My reading days are over for a while

I've been enjoying these eAudiobooks these last few days, but I won't be reading much for a while. I have to pack for a 2 month trip to Virginia and free time will be at a premium, so I had to "stock-up." Of course, once I get there, I'll have plenty of time to read and a different library to get books from!

Death of a Gossip

Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In this early Hamish Macbeth mystery, Inspector Blair is actually civil to Hamish Macbeth. Some locals have a fly fishing program and one of the guests is making everyone mad. As with most of these mysteries, the victim is someone you love to hate. Lady Jane offends everyone all the time and everyone has a motive to kill her, even the 12 year old of the group.

The plot is interesting and there is a lot of local color. This is one of those books that is great to listen to on an audiobook. The accents are wonderful and add a lot to the enjoyment. As usual, laid back Hamish Macbeth solves the murder in his typically laconic style. I think what makes his character so attractive is that he has found the perfect job for himself and is able to cast aside all pretensions, ambitions and the falsities that surround the lives of most of us. He has a thirst for justice, but other than that, he delights in his simple village life with his dog, Towser, his chickens and sheep. His needs are few and what money he can spare, he sends home to his folks to help with the 6 younger children at home. If it wasn't for the complication of his love for Priscilla, he would be perfectly happy.

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eAudiobooks

I've found a wonderful new things. The St. John's County Public Library has eaudiobooks and I a having a great time. After traveling the 120 mile round trip to get my card updated, I spent about 6 hours trying to figure out how to download the audiobooks and start listening on my computer. I say 6 hours, but it is probably more if I count the hours spent before I went down to the library. Why is it and computer things are always so complicated? It never fails that there is at least one instance where the computer directs me to click on the ??? at the top of the screen and the ??? is never there!

After a few hours, I finally realized that the program was giving me instructions for an Internet Explorer screen and I was using Firefox. Once I got over that, I was only halfway there. I still had to figure out how to use a new vocabulary that included "licenses" vs "checkouts." Eventually, it all worked out and I started listening to my first book.

Now that the "birth process" is over, I have only one complaint. The books are checked out for 3 weeks and you can't check them back in. You can only check out 10. While this would seem more than adequate, but it doesn't work well for me. I am getting ready to drive to Virginia and spend 2 months house sitting for my sister. This is my time to cross stitch, knit and listen to audiobooks. I made the mistake of downloading lots of short books because my wireless signal was weak and now I don't have enough books. I still have three to add, so I am getting Anna Karenina, Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Crime and Punishment. I figure those will last me long enough.

Death of a Charming Man

Death of a Charming Man by M.C. Beaton


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A beautiful young man moves into a ghastly nearby village and immediately sets out to seduce the middle aged women in the town and set them against each other, then seems to disappear in the night. Only Hamish Macbeth thinks he has been murdered and he has to go on vacation to solve the mystery. Along with the problem of the murders is the problems between Priscilla and Hamish. They are on a collision course and things come to a head in this mystery.

This is just the kind of cozy mystery you want for a rainy day. Lots of subplots and enough action to keep the book interesting.

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Death of a Scriptwriter

Death of a Scriptwriter by M.C. Beaton


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is another in the Hamish Macbeth books. The Scottish constable is left to sort out the deaths of an obnoxious scriptwriter and another member of the TV crew while trying to keep out of Inspector Blair's reach. Part of the plot centers around the TV production of a mystery book. The TV program so distorts the original book as to create many potential suspects. Since this is one of my pet peeves, it was a vicarious pleasure to read about someone wrecking havoc on the kind of people who perpetrate these abominations.

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Death of a Snob

Death of a Snob by M.C. Beaton


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a quick and easy book and the plot is fairly predictable, but the characters are always good and the Scottish Highlands are always interesting. I listened to this on the new eaudiobooks from my library and found it was the perfect book to listen to while doing other things around the house.

Hamish Macbeth is the laid back constable in the village of Lochdubh. He is feeling sorry for himself because he has the flu and is alone at Christmas. Priscilla asks him to spend the holidays at a health farm on one of the outer islands and see who it is that is trying to kill her friend.

There are numerous quirky characters staying for the holidays and Hamish has to sort through the various lies to arrive at the killer and motive. From the beginning it is obvious who is to be killed. I always love these obnoxious characters and delight in seeing them killed off. I wonder why? Is it just that we all wish to do away with certain characters in our lives and enjoy the victim by proxy? Judging from the number of books that follow this formula, I am not the only one.

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The Miracle at Speedy Motors

The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is another wonderful book by Alexander McCall Smith. I feel like I know the characters and every new book is a visit home to find out how things are with my "family" in Botswana. Again, the books are not about solving a mystery. I think the mystery is a philosophical vehicle for the author's ideas and people with the children of his heart. Although some find these to be lightweight, I have a different take on them. Throughout literature, characters have been created that transcend their books and become real. Take, for instance, Dickins' wonderful characters such as Scrooge, the Artful Dodger, Oliver, Barkas, Mr. Micawber and a host of others. Then there are the fiends such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and Mephistopheles. And who doesn't have a picture in their mind of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn? I feel the same way about Precious Ramotswe, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni and Mma Makutsi. They have become more than characters in a book and I look forward to spending time with them.

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