I’m reading ‘Dead By Midnight” by Beverly Barton. This is the 7th book in the Powell Detective Agency series and the reason for reading this is to see what is happening with the cast of characters from previous stories that are interwoven in the subsequent books. I’m enjoying this having read non-stop until this thing called “work” intrudes. I’ll be finishing it up tonight. It makes for a good read without having read the others in the series.

What are you reading?

Just finished a technical book about software user stories.

I’ve been reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea on the Kindle as my ‘spare time’ book. Forgot how good he writes.

My 12 y/o has a set of books she wants me to read:
- Deep and Dark and Dangerous
- Beastologist flight of the phoenix

It’s kind of cool she recommends things to me now!

I have a couple of more ‘geek’ books in the TBR pile and a couple of classics on the Kindle for spare time reading.

I’m also reading for book clubs. I just finished up Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler and I’m 3/4 through Soulless by Gail Carriger. They aren’t my normal fare and I am very pleasantly surprised with unique voices and stories. I’m hooked. Right after I finish Soulless, I’ll be starting The English School of Murder by Ruth Dudley Edwards for a discussion on Saturday. The weather here’s been crummy enough that staying in and reading is more sensible than risking an accident driving around in a fruitless search for a job – oh, well, I have lots more books in the TBR pile!

Karen, I second that Craig Ferguson book. It’s different and good in a way one seldom finds. It’s sort of like finding out that a strange food you think you won’t like turns out to be really tasty. He’s deeper and more complicated than many might think. He wrote and appeared in a sweet, slightly sad little movie called, Saving Grace, that I highly recommend. (Another film of his, The Big Tease, is weirdly funny, in an over-the-top way.)

Kate, I know! You’d never know that he left school at age 16, nor that he was an alcoholic and drug addict until about 15 years ago. He’s brilliant, as he has demonstrated in some of his deeper interviews on The Late Late Show. I was blown away by the display of intelligence that late at night, which so rarely happens. Lately he’s playing it for laughs, which I think is too bad because he rivals Dick Cavett in the brainy interview department.

Josephine Tey’s “Miss Pym Disposes” is at the top of my reading stack.

I overheard someone mention Tey at a convention, and realized I had another of her books, “A Shilling for Candles,” in my “cover copy caught me and it’s only a dime” stack. I read it, loved Tey’s writing, and recently picked up Pym. Enjoying it as well.

Also in the stack: “The Best American Spiritual Writing 2008″ (yup, I’m behind) and “Death Without Company” by Craig Johnson. Johnson’s first book, “Cold Dish,” was also a bargain buy–and an awesome find. I buy him hardcover or in Penguin trade when I find him.

If you haven’t tried anything in the Best American series (mystery short stories are in included), give it a go. Since editors vary from year to year, there’s always something new. To date, my favorite Best American series samples sports writing. The words sing and the people come alive. And keep in mind–I’m not a guy who follows sports.

Joe, there are new editions of several of Josephine Tey’s books out lately. I picked up Brat Farrar, which I read about 30 years ago, and can’t wait to read it again. The plot is simple, but the way she explains the character’s motivations is excellent.

Kate,

Thanks for the update on Tey! She won my heart with Candles. I don’t think her body of work is extensive, so I’m taking my time with the rest.

If you’re ever near St. Louis, you need to visit my friend’s museum in Greenville, Ill. It opens in March, and it’ll have examples of strange lodge initiation devices full of coils and dials and diagrams. Mostly stuff from the early 1900s. Very steampunkish. I just wrote some lobby card copy for him and tried to set a mood. It was Sherlock Holmes meets Jules Verne. For me, they lived in the same neighborhood anyway.

And Lynn (and Kate), if you like steampunk, you might give Jay Lake a go. His “Mainspring” is lush. It’s steampunk, but has the feel of epic fantasy, in that the world is so fully realized. I love the devices and the environment. The opening rocks. The guy can wax lyrical like nobody’s business.

That said, if you’re a reader who doesn’t have time nor patience for world building, better go elsewhere. Also, the narrative is segmented. There are times when you jump the tracks, and don’t get back for a while. Me, I like the push-pull feeling of being dragged and flung through a story to the very end.

I’m often bloodied and bruised by the time I finish a book.

A word of caution on Jay Lake: some sequences in his material are decidedly adult. Not something I’d hand off to m’ youngin’s.

Finally, I’ve heard good things about Cherie Priest but haven’t sampled the work.

Boca Mournings…sounds good! Thanks, Linda!