Roll: 7
Monopoly Property: Pennsylvania Railroad
Book: Fer-de-Lance
Author: Rex Stout
Fer-de-Lance is the first in the Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series. Nero Wolfe has long been a favorite of my housemate’s mother, and we have wanted to read the series since we read Murder by the Book a couple of years ago. But that was not why we chose to read this book right now. Naturally, we prefer to read a series in order, and starting with the first one is the best way to do that, but we chose this book because it’s primarily set in New York, both New York City and further out in the country in places like White Plains. The task for Pennsylvania Railroad was to read a book set in a place you’d like to visit. And I’d like to visit New York, especially if I could have a meal at Rusterman’s, one of the few places Nero Wolfe goes on the rare occasions when he leaves his house.
Fer-de-Lance is not one of the Nero Wolfe mysteries I had heard in the car as a book-on-tape on long family drives, or one of the books that was turned into an episode of A Nero Wolfe Mystery in the most recent incarnation of the series in tv. So I knew nothing about the book other than it was the first-in-series and set up the series. I am glad I didn’t know anything about book before I read it. It was fun to discover the characters on my own.
Many other reviewers have noted that the Nero Wolfe books are more about the interaction between the characters, mostly Archie and Nero, than the about the mystery or the plot. And that is true. The books are at their heart a story of two men. Over the course of the 47-book series, the characters do not age and the settings only change with the times as a reaction to the author moving along in time. The Archie of the last book is exactly the same as the Archie of the first book. It is explained that Nero Wolfe has a set schedule in the first book, and in the last, he is still as rigid in that schedule as he ever was. The series is timeless, and the consistency of the characters makes it so.
The mystery of Fer-de-Lance is interesting because it is a rather unusual method of murder. And yes, the title snake does make an appearance in the book. It’s an ingenious use of the reptile.
Over all the book was a fun introduction to the characters and knowing that there are 46 more adventures (well, 44, since we have already read two books of the series) to be had with Archie and Nero makes it more fun to meet them now. I highly recommend everyone make an acquaintance with Archie and Nero. They are good friends, made even more so by the number of adventures to be had with them, and the consistency of their characters across those adventures.
One Bear’s Opinion: Five glasses of milk with a plate of yummy cookies
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Sunday, January 15, 2017
One Bear's Opinion -- Book Review
Roll: 4
Monopoly Property: Vermont Avenue
Book: Clammed Up
Author: Barbara Ross
Clammed Up is the first in the Maine Clambake series. I initially got it because Bar Harbor is one of my favorite stops on the Canada/New England cruise and I thought it would be fun to read a mystery set in a similar place.
I was a bit disappointed by the book. The setting was lovely, but the characters were not incredibly likable. I found myself not really caring what happened to them. I wanted to finish the book, because the mystery was intriguing, but as for the characters, I do not particularly like them. The main characters seem to be incredibly selfish and self-involved, so much that I was really hoping for one of them to be the murderer, if only to justify my dislike of them.
The book was okay, and I did enjoy visiting the Maine coast, even a fictional Maine coast, but I do not necessarily have to seek out the rest of the series.
I am always torn when I do not like the book. I feel that I should, and then I should be able to say really nice, good things about the book. But the truth is, Clammed Up is, to me anyway, an average cozy mystery. It was not terrible, but it wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be either. It’s just an average book all the way around.
One Bear’s Opinion: Three glasses of lemonade drunk while watching the tide go out
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Monopoly Property: Vermont Avenue
Book: Clammed Up
Author: Barbara Ross
Clammed Up is the first in the Maine Clambake series. I initially got it because Bar Harbor is one of my favorite stops on the Canada/New England cruise and I thought it would be fun to read a mystery set in a similar place.
I was a bit disappointed by the book. The setting was lovely, but the characters were not incredibly likable. I found myself not really caring what happened to them. I wanted to finish the book, because the mystery was intriguing, but as for the characters, I do not particularly like them. The main characters seem to be incredibly selfish and self-involved, so much that I was really hoping for one of them to be the murderer, if only to justify my dislike of them.
The book was okay, and I did enjoy visiting the Maine coast, even a fictional Maine coast, but I do not necessarily have to seek out the rest of the series.
I am always torn when I do not like the book. I feel that I should, and then I should be able to say really nice, good things about the book. But the truth is, Clammed Up is, to me anyway, an average cozy mystery. It was not terrible, but it wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be either. It’s just an average book all the way around.
One Bear’s Opinion: Three glasses of lemonade drunk while watching the tide go out
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
One Bear's Opinion -- Book Review
Roll: 4
Monopoly Property: Income Tax
Book: Pretty Lady
Author: Marian Babson
The task for this property was to read the book on your to-be-read shelf with the lowest rating on Goodreads. In my case, that was Pretty Lady by Marian Babson, with an average rating of 2.8/5. I found that interesting, as Marian Babson is usually a good read and worth the time. Sometimes the book are slow to start, but by the end, it’s definitely moving faster and the conclusion is usually interesting and well-plotted. In fact, most times I read a book by Marian Babson, I end up thinking to myself that I should read more of her books, and read them more often.
Pretty Lady started in a disturbing manner, and I was quite concerned as to where the plot would end up. In fact, it was so disturbing I was considering giving up on the book. But by the time I got to the end, I was glad I read the book and finished it.
The characters were real people and I like that in books. In some books the characters are nice and friendly, but it’s obvious they live in a fictional world. The same way in many television shows and movies, the characters do not exist in the same world real people do. I find this phenomenon to be particularly noticeable in cozies where amateurs are the investigators — either because they are allowed to stick their nose in an official police investigation without real or significant consequence, or because there are so many people in such small towns that are victims of murder. In my whole life, and admittedly most of it was spent in a largish metropolitan area, not a small town, I have only known one person who was murdered, and there was no question as to who committed the murder.
But Marian Babson’s characters are real, and they live in a real world, and have real people problems, feelings, and lives. It’s comforting to see that in books.
Pretty Lady was a typical Marian Babson mystery. There was a great deal of plot exposition before the murder and once the murder was committed, the book ended within pages. The set-up to the story is far more important than the action of the story in Babson’s mysteries. And that may be one of the reasons they have a lower than average rating on Goodreads. But if you don’t mind the kind of writing Marian Babson does, then you will not mind her books, and may even enjoy them.
One Bear’s Opinion: Three Cups of Tea with some nice, but store-bought biscuits
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Monopoly Property: Income Tax
Book: Pretty Lady
Author: Marian Babson
The task for this property was to read the book on your to-be-read shelf with the lowest rating on Goodreads. In my case, that was Pretty Lady by Marian Babson, with an average rating of 2.8/5. I found that interesting, as Marian Babson is usually a good read and worth the time. Sometimes the book are slow to start, but by the end, it’s definitely moving faster and the conclusion is usually interesting and well-plotted. In fact, most times I read a book by Marian Babson, I end up thinking to myself that I should read more of her books, and read them more often.
Pretty Lady started in a disturbing manner, and I was quite concerned as to where the plot would end up. In fact, it was so disturbing I was considering giving up on the book. But by the time I got to the end, I was glad I read the book and finished it.
The characters were real people and I like that in books. In some books the characters are nice and friendly, but it’s obvious they live in a fictional world. The same way in many television shows and movies, the characters do not exist in the same world real people do. I find this phenomenon to be particularly noticeable in cozies where amateurs are the investigators — either because they are allowed to stick their nose in an official police investigation without real or significant consequence, or because there are so many people in such small towns that are victims of murder. In my whole life, and admittedly most of it was spent in a largish metropolitan area, not a small town, I have only known one person who was murdered, and there was no question as to who committed the murder.
But Marian Babson’s characters are real, and they live in a real world, and have real people problems, feelings, and lives. It’s comforting to see that in books.
Pretty Lady was a typical Marian Babson mystery. There was a great deal of plot exposition before the murder and once the murder was committed, the book ended within pages. The set-up to the story is far more important than the action of the story in Babson’s mysteries. And that may be one of the reasons they have a lower than average rating on Goodreads. But if you don’t mind the kind of writing Marian Babson does, then you will not mind her books, and may even enjoy them.
One Bear’s Opinion: Three Cups of Tea with some nice, but store-bought biscuits
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion -- Book Review
Roll: Start
Monopoly Property: Go
Book: Superfluous Women
Author: Carola Dunn
This was not only my first read of 2017, but it marked the start of my 2017 Monopoly Reading Challenge. I was reading on the site where I found the original Monopoly Reading Challenge that most people planned out their reading ahead of time, but having done reading challenges before where the reading had to be carefully planned out, I knew that strategy was not for me. So although I read the tasks for each property, I didn’t investigate further or plan out reading for each task. I think that is the best strategy for me, and am looking forward to figuring out which books on my shelves or Kindle fit each property’s task when I land on it.
Everyone starts at Go, naturally. Go is a free read, meaning I could read any book I wanted. After scanning my shelves, I decided to read the latest (though hopefully not the last) Daisy Dalrymple mystery. It had been a while since I caught up with Daisy, but time did not seem to matter a bit. Daisy is still as fun as ever, and as good a friend as she always was. And Alec and the gang at the Yard are just as exasperated with her adventures as ever.
This was a fun adventure and introduced group of people, that while I had known, never really considered needing a group name. The title refers to the women who outnumbered men in England following the ravages of the first World War and the 1918 Influenza epidemic. There were truly not enough men for every woman to marry, and the unmarried women were collectively referred to as “Superfluous Women” or “Surplus Women” as though they were factory over-runs. It was a an issue, because despite these women’s best efforts, they did not fit in the societal norms at the time.
The Superfluous Women (though I hate calling the group that, as it seems belittling and derogatory) of the title were a group of three women who moved into a house together after circumstances made it necessary for them to begin again in a new town. The small town they moved to, like many towns, did not know quite what to make of them, or what to do with them, but by the end of the book, things were definitely looking a bit better for the women.
Because it was a murder mystery, there had to be a murder, and as usual, Daisy was mixed up in it from finding the body to the end of the investigation. The body had been found in the women’s newly purchased house, and while the police didn’t actually suspect them, both they and their personal stories are important parts of the investigation.
The mystery itself was interesting, and I had suspicions about the murderer, but it was fun to read the book and see how all the pieces and red herrings fit together in the investigations — both official and Daisy’s. Most of the regular characters were present, and even though Tom Tring had retired from the force, he was present and involved in the investigation. It would not have been the same without Tom involved. I hope he will be involved in future Daisy adventures as well.
I hope there will be more Daisy adventures. I enjoy Daisy and her friends and the mysteries are light fun reads, just the way to kick off a year’s reading well.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four Cups of Fortifying Tea and some very nice biscuits
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Monopoly Property: Go
Book: Superfluous Women
Author: Carola Dunn
This was not only my first read of 2017, but it marked the start of my 2017 Monopoly Reading Challenge. I was reading on the site where I found the original Monopoly Reading Challenge that most people planned out their reading ahead of time, but having done reading challenges before where the reading had to be carefully planned out, I knew that strategy was not for me. So although I read the tasks for each property, I didn’t investigate further or plan out reading for each task. I think that is the best strategy for me, and am looking forward to figuring out which books on my shelves or Kindle fit each property’s task when I land on it.
Everyone starts at Go, naturally. Go is a free read, meaning I could read any book I wanted. After scanning my shelves, I decided to read the latest (though hopefully not the last) Daisy Dalrymple mystery. It had been a while since I caught up with Daisy, but time did not seem to matter a bit. Daisy is still as fun as ever, and as good a friend as she always was. And Alec and the gang at the Yard are just as exasperated with her adventures as ever.
This was a fun adventure and introduced group of people, that while I had known, never really considered needing a group name. The title refers to the women who outnumbered men in England following the ravages of the first World War and the 1918 Influenza epidemic. There were truly not enough men for every woman to marry, and the unmarried women were collectively referred to as “Superfluous Women” or “Surplus Women” as though they were factory over-runs. It was a an issue, because despite these women’s best efforts, they did not fit in the societal norms at the time.
The Superfluous Women (though I hate calling the group that, as it seems belittling and derogatory) of the title were a group of three women who moved into a house together after circumstances made it necessary for them to begin again in a new town. The small town they moved to, like many towns, did not know quite what to make of them, or what to do with them, but by the end of the book, things were definitely looking a bit better for the women.
Because it was a murder mystery, there had to be a murder, and as usual, Daisy was mixed up in it from finding the body to the end of the investigation. The body had been found in the women’s newly purchased house, and while the police didn’t actually suspect them, both they and their personal stories are important parts of the investigation.
The mystery itself was interesting, and I had suspicions about the murderer, but it was fun to read the book and see how all the pieces and red herrings fit together in the investigations — both official and Daisy’s. Most of the regular characters were present, and even though Tom Tring had retired from the force, he was present and involved in the investigation. It would not have been the same without Tom involved. I hope he will be involved in future Daisy adventures as well.
I hope there will be more Daisy adventures. I enjoy Daisy and her friends and the mysteries are light fun reads, just the way to kick off a year’s reading well.
One Bear’s Opinion: Four Cups of Fortifying Tea and some very nice biscuits
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Reading -- 2017 Monopoly Reading Challenge
This reading challenge looked too interesting and too much fun to pass up, so I am going to try it out this year. I'm a bit worried about reading to a challenge, but I still think it's a good idea. I'm going to read books I already own, so I won't really be reading anything I wouldn't have anyway, but not every challenge has to take you outside your comfort zone.
The challenge was originally intended only for historical mysteries, but because this is a personal challenge, and I don't always want to read a mystery, I am changing the rules and modifying the tasks a bit to allow for books from any genre, though to be truthful, many will end up being mysteries because that's mainly what I read. Also, I decided to allow for a re-roll if I land on a property I already "own."
*** Note: I've used the property names from the (original) US version of the game, because it's the version I grew up playing and the version I know best. The tasks are based on both the US and UK property names.
2017 Monopoly Reading Challenge
Rules:
1. Roll one die and move around the board according to the number rolled.
3. Follow the instructions for each property as outlined below.
4. You must finish your chosen book before rolling again; no rolling ahead.
5. Re-rolls are allowed if you land on a square you already own.
6. The goal is the move around the board and collect ALL of the properties.
Properties:
Go: Start, read any book of your choice. Superfluous Women -- Dunn, Carola (1/5/17)
Mediterranean Avenue: Read a book set in a Mediterranean country or a book with a brown cover
Community Chest #1: Read a book from any series begun before 1950.
Baltic Avenue: Read a book set in a Baltic country or a book in which a crime occurs at some point during the book.
Income Tax: Read the book on your to-be-read shelf with the lowest Goodreads rating. Pretty Lady -- Babson, Marian (1/10/17)
Reading Railroad: Read a book set in the 19th century (1800-1899).
Oriental Avenue: Read a book set in the Orient or a book with a blue cover.
Chance #1: Read a book recommended by a friend.
Vermont Avenue: Read a book set in a New England State or a cozy mystery. Clammed Up -- Ross, Barbara (1/14/17)
Connecticut: Read a book with a bridge on the cover or set in a a city with a famous prison.
Just Visiting: Roll the die again, move forward and complete the task for that property.
St. Charles Place: Read a book that contains paranormal elements or whose title has a word with double letters.
Electric Company: Read a book set in 17th century (1600-1699).
States Avenue: Read a book that is set during or in the immediate aftermath of a war in which either the United States or United Kingdom participated.
Virginia Avenue: Read a book set during the Elizabethan period or the Roman Empire.
Pennsylvania Railroad: Read a book set in a place you’d like to visit. Fer-de-Lance -- Stout, Rex (1/20/17)
St. James Place: Read a book with a character who is a member of a royal family from any country or a private investigator.
Community Chest #2: Read a book from any Fiction series.
Tennessee Avenue: Read a book set in the Southern Hemisphere or with a white cover.
New York Avenue: Read a book set in a large city or with a protagonist who is a police detective.
Free Parking: Read any book of your choice.
Kentucky Avenue: Read a book set in the Victorian era or a book with a red cover. Murder at the Breakers -- Maxwell, Alyssa (1/25/17)
Chance #2: Read a book by a new-to-you author.
Indiana Avenue: Read a book set in a rural area or in which the protagonist or narrator is a member of the clergy, a writer or a journalist.
Illinois Avenue: Read a book set in the Northern Hemisphere or with a statue, monument or building on the cover.
B&O Railroad: Read a book where the protagonist sets out on a journey at some point during the book. The Silver Locomotive Mystery -- Marston, Edward (2/4/17)
Atlantic Avenue: Read a book set in a country on the Atlantic Ocean or with a yellow cover.
Ventnor Avenue: Read a book set in Medieval times or a book that contains at least one real historical figure as a character.
Water Works: Read a book with a body of water on the cover.
Marvin Gardens: Read a book featuring a woman as the main character or with a flower, tree or garden on the cover.
Go to Jail: Roll the die again, move backward and complete the task for that property.
Pacific Avenue: Read a book set in a country on the Pacific Ocean or set during the Regency period.
North Carolina Avenue: Read a book set at a university or any place of higher learning or a book with a green cover.
Community Chest #3: Read a book from any Historical Mystery series.
Pennsylvania Avenue: Read a thriller/suspense book or a book with a purple cover. Thunder on the Right -- Stewart, Mary (2/19/17)
Short Line Railroad: Read a book of 150 to 250 pages in length.
Chance #3: Read a book from any Bestseller List.
Park Place: Read a book in which the protagonist is very wealthy and/or titled or set in a city with a famous park.
Luxury Tax: Read the book on your to-be-read shelf with the highest Goodreads rating.
Boardwalk: Read a book set in a seaside town or a world capital city.
The challenge was originally intended only for historical mysteries, but because this is a personal challenge, and I don't always want to read a mystery, I am changing the rules and modifying the tasks a bit to allow for books from any genre, though to be truthful, many will end up being mysteries because that's mainly what I read. Also, I decided to allow for a re-roll if I land on a property I already "own."
*** Note: I've used the property names from the (original) US version of the game, because it's the version I grew up playing and the version I know best. The tasks are based on both the US and UK property names.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 Monopoly Reading Challenge
Rules:
1. Roll one die and move around the board according to the number rolled.
3. Follow the instructions for each property as outlined below.
4. You must finish your chosen book before rolling again; no rolling ahead.
5. Re-rolls are allowed if you land on a square you already own.
6. The goal is the move around the board and collect ALL of the properties.
Properties:
Mediterranean Avenue: Read a book set in a Mediterranean country or a book with a brown cover
Community Chest #1: Read a book from any series begun before 1950.
Baltic Avenue: Read a book set in a Baltic country or a book in which a crime occurs at some point during the book.
I
Reading Railroad: Read a book set in the 19th century (1800-1899).
Oriental Avenue: Read a book set in the Orient or a book with a blue cover.
Chance #1: Read a book recommended by a friend.
Connecticut: Read a book with a bridge on the cover or set in a a city with a famous prison.
Just Visiting: Roll the die again, move forward and complete the task for that property.
St. Charles Place: Read a book that contains paranormal elements or whose title has a word with double letters.
Electric Company: Read a book set in 17th century (1600-1699).
States Avenue: Read a book that is set during or in the immediate aftermath of a war in which either the United States or United Kingdom participated.
Virginia Avenue: Read a book set during the Elizabethan period or the Roman Empire.
St. James Place: Read a book with a character who is a member of a royal family from any country or a private investigator.
Community Chest #2: Read a book from any Fiction series.
Tennessee Avenue: Read a book set in the Southern Hemisphere or with a white cover.
New York Avenue: Read a book set in a large city or with a protagonist who is a police detective.
Free Parking: Read any book of your choice.
Chance #2: Read a book by a new-to-you author.
Indiana Avenue: Read a book set in a rural area or in which the protagonist or narrator is a member of the clergy, a writer or a journalist.
Illinois Avenue: Read a book set in the Northern Hemisphere or with a statue, monument or building on the cover.
Atlantic Avenue: Read a book set in a country on the Atlantic Ocean or with a yellow cover.
Ventnor Avenue: Read a book set in Medieval times or a book that contains at least one real historical figure as a character.
Water Works: Read a book with a body of water on the cover.
Marvin Gardens: Read a book featuring a woman as the main character or with a flower, tree or garden on the cover.
Go to Jail: Roll the die again, move backward and complete the task for that property.
Pacific Avenue: Read a book set in a country on the Pacific Ocean or set during the Regency period.
North Carolina Avenue: Read a book set at a university or any place of higher learning or a book with a green cover.
Community Chest #3: Read a book from any Historical Mystery series.
Short Line Railroad: Read a book of 150 to 250 pages in length.
Chance #3: Read a book from any Bestseller List.
Park Place: Read a book in which the protagonist is very wealthy and/or titled or set in a city with a famous park.
Luxury Tax: Read the book on your to-be-read shelf with the highest Goodreads rating.
Boardwalk: Read a book set in a seaside town or a world capital city.
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