Special Interests

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Updated: 22 Feb. 2009

** My better half  tops the list. See his new children's poetry book, If I Could Be A Doughnut. His 2006 dinner theatre play written with Marilyn McNally Murder at Blackheath Manor has been presented to rave reviews by Oakmont Elks in Pittsburgh several times.

Reading

Travelling

American politics. Favorite way to relax is devoting Sunday morning to reading the editorials and op-ed columns in the New York Times and Washington Post, and catching Reliable Sources (CNN) and This Week with George Stephanopoulos (ABC).

Edmonton's sensational river valley including this lovely lake in a park near our apartment complex.

(click photos to enlarge)

	Buddhism - a Concise Introduction About Huston Smith Review
	Coming To Our Senses About Jon Kabat-Zinn Excerpt
	Living in the Light of Death: On the Art of Being Truly Alive About Larry Rosenberg Reviews (scroll to bottom for reader reviews)
BUDDHISM Four Noble Truths & Eightfold Path Attachment Marks of existence  Mindfulness

Reading

Some anchor websites:

Booked.TV

Crime Time (UK)

DorothyL

Euro crime (blog)

Euro Crime

European Crime Writers

Italian mysteries

International Noir

Stop, you're killing me!

Wheredunnit.com | Wheredunnit crime & mystery fiction blog

Favorite local independent bookstore: Greenwoods

Favorite genre is mystery, especially novels with foreign locales. If you love both mysteries and travel, consider these authors (typical locales): 

Austria & Germany

• John Brady (Inspektor Felix Kimmel series in Styria, southern Austria) Also see Poacher's Road
• Philip Kerr (ex-cop Bernie Gunther series: Berlin Noir trilogy & The One from the Other )

England & Germany

• John Le Carre (George Smiley - my favorite character of all time)
• Len Deighton (Bernard Samson series in London and Berlin)

England

• Stephen Booth (Detectives Ben Cooper and Diane Fry series in the Peak District)
• Elizabeth George (Inspector Thomas Lynley series, with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers)
• P.D. James (Commander Adam Dalgliesh series)
• Ruth Rendall (Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford series)
• Peter Robinson (Inspector Banks series in Yorkshire)

France

• Fred Vargas (Superintendent Adamsberg series) (wikipedia entry)

Ireland

• John Brady (Matt Minogue series)

Italy

Norway

• Karin Fossum (Inspecter Sejer series)

Scotland

• Ian Rankin (Inspector John Rebus series in Edinburgh)

Spain

• Robert Wilson (Javier Falcón series)
  • Interviews: Harcourt Publishers | Blind Man of Seville

Sweden

• Åke Edwardson (Eric Winter series in Göteborg)
• Liza Marklund (Annika Bengtzon series in Stockholm)
• Henning Mankell (Inspector Kurt Wallander series in Ystad)
  • Henning Mankell's "Wallendar" comes to BBC TV
  • Walledar - BBC interviews with Branagh & Mankell
• Håkan Nesser (Inspector Van Veeteren series)

Turkey

• Barbara Nadel (Inspector Cetin Ikmen series in Istanbul)

USA

• Julia Spencer-Fleming (Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne series)

 In many of these books the locale is as much a character as the people.

• Fiction about WWII. Favorites: Fatherland and Enigma (Robert Harris); Berlin Noir (Philip Kerr); and A Gathering of Saints (Christopher Hyde).

• John Mortimer's series about Rumpole of the Bailey always bring a chuckle, including the TV show sometimes seen in reruns

A few mini-reviews

MYSTERIES

The White Lioness by Henning Mankel, part of his Kurt Wallander series. Mankell lives in Mozambique part of the time and this novel about a plot to assassinate Nelson Mandela  is set in both Sweden and South Africa. What I love about  Mankel's books are the character development of Wallander, the in-depth background of life in southern Sweden, and the mystery plots. I've now read all books in this series, including Before the Frost,  featuring his daughter Linda.

Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel. With her first novel, a murder mystery set in Istanbul's Jewish quarter, Nadel introduces police inspector Cetin Ikmen complete with sidekick (Suleyman) and wife (Fatma). Ikmen is priceless - a memorable character if there ever was one. Others in the series: Chemical Prison, Arabesk, Deep Waters, and Harem. These novels are brutal and sordid in parts and not for the faint of heart but loaded with humour too. 

The Bomber by Liza Marklund. Marklund's books are translated from Swedish and feature Annika Bengtzon, a crime reporter with a tabloid in Stockholm. Her second novel, Studio Sex, begins 8 years earlier than Bomber and divulges more of Annika's background. Paradise Trust is 2 years after Studio Sex. Marklund's stories reveal social and political aspects of life in Sweden, the stresses of being a working wife and mother, and what it's like to work in a male-dominated newspaper office. 

The Remorseful Day by Colin Dexter. Dexter kills off Chief Inspector Morse and leaves Sergeant Lewis without a partner. Before that, there's an entertaining tale of Morse's last case involving murder, S & M, and all the usually goodies. I suppose it's a fitting ending but oh that it were not so....

Winter by Len Deighton. A saga of the Winter family from 1900 to 1945 in Germany. If you like Deighton's trilogies (e.g., Hook, Line, and Sinker ; Faith, Hope, and Charity; etc.), this book is essential reading to understand the background of Bernard Samson, et al.

Little Drummer Girl by John Le Carre. Brings back my memories of a long-ago trip that included travelling across the Negev desert in a bus with armed Israel women soldiers. Unfortunately, still very topical...

Smiley's People by John Le Carre. The culmination of George Smiley's battle with archrival Karla -- never fails to delight.

HISTORY

Real

The Second World War by Winston Churchill. Finally I have read my husband Peter's prize collection of Churchill's six books on WWII (~800+ pages each). History and politics largely through memoranda and letters written by Churchill at the time that events were happening. Fascinating stuff! In 1953 Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. These books are just a few of the reasons why.

Rise of the Vulcans by James Mann.

The European Dream by Jeremy Rofkin.

The First World War by John Keegan.

Fiction

London by Edward Rutherford. Starts at ~54 BC and follows several families over multiple generations. Lots of goodies for historical buffs and anglophiles. But best of all, Rutherford knows how to tell a good story with fascinating characters. This book at over 1000 pages and in paperback is a great bargain and would make an ideal book to take to the cottage.

The Company by Edward R.

BUSINESS / MANAGEMENT

The Witch Doctors. Making Sense of the Management Gurus by John Micklethwait and Adrian Woolridge, staff editors of The Economist. The book gives a solid historical context to the management-theory industry, and its consulting firms, business schools, and management gurus. The authors cut through the bafflegab and clearly explain the ideas of Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Peter Senge, et al.

The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter Senge. Systems thinking... everyone should dig it!

INTERNET

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman.

Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age by Esther Dyson. Interesting blend of history of the Internet and philosophical investigation of what it should and will become.

MISCELLANEOUS

Are Men Necessary? by Maureen Dowd.

Alternative Careers in Science edited by Cynthia Robbins-Roth. Good read for anyone thinking of leaving the profession for which they were educated and trained.

Travelling

A few travel photos Travel resources Places I've visited so far --> (details below)

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