Books on My Nightstand October 2023

Books on My Nightstand October 2023. October 2, 2023.

Another page is torn off the calendar. Another September is gone that will never return. But today is the start of a brand new October that will be unique in it own way. Octobers are meant to be savored like a deep red wine that you swirl in your glass before slowly sipping and letting its complex flavor expand slowly in your mouth. And like wine, October is full of complexities as summer and fall fight each other in their annual battle for control before the cooler grip of fall pries the world out of summer’s hand in one final showdown. The result is a beautiful month full of color and sun with warm days and crisp nights. Both color and decay surround us. It is a month of juxtapositions. It only makes sense to indulge the complexities of a good mystery in which is why I annually devote this month’s reading to mysteries. Death and life come together in an enigma we must solve.

My picks are the among the first generation of mystery writers- the Golden Age. One of these writers is Dorothy Sayers who has been on my “to read” list and finally made it to the top of my nightstand. The others are popular traditional mysteries, but those never get old. I prefer the “less is more” and “show don’t tell” approach to writing which the Victorians had in spades and which still echo in the Golden Age mysteries. They are a favorite of mine. I love savoring the complexities of the characters and trying to discover what is really going on. And now for the book picks.

Books on My Nightstand October 2023

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, a compilation of all Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have read Sherlock Holmes many times. Of course, I allow myself enough space between readings to “forget” who did it (this is easier at 50). But if you love the thrill of a cold, cynical, and brilliant detective with his sensible sidekick in a dark and foggy London then of course you will read this. The Complete Sherlock Holmes includes everything and the mysteries are roughly 20-25 pages each which makes it easy to break up.

Lord Peter Wimsey Whose Body? By Dorothy Sayers. Of course it is only right to begin with the first in any new series, and so Whose Body is where I will begin. When a famous business investor disappears and his body shows up in a bathtub the case appears solved. But of course things are never that simple in a mystery. Aristocratic Peter Wimsey joins in to help solve what appears to be an open and shut case. Sayers is considered one of the best Golden Age crime writers, and I look forward to reading her work.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. While she didn’t invent it, Agatha Christie really is the queen of the page turning mystery. Her books are hard to put down and leave you surprised at every chapter. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is considered one of her best and most non-traditional. Roger Ackroyd is marrying a woman who he knows killed her husband when she suddenly commits suicide. Roger is suspicious, but is murdered only a day later before he can act on this. Hercules Poirot takes what proves to be one of his most challenging and baffling cases.

Have a beautiful day!