Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture

In the book, Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, Ellen Ruppel Shell writes about how the United States' retail culture has gone from one of value to one of low prices/low quality. And while in today's economy everyone is trying to save a buck, these "savings" start to translate into lost jobs and industries for the USA.

Shell makes a seeming dry topic very interesting - her writing style is clear and concise and her examples allow the average consumer to understand the "bait and switch" game that is going on. Among the chapters, she talks about; the rise of outlet stores that have nothing to do with their corporate parents - except in perceived value, the notion that IKEA is a green company - it's wood suppliers are among the worst in terms of ecology violations, the recent scandal of poisonous toys coming from China and the impact that all this outsourcing of goods is having on foreign workers and American jobs.

If you consider yourself to be frugal or an informed consumer - you should read this book. Worth the time and an enlightened read. It might change the way you shop.

Wild Ride

Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer manage to do it again in their latest book Wild Ride. With action, adventure, and quirky characters, the paranormal storyline take the reader on one heck of a trip.

Dreamland, an old amusement park in Ohio, needs some work. Mab has been working her butt off restoring the park to it's former glory. Her goal is to have it shining for the Halloween celebrations. But it is a little strange that the owners and long time residents Gloria, Gus, and Delpha don't want her working at night. And they are a bit anxious when she is working with the statues of the park mascots. Especially after FunFun the clown seems to run her over - or was that an illusion she had? Maybe she has been working too hard.

Gloria's son Ethan returns from the military and gets shot at on the Dreamland grounds. Who is after the Dreamland residents? And what is up with the midnight roller coaster run? His mom keeps talking about demons. Ethan might just have to sober up to figure this all out. What do you mean he's the new Hunter?

Using humor, and great plotting, Crusie and Mayer lead the reader down the path to figuring out just how paranormal this family park is. With twists and turns galore, it is indeed a roller coster of a ride. Great dialogue and lots of frothy fun! And it makes one want to visit Dreamland for real! A great read.

Jack Haldean's Post World War I Adventures

Dolores Gordon-Smith's Jack Haldean mystery series take place in an England that is still shook up from World War I. Polite society still goes on, but beneath the surface there is uncertainty. Veterans who are jobless. War profiteers who have given their fortunes for a peerage. The thousands of missing and dead who never made it home. And the spies who did.

Jack Haldean, former Royal Flying Corps pilot, has managed to eek out a living with his writing skills, contributing to magazines and writing two mystery novels. In A Fete Worse Than Death, he's just trying to relax at his relatives' country house and enjoy the village festival. To his surprise, he sees a former and unpleasant member of his old unit. And it is even more of a surprise, when that nasty fellow is discovered dead later that afternoon. Was it a local who did it? Or is this something left over from the war? Or is it blackmail?

Jack enlists the aid of his cousin and the local police inspector to figure out what happened at the fair and what really happened on a raid on the Somme.

Gordon-Smith has a great character in Jack, and it has been fun following his development and his -sometimes - action adventures. She has a great grasp of the post-war setting. And as a fan of this time period, I'm eagerly awaiting the next one in the series. Lots of fun.

Mad About the Boy (2008)- Jack's aunt and uncle are celebrating their wedding anniversary with a big ball at their country house. One of the guests commits suicide. Or was it murder? With various Russians running about and his cousin Isabelle's beaus hanging around, Jack has more than enough suspects.

As If By Magic (2009) - When Jack finds out an old war chum is in trouble, he comes to the rescue. But his friend's story of seeing a murder, and his tale of a missing legacy, has Jack puzzled. Is this all connected? Or is his friend just damaged from the war?

Adventures in Royalty with Georgie

Lady Georgiana has some problems. She wants to do something with herself instead of mope around the family's cold Scottish estates. But they have no money and she decides to earn some. It's better than waiting around to be married or being a companion to a great aunt in the middle of nowhere. She's not in great demand - she's only 34th in line for the throne and there's a depression on!

So she goes to stay in the London house (for free!) and get a job. The problem is she doesn't know how to cook, set a fire in the fireplace, or take care of herself. She's a bit naive but willing to learn. After getting fired from Harrod's, she starts a business of being a maid who will "open your London house" for you. With the help of her non-royal grandfather, and her best friend Brenda, she is starting to make it on her own.

But her brother Binky gets accused of murder, and then her cousin the Queen wants her to keep an eye on her cousin David, the Prince of Wales. Hmmm. What's a lady to do?

In Her Royal Spyness, Georgie learns to make her way in the world - she's not stupid - just rather sheltered - and discovers that good manners can get you far. And then someone gets murdered in the house. and he turns out to be a blackmailer. She just has to clear Binky of the charges!

Rhys Bowen has another great series on her hands. Lots of fun and froth. And a bit more information on what was really going on behind the scenes of royalty in the 1930's. Great fun, and I am eagerly awaiting the next one.

Others in the series:

A Royal Pain (2008) Georgie keeps us her cleaning business and the Queen decides to have a foreign princess stay with her. Thank goodness the princess seems to like "Bubble and Squeak".

Royal Flush (2009) After Georgie makes a big mistake by putting the word "escort" in a ad, she gets sent back home to Scotland to with orders to keep an eye on a certain Mrs. Simpson. But it seems someone is injuring royals, even lesser ones!

An Accidental Goddess

What would happen if you woke up and discovered your ship had been damaged and you're in sick bay? Then you figured out that you had traveled 300 years into the future. And when you notice a shrine - you find out the face is yours! Special Forces Captain Gillaine Davre finds herself in just that position when she reawakens on the Admiral Mack Mararian's space station.

Mack's not sure what to make of this space traveler. He's busy trying to keep the peace and order on a space station set on the edge of his world. And he's trying to keep their enemies out - but there seems to be spies everywhere. Mack is not sure if Gillaine is a spy, but he thinks she attractive.

Gillaine is trying to fix her ship so that she can get out of there. Especially since she had been declared a goddess for her act of bravery that happened over 300 years ago. But she is not your average gal - she has natural powers that can help Mack's struggle. But should she announce herself? And completely denounce 300 years of faith and worship? She never wanted to be a goddess. She just wanted to do her job.

In, An Accidental Goddess, Linnea Sinclair does a great job of combing science fiction, action and romance. As she builds her world, we learn about Mack's latest challenge, and Gillian's background. And soon they find themselves up against a common enemy.

It may feel a little slow to start - but the action gets going soon enough, and Mack and Gilliane are a couple to cheer for. A very fun read!

Some Like It Hot Buttered

Jeffery Cohen's confection of a mystery, Some Like It Hot Buttered is a fast humorous read. It appeals to the mystery and movie fan. His hero, Elliot, is trying to get his small town movie theater off the ground. The last thing he expected was to find a customer dead in the aisles.

It is good for business - kind of - but Elliot wants to make sure his theater is known for the comedy movies he shows, not deadly popcorn. With suspicions falling on his employees (Sophie, the teenage wannabe goth, is a stitch), Elliot wants this investigation solved. And it doesn't hurt that the local police detective is a nice looking gal. But what about the car attacks when he's riding his bike home at night?

Filled with zingers and movie trivia, this is the first book in the series. Definately fun and frothy. And popcorn worthy! Looking forward to reading the next one.

Fired Up

Fired Up is Jayne Ann Krentz's latest in her Arcane Series. And it is the first book in the Dreamlight Trilogy. Jack Winters believes he has been affected by the family curse. He needs the legendary Burning Lamp and someone with the talent to read the lamp's dreamlight. Chloe Harper comes from a family that would prefer to remain under the Arcane Society's radar. Her family's talents have usually gotten them in trouble. A little forgery, here. A new identity, there. Jack is convinced that Chloe is the investigator who can find the stolen lamp.

But once they have the lamp the fun has just started. For it seems that several groups of people are after the artifact. And only one of them is the Arcane Society. Can Chloe and Jack lie low in the wilds of Las Vegas long enough for her to try to work the lamp? How many people know about this legend anyway? And how is Fallon Jones involved?

Another fine adventure from Krentz. And a fun introduction to a new talented family - the Harpers. For them, going legit, is the crime! A fun fast read!

Broken Teaglass

The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault says it is a novel but it is really a mystery. What happens when co-workers find coded clues that makes them think that something is amiss in their quiet workplace? The workplace in question happens to be a dictionary publisher and the clues are words. Is this just a puzzle? Is this just a workplace prank? There are several eccentric people who work here. Is it one of them? And what happens when the slip of paper says murder?

This slowly moving story combines a love of words, a deadly puzzle and a recovery/coming of age story all in one. The author draws you in and involves the reader in the discussion about words (how they change, develop and grow) and the lives of the lexicographers who are working on the changes to the new edition. And was there really a murder?

A very interesting first work by a new author. It will be intriguing to see what she writes next. A book for the word lover and a very fun read.

Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog

Lisa Scottoline is a crime fiction writer who writes legal mysteries. Imagine my surprise when I discovered her latest book Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman. I did not know that Scottoline also wrote a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. These essays are chick lit for the older gal. And they are full of fun.

You will laugh at her stories of her family - she refers to them as the Flying Scottolines. She has a elderly mother who resists getting an emergency cell phone and refrains from using her hearing aid. Her gay brother who fights with their mother - long distance (the fun bit is that he lives with his mother.) And a daughter who is leaving the nest after graduation. And then there are the animal members of the family - the dogs, cats, pony and chickens. (The stories about the arrival of the chickens is pretty funny.)

And then there are her observations on getting older and suckered into expensive face cream, can one really find decent jeans, and the concept that her car has finally become her house. (I can relate to that one!) She's even figured out how to eat a drive thru salad in the car. As she says "it wasn't pretty."

She writes a bit about her books - and being on a book tour - but mostly these stories are about family life and the wackiness of 21st century America, when having multiple divorces doesn't raise an eyebrow. (She calls her ex's - Thing One and Thing Two!)

Try it - it is a very funny and fast read. Great for a bit of light hearted reading before bedtime. I think I will look for more of her columns online! A very good read.

Blind Justice & the Sir John Fielding Mystery Series

Sir John Fielding was famous in eighteen century England as a co-founder of London's first police force - the Bow Street Runners. He was also a magistrate who was known for his intellect and fairness. His half brother was the novelist Henry Fielding. And the most remarkable part of his career was that he did all this and he was blind since the age of 19.

Bruce Alexander has created this mystery series around the great "Blind Beak" as he was known. Blind Justice is the first in the series. The narrator of the stories is a thirteen year old, Jeremy, who Fielding saves from jail. Jeremy becomes Sir John's "eyes" and helps him on his missions of justice.

Alexander has a great feel for the historical period and this will be a grittier read of the Georgian/Regency period than some readers will be used to. This is not the beautiful and fancy Regency of romances novels and the Ton. This world is filled with corruption and villains. Some of them get their comeuppance and some get away because of family connections or wealth. Hmm, kind of sounds familiar.

Join Fielding as he deals out justice - one case at a time. I have enjoyed the first three books in the series and looking forward to reading more. A very fun read.

Blind Justice (1994)
Murder in Grub Street (1995)
Watery Grave (1996)

Too Many Cooks

Since I led a book discussion group on Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, I have will have a number of titles to share. But this one, Too Many Cooks, I am also having fun listening to the audio book of it. It is set very early in the Nero Wolfe series, and in some ways it reflects the era - 1938 - and in some ways it is ahead of its time.

Wolfe is invited to a special gathering of world renowned chefs. He is the guest of honor. That is probably the only reason he will leave his brownstone in New York and travel to a West Virginia spa where the gathering will take place. The chefs are friendly rivals or are they really? When a chef is found dead and several people have declared their interest in seeing him gone, Wolfe gets himself reluctantly involved in the case.

This book is filled with food references and even *gasp* food recipes! Somehow I do not think that most people will be trying to make Terrapin Maryland, but who knows?

One of the more interesting aspects of this book, as a Nero Wolfe fan, is the fact that Archie seems a bit racist (to our "modern" mindset) when referring to the southern blacks who are the backstage workers and cooks at the spa. (But then he has snarky things to say about the chefs too!) But you have to remember this was written in 1938 when that attitude and the language used would have been common. The notable part is that when Nero Wolfe questions the staff about the murder, he treats them with dignity and civility and eventually ends up defending them from retribution from the local sheriff.

A fun read. And a fun book to listen to!

Favorite line of dialogue that I must use in a conversation sometime -

"I didn't see anybody put you away on a shelf to save up for the lord."

Yes, I have fallen behind.

Yes, my friends, I have fallen behind. But that does not mean I have not been reading and writing. Just reading alot of textbooks and writing essay papers. I am in graduate school and it is taking awhile to adjust.

But I still have been reading - just very lax about posting about it. But as the new year dawns - we will get back on that saddle again. And the next semester doesn't start until Jan 20th!

The 2009 Anthony Awards

I had the privilege and fun of being present at the Anthony Awards that were presented at Bouchercon in Indianapolis this past weekend.
Here are the winners!

Best Novel: THE BRASS VERDICT, by Michael Connelly

Best First Novel: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson

Best Paperback Original: STATE OF THE ONION, by Julie Hyzy

Best Short Story: "A Sleep Not Unlike Death" by Sean Chercover (from HARDCORE HARDBOILED)

Best Critical/Nonfiction: ANTHONY BOUCHER: A BIBLIOGRAPHY, by Jeffrey Marks

Best Children's/Young Adult: THE CROSSROADS, by Chris Grabenstein

Best Cover Art: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, designed by Peter Meselund

Special Service Award: Jon & Ruth Jordan

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees! It was great seeing that there were two Chicagoland connections - Julie Hyzy and Sean Chercover. We knew they were good. Now everyone else knows they are too!

Never Thought I'd Join a Bandwagon, But Then I Read Charlaine Harris

Yep, the header says it all. I have fallen into obsession with Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books. I started tentatively. Finally got a hold on the first one - Dead Until Dark - and read it straight through. I loved Sookie, loved her issues and her "disability" as she called it. Oh and there were vampires. I'm not a HUGE vampire fan and I was not sure quite what to expect. But in Harris' world, it seems normal and logical and matter of fact. That folks, is called good writing. She created a funky world with back story and a multitude of characters that continue to be fleshed out (no irony with that word) throughout the series.

As I have flown through the books (I admit I still have one more to go - but then there are NO more til a new one comes out and besides it is really interrupting my sleep and my grad student class), I have marvelled how creative this world is, and how Sookie is a sensitive person regardless of what happens to her. That delicacy of feeling that you find in the books makes me extremely vary of seeing the TV show made from her work (True Blood). I just don't think you can "act" that stuff.

So why am I so surprised that I like these books? These books have been hyped a lot lately, and if I had a dollar for every book that was hyped that I did not care for - well, I would be very well off indeed! But nope, I have been seduced into staying up til 2 in the morning and not caring. That my friends is what a book obsession is all about. Harris is a talented gal. I have read her other series before this and have enjoyed them as well. (I met her once at a mystery convention - very nice lady too!)

Sookie's just a waitress in a tiny town in Louisiana. People think she is stupid because she has trouble concentrating - well that's because she hears everyone's thoughts all the time. Kind of like non stop chatter in your head. When she meets her first vampire - Bill - she delightedly discovers that she can not hear his thoughts. And he and the other vampires discover there is more to her than what you just see on the surface. It is really a saga about discovering another world and being valued for the talents that others see in you. Join the adventures. Just make sure you start reading early so you can get to bed at a reasonable hour. Because you are not going to want to stop. Trust me. A very fun and good read. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Dead Until Dark (2001)
Living Dead in Dallas (2002)
Club Dead (2003)
Dead to the World (2004)
Dead as a Doornail (2005)
Definitely Dead (2006)
All Together Dead (2007)
From Dead to Worse (2008)
Dead and Gone (2009)

A Touch of Dead (2009) short stories