I have never done a roundup before of the books I read or even counted them. Maybe I'll be keeping this up, maybe not. Mostly it's interesting to me how many books I have finished in a month (not necessarily started in the same month) and how many I read to the cats which of course takes longer, those are marked with 😸
I might add a little hint here and there why I chose a book, but I'm not going to rate the books because I don't like ratings without an explanation, and I admit I don't have the patience for that right now. The cats also refused to give ratings 😉
1. "Der Champagner-Mord" = "Vintage murder" by Ngaio Marsh, first published in 1937
(Roderick Alleyn 5)
Marsh is dipping into her extensive theater experiences with this one.
Her protagonist, Scotland Yard detective Roderick Alleyn, is on vacation in New Zealand (one of Marsh's few novels set there) when he meets a theater troupe from England on the train and gets invited to the theater.
At the leading lady's birthday celebration, her husband, the owner of the company, gets killed by a jeroboam of champagne which was supposed to be a surprise for his wife.
The local police ask Alleyn for help in solving this murder.
This is part of my vintage crime project for which I got a whole pile of books by Marsh and Allingham.
2. "Gefährliches Landleben" = "Mystery Mile" by Margery Allingham, first published in 1930
(Albert Campion 2)
Crowdy
Lobbett, a retired American judge, and his two grown children flee to
England from the threats of the Simister gang. Albert Campion, the mysterious private detective, manages to
save his life on the way over and takes the family to a hideout in the
countryside.
Lobbett has evidence on Simister, the boss of the gang, who has never been seen by anyone.
Campion has to do his best to keep everyone safe and at the same time find out who Simister is.
This is part of my vintage crime project for which I got a whole pile of books by Marsh and Allingham.
3. "Travels with Zenobia - Paris to Albania by Model T Ford." A journal by Rose Wilder Lane and Helen Dore Boylston, edited by William Holtz, first published in 1983 😸
In 1926, reporter Rose Wilder Lane (daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder) and writer/nurse Helen Dore Boylston (she wrote the "Sue Barton" books), who had originally met on a train, studied different languages in Paris to prepare for a drive from Paris to Albania in a Model T they lovingly called Zenobia.
The book is based on their journal and letters and tells the story of their travels through France, Monaco, and Italy to Albania (where they lived for about a year before returning to the USA).
I stumbled upon the story when I did some research for my post about the "Sue Barton" books.
4. "Firma Zaubermeister & Co." = "Mr. Mysterious & Company" by Sid Fleischman, first published in 1962 😸
Fleischman
wrote his first children's book for his own children who wondered what
his job was because of him working at home. The book tells the story of a
travelling magician and his family in the Old West.
I re-read this one for a blog post.
5. "The Three Investigators in the Mystery of the Green Ghost" by Robert Arthur, Jr. (the books were published attributed to Alfred Hitchcock), first published in 1964 😸
(The Three Investigators 4)
When an old mansion is supposed to be torn down, a green ghost appears, a coffin is found in a secret room, precious ghost pearls are discovered and then stolen.
The Three Investigators Jupiter Jones, Peter Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews have to find out how all of this is connected and what is really going on.
I read this series a long time ago and am going through it again bit by bit after writing a blog post about it. This book is the fourth in the series.
6. "Tochter der Innuit" = "Life Among the Qallunaat" by Minnie Freeman-Aodla, first published in 1978
Minnie Freeman-Aodla (Mini Aodla Freeman in the English version) who was born in 1936 describes her experiences growing up in Inuit communities in Canada, having to go to residential schools, working in a hospital, as a nanny, and as a translator, and living among Qallunaat - those living south of the Arctic.
This was a recommendation by Liz from "Adventures in reading, running, and working from home".
7. "Die göttliche Molli : Ein Studentenroman" (translated "The divine Molli: A student novel") by Wilhelm Poeck, first published in 1920
(Engelhorns allgemeine Romanbibliothek ; 35, 6/7)
The novel tells the story of three students new to the university town Göttingen (written before the First World War) and the people they meet there.
It's about student fraternities, such as a student corps, and their traditions, but also about philosophy, politics, antisemitism, academic studies, decisions, and love.
This is another book I stumbled upon, this time after writing about the "Engelhörnchen". Most interesting for me as someone who has been working around students since the 80s was the old student lingo 😉
It made me wonder if they still use some of those terms in today's fraternities here.
8. "Inspektor Jury sucht den Kennington-Smaragd" = "The Anodyne Necklace" by Martha Grimes, first published in 1983
(Richard Jury Mysteries 3)
A girl is mugged, a finger is found, anonymous letters are sent, emeralds
are stolen, there is a murder - what does a rundown pub in London
called "The Anodyne Necklace" have to do with a little village? It's for
Jury to find out.
I hadn't read a Jury novel for probably 20 years if not longer (my ex-MIL had a bunch), so when I had to wait for my bus, but had forgotten to bring ma book, I was glad I found something in the public book cabinet nearby. No idea if I had read it before, but I had to finish it to find out about the murderer, then it went back to the book cabinet.
9. "Zwischen Sarg und Grube" = "Grave Mistake" by Ngaio Marsh, first published in 1978
(Roderick Alleyn 30)
What should have been relaxing stay at a spa in a small English village, ends with the death of wealthy widow.
Was it really suicide? Roderick Alleyn investigates among the many suspects.
This is part of my vintage crime project for which I got a whole pile of books by Marsh and Allingham.
10. "Breaking the Chain - The Guard Dog Story" (Mutts) by Patrick McDonnell, first published in 2024
The story of the love between a chained dog and a girl.
I got this book with the Guard Dog story from the cartoon "Mutts" for Christmas and it had been waiting on my dinner table for over half a year although it's not a long read mostly being cartoons, an introduction, and some rescue stories at the end.
I had seen "Mutts" cartoons here and there before, but only started following it regularly online about two years ago.
So I knew what was going to happen when I would read this, in fact it happened when I was just thinking about it. I bawled my eyes out and couldn't stop even after I was through.
What got to me most - if there can even be a "most" here - was when the people moved away and left Guard Dog behind. My first cat was left behind by people living in a house before my friend moved there, and who knows what would have happened to him without her. To tether a dog and leave it behind, I can't even find words for that. Actually I can, but not on this blog.
Even rescue stories make me cry, it's a mix of my heart breaking with the thought a rescue is even necessary and rejoicing that there are people helping.
Then I look at my very pampered cats - one of them a former street cat - and wish all of the animals could be as lucky to find the right people.
I know I said I wouldn't rate the books and maybe some of you even believe cartoons don't count as books, but I have already said so much, so there you are - 5 stars, hands down and an absolute recommendation for me. Just keep tissues around.
11. "Friday's Child" by Georgette Heyer, first published in 1944
Young Viscount Sheringham, called "Sherry" by his friends, proposes to childhood friend Isabella believing he's in love with her, but she rejects him thinking he has only asked her because he won't be able to lay hands on his money before his 25th birthday unless he gets married.
After a row with his mother and uncle about his wild lifestyle, Sherry storms out vowing to marry the first girl he meets. That happens to be another childhood friend, young Hero, an orphan living with relatives who want her to become a governess.
They agree on a marriage of convenience - although "Kitten" how he calls her has obviously always been in love with Sherry - and from there begins their adventure in having to mature.
This book is a re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-I honestly don't know how many re-read. I don't even love it so much for the romance or the way to maturity with a fake to real marriage - although I do love the happy ending of course - but mostly because it never fails to make me snicker and laugh.
Whenever I need something to pick me up, this is the right book for it 🙂
12. "Craft Psychology" by Dr. Anne Kirketerp, first published in English in 2024 😸
This book is about "how crafting promotes health".
I plan to write a post about this eventually, so I'm not going to say more now.
13. "Süße Gefahr" = "Sweet Danger" (also as "Kingdom of Death" or "The Fear Sign") by Margery Allingham, first published in 1933
(Albert Campion 5)
Averna is a tiny country on the Adriatic Sea with a strange history. When an earthquake shapes part of it into a natural port which would allow direct access to the oil found there, Campion doesn't just have to prove the ownership of a young aristocratic family living in Suffolk and their rightful claim to the title, but he also has to protect them from a greedy financier and his men.
This is part of my vintage crime project for which I got a whole pile of books by Marsh and Allingham.
14. "Ein Schuss im Theater" = "Enter a Murderer" by Ngaio Marsh, first published in 1935
(Roderick Alleyn 2)
This is the first of Marsh's novels set in theatrical circles.
Chief Inspector Alleyn happens to be in the audience when an unpopular actor is murdered on stage, shot with a gun whose dummy bullets have been replaced with real ones.
This is part of my vintage crime project for which I got a whole pile of books by Marsh and Allingham.
15. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde, first published in 1890
This is the story of an aristocrat making a Faustian bargain to remain young and beautiful while the portrait an artist friend has painted of him changes in his stead. Little does he know what this bargain will mean for his future and his soul.
I had never read the book, but after watching two of the movie adaptations for the Summer of Angela (Lansbury) - post coming up next week - I thought it was about time.
16. "Skinner's Dress Suit" by Henry Irving Dodge, first published in 1916
"Clothes make the man" - how the lie about a raise and a dress suit improve a clerk's and his wife's life, both social as subsequently in business, as he gets the chance to show what he's capable of.
The adaptation of 1926 was part of my silent movie project (post coming up), so I read the book as well.
17. The
Three Investigators in the Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure" by Robert
Arthur, Jr. (the books were published attributed to Alfred Hitchcock),
first published in 1968 😸
(The Three Investigators 5)
What are the chances that the priceless Golden Belt is stolen from a museum just when The Three Investigators visit the exhibition?
How is it possible that an old friend of Mr. Hitchcock's thinks there are real gnomes in her garden at night?
And how are these things connected to each other?
Will Jupiter, Pete, and Bob find out?
I read this series a long time ago and am going through it again bit by bit after writing a blog post about it. This book is the fifth in the series.
My personal pet peeve with it is that the author mentions more than once that gnomes are a legend from the Black Forest in Bavaria. There are gnome legends, not just in Germany (even if our garden gnomes - which originated in Thuringia - are famous) but also other countries. Also the Black Forest is not in Bavaria! It made me cringe every time he repeated that.
18. - 22. "Der kleine Nick", "Der kleine Nick und die Ferien", "Der kleine Nick und seine Bande", "Der kleine Nick und die Schule", "Der kleine Nick und die Mädchen" by René Goscinny and Jean-Jacques Sempé, first published 1960 to 1965
(English translations possibly (meaning I'm not sure it's the exact same stories): "Nicholas and the Gang at School", "Nicholas and the Gang Again", "Nicholas on Holiday", "Nicholas and the Gang", "Nicholas at Large")
"Le Petit Nicolas" is a French classic for children, set in a childhood in the 50s.
This is another re-re-re-re----read for a future blog post.
23. "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886 😸
The Gothic horror novella follows the lawyer Utterson who investigates the strange connection between his old friend Dr Henry Jekyll and an evil murderer named Edward Hyde.
When I decided to watch two of the silent movie adaptations (and also put two talkies on my list), I felt it was finally about time to read the novella, too.
24. "Schwarzer See" = "The Last Time I Lied" by Riley Sager, first published in 2018
15 years ago, three girls disappeared from a summer camp. Now the camp re-opens and their former roommate, now hired as an art teacher, attempts to find out what happened.
Sager was recommended to me and this was the only ebook by him in my local library.
DNF:
1. "Search the Shadows" by Barbara Michaels, first published in 1987
Haskell
Maloney lost her mother when she was only three months old. Now she has
found out her mother's husband, who died in the Vietnam War, wasn't her
father. She goes to Chicago to find out the truth.
I know books
by Barbara Mertz that she wrote under the pen name Elizabeth Peters, but
none she wrote as Barbara Michaels, so I just started the first one I
found available online.
I struggled my way through for a while although I got bored by the story pretty early. After a third - 100 pages - I simply couldn't go on and skipped to the ending which didn't convince me either, though.
2. "Schockensee, Hohenstaufenhalle, EWS-Arena" by Erwin Singer, first published in 2009
(Veröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Göppingen 50)
This book published by our City Archives is about an area in my town which
is practically just around the corner from me. It tells the history of
the artificial lake that used to be there way before my time - it was
drained in 1953 - and the multi-purpose hall that was built in that spot
afterwards.
I was really interested in the story of the lake which
my father sometimes mentioned when reminiscing, but not that detailed of
course.
Handball is a big topic in town and the author was not only
the brother of one of our handball heroes, but played and coached
handball himself as well. I'm not interested in sports at
all, so when it began to be all about the hall and its handball history, the author lost me.
