Rachel Kovaciny's Blog, page 33

"Anne of Green Gables" (Manga Classics) by L. M. Montgomery (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Kuma Chan (art)

I am enchanted by this manga version of Anne of Green Gables . So enchanted that I can't read more in the Manga Classics series!  And this one has definitely found a home on our shelves.
Obviously, this is an abridgement of the original text.  There are a few chapters that only get one or two pages in this, Crystal S. Chan sets forth all the really key parts in loving detail.  Anne driving through the White Way of Delight for the first time?  Check.  Anne flying into a rage when Mrs. Rachel Lynde ...

"What Katy Did" by Susan Coolidge

What DID Katy do?  Oh, Katy does a lot of things.  Katy and her little siblings play, and sing, and read, and make messes, and get in trouble, and get hurt, and get well again, and rip their clothes, and get scolded... in other words, Katy and her siblings have childhoods.  Full and rich childhoods.
I can't believe I'd never read this book before.  I would have loved it as a kid!  It's got exactly the sort of chummy flavor I've long valued, like the Anne books and the Ramona books.  I would have ...

"In the Heat of the Night" by John Dudley Ball

I've been a fan of the 1967 movie In the Heat of the Night for almost two decades now, but it only recently occurred to me to find and read the book it's based on.  So, I did.  And now, I can say with confidence that if Ball's other Virgil Tibbs are anything like this, I have some really enjoyable reads ahead of me.
It's interesting that this book, which was published in 1965, has a very different tone from the movie.  The movie is dark and gritty and sweaty and determined not to let any characte...

"Rupert of Hentzau" by Anthony Hope

Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh.
I thought the ending to The Prisoner of Zenda was frustrating and melancholy?  Well, Anthony Hope doubled down on that with this book.  
Argh.
Rudolf Rassendyl comes back to Ruritania to stop Rupert of Hentzau from ruining Queen Flavia's reputation by making public a letter she has written to Rudolf, bidding him goodbye because she's now married to King Rudolf, his distant relation that he's a dead ringer for and impersonated in The Prisoner of ...

"The London House" by Katherine Reay

This was a difficult book, in some ways.  It contains two unhappy stories intertwined with each other, and I worried for a long time that at least one of them would not be resolved happily.  But I trusted Reay to at least deliver a satisfying ending, even if it was not exactly "happy," and I did not trust in vain.
In the present day, Caroline Payne is contacted by an old college friend, Mat Hammond, who has written an article about her grandmother and great-aunt and their family history during Wo...

"Hocus" by Jan Burke

Well, that was extremely tense and thrilling.  Wow.  You know, I don't think I realized quite how attached I've become to Frank Harriman, police detective husband of Irene Kelly, until this book.  Maybe Irene hadn't either. 
I think this is the fastest I've read one of these books, and even though I knew (because I've read one later book in the series before) that Frank was going to come through this book alive, I was frantic to get him rescued.  I couldn't read fast enough.
You see, Frank Harrima...

"Rook di Goo" by Jenni Sauer

As much as I loved Rook di Goo the first time I read it... I loved it even more this second time through.  The first time, it was my introduction to Jenni Sauer.  Now, I've read three more of her books.  The first time, I didn't know if I could trust her to give me a happy ending.  This time, I had the joy of already knowing the ending, and being able to trace how she set it up.  The first time, I didn't know I would become an actual Gibbs fan when I read  Yesterday or Long Ago , and I found him k...

"The Silent Gondoliers" by William Goldman

I'm vexed with myself that it's taken me this long to read this book.  Because it is an absolute gem.  It's a tall tale told by a master satirist.  It sparkles, it swoops, it shines in all the right places.  I read the whole thing in one sitting, chuckling with glee over and over.  Well, silently chuckling because I was at my daughter's gymnastics lesson and I didn't want to distract the gymnasts.  Probably some of the other parents thought I was having quiet little coughing fits or something.  ...

"Vera" by Elizabeth von Arnim

Well, that was... foreboding and dark and oddly mesmerizing.
Honestly, if von Arnim wasn't such a ridiculously good writer, I would not have finished this book.  It's very squirm-inducing, in that you KNOW the main character is making a terrible mistake, and you feel so helpless because you can't stop her.  Or at least, I did.
Vera is about a barely-of-age young woman, Lucy, whose father dies, leaving her protectorless for a few days.  Into this void steps Everard Wemyss, a capable and confident m...

Always Looking for More Book Recommendations?

If you're always hunting for the next book you want to read, or if you like getting recommendations for several books on the same subject or in the same genre, you probably should check out the book recommendation website Shepherd.com.  It's a newer website that has oodles and oodles of lists, most of them featuring of five books around a subject that an author is knowledgeable about or a fan of themselves.
Yes, these are lists provided by authors, of books that they are recommending to you!

Just ...