Friday Book Blogging

This week I consumed a tepid five books, most of which were under 200 pages. Still... my favorite was Kerry Greenwood's A Question of Death. This is a collection of short stories featuring one of my favorite characters for light reading, Phryne Fisher.
Quite frankly, I will read anything that features Miss Fisher. She is one of the fictional characters who is always welcome. And the time period (1920s and 1930s) is one that I enjoy (which is good since there are so many books set in that era). If you're taking up with Phryne for the first time, try her in this, or her first full-length adventure, Cocaine Blues. It's a great introduction to the quintessential Aussie flapper.

Friday Book Blogging

I love Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mysteries, so it's no surprise that my pick of the week is another Kerry Greenwood novel. This one features modern-day baker, Corinna Chapman who has a handsome police detective boyfriend, a passel of cats, a penchant for strays, and an extra-large figure.
Cooking the Books is not as entertaining as any novel featuring the irrepressible Miss Fisher, but the story has enough twists to keep you entertained. Actually, it's a good story, but entirely too much time is spent with the cats and the fat.

Un reality

I'm feeling distinctly disillusioned with the real world of late, so here is a list of fictional characters I wish were real so I could hang out:

• Richard Jury
• Mary Russell
• Julian Kestrel
• Amelia Peabody
• William and Hester Monk
• Tobias Walton
(all of the above from previous post on fictional characters) 
•  Sherlock Holmes 
• Armand Gamache
• Lord Peter Wimsey
• Flavia  de Luce
• Phryne Fisher
• Bess Crawford
• Vicky Bliss
• Theophilos (aka Feste)

There are countless others who would be a hoot, but are not part of a series. The joy of characters who are in a series is that they come back and grow and become more real each new book. And the really well-created ones, get better with each book too.

Binge

Why is it so easy to binge? I don't mean due to access, although we are lucky enough to have at our fingertips, access to entire TV shows, movies, book series, and even need to make little effort for chocolate ice cream or family-sized bags of potato chips. I mean, is there a human disposition to bingeing (how odd that the e stays on that spelling) or is it a peculiarly American thing? If we gave every Bangladeshi access to the complete Breaking Bad series, would half the nation binge on Walter White? Do twenty-somethings in England watch all 9 Harry Potter movies in one sitting? I have to force myself to borrow only ONE book in a series on each library visit or I would gorge on them all and find myself waiting and wanting.
I have most recently become obsessed with the Phryne Fisher television series from Australia. 34 episodes based on the wonderful books of Kerry Greenwood who I have blogged about before. The series is not quite faithful to the books in that it creates a more complex relationship with the two main characters than what exists in the novels, but that is understandable for the medium. The costumes and music more than make up for any flaws in the adaption.

I am currently searching for a new fixation. And taking suggestions.

Yet another fictional character

This one's Australian: an Aussie flapper with a most liberated attitude and the money to indulge it. Phryne Fisher is the invention of Kerry Greenwood and another detective well worth the read for those of you who like that sort of thing.