1940s – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

Guinness book of world records, record for least Miss Marple in a Miss Marple book.

The Moving Finger (Miss Marple, #4) by Agatha Christie

August 3, 2020 by narfna 1 Comment

This was fun, but it felt much less like a whodunit than I wanted it to, and Miss Marple came in late to the story even for Miss Marple. I think it may be a record of some sort, how little and how late she was in this book (and her parts were the best parts). Our narrator is actually Jerry Barton, a man who has moved to the small village of Lymstock on the advice of his doctor. Jerry is recovering from a plane […]

Love, Hound Dogs and Country Music

Dear Hank Williams by Kimberly Willis Holt

January 15, 2020 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I like Kimberly Willis Holt as an author. I think most things she has written, even if I am not a huge fan, I will enjoy. Yet, I really went at Dear Hank Williams with no expectations. Granted, my first thought was “How many kids are going to know who Hank Williams is?” But soon realized that is not the important part. This book might be set in the late 1940’s but in many ways, it could be set almost anytime. There is some history […]

I Loved Laura, Except for . . .

Laura by Vera Caspary

September 23, 2019 by xoxoxoe Leave a Comment

Another book from my personal challenge of reading the source material for favorite classic movies: Laura, by Vera Caspary. This book is a detective noir, as hard-boiled and cynical as any of the genre, but written by a woman. It was originally published, a la Dickens, as a serial, “Ring Twice for Laura,” in Colliers Magazine in 1942/43. The classic film noir, starring Gene Tierney as Laura and Dana Andrews as a detective who finds himself falling in love with a dead woman as he […]

It’s a Garden Implement, People

April 9, 2017 by Ale Leave a Comment

We’ve either completely derailed as a society, or we’ve come so far from an agrarian culture that no one, and I mean no one, seemed to realize that the title of the book I’ve been reading for the past month refers to a garden implement used for breaking up soil…. Every single person who saw me reading this book from professors to family members to my freaking doctor all looked at the cover with incredulity and went “um…the polished…ho?” NO! NO, people! No. This book […]

“She was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window. “

January 27, 2016 by narfna 2 Comments

“Even on Central Avenue, not the quietest dressed street in the world, he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.” I’m gonna admit right up front that the fourth star of my rating comes entirely from Raymond Chandler and his way with words. Nobody knew how to turn a phrase like good old Ray-Ray. I mean, what a guy. What a kick he must have been at parties. I don’t normally read books for language alone. I’m an emotional […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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