Oct - Dec 2016 - What Are You Reading?

[Kimberly]

Girl Waits With Gun, Amy Stewart

★ ★ ★

I liked the story/plot... I don't care for all the chatter & the main character's younger "sister" (daughter)....

A silk merchant's ne'er do well son & his gang of hoodlums run into the Kopp sisters' buggy w/ his auto.... when she has the audacity to ask him for monetary reparations, thus begins his harassment of her & her sisters...

However he greatly underestimates Constance.... where upon his continued threats & acts of violence prompts the local sheriff to give Constance & her sister Norma pistols, which they do not hesitate to use against him & his gang of thugs.

Constance continues to investigate his crimes and stumbles across the mother of his illegitimate child whom she helps to reclaim said child....

Constance is tougher than the silk merchant's thug son and proceeds to take him to court....

This is the first in the series, but the second one I read..... I just do not resonate with the narration. maybe because I do not like the youngest sister/daughter... Or maybe because I have no emotional investment in the characters... They seem to be lacking in warmth, personality?

But the mystery (which was no mystery) was interesting.....

[Book Concierge]

Summer – Edith Wharton – 3.5***
Wharton’s novel of a young woman’s awakening sexuality shocked readers when it was first published in 1917. Wharton knew the social makeup of turn-of-the century America, and used her novels to explore the nuances of the “rules” – spoken and unspoken – by which people, especially women, had to live. It’s a slim novel, and a great introduction to Wharton’s writing.
LINK to my review

[Kimberly]

The Longest Date: life as a wife, Cindy Chupack

★

This woman wrote for "Sex and the City"... so I'm guessing that she believes that her life is fascinating..... so very fascinating that we all want to read about her marriage.

She is incorrect.... she is boring and I for one could care less about her problem of having to make room in her Malibu Beach house for the man who became her husband & all of his "stuff".

Oh First World Problems are so annoying & tedious.

This book is annoying, tedious, & boring

[~*Kim*~]

Dying to Call You by Elaine Viets - 4 Stars

On the run from her ex-husband and once lush life, Helen has found herself working as a telemarketer. Selling septic tank cleaner may not be a fancy life, but it pays her bills...in cash, which is what Helen needs.
One night Helen hears what she thinks is a murder on the phone. The police dismiss her claims and she sets out on her own to uncover the truth. Helen soon gets in over her head. Will she discover who was murdered and why?

This is the 3rd in the Dead-End Job cozy mystery series. It was a fun read.

[Book Concierge]

Money, Money, Money – Ed McBain – 3.5****
This is the first book by McBain that I’ve read, and it will not be the last! Fast-paced, intricate plotting and colorful characters make for a quick and enjoyable read, despite the high body count. It may be Christmas but the criminals are busy, and so are the police. I was interested from page one to the very end.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

Time of Wonder – Robert McCloskey – 5*****
McCloskey is probably best known for Make Way for Ducklings, but I think I like this book even more. Here the reader explores an island with two girls. The illustrations are simply beautiful – in color, detail, scope, feel. Some are bright at a summer day, others muted by “fog.” The stars sparkle in the night sky, and the waves pound the shore during a storm.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

Long Man – Amy Greene – 4****
Greene delivers a riveting story that explores the question: What cost, progress? The Dodson’s loss of their home is representative of the hundreds of families displaced by such projects. The novel is peopled with strong characters, with tangled relationships. Their competing loyalties are what made the decisions so difficult: to stay or to go, to delay or to embrace change
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

Dan vs Nature – Don Calame – 2**
When Dan’s mother buys him a “survival week experience” so he can bond with her new fiancé, Dan and his friend Charlie concoct a plan to scare Hank away. This sounded like a decent premise for a YA novel but Calame’s reliance on scatological humor and descriptions that only a 13-year-old boy will find funny just lost me. It should have been a fast read, but it didn’t hold my attention, and it took me a full week to finish it.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

The Anteater of Death – Betty Webb
– 3***
As cozy mysteries go, this is a pretty good one. A zookeeper is an interesting – and different – occupation for an amateur sleuth. Webb gives tidbits of information on the animals Teddy cares for, as well as the joys and challenges of living aboard a refitted trawler. There were plenty of suspects to keep me guessing, and a reasonably satisfactory ending. I’ll definitely read more of this series.
LINK to my review

[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]

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

[Book Concierge]

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

[Book Concierge]

And I am FINALLY caught up on posting reviews of all the books I read in December. Forward ....

[Kimberly]

Book Concierge wrote: "And I am FINALLY caught up on posting reviews of all the books I read in December. Forward ...."

Congratulations