional) is amazing I think.
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My apologies, Jane, for such a slow response to your comments. I loved Greengates, and have ordered a couple more of his books. Thank you for your post which inspired me to find it and read it!
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I haven’t heard of that Nevil Shute book, but will try and find it. I read Greengates and liked it. A review here https://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2016/01/greengates-by-rc-sherriff.html You may want to wait till you read it!
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Nan, I’m sorry to be so slow with this response! Thank you for the link to your post about Greengates. I did wait to read it until I had finished. I loved the book and have since bought a couple more of his books. He’s such a wonderful writer, I’m sure I’ll enjoy them.
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Pillars of the Earth is one of my favorite non-classics books ever! It’s soo.. compelling. I have read it twice, and enjoyed both! Have you watched the miniseries (Eddie Redmayne as Jack & Matthew MacFadyen as Philip)? I loved it too – really good (as a book adaptation).
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Fanda, my apologies for such a slow response to your comments. I haven’t seen the mini-series of Pillar of the Earth! It’s something I’ll look forward to when I finish listening to the audiobook. I’m over half-way through it, but have had to slow down on my listening a bit.
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Robin, good to hear that your life is staying busy and fun. Mine too. I’m also glad to hear that you’re enjoying Louise Penny’s books. As you know, I’m a devoted fan. I’ve thought about listening to Pillars of the Earth. Might try it before long. Long audios don’t worry me. I spend a lot of time listening. Enjoy your pursuits!
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It was good to hear from you, Kay! I’m sorry for such a slow response here. Been a bit crazy around here, but hopefully we’re now settling into summer and things won’t be quite so hectic. I’m enjoying listening to Pillars. I’ve also been reading my mysteries and that’s been so much fun. I’m excited to be back to Louise Penny. It’s nice to have so many of her books to look forward to reading! I’ve also been re-reading the Mrs. Pollifax series. They make me laugh and I love just that! Happy reading to you, too!
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