A Brief Book Roundup

Here is a brief roundup of what I have been reading.

My current read

The Second Rule of Ten by Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay
     I was just recently introduced to private detective Tenzing Norbu. In this second mystery (I wrote about the first one here), Ten investigates the death of a controversial Hollywood producer - because, of course, this is California. I like Ten and his efforts to balance his profession with his upbringing in a Tibetan monastery.

My last read

Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens
     The action in this young adult mystery takes place at a British boarding school in 1934. The two protagonists, Daisy Wells from England and Hazel Wong from Hong Kong, form a detective agency and collect clues and sort through motives after the death of a teacher in the school. Nothing here to make one cringe - except for the discovery of the dead body, of course. A fun read.

A quick one in between

The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P.D. James
     Short stories of murder and mayhem from a favorite author. Two of them feature a young Adam Dalgleish and all are elegantly written. My only regret is that there were only four in this collection.

The one before that

Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin

     This is the introduction to Inspector John Rebus, Edinburgh's (literally) tortured detective. He is on the hunt for a killer who leaves clues that John can't quite understand. But when he catches on, there is hell to pay. Not sure I want to be John's friend, but may try book number two in this popular series. 

Latest purchase

Fierce Pajamas: An Anthology of Humor Writing from The New Yorker
     In a continued effort to keep my spirits up, I couldn't resist this find at a local used book store. One glance at the table of contents and I spotted the names E.B. White, James Thurber, Robert Benchley, and Dorothy Parker. Oh, and Groucho Marx. Groucho Marx?!

Had to have it. A volume to dip into when spirits dip.

What books are in your round up?

Erma Bombeck Tells It Like It Is

Erma Bombeck
1927-1996

Do you remember Erma Bombeck? She wrote a newspaper column, "At Wit's End" chronicling her life as a suburban housewife in mid-western America beginning in the 1960s and running through the late 1990s. She was funny and my mother adored her. I remember Mom reading her columns and laughing out loud at the breakfast table. 

Ms. Bombeck was a busy woman. She also wrote for magazines, went on speaking tours, tried her hand at writing for television, and published more than a dozen books with titles such as The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank, I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression, and If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits.

I had not thought of this funny lady in years, but I came across a collection of her columns that cross four decades, Forever Erma, on the library's ebook shelves.  

I dipped into her section called 'Food for Thought' where she first muses on losing weight: "I have dieted continuously for two decades and lost a total of 758 pounds." 

In another column she hopes that someone will write a cookbook called Cookbook for the Suburban Woman With One Car That is Used by Her Husband which would give substitutions in recipes for ingredients that the cupboard is lacking.

And, here is her response to her doctor's inquiry as to how often she exercises: "I leaned over a week ago Thursday for what I thought was a gingersnap cookie in the carpet, but it turned out to be a cork coaster and I haven't taken a chance since."

Other sections include 'Home Sweet Home', 'Housewife's Lament', and 'Dear Old Dad'. 

It will be fun to read what Ms. Bombeck had to say that so delighted my mother at the breakfast table.