Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach

I am not finding much time to read during the day. I am in the middle of doing research for a paper that I have to present this month to my Monday Afternoon Club (here). The category is Cities. We have already learned about "Pittsburgh" and "Cities in Literature" and Monday's paper is "City of Enlightenment." My paper is entitled "Nestled in a Fertile Valley" and will take a look at Lompoc, California. (Don't ask.)

So, I find the only time for reading is right before bedtime and I am well into Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach by Colin Cotterill. Unemployed crime reporter Jimm Juree is back with her family and the run-down resort they own and run on the Gulf of Siam in Thailand. There is mother Mair; granddad Jah, a retired traffic policeman; her somewhat dim brother Arny, the body-builder; and Sissi, her sister who (through the miracles of modern medicine) used to be her brother and is a wiz on the Internet. It's all crazy.

This is the second in the series that began with Killed At the Whim of a Hat (here). There are a mysterious mother and daughter on the lam and hiding out in the family's resort. There are tales of the struggles of the Burmese refugees living in Thailand working for little or no pay and occasionally disappearing. There is the head Jimm finds on the beach which no one - especially the police - seem interested in identifying.

And although the plight of the Burmese refugees is real, the story is full of crazy characters and situations all of which Mr. Cotterill manages to make ring true. Very entertaining.

Raining Books

Sky Stack Cane Umbrella
from
The Gifty

When it rains it comes down in books here at Belle's house. 

I am within 100 pages of finishing P.D. James's The Murder Room and just began I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I could read the first chapter over and over. There is not a false note or a wrong word in it. I think that chapter alone should be studied in all writing classes. It is perfect.

As to the rain reference, two books that have been on my library reserve list forever showed up in one day. One is a mystery by Colin Cotterill, Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach. This is the second in Mr. Cotterill's Jimm Jaree series set in Thailand. The first was Killed at the Whim of a Hat which I wrote about here. Mr. Cotterill is also the author of the Dr. Siri mysteries that take place in Viet Nam and which I totally enjoy. 

And you have to admit, the man has a way with titles.

The other book that arrived is Monkey Mind, A Memoir of Anxiety by Daniel Smith. As I am familiar with my own chattering monkey mind, I look forward to comparing neurosis with Mr. Smith. I just hope his book doesn't give My Monkey any ideas. 

Of course, having all these wonderful books to read at once is making me very anxious. How does one cope?

Happiness in the Snow

Killed off "Killed at the Whim of a Hat." All three mysteries got solved. Of the almost 400 pages - don't be daunted, it flies along - I am not sure how many actually concerned the mysteries. There were many rambling little anecdotes which is fine because Cotterill is quite a funny writer. And his characters are a hoot. I wish I was someone who marked in books - I Am Not - because then I could share with you some of his lines. You will just have to discover them yourself.

We had our first snow. Well, let me just say it snowed. And then it stopped. But the temperature dropped 20 degrees in three hours. So of course I had to swerve by the library and see what I could find to keep me warm.

I have many books on my shelves, and I don't know about you, but I like to keep them in reserve just in case I should get snowed in for a month (not gonna happen...I live in the South, but still...). And then there is always the Nook.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin was on hold for me and I found a book on drawing with colored pencils...a nice fireside activity. I browsed around the new mysteries but didn't find anything that piqued my interest.

I checked out the Rubin book and on my way out I spotted the drawing book on display and went back to the desk. I told the librarian, "I promise I will leave now." He said, "Take your time. Browse. It's all free."

I agreed with a laugh. It's all free. I love that.