I is for Investigatore

The boot-shaped country of Italy is our focus this week, as we take a look at fictional Italian detectives (investigatore is Italian for detective, in case you were wondering).  Although we don’t always associate European murder mysteries with the warmer Mediterranean climates – think of the cold Swedish noir or the English house mysteries – it only makes sense that those hot-blooded Italians would offer great fictional crimes (of passion, and otherwise).

Besides, as PBS re-airs the popular series Zen based on the Aurelio Zen books by Michael Dibdin (and watching Rufus Sewell in the lead role is half the fun), it’s great time to become a Latin crime-lover.

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HISTORICAL:

Lindsey Davis – Marcus Didius Falco

Steven Saylor – Roma Sub Rosa series

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CONTEMPORARY:

Grace Brophy – Commissario Cenni

Andrea Camilleri – Inspector Montalbano

Michael Dibdin – Aurelio Zen

Conor Fitzgerald – Commissario Alec Blume

David Hewson – Nic Costa

Donna Leon – Commissario Guido Brunetti

The Way Back Machine – Best Sellers 1994

Although it doesn’t seem like it, 1994 was almost 20 years ago. Some of the events that happened that year – like Nancy Kerrigan getting clubbed in the knee before the Olympics – seem much more recent (Although I’m not sure if I remember the incident correctly, or just the SNL version of events!). Here are some other happenings from that year that might spark your memory:

• In April, Kurt Cobain died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
• Nelson Mandela is elected President of South Africa in May.
• There’s no crying in baseball (at least in the World Series) since the August player’s strike put an end to the postseason.

Reminisce a little more by reading one of these New York Times best-selling gems from the week of May 8, 1994 (apparently, we were all on a Robert James Waller kick!):

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FICTION:

1. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

2. Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark

3. “K” Is for Killer by Sue Grafton

4. The Day After Tomorrow by Allan Folsom

5. The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

6. The Alienist by Caleb Carr

7. Lovers by Judith Krantz

8. Disclosure by Michael Crichton

9. Accident by Danielle Steel

10. Charade by Sandra Brown

11. Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend by Robert James Waller

12. The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton

13. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

14. On Dangerous Ground by Jack Higgins

15. The Fist of God by Frederick Forsyth

16. Daybreak by Belva Plain

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NONFICTION:

1. Embraced by the Light by Betty J. Eadie with Curtis Taylor

2. Reba: My Story by Reba McEntire with Tom Carter

3. The Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett

4. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

5. How We Die by Sherwin B. Nuland

6. Old Songs in a New Cafe by Robert James Waller

7. Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic

8. Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger

9. Makes Me Wanna Holler by Nathan McCall

10. Soul Mates by Thomas Moore

11. Saved by the Light by Dannion Brinkley with Paul Perry

12. Having Our Say by Sarah and A. Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth

13. Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now by Maya Angelou

14. Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

15. The Hidden Life of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

TFPL Book Club – Now at a New Night & Time!

This past winter, we decided to mix up the TFPL Book Club a little and try something new. For the past three years, we’ve met on the second Tuesday of every month at 5:30. Our original hope was that 5:30 was an ideal time – late enough that people who worked during the day could attend, but early enough that it wasn’t too dark when we finished.

But, we’ve found that maybe 5:30 is actually too early (and possibly interferes with dinner), so we’re going to try out the 7:00 PM slot. With the new time also comes a new night – the second Thursday of the month. The one thing that won’t change, however, will be the great conversations we have about the books we read!

Join us next THURSDAY, MAY 10 at 7:00 PM for a discussion of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. If you loved the movie (and really, who doesn’t?), then you’ll adore the book – adventure, fun, romance, and a lot of silly humor. We’ll see you there!