Welcome!

For those of you who are meeting me via this blog, I’ve been reading mysteries for as long as I can remember. I’ve also been talking about them for as I can remember as well 🙂 so a blog seemed like a good idea. I started out (as I’m sure some of you did, too) with Nancy Drew and The Bobbsey Twins and never stopped. I remember discovering Agatha Christie’s books in my elementary school library–I don’t think I moved from that section for the rest of the day!

I am partial to cozy mysteries, especially Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series. Her heroine, Annie Darling, runs a mystery bookstore so you get to read a great mystery AND get recommendations for your next book! If you’re a cozy fan–or just want to know more about this sub-genre–check out Cozy Mystery Book Reviews.

I have just started reading The Notting Hill Mystery, which is now believed to be the first English detective novel. (I thought of linking to the Wikipedia entry for it, but it does give away the ending–look it up at your own risk.) In the spirit in which it was originally released, I will be posting my thoughts as I finish each section (in between other books, of course). I tend to take longer to read books that are narrated via letters, mostly because I start thinking of how I should be writing more letters.

In the meantime, check out Paul Collins’ 2011 New York Times essay, “The Case of the First Mystery Novelist.”

Stay tuned!

In other news:

If you’re in the Southern California area, check Mysterious Galaxy’s (San Diego’s best bookstore) Fantastic Firsts Book Clubs.

I just signed up for the Cozy Mysteries Starter Series (obviously) and picked up The Christie Curse over the weekend.

I leave you with a picture of my beside “to read” basket. It does not (by a long shot) include all the books I own that I still need to read, but I like keeping a number by my nightstand. If you’ve read any of these, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Till next time!