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Tag Archives: just desserts
Your 2011 Just Desserts hiatus reading assignment!
During the Nov/Dec 2011 hiatus between meetings of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group, we encourage regular attendees to continue to participate as a group…but in a virtual way. While we may not have an actual meeting scheduled during these two months, this blog is available to keep everyone active with their mystery reading and discussions.
Our “hiatus author” for 2011 is Georges Simenon, creator of the legendary sleuth Inspector Maigret. We encourage Just Desserts participants to read any book in the Inspector Maigret series (or watch an episode of one of the Maigret TV or movie adaptations), at some point in November or December 2011, then come back here and leave a comment about whatever you read or watched, as a response to this discussion topic.
As a bit of background, here are some links to Simenon and Maigret information:
- Georges Simenon entry on Wikipedia
- Simenon’s Maigret — a detailed site about the series, with tons of links
In all, there have been 75 novels and 28 short stories written by Simenon that feature Maigret, and the Lincoln City Libraries still have over 45 of these.
We look forward to seeing your comments here over the course of the next two months!
Scott C. – Just Desserts coordinator and host
Mystery recommendations from Just Desserts members – October 2011
Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?
At the October 27th, Just Desserts meeting, after discussing our monthly “assigned” book, we did a round robin at the table, asking attendees to share what mysteries they’d been reading lately that they felt they could recommend. Here’s a list of the novels that were hot in October with this mystery-savvy crowd:
- Split by Catherine Coulter
- Evil Eclairs by Jessica Beck
- Dog Tags by David Rosenfelt
- Murder and the First Lady by Elliott Roosevelt
- The Hyde Park Murders by Elliott Roosevelt
- Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg
- Shockwave by John Sandford
- Blood Red Indian Summer by David Handler
- Dead by Midnight by Carolyn G. Hart
- The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
- The Cruelest Month, part of the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny
- Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson
- On the Line by S.J. Rozen
- The Treacherous Teddy by John J. Lamb
- The Ranger by Ace Atkins
- Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
- Thunder Bay by William Kent Kreuger
- Kill and Tell by Linda howard
- Innocent in Death by J.D. Robb
- Aunt Dimity and the Duke by Nancy Atherton
- A Rule Against Murder, part of the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny
- The Wheel of Fate by Kate Sedley
Non-Mysteries read recently by group members:
- The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
- Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly
- Still Alice by Lisa Genova
- Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
- Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah
- Cutting for Stone (on CD) by Abraham Verghese
- The Story of Beautiful Girl (on CD) by Rachel Simon
So, what mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
Mystery recommendations from Just Desserts members – September 2011
Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?
At the September 29th Just Desserts meeting, after discussing our monthly “assigned” book, we did a round robin at the table, asking attendees to share what mysteries they’d been reading lately that they felt they could recommend. Here’s a list of the novels that were hot last month with this mystery-savvy crowd:
- Cat Sitter Among the Pigeons by Blaize Clement
- At Risk by Patricia Cornwell
- The Mrs. Jeffries series by Emily Brightwell
- Naked Heat by Richard Castle
- Blood Stream by Tess Gerritsen
- A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
- The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
- Sixkill by Robert B. Parker
- One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming
- Though Not Dead by Dana Stabenow
- Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle by Ann B. Ross
- The Man From Beijing by Henning Mankell
- Son of Stone by Stuart Woods
- Heat Wave by Richard Castle
- Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan
- The Inspector Singh series by Shamini Flint
- Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
- The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg
- Lucifer’s Tears by Jack Thompson
- Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
- Heat Rising by Richard Castle
Non-Mysteries recommended by group members:
- The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World
- Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo
- In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
So, what mysteries have you been reading that you’d recommend?
Nancy Atherton’s “Aunt Dimity’s Death”
During our September 2011 meeting, the Just Desserts mystery fiction group discussed the first book in Nancy Atherton’s popular “Aunt Dimity” series, Aunt Dimity’s Death.
This book was discussed at the Just Desserts meeting on September 29th, 2011. Whether or not you attended the actual meeting, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions about this book (and series) in a reply comment to this blog post, below.
Join us next on October 27th, 2011, at South Branch Library (6:30 p.m.), as we discuss the combined works of author Louise Penny, whose series featuring Chief Inspector Gamache has reached seven volumes as of 2011. Participants are encouraged to read ANY of Penny’s novels — we’ll be discussing them all in a general sense. The series begins with Still Life. October is the final meeting of Just Desserts for 2011.
And, for additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, if you’re logged into your account on Facebook, you can visit the Events page for the Lincoln City Libraries, and mark whether or not you plan to attend upcoming sessions of Just Desserts!
What do you think of Aunt Dimity’s Death?
Lillian Jackson Braun’s “The Cat Who Could Read Backwards”
During our August 2011 meeting, the Just Desserts mystery fiction group discussed Lilian Jackson Braun’s first Cat Who… mystery, The Cat Who Could Read Backwards.
This book was discussed at the Just Desserts meeting on August 18th, 2011. Whether or not you attended the actual meeting, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions about this book (and series) in a reply comment to this blog post, below.
Join us next on September 29, 2011, at South Branch Library (6:30 p.m.), as we discuss the very first “Aunt Dimity” novel, by Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity’s Death. Titles for the remaining meetings in 2011 are now posted on the BookGuide web site.
And, for additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, if you’re logged into your account on Facebook, you can visit the Events page for the Lincoln City Libraries, and mark whether or not you plan to attend upcoming sessions of Just Desserts!
What do you think of The Cat Who Could Read Backwards?