"The Curse Of The Pharaohs"

The Curse Of The Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters

This is the second in the Amelia Peabody books with Amelia and Radcliffe Emmerson now married and the parents of a little boy. Domesticity hasn't mellowed their high spirits, but they both miss the excitement of the archeology dig.

At the beginning of the book they are living in England with their almost unbelievably precocious son, Ramses. He is a highly intelligent child who learned to read at the age of 3 and who is constantly busy doing exactly as he pleases. I think we're meant to find him adorable, and at moments I do, but at other moments I find him obnoxious and in dire need of discipline.

When fellow archeologist, Henry Baskerville dies in the field, his widow asks Radcliffe to go to Egypt and finish his work. Radcliffe is unwilling to go without Amelia, so they leave Ramses with Radcliffe's brother Walter and Walter's wife Evelyn (both of whom were major characters in the first book) and head for the dig in Egypt.

In Egypt other interesting characters enter the story, several mysteries arise and need resolving, and the Emmersons deal with it all in their inimitable way. The writing is every bit as good as the first book and the wit as sharp, as borne out in the following quotes.

Speaking of the negative effect having a widowed lady in the bedroom adjoining theirs might have on their romantic activities:

"I had feared the presence of Lady Baskerville in the adjoining room might inhibit Emerson to some extent. It did in the beginning. Casting an irritated glance at the closed portal, which I had promptly bolted, her muttered, "Curse it, Amelia, this is going to be a nuisance; I shan't be able to say a thing for fear of being overheard." However, as time went on he became so involved in what he was doing that all reserve fled and all external distractions were forgotten. My own contributions toward achieving this end were not inconsiderable."

And when Amelia is considering the long suffering daughter of a drunken, obnoxious woman as a suspect in her latest mystery:

"I immediately removed her from my list of suspects. The fact that she had not yet exterminated her mother proved that she was incapable of violence."

I love all the clever quips that fill these books; it's what makes them so much fun to read and it's what will have me looking for the next title in the series after I knock a few others off my tbr.

Next Up: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

"Crocodile On The Sandbank"

Crocodile On The Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

This is the first book in the Amelia Peabody series, of which I had never heard until I started blogging and discovering other book blogs, many of which referred to this series of books. They are set in the Victorian era and are written in that slightly uppity, bitingly sarcastic, always enjoyable style. Amelia Peabody is a feisty archeology buff and an amateur sleuth. I've never been a fan of mysteries but the writing, settings and characters in these books are so good that I can forgive them being mysteries.

I can't say enough good things about the writing. It's incredibly entertaining, witty, wry and so much fun. I want to live with these characters just so I can listen to them talk to each other. I love well done sarcasm (as long as it doesn't stray over the line and become malicious) and Amelia is an expert. Better than an expert, if there was a Nobel prize for sarcasm, she'd win it.

Radcliffe Emerson, the other main character, is the only one who can equal her, firing back barbs of his own that are exquisitely pointed. He has no tolerance for the vanities of women and she has none for the conceits of men. They butt heads at every meeting. Both Amelia and Radcliffe are people I'm afraid I would avoid in real life, but on paper I admire them and wish I had a measure of their confidence. And lest I give the wrong impression, there is more to them than just their rapier wit; they are basically good people with more virtues than flaws, complex enough to be interesting and sympathetic enough to be inspiring.

In this first book of the series Amelia and Radcliffe meet, irritate each other, work together and solve a mystery that includes a nocturnal roving mummy at a dig in Egypt. Radcliffe's younger brother, Walter, and Amelia's young friend, Evelyn, also meet, then develop a romantic relationship that becomes completely tangled up in the mummy mystery.

The characters are well formed and continue to develop throughout the book. The plot line has enough twists and turns to keep you turning the pages and by the time you finish the last page there is no question about whether or not to read the next book. You'll be having far too much fun to stop. Fortunately when I placed a hold on this book at the library I also requested the next one "The Curse Of The Pharaohs", so I was able to start that as soon as I finished the first one.

I don't know which blog I was reading when I first found out about this series but I'm very grateful for the introduction. They are an absolute delight to read.
Here are a few passages to tempt you:

"...love has a most unfortunate effect on the brain, and I feared some lingering fondness for the rascal might still move her."

"I didn't suppose that the man had any notion of matters outside of his account books; men never do."

"Women don't think. A little forethought would prevent most of the suffering they constantly complain about."

"I glanced at (his helmet), and at his haggard face, and sniffed meaningfully; but I made no comment."

"It would be improper for them to travel unchaperoned; but by that time I was ready to consign the proprieties to perdition, where they belonged."

Give this series a look; I think you'll be glad you did.

Up next: The Curse Of The Pharaohs, the second in the series.

"The Wednesday Letters"

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

I picked this book off the shelf because of the word "letters" in the title. I love letter books! The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and 84,Charring Cross Road are two of my all time favorites. Then there's C.S.Lewis's Letters to Malcolm and The Screwtape Letters. Wonderful! There is just something special about a story that unfolds through letters. If you know of any other good ones do let me know.

The Wednesday Letters tells the story of two brothers and a sister who gather at the family Bed and Breakfast after both of their parents die in one night. They find boxes of letters written from their father to their mother every Wednesday of their married life. Some of the letters talk about the ordinary events of family life, some tell funny stories the children have never heard, and a few reveal secrets that shock them and forever change the way they see their family.

The main character is Malcolm, one of the brothers, but his two siblings are also major parts of the story. Secondary characters include an uncle (a recovered alcholic), a close family friend (with the strange name A&P), Malcolm's ex-girlfriend (Rain) and her fiance (Nathan) and a sister-in-law who doesn't enter the story till close to the end. Malcolm has been living out of the country for two years and when he comes home, his past, with it's romantic and legal problems, must be faced. The characters are realistic with both strengths and weaknesses. They are typical siblings in that they love each other, but they also know how to push each other's buttons and they do it often.

The opening is successful at getting your attention and setting the scene for the rest of the book. The story moves along quickly due to an abundance, but not an over abundance, of dialogue that flows well and feels natural. It turned out to be a quicker read than I had expected.

A quaint surprise for the reader is found inside the back cover. A sealed envelope labeled Epilogue contains a final letter. A nice touch, fun and original.

There were a couple of things I didn't like, but they were little things and didn't affect my enjoyment of the story. It's a little too gushy in one or two spots for my taste, and I found it odd that as well as the epilogue in the sealed envelope there was another one in the usual place at the end of the main story. I would have liked to see it structured a little better than that. Also the first couple of letters felt a bit contrived, containing details for the reader's benefit that made the writing feel unnatural.

I recommend The Wednesday Letters as an engaging, clean, easy to read book for just about anyone. It provides a pleasant three or four hours of reading, not particularly memorable, but worthy of the time you spend with it.

Friday Blog Hop

It's Friday and time for the hop, hosted ever week by Crazy For Books, where you'll find  a list of bookish blogs with lots of book reviews and recommendations. Enjoy!

Premio Dardos & Versatile Blogger

A big thank you to Bibliophiliac for the The Premio Dardos award.

"The Prêmio Dardos is a way to acknowledge the importance of bloggers committed to spreading cultural, ethical, literary and personal values, showing their thoughts are alive through their letters and words. The rules to follow are: 1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link. 2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

It's very exciting to be acknowledged by fellow bloggers like this and I love passing them on. There are a lot of great blogs, but each award is different and I feel it's important to pass it on to those blogs that meet the specifics of the award, which takes some time to research. So, I'll be doing that in bits and pieces, starting with 5 today.

These are the blogs I'm passing the award on to and that I hope you'll check out:
Bloggin' bout Books
Bookworm With A View
Homespun Light
I Prefer Reading
Stuck-In-A-Book

Another big thank-you to Reading With Tequila for The Versatile Blogger award.

The Rules for the award are:
1. Thank the person who gave you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (in no particular order…)
4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

Seven things about me:
1. My book club meeting is always the highlight of my month.
2. At last count there were 256 authors on my tbr list.
3. I make lists. Lots and lots of lists.
4. I'm a Montreal Canadians fan.
5. In the past year I have discovered that if I don't like a book I don't have to finish it. It only took me 58 years.
6. I speak fluent pig-latin, a sad confession for a 58 year old, but I lack other talent to brag about.
7. When I was 16 I won a national limerick contest. The subject was hometown tourist attractions and I wrote an unflattering verse that I realize now probably didn't do our town any good, but hey, it did win me the contest.

The first five blogs I'm passing this award along to are:
A Reader's Journal
And The Plot Thickens
Life Happens While Books Are Waiting
The Book Buff
Words, Words, Words

Again, thanks for the thumbs up
Dianne

"Three Cups Of Tea"

Three Cups Of Tea by Greg Mortensen

I am an idiot. My book club is reading this book for our June selection so when I found it I didn't even look beyond the title. The cover said "Three Cups of Tea" so I bought it. It seemed a little lightweight when I started reading it, with short sentences, simple wording etc., then I noticed the cover...it clearly says "Young Readers Edition". I read the entire book in just over an hour. I'm sure the basic story is the same, but I probably missed out on a lot of extra stories and details.

I have no idea how to write about a "Young Reader's" book; I wouldn't even attempt to say what a young reader would consider "good", especially in a true story like this one. So I'll just tell you about some of the book's impressive "physical" features.

There are quite a number of colored photographs in the book that give faces to some of the prominent characters and also show the work that is being accomplished. There is a time-line, a glossary that I think is great for that age group and a who's who to help sort out all the people involved in the story. Also included is an interesting interview with the author's daughter about her part in the work that her father started in Pakistan. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book, along with research and writing activities and there are maps to show you the various areas the author refers to.

All in all it appears that a great deal of work went into creating a book appropriate for younger readers and I thought all the extra features were great. But I still wish I had read the "grown-up" version. Maybe next time I'll be more careful when I'm shopping. One can hope.

P.S. We had our Book Club meeting tonight and several others mistakenly bought the Young Reader's version as well, leaving me feeling slightly less stupid.