This award winning mystery from Japan has far less to with the crime that is the catalyst for the story than it does with the politics of policing. Interdepartmental rivalries take center stage leading policemen to spend most of the book undermining each other. The pace is slow & much of the focus is on the police relationship with reporters. If you want an exciting murder mystery, this isn‘t it but it is a fascinating look at policing in Japan.

#Two4Tuesday

1. This is a difficult question. The one I go back to, and listened to all the time when I was young, is Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2. A recent favorite is Epik High‘s ANTIHERO.

2. I‘m currently reading Six Four (a winner of the best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year Award) by Hideo Yokohama and have to say In The Cold, Cold Night by the White Stripes. Moody and atmospheric…

@TheSpineView

This debut about a witch who loses her shadow—and with it her magic—takes a little while to get going but once it does, it‘s a really enjoyable read. Part adventure, part mystery, and all magic and mayhem, Dimova has created a fascinating world with an intriguing magic system, and complex characters. The plot will leave you guessing about who, what, why until the very end. Inspired by Slavic folklore, this is a fun winter read.

Woke up way too early but it‘s all good because it means quiet time with a book and a hot cup of tea.

🌌📖🫖

Stories in this collection ranged from just a page to maybe 8 at the longest. Most fell in the 3-5 range & read as vignettes, glimpses into longer, more complex stories. Gautier is an assured writer who knows how to paint a scene & create memorable characters in just a few lines. Themes of identity, racism, hypocrisy, the indignities of aging, displacement, feminism, & family run through the stories. A mixed bag but overall a good collection.

Barnes & Noble opened a new store in a historic building (former bank) in Wicker Park. Needless to say, I had to check it out. Gorgeous space and it was really crowded. Apparently I‘m not the only one who loves bookstores! 😂 Picked up the tagged book and two others and I imagine it won‘t be long before I go back.

#5JoysFriday

Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView

So, five things:
❄️ a snowy morning
🎫 getting floor tickets for my daughter and I to see Stray Kids at Wrigley Field
👦🧒 both kids home for Thanksgiving
📖 time to read
🧱 building Jabba‘s Sail Barge Lego

@DebinHawaii

Short story collection today…

I‘ve seen mixed reviews on this one but I have to say I loved it. Reseng is an assassin who changes a job which leads to consequences he could never have imagined. The story is populated with people who make a living killing often without knowing why someone needs to die. It‘s darkly comedic & human at the same time as secrets & motivations are revealed. The translation is excellent, the premise odd & intriguing & I loved the main character.

Woke up to a winter weather advisory. We‘re only expecting three inches or so which isn‘t too bad. Enjoying this start to the snowy season with, what else, another Cork O‘Conner mystery!

❄️📖🔪

Assassins and the masterminds behind them for today‘s reading.

#Two4Tuesday

1. Definitely a planner.

2. Tagged. An aging assassin is all set to retire until a new threat upends everything.

@TheSpineView

And…as usual, I couldn‘t put it down. Another great installment in which Krueger once again demonstrates he‘s exceptionally good at writing setting and character. Only six more books until I‘m all got up on the series. I keep telling myself I need to slow down but it‘s not working…😬😂

Rainy day today…perfect for staying inside with a good book…

Pearson makes the leap to writing fantasy for adults (she‘s an established author who typically writes YA fantasy) with this book about a mortal woman & a Fae kingdom on the brink of disaster. Much of the story, many of the characters, are familiar—you‘ve read this sort of story before—but it‘s well executed. Good writing makes up for occasionally clunky world building—maybe more fully realized in future books—& I found this to be a fun escape.

Went deep into my TBR stacks trying to make progress before the end of the year & came across this book—I think I got it for my husband?!? 🤷‍♀️ Anyway, it‘s about a school of sorcerers who protect the world from demons and three students who are just getting started. I enjoyed it, may even read more, but I‘m not sure why I thought my husband would…I must have seen a recommendation somewhere. Anyway, a quick fun read.

This one does a good job of doing all the things a middle book should do—complicate everything, raise the stakes, throw up new obstacles (including a love triangle…maybe), and leave you wondering why characters can‘t simply talk to each other…😠 So a fun read that ends on quite the cliffhanger as the story heads to a third book.

One of the real joys of reading this series is the attention Krueger pays to characters. The lead, Cork O‘Conner is fantastic but so too is his family which features prominently in all of these books. Never more so than in this one which has Cork trying to solve a murder & the same time one of his children is navigating a difficult decision. Another excellent installment which shows how complex it is to be human & care for others.

Not in Litsy…I met Jim Karas through a mutual friend recently & picked up this book after our conversation. It‘s an engaging, very personal look at the highs & lows of raising, & being, a highly successful athlete & navigating everything that comes with it. From family sacrifices, coaching, & training to injuries, emotional/physical toll, what comes after your career is done, & more this is a quick read & fascinating look at competitive sports.

Excellent historical fiction inspired by the life of a very interesting woman—a great story made all that much more meaningful by the author‘s note at the end. The story is set in 1789 and is about a death with far reaching consequences for many of the residents in the town of Hallowell. When midwife Martha Ballard‘s determination it is in fact murder is disregarded, she sets out to find the truth. Great character, setting, mystery. Loved it.

The first in a series, I liked this story about a woman investigating the death of a former best friend. The small town setting in Sweden is interesting and while many of the characters are familiar types, there are juicy secrets to uncover and a satisfying ending that leaves you marveling at the terrible reasons people do even worse things. Pacing is slow but the translation is good. I‘ll probably continue with the series at some point.

Mornings are just better when I can find a few minutes for coffee and a book. Started this one last night and I really like it so far.

#Two4Tuesday

1. Probably spots if I HAD to pick (but I typically don‘t wear either…)

2. Nope, not currently reading any library books.

@TheSpineView

These special edition books are not easy to photograph if you want to show them in all their glory. Anyway, this one is just in and it‘s very pretty.

Murder and mayhem ahead! Or, so I assume…

#5JoysFriday

Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView …I‘m only a little late. 😬

1. Finding housing for my daughter‘s stay in South Korea over winter break
2. New books
3. Sleeping with the windows open and enjoying the cold air
4. Picking up the original pencil drawing for Christie Zullo‘s Petpool Pool Party #1 comic cover—makes me laugh every time I look at it
5. Successfully completing my physical therapy

@DebinHawaii

Today‘s book haul features mysteries from Japan, (tagged book which people seem to really like or really not), South Korea, US, and Sweden plus a book about navigating the world of competitive gymnastics. (I recently met the author of the last book and was told by the friend who introduced us that this was the one to read).

My mom read this, liked but didn‘t love it, and then passed it on to me. It‘ll be interesting to see if I agree with her assessment.

Long held secrets intrude on the present in yet another excellent Cork O‘Conner mystery. Cork & his former best friend Jubal go into the mountains to hunt. When the day is over, Cork comes down by himself having watched his friend die, shot through the heart with an arrow…that looks just like one of Cork‘s. Being at the top of the suspect list means Cork has to figure out why someone is trying to frame him for the murder. Excellent.

IRL book club went with a chunkster for our next read. I‘m doing a couple of chapters a day and so far finding it really readable and, needless to say, very interesting.

Back to my reading happy place today…

This is the murder mystery set in a fantasy world replete with magic, leviathans, contraptions, augmented humans, & dark secrets that you didn‘t know you needed. Fascinating world building & a new favorite character who is a cross between Sherlock Holmes/a foul mouthed sailer/& a grandmother. Seriously. Together with her assistant they stumble on a murder when an official dies after a tree erupts from his chest…great read. Can‘t wait for the next!

#Two4Tuesday

1. I‘m a morning person who loves waking up with the sun, if not earlier, so it‘s sunrises for me.

2. Murder, vegetation, leviathans

@TheSpineView

Sneaking in a little reading while dinner is in the oven…

Set in a world where powerful mages protect a city from the wasteland around it, Sciona Freynan becomes the first female high mage. What should be a moment of triumph quickly turns to horror when she uncovers a devastating truth. Magic, faith, discrimination, science, belief, & truth collide in a story that asks how much someone will forgive being done to others if no harm comes to them & they benefit from it. Dark, violent & entertaining.

Wang is a self-published author who makes the leap to traditional publishing with this book. My biggest complaint about her self-published book that I read was a lack of editing. So far, this one is much better in terms of structure and narrative. Enjoying it so far.

A writer meets & is seduced by the Devil. What follows is a series of additional encounters with the Devil interspersed by stories emerging from those encounters. I liked the interactions between the writer & the Devil even more than some of the stories of which Idle Hands (the writer gets feedback on her manuscript) & Porcelain were standouts. Alienation, immigration, racism, identity, & writing all figure prominently in this solid debut.

This is considered a classic of Japanese crime fiction—an homage to Agatha Christie‘s And Then There Were None, it is an entertaining read that I really enjoyed. A group of friends in a Mystery Club go to a deserted island, the site of a terrible tragedy…and then they start to die. At the same time another pair of friends race to solve the mystery of some anonymous, threatening letters with more at stake than anyone realizes. A good read.

Was fortunate to attend the Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards dinner tonight. Honorees included Christina Henríquez, Chance the Rapper and Ann Patchett. Came home with a stack of books to read included a new annotated edition of the tagged book which goes on sale next week. Such a fun evening celebrating libraries, books, authors, and creating.

#Two4Tuesday

1. No, not this year.

2. The first story in the tagged book is about a woman who goes to a party and is seduced by and/or seduces the devil—not necessarily spooky or scary but a great read for this time of year when the blowing wind, falling leaves, and cool temps add to the atmosphere.

@TheSpineView

The first story was fantastic. Here‘s hoping the others are just as good…

A little murder to go with my coffee this morning…

Loved everything about this exploration of food in America. Lee is a fantastic storyteller—curious, engaging, entertaining. Each chapter focuses on a different place & the restaurants that Lee visits there. Yes it‘s about the food but Lee is equally curious about the people and the stories behind the food arguing that‘s what makes a dish truly great. Each chapter also comes with a recipe or two. A wonderful culinary adventure & a great read.

Went for a walk…came home with some new books…

Starting a biography today. Alice B. Sheldon wrote science fiction under the pseudonym James Tiptree Jr., something only revealed very late in her life, and as Triptree is regarded as one of the luminaries of speculative fiction alongside Le Guin and Philip K. Dick. I came across her name during a cemetery walk and the brief description of her life was enough to tell me I wanted to know more. So here goes…

This series is my happy reading place right now. These books are impossible to put down. Krueger is masterful at building tension, at putting his characters in high stakes situations where not everyone makes it out while those that do, more often than not, do so in believable ways. As always, the mystery itself is compelling but it is the characters themselves that keep you turning the pages. Another really good book in the Cork O‘Conner series.

I‘m giving it a pick because it was as over-the-top &, therefore, as entertaining as I expected. Is it predictable? Sure. Are the characters all types you recognize? Yep. Is it as violent/romantic/ridiculous as you expect it to be with elves, gladiators, messed up families, & romance all factoring into the story? Of course. This is a fast (not all that memorable but not the worst) read when you are looking for an escape.

Elves…gladiators…desperation…betrayal…corruption…a marriage of convenience? necessity?…this promises to be over the top good fun. Let‘s see if it lives up to expectations…

I‘m a sucker for books about writing—I enjoy them both as a reader & as someone who occasionally does some editing. This short volume was first published in 2006 (and may be hard to find) & it‘s a fantastic resource for young aspiring writers. Levine breaks everything down into short chapters—on character, getting stuck, setting, revising & loads more—that always end with a writing exercise to reinforce the lesson. Encouraging & informative.

#Two4Tuesday

1. My answer for favorite fruit is somewhat seasonal—watermelon is summer, nectarines in the fall, mandarin oranges in the winter, mango in the spring and pretty much all year round.

2. The tagged book, which I just started, is both cookbook and travelogue in which Lee visits cities across the US describing, in each location, the meals he is having with people and their stories. He‘s a fantastic writer.

@TheSpineView