The Enigma Challenge by S.C. Godfrey As some of you know, my thwarted ambition is to have been a decoder at Bletchley Park during WWII. Alas, I was born both too late and in the wrong country but, more to the point, I lack the puzzle-solving acumen needed for such undertakings. Although I love words, I am not even very good at Scrabble. However, this does not affect my appreciation of such puzzles so I was intrigued by the description of The Enigma Challenge and greatly enjoyed reading it. Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/11/the-enigma-challenge-by-sc-godfrey.html #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Sir Patrick Stewart and My Baking I was sorry to read of the death of Sir Patrick Stewart on Thursday. Although I never met him, we had a memorable missed connection – at least, memorable to me! In one of my first jobs in publishing, I was the New York City and Westchester sales representative for Penguin USA. My role was to visit all the bookstores and review all the forthcoming books with staff, coax them to order new books and reorder older titles (backlist). I loved visiting all these bookstores, although sometimes carrying heavy bags of catalogs and books all over town was less fun (we did not have computers yet and I did not have a car). Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/sir-patrick-stewart-and-my-baking.html #patrickstewart #sirpatrick #penguinusa #yorkcity #newyork #although #thursday #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Race of Scorpions by Dorothy Dunnett Race of Scorpions, the third book in the House of Niccolo series, begins in Northern Italy as Nicholas vander Poele travels aimlessly through Europe, disconsolate after the recent death of his wife. Although the title conjures up a vision of scorpions racing to a finish line, it actually refers to the rivalry between the two royal members of the Lusignan family, rulers/claimants of Cyprus. Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/race-of-scorpions-by-dorothy-dunnett.html #dorothydunnett #scorpions #race #northernitaly #europe #house #poele #cyprus #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Scared Me Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is a Halloween Freebie, so I decided to choose some suitably scary books: Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/top-ten-tuesday-books-that-scared-me.html #tentuesday #topten #readergirl #artsyreader #halloweenfreebie #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

September 2026 Reading I spent quite a bit of September reading two fairly long books, Race of Scorpions by Dorothy Dunnett and This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, both of which I enjoyed but did not finish until October. International Dorothy Dunnett Day is celebrated annually on the Saturday closest to November 9 (the anniversary of Scottish historical novelist Dorothy Dunnett's death). Fans around the world gather in various places and toast her at 1 pm local time with whisky. The Boston group will be pleased that I am two books farther along than last year (but they were good at avoiding spoilers on my behalf). My mother is hosting the Boston gathering so let me know if you would like to attend! Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/september-2026-reading.html #dorothydunnett #ilonaandrews #reading #internationaldorothy #boston #october #race #november #scorpions #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

The Summer of the Spanish Woman by Catherine Gaskin Charlotte Drummond is barely 17 when her grandfather dies, and because the estate is entailed and thus goes to a male heir, she and her mother go on living at Clonmara, despite knowing they will have to leave when their distant cousin, Richard Selwin, the new Lord Blodmore, takes possession. Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-summer-of-spanish-woman-by.html #catherinegaskin #spanishwoman #summer #richardselwin #lordblodmore #charlottedrummond #clonmara #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Gentian Hill by Elizabeth Goudge, for the 1949 Club My final book for the 1949 Club is a beautifully written, whimsical, historical novel by Elizabeth Goudge (1900-84), a bestselling writer in her day, now best remembered for a children’s book, The Little White Horse, which won the Carnegie Medal for British children's books in 1946. Gentian Hill is set during the Napoleonic Wars in the coastal town of Torquay in Devon in the southwest region of England (its most famous celebrity, born many years after this book takes place, is Agatha Christie, who considered it her true home). Goudge was inspired by a local legend of St. Michael’s Chapel. Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/gential-hill-by-elizabeth-goudge-for.html #elizabethgoudge #gentianhill #club #whitehorse #carnegiemedal #littlewhite #agathachristie #napoleonicwars #england #chapel #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Miss Silver Comes to Stay by Patricia Wentworth, for the #1949Club In the 15th Miss Silver book, she just happens to be staying with a school friend when a murder takes place. Does she have precognition? I couldn’t help wondering what her fave, Alfred, Lord Tennyson would say about this. In Locksley Hall, his narrator says: “For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see, Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be . . .” Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/miss-silver-comes-to-stay-by-patricia.html #rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

The 1949 Club Is Coming! Twice a year, Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, lead a celebration of books published in a certain year they select way in advance. This is fun to participate in and especially to see what other bloggers have chosen to read. I have reviewed several that I think would be good options for others, although you’d better get cracking because it starts on Monday: Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-1949-club-is-coming.html

Arabella by Georgette Heyer - the peril of a small lie It’s time for the #1949Club, hosted by StuckinaBook and Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, in which bloggers are invited to read and review books that were published in a chosen year. When I first started reading Georgette Heyer’s books I was about 13 and most identified with her younger heroines and now that I am older, I usually recommend Frederica, Venetia, The Masqueraders or Devil’s Cub to first time readers. However, Arabella, and its ingenue heroine, continues to be one of my favorites. Read more » http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/arabella-by-georgette-heyer-peril-of.html