WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Suitable for Framing by Edna Buchanan. Britt Montero is a journalist on the crime beat in Miami. In the mid-1990s, when this book was written, there was a tension between City Hall and the press, because telling the truth about what was going on in the streets was not always good for the tourism Miami depended on.* Britt loves her hometown but she is also a good reporter so she is always, always about getting the story. That's why Britt is upset that she may be losing her journalistic edge as she covers a string of armed carjackings. 

I'm rereading many mysteries – including this one – as I dedicate myself to purging my book collection. I recall little or nothing of the plot so I'm happy to have Buchanan carry me along one more time. This series is too intense to be called "cozy" – this one starts with a graphic description of a fatal car accident – but I like Britt and her best friend, a news photographer named Lottie. So I'm hoping this will be a good read.

*Is it still like this? I don't know. 

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz. Isabel Spellman, the eldest daughter of the San Francisco clan of private investigators, has a lot on her plate just now. She's investigating the disappearance of a butler whose wealthy old employer wants him back, and who Isabel suspects of defrauding the elderly gent. She believes a rival PI is dirty, and she wants to expose him. Her mother dislikes Isabel's sexy Irish bartender boyfriend and keeps calling the INS on him. Someone is stealing the doorknobs and towel racks from the Spellman home, but Izzy's parents insist this is normal and no big deal.

 

I love these books. They are wholly original, very funny, and filled with heart. Lisa Lutz obviously feels great affection for the insane little troupe she created. 

3. What will you read next?  I don't know

 

  

April 14 – Gratitude Challenge

 

I am joining Kwizgiver in this. That's even her graphic I stole! In her words, "This isn't about perfection or keeping a streak. It’s just about noticing." I need to focus and, in using shrink's word, "unhook." 

 

The Prompt: Recall a brief interaction with a stranger this week. What was a small moment of human kindness you witnessed or experienced?

 

This may not have, strictly speaking, happened within the past week. I've spent so much time at the vet with my Connie Cat lately that the visits have become a blur. But I found myself in the waiting room twice with a cat owner who also had a feline friend in distress. It's funny, I couldn't tell you what he looked like but I remember his green soft-sided cat carrier. Anyway, as we were leaving, I passed him and smiled in acknowledgement. He leaped up and got the door for me and Connie (in her bulkier carrier). It was a moment of connection, of camaraderie, of two people in the same difficult situation and I appreciated it.