Rachel Kovaciny's Blog, page 18

"Sackett" by Louis L'Amour

I really loved Tell Sackett's dry, self-deprecating humor.  He was a charming narrator, and I thoroughly enjoyed his wry observations about people and life.
The story in this one is not my favorite -- too much gold-hunting, maybe?  Too many people impinging on Tell's plans?  The love interest did annoy me a bit because she was so easily swayed against him, and then she just shifted right back onto his team with too much ease too.
The part where Tell has to survive an ice storm high in the mountain...

"Code Name Edelweiss" by Stephanie Landsem

I suspect this book will be on my list of favorite new reads for this year.  It is enthralling!
Liesl Weiss loses her job as a stenographer at a big Hollywood studio.  It's the middle of the Great Depression and, ever since her husband disappeared a couple of years earlier, it's been up to Liesl to support her two children, herself, her mother, and her brother.  While searching for a new workplace, she meets up with Leon Lewis, a Jewish lawyer who offers to pay her to spy on suspected Nazi agents...

"High Lonesome" by Louis L'Amour

This is probably the grittiest book I have read yet from L'Amour.  And one of the deepest and most profound.  While I always learn things about history and human nature from his books, High Lonesome has particular heft.  In fact, I am counting it as a classic book for my Classics Club list because it has so many amazing insights into the way people act and interact, plus some gorgeous writing.
High Lonesome explores the question of whether or not someone can turn from the path they're on and choo...

20 Books of Summer (Well, Sorta)

I just learned about the 20 Books of Summer challenge thanks to Bloggin' 'Bout Books, and it looks so fun I had to join!  This event is hosted by the blog 746 Books, and the official signup post for it is right here.

I've already read quite a few books this month (in fact, I read 12 while on vacation), but I'm not going to count those because I didn't join the challenge until just today.  However, since the summer is almost a third over now, and since I am an inveterate mood reader, I am going to...

"Blue Moon Promise" by Colleen Coble

Yes, I got very into the mood to read westerns while I was on vacation.  I suspected I would, since we were traveling through a chunk of the West, so I brought several along with me.  Including this one.
Lucy Marsh loses her job as a seamstress and then finds out she and her two younger siblings are being evicted.  Her parents are dead, and her stepmother is uninterested in caring for Lucy's brother and sister.  And strange men have been skulking around and making threatening remarks to Lucy and ...

"Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves" by Art T. Burton

This book has been on my wishlist for a while now.  When I spotted the updated new edition at the Hole in the Wall Bookstore at Wall Drug in South Dakota while on vacation earlier this month, I snapped it up.  What better time to read about a great Old West hero than while driving around the West?
Bass Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas in the summer of 1838.  He became one of the most-respected and feared Deputy U. S. Marshals in American history.  While enforcing the law under the jurisdi...

"The Daybreakers" by Louis L'Amour

Wow.  I mean, wow.
When L'Amour sets out to write a serious book, he writes a really serious book.  What these boys go through in this story -- it's no picnic.
Tyrel Sackett saves his brother Orrin from getting shot on his wedding day.  Orrin's bride-to-be takes the bullet instead, all part of the Sacketts' feud with the Higginses.  Tye downs her murderer, the last of the Higgins clan, then flees Tennessee for the West.  Orrin comes along because, well, his bride was just killed at the altar and h...

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (Manga Classics) by Mark Twain (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Kuma Chan (art)

Another winsome Manga Classics edition!  While I have never cared as much for Huck's book as for Tom Sawyer's, I really enjoyed reading this manga.  The pacing was wonderful, the characterization was thoughtful, and the artwork was charming.  
They included much of the original language of Twain's novel, so be aware there are words and racial slurs used here that may offend some people -- but the manga team make a point of explaining that the reason they included them is the same reason Twain ori...

"Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles" by John S. Fitzpatrick

This was an enjoyable collection of short stories about Holmes and Watson having four adventures in Montana in the 1890s.  While I didn't fully love any of the stories, I did have fun reading them, especially since I took this book along on vacation and read it while in Montana!
Of the four stories, I liked "The Mysterious Woman" best because it felt most like a story from the canon, with Holmes uncovering the reason behind a woman's sudden and inexplicable behavioral changes.  
The places and man...

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (Manga Classics) by Mark Twain (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Kuma Chan (art)

I have loved Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn ever since I was in single digits and read the Great Illustrated Classics abridged versions of their books.  I later read the actual books by Twain, repeatedly, and very much enjoyed them, especially The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  So I was fully prepared to relish this Manga Classics edition... and I did!  It was just the right blend of childhood fun and mischief, adventure, and frolicsome fun.  I can't wait to read their version of Huck's story.
This ...