false 7 108 106 true 5881860 read 2 true 2098450 currently-reading 0 true 2098449 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77205294 At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances (Portuguese Irregular Verbs, #3) by Alexander McCall Smith
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76699431 to: The Haunting of Hill House (Penguin Classics) by Shirley Jackson
This book turned out to be a lot different from what I expected. I expected murder, mayhem & supernatural happenings on every page. What I got though, was something much richer and deeper than that. The Haunting of Hill House focuses on the thoughts and feelings of a young, lonely woman named Eleanor. She is a woman who has not had freedom to live her life, and was existing as essentially a hermit, as she cared for her mother 11 years prior to coming to the house. She goes to the house under the pretext of studying supernatural phenomena. The invitation comes from Dr. Montague. Unfortunately, only one other answers the call. The other house guest is the inheritor of the house.

Jackson sets a tense scene, so the reader is constantly waiting for something to come flying around the corner or to jump out or to make it's presence known. The reader is allowed subtle traces of these types of physical happenings, but are allowed full access to Eleanor's mind as it deteriorates throughout the narrative.

I was truly shocked by the ending, because once I thought it was over, it kept on going. Like the best literature, Jackson does not explain everything to the reader, but instead leaves some things to the reader's imagination. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76699686 Hard Eight (Stephanie Plum, #8) by Janet Evanovich
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72787223 to: Seven Up (Stephanie Plum, #7) by Janet Evanovich
Nothing about this one that makes it stand out from the others. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73299171 to: Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever (Hardcover) by Farah Jasmine Griffin
This book was a lot more technical than I thought it would be. That can be a good thing, but one must have knowledge of not only music terminology, but more specifically, jazz terminology and the components of a jazz song. The authors go into great detail in describing specific songs, some of which I was not familiar with. I think I would've enjoyed these passages more if I had the CDs at my disposal to listen along with while I read. I did, in fact, go out and get some of the recordings to listen to after the fact. My appreciation for the songs did deepen.

I liked that I learned more about the jazz timeline, so to speak. Many jazz giants appear in the book along the continuum these two would follow.

The parts I liked the best had to do with Coltrane's & Davis's personal lives, their relationship with each other, and the impact they've had on music and society. It was a very unique approach in trying to communicate how influential these two men were - not only together, but separately. The authors also do a nice job in differentiating the two men and contrasting their styles.

Some of the passages are denser than others, but the payoff of finishing is definitely rewarding. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75148962 to: Cotton Comes to Harlem (Paperback) by Chester Himes
This book takes place 6 years after the first, Rage in Harlem. The tone is more militant than the past ones have been and confronts racism in a more direct manner, as shown through the Back to Africa movement & the Back to the South movement. Although it's usually easy to see who the "bad guys" are, here we have a Colonel Sanders look-alike who want to take the blacks from Harlem to work the cotton fields of the South again; and the Back-to-Africa movement leader who is scamming working-class families out of their money and their dreams. Himes doesn't differentiate the color line, a huckster is just that, no matter what their background is.

Coffin Ed and Grave Digger Jones are again the beacon of hope and rationality in a world otherwise gone temporarily topsy-turvy. This particular installment just didn't pack the punch of some of the earlier ones in the series. Only one more left :( ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75149032 to: The Bad Seed (P.S.) by William March
Creepy atmosphere, creepy characters & a soulless child. What more could you want for a Halloween read? ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73310330 to: The Good Rat: A True Story (Audio CD) by Jimmy Breslin
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72137362 to: The Heat's On (Paperback) by Chester Himes
This book continues Himes' tradition of offbeat & dangerous characters. Sister Heavenly leads this cast of drug dealers, charlatans and murderers. Anything to get the money, the drugs & the treasure map.

This time, Gravedigger Jones takes a bullet, gets laid up in the hospital and eventually slips into a coma. Coffin Ed Johnson is on the case alone. Oh, I forgot to mention that their badges were revoked, so while tracking the suspects, they were really working as vigilantes. Does Coffin Ed step away from the case? Hell, no. His partner & best friend is in the hospital and must be avenged. So, he polishes their matching revolvers and tracks the offenders "with homicide in his eyes".

This book goes further than the previous ones in showing the deep connection between these two men. The proof is when hard-boiled Coffin Ed finds out Gravedigger is gonna make it: he breaks down in tears that stream down his acid-scarred face & says that that's the only thing that mattered about the case. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72786758 to: The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs (Portuguese Irregular Verbs, #2) by Alexander McCall Smith
Von Igelfeld is such a buffoon and his adventures only continue. In this one, he brings his sense of self-importance to America & Italy. A fun book; wide range of appeal. ]]>