The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

I’ll Be In and Out, While My Husband Is In, and Until He Is Back…

I just wanted to mention that I will be in and out during the next few days. My husband has been admitted into the hospital (he has a recurring health condition that necessitates a hospital stay every few years) so I will be spending a lot of time at the hospital. I will continue to post your comments, I just won’t be very good about posting my comments. (I haven’t been doing much answering during the last few days, but his hospital stay should be a short one.)

I have a few entries already written that will post automatically, as I post dated them. My husband actually likes me to not stay with him all the time he is in hospital so he can try to sleep… As most of you know, the hospital halls are rather loud, so when you’re in, you try to catch your ZZZZs when you can.

I’ll let you all know when he is home, which should be very soon. But, with this being a holiday weekend, you never know >>> since you have to wait until a doctor discharges you, even though you might think you should be able to head on home.

You know what they say: Bad things do indeed happen to good people!

Happy September! Here’s Hoping the Weather Improves Everywhere…

Happy September!

It’s difficult to believe that autumn is almost here. I know that much of the country is experiencing terrible weather, in one form or another. I am hoping that September will be the month that gets us back to “normal.”

My birds and squirrels have clearly been having an awful summer. I think they are ready for autumn, as am I! The poor little squirrels lay on the hot ground with their legs sprawled out to their sides. They remind me of Sprite when she was young… She would lay on the wood floor during the summer and enjoy its coolness. (Is that even a word?)

Even with the weather not cooperating, I have been enjoying the summer even more because my daughter was home for a longer time than she has been. She is heading back to the east coast pretty soon, so I am already wondering what I am going to do without her… She is one of my very best-est friends in the world, and I miss her already! (And, she hasn’t even left yet!)

I hope September is a great month for all of you!

What Type of Weather Brings Out the Reading In You?

A frequent commenter to the site, Alfred, just sent me a quick note wondering if the weather affects our reading? Now he has me wondering if it does!

… with the weather turning cooler and eventually colder do… [you] read more when it is that way or read the same throughout the year…

I am going to take a wild guess on this one: I am guessing that people who have four distinct seasons might have a very different reading pattern than those who are “lucky enough” to have only two (hot and hotter than blazes!)… but I might be wrong.

So, Alfred (and I!) are interested in knowing: Does the weather affect your reading pattern?

Cozy Mystery Special Interest Themes… What Do You Think?

My last entry elicited a lot of really good comments on whether or not we would continue reading a Cozy Mystery series that we are enjoying… after the main sleuth does something for no apparent reason other than progressing the story line. (In this case it was keeping a very vital piece of evidence from the competent police department.)

Thank you all of your responses… You certainly have me thinking about this, and I’m still deliberating on whether I can continue with this sleuth. There is a lot to think about… in regards to what we want and expect from our sleuths.

Amongst all of the responses, there was another theme that came up:

Gail wrote:

… Lately, I’ve found many of the cozies with a gimmick (cozies built around a hobby, special interest etc) to be really problematic. It seems the mystery plot is sacrificed for the sake of the hobby. So everything stops while we have a little lesson on quilting, or coffee making or something. The gimmick needs to move the plot along or enhance our understanding of the characters. The movement of the plot shouldn’t stop for a lecture.
Not what you asked but it’s annoying me lately! And that’s my new YUCK category.

Maria responded:

Gail, I’ve seen this a lot lately too. A little bit of instruction or hobby is okay–cooking four meals and two desserts in the first 30 pages…well, I think I better go eat something instead of read…

The balance has to be there. And it’s probably easier to take after I love the characters. Sort of like watching grandma bake (or quilt or whatever). If I already like the characters I can enjoy the atmosphere, but if it’s just some gal named Sophie discussing the pros and cons of dark brown sugar versus molasses versus white sugar there better be arsenic in the white sugar that kills the guest! (okay that was kind of mean, but you know what I’m getting at. I hope!)

I have to admit to trying a few Cozy Mystery series just because they revolved around a particular interest of mine. One of those themed series was the Needlecraft Mystery Series by Monica Ferris. Because I enjoy needlework so much, I thought I might enjoy this particular series, and I was right! Monica Ferris is now on my “favorite authors” list. The needlework theme is what caught my interest, but the actual series is what has made me a Monica Ferris fan. (Also, I don’t remember Ferris ever actually devoting pages in these Cozy Mysteries on “how to” types of instruction.)

Do you all have opinions on special interest themes?

If you enjoy a particular theme, say paranormal, do you read every paranormal author you can get your hands on?

Do you think that some authors are using gimmicks to get us to read their books by getting on the bandwagon of a popular theme? (I do! Certainly not all authors, but I think that many do!)

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