Bookish Wednesday
“The books that help you most are those which make you think the most. The hardest way of learning is that of easing reading; but a great book that comes from a great thinker is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth and beauty.” — Pablo Neruda
Even though it was in the early hours when I got to sleep last night, I was up in time to take this picture of the moon over Tucson this morning ,which by the way is not photo-shopped. It’s Mother Nature at her best. — Photo by Pat Bean
The Joy of Finding a New Author
I’m persnickety about the books I read, and it gets worse every year. Mostly I read mysteries, fantasies, travel and memoir. And lately I’ve been having a dry spell of finding books that don’t sound like ones I’ve read before, are well-written (That’s a must for me) and make me think.
I got into fantasy about 10 years ago because there’s room for these stories to surprise me. Two and two doesn’t always have to add up to four when you experience a different world.
Mysteries have always been a favorite because they present a puzzle. I want to be able to arrive at who-done-it before the final page, but not too far before.
Mount McKinley in Denali National Park in Alaska.
Setting and character are also important for me. And I always want to learn something.
I know that’s asking a lot, but I’m been fortunate in finding a lot of authors who do it my way. The problem is that when I find one who does, I go on a reading binge and read just about everything they write. For example, I discovered Blaize Clement’s cat sitter books – light reading but rich in characterization, including the cats and dogs – and read all six of her books in two weeks.
It took me several months to get through Robin Hobbs’ fantasy trilogies, and now I’m impatiently waiting for her fourth book in her Rain Wilds series to be released.
Within the past year, I got turned onto Patricia Biggs’ Mercy Thompson series. This was a brand new fantasy genre for me, as I’ve been more into the classic dragon tales than werewolves and vampires. But I was hooked and once again, in a short time had read everything she had written.
So it was with great delight that I discovered a new author yesterday, Dana Stabenow, who I saw had 21 books in her mystery series featuring Kate Shugat. Staying power, I hoped, was a good indication of good books. I started with Book One, “A Cold Day for a Murder.”
I had my fingers cross when I started reading. I knew I had found a winner when I didn’t put the book down until the wee hours of the morning. The setting is Alaska, and Kate is a gritty character, an Aleut, that fits the wild Alaska park setting. I’m sure I’ll finish the book before I go to sleep tonight – and then I have 20 more to go. Yea!!
“A room without a book is like a body without a soul.” – Cicero
Bean’s Pat Volcano http://tinyurl.com/bk3qk92 While I like this photo, the story behind it is what intrigued me most.
Pat Bean's blog 
I love your Cicero quote, Pat.
I, too, discovered Dana Stbenow/Kate Shugat, about a year ago, but I wasn’t aware there were so many more books of theirs to be read. I enjoyed the one I got as a freebie for my Kindle and now I’ll be looking for more. Thanks for cluing me in, and read on! *G*
I’m actually listening to the audible unabridged version It seems I do most of my reading this way these days.
Dana Stabenow: Oh my dear, you are really in for a treat! Dana has several stand-alone titles, and another series – the Liam Campbell ones. (Also in Alaska) check out the Danamaniacs on Facebook, they are a fan club and will keep you up to date on all the news about Dana.
As another suggestion, you might check out Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman series; I have several friends who, while not fond of her 1920s series, enjoy the Corinna series, which is modern, about a Melbourne baker… Have fun! Great blog, btw!
I read the same way – find an author I like and then binge on all their books. I’ll put this one on my list as you give me lots of leads on good authors, Pat. Lately I’ve been interested in reading about other cultures. The one on the pile now is “The Girl Who Fell To Earth”. Let you know how I like it.
I still need to get a Tucson library card. It got put off because of my broken foot. A library is one of the positive sides of not traveling full time as I did for nearly nine years.
Having lived in Alaska for 18 years, I long ago discovered Dana Stabenow. Great characters and story lines with both very much authentic to the settings. Another Alaskan writer is Sue Henry who has written mysteries with Alaska themes and more recently has a series featuring a 65 year old woman from Homer, AK who travels alone in her RV except for her dog Stretch. Aimee and David Thurlo write mysteries set in the Southwest as does James Doss and J.A. Jance. Like you, Pat, if I find an author I like, I’ll take the lot of them off the library shelves and tear through them. So I always appreciate suggestions for new authors to try. Would love to hear more about others you have enjoyed. Public libraries are one of our greatest treasures.
Thanks for the suggestions. The one about the 65 woman and her RV sounds almost exactly like me and I’m for sure going to look the books up. I think Bookish Wednesday will be replayed on future Wenesdays.
That is one awesome Tucson sun Pat, wow, now I want to go there! I don’t have any advise for you for Bookish Wednesday, I’m currently ‘bookless’ and need a trip down to the library myself.
The shame is that the recent winds that stirred up the dust is probably why the moon looks so colorful early in the morning. Tucson seems to fit me, re the outdoor opportunities when my broken foot is healed, its bird life and the mountains tug at my soul. You’re welcome anytime Alex.