#booklook — Public Fediverse posts

#BookReview Re-reading Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie

Recently, Elephants can Remember was my choice for a #MurderEveryMonday. At the time, I told you that the book received less than kind reviews when it was first published, and even today several readers don’t seem to like the book much. I also told you that while I acknowledge the book would gain of some editing, I still liked it for several reasons, although I didn’t read it again for some time.

Having reading it again, I stand by my liking. I found several reasons to like this story on this re-reading, but I would like to emphasis two of them.

First, the references to the literary scene by Ariadne Oliver (Christie’s alter ego), that I told you about before, but realised are longer that I thought and found it a delight.

The second has to do with something Agatha Christie also did before in other books. At the end of 1920’s, Ronald Knox (also a member of The Detection Club) and S. S. Van Dine, an American writer, published what were known as rules to write detective fiction, with the goals of improving the genre quality by playing fair by the reader. These rules were guidelines like “this character can not be this or that” or “you can’t use this or that trope” because that’s deceiving the reader and not playing fair.

Now and again, Christie would break some of these rules while still playing fair. It’s like she is challenging herself by defying the rules, but still pulling it off. Like she is saying she can break the rule and still play fair. She also does something similar in Elephants can Remember. Knowing that she still had it at 82 years old (when she wrote this story) makes me very happy, and there’s no lack of editing that can take that pleasure away.

#BookReview Re-reading Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie

Recently, Elephants can Remember was my choice for a #MurderEveryMonday. At the time, I told you that the book received less than kind reviews when it was first published, and even today several readers don’t seem to like the book much. I also told you that while I acknowledge the book would gain of some editing, I still liked it for several reasons, although I didn’t read it again for some time.

Having reading it again, I stand by my liking. I found several reasons to like this story on this re-reading, but I would like to emphasis two of them.

First, the references to the literary scene by Ariadne Oliver (Christie’s alter ego), that I told you about before, but realised are longer that I thought and found it a delight.

The second has to do with something Agatha Christie also did before in other books. At the end of 1920’s, Ronald Knox (also a member of The Detection Club) and S. S. Van Dine, an American writer, published what were known as rules to write detective fiction, with the goals of improving the genre quality by playing fair by the reader. These rules were guidelines like “this character can not be this or that” or “you can’t use this or that trope” because that’s deceiving the reader and not playing fair.

Now and again, Christie would break some of these rules while still playing fair. It’s like she is challenging herself by defying the rules, but still pulling it off. Like she is saying she can break the rule and still play fair. She also does something similar in Elephants can Remember. Knowing that she still had it at 82 years old (when she wrote this story) makes me very happy, and there’s no lack of editing that can take that pleasure away.

Books that give you high expectations…

This book just made my expectations go through the roof and I really don’t know how Elizabeth Fair is going to deliver this one…

If you love books & libraries, be careful with your imagination when reading the quote:

“Maud found it endearing; but she could not really concentrate on Oliver. Her first glimpse of the library was still making her feel slightly giddy.” p.37

Books that give you high expectations…

This book just made my expectations go through the roof and I really don’t know how Elizabeth Fair is going to deliver this one…

If you love books & libraries, be careful with your imagination when reading the quote:

“Maud found it endearing; but she could not really concentrate on Oliver. Her first glimpse of the library was still making her feel slightly giddy.” p.37

#MurderEveryMonday Spectacles/glasses on the cover or in the title

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday, created by Kate Jackson from Cross Examining Crime, I decided to go with The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side by Agatha Christie.

The book was translated to Portuguese as “Broken Mirror” and it is one which first reading I remember well. Miss Marple is getting old and she can’t do as much in her garden as she used to, her nephew got a person to live in the house as a companion, and we get to know what Miss Marple thinks of this!

St. Mary Mead is also changing, so we get a picture of new services and products, and, of course, the inhabitants’ reaction to those, which I love because it gives us more context about characters’ lives. The village is also expanding and new houses are being built in what is described as “The Development”. In the Portuguese edition, this is translated as “The Progress”, with a strong idea of “this is the future”, which means we get sentences like “people that live in the progress” or “Miss Marple decided to take a walk in the Progress”, which is funny. Probably the meaning is the same in the original with the “the Development” expression.

When Miss Marple goes to “The Progress” :-), she falls (don’t panic, she seems frail, but she’s tough), and after being seen by Dr. Haydock, he prescribes her a good, juicy murder.

One of the things I like about this one is that it starts with the idea of the armchair detective. Christie has used this idea in other stories. Poirot’s comes to mind with his defence of problems being solved by “the little grey cells” instead of running around, as Captain Hastings suggests.

So, many reasons to like this one.

#MurderEveryMonday Spectacles/glasses on the cover or in the title

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday, created by Kate Jackson from Cross Examining Crime, I decided to go with The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side by Agatha Christie.

The book was translated to Portuguese as “Broken Mirror” and it is one which first reading I remember well. Miss Marple is getting old and she can’t do as much in her garden as she used to, her nephew got a person to live in the house as a companion, and we get to know what Miss Marple thinks of this!

St. Mary Mead is also changing, so we get a picture of new services and products, and, of course, the inhabitants’ reaction to those, which I love because it gives us more context about characters’ lives. The village is also expanding and new houses are being built in what is described as “The Development”. In the Portuguese edition, this is translated as “The Progress”, with a strong idea of “this is the future”, which means we get sentences like “people that live in the progress” or “Miss Marple decided to take a walk in the Progress”, which is funny. Probably the meaning is the same in the original with the “the Development” expression.

When Miss Marple goes to “The Progress” :-), she falls (don’t panic, she seems frail, but she’s tough), and after being seen by Dr. Haydock, he prescribes her a good, juicy murder.

One of the things I like about this one is that it starts with the idea of the armchair detective. Christie has used this idea in other stories. Poirot’s comes to mind with his defence of problems being solved by “the little grey cells” instead of running around, as Captain Hastings suggests.

So, many reasons to like this one.

#JaneAustenJuly 2026 What I’ll be reading

We’re again at #JaneAustenJuly. This year, I’ll be (re)reading Emma and the non-fiction A Portrait of Jane Austen by David Cecil, published in 1978, that some dear friends gift me recently from their visit to Hay-on-Wye (yes, the Book Town).

You can check my past post with direct links to all the works of Jane Austen from Project Gutenberg, that you can read anywhere. If you have a Kobo, you may prefer the kepub format (statistics and so on), so here’s the link to Austen’s works at Standard Ebooks.

What will you be reading for #JaneAustenJuly? :-)

#JaneAustenJuly 2026 What I’ll be reading

We’re again at #JaneAustenJuly. This year, I’ll be (re)reading Emma and the non-fiction A Portrait of Jane Austen by David Cecil, published in 1978, that some dear friends gift me recently from their visit to Hay-on-Wye (yes, the Book Town).

You can check my past post with direct links to all the works of Jane Austen from Project Gutenberg, that you can read anywhere. If you have a Kobo, you may prefer the kepub format (statistics and so on), so here’s the link to Austen’s works at Standard Ebooks.

What will you be reading for #JaneAustenJuly? :-)

#MurderEveryMonday Crime fiction title with the word sleeping

Without surprise, my choice for todays’s #MurderEveryMonday is Miss Marple’s last case, Sleeping Murder. The book was written during the Second World War and given as a gift (its copyright) to her husband Max. Curtain, the last case of Poirot, was also written around the same time and given to her Daughter, Rosalind. in her autobiography, Christie adds the manuscripts were put into a bank vault. Sleeping Murder was published in 1976, after Christie’s death.

#MurderEveryMonday Crime fiction title with the word sleeping

Without surprise, my choice for todays’s #MurderEveryMonday is Miss Marple’s last case, Sleeping Murder. The book was written during the Second World War and given as a gift (its copyright) to her husband Max. Curtain, the last case of Poirot, was also written around the same time and given to her Daughter, Rosalind. in her autobiography, Christie adds the manuscripts were put into a bank vault. Sleeping Murder was published in 1976, after Christie’s death.

#MurderEveryMonday Crime fiction title with a word associated with funerals

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday I’m sharing Nice Day for a Funeral by Hartley Howard and His Burial Too by Catherine Aird. I have read other books from both authors and like them, although I preferred Aird books, which I want to read more of.

Check Kate Jackson’s blog to know more about the hashtag and give her a follow.

#MurderEveryMonday Crime fiction title with a word associated with funerals

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday I’m sharing Nice Day for a Funeral by Hartley Howard and His Burial Too by Catherine Aird. I have read other books from both authors and like them, although I preferred Aird books, which I want to read more of.

Check Kate Jackson’s blog to know more about the hashtag and give her a follow.

#MurderEveryMonday Christie, Stout, & Wentworth

For #MurderEveryMonday crime fiction originally published in 1955, I’m choosing Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie, translated to Portuguese as Poirot and the mistakes of the typist. The title is from a nursery rhyme, and the story sees Poirot investigate a series of strange stolen items in a student’s hostel. We also know in this book that Miss Lemon has a sister.

I’m also adding to the pile, Before Midnight by Next Stout, and The Gazebo by Patricia Wentworth. I’ve read many Nero Wolfe books a long time ago and like them in general. I never read anything by Wentworth, but I’ve told you before that I want to go through her Miss Silver series, so this is one on my TBR.

#MurderEveryMonday Christie, Stout, & Wentworth

For #MurderEveryMonday crime fiction originally published in 1955, I’m choosing Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie, translated to Portuguese as Poirot and the mistakes of the typist. The title is from a nursery rhyme, and the story sees Poirot investigate a series of strange stolen items in a student’s hostel. We also know in this book that Miss Lemon has a sister.

I’m also adding to the pile, Before Midnight by Next Stout, and The Gazebo by Patricia Wentworth. I’ve read many Nero Wolfe books a long time ago and like them in general. I never read anything by Wentworth, but I’ve told you before that I want to go through her Miss Silver series, so this is one on my TBR.

It’s Weekend, Let’s Read: Who is the author with more works in the Guardian’s list of 100 greatest novels of all time?

The Guardian made a list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. You can see the list here, with links to how Guardian’s made it. First place of the list is George Eliot with Middlemarch, but I thought to check which authors had more works in this list. And it’s Virginia Woolf with five books!

Second place in the number of the novels in the list are Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, both with four books.

Best part? There all in public domain, so you want to start with any of these four authors, right here, right now, head to Project Gutenberg and let’s read!

Books by George Eliot – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/90

Books by Virginia Woolf – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89

Books by Jane Austen – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/68

Books by Charles Dickens – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/37

It’s Weekend, Let’s Read: Who is the author with more works in the Guardian’s list of 100 greatest novels of all time?

The Guardian made a list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. You can see the list here, with links to how Guardian’s made it. First place of the list is George Eliot with Middlemarch, but I thought to check which authors had more works in this list. And it’s Virginia Woolf with five books!

Second place in the number of the novels in the list are Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, both with four books.

Best part? There all in public domain, so you want to start with any of these four authors, right here, right now, head to Project Gutenberg and let’s read!

Books by George Eliot – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/90

Books by Virginia Woolf – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89

Books by Jane Austen – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/68

Books by Charles Dickens – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/37

#MurderEveryMonday Cover with a Zoo animal Elephants can Remember: Is it good?

I know, I know: my choice to this #MurderEveryMonday is probably again too obvious, but it also gives me the opportunity to talk about this book. Check Kate’s blog to know more about the hashtag.

Agatha Christie was 82 years old when she wrote Elephants Can Remember. This is the last novel she wrote with Poirot as the detective and it was published in November of 1972. Poirot’s Early Cases (1974) and Curtain (1975), both published afterwords, were written in the 1920s and 1930s, for the short stories, and for the last case of Poirot in the 1940s, the book being kept unpublished in a bank vault.

Even at the time of publication, the book received some less kind reviews, with some pointing out inconsistencies about times and ages, which quite frankly could (and should) have been avoided by the editors and publisher of the book. Still, many today consider this a lesser work, but I find several reasons to like it.

The book starts with Mrs. Ariadne Oliver going to a literary luncheon. Oliver is the alter-ego of Agatha Christie: she likes apples, she is always trying hair styles, writes crime fiction, and complains about her Finn detective, lamenting inventing him, since she doesn’t know anything about Finland. It’s always a delight to have her as a character in a book. In the first chapter, Mrs. Oliver tell us about her problems with making speeches, the questions people always ask her, the letters she receives from her readers, and how she tries to deal with all of this. And I found this a delight because it seems clear we’re given a glimpse of something Christie also struggled with and knew first hand.

At that lunch, a woman asks Mrs. Oliver if she is the godmother of Celia Ravenscroft and after corroboration, the woman continues: “Did her mother kill her father or was it the father who killed the mother?”.

And I still remember, when I first read this book (which is more than I can say for so many other books), I was as puzzled as Mrs. Oliver. I mean, why would it matter if it was the father or the mother? Why would it be so important to know? But this also tell us something about the beliefs and obsessions of the people in the past (in this case, in the 1970s). I think Agatha Christie was more observant than a talkative person, and because of that she noticed things more. And I love her books have these snippets she took from her observations: it can be something she heard someone saying, or it can be something being discussed in a newspaper, some new advance in science, something she remembers her family doing when she was a child, etc.

This is also a book about a murder in the past and deals with the people’s memory (the elephants), sometimes people remember certain things, but not others, or they remember things differently. And it’s Poirot job to make sense of all this.

I didn’t re-read this one for some time now, but I remember liking it. And now that I’ve talked about what I liked about it, I’ll be re-reading it again shortly. So, tell me, did you read Elephants Can Remember? Did you like it or not? And why?

#MurderEveryMonday Cover with a Zoo animal Elephants can Remember: Is it good?

I know, I know: my choice to this #MurderEveryMonday is probably again too obvious, but it also gives me the opportunity to talk about this book. Check Kate’s blog to know more about the hashtag.

Agatha Christie was 82 years old when she wrote Elephants Can Remember. This is the last novel she wrote with Poirot as the detective and it was published in November of 1972. Poirot’s Early Cases (1974) and Curtain (1975), both published afterwords, were written in the 1920s and 1930s, for the short stories, and for the last case of Poirot in the 1940s, the book being kept unpublished in a bank vault.

Even at the time of publication, the book received some less kind reviews, with some pointing out inconsistencies about times and ages, which quite frankly could (and should) have been avoided by the editors and publisher of the book. Still, many today consider this a lesser work, but I find several reasons to like it.

The book starts with Mrs. Ariadne Oliver going to a literary luncheon. Oliver is the alter-ego of Agatha Christie: she likes apples, she is always trying hair styles, writes crime fiction, and complains about her Finn detective, lamenting inventing him, since she doesn’t know anything about Finland. It’s always a delight to have her as a character in a book. In the first chapter, Mrs. Oliver tell us about her problems with making speeches, the questions people always ask her, the letters she receives from her readers, and how she tries to deal with all of this. And I found this a delight because it seems clear we’re given a glimpse of something Christie also struggled with and knew first hand.

At that lunch, a woman asks Mrs. Oliver if she is the godmother of Celia Ravenscroft and after corroboration, the woman continues: “Did her mother kill her father or was it the father who killed the mother?”.

And I still remember, when I first read this book (which is more than I can say for so many other books), I was as puzzled as Mrs. Oliver. I mean, why would it matter if it was the father or the mother? Why would it be so important to know? But this also tell us something about the beliefs and obsessions of the people in the past (in this case, in the 1970s). I think Agatha Christie was more observant than a talkative person, and because of that she noticed things more. And I love her books have these snippets she took from her observations: it can be something she heard someone saying, or it can be something being discussed in a newspaper, some new advance in science, something she remembers her family doing when she was a child, etc.

This is also a book about a murder in the past and deals with the people’s memory (the elephants), sometimes people remember certain things, but not others, or they remember things differently. And it’s Poirot job to make sense of all this.

I didn’t re-read this one for some time now, but I remember liking it. And now that I’ve talked about what I liked about it, I’ll be re-reading it again shortly. So, tell me, did you read Elephants Can Remember? Did you like it or not? And why?

#MurderEveryMonday Cover with a series sleuth

For today’s #MurderEvryMonday I decided to start with Miss Marple, here with The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side and A Crime is Announced (a favorite).

Then, we continue with Lord Peter Wimsey (also a favorite). The Portuguese edition being the short story collection Lord Peter Views the Body.

And finally a depiction of Father Brown.

It’s quite interesting to see how characters are depicted in book covers and how/if they differ from our own imagination.

If you want to know more about #MurderEveryMonday check Kate Jackson’s blog, see the next themes, and share your covers using the hashtag.

#MurderEveryMonday Cover with a series sleuth

For today’s #MurderEvryMonday I decided to start with Miss Marple, here with The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side and A Crime is Announced (a favorite).

Then, we continue with Lord Peter Wimsey (also a favorite). The Portuguese edition being the short story collection Lord Peter Views the Body.

And finally a depiction of Father Brown.

It’s quite interesting to see how characters are depicted in book covers and how/if they differ from our own imagination.

If you want to know more about #MurderEveryMonday check Kate Jackson’s blog, see the next themes, and share your covers using the hashtag.

#MurderEveryMonday Crime fiction cover with a village on

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday I’m sharing a cover of a book I want to read, Murder before Evensong, the first in the Canon Clement series, and a book I’ve read before (one of my 2023 favorite reads). Serpents in Eden is a short story collection with both known crime fiction authors and others less known, with extra points for the introduction by Martin Edwards. By the way, if you want to read the 1948 article The Guilty Vicarage – Notes on the detective story, by an addict by W. H. Auden, you can do so here.

#MurderEveryMonday Crime fiction cover with a village on

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday I’m sharing a cover of a book I want to read, Murder before Evensong, the first in the Canon Clement series, and a book I’ve read before (one of my 2023 favorite reads). Serpents in Eden is a short story collection with both known crime fiction authors and others less known, with extra points for the introduction by Martin Edwards. By the way, if you want to read the 1948 article The Guilty Vicarage – Notes on the detective story, by an addict by W. H. Auden, you can do so here.

Happy Birthday, Anthony Trollope! It’s Weekend, Let’s Read! & A New Series by Katie Lumsden

Anthony Trollope was born on this day in 1815. I’ve only read five novels and a short story collection. I’m on the fifth volume of Chronicles of Barsetshire and I’m loving it so much that my recommendation for this weekend goes for the first volume in the series.

The Warden – Read or download at Project Gutenberg, if you have a Kobo, I recommend the Standard Ebooks version. Librivox also has three versions in audiobook, if you prefer. It’s the smallest of the series and maybe not the most loved, but I do recommend starting with it.

If you like satirical dystopian, you can go for The Fixed Period, that I recommended before.

Katie Lumsden is making a new series about Trollope, after reading all the 47 novels and the first episode (10 Reasons to Read Anthony Trollope) is out now on her YouTube channel. I watched it yesterday and it was a delight. And although I didn’t read much Trollope yet, I can relate with all these reasons (just from the Barsetshire Chronicles).

Happy Birthday, Anthony Trollope! It’s Weekend, Let’s Read! & A New Series by Katie Lumsden

Anthony Trollope was born on this day in 1815. I’ve only read five novels and a short story collection. I’m on the fifth volume of Chronicles of Barsetshire and I’m loving it so much that my recommendation for this weekend goes for the first volume in the series.

The Warden – Read or download at Project Gutenberg, if you have a Kobo, I recommend the Standard Ebooks version. Librivox also has three versions in audiobook, if you prefer. It’s the smallest of the series and maybe not the most loved, but I do recommend starting with it.

If you like satirical dystopian, you can go for The Fixed Period, that I recommended before.

Katie Lumsden is making a new series about Trollope, after reading all the 47 novels and the first episode (10 Reasons to Read Anthony Trollope) is out now on her YouTube channel. I watched it yesterday and it was a delight. And although I didn’t read much Trollope yet, I can relate with all these reasons (just from the Barsetshire Chronicles).

Happy World Book Day 2026!

As a celebration of World Book Day, I finished creating itens in Wikidata for all the books and editions by Dean Street Press that I have by Elizabeth Fair. There’s a seventh one, but it seems it is more difficult to get.

This is also part of #EveryBookItsReader Wikimedia campaign, which I talked here before (you can still join in). I’m linking here the rest of the itens I created, so if you know more info about them, please go there and add it and/or correct if you see something wrong.

Landscape in Sunlight – The work and the edition

The Native Heath – The work and the edition

Seaview House – The work and the edition

The Mingham Air – The work and the edition

The Marble Staircase – The work and the edition

Elizabeth Fair has already a page on Wikipedia, if you want to improve it.

Happy World Book Day 2026!

As a celebration of World Book Day, I finished creating itens in Wikidata for all the books and editions by Dean Street Press that I have by Elizabeth Fair. There’s a seventh one, but it seems it is more difficult to get.

This is also part of #EveryBookItsReader Wikimedia campaign, which I talked here before (you can still join in). I’m linking here the rest of the itens I created, so if you know more info about them, please go there and add it and/or correct if you see something wrong.

Landscape in Sunlight – The work and the edition

The Native Heath – The work and the edition

Seaview House – The work and the edition

The Mingham Air – The work and the edition

The Marble Staircase – The work and the edition

Elizabeth Fair has already a page on Wikipedia, if you want to improve it.

#MurderEveryMonday Crime fiction title with an evaluative adjective

When Kate reminded us of this week’s #MurderEveryMonday theme, my first thought was for H. R. F. Keating because I had noticed a pattern in some of his books:

• The Bad Detective
• The Good Detective
• The Soft Detective
• The Rich Detective

These are standalone’s and I never read anything by Keating, but I’m curious about his writing. He was president of the Detection Club between 1985 and 2000. I do have two related books in my immediate TBR: Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime, essays edited by him, and The Verdict of Us All – edited by Peter Lovesey, a collection of short stories by The Detection Club’s members in honour of Keating’s 80th birthday, which include before each work a memory or contact these writers had of H.R.F. Keating.

#MurderEveryMonday Crime fiction title with an evaluative adjective

When Kate reminded us of this week’s #MurderEveryMonday theme, my first thought was for H. R. F. Keating because I had noticed a pattern in some of his books:

• The Bad Detective
• The Good Detective
• The Soft Detective
• The Rich Detective

These are standalone’s and I never read anything by Keating, but I’m curious about his writing. He was president of the Detection Club between 1985 and 2000. I do have two related books in my immediate TBR: Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime, essays edited by him, and The Verdict of Us All – edited by Peter Lovesey, a collection of short stories by The Detection Club’s members in honour of Keating’s 80th birthday, which include before each work a memory or contact these writers had of H.R.F. Keating.

Why Women Grow #book & #podcast by Alice Vincent

Alice Vincent goes through different places meeting different women in search of what makes them work the soil, plant seeds, and grow plants. In doing so, Vincent shares with us these women’s stories about loss and grief, but also about celebration, motherhood, power, protest, and so much more mixed with descriptions of the gardens, in a beautiful writing.

The book came out in 2023, but only recently I realised there is also a podcast with new episodes (you can also access the old ones), which I’m adding to my subscriptions. You can search for the title in your player of choice or going to Alice Vincent”s website here.

If you’re looking for a podcast player, I find AntennaPod the best one.

#MurderEveryMonday A special edition

Today’s #MurderEveryMonday is a title with a word that starts with the letter Q. I’m hoping I can use the title in Portuguese for this one, because it is the perfect excuse to tell you about a special edition, that is not much known.

The book chosen is The Floating Admiral, which title was translated to Portuguese as Quem Matou o Almirante?

The story was written by the members of The Detection Club and in a round-robin format, meaning each author would write a chapter to continue the story without knowing how it would go. The publishers of the Colecção Vampiro, a book collection I’ve been talking about in this blog, decided to published this book when the collection reached 500 volumes in March of 1989. But besides the regular edition that follows the design of the other volumes in the collection, they also decided to publish a special limited and numbered edition in a totally different design. This is bigger book, it’s a paperback, but has a dust jacket with the title and the logo (the bat) of the collection embossed in. It is also printed in a much better and thicker paper. Both volumes have a list of all the titles published in the collection up to number 500 and their date of publication (I’m always forgetting this resource!).

#BookLook #books #ColecçãoVampiro #CrimeFiction #readings #TheDetectionClub

#MurderEveryMonday A special edition

Today’s #MurderEveryMonday is a title with a word that starts with the letter Q. I’m hoping I can use the title in Portuguese for this one, because it is the perfect excuse to tell you about a special edition, that is not much known.

The book chosen is The Floating Admiral, which title was translated to Portuguese as Quem Matou o Almirante?

The story was written by the members of The Detection Club and in a round-robin format, meaning each author would write a chapter to continue the story without knowing how it would go. The publishers of the Colecção Vampiro, a book collection I’ve been talking about in this blog, decided to published this book when the collection reached 500 volumes in March of 1989. But besides the regular edition that follows the design of the other volumes in the collection, they also decided to publish a special limited and numbered edition in a totally different design. This is bigger book, it’s a paperback, but has a dust jacket with the title and the logo (the bat) of the collection embossed in. It is also printed in a much better and thicker paper. Both volumes have a list of all the titles published in the collection up to number 500 and their date of publication (I’m always forgetting this resource!).

#BookLook #books #ColecçãoVampiro #CrimeFiction #readings #TheDetectionClub

It’s Weekend, Let’s Read: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice was first published on 28th of January of 1813 and is one of my (and so many others) favorite novels of all time. If you never read it, do not go thinking it is a love story. Well, it’s kind of, but it’s so much more: It’s a comedy of manners and social criticism.

“I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least I do not know.“
Jane Austen in a letter to her sister Cassandra on the 29th of January of 1823

Elizabeth Bennet is one of my favourite characters: she is intelligent, witty, has no problems to recognise she was mistaken, but also she embodies women independence and resistance. We can see this when she decides to walk to Netherfield, instead of waiting for the carriage, to check on her sister or, when in Rosings, Elizabeth is playing the piano and says to Mr. Darcy:

“My fingers,” said Elizabeth, “do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault—because I would not take the trouble of practising. It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any other woman’s of superior execution.”

There are many editions of Pride & Prejudice, some with introductions or annotated that give more insights on the text, but if you want to read it right now, head over to Project Gutenberg that has the edition with the illustrations by Hugh Thomson. You can read it or download it here.

#BookLook #books #ClassicBooks #JaneAusten #Policiais #PrideAndPrejudice #readings

It’s Weekend, Let’s Read: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice was first published on 28th of January of 1813 and is one of my (and so many others) favorite novels of all time. If you never read it, do not go thinking it is a love story. Well, it’s kind of, but it’s so much more: It’s a comedy of manners and social criticism.

“I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least I do not know.“
Jane Austen in a letter to her sister Cassandra on the 29th of January of 1823

Elizabeth Bennet is one of my favourite characters: she is intelligent, witty, has no problems to recognise she was mistaken, but also she embodies women independence and resistance. We can see this when she decides to walk to Netherfield, instead of waiting for the carriage, to check on her sister or, when in Rosings, Elizabeth is playing the piano and says to Mr. Darcy:

“My fingers,” said Elizabeth, “do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault—because I would not take the trouble of practising. It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any other woman’s of superior execution.”

There are many editions of Pride & Prejudice, some with introductions or annotated that give more insights on the text, but if you want to read it right now, head over to Project Gutenberg that has the edition with the illustrations by Hugh Thomson. You can read it or download it here.

#BookReview #BookLook #books #ClassicBooks #JaneAusten #literature #Policiais #PrideAndPrejudice #readings #romance

Extra comfort for election day #reading

Today is election day in Portugal and the future seems quite dark, asking for extra comfort and minimising anxiety.

I’ve been re-reading Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter, which is who one thinks is a good friend. The books are also funny and, most important,  things are cleared and end well (considering this is crime fiction :-)).

I started this re-read last year and after the first volume, read other books (I’m doing the same re-read with Austen and the Brontes), but after reading the second in the series, I can’t put them down and I’m starting the next as soon as I finish one. I’m now almost at the end of The unpleasantness at the Bellona Club and have the next in order of publication ready, which is Lord Peter views the body (12 short stories).

I’m also adding a spicy rooibos hot tea (it’s so cold here, both outside and inside!) and watching/listening one of the lovely Ali channels (go there and check both of her YouTube channels, I find her content so comforting!) while I’m reading.

#BookSeries #BookLook #ClassicCrimeFiction #DorothyLSayers #LordPeterWimsey #reading

Extra comfort for election day #reading

Today is election day in Portugal and the future seems quite dark, asking for extra comfort and minimising anxiety.

I’ve been re-reading Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter, which is who one thinks is a good friend. The books are also funny and, most important,  things are cleared and end well (considering this is crime fiction :-)).

I started this re-read last year and after the first volume, read other books (I’m doing the same re-read with Austen and the Brontes), but after reading the second in the series, I can’t put them down and I’m starting the next as soon as I finish one. I’m now almost at the end of The unpleasantness at the Bellona Club and have the next in order of publication ready, which is Lord Peter views the body (12 short stories).

I’m also adding a spicy rooibos hot tea (it’s so cold here, both outside and inside!) and watching/listening one of the lovely Ali channels (go there and check both of her YouTube channels, I find her content so comforting!) while I’m reading.

#BookSeries #BookLook #ClassicCrimeFiction #DorothyLSayers #LordPeterWimsey #reading

#MurderEveryMonday Crime Fiction Novel made into a film

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday I’m choosing two of my favourite book adaptations into a film:

• Witness for the Prosecution by Billy Wilder (with Marlene Dietrich) from 1957
• And Then There Were None by Rene Clair from 1945

Check Kate’s blog to know more about the hashtag and share your covers.

#BookLook #books #ColecçãoVampiro #CrimeFiction #livros #MurderEveryMonday #Policiais #readings

#MurderEveryMonday Crime Fiction Novel made into a film

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday I’m choosing two of my favourite book adaptations into a film:

• Witness for the Prosecution by Billy Wilder (with Marlene Dietrich) from 1957
• And Then There Were None by Rene Clair from 1945

Check Kate’s blog to know more about the hashtag and share your covers.

#BookLook #books #ColecçãoVampiro #CrimeFiction #livros #MurderEveryMonday #Policiais #readings

Happy #PublicDomain Day 2026 – Crime Fiction Edition

We celebrate Public Domain Day every 1st of January. Although copyright is important, Public Domain is paramount for creativity and access: not only Public Domain constitutes an important pool from where new authors can create new works, but also is an opportunity to publish long forgotten works. I’m considering the copyright term as life + 70 years, since that is the copyright term in Portugal and in most of European countries.

Cyril Alington (1872- 1955) – List of works at Wikipedia

Joseph Jefferson Farjeon (1883 – 1955) – List of works at Wikipedia

Benjamin Hawkins Dean (1892 – 1955) – List of works at GADetection

Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1889–1955) – List of works at Wikipedia

Horace Annesley Vachell (1861 – 1955) – List of works at GADetection

Jean Fiolle (1884 – 1955) – One only crime fiction work, reference at Wikipedia (in French)

W. H. Eemlandt (1889 – 1955) – List of works at Wikipedia (in Dutch)

#BookLook #books #CrimeFiction #livros #publicDomain #readings

Happy #PublicDomain Day 2026 – Crime Fiction Edition

We celebrate Public Domain Day every 1st of January. Although copyright is important, Public Domain is paramount for creativity and access: not only Public Domain constitutes an important pool from where new authors can create new works, but also is an opportunity to publish long forgotten works. I’m considering the copyright term as life + 70 years, since that is the copyright term in Portugal and in most of European countries.

Cyril Alington (1872- 1955) – List of works at Wikipedia

Joseph Jefferson Farjeon (1883 – 1955) – List of works at Wikipedia

Benjamin Hawkins Dean (1892 – 1955) – List of works at GADetection

Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1889–1955) – List of works at Wikipedia

Horace Annesley Vachell (1861 – 1955) – List of works at GADetection

Jean Fiolle (1884 – 1955) – One only crime fiction work, reference at Wikipedia (in French)

W. H. Eemlandt (1889 – 1955) – List of works at Wikipedia (in Dutch)

#BookLook #books #CrimeFiction #livros #publicDomain #readings

#MurderEveryMonday title hints to something not visible

Today’s #MurderEveryMonday is a “crime fiction title which hints that something has disappeared or is not visible”.

I went through my shelves and the majority of books I could find were about someone disappearing, instead of something, but I decided to go with it.

My first thought went to The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristol and Bruce Manning, published in 1930, with a close setting where people start dying. Later, Agatha Christie worked the same idea for And Then There Were None. Loved both books, and I thank Dean Street Press (check the link to see their crime fiction titles) to republished the Host so we could read it today. Do you know other books with a similar idea? Let me know in the comments, I would love to read them.

My second thought was The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin because while maybe “moving” doesn’t hint to a disappearance, the blurb at the back is very clear: this toyshop vanishes during the night. How and why would a toyshop vanish? Read the book, it’s a good one and the Oxford Professor Gervase Fen is on the case. It’s also the only book that hints at something instead of someone.

Then, I thought of “Poirot loses a Client” (the book in the middle, same title both in Portuguese and American English). Mainly because this Christie Portuguese publisher used already made translations from Brazil, back in the 1950/60s, probably cheaper than to get a translation from scratch, and I also have this idea that Brazil would use the American editions to translate, maybe because they were closer and was easier to negotiate with the American publishers than with the UK ones. But this one is the UK’s Dumb’s Witness. And it reminded me that John Curran published in his Secret Notebooks, for the first time, a similar short story that was later found in Agatha Christie papers, called The Incident of the Dog’s Ball (albeit the culprit is different).

You know I love Poirot, but it does seem he’s a little bit careless sometimes with this thing of loosing clients. And while the titles don’t hint at it, it also happens in the short stories A Cornish Mystery and How does Your Garden Grow?, both from the Poirot’s Early Cases (first book in the photo) and also in the novel Murder on the Links.

Someone engages Poirot to look into or do something and then, they’re gone. Where did his clients go or why? I’m not spilling it. Read the books :-)

Finally, I found The Phantom Lady by William Irish that starts with a man talking to a woman in a bar, without catching her name. When he returns home something happens and then he needs to find the woman of the bar to do something, but she vanished.

The Raymond Chandler one is translated as A Woman was Lost, and is in fact Farewell, My Lovely. With Chandler, I’m never sure if I know Philip Marlowe (the detective) from the movies, the old time radio shows, or the books. This is the melancholic, cynic, private eye, whiskey, guns, and the femme fatale. If you like the sub-genre hardboiled, Chandler is always a good option.

#BookLook #books #ColecçãoVampiro #CrimeFiction #livros #MurderEveryMonday #Policiais

#MurderEveryMonday title hints to something not visible

Today’s #MurderEveryMonday is a “crime fiction title which hints that something has disappeared or is not visible”.

I went through my shelves and the majority of books I could find were about someone disappearing, instead of something, but I decided to go with it.

My first thought went to The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristol and Bruce Manning, published in 1930, with a close setting where people start dying. Later, Agatha Christie worked the same idea for And Then There Were None. Loved both books, and I thank Dean Street Press (check the link to see their crime fiction titles) to republished the Host so we could read it today. Do you know other books with a similar idea? Let me know in the comments, I would love to read them.

My second thought was The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin because while maybe “moving” doesn’t hint to a disappearance, the blurb at the back is very clear: this toyshop vanishes during the night. How and why would a toyshop vanish? Read the book, it’s a good one and the Oxford Professor Gervase Fen is on the case. It’s also the only book that hints at something instead of someone.

Then, I thought of “Poirot loses a Client” (the book in the middle, same title both in Portuguese and American English). Mainly because this Christie Portuguese publisher used already made translations from Brazil, back in the 1950/60s, probably cheaper than to get a translation from scratch, and I also have this idea that Brazil would use the American editions to translate, maybe because they were closer and was easier to negotiate with the American publishers than with the UK ones. But this one is the UK’s Dumb’s Witness. And it reminded me that John Curran published in his Secret Notebooks, for the first time, a similar short story that was later found in Agatha Christie papers, called The Incident of the Dog’s Ball (albeit the culprit is different).

You know I love Poirot, but it does seem he’s a little bit careless sometimes with this thing of loosing clients. And while the titles don’t hint at it, it also happens in the short stories A Cornish Mystery and How does Your Garden Grow?, both from the Poirot’s Early Cases (first book in the photo) and also in the novel Murder on the Links.

Someone engages Poirot to look into or do something and then, they’re gone. Where did his clients go or why? I’m not spilling it. Read the books :-)

Finally, I found The Phantom Lady by William Irish that starts with a man talking to a woman in a bar, without catching her name. When he returns home something happens and then he needs to find the woman of the bar to do something, but she vanished.

The Raymond Chandler one is translated as A Woman was Lost, and is in fact Farewell, My Lovely. With Chandler, I’m never sure if I know Philip Marlowe (the detective) from the movies, the old time radio shows, or the books. This is the melancholic, cynic, private eye, whiskey, guns, and the femme fatale. If you like the sub-genre hardboiled, Chandler is always a good option.

#BookLook #books #ColecçãoVampiro #CrimeFiction #livros #MurderEveryMonday #Policiais

It’s Weekend, Let’s Read: Anthony Trollope’s Christmas Stories #PublicDomain #Books

You know I have been reading the Barset Novels (loving them) and I have also read recently The Fixed Period (loved it), so my recommendation for this weekend is again works by Anthony Trollope that I intend to read and you can also read right here, right now.

According with the The Trollope Society, Anthony Trollope has eight stories related to Christmas and I’m making a list here and try to find them online so you can also read them.

• Catherine Carmichael; Or Three Years Running
  I only found this story in a pdf format which is not very good to read on a mobile or ereader so last year I transformed the pdf into an epub, corrected the typos, and made it available here, where you can read it on the browser or choose to download the epub format.

• Christmas At Thompson Hall
• Christmas Day At Kirkby Cottage
• The Mistletoe Bough
• The Two Generals
• The Two Heroines of Plumplington
• The Widow’s Mite
  These six works can be found at Standard Ebooks. You can download the whole ebook here or go through the table of contents and choose the stories you want to read directly on the browser. The only story that is not a short story is The Two Heroines… that has around 100 pages

• Not if I Know it
  I couldn’t find this short available online without restrictions, I will be continuing my search and update this post accordingly. If you know where we can find it online and accessible by anyone, do add it in the comments. Trollope’s works are in public domain.

The book in the photo does not have three of the stories: Catherine Carmichael; The Two Heroines of Plumplington; The Widow’s Mite.

#AmReading #AnthonyTrollope #BookLook #books #ChristmasBooks #ChristmasShortStories #livros #publicDomain #readings #ShortStories

It’s Weekend, Let’s Read: Anthony Trollope’s Christmas Stories #PublicDomain #Books

You know I have been reading the Barset Novels (loving them) and I have also read recently The Fixed Period (loved it), so my recommendation for this weekend is again works by Anthony Trollope that I intend to read and you can also read right here, right now.

According with the The Trollope Society, Anthony Trollope has eight stories related to Christmas and I’m making a list here and try to find them online so you can also read them.

• Catherine Carmichael; Or Three Years Running
  I only found this story in a pdf format which is not very good to read on a mobile or ereader so last year I transformed the pdf into an epub, corrected the typos, and made it available here, where you can read it on the browser or choose to download the epub format.

• Christmas At Thompson Hall
• Christmas Day At Kirkby Cottage
• The Mistletoe Bough
• The Two Generals
• The Two Heroines of Plumplington
• The Widow’s Mite
  These six works can be found at Standard Ebooks. You can download the whole ebook here or go through the table of contents and choose the stories you want to read directly on the browser. The only story that is not a short story is The Two Heroines… that has around 100 pages

• Not if I Know it
  I couldn’t find this short available online without restrictions, I will be continuing my search and update this post accordingly. If you know where we can find it online and accessible by anyone, do add it in the comments. Trollope’s works are in public domain.

The book in the photo does not have three of the stories: Catherine Carmichael; The Two Heroines of Plumplington; The Widow’s Mite.

#AmReading #AnthonyTrollope #BookLook #books #ChristmasBooks #ChristmasShortStories #livros #publicDomain #readings #ShortStories

Jane Austen 250th Anniversary

Today marks 250 years from Jane Austen‘s birth. She one of my all time favourite writers. Because her work is in public domain you can read all her books right now from Project Gutenberg. If you want to read them in order of publication, you can follow this post on this blog.

Happy birthday, Jane!

#BookLook #books #JaneAusten #livros #publicDomain #readings

Jane Austen 250th Anniversary

Today marks 250 years from Jane Austen‘s birth. She one of my all time favourite writers. Because her work is in public domain you can read all her books right now from Project Gutenberg. If you want to read them in order of publication, you can follow this post on this blog.

Happy birthday, Jane!

#BookLook #books #JaneAusten #livros #publicDomain #readings

#MurderEveryMonday Crime fiction with a clock on the cover

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday I found many clocks on the cover. The Verdict of Us All was a recent second hand find. These are short stories by members of The Detection Club in honour of HRF Keating. I have a list of The Detection Club works here and I’m determined to read them all. The problem is it is quite difficult to find some of the older titles so I was really happy to find this one. I’m saving it to read at the end of the year.

Thrones, Dominations is one of the books Jill Patton Walsh wrote to continue the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L. Sayers. I’ve read these books a long time ago, but I think I liked them. I’m re-reading Sayers books by publication order and will get to these again.

The only thing I know about Joel Townsley Rogers (The stopped Clock in the photo) is that he is an American writer.

The Case of the Buried Clock by Erle Stanley Gardner is a Perry Mason one. Can’t remember if I read this one, but I always liked his books.

Finally, in this series with clock on the cover and clock on the title (both in English and in Portuguese), I found The Talking Clock by Frank Gruber. I associate Gruber with the American hard-boiled crime fiction., so not very curious to read it.

I had to add some Agatha Christie’s. The Clocks (in an English and Portuguese edition) is not very well known, but it’s an example of Hercule Point being challenged to solve a murder from his armchair, as he sometimes claims it is possible.

I also add The Seven Dials Mystery (The Mystery of the Seven Clocks in Portuguese) because clocks play a role in the story and with The Mystery of Chimneys, from which it gets some characters, including Superintendent Battle, have a special space in my favourite shelves.

From these, I can recommend Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, probably and rightly one of the most known Christie’s Poirot books. I also like Ellery Queen (Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper, Portuguese title of A Study in Terror) and Edgar Wallace (Room 13).

Never read Magdalen Nabb. The book, Some Bitter Taste, occurs in Florence, Italy, and I could give it a go.

One of the things I like more about this hashtag is that not only I find books by others sharing their covers, but sometimes I find authors I didn’t know I had in my collections. Anders Bodelsen was a Danish writer and since I usually tend to read British writers, I’m putting this Think of a Number on my TBR.

If you want to share your covers, go to Kate Jackson’s blog to know the themes for each Monday here. Share them on your blog or social media of your choice and don’t forget to put the hashtag #MurderEveryMonday.

#BookLook #books #ColecçãoVampiro #CrimeFiction #livros #Policiais

#MurderEveryMonday “the man” or “the woman” in the title

Today’s #MurderEveryMonday theme is “the men” or “the woman” in the title. I went through the Portuguese collection Vampiro to find all the titles. We have more men than women. I’m considering the titles in Portuguese, and when different I will write the original title. Also all the titles in Portuguese have “the man” (o homem) or “the woman” (a mulher) as you can see from the photos, but when translating the Portuguese titles into English we must change the order of the words, so it makes sense.

• The powerful man – Michael Spillane (original title: The Deep)
• The man in the bed number 10 – Mary R. Rinehart (original title: The man in lower 10) – read it and liked it
• The sinister man – Edgar Wallace – read and liked it
• Maigret and the man from the bench – Georges Simenon (Maigret et L’Homme du banc) – favourite cover by the artist Lima de Freitas, not sure if I read this one, but usually like Simenon and recommend
• The shadow man – Dashiell Hammett (original title: The thin man)
• Maigret and the man with two women – Georges Simenon (original title: Liberty Bar)
• Maigret and the solitary men – Georges Simenon (original title: Maigret et L’Homme tout seul)

The man in the brown suit and The man in lower 10 were the first titles I remember could do for today’s hashtag. This book by Agatha Christie is not her usually murder mystery, but it is more on the side of adventure novels and I also like she borrowed from her trip with the British Empire Expedition.

There is less “the woman” in the collection.

• Maigret and the vanished woman – Georges Simenon (original title: Chez les flamands)
• The quiet woman – Harry Carmichael (I have read this author as Hartley Howard and liked it, I’m curious about this one. Real name: Leopold Ognall)
• The phantom woman – William Irish (original title: The phantom lady. Read this one a long time ago and liked it)
• The woman that was not missed – Dorothy Simpson (original title: Dead and gone. Can’t remember if I ever read Simpson, although the name rings a bell).

Back to your covers. If you want to participate in #MurderEveryMonday check Kate’s post here.

#AgathaChristie #BookLook #books #classicCrime #ColecçãoVampiro #CrimeFiction #GeorgesSimenon #MurderEveryMonday #readings

#MurderEveryMonday Cover with a bus

For today’s #MurderEveryMonday cover of a crime fiction book with a bus, I didn’t have many covers, but thought London would never disappoint and it didn’t!

The Portuguese edition is At Betram’s Hotel, a Miss Marple book by Agatha Christie, which I love and have been re-reading over the years. The title is translated to Portuguese as “Mystery in Luxury Hotel” and in this one Miss Marple goes to Bertram’s, an hotel she stayed in when she was 14 years old with her aunt and uncle. Bertram’s seems to have stopped in time. Again, Miss Marple gathers her down to earth wisdom and acute observation to solve the mystery.

Janet Morgan, the official biographer of Christie, uses correspondence between Agatha Christie and her literary agent, Edmund Cork, to argue Bertram’s seems to have been modelled after the Flemings Mayfair Hotel.

I also loved Gilbert’s book, with its writing and its setting in a law firm and an original way of hiding a corpse, that would never have crossed my mind.

#MurderEveryMonday is an hashtag created by Kate Jackson from Cross Examining Crime and anyone can participate via their social networks. Kate in on Twitter and Instagram, and you can find the themes of each Monday in her blog here. She recently opened up a Patreon, so if you can support her, you can go here and see the extras you can get.

Besides Twitter and Instagram, I also have been participating on my Mastodon and Bluesky, but I find those types of social are more ephemerous, so I thought I would try using this blog.

#AgathaChristie #BookLook #books #ColecçãoVampiro #CrimeFiction #MichaelGilbert #MurderEveryMonday #Policiais #readings

It’s Weekend, Let’s read: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

““Oh, Marilla,” she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it? Look at these maple branches. Don’t they give you a thrill—several thrills? I’m going to decorate my room with them.””

A favorite season asks for a favorite reading. The ‘ber months are indeed my favorites and I wouldn’t want to skip any of them.

You can read Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery right here, right now from Project Gutenberg.

Have a wonderful and nature colorful weekend!

#AnneOfGreenGables #bookCollection #BookLook #books #livros #publicDomain #readings

Agatha Christie’s 135th Birthday

A post to mark the 135th birthday anniversary of Agatha Christie. If you want a peek at the official centenary book (pictured), I made a short video. I believe it’s possible to still find it second hand.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VCtWMNgkC44

#AgathaChristie #BookLook #books #CrimeFiction #readings

Food and plants from books

Gina from Babs Beloved Books shared recently (on Instagram) a book haul and specifically the book The Anne of Green Gables Treasure. I remembered making one of the recipes of this book. Spoiler alert: the shortbread is delicious. Around the same time, I also made the raspberry cordial, but it’s not in this book, I must have found the recipe elsewhere online.

I’d never had shortbread or raspberry cordial before and at the time it was not something you could buy at the store in Portugal. This also made me think that sometimes I make recipes because I want to know how they taste.

That was the case of orange marmalade. The first time I read about it there was no mention of orange, but a character in A pocket full of rye by Agatha Christie takes a spoon of marmalade from a jar and spreads it on a toast. And this was strange for me, because here we slice the marmalade, it’s not easily spreadable. And we don’t make marmalade from oranges, but from quinces. And of course, Paddington also loves orange marmalade. Are there other literary references?

So I decided to give it a go and see how it would taste. I found several recipes online, but after making it some times I changed it a little bit. I use less sugar, but I sterilise the jars before and boiled them until vacuum after filling them. I also make it at the beginning of the year when oranges are not sweet. I shared the recipe on this blog before, if you want to take a look, but in Portuguese.

Another recipe is Madeira cake. I can’t recall a literary reference, but I read many United Kingdom authors, and this is a cake that was much used in 19th century in the UK. The fact is that it got my attention: Madeira is a Portuguese island and indeed has a tradicional cake, but nothing like this one. Searching a little more, I found that the cake is called Madeira because it used to be served with a glass of Madeira wine (which is indeed from Madeira island). I also shared the recipe before here (also in Portuguese), I can’t tell where I got it (maybe BBC Good Food?). I usually take recipes, make them a few times, and if they’re good than share them, but by that time, I really can’t tell where I got them and most of the times I’ve change them anyway (recipes do not have copyright, phew!).

Then there were sweet peas. I have heard about them and their strong scent, but never saw any. Mrs. Dalloway had them in bowls “tinged violet, snow white, pale—as if it were the evening and girls in muslin frocks came out to pick sweet peas and roses after the superb summer’s day”. So when I saw seeds in a store I decided to give them a grow, some came out and they do have a lovely scent.

Now, tell me: do you also make recipes or sow plants that you read about to know how they taste, look, or for their scent? If you shared them before, put the link in the comments so I can read them, or share the recipe in the comments.

#BookLook #books #fiction #MadeiraCake #OrangeMarmalade #readings #Recipes #RecipesFromBooks #SweetPeas #VirginiaWoolf

It’s Weekend, Let’s Read: The Secret Garden #ProjectGutenberg #PublicDomain

Today I’m sharing a book that it is widely known, but I never read it, can you believe it? The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The story is about Mary Lennox that is sent to live with her uncle in a manor house in the Yorkshire Moors. There’s a locked walled garden and a secret about it (not a spoiler, it’s in the title).

You can download an illustrated edition from Project Gutenberg right here, right now.

If you are also going through a hell of a heatwave like we’re having, maybe reading about a garden helps. Have a wonderful and relaxed weekend full of reading.

#BookLook #books #ClassicBooks #FrancesHodgsonBurnett #readings #TheSecretGarden #WeekendReadings

Bookish Crochet: ereader cover

I’ve made an ereader sleeve in crochet before (you can check my post here), but with wool, not very comfortable for Summer, so I decided to make another one in cotton.

Recently, I was looking at patterns for wash or dish cloths (a good way to reduced plastic at home, just make sure the yarn is 100% cotton) and found the Cottage pattern by Sarah from Rich Textures Crochet on YouTube. It’s an easy and quick, but beautiful pattern that uses a puff stitch, giving some padding to the ereader. You can make it in a square or rectangle and any size, you’ll just need the foundation cord to be a multiple of 3 + 2. Check Sarah’s video, she guides you through the whole process and if you prefer written patterns, you can go to Sarah’s website here.

So, I thought if I made two, then I could stitch them together and had a sleeve for the ereader.

It fits perfectly, but I probably should have made one or two more rows so I could sew a button. I can still add a strap if I feel it needs it, but for now the ereader doesn’t come off by its own. Sarah adds a stunning border with a picot, but I thought I would sew them with a simple crochet.

#BookLook #books #Crafts #Crochet #ereader #ereaderCover #ereaderSleeve #Technology