This year saw the launch of the a Reading Challenge hosted by me. Time to announce the second edition of the Hundred Years Hence challenge for 2026. Things are the same. All you have to do to participate is to read a text that was published for the first time in 1926. Yes, a hundred … Continue reading #HYH26: Hundred Years Hence Reading Challenge
#ClassicsClub #FFB: Sober Truth (ed.) Margaret Barton and Osbert Sitwell (1930)
The subtitle of Sober Truth, compiled by Margaret Barton and Osbert Sitwell reads: A Collection of 19th Century Episodes, Fantastic, Grotesque and Mysterious. Indeed, right at the beginning of the preface, Sitwell confesses that the aim of the compilers (was) more propagandist than literary. True to the professed aim, the first chapter had the description … Continue reading #ClassicsClub #FFB: Sober Truth (ed.) Margaret Barton and Osbert Sitwell (1930)
#ClassicsClub: The Omnibus of Crime (ed.) by Dorothy L. Sayers (1929)
This mammoth anthology is divided into two main parts with further subdivisions. The first Detection and Mystery starts with Biblical mysteries: The History of Bel (considered to be the first locked-room mystery) where Daniel reveals that the food offered to Bel is actually eaten by the priests. Daniel plays detective again in The History of … Continue reading #ClassicsClub: The Omnibus of Crime (ed.) by Dorothy L. Sayers (1929)
#ReadIndies: The Report by Jessica Francis Kane (2010)
The day is Wednesday, March 3rd, 1943 and London is on edge. On Monday, England had bombed Germany in a deadly manner and there is a feeling in the air that German retalliation would be even deadlier with some new bombs, even more destructive than the ones used earlier. So when the siren goes off, … Continue reading #ReadIndies: The Report by Jessica Francis Kane (2010)
Vote Now: Dream Reprint of the Year
Voting is now open for the Dream Reprint of the year @ CrossexaminingCrime. There are 15 books nominated and to help you in making a choice, The Puzzle Doctor has summarized the books over here. So, have a look at the post and then cast your vote. Who knows, the Publisher gods might smile down … Continue reading Vote Now: Dream Reprint of the Year
#Dream Reprint #Classic Mystery: Mail Train by Kenneth Austin Dobson (1946)
It's the day when we nominate our dream reprint of the year i.e. a mystery that we read last year and feel it ought to be reprinted. For more details on this, please check out this post @ CrossexaminingCrime. My nomination is Mail Train which was first published in 1946 and about which I have … Continue reading #Dream Reprint #Classic Mystery: Mail Train by Kenneth Austin Dobson (1946)
Dream Reprint of the Year: Please Nominate
We all have read vintage mysteries that we picked up from dusty shelves in second-hand bookstores or libraries and loved them and thought that yes, these need to be reprinted. Well, I had this idea while nominating books for Reprint of the Year Award that it’d be fun to see what books we would select … Continue reading Dream Reprint of the Year: Please Nominate
Challenge Complete: Vintage Cover Scavenger Hunt 2025
I have successfully completed the Vintage Cover Scavanger Hunt for 2025. Here are the books read: Golden Age: Castle: The Wintringham Mystery by Anthony Berkeley Any Other Object: Hercule and the Gods by Pierre Audemars Body of Water: A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey Curtains: So I Killed Her by Leonard O. Mosley A … Continue reading Challenge Complete: Vintage Cover Scavenger Hunt 2025
#HYH25: Detective Debuts
Two detective made their debuts in 1925. Anthony Berkeley's Roger Sheringham in The Layton Court Mystery and Earl Derr Biggers' Charlie Chan in The House Without a Key. Sheringham's debut is a country-house mystery. The host is murdered and Sheringham decides to play detective. The mystery could have been interesting had I been invested in … Continue reading #HYH25: Detective Debuts
#HYH25 #ClassicsClub: The Professor’s House by Willa Cather
When I announced #HYH25, one of the books recommended was Willa Cather's The Professor's House. I had never read Cather and was keen to read her. So I tweaked my ClassicsClub list and finally almost at the end of the year, I finished the book. When the novel opened with the idea of shifting to … Continue reading #HYH25 #ClassicsClub: The Professor’s House by Willa Cather
#HYH25: Finishing Line
Those participating in #HYH25, please remember to submit or link up your reviews by the 7th of January. Due to certain unavoidable circumstances, however, I shall be able to summarise and declare the winner only later in the year. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and participation. If you enjoyed taking part in … Continue reading #HYH25: Finishing Line
a hot cup of pleasure 