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Tag Archives: book group

Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – October 2019

At the October 24th, 2019 meeting of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group, following the discussion of the assigned topic of the month (The “Philip Marlowe” novels by Raymond Chandler), we held our monthly round robin in which all 17 attendees were able to share recommendations of what other books they’ve been reading recently.

Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in October 2019:

And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in October 2019:

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

Just Desserts group discussion of the Philip Marlowe novels by Raymond Chandler

For our final meeting of 2019, in October, the Just Desserts group looked back at one of the most classic American mystery writers of the 20th century — Raymond Chandler, and his series of novels and short stories featuring the sleuth Philip Marlowe.

Though Philip Marlowe first appeared in the 1939 novel The Big Sleep, several earlier stories written by Chandler for the pulps featured characters very much like Marlowe but with other names (like Carmady and John Dalmas). Those stories were retroactively turned into Marlowe stories when they were reprinted in book/collection form and the earlier characters were renamed “Philip Marlowe”.

Marlowe was a wise-cracking, tough-drinking, philosophical, down-on-his-luck gumshoe, the epitome of the “Noir” style of detective, as played by actor Humphrey Bogart in the film version of The Big Sleep. During the period from 1939 to 1958, Chandler finished seven Marlowe novels, and a handful of short stories. Chandler had begun work on the eighth Marlowe novel, Poodle Springs, but had only completed the first four chapters by the time he passed away in 1959. Robert B. Parker (best know for the Spenser for Hire novels) completed Poodle Springs, which eventually was published in 1989. [Note: Parker went on to write an original Marlowe novel, Perchance to Dream — one of several “authorized” books to continue the Marlowe series.]

To find out more about Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) and his Philip Marlowe novels, follow these links:

Philip Marlowe handout for Just Desserts

Philip Marlowe entry on Wikipedia

Raymond Chandler entry on www.fantasticfiction.com, with links to info on the individual books

Wikipedia entry on Raymond Chandler

Hotlink into the Lincoln City Libraries catalog for Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe novels (be aware this also lists Marlowe titles by authors other than Chandler)

(Here are individual links to Chandler’s Marlowe novels and/or story collections in the libraries’ online catalog: The Big Sleep (1939), Farewell My Lovely (1940), The High Window (1942), The Lady in the Lake (1943), Little Sister (1949), The Simple Art of Murder (1950 short stories & essay), Trouble is My Business (1950 short stories), The Long Goodbye (1953), and Playback (1958).)

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, 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! Our selections for future meetings are usually posted there months in advance — our early-2020 meetings should be posted shortly.

So…What do you think of Raymond Chandler, and the “Philip Marlowe” series?

Join us again on January 30th, 2020 for the next meeting of Just Desserts. Assigned reading to be announced shortly. We hope to see you there!

Just Desserts members shared “Memorable Stand-Alone Mysteries” last night

At the September 26th, 2019 meeting of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group, 19 group members had the opportunity to share comments about a “Memorable Stand-Alone Mystery” that they’d read. Here’s the list of titles the group members shared. This meeting was audio-recorded for eventual release as a library podcast.

Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense “stand-alone” novels shared by Just Desserts members in September 2019:

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

Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – August 2019

At the August 29th, 2019 meeting of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group, following the discussion of the assigned topic of the month (The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith – a.k.a. J.K. Rowling), we held our monthly round robin in which all 16 attendees were able to share recommendations of what other books they’ve been reading recently.

Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in August 2019:

And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in August 2019:

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

Join the discussion of Robert Galbraith’s “The Cuckoo’s Calling”

When the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group met on August 29th, 2019, 16 group members discussed the 2013 novel The Cuckoo’s Calling by author J.K. Rowling, writing under her pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. Whether or not you attended the actual meeting, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions about The Cuckoo’s Calling and “Robert Galbraith”, in 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, 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! Our selections for future meetings are usually posted there months in advance — currently through our October 2019 meeting.

So…What do you think of “Robert Galbraith”, and the Cormoran Strike series, starting with The Cuckoo’s Calling?

Join us again on September 26th, 2019 for the next meeting of Just Desserts. We’ll have a special theme this month, instead of our normal assigned author/title. The discussion topic for September with by “Favorite Stand-Alone Mystery Novel”. All participants will have to chance to describe their all-time favorite stand-alone mystery novel — it can be a classic or modern story, but it can’t be part of a series. We hope to see you there!