Life's Bookmarks

There are moments in the life of a person they never forget. Not due to a particular event within the moment itself, rather the moment becomes a bookmark in your life. A door closes and the next chapter in your life begins. Yet in that moment you did not realize you would never be the same again.

I am reading a wonderful book, in fact the New York Times included Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson one of Top 10 Best Books of the year. I think books that we love do one of two things very well: show us a face of the world we never knew (or perhaps create a new one) or illustrates our commonality by letting us see reflections of our experiences in the lives of others.

In the story the father gives instructions to his son about to embark on his trip home and says he’ll “be right behind” him. Leading the son, in hindsight, to remember the moment and think:

“…and the vital question I have put to myself again and again during the time that followed is whether something happened he could not control, or whether he knew already then that he would never follow me. That this was the last time we saw each other.”

Those words caused me to remember the last time I saw each of my parents and consider how unremarkable each moment was, that if it were not for the fact of their passing, I would never remember. Yet the fact my father stood in the kitchen the night before he died making tuna fish sandwiches is something I remember clearly 26 years later. I remember lying in bed quietly the next morning listening to him shave and brush his teeth, dress and leave for his doctor’s appointment. I was being moody and did not want to talk so I never got up and said “good morning” or “have a nice day.” Only to come home after school with people at my house and my mother crying because my father had suffered a massive heart attack and died at the hospital.

My mother died three years ago and although she had been ill for years, there were no signs that her passing was imminent. I tucked her in for an afternoon nap while I went to the birthday party of a friend’s five year son. We joked and talked about plans for her to get out more visiting the senior center. I remember her so clearly saying, “I believe I’d like that.” When I returned home a few hours later she had passed away. I remember more from our conversation throughout that day than I do from the many we shared during our 40 years together.

The moment is a bookmark in my life.

The Quiche of Death

M.C. Beaton’s Quiche of Death not only introduced her now beloved heroine Agatha Raisin but it also kicked off my 2009 reading year. It did both with a bang.

For over eighty years readers and TV fans have shown a love for the idea of a spunky mature woman solving murders between baking pies for the church social or county fair. From Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple (1927 – 1976) to Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher on CBS’s Murder She Wrote (1984-1996) fans eagerly awaited the next book or episode featuring their favorite unofficial detective. Perhaps it is the charm of the ladies, and their ability to outwit the “professionals” who continually underestimated the silver hair sleuths.

Now the female crime solver arena is a little more crowded. Readers enjoy such tough cookies like JD Robb’s Eve Dallas to likeable, though perhaps not the best crime fighter, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum.

The series was launched in 1992 with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M. C. Beaton. The books are a part of the “cozy mystery” genre. Cozy mysteries are described as:

“The cozy mystery usually takes place in a small town or village. The small size of the setting makes it believable that all the suspects know each other. The amateur sleuth is usually a very likeable person who is able to get the community members to talk freely (i.e. gossip) about each other. There is usually at least one very knowledgeable and nosy (and of course, very reliable!) character in the book who is able to fill in all of the blanks, thus enabling the amateur sleuth to solve the case.”
Cozy-Mystery.com

Agatha has finished a career in advertising and plans to retire to Carsley, a picture perfect village. Everything is carefully planned, boxed and shipped but after spending a lifetime pushing press and the clients around Agatha has no idea how to unwind and enjoy retirement. She immediately hatches a plan to win friends, by cheating in the local quiche contest. But as Agatha’s luck would have it, the judge dies after eating her quiche. Naturally she is humiliated when she must disclose to the police that she lied about baking her own quiche. You can imagine how long that little secret stayed between Agatha and the police in the picturesque village. So, Agatha realizes to regain any dignity she must find the killer.

The mystery aspect of the book is entertaining, once they finally settle down to it. However the first half of the book focuses more on establishing the characters and setting for this series which with the debut of a new title in May 2009 includes nineteen books.

An aspect of the book I really found interesting was Agatha’s inner turmoil when she reflects on how little she has to show for a lifetime focused on career, not people. Beaton does a great job of tackling this topic and I was surprised to find myself thinking about such a weighty topic in what I thought was simply a lighthearted book. Agatha is a woman readers can relate to because yes she is smart but she is also rude, vulnerable, overbearing when in control but frightened and lonely at heart.

Eventually Agatha gets her bearings in her new home and finds her killer. I enjoyed this book so much, I immediately read book two in the series: The Vicious Vet.

I highly recommend the Quiche of Death with 3.5 stars I and look forward to reading all nineteen books, probably this year.

By the way, in the UK the books are referred to as Agatha Raisin and The Quiche of Death, etc. The cover at the top of this post is from the UK edition and the cover on the Amazon link below is the US version.

Resources:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086765/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Marple, http://www.cozy-mystery.com/Definition-of-a-Cozy-Mystery.html

Monday Musings....on Bookmarks

Just One More Page is hosting Monday Musings and she is asking do we use bookmarks: What do you use to mark your place while reading? Do you have a definite preference? Do you use bookmarks, paper, or (gasp) turn down the pages? If you use bookmarks, do you have a favourite one?

Personally I NEVER dogear a book, I will try to remember the page number first. I like bookmarks and back in the day I had several. Now I can't seem to find them or new ones that I really like. Barnes & Noble is trying to push us to the magntic type but I want the good old fashion cardboard or plastic decorative type. When I cannot find one I generally use a biz card or something stiff I have picked up along the way. Currently I am using a freebie bookmark from the coffee bar at Barnes & Noble but really want something pretty.

What about you?

Sunday Salon

Yes I'm still alive and yes I have fallen a bit behind on my reading. Goes without saying I am behind on my posting but I will catch up this week I hope.

Despite a four day weekend last week, I did very little reading. Between time spent with friends, hours watching history happen live on CNN and then drowning at work, I had very little time for reading. When I had time, I had very little energy.

But my local bookclub has the first meeting of the year on Friday night, so I must get going on the selection for January. The book is Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away. The title let's you know this likely not going to be happy ever after story. I generally do not enjoy memoirs, however June Cross is rather talented and does not treat this difficult subject with a heavy hand.

It is always a good idea to have a paperback in your purse to pass the time when stuck in a long line or waiting somewhere. This week my little paperback has been M. C. Beaton's Death of a Dentist. This is my third Beaton book this year (ever actually) but my first Hamlet MacBeth.

So often to brunch with friends, perhaps a nap and then down to some serious reading on Secret Daughter because I must finish the book by Friday and I think I am on page 12.

I will also try to post at least one review tonight because tomorrow I have eight books I believe to highlight on Monday Mailbag.

Sunday Salon: 1st Try

Sunday Salon is an opportunity for readers around the web share what they are currently reading. This being the first week back to work, and boy was it a busy week, my reading has suffered a bit.

• I finish listening to The Long Legged Fly by James Salis. The audiobook narrator does a great job of setting the mood for the detective story that spans 30 years.


• Currently reading M.C. Beaton's Vicious Vet, the second in her Agatha Raisin's cozy mystery series.

Yes I do read something other than mysteries but to kick off my challenges I guess I fell back on my comforts.

Tomorrow I will share the books I received in the mail and bought last week.

If you would like to participate in Sunday Salon, check here for more details.

Blog Improvement Project Assignment

In 2009 I decided to focus on trying to really learn the blogging game. I've dabbled in it and started off 2008 real strong before fading. I believe my love for books and loving to learn about more books, chatting with other book lovers will help keep the fire going.

So I signed up for the Blog Improvement Project, Kim posted the first assignment: set goals. Not wanting to go overboard and overwhelm myself I have decided on three goals:

1. post at least three times a week
2. be an active member of the booklover community by posting on other bookie blogs
3. write & post my book review within five days of finishing the book

It is not too late to join in.

Book Giveaway - Sunday's at Tiffanys

Sunday's at Tiffany's which is James Peterson's latest effort to step away from his usual suspense thrillers. He collobrated with Gabrielle Charbonnet, a children's book writer, to create an usual love story.

The book summary:

As a little girl, Jane has no one. Her mother, the powerful head of a Broadway theater company, has no time for her. She does have one friend-a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael-but only she can see him.

Years later, Jane is in her thirties and just as alone as ever. Then she meets Michael again-as handsome, smart and perfect as she remembers him to be. But not even Michael knows the reason they've really been reunited.

SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S is a love story with an irresistible twist, a novel about the child inside all of us-and the boundary-crossing power of love.

If you would like to win a copy of the book, visit Alyce's blog At Home with Books for the rules.