Top Ten Tuesday: Dynamic Detective Duos

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday

Today’s topic is

February 22: Dynamic Duos (Submitted by Elley @ Elley the Book Otter)

I decided to tweak it a bit and make it Dynamic Detective Duos. I’m leaving out Holmes and Watson, because that seems to obvious!

Cam Jensen and Eric by David A. Alder – These were favorites when I was about 7 or 8. Cam was a girl who uses her photographic memory to solve crime. Eric Shelton is her friend who is usually along for the ride.

First introduced in Cam Jensen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds.

The Hardy Boys series by Franklin W. Dixon– Truthfully, as a kid I was more of a Nancy Drew girl. But she either worked solo or alongside her two friends, Bess and George, making them a trio not a duo. But the Hardy Boys were fun too and they qualify for this list!

First introduced in The Tower Treasure.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford by Agatha Christie – I’m actually just getting to know Agatha Christie’s husband and wife detective duo. One of my reading goals this year is to read more Christie.

First introduced in The Secret Adversary.

Poirot and Hastings by Agatha Christie– Poirot sometimes flies solo. But occasionally he does team up with Captain Arthur J. M. Hastings, OBE. Hastings serves as a companion, chronicler, and friend to Poirot, though he’s not in every book by any means.

First introduced in The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

Lynley and Havers by Elizabeth George– I really liked this series for the first ten or so books, when Lynley and Havers were a team. Over time, the series has come to focus more on Lynley, who I find to be a less interesting character. Nonetheless, initially Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton, makes a fun odd couple with the blue collar Sergeant Barbara Havers.

First introduced in A Great Deliverance.

Rizzoli and Isles by Tess Gerritsen – This was another series that I felt was really good in the old days, before it became really popular and launched a TV series (which was really only similar to the books in terms of premise)

First introduced in The Surgeon.

Flora Dane and DD Warren by Lisa Gardner – Flora isn’t in all of the DD Warren books, but when she is their is a highlight. DD partners with other people in other books, but I love her chemistry with Flora. DD is a by the books police detective. Flora is sort of a vigilante avenger. But they’ve been known to team up from time to time.

First introduced in Find Her.

Hawthorne and Horowitz series by Anthony Horowitz– Daniel Hawthorne is a disgraced police detective who needs a ghost writer to document his life. He hires a meta version of author Anthony Horowitz.

First introduced in The Word is Murder.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Sidekick Characters

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday

July 9: Character Freebie (any topic you want that deals with book characters!)

 

1. John Watson from Sherlock Homes by Arthur Conan Doyle- He narrates Homes’ adventures and sort of helps him function. Because while Sherlock Homes is pretty intelligent he doesn’t really thrive in all situations. Watson smooths the way for him at times.

2. Tinkerbell from Peter Pan by JM Barrie – Because every permanently immature boy hero needs a slightly homicidal pixie to hang out with.

3. Nelly Dean in Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte -Sidekick and confident for several characters and she narrates the whole book. She’s a frequently overlooked character but an important one.

4. Diana Barry in the Anne books by LM Montgomery- No she’s not as fun or adventurous as Anne, but few people are! She’s a great foil though, and their friendship gives Anne some of her best moments.

5. George and Bess in the Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene – One’s a tomboy, the other is very feminine, but both are willing to question suspects, follow clues and chase villains, simply because that’s what Nancy does.

6. Ron and Hermione in the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling – Arguably these two are more active than Harry.  They’re certainly along for the ride no matter what. They’re true friends and they often call Harry out when he’s wrong. That’s an important service!

7. Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- Most readers were left wondering what would become of Scarlett without Rhett at the end. I was just as interested in what she’d do without Melanie. Throughout the entire novel Scarlett had seen Melanie as a rival, but Melanie had behaved as a best friend and Scarlett relied on her far more than she realized.

8. Bob from The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher- Because every professional wizard needs a snarky skull sidekick.

9. Barbara Havers in the Inspector Lynley novels by Elizabeth George- I’m less enthralled with these after the last couple of books have been disappointments but Barbara makes a lovably fashion challenged cop sidekick. She’s definitely a favorite character who is too often sideline in favor of other, less interesting, characters (IMO).

10. Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien- I’m actually not the world’s biggest Tolkien fan (I know, kind of sacrilegious for a fantasy writer to admit!) but come on, this kind of goes without saying…

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven’t Read

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday

September 25: Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven’t Read

There are a lot of books by favorites by authors that I still haven’t read, because when I love an author I’m usually able to read their books faster than they can write them (go figure!) So I can end up saving books to hold me over until the author’s next release. That said, these are the titles that come to mind:

1. The Haunting of Maddy Claire by Simone St. James- I discovered Simone St. James last spring and I quickly devoured her other 5 titles; all gothic mystery romances. Most are historical. This looks like it’s in that vein but I’m trying to hold off on reading it! If I do cave in and go for it, October seems like a good time to read it.

 

 2. Beauty in Thorns by Kate Forsyth– I love Kate Forsyth’s fairy tale inspired historical fiction like Bitter Greens, The Wild Girl, and The Beast’s Garden. This Sleeping Beauty inspired story is set among the Pre-Raphaelite circle of artists and poets. I haven’t read it for several reasons. First is because it’s not available in the US at the moment, but I have an Aussie friend who can hook me up if I really want. My other reason is just to have something to read in a desperate moment before her next book comes out.

3. Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier– I love Juliet Marillier’s historical fantasy novels. This is the third in her Blackthorn and Grim trilogy. I want to see how everything is resolved. However, Marillier’s next book isn’t due until summer 2019 so I feel like I should hold off until close to then.

4. Lyrebird by Cecelia Ahearn– There are actually a couple of Ahearn titles that I still haven’t read. I chose to go with this one because of those it’s got the highest rating. But I also need to read The Year I Met You and The Marble Collector.

5. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters– I still have to read The Paying Guests also, but I have a copy of this sitting on my shelf, so I should probably read this one first.

6. The Punishment She Deserves by Elizabeth George–  This is the latest Lynley and Havers novel. I’ve felt like the last few have been sort of convoluted. I’ll see how this goes and decided to continue with the series or not.

7.  River Road by Carol Goodman– I really enjoy Carol Goodman’s literary mysteries. I still haven’t read this one, or her latest, The Other Mother.

8. A Question of Trust by Penny Vincenzi– I think that this is one of the few Vincenzi novels that I haven’t read yet, but it’s hard to say for sure because her books are often released with different titles and covers in the US and the UK.

9. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie– There are actually a few other Adichie books that I haven’t read yet either, but once again, in this case, a copy of Purple Hibiscus is sitting patiently on my shelf…

 

Top Ten Tuesday: TV Shows Based on Books

For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:

September 4: Bingeworthy TV Shows/Amazing Movies (The new fall TV season is starting up this month, so let’s talk about what shows everyone should watch when they’re not reading!)

I decided to look at TV series based on books. But I set myself some rules for this list. I have to have seen the TV series and read the book. The TV series also had to be something that ran continuously for at least a full reason, rather than a simple 2-3 part miniseries.

1. Big Little Lies- The big change here was moving the setting of the story from Australia (in the book)  to California. Originally this was intended to be one season, but then it was renewed for a second season. I don’t know what they’re going to do with the second season though, because the first season was based on the book. The book has no sequel.

2. Pillars of the Earth– This novel was initially adapted as an eight-episode miniseries. Then the sequel, World Without End, was given a miniseries as well. Now that there’s a third book, A Column of Fire, let’s see if Starz continues doing adaptations. It’s worth noting that each book is set a few hundred years apart, but all deal with events in and around Kingsbridge cathedral.

3. Outlander– This adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s series seems to be sticking to a 1 season to 1 book model, with the first three seasons of the show corresponding to the first three books in the series. There are changes for the screen of course, but the overall story that the TV series seems to be telling still seems in line with what the books are doing. More often than not the changes are for the sake of simplicity.

4. Alias Grace– This Netflix miniseries adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name is pretty faithful. It’s six episodes long, and doesn’t seem to aspire to renewal, which makes sense because the novel comes to a definite conclusion. What I appreciated about the adaptation here was the fact that it maintained the same ambiguity that the novel did. Things aren’t clearly laid out, but rather are left open to interpretation.

5. Anne of Green Gables– Anne has been given a wonderful miniseries adaptation that I discuss a bit here. But that doesn’t apply because according to my self-imposed rules I can’t choose anything that has only 2 or 3 parts. However, Netflix’s Anne with An E applies. It makes some interesting creative choices and significantly diverts from the cannon toward the end of the first season. I haven’t seen the second season yet for that reason.  I need to be in the right mood to be willing to accept those divergences.

6. Sharp Objects– I’m still in the process of watching this miniseries based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, so if there are any significant changes in later episodes, don’t tell me! So far it seems like they’re sticking fairly close to the book though.

7. Dexter– The first season of this show stays pretty close to Jeff Lindsay’s first novel in the book series that inspired it. The second season diverts so that while the premise is the same (sympathetic serial killer works with the cops by day, takes out bad guys by night, and tries to balance his “normal” life with it all) but not much else is. Though I’ve only read the first two books of the series so perhaps there are returns later on. Also a note, that in the last few seasons the show takes a major downturn.

8. The Lynley and Havers series– The TV show for some reason focuses more on Inspector Lynley than Havers (who is far more attractive and far less interesting in her TV incarnation than in the books) but otherwise, the first few seasons of this show are fairly in line with the source material by Elizabeth George.

9. Bleak House– This is an eight-hour miniseries that was aired in the UK in 30-minute segments. In the US it aired in six installments the first and last being two hours long and the rest was one hour. It was later rebroadcast in four two hour segments. The series was shot and was designed to air in a soap opera format. The logic of using this format was the Dickens wrote popular, long, serialized narratives much like soap operas. It’s true that the novel was originally released in monthly installments, ending with cliffhangers. Regardless of the intention, this miniseries does its source material proud.

10. The White Queen is a 10 episode adaptation of the first three novels in Phillippa Gregory’s Cousin’s War series (The White Queen, The Red Queen, The Kingmaker’s Daughter).  The White Princess is an eight-episode follow up that adapts the later two novels in the series; the titular novel and The King’s Curse. Starz has announced that it will make a third entry in the series called The Spanish Princess that will adapt parts of The King’s Curse not depicted in The White Princess, as well as the novel The Constant Princess. Of course, when multiple novels are being adapted like this, there’s considerable streamlining!