Setting up more summer reading in the shade of a library haul

Even though I am in the midst of a two week readathon(Sci-Fi Summer hosted by Seasons of Reading's Michelle Miller), getting more books to read is a vital necessity. Granted, not as vital as food and water but still, pretty important to my emotional health there.

Besides, I had to make a library trip, due to the fact that a book I placed on hold became readily available. Sujata Massey's The Satapur Moonstone is the second title in her new mystery series set in India of the 1920s and after enjoying the award winning The Widows of Malabar Hill, this was a definate must-read.

Once again, leading lady Perveen Mistry is asked to assist in a legal situation where only one of the few female lawyers in the country will do. In the small state of Satapur, the current ruler Jiva Reo is just ten years old, due to the untimely deaths of the prior maharajahs within the past two years. The remaining maharanis are in charge of Jiva and are debating whether or not he should be sent abroad for his education.

Since these regal ladies do not deal with men outside of their family, the British government, in the form of Sir David Hobson-Jones, wants Perveen to intervene for them. While she is not thrilled about putting forth the British agenda, Perveen is concerned about the young maharajah and sees this as a good opportunity to find out about the circumstances around the deaths of his predecessors. However, can she save Jiva from harm without risking her own safety?

With The Widows of Malabar Hill being such a literary treat, this book is as irresistible as a second slice of ice cream cake(hey, it is summer after all!) yet far more enriching than that chilly delight to be sure.

I paired that up with Clock Dance by Anne Tyler, where the modern day heroine of this story is Willa, who at age 61, leads a rather quiet life with her second husband Peter in Arizona.

When an unexpected phone call from a former girlfriend of one of her sons is a request for help, Willa feels inspired and with Peter in tow, takes off for Baltimore. There she meets Denise, a single mom with a nine year old daughter Cheryl and their dog Airplane, who is recovering from a broken leg due to a shooting incident in the neighborhood.

As Willa bonds with Denise and lets the locals keep their mistaken belief that Cheryl is her granddaughter, she also thinks back to her younger days and how bold she was then. While she can't be exactly as she once was, Willa considers the possibility of being less low key than she has been in her life lately.

Anne Tyler is an author that I read at on and off over the years but most of the time, she provides a smartly calm breath of fresh air that clears the cluttered cobwebs of my mind nicely. While her book covers may look mild mannered, her stories have more of an emotional wild side so as they say, it's what is on the inside that truly counts:

As to my Sci-Summer reading, I have added a new book that arrived today in the mail that I will most likely get to this weekend. Two Dark Reigns is the third entry in Kendare Blake's Three Dark Crowns saga that features a trio of magically powered sisters who must battle to the death to become the one and only Queen of the island realm called Fennbirn.

At this point in the story, one sister has claimed the throne while the other two are in hiding on the mainland, adjusting to the rather patriarchal way of life there. Meanwhile, an ally of one of the hidden sisters has discovered a power of her own that causes many to shun her yet attracts a group of rebels who want her to be their leader.

I would say more but I'm deep into the second book,One Dark Throne, right now and don't want to come across any major spoilers. What I can say is that this series is seriously addicting, the stay-up-all-night kind of reading that I really need these days. There is a fourth book due out this fall(Five Dark Fates) and that will be a tale that I will eagerly snatch up when the time comes:

Along side that series, I picked up a few more cozy mystery titles and that includes The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco by Laura DiSilverio. Having recently finished the second title(Poirot Puzzle), I thought it best to go back to the first book to see how it all started.

Amy-Faye Johnson supplements her busy life as an event planner by being a member of a mystery themed reading group, where she and her friends delight in solving those fictional crimes together.

When Ivy, one of the Readaholics, dies under suspicious circumstances that the police believe was self inflicted, Amy-Faye decides to take a page from her favorite literary detectives and find out what really happened. Can their latest book selection, The Maltese Falcon, be of any assistance in solving the case or should Amy-Faye and company stick to the bookish sidelines here?

Given that there are three books so far(and yes, I ordered number three, Gothic Gala, already), clearly Amy-Faye has more reading and sleuthing to do. I do like the good natured tone of this series and that classic mystery novels are a solid part of the theme of each book. That element certainly inspires some rereading as well as watching the great movies made from these iconic works:

Summer is supposed to be a slow down period but a reader's quest is never truly completed. As much as I'm eagerly devouring my Sci-Fi Summer books, plans are under way for the next big readathon, High Summer, which starts in July.

 My list is being made as we speak, with the newest Beatriz Williams novel, The Golden Hour, as a major pillar of that reading pile. Don't get me wrong, I love having a focal point for my reading but I do need to slow myself down a little at times to properly savor the sweets of the written word before me. Then again, it's better to have too much than too little when it comes to reading at any time of the year: