Sweet 16 - Tentative High School Revisited Reading TBR

The first thing I thought when I woke up New Year’s Day was how in two months it’ll be twenty years since I turned sixteen-years-old. How. In. The. BLOODY. FUCKIN’. HELL! Did. This. Happen? No. Seriously. Where was I in the last twenty years?

Anyway, for whatever reason I kept thinking about this blind leap through time. And as I started grudging around looking for something to start the new year reading (while fussing and sipping coffee), I eventually slumped into nostalgia. I thought about how R. L. Stine's Fear Street Cheerleaders series introduced me to the Whodunit of reading. I thought about how much I grew from ages 13 to 18 being a loyal and dedicated reader to K. A. Applegate's Animorphs series from its debut in '96 to its end in '01.

Needless to say, the reflections on my teenage reading kept coming. I thought about how I tried to emulate many of my favorite authors by writing similar stories to theirs back then. And, well, I thought about time and how it goes by so fast. As well as how memories keep us warm and remind us how special our lives really are when things don't always seem so sweet in the here and now.

That's when I got up to create a TBR reflecting my readings back in and around 1999–give or take. Authors like Naoko Takeuchi [Sailor Moon], K. A. Applegate [Animorphs], R. L. Stine [Fear Street], and T. A. Barron [The Ancient One] all came to mind. Luckily, I’ve kept all my early readings and decided to pull a few out to compose a sort of Sweet 16 Tentative High School Revisited Reading TBR to take on between my regular reading.

Let's kill some cheerleaders with R. L. Stine, baby!

Sharon McCone NEW YEAR'S CLEAN UP

Allllllll DONE.  From books 4 [Games to Keep Away the Dark 1984] all the way to 33 [The Breakers 2018] (and with the exception of 3 partial DNF's and one completely uninteresting reading entry), I've read my way through the entirety of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone mysteries.  The pillar titles, though.  No short story collections or Kindle singlets.

It's been fun going throughout Sharon's MANY adventures.  I'll have to do a little list of my favorite entries, favorite villains, favorite Sharon quotes, etc.  But all of that has to come later.  

Anyway, I thought I was going to give the series up.  Thankfully, that has since changed.  While Muller is no Grafton.  And Sharon is certainly no Kinsey Millhone.  They're both something special for a guy who just loves tough female characters solving crimes her way.

Ready for a lifetime of McCone?  Indeed.  I'm in for the long haul–whichever direction Muller goes.

2018 End of the Year Goodreads Reading Stats, I Guess

Reflecting on Reading Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone Series

[2] New Black Cozy Mystery Series ~ Mayhem & Mass by Olivia Matthews

[1] New Black Cozy Mystery Series ~ The Plot is Murder by V. M. Burns

CHOP IT UP: Crewel World by Monica Ferris

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"When Betsy arrived in Excelsior, Minnesota, all she wanted was to visit her sister Margot and to get her life in order.  She never dreamed her sister would give her a place to stay and a job at her needlecraft shop.  In fact, things had never looked so good–until Margot was murdered... 

In a town this friendly, it's hard to imagine who could have committed such a horrible act.  But Betsy has a few ideas.  There's an ex-employee who wants to start her own needlework store.  And there's the landlord who wanted Margot out.  Now Betsy's putting together a list of motives and suspects to figure out this killer's pattern of crime..."

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Let me tell you what made this book worth the read. What kept it interesting and kept me glued to the pages with all the cozy mystery components aside. Well, I mean sure I could go into all the cozy mystery loving stuff. It had the traditional charming, small town setting. One that's populated with a host of uniquely illustrated characters. Some of those characters were obnoxious, like the always-around-the-corner-to-be-extra-helpful cop named Jill. As well as the town’s potato sack eccentric (named Irene) looking to secure her own business, while giving off chilling vibes to Betsy. Two helpful shop hands who would’ve been better off as the mystery's murderous villain were present as well. And I wished one of the two to have been the culprit in consideration of how the actual culprit of the crime was pretty damn clear. So, as far as mysteries go, there were no surprises there.

Anyway, the needlework hook delivered. The writing was “cozy” and “light,” per the sub-genre's fashion. And it all came together and sold itself nicely. If not anti-climactic in its resolution.