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What Are You Reading / Reviews - June 2016
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein, 4****s
This is an adorable story of a group of 12-year-old boys and girls who participate in a scavenger hunt-type game held in a library. The kids' goal is to find the secret passage out of the library in an effort to win a wonderful prize. But they can only use library books and their own knowledge to find the clues.
It is fun, exciting, and fast paced. The book makes lots of references to many different types of books that I think would entice children to want to read further. A friend of mine is using this book as the theme of her summer school lessons, so I just had to read it, and I'm so glad I did!
Haunted by Heather Graham
4 stars
I really enjoyed most of the book, overlooking the mandatory 8 or so pages of sex that some authors think they have to include to make the book fun to read. I'm a big fan of the occult and I thought for the most part that the subject was well handled in this particular book. Sheriff Matt Stone is the owner of a Revolutionary War home in Virginia. Others have mentioned their run ins with the various ghosts around the grounds but Matt doesn't believe in ghosts so always looks for the "believable" explanation. His housekeeper finally convinces him to bring in an investigative team and since he has an acquaintance in the business, he calls him. To get things started, the agency sends Darcy Tremayne, a beautiful (thus the sex part) woman who has a unique link to the spirit world. Darcy soon discovers that some hauntings are not as dated as you might think and now she's not sure whether to worry about ghosts or the people she's working for. Although I actually (and unusually) figured this out before the end reveal, it was a fun read and kept me turning those pages, especially once I hit about the last quarter of the book.
Beverly wrote: "Haunted by Heather Graham
4 stars
I really enjoyed most of the book, overlooking..."
I read this book last month and gave it 3 stars. I liked the premise but found the cynicism of the hero and the lack of trust from the heroine lasted way too long. Both seemed to do an abrupt turn about to reach the conclusion.
A side note: I read this for a challenge last month and another person in the same challenge picked up the same book. Now a 3rd person has read and reviewed this older book in a fairly close time frame. Just found this interesting.
English Country House Murders: Classic Crime Fiction of Britain's Upper Crust - Thomas Godfrey, ed. (4 stars) 6/3/16
This collection of 22 murder mysteries draws together one of the best collections of stories representing classic authors of this genre including Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, P. G. Wodehouse, P. D. James and G. K. Chesterton. Thomas Godfrey's introduction defines the English Country House Mysteries in 14 criteria and then goes on to describe the 'rules of the house' ie the characteristics of the house, the atmosphere and the characters that give it that classification. The stories are presented in "developmental, roughly chronologic, sequence".
For many of the writers it was an introduction to their work for me. Some I liked better than others but I enjoyed all of them. And although I didn't always guess the outcome I could guess the direction of the tale based on similar things I have read using these techniques. I look forward to reading more.
Delicious! by Ruth Reichl (four stars) 6/4/16This was a delightful story about a young woman who begins a new job in New York writing for a food magazine. In the process of working in the old mansion, Billie finds letters from a young girl to the famous James Beard. Fascinated by the history in the letters, as well as the relationship between the two, Billie finds herself delving deeper into the mansion's library, finding gems ripe to be put in a book or article.
This was my first audio book (I know, I know!), and I enjoyed the narration except for the silly sound of the female reader trying to sound like a man. A small complaint.
Linda C wrote: "Beverly wrote: "Haunted by Heather Graham
4 stars
I really enjoyed most of the book, overlooking..."
I read this book last month and gave ..."
I vacillated for a bit between 3 and 4 and although I agree about the "sudden" turnaround at the end, I think what put me over to a 4 was the whole reenactment situation at the end. I have participated in reenactments in the past and really enjoyed them. And after I got the book from the library, I couldn't renew it because someone else wanted it so I had to wait for them to return it before I could finish. It is interesting that an older book has been so active recently! :)
Laura Dassow Walls,
The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America
[2009] 404 pagesWalls gives an analysis of the work, ideas and influence of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), organized around the concept of Kosmos. Essentially, the idea of von Humboldt was that science should not be simply about finding laws or principles from which phenomena could be derived, but should be about studying the phenomena themselves in their multiplicity, historical development and interconnections; in other words, a view of science that is more modeled on historical geology, palaeontolgy or linguistics than on physics. The modern science of ecology is basically Humboldtian. What is perhaps more interesting was his advanced social thought. von Humboldt was not only a consistent abolitionist who took every opportunity to attack slavery at a time when there was almost no abolitionist movement, but went farther than most abolitionists and argued for the equality of all nations and peoples -- he rejected the concept of "race" in a biological sense. Even more unusually, he argued for the rights of native Americans in both North and South America; he supported the Creole revolutions against Spain, and was an influence on Bolivar, but also predicted correctly that the independent nations of South America would not succeed unless they incorporated the Indian populations on a basis of equality. He was the first to point to the dangers of deforestation and warn about human induced climate change. (I mentioned these aspects in my review of the Personal Narrative last year, but Walls documents them throughout his work.) He was an important influence not only on scientists and explorers, but also on literature and art -- Walls discusses his influence on Emerson, Thoreau, Melville and Poe and the painter Frederick Church among others. She then asks why he has been so forgotten in the U.S. (though not in South America); she identifies a number of possible causes, beginning with the conscious or unconscious falsification of his legacy by followers who were racists (e.g. Louis Agassiz) or who misinterpreted the idea of Kosmos in a religious sense; the growing specialization and positivism of later nineteenth century science, which was the opposite of his approach; the fact that he was overshadowed by Darwin (who was highly influenced by von Humboldt) and so forth. She argues that the most important factor though was the xenophobia of Americans toward Germans after German unification and especially during and after World War I. She discusses the rediscovery of Humboldtian science by Franz Boas in anthropology and later by the ecology movement. This book covers a lot of material; my only criticism would be that it goes into too much detail on some figures who were only marginally influenced by von Humboldt.
Mod
4****
Beatrice Nash is a fiercely independent young woman who arrives in the small town of Rye to fill the post of Latin teacher. She is taken in by Agatha Kent, a formidable woman in the community, who has two charming nephews - Hugh and Daniel. The town is resistant to change (a female Latin teacher!), but change is coming - the nation is on the brink of war with Germany.
What an absolute delight! Simonson’s writing reminds me of Jane Austen's novels.
Like she did in Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Simonson sets her story in a small English village, whose residents would prefer that time stand still notwithstanding major outside influences. In this case it is 1914, and World War I will forever change the social structure of Britain. Women are demonstrating for suffrage, and taking on roles outside the home and “club” environment to which they’ve previously been restricted. The scions and heirs of many of the landed gentry are going off to war, and many will be killed. The tenant farmers and villagers are also going to war, and will return very different men.
While the reader knows the changes to come, the villagers of Simonson’s Rye do not. They are left reacting to changes that make them very uncomfortable. Even the most forward-thinking person has to tread carefully, negotiating small changes and even “tricking” opponents into agreement.
Against these global events, however, is the very personal story of these characters – Beatrice, Hugh, Daniel, Agatha, Snout, et al. This is where Simonson’s writing shines. She has a great gift for dialogue and for creating a social structure that draws the reader into the small dramas of life that give her work universal appeal. I fell in love with the characters - even the busy-body self-important Bettina Fothergill - and was invested in their story.
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
4 stars
Based on a true story about 3 women, Caroline Ferriday, Kasia Kuzmerick and Herta Oberheuser, whose lives would never have crossed if it had not been for the events of World War II. Kasia is a Polish teenager who tries to help the underground after Hitler's takeover. She, along with her sister, ends up at Ravensbrück, the only all female concentration camp. Herta Oberheuser is a young German doctor who wants to make something of her life and so applies for a position at Ravensbrück and becomes the only female physician there. Caroline Ferriday is a busy New York socialite, living in Paris working at the French consulate, never suspecting how the war will affect and direct her life. Dr. Oberheuser, conducts surgical experiments on the Polish prisoners, creating wounds and then infecting them with various materials. The hope is that it will help doctors treating the wounds of German soldiers in a more effective manner. The difference with this particular World War II tale is that it follows these 3 women into their post war lives and leads to what I considered a rather satisfying ending. I listened to the audio version read by Cassandra Campbell, Kathleen Gati and Kathrin Kana who all did wonderful jobs. The audio version also includes a very interesting statement from the author talking about how she was inspired to write the book and how she conducted some of her research.
Mod
The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón – 4**** Wow. The plot is intricate and compelling, the characters complex and interesting, and the writing is simply wonderful. And, of course, we have the marvelous Cemetery of Forgotten Books. This is a dark, gothic novel full of mystery and intrigue. At heart it is a story of man’s struggle against his baser instincts. Although there are many twists in the plot, Zafón keeps some major surprises for the ending. Dan Stevens is simply marvelous performing the audio version.
Full Review HERE
The Black House by Peter May
5 stars
Recommended by one of my Goodreads friends--and I loved this. It is not an easy book to read in places because some of the details are graphic and the ritual for becoming a man on the Isle of Lewis in the outer Hebrides is an animal lovers nightmare, although this part is not as graphic just disturbing. Fin Macleod who was born and raised on the Isle of Lewis, is now a police detective in Edinburgh, Scotland. He had investigated a gruesome murder there so, when a similar murder takes place on his home island, he is sent to see if the murderer might be the same person. This is the first time Fin has been back in years and he is reluctant. His reasons become clear as he starts his new investigation and starts interacting with friends and acquaintances from his childhood. As we meet those folks from his past, we read about Fin's memories of that time. Slowly but dramatically, we learn about all the secrets that made him glad to rid himself of his island home as soon as he was able. It's not unusual for me to not be able to figure out the ending but I never saw this one coming. A terrific read. I am anxious to get to the second one in this series.
Mod
The Man Who Found Time: James Hutton and the Discovery of the Earth’s Antiquity by Jack Repcheck
247 pages
★★★
Do you know who James Hutton is? Don’t feel bad if you don’t, he is a name that has unfortunately disappeared over time. So who is he? He originated the theory of uniformitarianism, which explained the Earth’s crust by means of natural process. Hutton's work established geology as a proper science, and thus he is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Geology". Hutton wasn’t a great writer though and his communication skills needed some work so it would take almost a century for his work to get any reorganization and for people to start believing that perhaps the Earth far more than 6,000 years old.
Ok, so I’m not the biggest geology fan – I took one course in college for a requirement and was perfectly fine after that. But I also know that geology plays a big part in our world so I was interested in this book. I had originally read a book called The Geography of Genius which brought up James Hutton and it’s my nature to research further and want to know more! I wish I had enjoyed this book a bit more. There seems to be a lot of gaps in the history of Hutton, so we get a lot of “we don’t know much about this time of his life….” So how do you fill in a 200+ page book when a lot of information on the main person is unavailable? Write about a lot of other people and the history going on around the time (some I found relevant, others not so much so) and be repetitive…sure, interesting, but not really what I wanted. However, I did learn some interesting things and I appreciated the terms in the back of the book since geology really is not my thing. A short book but not a particularly short read for me. If you are really in geology, you may enjoy this book but then again if you are THAT interested in the subject you probably already know about James Hutton…maybe.
Mod
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette by Hampton Sides
489 pages
★★★★
This is a fairly popular non-fiction book so I don’t feel like I really need to tell you what it’s about but if you do need to know, the subtitle explains it - The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette. I’ve heard or read of several travels to reach the North or South Pole but until this book came out I have to admit I had never heard of this tragic story. And as morbid as it sounds, I very much enjoy non-fiction that contains tragedy.
I really enjoyed this book. It took me a bit to get into this story but once I did, I had trouble putting it down. It led to many late nights that my toddler didn’t seem to care about and insisted on still waking up early. As is common with Hampton Sides, the writing is amazing. It’s smooth and exciting, doesn’t feel like you’re reading a history book at all. It’s well researched. Definitely worth the read. This isn’t the first book I’ve read by the author and certainly won’t be the last.
(As a side note, Mr. Sides came to my library last year to discuss this book and I missed it. Totally bummed me out)
The Walking Dead Vol. 03, Safety Behind Bars by Robert Kirkman
4 stars
The 3rd in the series. My son actually loaned me all 3 compendiums--wow that's a lot of poundage!!! But since I started with individual volumes and I have 2 more sets in the smaller amounts, at least for the first compendium, I'll report them individually. Again, I love revisiting the beginning of the series and am continually surprised at the differences between the TV series and the graphic novels.
13 rue Thérèse - Elena Mauli Shapiro (3 stars) 6/8/16
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It tells the story of Louise Brunet based on a box of artifacts. The box is left in a visiting American professor's office by his Parisian secretary. During the course of the tale he explores the artifacts, imagines scenarios and even seems to time travel into character's bodies to observe events. At no time do we know if any of the facts or events he explores are truths. Interspersed is a growing connection between the professor and the secretary, but again it seems to be told in a surreal manner. The individual pieces of the story were interesting and had great potential. I just never could get really connected to the characters.
Mod
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham – 2** What’s the male equivalent of chick-lit? Jock-lit? Well, whatever term we use, this novel is it. Light on plot (and what’s there is predictable), a little romance, a life lesson learned (sort of), and a lot of football. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed some of the scenes that explored Italian culture. Evan Welch does a fairly good job of voicing the audio. He has good pacing and I liked the way he voiced the Italians.
Full Review HERE
Mod
The Ghost and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell – 3*** This is book #3 in the cozy mystery series featuring Mrs Hepzibah Jeffries, housekeeper to Inspector Gerald Witherspoon, and her team of servants who all help solve the crimes. It’s a fast read, full of colorful characters, and I enjoyed watching Mrs Jeffries figure it out and gently coaxing the Inspector towards the correct solution to the mystery.
Full Review HERE
Book Concierge wrote: " The Ghost and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell – 3*** This is book #3 in the cozy mystery series featuring Mrs Hepzibah Jeffries, housekeeper to In..."
This one looks cute!
Mod
If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t) by Betty White – 2.5** I feel a little mean not liking this more. I love Betty White, and some of the essays in this book are spot on perfect. But it’s pretty lightweight in substance, and while it is a fast read, it just didn’t satisfy what I look for in a reading experience.
Full Review HERE
Mod
The Ghost and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell – 3*** This is book #3 in the cozy mystery series featuring Mrs Hepzibah Jeff..."
I like this series - not great literature, but definitely fun to read.
Book Concierge wrote: "Terris wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: " The Ghost and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell – 3*** This is book #3 in the cozy mystery series featuring Mr..."
I always like to have something light and fun to read between "heavier" books!
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast, 4****
This graphic novel makes a very terrifying and difficult subject "seem" lighter by its comically drawn and hand-written presentation. The subject is: the care and death of aging parents. Some of the things she talked about made me more scared and some made me feel better, but it all has to be faced. I can do this...with help.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, 4****s
This 'Cinderella-inspired' story is cute and well-written. Ella is a young girl who is given the curse of "obedience" at birth. So when someone tells her to do something, she has to do it. Doesn't sound so bad until the wrong person/s find out that Ella has to do whatever they say -- then things start to get hairy. Of course, knowing the story of Cinderella, you know how it's going to end. But the journey, being different than the original, keeps you on your toes trying to figure it all out. It is written for 8-12 year olds, but I was thoroughly entertained!
Mod
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway – 4**** Early in his career as a writer, Hemingway lived in Paris with his wife and infant son. This is his memoir of that time, when he was young, curious, and soaking up atmosphere with a sponge. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have shared even one afternoon with these young writers! There is immediacy to Hemingway’s writing that just draws me into the world of his work. I thank Hemingway for letting me live vicariously through his memories.
Full Review HERE
The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro, 4****s
This is a beautifully written story about a young English woman in 1955. She finds out that she has received an inheritance, but it is from a woman that she has never heard of and she must go to Paris to claim her legacy. However, she decides to do some investigation before taking the money and finds out much more than she bargained for. The story is written back and forth between the current 1955 and 1927, being the story of the legator. Also, the story is based around a perfumier, and the author's description of the scents created is worth reading the book alone. I thought this book was very smart, had twists and turns that I did not expect, and kept me interested throughout. I highly recommend it!
Book Concierge wrote: " A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway – 4**** Early in his career as a writer, Hemingway lived in Paris with his wife and infant son. This is his memoir of that t..."
After I read "The Paris Wife" I read this one and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would!
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde, 4****s
Another exciting and unbelievably "word-play dense" story by Jasper Fforde, about a society based on color, as in red, yellow, blue, green, etc. Very interesting, a little darker than some of his others, but very enjoyable!
Mod
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell – 3.5*** Eleanor is the new kid – and target – at school; Park is a quiet loner who prefers listening to his music tapes and reading comics. Eleanor winds up sitting next to Park on the bus and slowly they begin to notice the value in one another. I can certainly see where the target audience would love it (as my niece did). But for me it’s just a little better than average. Fair warning: there is some very vulgar language in the book.
Full Review HERE
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
4 stars
I have not enjoyed some of Ms. Chevalier's more recent offerings (although I really enjoyed Girl With the Pearl Earring and loved Remarkable Creatures), so I was happy that this was a 4 star read. The story concerns a family who is trying to build a life in a swampy area of northern Ohio. The father is attempting to grow apple trees because apples are his obsession. He buys some of his seedlings from Johnny Appleseed and some he grafts from cuttings brought from back east. He is trying to reach the magic number of 50 trees so that the family can establish their claim on the land. His wife is really only interested in drinking the applejack that is made from their crop. When I first started listening to the story, I wasn't sure I would enjoy it because the husband and wife were so hostile with each other and it was feeling depressing but as the story progressed, we leave the constantly bickering husband and wife and focus on one of the sons who has gone out to seek his fortune. Robert, the youngest of their surviving children eventually heads west and becomes involved in gathering samples of giant sequoias and redwoods and delivering them to English gardeners who want them in their landscaping. His attempts to keep in contact with his family go unanswered but the letters are part of the story telling and I really enjoyed learning about his wanderings through the letters he sent back home. I found this to be a fascinating tale of historical fiction told through the letters he wrote and his interactions with the naturalist that befriends him. His past eventually does catch up with him and it affects his life in ways he would never have suspected. The audio was read by multiple readers and was, in my opinion, very well done.
The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies by Susan Wittag Albert
4 stars
The second cozy in this series with the gardening ladies of 1930's Darling who seem to just naturally fall into the middle of whatever mysterious incident is taking place. I really think the beauty parlor in town is the center of it all--it's where all the current gossip is shared. Just a cute series which takes us back to a slower paced life when neighbors were always there to help and always knew all your business. In this particular story 2 ladies who used to dance in the Ziegfeld Follies are attempting to start a new life in Darling after finding out they had become involved with the Mafia and took a beating for it.
Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
4 stars
I had a bit of trouble at the beginning of this book but soon starting being able to sort the characters out and understand some of their daily life. Once that happened, I flew through the rest of the book. It was interesting to me to hear about some of the beliefs and rituals of this small community who lived in one small alley in Cairo. From the man who helped other men become beggars to the beautiful young woman who is seduced with jewels and lavish clothing away from her fiancee. Each of these characters seemed so real to me and the writing certainly conveyed the hustle and bustle of their daily lives. I wanted to know what would happen to them all.
Ice by Linda Howard
1 star
I actually picked this up to satisfy a challenge in one of my groups. I was so disappointed. Luckily I listened to it on a trip to my mom's and so finished it in one trip and got on to my next audiobook. This just seemed so predictable and a way to get two people who've known each other since high school into bed with each other. Much ado about nothing in my opinion.
Zeitoun - Dave Eggers (4 stars) 6/12/16
Abdulrahman Zeitoun owned a painting company and multiple rental properties in New Orleans at the time of the Katrina hurricane strike. When predictions get bad and the city is told to evacuate, his wife Kathy wants to leave. He refuses wanting to watch over his properties and the jobs in progress. Finally Kathy leaves taking their 4 kids, first to Baton Rouge relatives and then to friends in Phoenix. They are in daily contact as the city clears, the storm hits and the levees fail. Zeitoun uses a canoe to keep track of his properties and in several rescues, checking in each day at noon from a phone still operating in one of his homes. Then on September 6th the calls stop and days then weeks pass with no contact and no news. Then Kathy receives a call saying her husband was arrested.
The following is a tale that shouldn't have happened in the United States, not just to Zeitoun but to many others. It's outrageous what happened to many people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time or who merely opted to stay and then tried to survive. Crime was a problem, but rumor escalated the situation and law enforcement was mismanaged and uncoordinated leading to intolerable situations. A very thought provoking read.
Mod
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain – 3*** McLain does extensive research and had a wealth of information on which to base this work of historical fiction. I appreciate how she paints the landscape of this part of Africa in the early part of the 20th century. I recognize Markham’s intelligence, determination and tenacity, but she never seemed to learn anything from her mistakes. I struggle with giving the work a higher rating because I so disliked Beryl Markham. McLain chose to focus her work on Beryl’s childhood and young adulthood, so that the character is just becoming the woman we know about when the novel ends. And I’m left feeling disappointed in both Beryl and the book.
Full Review HERE
Mod
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa – 5***** and a ❤A beautifully elegant gem of a novel. The slow way in which the Housekeeper, Root and the Professor get to know one another is framed by his lessons on the poetry of mathematics. I liked how Ogawa used the Professor’s and Root’s love of baseball to frame their growing friendship. It is a story about love (not to be confused with a “love story”).
Full Review HERE
End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3) by Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
Four FAT stars
I'm not sure how much I can review without spoilers! End of Watch is the third in the Bill Hodges trilogy, and by definition there should be a conclusion to the story. With Stephen King, you can't be sure of that! Bill Hodges is a detective, now retired, who has been following the case of a very mentally disturbed young man. In the first book, Mr. Mercedes, Brady Hartsfield steals a car and plows through a mob of unemployed people gathered at an employment fair. The case haunts Bill and he knows that Brady will attempt something more horrendous. And here is where any more will contain spoilers. End of Watch is the summation of Brady and Bill's "relationship", mixed, of course, with King's stylish and off-beat addition of suspense, impossibilities, and psychic bending plot. Worth the read, but you do need to read them in order for the full character development and background. Great story!
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
4 stars
I really enjoyed this book and I shouldn't be surprised because I loved her book "The Scorpio Races". Blue Sargent comes from a psychic family. She is only an can only amplify things, which means that the psychic person she's with feels things more strongly. So, every year she goes with her mother to watch the parade of souls that are slated to die within the next year. This year, however, she sees and speaks to one of the souls, a young man who is a student at the private school Aglionby. She can't get the occurrence out of her mind and shortly she actually meets the young man and his friends in person and gets drawn into their search for ley lines and into a bigger mystery which involves the murder of a former student. I had no trouble buying into this amazing world. The characters are well drawn and in spite of the subject matter, the magic rang true. I'm very interested in reading the next book in the series to see what happens next.
Mod
The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C Morais – 3*** Hassan Haji is born into a restaurant family and becomes a celebrated French chef in this delightful fable. The book focuses on his life’s journey, and those bumps in the road that might derail his ambitions. There is a significant clash of cultures when this Indian family establishes their Maison Mumbai in the small French village of La Lumiere. But good food will always attract a following. Neil Shah does a good job of performing the audio version.
Full Review HERE
Book Concierge wrote: " The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C Morais – 3*** Hassan Haji is born into a restaurant family and becomes a celebrated French chef in this delightfu..."
I liked this one, and really enjoyed the movie starring Helen Mirren!
Murder on the Bucket List by Elizabeth Perona
3 stars
I've met Tony Perona, father to Elizabeth and co-author of this book, on a number of occasions at Magna Cum Murder and he is a very nice man. I've never read anything of his up to now but since he's coming to our Mystery Book group and we're discussing this book, I thought I'd better break down and read one! His daughter may also be there or may Skype with us during the meeting. This was a cute book. A great little cozy with a setting in Indianapolis (where the authors are from and I grew up just north of) that has a great cast of older ladies who are all friends and seem to have a tendency to stumble into situations that could be troublesome--like finding a dead body! These women are all attempting to go through their "bucket list" items and investigating the death of a local personage involved in car racing seems to present a lot of possibilities. The problem is that the investigation may reveal the long buried secrets of some of their closest friends. I thought this was a cute, quick read and hope that we hear more about the shenanigans of this group of friends.
The Cocoa Conspiracy (A Lady Arianna Regency Mystery, #2) - Andrea Penrose (4 stars) 6/20/16
Lady Arianna is now the Countess of Saybrook and with her husband still under threat from Lord Grenthem. They are coerced into continuing in pursuit of Renard, the fox, a pseudonym for a highly placed spy within the British government. As such they must travel to Vienna, scene of the Peace Congress, following the incarceration of Napoleon to Elba. There they must decipher coded messages involving a plot, of unknown purpose, and try to identify Renard. Arianna has 2 men to flirt into revealing secrets and a series of disguises to ferret out information. Saybrook provides protection, problem solving and cryptographic skills.
This was a very complicated plot involving lots of history and real diplomats; very information, as well as action packed. Looking forward to the third and last installment.
Charles Dickens,
Great Expectations
[1885 ed., repr. 1999] 442 pagesAn elderly, rather wealthy woman is nearing the end of her life, and her greedy relatives are intriguing to inherit her house and property. She summons a young orphan boy to play with her adopted daughter. The said orphan, "Pip", is the main character as well as the first-person narrator of the book. Somewhat later, Pip is given almost unlimited money by an "anonymous benefactor". The implication is so obvious that the wealthy woman, Miss Haversham, is the benefactor, that we suspect there will be a surprise twist at the end, and there is. And I guessed it from the beginning.
Of all the so-called "classics" of the "Western canon", Charles Dickens is the one I have never been able to appreciate. This is the fifth Dickens novel I have read since I had to read A Tale of Two Cities long ago in high school; it is supposed to be one of his best; but it has the same faults as all the others: the plot is totally lacking in credibility, with characters just happening by chance to have multiple unconnected relationships to all the other characters and everyone acting on bizarre motives, with many characters so reduced to a single trait as to be caricatures; the novel hammers you over the head with a "moral", which is always something superficial like "be grateful", "don't be a snob", "husbands should control their wives". Taken as light fiction, this is a fairly entertaining story, but I have no idea why it is considered as "literature."
Mod
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain – 4**** I first listened to this audio in Feb 2013. I listened again in preparation for my F2F book club. I won’t change my rating, but I find the audio more annoying this time for the poor voice work. The book, however, is still a good one in the way McLain portrays the Hemingway’s marriage and their life in 1920s Paris. I really liked Hadley.
Full Review HERE
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
3 stars
I'm feeling a little hazy on how I felt about this audio read by Amy Ryan and Michel Stuhlbar. The readers were fine but I'm just not sure that I understood where the author was going with this. The beginning of the book was OK and you start to get a feel for a man who loves his baby daughter and goes overboard wanting to expose her to foods not at all appropriate for an infant but because of it, as she grows up she develops an extremely sophisticated palate and works herself up through various levels in the food industry. I also found some of the food discussion extremely interesting. And I was riveted during the last chapter (disc, section...whatever) and really enjoyed the way it ended. But in between all of that the story just felt so meandering. It took forever to figure out how a section fit in with the previous story parts and by the time I did, the author was on to something else. What I really disliked was the totally unnecessary cursing. I mean the characters seemed to be reasonably nice people and everything seemed to be going along fine and then at the slightest provocation they'd be shouting f*** this or that or you and it just didn't make sense to me. Just an OK read.
Free to Fall by Lauren Miller
5 stars
I loved this book. Rory Vaughn lives in a world where no one has to make a decision, everything is decided by the Lux app on their phone. The app makes sure you eat right, dress appropriately for the weather, never forget to do your laundry and do everything that benefits you the most. She has now been accepted at the prestigious Theden Academy and feels like her future is assured. Just as she's leaving for her new school, her father presents her with a gift from her mother who died shortly after she was born. It turns out her mother went to Theden as well but left just days before graduation and no one seems to know why. When Rory arrives and starts her classes, she starts hearing voices in her head--what society calls the Doubt. This could lead to a diagnosis of mental illness and expulsion from school and so she keeps it to herself. Then part of her classwork is to write a paper on a particular illness of her choice from a prepared list. The voice in her head says to pick the one illness that she's already worried about, hearing the voice in her head. She does select it and during her research discovers that her mother also suffered from the same problem. Trying to discover what really happened to her mom and what is really happening behind the scenes at Theden uncovers one surprise after another. Every time I thought I had this all figured out and who should be trusted, the story line would throw me another curve. Great techno thriller that will keep you turning those pages and I think the twists will surprise you.
Beverly wrote: "Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
3 stars
I'm feeling a little hazy on how I felt about this audio read by Amy Ryan and Michel Stu..."
Thank you for validating my feelings on this book! That is exactly what I thought, but I didn't give it that many stars ;)
Recipe for Treason (A Lady Arianna Regency Mystery, #3) - Andrea Penrose (4 stars) 6/23/16
Lady Arianna and Lord Saybrook are still on the trail of Renard, the fox, French spy and supporter of Napoleon. They go to Scotland looking for a tie between the University chemists, a new explosive and the French spy ring. This then sends them back to London and the Royal Institution. Some new people are drawn into their team and some existing members get temporarily sidelined. Arianna ends up using a couple of her disguises to get close to potential sources.
Another action packed historical mystery that ties together all the loose ends to solve the case. Each chapter again begins with a chocolate recipe. Very enjoyable series.
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Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord by Louis de Bernières – 4**** Dionisio Vivo is a philosophy teacher, whose letters to the editor about the effects of the coca trade on the people of this unnamed South American country have attracted the wrath of the local drug lord. This is a fun romp of a satire, full of magical realism and totally outrageous scenarios. I laughed aloud in many places, and cried out in dismay in others. The language de Bernières employs is nothing short of delightful. The reader who can suspend disbelief and just go along for the ride will find much to enjoy.
Full Review HERE
Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming, 4****s
I listened to this in 2 days! I really enjoyed Alan Cumming's story of finding out about his family history, which turned out to be fairly dramatic. I liked him so much on "The Good Wife" and his hosting of "Masterpiece Mystery" on PBS, so it was fun hearing him read this audio book with his Scottish brogue :)
Paging All Bookworms!
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