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Tag Archives: book group

Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – February 2024

Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?

At the February 2024 Just Desserts meeting, 10 attending group members and guests participated in a discussion of suspense novel The Only One Left by Riley Sager.

Following the “assigned reading” portion of the meeting, we held our monthly round robin in which attendees shared recommendations of what other books they’ve been reading recently, with an emphasis on mysteries/suspense/thrillers. We continued a new policy this month that began in 2023, to make sure everyone got a turn in the Round Robin – everyone could share a single title during their verbal recommendations (actually we allowed two this month), but could then share additional titles on a paper form – ALL titles recommended are shown below. The titles marked by an * are those specifically mentioned verbally during the Round Robin. Two members who weren’t able to attend sent in their “recent reads” by e-mail, to be included in this list.

Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in February 2024:

And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in February 2024:

What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?

Join the discussion on Riley Sager’s “The Only One Left”

At the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group meeting on February 29, 2024, the 10 attendees discussed the The Only One Left, a 2023 bestseller by Riley Sager. The entire group enjoyed the book and appreciated the introduction to Sager’s works and some looked forward to reading more by this author. But most members also had issues with the twits and revelations in the final few pages. If you have read The Only One Left, and would like to contribute your comments about it, please do so as a reply comment to this blog post, below.

For additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings and/or other announcements of interest to mystery fans, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or you can watch for possible Just Desserts event pages on the Facebook Events page for the Lincoln City Libraries, and mark whether or not you plan to attend upcoming sessions of Just Desserts – this is a great way for you to help us promote this engaging discussion group!

So…What do you think of The Only One Left?

The following handout was prepared for the members of The Works of Riley Sager (through 2024).

Just Desserts will return on March 28, 2024, with a discussion of the first six books in the Flavia de Luce by British author Alan Bradley.

 

Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – October 2023

Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?

At the October 2023 Just Desserts meeting, 19 group members and guests participated in a discussion of the life and works of classic American author Dashiell Hammett.

Following the “assigned reading” portion of the meeting, we held our monthly “round robin” in which attendees shared recommendations of what other books they’ve been reading recently, with an emphasis on mysteries/suspense/thrillers. We continued a new policy that began earlier this year, to make sure everyone got a turn in the Round Robin – everyone could share a single title during their verbal recommendations, but could share additional titles on a paper form – ALL titles recommended are shared below. The titles marked by an * are those specifically mentioned verbally during the Round Robin.

Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in October 2023:

And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in October 2023:

What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?

Join the discussion on the Life and Works of Dashiell Hammett

The Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group held its final monthly meeting of the year on October 26th, 2023. 19 Attendees discussed the Life and Works of classic American author Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961), with participants having read several different selections by this author. If you have read any of Hammett’s mystery novels, and would like to contribute your comments about it/them, please do so as a reply comment to this blog post, below.

Dashiell Hammett titles read or listened to by group members for this discussion included: Red Harvest (4 readers), The Maltese Falcon (12 readers), The Dain Curse (3 readers), The Glass Key (1 reader), The Thin Man (7 readers), Nightmare Town (short story collection, 2 readers), The Woman in the Dark (novella, 1 reader), Too Many Have Lived (anthology featuring works by many contributors to Black Mask magazine, including Hammett, 1 listener). Opinions about Hammett and his works ranged from “one of my favorite authors” to “hated it”, though the majority fell somewhere in the middle. Easily 2/3rds of the group appreciated or enjoyed reading a Hammett novel, but less than 1/2 appeared interested in reading anything more by him. There was a general consensus that his skills as a writer were undeniable, as was his major influence on the genre of mystery fiction, particularly the “hardboiled” subgenre. But his writing was definitely of his time (1920s-1930s for the most part), with his characters expressing disparaging attitudes towards women, minorities and non cishet individuals, and doesn’t necessarily translate well into an enjoyable read for modern audiences accustomed to more enlightened stances.

For additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings (once they resume) and/or other announcements of interest to mystery fans, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, once in-person meetings are possible again, if you’re logged into your account on Facebook, you can visit the Events page for the Lincoln City Libraries, and mark whether or not you plan to attend upcoming sessions of Just Desserts – this is a great way for you to help us promote this engaging discussion group!

So…What did you think of the works of Dashiell Hammett? Which have you read?

The following handout was prepared for the members of Just Desserts: The Works of Dashiell Hammett.

This was our final “in person” meeting for 2023. Just Desserts is on its year-end hiatus in November and December, but will return in January 2024, with a discussion of the many series by Allison Brennan.

 

Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – September 2023

Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?

At the September 2023 Just Desserts meeting, 15 group members and guests participated in a discussion of the debut suspense novel by Ashley Flowers, All Good People Here.

Following the “assigned reading” portion of the meeting, we held our monthly round robin in which attendees shared recommendations of what other books they’ve been reading recently, with an emphasis on mysteries/suspense/thrillers. We continued a new policy this month that began earlier this year, to make sure everyone got a turn in the Round Robin – everyone could share a single title during their verbal recommendations, but could share additional titles on a paper form – ALL titles recommended are shared below. The titles marked by an * are those specifically mentioned during the Round Robin.

Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in September 2023:

And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in September 2023:

What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?