2016 Reads and Reviews(Part 1) ~ Anything goes

[Book Concierge]

Our Souls At Night - Kent Haruf - 5*****
In the small (fictional) town of Holt, Colorado, Addie Moore drops in on her neighbor, Louis Waters one evening, and asks if he isn’t as lonesome for conversation and companionship as she is. What follows is a beautifully written story of a mature couple in a different, but very loving, relationship. The strength and dignity with which they faced life endeared them to me.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

I'm still trying to catch up from my long vacation in December. Still have a few reviews to write and record for books read "last year" ...

But ... should we have a new thread for 2017?

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A Lone Star Christmas - William W Johnstone w/ J.A. Johnstone - ZERO stars
I was seduced by the title, but should have quit with the book jacket. It seems that the writers threw everything they’d ever come across in a Western into this book. It was a pretty fast read, and fit several challenges, but there’s really very little Christmas to this story.
LINK to my review

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The Koala of Death - Betty Webb – 3***
I like this cozy series for the information about the animals and the relationships between Teddy and her mother, Caro, and boyfriend, Sheriff Joe Rejas. Webb gives us plenty of suspects and twists in the plot that keep the reader guessing right up to the end.
LINK to my review

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The Prince and the Pauper - Mark Twain – 4****
This is a wonderful classic that explores the difference in class in 16th century England, and the ways that appearance effects how one is treated. Both boys learn much from their experience as “the other.” It’s a wonderful lesson in “walking in the other person’s shoes.” Twain’s use of 16th-century English may be a little off-putting to today’s readers; I recommend listening to the audio.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote – 5***** and a ❤
Capote was a gloriously talented writer and he is at his best here. The reader feels the anticipation of a child, smells the piney woods, shivers in the crisp morning, and is comforted in the warmth of love.
His writing is never so brilliant as when he is mining his childhood for stories such as this. The emotion is evident and genuine. His descriptions are gloriously vivid without overwhelming the story. The lessons learned – about kindness, tolerance, family, love and forgiveness – are gently told but ring loud and clear in the reader’s heart.
LINK to my review