Man, am I boring lately . . .

Between audible books, regular books and the books on my iPhone, I'm currently "reading" a ridiculous number of books.

• "The Price of Butcher's Meat" by Reginald Hill, the latest in his Dalziel/Pascoe series about those 2 Yorkshire police inspectors. So far, the book is set up in an interesting format, with a first person account by Dalziel interspersed with emails being sent by "Charlie" to her sister, who's a nurse in Africa. Odd, but it works.


• "The Father Hunt" by Rex Stout, a Nero Wolfe mystery. I was a huge sucker for the Nero Wolfe tv series, starring Timothy Hutton, and the books are almost as satisfactory.


• "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" by Agatha Christie - a classic Hercule Poirot mystery.


• "The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday" by Alexander McCall Smith. His Isabel Dalhousie books are not as satisfying as his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Books, but are still pretty good.
• "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

The official website describes it as:

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. Born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island, the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

I'm not too far into this one yet, but I think it will turn out to be as delightful as its description.

I've been pretty exhausted lately between work and not getting much sleep because of Hanna's condition. Most nights we get up a couple of times after going to sleep so Hanna can go outside and relieve herself. Last night, however, she woke me up about midnight to give her some love. I know she wasn't feeling well, so she sat next to the bed and I petted her and scratched her for awhile. She also seems to have developed a fast growing tumor inside her lower lip, although it does not appear to be painful. I don't expect Hanna to make it to Christmas. I just hope and pray I'll know when the bad outweighs the good, and it's time to give her relief. We're not there yet, but that dreaded day is coming.