About
I recently retired from my job as a library associate in a busy public library. I am obsessed with books but right now I miss having people to share them with in person. I love crime fiction, especially of the British variety. I am an ardent Anglophile, but I have to say, having just come back from a trip that included a short stay in Edinburgh, I have fallen equally in love with Scotland!
My other interests are classical music and cats, especially our own cat, Miss Marple!
Joanne Sobieck-Lingg said,
July 12, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Roberta,
Having only had a chance to peruse your blog (mother of 2 and all that), I worry that my first comment to your blog (and my first comment to any blog) is not worthy of the quality of your articles, and your fantastic mind in general. I look at your blog as a welcome friend from one book lover to another (or at least one in the making), and the hope for my return to any kind of intellectualism. Because of you, I have already enjoyed the Laurie King books, Lambs of London, and Old Filth (just to name a few). I look forward to continuing to mine your blog for wonderful recommendations–and to just enjoy reading the blog itself, which is incredibly well written and entertaining.
Thanks for all the love and hard work that goes into this!
Joanne (fan and friend for life)
Miriam said,
September 20, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Hi! Just wanted you to know about our Miss Marple. She is a year old calico & named by my teenage daughter after her favourite Agatha Christie character, which one should be obvious! Funny to come across another feline Miss M., who by the way, looks alot like my younger daughter’s cat, Rupert, after the bear in the, what else, Rupert annuals. Cheers.
Roberta Rood said,
September 23, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Miriam,
Your Miss Marple sounds like a Sweetie! Feel free to send a picture.
Adrien Meskin said,
October 11, 2007 at 5:29 pm
I wonder if you could change the background color on the column to the right which houses pages, archives, etc. As is, it is really difficult to read. Thanks so much for this interesting Blog. I look forward to incorporating your suggestions into my book group. I just read The Book Group Book, A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group, edited by Ellen Slezak. Truly wonderful!
shira said,
February 23, 2008 at 10:13 am
Very jealous that you have the time to read and the ability to travel. Good on you!
Rosy Thornton said,
February 27, 2008 at 10:35 am
Dear Roberta,
As someone who spends far too much time reading book blogs (and far too much money on books in consequence) I have enjoyed your reviews, suggestions and general musings enormously.
I wondered whether I could send you a novel, to add to your no doubt tottering heaps? It’s one that might feed you anglophile tendencies (a ‘campus’ story set in a Cambridge college) and it includes a marmalade cat. E-mail me an address and I’ll stick one in the post.
Rosy
Roberta Rood said,
February 27, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Rosy,
I just read a great review of Hearts and Minds on the excellent blog Booksplease. Thanks so much – I accept your gracious offer!
teri said,
May 3, 2008 at 9:28 pm
hi,
We like the same authors,great! Perhaps you can
help me to find an author. Protagonist is a police
detective(?) in one of the out islands of Scotland or
Ireland. He is investigating the murder of a young girl.
The body of another young girl turns up. The second body was murdered many years before. the local wierdo man is suspected but didn’t do it. Thoughts??
Teri
Roberta Rood said,
May 4, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Teri, I’m pretty sure you’re describing the plot of RAVEN BLACK by Ann Cleeves.
Am I right?
Ron Slate said,
August 17, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I had meant to add a link to your great blog on my homepage, but simply forgot. It will be added early this week. Continuing to enjoy everything you have ro say! Ron
teri said,
September 24, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Have you read “Edgar Sawtelle”? It’s getting a lot of hype right now.
I read it a few months ago. I think it’’s the book equivaent of
“the emperor’s new clothes”. Horrible!
BTW, I just picked up “White Nights” by Cleeves.
Teri
Frances Goodson Wang said,
October 16, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I will be checking back to delve deeper into your Blog. I attended the mystery writers conference: Bouchercon in Baltimore. I am one of many Laurie R. King fans who attended and were fortunate enough to have dinner with her twice. Check out LRK’s Mutterings for more details and names of fans.
I read Edgar Sawtelle but felt the author had the bones of a great story but blew it big time in the way he ended the book and due to the weakly developed and unresolved themes in the story. No matter, I really liked the doggies.
I just finished F. Paul Wilson’s Implant. It is the first time I have read a book where the author is playing his own word game whilst writing a passable story. It was clear Wilson was having fun. Has anyone read it?
Frances
Kathy Durkin said,
January 21, 2009 at 10:50 am
Hi Roberta,
Where can I find the best books of 2008 list and the blogging about it?
I meant to write down titles but didn’t and now want to do that.
Thanks,
Kathy
Janet said,
March 13, 2009 at 2:51 pm
HI – your blog looks terrific – I was recommended it by my friend Shirley from HCL. I’ll have to thank her! I enjoyed your review of P.D. James ‘The Private Patient’. Much as I enjoyed reading the book, I found I was somewhat disappointed when I finished. I realized that I had been pretty sure of who the guilty person was quite a while before the end, which always disappoints me. Have you read any of the Windspear Mazie Dobbs mysteries? what do you think?
Roberta Rood said,
March 15, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Janet, you sound as though you had the same experience as the reviewer who said that despite her criticism of the novel, she nevertheless enjoyed reading it. I agree that the identity of the perpetrator was no great secret, but I though some of the other secrets that came out towards the end were provocative and surprising.
I read Maisie Dobbs but did not continue with the series. I liked the book but was not wild about it. Winspear’s prose style I found a bit dry.
Carol said,
March 18, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I just stumbled across your site while looking for an author/play/story regarding an old lady feeding chicken livers to starving cats with a comment – “but what of the unfortunate chicken?” Something from a college lit class about 50 yrs ago. So much for memory. Can you help? Thanks. I am an avid reader and plan on checking this site again – more thoroghly. cs
I just finished The Whale Caller by Zekes Mda. What a take on life. I found it timeless. Any thoughts? cs
Kathy Durkin said,
April 22, 2009 at 12:38 am
Hi Roberta,
Again, thanks for this lovely website.
Today I listened to the Concerto de Aranjuez and Bidu Sayou, whom I haven’t heard since we were at our parents’ home decades ago. It was wonderful.
I just went to the 2008 best mysteries and wrote down your recommendations of the top ten.
Do you have listed anywhere your mystery recommendations of 2009 or any more lists like this?
I just read Donna Leon’s latest, “About Face,” which was great. I almost have to join a 12-step program when I finish her books as it’s like finishing a chocolate cake and then saying, “What now”?
And read Nina Revoyr’s terrific book, “The Age of Dreaming.”
Am looking for some good reads. Others I have read lately have been uninteresting.
Since you have good taste, any recommendations?
Thanks again,
Kathy Durkin
Roberta Rood said,
April 22, 2009 at 1:20 am
Kathy,
First – thanks so much for your gracious comments. There are times when I find blogging to be extremely hard work. Expressions of appreciation like yours help my blogging energy going!
I empathize with your frustration regarding contemporary fiction. And I may as well take this opportunity to say that the I found the novel that just won the Pulitzer, OLIVE KITTERIDGE, unreadable – and I tried twice! If you hadn’t already read ABOUT FACE, I would recommend it. Donna Leon is such a superb writer that it’s hard to know where to go after finishing one of her novels.
I just finished the new Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell), THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT. I though it was excellent, but then I feel about her the way I feel about Donna Leon. There are some terrific short story writers at work out there. I’m thinking of Jhumpa Lahiri’s superb UNACCUSTOMED EARTH. And in the April 13 issue of the New Yorker, Colm Toibin, has a story that absolutely floored me – it seems to be about nothing unusual in human affairs but ends up being profound in the extreme. It’s called “The Color of Shadows.”Here’s the URL:
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2009/04/13/090413fi_fiction_toibin
I have to say that I think the best contemporary writing currently is being done in nonfiction. I’ve been reading in preparation for my trip to Italy next month. I loved Shirley Hazzard’s memoir GREENE ON CAPRI. I’ll probably just read the first chapter of Richard Fortey’s book about geology – EARTH: AN INTIMATE HISTORY – but I have to say, his writing is marvelous. (I really believe strongly that those Brits have an edge.)
Thanks for mentioning the Revoyr book. I remember being intrigued by reviews but then I forgot about it. I’ll certainly seek in out now.
Hope all of this helped!
Roberta
Pauline Cohen said,
May 3, 2009 at 3:59 am
Roberta,
I’ve just noticed your comment about OLIVE KITTERIDGE and respectfully, I have to disagree with you. I found it a wonderfully well-drawn portrait of a none-too-pleasant woman and her New England town. Its format–short stories–made it easy to put down and pick up again. I think it is a very deserving recipient of the Pulitzer Prize.
I did love ABOUT FACE though so we’re in agreement there. Ditto UNACCUSTOMED EARTH.
Pauline
Roberta Rood said,
May 3, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Pauline,
By all means, disagree! I’m in the minority where OLVE KITTERIDGE is concerned. I found it both deary & self-consciously literary at the same time; however, many others whose opinions I respent – yours very much included – liked it very much.
Kathy Durkin said,
July 5, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Hi Roberta,
Well, I just took Olive Kitteridge out of the library and haven’t started it yet, but now I am leery of it but will try anyway.
I am awaiting more books by Donna Leon, but am now hooked on Arnaldur Indridason, of Iceland, read Stieg Larsson’s first book which I liked, but didn”t love, and am reading Louise Ure’s third book which is good and riveting.
I have read all of Jhumpa Lahiri’s books and like them much.
I couldn’t read the first Maisie Dobbs, found it boring and dry, also.
I am going to read the Rendell book suggested; it sounds like a perfect summer book.
And am so glad you put up Newsweek’s suggestions on your website with your favorites of specified authors. I have not read Trollope but will try your favorite.
Also, the Michael Connolly books; I liked The Lincoln Lawyer the best, and just read the one with the lawyer and cop and will try your other recommendations.
Liked What the Dead Know a lot and just read Lippman’s stand-alone for this year and liked it.
And I love the Miss Marple pictures.
Best wishes to all for the summer.
Gail Coulson said,
July 8, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Roberta,
Looking forward to your presentation tomorrow night at Glenwood Branch. I’ve heard your booktalks at the Guthrie Library-Hanover’s Library several times. That’s where I received the address for your blog two years ago and have been enjoying it immensely. I’ve convinced several members of our Mystery Loves Company Book Group to attend and phoned in our reservations just this a.m.
I can’t wait to hear your suggestions and recommendations. Hopefully, your endorsements will encourage some of our members to be more adventurous in their reading choices.
Your vacation pictures are always fantastic also.
See you tomorrow evening!
Gail Coulson
Roberta Rood said,
July 8, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Gail, how nice to hear from you! I look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening.
Did you know I’ll be leading a discussion of a Georges Simenon novel – MONSIEUR MONDE VANISHES – at the Hanover Library next month?
Thanks again for your gracious words.
Gail Coulson said,
July 8, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Roberta,
Yes, I did know that you would be doing the booktalk next month. I’m not sure if I will make it or not. I’m usually babysitting grandchildren on Mondays. But if there is any way possible, I will be there!
Thanks for your reply.
Gail
kathy durkin said,
July 9, 2009 at 5:25 am
Thanks so much for bringing up Georges Simenon. Will try to find the book you suggest at the NY Public Library, my favorite book source.
Roberta Rood said,
July 13, 2009 at 1:29 am
Kathy,
When I lived in Manhattan, I was an avid user of the 42nd St. library. But I don’t feel quite the same about the place since they sold the iconic painting “Kindred Spirits” that hung on the wall of the main reading room for as long as I can remember…
Debbie said,
July 12, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Roberta:
I thought I was the only person obsessed with books especially mysteries. I was excited when by accident I discovered your blog. Have you ever read Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafon? It was one of the best books I read in 2008.
Debbie
kATHY dURKIN said,
July 21, 2009 at 3:02 am
HI,
A good summer evening–a pint of chocolate (nonfat) frozen yogurt, reading Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind website, Books to the Ceiling website and then settling in with a Michael Connelly book or the new Nevada Barr.
Best to all,
Kathy D.
Roberta Rood said,
July 21, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Kathy,
Thanks for the very gracious mention – I do appreciate it. Comments like yours help motivate me to keep up the work on Books to the Ceiling, aka The Project That Ate Roberta’s Life!
Kathy Durkin said,
July 21, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Hi Roberta,
I love this website and Sarah Weinman’s– the music, the books, the photos, the recommendations.
I may even try the Trollope which I recommended to my sister, too.
I couldn’t get into Olive Kitteridge but loaned it to my neighbor who’s into it.
I saw your Michael Connelly recommendations. Am I’m now into a Connelly period right now, if you recommend any others, appreciate it.
The Scandavians are capturing my attention, Arnaldur Indridasson, Stieg Larsson ( a bit less so), Yrsa Siggardadottir and am looking to read Camille Lackberg and Johan Theorin.
Barbara Fister has a blog on Scandinavian mysteries with an excellent viewpoint on how Stieg Larsson deals with women in his books, especially the main character Lizbeth Salander. (I’ll see if I can find it and post it.)
This is heading into a decadent summer patch: all I want to do is drink iced coffee, iced tea and read mysteries. Pay bills, do errands–not a chance.
Have a good summer of reading everyone,
Kathy Durkin
K. Durkin said,
August 4, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Just a note on that wonderful write-up about Dashiell Hammett and quotes from his writings and others.
On his being called before the McCarthy hearings, I think what he did was admirable and principled. He made his decisions about his own life which he took responsibility for (though he shouldn’t have been persecuted for that), but he did not name names. At a time when some caved in, he and his partner Lillian Hellman did not cause harm to other individuals, just took responsibility for themselves. This I think is the mature, self-confident way to deal with life’s sticky moral issues.
Lynn said,
August 9, 2009 at 6:12 pm
I came across your site while studying Graham Greene. I have also been reading Robert Goddard. Thank you for your Blog!!! Lynn
kdurkin said,
August 12, 2009 at 7:30 am
Hi Roberta,
Thanks for the clips from “The Magic Flute.” It led to quite a discussion with my sister who loves opera and sings it, too. Erika Miklosa was new to her and she will check into her singing.
Kathy D.
Alicia said,
August 23, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I just found your blog and am delighted. I read too much. My usual two subjects are history and mysteries, but throw in the occasional novel. (Like you, I liked The Housekeeper and The Professor and Monsieur Monde Vanishes [not a mystery; maybe a metaphysical tale; it is not an accident that monde is French for 'world' or 'country']). The first thing I want from a book is good writing, so well crafted the craft is invisible: I will forgive a lot for that. I was amazed to see so many of my favorites on your list(s). I have not been through all of the blogs but working on it. Your love of good writing is obvious in your own clean, clear writing. Very enjoyable…I get the impression that it would be lovely just to sit and chat- and I guess that it what the blog is really for. I usually buy paperbacks, largely because I buy too many books to get hardcover. Do you?
I am drawn to English and European writers (Italian mysteries, Swedish mysteries) largely because I like their writing style as a rule. Ruth Rendell, PD James and, Reginald Hill, of course, but also Peter Lovesey (the Peter Diamond series), Robert Bernard (especially a Scandal in Belgravia and The False Inspector Dew), Catherine Aird, Camerielli (sp?) and his Italian inspector, Louise Welsh and her stunning Bullet Trick, Denise Mina (one tough Scots broad in a very modern Edinburgh), Tony Broadbent and his fun cat burglar/spy in wartime England–
I hope you’ll try Magdalen Nabb, an expatriate English woman who lived in Florence. Her hero, Marshall Guarnaccia, could not be farther from a hard boiled detective: lumbering, middle aged, inarticulate. But he knows people and motive. Try Property of Blood. It falls about midway through her series of perhaps 12-14 novels (all slim) and it especially lingers, but I am pretty sure I would read Nabb’s grocery list with interest. She manages mood, setting, dialogue and contemporary concerns and still you can smell the heat of the Florentine streets. Nabb died fairly recently, which is a tremendous loss to the people who love well written, ‘psychological’ mysteries with atmosphere.
Thank you for working as hard as you do to make your blog one of the best on the net.
Roberta Rood said,
August 23, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Alicia, for starters, thank you so much for that incredibly gracious compliment – and for recognizing how hard I work on “Books to the Ceiling.” There are times, I admit, when I feel as though it is really too hard and is consuming too many hours of my life. But then I get a comment like yours & I get energized all over again!
You & I obviously like many of the same authors, and for the same reasons. I actually have read and enjoyed Magdalen Nabb’s Marshall Guarnaccia novels, and I agree with you that her untimely loss was a blow to those of us who love quality crime fiction.
Thanks again for your praise – it means a great deal to me!
K. Durkin said,
August 24, 2009 at 4:24 am
Hi Roberta,
One book discovery this summer has been “The Suspect,” by L.R. Wright, aka Laurali Rose Wright. She was the first Canadian writer to win the Edgar in 1985 and beat out Ruth Rendell, among others. That intrigued me right away.
That book and one other in her Karl Albert series have been reprinted by Felony and Mayhem Press. It is a terrific read, full of character development and scenes of Western British Columbia.
Felony and Mayhem Press prints what they call “literary mysteries.” They plan to re-issue other books in Wright’s series.
I highly suggest “The Suspect.”
Kathy D.
Roberta Rood said,
August 25, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Kathy,
I’m going to reference your comment on the blog. I read THE SUSPECT several months ago & never got around to writing a review of it. I should have, because you are right – it is outstanding!
cazziepie3 said,
September 13, 2009 at 11:08 am
Hello Roberta.
I discovered your blog by accident while researching the Chandos portrait of Shakespeare and was so enthralled by some of your entries that I just kept reading. I am new to blogging and have just started one myself here on wordpress. I read some of your responses above and followed the link to THE COLOUR OF SHADOWS. What a moving story, and one that is very close to me at the moment, as I have recently had to make that same terrible decision.. to find a Nursing Home to care for my 94 year old Mother. Quite heartbreaking.
Thank you for all the wonderful books you review and recommend. I will work my way through quite a number of them as I too love the Brit Crime Genre.
Congratulations on a great blog.
Carol
Roberta Rood said,
September 13, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Carol,
Thanks so much for your gracious words. Blogging has taught me just how hard writing can be, so I value encouragement from people like yourself.
And thanks for reminding me about “The Color of Shadows.” It is a beautiful story. And BTW – I too had a similar experience with both my elderly parents.
kathy durkin said,
September 21, 2009 at 4:10 am
Hi all,
Good news; a new Felony & Mayhem catalogue is out with new entries.
For those in the NYC-area, Partners and Crime bookstore (one of the partners, as Roberta posted about, is the Felony & Mayhem owner), there is an entire bookcase of Felony & Mayhem books, which all look good.
My sister and I dealt with our elderly mother who is in assisted living and are still dealing. She says she wants me to find her an apartment in NYC and she’ll take buses to museums. She scoffs at Boston museums, at those who discuss the weather and their grandchildren and don’t read the NY Times.
She won’t go on walks with those who she sees as slow walkers–she’s 92.
However, she doesn’t know who my brother-in-law is when I mention his name and he lives right near her residence and sees her often, etc., etc.
It’s all a bundle of contradictions.
Back to reading mysteries: just read L.R. Wright’s “In the Chill of January,” interesting, a bit more Ruth Rendellish than “The Suspect.” Will keep on reading her books; hope Felony & Mayhem publishes more.
Kathy D.
kdurkin3@verizon.net said,
October 11, 2009 at 10:14 am
That is a pretty stunning review of Peter Lovesey’s latest book.
I just sent a copy to my elderly uncle who only reads Lovesey, Rendell (only Inspector Wexford), and a few other favorites. He loves a good puzzle, not crazed killers and suspense.
I’m afraid that is a genetic, inherited trait as I think his daughter, my sister and I share this preference.
Your website is so enjoyable. It’s the only time I listen to snippets of classical music, as I listen to other genres as jazz. But it’s good to read and hear these pieces at the same time.
Kathy D.
kdurkin3@verizon.net said,
October 20, 2009 at 6:19 am
Hi,
Is there an opinion about Ann Cleeves’ writings?
Kathy D.
Kathy D. said,
November 2, 2009 at 10:14 am
Hi Roberta,
Just looked at Books to the Ceiling and see your recommendation to read Kjell Eriksson’s books. Coincidentally, I just finished “Princess of Burundi,” and put his second one on hold at the library. A friend and I concur: We like his writing.
Also, on your suggestion I picked up the Isabel Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall Smith. I had read the first one, thought it boring. Picked up the second and am more into it and plan to read the rest of the series. Some interesting thoughts in this book and quite political, which is appealing to me.
Can’t keep up with all of the books you mention on “Ceiling,” and think you must read 24/7 and not sleep. But I keep on reading it and plan to hear all of the recently posted music.
My sister who is a singer, loves to sing Handel’s pieces.
Best,
Kathy D.
Alex said,
November 30, 2009 at 6:07 pm
http://kudera.blogspot.com/2009/11/joseph-epsteins-my-brother-eli.html
I noted your praise for Joseph Epstein above… stumbled on that story just recently and also enjoyed it.
Nice blog!