I put the blog on “Pause” almost nine months ago, and haven’t been posting my Current Reading posts since. However, it’s time I got back into posting more often, and I’m starting with a lot of catch-up posts to fill readers in on what I read during the time. I’ll do a month or two each post until we’re current. These posts won’t included Barbara’s reading. It’s my plan to then keep going with the weekly post.
Bruce Catton – I’m going to start with August 2017. Barbara and I re-watched Ken Burns’ The Civil War because I wanted to see it again, and after seeing it I read The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton, followed by The Terrible Swift Sword. The two books comprise his Civil War duology.
Alan Dean Foster – I followed that with a science fiction novel, Icerigger, by Alan Dean Foster. This was a book suggested by a Friday Forgotten Book blogger; it may have been Bill Crider or James Reasoner, I no longer remember. It was an enjoyable, if light, SF novel of humans crash-landed on a low-civilization planet, using their engineering “smarts” to cross wide expanses toward possible escape at a space port. There is a sequel which I have but haven’t yet read.
M. C. Beaton – Then I got into the 
mood for a cozy. I don’t read many, but when the mood strikes I will. Itmay have been a friend of my wife mentioning she liked these, but whatever the reason, I started with the first of M. C. Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth mysteries, Death of A Gossip. I then went on with the series in order: Death of A Cad, Death of An Outsider, Death of A Perfect Wife, Death of A Hussy, Death of A Snoop and finally Death of A Glutton. That was enough of Beaton for me, – there are many more – though I did enjoy both the character, Macbeth, and setting, a small village in Scotland.
Bill Crider – For a special Friday Forgotten Books on Bill Crider, I picked a collection of his Sherlock Holmes stories, as I wanted to contribute something different. All eight had appeared in other places, but it was nice to have them gathered together in this ebook. These are terrific Holmes stories, by the way
Erle Stanley Gardner – Then I was in the mood for some Perry Mason, so I read the double paperback including The Case of the Runaway Blonde and The Case of the Hungry Horse. I especially liked the latter, though both were good. It’s always good to revisit the Mason novels.
That’s enough for this first look back, next time I’ll cover the rest of the month, including William Kent Krueger, Rex Stout, Truman Capote and more.
Tip the Wink 
It is good to see you covering what you read last August… or some of it. I look forward to the rest. I always enjoy Perry Mason books, although sometimes they are too complex for me. I like Perry and Della and Paul.
Thanks, Tracy. I like those characters too, having first encountered them in the TV show. I always visualize the actors when I read the books. It’s interesting to me to go back and see what I read!
Good to have you back and good list. If you like the Beaton series, there were two series of Hamish Macbeth shows, starring Robert Carlyle I believe they are available on Amazon Prime. I quit after the first two or three books. I read Bruce Catton a long time ago. Also read most of the others this time, other than the Foster.
Jeff, you may recall I usually prefer the written to the visual when it comes to mystery series. That’s why I’m not planning to watch the Longmire series any time soon, though I really like the books and I’m working my way through that series.
As for Macbeth, I’ve had enough, but did enjoy the ones I read. The Foster was a recommendation from Crider, I think.
Glad to see you back blogging! I pick up the Beaton books when I find them at Library Sales. I need to read some soon! I’ve been planning to read some Perry Mason, too.
The reaction to the Buffalo Bills moving up to #7 to take Josh Allen has been mixed. The embarrassing Tweets turned a lot of fans off. Allen’s Completion Average will be debated for months. Everyone likes Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech, that the Bills took with the 16th Pick in the Draft.
Thank you, George. I got most of the Beaton books from the library, but the first couple I got from PaperBack Swap. Perry Mason is always a good “break” from the other reading we do.
Those tweets were sent when Allen was 14, for goodness sake. Were any of us smart or mature enough not to shoot off our mouth inappropriately once in a while when we were 14?
I’m very disappointed in the Seahawks draft choice. I usually don’t watch the subsequent rounds, but I’ll check online to see what they do. I read mixed reviews on Edwards, but we’ll see.
All of the team-by-team draft grades I’ve seen this morning have the Seahawks dead last, with a C- or D grade. I am mystified.
Good to have you back, Rick! I’m glad you had so many good books and authors to read in August. I’ve been a fan of Erle Stanley Gardner’s since junior high school and have read most of his novels, with the exception of a few later Perry Masons and a few Doug Selbys; my favorites are his Bertha Cool/Donald Lam novels.
Alan Dean Foster is a reliable good read, and Bill Crider (of course) is essential.
I know what you mean about M. C. Beaton. I really like her Hamish Macbeth books but can only read them in small doses. I was enthusiastic about her Agatha Raisin series, but that soon wore thin. I’ve never read any of her romance novels under either her real name or her several other pseudonyms. Too much of her writing can bring about a twee overload.
The six or so Beaton books I read were enough. It will be a (possibly long) while before I read another. I still prefer the Mason to the Bertha Cool/Donald Lam. I only read one of them and it left me cold. I know, I should try another, but I probably won’t.
Any author would adore to get a review like this: “any Krueger is better than no Krueger”. Let me rephrase: I would…
Krueger is, at present, my favorite mystery writer. When a new book comes out, I drop everything and read it. I’ve reread the entire series and will probably do so again.