Betsy-Tacy Convention 2025

On Friday, I flew to Minnesota for a literary convention – a gathering of nearly 200 Betsy-Tacy fans! I think it was my fifth time visiting Deep Valley, legally known as Mankato, Minnesota. The Betsy-Tacy books are based on Maud Hart Lovelace’s childhood and adolescence, and fans have purchased her home and that of her best friend who lived across the street and turned them into living history museums. While it is great to see these houses and to observe whatever enhancements have taken place since one’s last visit, I now primarily attend these events to see friends from all over the country (I don’t think there were any international participants this time but usually there is at least one Canadian and we’re always hoping Sonja from Germany will make it, as she is a favorite listserv member).

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

I have enjoyed Tess Gerritsen’s current series, The Martini Club, about retired CIA agents trying to escape their pasts in Maine, so decided to go hear her speak recently at a local library. A former physician, she is best known for her medical thrillers – her books have sold more than 40 million copies worldwide – including the Rizzoli & Isles books that became a hit TV show.

Top Ten Tuesday: Satisfying Book Series

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Satisfying Book Series and it was hard to pick just ten.

Six Degrees of Separation – from I Want Everything to Camino Island

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up.   This month’s starting point is I Want Everything by Dominic Amerena, which is about an elderly Australian novelist who was once accused of plagiarism.

Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen

Ellie Endicott is stunned when her husband of 30 years tells her he wants a divorce to marry a “smart, pleasant,” much younger colleague. Once she has recovered from her shock and humiliation, she admits – to herself, at least – that she didn’t love him. As Ellie wonders what is next for her, Mavis, her cleaning lady, persuades her to consult a solicitor:

Two 2025 Novels

Some light reading:

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez (2025)

When Samantha Diaz brings a stray kitten to the neighborhood vet, she is shocked to be told it needs expensive surgery and should be put to sleep. Annoyed with the unfairly handsome vet, she vows to raise the $10,000, which she does on social media. 

August 2025 Reading

My favorite August books were the two historical fiction novels - Niccolò Rising, which I had carried unread to Bruges and back in May (I suppose it was too layered for airplane or train reading but how I wished I had read it before our trip) and the fourth Emmy Lake book. I am sorry to see that series come to an end, although I am sure the author has other projects in mind. I read a few more of my 20 Books of Summer but still have five left. I would have completed more except for a host of library books all appearing at once with non-renewable deadlines. I’m sure these five can wait a little longer but I need to impose one of my occasional moratoriums on library books so I can read some of the books piled around my house. The (poor) books are always with us . . . .  Speaking of poor, the worst book of the summer was The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick (see below). Thank goodness I got this from the library!

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

When Griffiths concluded her Ruth Galloway mystery series (of which I am a big fan), I expected she would concentrate on characters already introduced in her other books. Instead, she has launched an intriguing new series with another quirky, outspoken heroine, a police detective who finds herself in the midst of several mysteries.