Rachel Kovaciny's Blog, page 36

"Borden Chantry" by Louis L'Amour

I just might have me a new favorite L'Amour book.  It's been almost a decade since I reread Hondo , so I might have to pull that off the shelf to read again and see how it holds up, because... man, I really loved Borden Chantry.  
Borden Chantry is a recently appointed town marshal.  He never expected to be a peace officer, but his ranch hit some hard times and he had to sell off his herd.  To hang onto their land, he and his wife and son have moved to town so Chantry could find a job.  It's just ...

"The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett

I've seen the 1941 movie adaptation of The Maltese Falcon probably nine or ten times.  And I've read this before, though not for like fifteen+ years.  So, what I'm saying is, I was not reading this mystery book to find out whodunit.  I was reading it for the joy of the hardboiled flavor, really.  And it did not disappoint.
One thing that I really enjoyed was how much of the dialog from this book got included in the Humphrey Bogart movie.  Like, all the good lines come from the book.  I love that....

"Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families" by Andrew Billingsley

Wow.
That's what I always say when I read about Robert Smalls.  Or think about him.  Or talk about him.  Wow.  What an amazing human being.
Born into slavery in Beaufort, SC, Robert Smalls grew up privileged by slavery standards, oppressed by free ones.  He was a "house slave" as a child, then allowed to hire out as a young man to learn carpentry and shipbuilding, eventually becoming a skilled pilot for boats and even ships in the Charleston waterways.  He and his mother were "kindly" treated by t...

Do You Love Detectives?

I completely forgot to announce this over here.  ::facepalm::  I'm hosting a blog party in two weeks on my other blog that you might be interested in!  It's called We Love Detectives Week, and you can read all about it in this post.  
Basically, it's a celebration of detective stories of every sort, whether they're books, stage plays, movies, TV shows, radio shows, whatever.  I'll be providing a tag with questions you can answer on your own blog, a couple of games, and probably a couple movie and...

"Sweet Dreams, Irene" by Jan Burke (again)

I am SO happy that I decided to reread this series.  It's bringing me such enjoyment!  I read Sweet Dreams, Irene in a day and a half.  Most of it this afternoon, in fact.  Just curled up on the couch and inhaled it.
Newspaper reporter Irene Kelly is now in a definite relationship with Frank Harriman.  They haven't quite told each other they love each other, but they both know it's true.  And then Frank's next-door neighbor is brutally murdered, an election Irene is covering for the newspaper see...

"The Depths We'll Go To" ed. by Alex Silvius

This is an enjoyable collection of short stories and poetry all centered around the sea.  There are sailors, mermaids, and shipwrecks galore, in lots of different styles and genres.  Most of the stories are speculative fiction or fantasy.  Some of the writing is quite professional, and some of it reminded me of what my friends and I were writing in college, especially the "ambiguous ending" sorts of stories we were so fond of at that time in our lives.
My favorites are as follows:
Short Stories"Ed...

Top Ten Tuesday: Hello, My Name Is...

This week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt from is "Books with Character Names in the Title."  So here are my ten favorite books with the name of a character in the title.  

Each title is linked to my review if I've reviewed that book, and my movie-style ratings for them are in parentheses so you have some idea of their content level.
(All book photos are mine from my Instagram account.)
1. Jane Eyre  by Charlotte Bronte (PG) -- A young woman continually resists men's efforts to contr...

"Loving Isaac" by Heather Kaufman (again)

This was a lot easier to read the second time.  The first time I read it, I spent a lot of time pondering it.  And worrying about the characters.  This time, I could just remind myself I already knew (and liked) how it ends, which let me enjoy it in a very different way.
It was also cool to reread because I could spend some time enjoying how Kaufman wove everything together.  The main character, Hana, makes some hasty judgements throughout, and it was neat to be able to recognize when she was mak...

"The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden" by Karina Yan Glaser

As much as I loved The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street , I loved The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden even more.  I very much enjoy gardening myself, especially growing flowers, so I had a great time reading about the Vanderbeeker kids and their efforts to create a community garden.  
The kids want to make a beautiful garden in an empty lot down the street as a special surprise for their upstairs neighbors, Miss Josie and Mr. Jeet.  Miss Josie always has plants and flowers growing in their apartm...

"Goodnight, Irene" by Jan Burke (again)

I have embarked upon my quest to read the whole Irene Kelly series by Jan Burke in one year!  I first read Goodnight, Irene almost ten years ago -- I didn't realize it had been so long!  I'm really glad to be able to revisit these and finally finish the series.
Goodnight, Irene concerns the murder of a newspaperman, who, for decades, has been posting annually about an unsolved murder case involving an unidentified young woman.  Irene Kelly takes her old job back at the same newspaper where her mu...