Friday, March 1, 2024

Randomness....

 

One of my bookish goals
this year is to read more Golden Age mysteries. I have several British Library Crime Classics and Otto Penzler's Classic American Mysteries on my TBR list. I hope to read at least one a month, and I started in February with Ngaio Marsh's A Man Lay Dead. It's an entertaining mystery that takes place during a weekend party at an English country house. And it involves a Murder Game. I quite enjoyed it. This month I'll be reading Dorothy B. Hughes's Dread Journey. 




Seven other library books I'm hoping to read this month:

Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco
True Biz by Sara Novic
The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead 
Wonderland Trials by Sara Ella
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg

And if I'm lucky, my library hold on Hurwitz's newest, Lone Wolf, will also come in this month because I'm eager to read the latest Orphan X novel as soon as possible. 

Three things that have made me glad recently:
  • Two days off from work....which always makes me happy.
  • New episodes of Ghosts and So Help Me Todd (two of my favorite TV shows); also that new show Tracker has been really good, too. Yay for something new to watch on TV.
  • I found a great 15-minute cardio workout I can do in the morning before work that's low impact but gets the heart rate up. I've been doing it for 3 weeks now and not only is it helping me to get in better shape for summer, but I've even lost a little weight. 



Happy Reading!

46 comments:

  1. Yay for GA Mysteries! There are so many good ones to choose from now. I hope you like Emily Wilde etc. if you get to it. I liked it a lot... the Norway setting was a bit unusual. Happy March!

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    1. I'm looking forward to reading the Emily Wilde book, especially since the second book is already out! And Golden Age mysteries are such fun. I love them, too. :D

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  2. Lark, loved this post - such a great way to catch us up :) I've heard so many great things about Tracker - my mom loves it! I need to start watching it. Cardio is the morning sounds smart. Love your TBR list for the month. And, I always love bookish goals :) Hope you have a terrific March!

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    1. Tracker is awesome! My new favorite TV show. :D

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  3. I like the idea of reading older books since they are kind of written a little differently. I hope you get to read all those books.

    That's a good quote. I wish I can do that more often.

    Have a lovely day.

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    1. That's why I like reading older books, too. :D

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  4. I haven't read many Ngaio Marsh books - I'm glad you enjoyed that one! I'll look forward to seeing which other Golden Age mysteries you read this year. I'm also hoping to read the Emily Wilde book soon.

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    1. Some of the BLCC books on my list are ones you read and recommended...it's just taken me forever to get around to reading them. ;D

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  5. Great quote. Regine

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  6. I love that quote on happiness! Also, I enjoyed reading quite a few of Ngaio Marsh’s mysteries. I hope you enjoy her, too!

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  7. Hooray for the two days off! And kudos on sticking with the morning cardio. I need to get back into a morning exercise routine.

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    1. I'm too tired after work to even think about exercising, so I'm trying to fit it in the mornings. It's hard because I'm such an indoor couch potato in the winter...I don't like going out in the dark and cold, so it's been good to find something I can do indoors.

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  8. I like Josephine Tey. Never read Ngaio Marsh but will be interested to see what GA writers you recommend.

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  9. That Ngaio Marsh cover certainly brought back memories. During my "mystery phase" I read a lot of Marsh books and, as I recall, enjoyed every one.

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    1. I liked this first book of Marsh's a lot! I definitely would read her again. :D

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  10. Ghosts is such a fun show! I started watching it late, so I'm not quite caught up to the new episodes, but I'm loving it. Also, I hope you enjoy the Wonderland Trials. It's my favorite Alice retelling. :)

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    1. Ghosts always makes me laugh. They did such a good job with the casting, and all the characters are so fun. And I'm excited to read Wonderland Trials; I do love a good Alice in Wonderland retelling. :D

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  11. I've read a lot of Ngaio Marsh--but not that one! She's fun.

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    1. I'd like to read her again because I did really like this one.

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  12. I hope you are able to get to all of these, and that you enjoy them as well!! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Cindy! I'm hoping I can get more books read in March than I did in February. If only work and life didn't get in the way. ;D

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  13. I want to read The Mystery Guest this month, too. I hope you get your library lend of Lone Wolf soon! Wonderful that you found a workout you can squeeze in before work. It's so important to take care of our health! I've been finding wonderful routines on Instagram! :)

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    1. Lone Wolf came in! I'm so excited. I love Evan Smoak. :D

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  14. Great quote, Lark! I have The Mystery Guest on my list to read before long. Nice about the new workout - good luck with it!

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    1. I'm excited to read The Mystery Guest; I loved The Maid so much. Molly is a great character.

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  15. Good luck with your new cardio workout. Exercise is so Important and we don't do it enough. Never read Ngaio Marsh but I want to and regarding Dorothy Hughes if you have never read In A Lonely Place that's her classic. I read it years ago and it is fabulous.

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    1. I know I don't exercise enough, but I do yoga, and pilates, and now with this new cardio routine I'm doing a little better at moving and getting into better shape. And I'll have to add In a Lonely Place to my TBR list! :D

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  16. I love the british Library crime Classics! I want to read a bunch of them this year.

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  17. Classic mysteries are definitely a lot of fun...and this one, among others, is a good reminder that Murder Games can be dangerous to your health. lol

    BTW, I've changed nothing on my security software, and today it's not blocking your post with a warning. Looks like there may have been something strange about the one from before this one. Wish I could figure it out.

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    1. You and me both! But I'm glad I'm no longer on your blacklist. ;D

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  18. I'm a big Ngaio Marsh fan but you will find some are much better than others. Thanks for the reminder about Orphan X - I really liked the first two I read and then I think the third had too much torture, but I want to go back and read more.

    I am curious about the cardio workout. Did you find it online? A long time ago I had a very perky abs workout video from a woman named Denise Austin (if I shut my eyes, I can hear the background music). I guess that was back in the days of VHS so I guess it has been quite a while but I found it surprisingly effective.

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    1. I actually found the cardio workout at my library (I checked out a bunch of DVDs to try)...but I liked it so much I bought my own DVD for $6.00. It's put out by Prevention Magazine, and I know they post links to lots of different workouts on their website, but the one I'm doing is their 2-Week Cardio Turnaround. And it's really good.

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  19. I hope you enjoy Dread Journey this month, Lark. I have only read one book by Dorothy B. Hughes, A Lonely Place, and remember really liking it. I hope you get to all your library books! I really like Heather Fawcett's book and the second in the series was a favorite of mine this past month. I have been wanting to try something by Charlie N. Holmberg for awhile now. Her books really appeal to me and I think I would like them. Nita Prose's The Mystery Guest is another one I would like to read.

    I am glad you found a cardio workout that you like. I really need to add something like that to my routine. I started doing a little chair yoga before bedtime in the evenings about a month ago, but have already have skipped a few nights. I need to be more consistent. My flexibility is poor and I figure that will help some with that. I hope you have a great week, Lark!

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    1. Someone else recommended A Lonely Place. I'll have to look for that one at my library. And yoga is great for flexibility...and for breathing and relaxing. I've been doing it for years and love it. I hope you have a great week, too. :D

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  20. Too much to comment on here. Your description of A Man Lay Dead made me want to go reread it... for the second time. But it is buried somewhere that I can't get to right now, so I will see if I can fit in Dread Journey by Hughes sometime soonish. I have read four of her books and liked all of them, some are dark and all are quite different.

    Two books I am interested in from your list: The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett.

    I liked your quote. I have had some good and bad days lately and it seems to me that the only real difference in those days is my attitude.

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    1. Attitude is everything...though it's been hard for me to stay positive lately. It's why I'm working on it so much this year. And I'm looking forward to giving Hughes a try; it'll be my first book by her. :D

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  21. I hope the books you pick out to read are good.

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    1. Thank you! I hope they turn out to be good reads, too. :D

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  22. Congrats on the new exercise regimen. Sounds good. I do a similar workout. I'd like to read the 2nd Nita Prose mystery with Molly. She's a good character. Happy reading.

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    1. I really like Molly; she's such an interesting, quirky and likable character. :D

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  23. I have some Ngaio Marsh books on my reading list this year. It's been awhile since I've read much by her but I do enjoy her books. Yay for the cardio program! I'm trying to incorporate some kind of exercise into my daily routine. I always feel so much better when I'm getting some movement in.

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    1. I feel better, too...though there are days it does make me feel even more tired. But that's a sleeping issue, not an exercise issue. ;D

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