Pack Your (Book) Bags for Vacation

It's been so chilly where I am this spring that summer seems very far away and one warm day can make me act giddy.

We're thisclose to Memorial Day and summer vacation, so let's pack up the woolies and start planning our reading list.

I guarantee you'll have trouble deciding among all of the great books coming out this summer. Here are just a few of the ones I'm looking forward to:

• Big Girl Panties, by Stephanie Evanovich
  You'll almost want to buy this for the title alone, but I predict this will be the frothy beach book that everyone will read this summer. It's an escapist tale of a "fluffy girl" named Holly who found solace in food while taking care of her dying husband. Trying to find her way back to the land of the living, Holly meets a trainer who finds her to be quite a challenge. And then the sparks fly. (July 9 from HarperCollins)
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
  I've been waiting for a new novel from Gaiman for a long time, and this "fairy tale for adults" promises to bewitch readers. It's described by the publisher as a "harrowing tale of mystery and survival, memory and magic." Yes, please. Also, as an aside, if you aren't following Gaiman on Twitter (@neilhimself), you're missing some very witty writing. (June 18 from HarperCollins)
• The Redeemer, by Jo Nesbo
  If you want to know what I'm doing for the Memorial Day holiday, here it is. I've told you many many times how gripping and thrilling Nesbo's books are, and this one promises to keep up the exciting pace. Infamous policeman Harry Hole is once again on the trail of a killer, this time a professional assassin who doesn't plan to be caught. (May 21 from Knopf Doubleday)
• Steal the Menu, by Raymond Sokolov
  The former New York Times food editor, Sokolov has seen it all, eaten it all, and is now writing about it all. In the vein of Ruth Reichl at her best, he gives us inside stories of a 40-year career that many of us would envy. (May 14 from Knopf Doubleday)
• Lookaway, Lookaway, by Wilton Barnhardt
  I'm almost rubbing my hands in glee over this one, since it takes place practically in my backyard. This is a satirical look at the moneyed class in Charlotte, N.C., featuring the banking world, the Junior League set, and even my beloved Mint Museum. Can. Not. Wait.  (Aug. 20 from St. Martin's Press)
• The Truth, by Michael Palin
  I'm convinced there is no end to Palin's talents - Monty Python-ite, accomplished travel guide, novelist. His latest book combines a bit of all three, as he writes about an author on a journey to discover the truth about his latest topic, a humanitarian in India that may just be too good to be...well, you get it. (Aug. 13 from St. Martin's Press)
• Shorecliff, by Ursula DeYoung
  If you think family vacations can be trying, wait until you read about this family's summer-long getaway in 1928 at Shorecliff, a Maine mansion. Cousins, uncles, and aunts intrigue, plot, scheme, and argue their way through the dog days. (July 23 from Little, Brown & Company)
• Snow Hunters, by Paul Yoon
  I do have a fascination with North Korea, as you may have guessed from two recent reviews. So I am anticipating this novel of a North Korean defector who, rather than taking the normal path to the south or to China, decides to move to a small coastal town in Brazil. The people he meets, and the second chance he is given, change him even more than he anticipated. (Aug. 6 from Simon & Schuster)
• The Gravity of Birds, by Tracy Guzeman
  Two people are hired to price and sell a painting by a famous reclusive artist. As they work on the project, they discover dark secrets about the two sisters in the painting, and how the artist himself kept the sisters apart, while also drawing them together. (Aug. 6 by Simon & Schuster)
• Freud's Mistress, by Karen Mack
  Minna Bernays is a former lady's companion who is looking for work, unsuccessfully, in Vienna. Frustrated in her search, she ends up living with her sister Martha and her husband, Sigmund Freud. Martha declares Freud's work to be disgusting and embarrassing, but Minna finds it to be fascinating. In this fictionalized account of an actual event, Minna becomes Freud's mistress, and finds herself caught up in more than just a betrayal of her sister. (July 9 from Amy Einhorn)

New Year, New Books

Well, I did it. I read the 50 books in 2012 that I said I would. Actually, I read over 80 books, but who's counting? And to tell the truth, if you add in all the books in the huge Dickens anthology I read, then it's more like 100 books.
The hardest part of the process was keeping track of what I read. Pinterest helped immensely...when I could remember to pin the books that I'd read. To see (most of) what I read, click here.
So now comes the fun part: I get to tell you which were my favorites, and I get to set a new goal.

Favorite Reads in 2012

You know how hard it is for me to choose just one top book, so here are a few that really made an impression this year - but in no particular order:
The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. Spooky, kooky, and impossible to put down, it will make you shiver in more ways than one. Click the title to see a review.
Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller. Well thanks a lot, Mueller. Now I look at all olive oil with suspicion. But this was a fun, fact-filled read. Click the title to see a review.
Bossypants by Tina Fey. All hail the next President of the United States. Okay, maybe just the Queen of Laughter then.
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Why did it have to end? There is a reason that Mantel has won the Man Booker Prize twice.
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. A heart-wrenching book that makes you wish the story wasn't true. But it is.
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. What if the spinning Earth just ... stopped? The resulting story by Walker won't let you out of its gravitational pull.
The Black House by Peter May. If you read this blog, you know I read a lot of mysteries. Set on a remote Scottish island, this is one of the best I read this year.
Sutton by J.R. Moehringer. A fictionalized tale of a real-life bank robber in the '30s who fancied himself to be a 20th-century Robin Hood.
The Yard by Alex Grecian. A novel that imagines the earliest days at Scotland Yard. And there had better be a sequel in the works.
Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington. Full of fun drawings by the author and photos of her early modeling days, this book is a very refreshing look back at a creative and fashionable life.

Goal for 2013

Duh. I will read more books.
Let's see...this year I will set my goal at an even 100.
Wishing you many good books in 2013!

The Murderous Month of May

According to Booklist, May is Mystery Month, but really any day of the year is the perfect time to read a mystery as far as I'm concerned.
I'm often asked who my favorite authors are, and really it's impossible to nail down just one or two. So in celebration of this murderous month, I'll give you a list of my favorite mystery writers.
You may not be familiar with some of these names, but isn't that a good thing? There's nothing better than stumbling on a new series of fabulous books or an incredible new (to you) writer.
Feel free to send me your favorite mystery titles and authors, too. My reading stack is a little low.

Favorite Mystery Writers

Jussi Adler-Olsen

Hailing from Denmark, Adler-Olsen lightens the Nordic Noir genre with his world-weary detective Carl Morck, who feels like he's been put out to pasture in his new Department Q, featuring a team of just one detective (Carl) and one odd assistant.

Fiona Buckley

After a seven year hiatus, Buckley (aka Valerie Anand) has picked back up with her terrific Ursula Blanchard series. The Tudor-era detective in this case is a dead ringer for Queen Elizabeth I, a fact that makes her both a pawn and a tool for the Queen.

Ann Cleeves

Her Shetland series, featuring Detective Jimmy Perez, is engrossing and perfectly captures life on the remote Shetland islands. She has another great series that features DI Vera Stanhope. I'm diving into those books this summer.

Lindsey Davis

I'm completely in love with Marcus Didius Falco, the savvy, witty, and infuriating Roman detective that stars in Davis's 20-book series set in 70AD. I've hooked many a reader on this terrific group of books.

Dick Francis

Every single one of his 40-some mysteries involves horse racing in some fashion, and the books are always a quick read. But don't make the mistake of thinking they're shallow. There's a reason that I worked hard to put every single one of his books on my shelves.

Tana French

French's set of Irish detective novels has been heaped with awards, with good reason. They are gritty, stark, and utterly compelling. Start with Into the Woods, an absolutely incredible novel for any genre.

David Fulmer

Take the infamous New Orleans red-light district of Storyville, add the evocative time period when Jazz was just taking form, and then mix in Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr and a heaping helping of real-life crooked politicians and criminals and you have an intoxicating (and additive) brew.

Elizabeth George

I defy you to find a writer that is better at giving you fully developed and completely alive characters. I catch myself thinking of Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers as people who truly live in my world. George is one of the top writers of our era. Period.

Sue Grafton

Her alphabet series may have started out as a fun way to write a series, but the private detective Kinsey Milhone took mysteries to a whole new level. Is the series stale after so many books? Quite the opposite. I think the newest book (V for Vengeance) is one of the best in the group.

Arnaldur Indridason

Iceland is the perfect setting for crime, with a rugged and forbidding landscape as a backdrop to dark deeds. Detective Erlendur takes it one step further as a loner fighting his own personal demons.

Stieg Larsson

Unless you've been living under a rock, you don't need me to describe Larsson's trilogy to you. I'll just say: It's worth all the hype.

Peter Lovesey

You gotta love a curmudgeon and Peter Diamond, a detective in modern-day Bath, is a rumpled, grumpy, lovable guy with a nose for solving crimes.

Denise Mina

It's a man's world when it comes to detectives and police procedurals, and that's what makes Mina's DI Alex Morrow so amazing. Who else could solve mysteries and whip her squad into shape, all while pregnant with twins? A fabulous case of Tartan Noir.

Jo Nesbo

The king of Nordic Noir, Nesbo's detective Harry Hole is conflicted, afflicted, and addicted. If you like your mysteries dark and deep, this is the series for you.

Nordic Noir

There's a chill in the air. Yes, I know it's practically spring (and some of us are enjoying 80-degree weather), but a cold wind is ushering in a fabulous new trend for mysteries. It's Nordic Noir, featuring twisty tales and freezing landscapes. Long nights and little sun seem to produce taciturn detectives and deeply disturbed villains. Here are three of my favorite dark tales.

The Keeper of Lost Causes
by Jussi Adler-Olsen
His name may not be familiar to those of us in countries other than his native Denmark, but Adler-Olsen is one of his country's top crime writers. This first installment in the Department Q series shows us why.
Carl Mørck was also at the top of his game, until a shootout with a criminal left him with a wound, and a serious case of survivor's guilt. He's shocked when he is promoted as soon as he returns to his detective post, until he finds out he's in charge of a cold-case department with few prospects for success. Saddled with an assistant he doesn't understand, in a steamy basement office with leftover goods, Mørck is prepared to sleep his way through the job. That is, until a missing person's case grabs his attention.
This engrossing mystery is as dark as any in Nordic Noir, but with a gentle sense of humor that lightens the mood, and puts you firmly behind Department Q and its lost causes. The next book from Adler-Olsen (The Absent One) will appear in August, just in time to cool us down. (Penguin Group - 2011)

Hypothermia

by Arnaldur Indridason
Blowing in from the island of Iceland is a cold tale of suicide. Or is it murder? Inspector Erlunder has a feeling that all is not as it seems, even though the coroner has deemed the death a clear suicide.
A loner by nature, Erlunder follows his hunch, quietly probing the idea that the victim did not hang herself and was helped to her death. But who did the deed? Was it the grieving husband who seems to have something to hide? Or perhaps it was one of the many psychics that the poor woman visited after her own mother's death.
At the same time, Erlunder is visited by the father of a long-ago missing person. The same intuition leads him to re-examine the details of that case, determined to find resolution in both mysteries.
This is the sixth book in what is known as the Reykjavik Thriller series, but the first I've read. After finding myself pulled into the spell of Indridason's writing, I'll be searching out the previous five. (Picador - 2011)

The Leopard

by Jo Nesbø
I first discovered Jo Nesbø with The Devil's Star and I've been hooked ever since. His taut writing and fast-paced storylines are reminiscent of Stieg Larsson, but better.
Don't get me wrong, I love Larsson's trilogy, but I do think it could have used a little editing to quicken the pace and clear out a few "dead" spots (pardon the pun). Unfortunately, at 528 pages, the only thing about this book that gave me pause, other than the unexpected turns, was the fact that it would have been much better if it had a been a bit shorter. See tomorrow's post on editing.
Meanwhile, back to The Leopard, which is still an amazing return to detective Harry Hole's strange world. As defective as the criminals he hunts, Hole has descended into his addictions and is hiding in Hong Kong. He refuses to return home, until he's enticed there by the idea that another serial killer is on the loose. Two women have died, but there is nothing at all to link them except very strange stab wounds in their mouths. Hole travels back to Norway and then to the Congo in his quest to track an elusive animal.
Nesbø is a thrilling writer who never fails to surprise – I have to say that the murder weapon in this case completely freaked me out. If you've never read his books, see my review here of The Snowman. (Knopf Doubleday - 2011)

And now for a personal note - happy birthday to my daughter, Aana! I can't wait to see how the story of your life unfolds.

How to Travel

Back in the day, I had to be a little creative about my travel. I would buy a book in the airport, leave it on the plane, and buy another when I landed. Or I would give myself a hernia by packing 10 books in my carry-on bag. Or I would run to the nearest book store when we arrived in our destination city. And yes, I have paid the fees for overweight bags because I had too many hardbacks in the suitcase.

This was all an attempt to keep me entertained. Because when I travel, I have to read. It keeps me from noticing the kid behind me who is kicking my kidneys. It alleviates the uncomfortable feeling I get when the man next to me (and it's always a man) takes the armrest and refuses to share. Reading keeps me calm during take off and landing. And it gives me something to do when the flight is delayed and we're sitting on the tarmac for four hours for no reason and they won't let us off the bloomin' plane. Not that I'm bitter.
The Nook has made my life easier now that I can carry hundreds of books in one tiny package. It fed my addiction on my recent trip West, and I am almost embarrassed to admit that I read four books while I was gone. You can see what I read by clicking here.
I'm not normally a "talker" on planes, and I've been known to hide behind my book. But then, occasionally, I'll see someone carrying a book that makes me happy.
Last night, on the way back from Los Angeles, I met Laura. She was on her way to New Orleans and she was carrying Jo Nesbo's The Leopard. Coincidentally, I had just finished that very book while in Los Angeles - and it was amazing. I had to tell her that while we were waiting to board and then, what do you know, but she is in 11E and I'm in 11D.
This was good for two reasons. First, we talked books. I told her that if she likes Nesbo, she has to read Hypothermia and The Keeper of Lost Causes.
Second, we didn't have to talk anymore. Laura wanted to read. I wanted to read. It was the perfect seatmate scenario. And she didn't hog the armrest. I even ended up giving her the Denise Mina book that I finished on the flight.
So to Laura, wherever you are, thanks for being such a good travel partner. Enjoy your book!