(no subject)

[vamysteryfan]

I’ve been reading some classic mysteries that I’d never gotten around to. They seemed pretty dated, especially in their attitudes on women and lower economic classes. If you can get past that, they are worth reading to see how the genre got started.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. It’s generally considered to be the first detective story. It was originally published in serial form, which accounts for all the repetition. Many of the conventions that now seem trite must have been seen then as amazing. He handled the different characters’ voices very well and pulled off the shifting points of view. The villain was pretty obvious.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. A classic Victorian novel that also manages to be a decent mystery. It has a very creepy opening. Excellent characterizations with the different narrators carrying through the story. I didn’t care for the very Victorian attitudes towards women, but that can’t be helped.

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. This book introduced Tom Ripley. I didn’t care for the character but the book was riveting. In a sense, it’s like Woman in White in that Tom takes over another’s identity. He switches back and forth, comes up with lies in an instant, and generally manipulates everyone. He feels guilty about his actions, but not enough to stop.

Home of the Braised by Julie Hyzy. I had to read a modern mystery after those three. This series features the White House executive chef as the heroine. It’s in classic cozy style. I enjoy this series and this one did not disappoint. There’s a state dinner, international intrigue, and wedding plans.

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. This week’s nonfiction book took me a long time to read, mostly because I needed to digest each chapter. The book analyzes the two different decision processes the human brain makes – one quick and intuitive, one deliberate and problem-solving. He explains loss aversion: why people with little don’t want to risk losing it but will buy lottery tickets. He went through some of the fallacies we use in making snap decisions. I found WYSIATI (What you see is all there is) a great explanation of why we make dumb choices sometimes. It’s mostly fairly accessible. The two appendices are more complicated. The author is a Nobel Prize winner in economics.