Living with Mochi by Gemma Gené
Comics about animals and their people are my comfort read. I used to have a stack of comic strip collections for when I was sick or in a reading slump. If I were to start a new stack, Living with Mochi would be on the top.
Mochi is a pug named after the Japanese sweet. His person is Gemma Gene—an architect who started doodling about Mochi on her way to work because she missed him so much. The drawings were a hit online (find them on Instagram @157ofgemma) and were turned into a book.
Each page is a little story with adorable drawings. Mochi enjoys the finer things in life and loves his Mami. He tolerates his Papi. He doesn’t realize he’s a dog and not a small human. I recognized my pug in Mochi and it was like having her back. The grunts, the dramatics, the appetite, even the smells. Anyone who’s had a beloved pet would enjoy the humor and the love that went into the comics.
For more light-hearted animal comics, I highly recommend Plum Crazy: Tales of a Tiger-Striped Cat (adorable, family-friendly), She and Her Cat (introspective, teen and up), Chi’s Sweet Home (great for kids…and adults), and Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (by the artist known for his horror manga but the only scary thing here is how quickly he falls for two cats, and how they don’t care).
If you want more about pugs, try these. For kids, families, or the young at heart there’s Two’s a Crowd and Yay for Vaycay!) by Flora Ahn and the picture book Unlovable by Dan Yaccarino. Teens and up might like The Worrier’s Guide to Life by Gemma Correll (Gemma’s pug makes appearances and there’s more pugs in A Pug’s Guide to Dating) or Battlepug by Mike Norton (a Conan-like fantasy comic featuring a giant pug).
Denise
featuring Kenneth Branagh as private detective Hercule Poirot is expected this fall. The setting is appealing, if a bit menacing, featuring a cruise on Egypt’s Nile River. A rich heiress and her new husband, a mother and daughter, a great aunt and her niece, an author and her son are all featured, along with the renowned Belgian detective and the jilted lover of another passenger. If you enjoy twisty plots with an atmospheric setting and an intensifying pace, this is still a wonderful read, if you can overlook some dated cultural references.
where everyone in Lake Eden, Minnesota drops into The Cookie Jar for a cup of coffee and all the latest news. A much disliked resident of Lake Eden is found by dead by one of Hannah’s sisters, and Hannah has to solve the mystery to clear her sister’s name. Full of tempting recipes, this is the perfect mix of mystery and comfort read.
private detective in London, visits New England and finds his detecting skills needed in opulent Newport, Rhode Island, when a young debutante is found dead on the beach. Charles misses his family dreadfully, and considers leaving his profession, especially after a close call.
plot yet, but I can guarantee that it’s a delight to read. It’s been several years since the last Phryne Fisher historical mystery set in Melbourne, Australia, but this is worth the wait. The popular television series, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, has been filling the gap for many fans of this Jazz Age series.
mystery series, featuring a young newspaper editor in small town Texas whose boss is the ghost of the founding editor. Lexie wonders if her days in town are numbered as she stirs up ill feeling with questions about recent sales of family farms.
breaks at work.
At work I’m also reading Musical Chairs, by Amy Poeppel, a contemporary novel about the founding members of a musical trio. This is a book I’m considering for a future book discussion.
first Agatha Christie mystery, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I haven’t read many of her mysteries featuring Hercule Poirot, and this one is recommended.
ies.
