July begins my first month of unemployment. So while I desperately try to find a new job, I am trying to tackle some housekeeping. In order to remain sane, I'm reading, but mostly comfort reads to help me de-stress.
Simple Designs for Meditative Knitting by Barbara Breen There have been several mindfulness knitting books published over the years; it seems anew one is published every four years or so. Simple Designs for Meditative Knitting is the latest such book, and like the other, it's well designed to help novice knitters and experienced knitters alike. For many knitters, the online world is full of people who shout proudly that they read and knit at the same time, or knit movie theaters, or at concerts--the list is endless. This might be off-putting to a novice knitter who has to pay attention to their needles so they don't get lost. Ms. Breen reminds them, and experienced crafters, that the meditative qualities such mindfulness produces are worthy goals in and of themselves. She presents several basic patterns for contemplative knitting. Nicely produced, with a variety of projects. (Net Galley)
Midwinter Murders by Agatha Christie There is no greater comfort read than Agatha Christie for me. I have loved mysteries since I was a child. I remember borrowing from my aunt's collection of Agatha Christies at her summer bungalow when I was just ten or eleven. And since mid-July temperatures are now well into the 110s F here in the desert, I read mysteries set in the winter. This short story collection features Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Parker Pyne. It's the perfect summer or winter read for a mystery lover.
O Deadly Night (A Year-Round Christmas Mystery) by Vicky Delaney Vicki Delaney is one of my favorite contemporary cosy mystery authors. Her main characters are relatable and real, people you'd want to be friends with in real life. They have jobs they have to do--they can't just go off detecting. They had quirky relatives or friends. I worried that this Christmas-themed series would be too cutesy for me and for it to last, but I'm delighted to say that after reading three of them, Ms. Delaney is doing a great job of keeping an unusual premise going realistically. In this soon-to be-published book, Merry is juggling getting her shop's holiday float ready for the Rudolph town parade and gearing up for the December retail extravaganza when she makes the majority of her sales, so when her landlady, the quirky Mrs. D'Angelo, starts pestering her about mysterious goings on at the house across the street, Merry is too overwhelmed to pay much attention. Until Mrs. D'Angelo disappears. I loved this premise--Merry reacts as any one of us would to the situation, with a little guilt and determination. We find out a little bit more about how Merry's father, the Mayor, helped revitalize a dying town by turning it into a Christmas destination that celebrates all year. Because we see more of Mrs. D'Angelo in this entry, we see less of Allen, Marry's boyfriend, but he and the other regular secondary characters appear, add drama (the store scene brought to mind retail incidents from my own past as a store clerk; yes, they do happen!), add spice, and generally make this an enjoyable series. O Deadly Night will be published in October 2025, and will be a great diversion for mystery lovers who need a little escape from the holiday craziness. (Net Galley)
One Final Turn (An Electra McDonnell Mystery) by Ashley Weaver It's become quite fashionable for series to end nowadays, rather than just go on and on and on, with authors tiring of their main characters, slipping in their attention to details and probably becoming uninterested in the stories and people they created but have been living with for year. This is the gift Electra McDonnell World War II mystery, but it was the first I read in the series. Electra's cousin Toby, working with the resistance, has disappeared in Europe, and she and Ramsey go to Portugal to see if they can find his trail on one of the escape routes from Nazi-controlled territory. This final entry has to finish two competing story lines: whether Toby is alive, and if he is, can he be rescued, and the relationship between Ramsey and Electra, apparently over at the end of the previous book, still has embers threatening to reignite. I will admit this was not a favorite of mine. There was a lot more romance than I care for in my mysteries (a personal preference, of course), but more importantly, our spies are probably the worst spies ever. They talk about plans in lobbies full of people, they draw attention to themselves when setting out on midnight reconnaissance missions by walking through the lobby--it all reads as very amateurish. If you've been reading the series all along, this book provides a satisfactory end to Electra's story. If you haven't been reading this series, I can't recommend you start based on this book. (Net Galley)
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