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2017 Reads and Reviews ~ Anything goes
One Two Buckle My Shoes – Agatha Christie – 3***
Christie always delivers a well-constructed plot, with plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. While I did catch on to a few of the tricks, I didn’t figure out the real culprit until Poirot revealed the answer.
LINK to my review
Expecting Adam – Martha N Beck – 4****
3.5*** rounded up. The subtitle of this memoir is: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic. Beck writes well, and she is very honest about what she went through. Her self-deprecating humor is refreshing, and a few scenes had me laughing out loud.
LINK to my review
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Epitaph
– Mary Doria Russell – 4****
In a sequel to her earlier novel, Doc, Russell explores what REALLY happened at the OK Corral. I love Russell’s writing. Sh..."
This has been on my list forever-one day I will get to this!
The Nightingale - Krisitn Hannah - 4****
This is a WW II story of two sisters in France who must survive when the Nazis take over France. Isabel wants to join the Resistance and her older sister Vianne just wants to survive. The tale is loosely based on a real life Resistance hero, Andre de Jongh. She was a 19 year old Belgian girl who helped 118 downed English and American fliers escape to Spain. The most fully realized character is Vianne who has to undergo many of the hardships of Nazi occupied France. She has to make horrible choices to survive but would we have done any differently? The last couple of chapters effectively describe the final brutality of the beaten Nazis.
I read it for my Book Club and it is not a book I would have chosen. However, it appears to be a fairly effective portrayal of what life was like occupied France. This story shows not everyone was a collaborator.
The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah - 4****
This is a WW II story of two sisters in France who must survive when the Nazis take over France. Isabel wants to join the Resistance and her older sister Vianne just wants to survive. The tale is loosely based on a real life Resistance hero, Andre de Jongh. She was a 19 year old Belgian girl who helped 118 downed English and American fliers escape to Spain. The most fully realized character is Vianne who has to undergo many of the hardships of Nazi occupied France. She has to make horrible choices to survive but would we have done any differently? The last couple of chapters effectively describe the final brutality of the beaten Nazis.
I read it for my Book Club and it is not a book I would have chosen. However, it appears to be a fairly effective portrayal of what life was like occupied France. This story shows not everyone was a collaborator.
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Stephen King4 stars
This is some of the best Stephen King I've read in years. I really recommend this one, with the caveat that you not read it when you're planning to watch BUBBA HO-TEP or EXORCIST III or any movie along those lines. I came close to experiencing a nursing-home horror OD with this collection and either of those movies would have polished me off. Great stuff in here. My only regret was my struggle to follow all the baseball lingo in "Blockade Billy," which otherwise would have easily been my favorite story.
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The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder
Daniel Stashower
3.5/5 stars
In 1841, Mary Rogers, a beautiful, young woman who worked in a cigar shop is found dead after being missing for 3 days. Her death incites the newspapers to analyze the crime in a morbid fashion for months and is the main story in the city with hundreds of articles and theories brought forward about her death. Even Edgar Allan Poe becomes involved in the case and writes a story with similarities to Mary Rogers’s death in order to prove who killed her. Enthralling!
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy – Rachel Joyce – 5*****
Oh, I love Queenie! She admits that her first instinct when faced with a difficult situation has always been to flee. Now, at the end of her life she faces the secrets she has been hiding, and hiding from, with courage and grace, and pours out her heart in a long letter of love and forgiveness.
LINK to my review
The Mighty Miss Malone – Christopher Paul Curtis – 4****
In Bud, Not Buddy, Bud met a precocious girl at a camp next to a railroad track near Flint, Michigan. That girl was Deza Malone and this is her story. I just love Deza Malone! She’s smart, courageous, resilient and big-hearted. The family’s journey is perilous at times, and Mrs Malone’s worry is well-founded. But they also have moments of joy, and meet with kindness and compassion from total strangers. Curtis doesn’t shy away from the tragedies of the era, but he also gives a strong message on the power of family unity, and of never giving up your dreams.
LINK to my review
Rocket Boys – Homer Hickam – 4****
Homer Hickam Jr (a/k/a Sonny) grew up in Coalwood, West Virginia – a “company town” in built and owned by the mining company for whom his father worked. In his memoir, Hickam brings the residents of Coalwood to life. He shares stories of growing up, of high school football, a beloved teacher, unlikely allies, young love, and his mother’s determination that her boys would NOT go into that mine.
LINK to my review
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The Night Gardener
Jonathan Auxier
5/5 stars
This wonderful Young Adults story revolves around Molly and Kip who are traveling through England after escaping the potato famine of Ireland in the mid 1800's. They have become separated from their parents and are looking for jobs to support themselves. On their travels they come to a manor where they are taken in as servants. They soon discover that they were hired because no one else would take a job there. The longer they stay there they notice something is not quite right with the family who are all becoming ill and they encounter a mysterious stranger who comes at night to take care of the tree growing into the house. I had a hard time putting this down and would love to see this made into a film. YA
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Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride
Lucy Knisley
4/5 stars
Lucy Knisley, graphic novelist, writes and draws about her engagement and marriage to her on and off boyfriend John. Told through pictures and words, we follow the ups and downs of their relationship and the planning of an unorthodox and unique wedding in modern day. This is another delightful graphic novel for Knisley who has done several travelogues, a web comic series and her wonderful graphic memoir Relish- My Life in the Kitchen. Looking forward to her next project!
Of Long Memory: Mississippi And The Murder Of Medgar Evers, Adam Nossiter3 stars
This was a good one but not absolutely great. I was a little thrown by all the color and life in the portrait of Byron De La Beckwith -- a fanatical, racist murderer -- contrasted against the flat, unfeeling sketch of his victim, Medgar Evers, supposedly the centerpiece of the story. I also found the author's writing style a little roundabout and disinclined at times to get to the point. The many women in the story were treated as if they had nothing at all to do with it, for some reason. But I do know a great deal more about this case than I did before. I'll say that.
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Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell
4.5/5 stars
Teenagers, Eleanor and Park meet on the bus one day when Eleanor is forced to sit with Park. Both are very uncomfortable but slowly their relationship develops as their background stories unfold and Eleanor finally finds some she can trust and maybe love but will her stepfather break them up. . . Loved it! Not just for teenagers!
Eligible – Curtis Sittenfeld – 4****
The subtitle is all the synopsis you need: A Modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. This is the fourth installment of the planned retellings that comprise The Austen Project, wherein contemporary authors tackle one of Austen’s works and reimagine it in a modern setting. All told, I found it entertaining and fun. Definitely helps if you’ve read the original, though it spoils any surprises as you anticipate “when will they …?” or “how will she include …..?”
LINK to my review
Long May She Reign - by Rihannon Thomas5*
I enjoyed this book. Also glad that it is not a trilogy or will go on even further. This one story is sufficient. A young girl not very secure about who she is and only 23rd from the throne knowing she will not have to worry about inheriting something so large. She is secure in her science, that she can control, not the nerves of being in Court, a place she does not like, a place with far to many people who make her uncomfortable. But then the impossible happens. All are dead at a banquet for the King, by eating something that was poisoned. Now she is Queen and what she must do is find out who is responsible for this terrible act, and now she must act like a Queen even though it terrifies her.
Some suspect she is the one who did this but this is something she would never, ever have done, and want her to give up the throne to others. But the Forgotten, those mysterious people who lived here before, might just have a different idea.
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5*
I enjoyed this book. Also glad that it is not a trilogy or will go on even further. This one story is sufficient. A young girl not very secure about who ..."
This sounds very interesting.
Death in the Clouds – Agatha Christie – 3***
Christie’s Belgian detective has become my go-to comfort read. I never tire of watching Poirot exercise his “little gray cells” to the amusement and astonishment of fellow investigators, suspects, innocent bystanders, and, of course, the culprit.
LINK to my review
The Christmas Thief – Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark – 3***
There’s not much holiday spirit in this slim volume; it is more a fun and entertaining comic crime caper than a mystery. I do like the cast of characters, and while the coincidences required for the plot to work stretch credulity a bit, but they do add to the suspense and enjoyment.
LINK to my review
The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy - 4****
The character is a middle class judge who is having a good life. Ivan has a successful career. He has a wife and two children. He is respected. He has sufficient income for a nice house. Then he has an accident. Due to the poor medical skills of his doctors, the kidney/liver injury proves to be fatal. He finds little comfort from his family and friends. His wife is no help. He rages against his fate to no avail. He finds some solace from his peasant boy servant. Just before he dies he has an epiphany. Tolstoy draws a contrast between the shallow lives lived by Ivan, his friends, and family versus the peasant boy. Would we face death like Ivan? You don't get a do-over in life (unless you are Dickens' Scrooge). Thus, Tolstoy is certainly more realistic than Dickens. In only 110 pages Tolstoy raises some important questions about mortality.
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Universal Harvester
John Darnielle
3.5/5 stars
A man finds that the VHS tapes at the store where he works at are being altered and his boss becomes obsessed with the tape mystery. A woman leaves her husband and child and they look for her unceasingly. A brother and sister find a car filled with ancient video tapes and try to find who left them there. These are the stories that interconnect in Darnielle's book set in rural Iowa. While this book is considered to be part of the horror genre, you won't find this book to be a true horror tale but there is an uneasiness to these tales that are hard to shake especially when there are no clear conclusions to the mysteries.
Stargirl – Jerry Spinelli – 5*****
I’m long past high school, but I still remember the “pack” mentality that required conformity. It’s painful to revisit that, but Spinelli does a great job exploring what might happen, and how the events might affect some of the students.
LINK to my review
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Grace Lin – 4****
What a delightful story for middle-school readers (and adults). Inspired by Chinese folklore, Lin weaves a fantasy tale of one young woman’s quest to help her family. Minli’s courage, grace, kindness and perseverance are to be admired. I am reminded of the stories my grandparents, aunts and uncles told on many a night, as we sat on the front porch in the dark, my imagination running wild with tales of adventure.
LINK to my review
Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan5*****
This is another wonderful book by Kevin Kwan. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. These people are so outrageous, so over-the-top. All they talk about is fashion, pedigree (and not the dogs), how much money they have and where they spend it, who they know (who they think is important), how many homes they have and so much more. You get to hear what they eat, the delicious food that I wish I could eat along with them. How many servants they have and what they do for them (and who tried to steal them away).
Charlie Wu is finally single again and has asked Astrid in an elaborate show complete with Bollywood dancers and an elephant to marry him. Kitty has her second billionaire husband and decorated his house in a ‘unique’ style. Eddie is still trying show everyone how important he is and who he knows. And relatives from the previous 2 books are now coming together at Tyersall Park to see what will be done here because Su-Yi the matriarch has fallen ill and everyone now wants a piece of the pie or to see who gets the whole pie. You get to see these people interact with some funny and heartrending issues. They are really not so different from regular people; they just have outrageous amounts of money (and egos to go with that).
And the information about Su-Yi when she was young is so very interesting. While she is home and still attached to the machines and medicine that keeps her with us, she is remembering her past and we learn so much about the way she has lived and who she really is, that you just can’t put this book down. At the end of the book it seems there might be another and that would be wonderful, I just love all this stuff.
I won this book from Goodreads ARC from Doubleday and am giving this review.
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Even This I Get to Experience
Norman Lear
4/5 stars
Norman Lear writes about his life and shows how even growing up in the poorest of circumstances that sometimes life gets better with hard work, ambition and talent. Not happy to just get rich, he has not left his life go by without impacting others by becoming a philanthropist and getting involved in political causes. Fascinating read but at times the story got dragged down in the recital of everything he did.
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins – 3***
In a future dystopian North America, twenty-four contestants fight to the death on live TV. Collins draws the reader in and made me care about Katniss. She’s a strong, intelligent, resourceful female heroine. The cliff-hanger ending is a pet peeve and I dropped a star for that.
LINK to my review
Maurice – E M Forster – 4****
Written between 1913 and 1914, Forster’s novel of a young man’s awakening homosexuality was not published until 1971, a year after the author’s death. I loved the way that Forster developed this character, showing Maurice’s progress from a naïve student, to a young man awakening to the possibilities that a mature and loving relationship might offer him.
LINK to my review
Runaway Father, Richard Rashke4 enthusiastic stars!
What a great read. This should have bored me to tears -- it was mostly legal hearings -- but the suspense kept me right on the edge of my seat until the end. And what a blockbuster ending this one has! Hardly any author can handle this kind of material this skillfully, and Rashke does a great, great job. Don't miss this book if you are interested in good biographies, women's empowerment, the law, mental health, or just a good non-fiction read. This book is all of the above.
The Girl in the Belfry, Joseph Henry Jackson4 and a half enthusiastic stars
Wow! What a great read this one is. Find a copy if you can. The defendant in this case was essentially the Wayne Williams of his generation. Out of a slew of titles like The Bell Tower: The Case of Jack the Ripper Finally Solved... in San Francisco and The Letter F that try to cast doubt on Theo's Durrant's conviction, this is the only one I've found that explains exactly why the jury found him guilty. Based on the lead detective's notes -- the discovery of which in the wreckage of the San Francisco earthquake must have bordered on the miraculous -- and the many, many, many interviews everyone involved in the case (including Durrant himself) gave to the press -- this is deeply researched and wonderfully told. The author takes you through the trial evidence step by step without putting you to sleep. Like all books published in the 1950s, this is well-written and the copy was edited by a qualified professional familiar with the English language, not a colorblind gorilla.
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Light Bulb Baking: A History of the Easy-Bake Oven
Todd Coopee
3/5 stars
This is a short history of the Easy-Bake Oven, a toy for young girls (and later on marketed to boys) to learn how to bake. If you ever had one or wanted one, this is a must read.
Fates And Furies – Lauren Groff – 4****
The book is told by the two central characters: Lotto (Fates) and Mathilde (Furies). Groff is masterful building these characters, with qualities that draw the reader into their circle. One revelation breaks the bond. Forcing first Lotto, and then Mathilde to examine their relationship. By the end I’m left feeling battered and bruised and stunned. I want to start reading it again from the beginning so I can pick up any clues Groff may have buried.
LINK to my review
Trophy Hunt – C J Box – 3***
I like this series, mostly because I really like Joe Picket. Box gives us plenty of action, but I was dissatisfied with the ending. All the talk of “aliens,” and a too-convenient demise made me feel as if Box had run out of ideas and turned to 1950s sci-fi films for inspiration. Still, it’s a good story and a fast read.
LINK to my review
Killer Show: The Station Nightclub Fire, America's Deadliest Rock Concert, John Barylick4 stars
This was an excellent, at times devastating read. Like Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and Its Aftermath and The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, the text effectively tacked back and forth between the science of the disaster, the surrounding circumstances, the experiences of the less-central people involved, and the minute-by-minute personal stories of the people who went through it. You never got that far from the horror of the fire, but the author didn't keep you there for so long at a stretch that you started to get numb. I didn't give it a full 5 stars only because at times it did bog down, a just bit, when the author was discussing all the machinations involved in the massive, complex personal-injury suit that followed the Station disaster. If you loved Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, you'll love this one.
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Only the Dead Know Burbank: A Novel
Bradford Tatum
3/5 stars
Maddy and her mother have a secret. During the Spanish flu epidemic in the earlier 1900s, her mother conjures up an evil spirit and saves them from death but submits them to everlasting life. Maddy and her mom are then separated and Maddy survives WWI working in film in Europe and then eventually ending up in Hollywood post war with a friend. She finds her niche in making horror films but since she doesn't age she realizes she will have to move on again and again. . . . This book had its highlights and I enjoyed how the author used the novel to show Maddy’s influence in horror films and the use of real horror actors as characters in the book but I just didn't find this very scary.
22 Britannia Road – Amanda Hodgkinson – 4****
Hodgkinson’s debut novel is a beautifully told story of how a family torn apart by war slowly comes back together. Hodgkinson divides her chapters by location/time and by character, telling parallel stories: Poland during the war, England after the war. I was engaged and interested in the story from beginning to end.
LINK to my review
The Whole Town’s Talking – Fannie Flagg – 3***
This is Flagg’s fourth book about the residents of Elmwood Springs. In this volume, she tells the history of Elmwood Springs, beginning with the 1889 founding of the settlement and up to about 2020. This isn’t great literature, but Flagg spins a darn good yarn. It’s entertaining and full of lively characters.
LINK to my review
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Nine Coaches Waiting
Mary Stewart
4/5 stars
Having been a big fan of her Merlin series, I was very excited to read Nine Coaches Waiting. This suspenseful romance involves Linda,a young woman brought to France to be a nanny for Phillipe, a young boy who has lost his parents and is living temporarily with his relatives while his guardian is away. Linda bonds with Phillipe but not all is well at the estate and Phillipe has had a couple of unusual accidents. Amidst these events, Raoul, Phillipe's uncle comes to the estate and a attraction between him and Linda begins but Linda becomes wary of the family and takes off with Phillipe fearing for his life. The story has aged a little but I enjoyed it.
A Burglar’s Guide to the City – Geoff Manaugh – 3***
Manaugh looks at architecture and the central role it plays in the crime of burglary. The book begins and ends with the 19th-century New York superburglar George Leonidas Leslie, who used his training as an architect to figure out new and unexpected ways to gain entry to building. There were parts of this book that I found completely fascinating, however Manaugh has a tendency towards repetition.
LINK to my review
Columbine – Dave Cullen – 4****
Gripping, fascinating, and horrifying. Cullen has done extensive research and made every effort to remain an impartial journalist, ferreting out facts and revealing them without judgment. The result is perhaps even more disturbing than what I thought I knew about it.
LINK to my review
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Columbine
– Dave Cullen – 4****
Gripping, fascinating, and horrifying. Cullen has done extensive research and made every effort to remain an impartial journalist, ..."
Good book.
Lady♥Belleza★✰ wrote: "Good book. "I concur. I wish they had added chapter headings so I got a warning when they changed to a different time period, though. All the tacking back and forth was disconcerting.
Death, Taxes, and Hot-Pink Leg Warmers – Diane Kelly – 2.5**
This is book five in the series featuring IRS Special Agent Tara Halloway. I like that Kelly has given us the premise of a strong female heroine, though she doesn’t always deliver. Still, it’s a fast read and mildly entertaining.
LINK to my review
Please Look After Mom – Kyung-Sook Shin – 3***
This is the story of one family’s search for their mother, who has gone missing one afternoon in a crowded Seoul subway station. The author tells the story from the perspective of four characters, and also uses second person voice for much of the book. Perhaps she intended to draw the reader in with this technique, or perhaps it is a common grammatical choice in Korean, but I found it difficult to connect to the characters.
LINK to my review
Farwell My Lovely – Raymond Chandler – 3***
I came late to Chandler’s series about P.I. Philip Marlowe, but I sure am enjoying them now! The action is non-stop, and the characters so vivid they virtually jump off the page. I’ll definitely keep reading the series.
LINK to my review
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – Gabrielle Zavin – 3***
One snowy December evening A.J. Fikry finds that someone has left a baby between the shelves in his bookstore. This is a fable about second chances and the redemptive power of love. It’s a somewhat quiet story, as novels go, but it is full of the drama of every day existence. I also loved all the literary references.
LINK to my review
The Knave of Boston: & Other Ambiguous Massachusetts Characters, Francis Russell4 stars
A wonderful tapestry of life in old-time Boston from the perspectives of public figures like "Honey Fitz" (JFK's grandfather), Mayor Dan Coakley (the title character for this book), the half-forgotten legislator who may have driven Starr Faithfull to suicide, and so forth. He also thumbnails the Chappaquiddick incident and a truly horrific murder that took place on the street where he grew up. Every story is interesting, and many of the characters in one chapter had dealings with the characters in the others. Wonderfully written. Great for lovers of biography, local history and true-crime buffs.
We Are Called to Rise – Laura McBride – 4****
McBride’s debut novel tells the story of four different people whose lives intersect as the result of one split-second choice. The novel is told by each of these four characters in turn. I was immediately drawn into their personal stories. McBride does a great job of writing these characters, making them real to the reader. I thought the ending was a little too contrived, but that was really my only complaint. I look forward to reading her next book.
LINK to my review
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Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History—without the Fairy-Tale Endings
Linda Rodríguez McRobbie
5/5 stars
McRobbie tells the fascinating and factual tales of real life princesses who are far from the fairy tale princesses we all grew up with as children. Many of these women had miserable lives and some caused a lot of misery. The author also deals with the inbreeding of the royals causing their children to be born with genetic defects and there is a section on the dollar princesses who were not royalty but were rich and married into royalty. Hard to put down and a big thanks to the person who recommended this to me.
My copy of Fuzz by Ed McBain just came in at the library. I've been meaning to get to this one for years.
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Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (other topics)
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Epitaph – Mary Doria Russell – 4****
In a sequel to her earlier novel, Doc, Russell explores what REALLY happened at the OK Corral. I love Russell’s writing. She does extensive research and is not content to give us only one side of the issues, or one facet of the characters. The novel focuses on Josie Marcus and Wyatt Earp, but every character fairly leaps off the page.
LINK to my review