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2017 Reads and Reviews ~ Anything goes
Binti - Nnedi Okorafor – 4****
This is a coming-of-age story, an adventure, a buddy road-trip, and a space opera all in one small package. I loved Binti. She’s resourceful, mentally and physically strong, a loyal friend, a compassionate person, and a canny negotiator. Science fiction is not my favorite genre (understatement), but I might read more of this series.
LINK to my review
Dune - Frank Herbert – 3***
Okay … science fiction epics are just not my thing. That being said, I do recognize and appreciate what has made this such an enduring classic in the genre. Herbert has created a complex world, with warring factions, political intrigue, and a great main character in Paul Muad’Dib. I think if I had read this when I was in high school or college I would have rated it higher, but it just doesn’t appeal to my reading tastes at this stage of my life.
LINK to my review
Mod
Bet Me
Jennifer Crusie
5/5 stars
Minerva and her boyfriend, David have recently broken up. At an outing she overhears a conversation between her ex and Calvin Morrisey making a bet that he couldn't get her to go to dinner with him. She decides to play along and they start to fall in love but there are complications along the way. I don't read a lot of romances but I thoroughly enjoyed this funny, sweet book. This would make a wonderful rom com film.
Death at Wentwater Court - Carola Dunn – 3***
I really enjoyed this cozy mystery debut. Daisy is a delightful central character and amateur sleuth. I’m a little unhappy with how the book ends –but it’s true to the time, place and social class.
LINK to my review
Book Concierge wrote: " Death at Wentwater Court
- Carola Dunn – 3***
I really enjoyed this cozy mystery debut. Daisy is a delightful central character and amateur sleuth...."
I have read most of the Daisy books and have enjoyed them. They are a nice story inbetween my other books.
I'm participating in a challenge to read the Caldecott Medal winners ...
The House in the Night – by Susan Marie Swanson / Illustrated by Beth Krommes – 3***
Inspired by nursery rhymes with cumulative patterns, Swanson names all the objects, both in and outside a house at night time, that are familiar and comforting to a child. Beth Krommes was awarded the Caldecott Medal for her wonderfully detailed illustrations.
LINK to my review
Under Fishbone Clouds - Sam Meekings – 3***
This is a love story and family saga set against the backdrop of 20th century Chinese history. We watch Jinyi and Yuying grow through their childhoods, courtship, early marriage, and mature years. Meekings also gives the reader insight into how the wars, Japanese invasion, and Mao’s Cultural Revolution impacted the people of China.
LINK to my review
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Follow You Home
Mark Edwards
5/5 stars
Daniel and Laura are traveling through Europe on the trip of a lifetime. As they travel on a train going through Romania, they are convinced by a fellow traveler that they have just met to take an empty sleep compartment to rest. When they awaken all of their money and ids are gone. A conductor finds them in the compartment and throws them off the train with Alina, another passenger who was defending them. As they wander through the countryside trying to get to a town, they encounter a home deep in the countryside. When they enter the home, they discover something horribly wrong going on in the house. Two of them escape only to have to relive the horror of what happened to them when they return home.
This book has had mixed reviews, it seems people either loved it or hated it but I could not put this book down. Would love to see it as a film.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick – 5***** and a ❤
What a treasure! This inventive, unusual novel in words and pictures, won the Caldecott medal for illustration. The book is intended for children, but will delight adults as well. The story of Hugo, Isabelle and Papa Georges is enthralling, and kept me guessing. But the drawings … oh, the drawings! The reader really needs to spend some time pouring over these intricate illustrations.
LINK to my review
The Good Girl - Mary Kubica – 3.5***
What I most look for in this genre is a plot that keeps me interested, and keeps me guessing. Kubica delivered that. I was caught up in the intrigue, and interested in these characters and how they fit together. The changing points of view and time lines kept me off balance, much as the characters in such a scenario might feel.
LINK to my review
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Redshirts
John Scalzi
3/5 stars
This science fiction novel tells the story of a "real" star ship crew whose lives are being affected by the lives of a crew on a fictional science fiction TV show. When Ensign Dahl is assigned to a new ship, he notices that when there is a call for ensigns to engage the enemy, the rest of his crew members in the department scatter. As he investigates, he realizes his ship has a higher than usual death rate among the ensigns and he is determined to find the answer. What he finds out is unbelievable and he and his crew members decide to try to change the future and hope to decrease the chances of them getting killed. I liked this story but at the end it shifts perspective a couple of times and frankly I got a little confused and bored at times at the ending.
Talking with Serial Killers: The Most Evil People in the World Tell Their Own Stories, Christopher Berry-Dee3 reluctant stars
I feel kind of split down the middle about this book. I'm disappointed that it's basically just a retelling of the stories of the various killers, with almost no content devoted to the interviews the author had with these people. Some of the people in here are not even really serial killers! All the author really says at the end of each chapter is "If I had never interviewed this guy, the police would never have been able to close this or that unsolved murder" without telling us how he got the information. The text is also full of dumb mistakes, like the statement that if Henry Lucas had renewed his Prozac prescription when it ran out in 1971 he never would have gone on a killing spree. Prozac wasn't even put on the market until 1987. With all that said, this was a gripping read, included a case or two I'd never heard of before, and it gave me a totally new perspective on the Sunset Slayers case, making me wonder how much of what I read in Louise Farr's book was correct. I liked it but don't love it.
Working for Bigfoot by Jim Butcher5*****
I love Dresden. I downloaded this from my Library and took 2 days to listen to the whole book. If I had had a full day off I would have finished it even faster. Love the story. There are 3 chapters all with Erwin, son of Bigfoot, being helped by Dresden who was asked to do this from Bigfoot. Bigfoot has not shown his son or told him who he is, but of course his mother knows. She also hasn't mentioned anything about who his father is. That's important. The first story takes place when Erwin is in middle school and there are boy who are bullying him. Of course it just not straightforward bullying, but somehow supernatural. We are dealing with Dresden. Next one is Erwin is in High School and somehow his essence is being drained. And third and last he is in college and with a girl friend who does love him very, very much but happens to be a vampire (she doesn't know that at the time. I am never disappointed with Dresden. I so wish there were more. So this for me is 5 stars and more. Oh and James Masters is the reader. I would listen to him if he read the phone book.
Body Parts, Caitlin Rother4 stars
This was a really well-written account of a horrible series of crimes. A real page-turner. The author skated perilously close to the thin ice of "this is the story of a poor widdle serial killer, tragically beset by his own demons," but she kept the story from going out of bounds by including as much as she could of the victim's stories and the point of view of the devastated families Ford left in his wake. She does a good job of teasing apart Ford's evasions and justifications from what really happened to these unlucky women.
The Girl in Poison Cottage, Richard Hoffman and Jim Bishop4 enthusiastic stars!
This was a frustrating, difficult read, not because of the book's contents because the ancient, fragile mass-market paperback fell apart in my hands as I tried to read it. This didn't stop me; it was a gripping, well-written account of the Creighton-Appelgate case. One intriguing feature is that one of the authors was convinced Ev Appelgate was guilty as charged, and the other was positive he was innocent. None of this came across in the book, which gives you the facts and testimony and allows you to be the juror. I agree with the jacket blurb that this is a case you can argue as long as you want without ever being able to win or lose no matter which side you take. Read this one if you can find it; I wish you better luck than I had in finding an intact copy.
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken5 stars
So proud that this guy represents my state of Minnesota. He does a great job. Love the book. He explains a lot about his political journey and a lot about what is happening today with a touch of humor and irony thrown in. This is the best memoir I have read so far this year.
Mod
4 enthusiastic stars!
This was a frustrating, difficult read, not because of the book's contents because the ancient, frag..."
Sounds so good - unfortunately our library system does not have any copies.
Koren wrote: "Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken5 stars
So proud that this guy represents my state of Minnesota. He does a great ..."
I wish some1 like him represented our state (in fact, he oughta run for Pres. ;-)
The Zookeeper’s Wife - Diane Ackerman – 4****
When the Nazis occupied Poland during WW2, many Polish citizens helped to shelter their Jewish friends and neighbors. This is the story one of family, and the wife and mother in particular: Antonina Zabinski, the zookeeper’s wife. It’s a fascinating story, and well told.
LINK to my review
Cries in the Desert, John Glatt4 nauseated stars
What a horrible story! Really, really hard to put down, but also really hard to stomach. The worst part was knowing that much more went on in that trailer than anyone will ever know, except for the smirking perpetrators and their victims, who may or may not be still living. The glimpse I got from this book was more than enough, thank you.
Mod
Celine
Peter Heller
5/5 stars
Celine is a private detective and a senior citizen, who comes from a aristocratic family. She is also married to Pete, who helps her with her cases. Her latest assignment is to find out what happened to a young woman's father, who was a world famous photographer and died under mysterious conditions. As we learn more about the case, we also learn more about Celine's fascinating life and the reason she is in this profession including Celine's own personal secret. This is a stand-alone mystery but I fell in love with the characters and did not want this to end. I'm hoping the author writes a follow-up book to Celine but I will definitely read more of his books.
Eventide - Kent Haruf – 5*****
Continuing the story of the residents of fictional Holt, Colorado, the novel features some of the same characters that readers came to love in Plainsong . Life can be hard in Holt. Accidents cause injury and death. Alcohol fuels violent tendencies and foolish behavior. Then again, some people rise to the occasion and help one another, moving forward with courage and grace. I came late to the party when it comes to reading Haruf. But better late than never.
LINK to my review
Saint Monkey - Jacinda Townsend – 3***
In the late 1950s, two friends in a small town in Kentucky share big dreams. But their paths diverge and the lose one another in the process of growing up. This debut novel shows that Townsend is a talented writer, and some of the scenes she paints are very vivid, but the novel never really captured my attention. Still, I would read another book by her.
LINK to my review
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The Little Paris Bookshop
Nina George
4/5 stars
Monsieur Perdu runs a bookstore on a boat in France but he likes to think he is more of a "literary apothecary" - prescribing books to cure his patrons' ills. However, his patrons are not the only ones who need to be healed. When Perdu is asked to help a woman who is moving into his building, he is overcome with a over powering emotion for the woman which sets him and a young author to take the book boat on a trip to help the two of them work out their problems and learn to forgive things in the past and themselves. IMO, I thought this could have been edited a little more but I loved the characters and the story line.
Lamb In His Bosom - Caroline Miller – 5*****
This 1934 Pulitzer winner deals with a backwoods existence in rural Georgia, following the Carver / Smith families from 1832 until shortly after the Civil War. They battle weather, wild animals, disease, and injuries. And, when called, the men leave to fight a war they never wanted, and have no stake in. Descriptions so vivid you can feel the heat, smell the blood, hear the birds or the wail of panthers. It is a simple story, of simple people, but their lives are anything but simple.
LINK to my review
Death on the Devil's Teeth: The Strange Murder That Shocked Suburban New Jersey, Jesse Pollack and Mark Moran4 enthusiastic stars
A gripping study of an assortment of unresolved, possibly-related murders in New Jersey in the 1970s. The whole book idea got started when a single person sent a short letter to the editors of "Weird New Jersey" magazine...and oh, the questions they uncovered! The only piece missing from this book -- apart from the name and sentence of a convicted killer (or killers) -- would have been a map of the occurrences. Not being from NJ myself, I had a hard time picturing where things happened and was startled over and over when they'd say "this crime happened only about 3 miles from that one." It's an eye-opening book that asks a lot of great questions.
My Brother Peter: Murder or Suicide?, Nomi Berger5 enthusiastic stars!
I literally could not put this book down until I was finished reading it. A woman who has never really processed her brother's death suddenly decides, decades after the fact, to get the answers to all her lingering questions. By staying constantly on the phone, travelling to the scene of his death, and talking to people who were there when he died, any investigators she can find, & all of the friends of his from that era she's able to locate, plus confronting any number of record-concealing bureaucrats, she finally gets what she came for. Utterly gripping.
Mod
5 enthusiastic stars!
I literally could not put this book down until I was finished reading it. A woman who has never really proces..."
That does sound interesting!
Blood, Bones and Butter - Gabrielle Hamilton – 3***
Subtitle: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef. I’ll say this for Hamilton – she can definitely write. I was fascinated by the stories of her upbringing. I laughed, cheered and gasped at the anecdotes of her years working for the big catering companies, the summer camp and her own restaurant. But she kind of lost me when she got to her marriage. But what really shines in this memoir is her relationship with food. I relished in the descriptions of both simple and elegantly complicated meals.
LINK to my review
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Practice to Deceive
Ann Rule
3.5/5 stars
This is the true crime story about the murder of Washington state resident James Stackhouse. Stackhouse was murdered in 2003 during the Christmas holidays outside his home and this is the story of the investigation and the eventual murder trial. Rule writes in detail about the murder and the multiple possible characters involved in the crime which took several years to solve and go to trial. Though the book is complete in regards to the trial, there was (is) still a lingering question about the motive of the defendants and a possibility that another person was involved in the murder. Hard to put down.
The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman – 3***
This book combines the two original graphic novels: Maus I and Maus II. In general, I am not a great fan of graphic novels. I usually find the artwork too dark and the text too minimal and simplistic. That’s not the case for this work. I thought it was easily accessible and a way to introduce the subject to an audience that might not read a traditional book. However, while I appreciate it, and understand why it has garnered such acclaim, it just didn’t work very well for me.
LINK to my review
The Spider and the Fly: A Reporter, a Serial Killer, and the Meaning of Murder, Claudia Rowe4 stars
A good, if sometimes unsatisfying read about the reporter who developed a pen-pal relationship with serial killer Kendall Francois. This book told me much more than Fred Rosen's book about the same guy, but I gritted my teeth more than once because the author never simply told us what she saw in the police reports, the crime-scene photos, or even Kendall's letters to her. She made the book rather too much about her, and even said as much by the end -- she couldn't make sense of all the information about him, so she sat on it for 11 years and then just kind of gave up and made the book about her own issues. This was really odd because she seemed to have great insight into the crimes when she applied herself to it. With all that said, this was a page-turner, unusually well written and full of information new to me.
Mod
Six Wakes
Mur Lafferty
4/5 stars
This science fiction novel is set in a time where humans no longer live but survive as clones with their memories still intact and than transferred to new clones when there old clones are damaged or worn. The story is set on the ship Dormir, where it is traveling to a new Earth like planet where the clones will set up a new civilization. Unfortunately, something has happened on the ship and all the clones have been killed. Maria Arena is the first clone awaken but is still shaky and getting used to her new body as she awakens the rest of the crew and they realize the enormity of what has happened and try to find out who wanted them all dead. I found this fascinating and hard to put down. This would make a good film or series.
Dreams of Joy - Lisa See – 3***
This is the sequel to Shanghai Girls, but this book really focuses on China and the results of the cultural revolution. The novel gives the reader an horrific look at the devastating results of Mao’s Great Leap Forward. I was already familiar with this episode in China’s recent history, but watching it unfold through these characters made is somehow “personal” and gave it much more impact. My main problem with the book was the central character: Joy. She was so immature and naïve … I just wanted to throttle her.
LINK to my review
Always Room For One More – Sorche Nic Leodhas / Pictures by Nonny Hogrogian – 3***
Sorche Nic Leodhas drew inspiration from a traditional Scottish song that has been handed down through the generations. The author explains in a note at the end of the book that some of the words were changed to make it more understandable for American children, but other Scottish words were kept because there simply wasn’t a reasonable English alternative. Nonny Hogrogian was awarded the Caldecott Medal for her illustrations. I appreciate her artwork, but they don’t really capture my attention or move me.
LINK to my review
Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie – 3***
Hercule Poirot may be on holiday in Egypt, but his “little grey cells” are working overtime. There are plenty of suspects and almost as many motives.
LINK to my review
Dracula - Bram Stoker – 5*****
If you’ve seen any of the movies, you know the basic plot, but the original novel is so much more! To begin there is the typical Victorian theme of strong men coming to the rescue of pure damsel in distress. However, Stoker turns the tables a bit when he gives Mina the intelligence, foresight and courage to fight the evil forces in her own way. The novel is wonderfully atmospheric; time and again Stoker puts the reader smack dab in the middle of the scenes.
LINK to my review
Mod
First Comes Love
Emily Giffin
3.5/5 stars
Two sisters, whose lives were changed dramatically years before when their brother died, now find themselves at crossroads in their lives. Meredith, a lawyer is unhappy with her life, her husband and her job. Josie, a teacher, is also unhappy with her life and is looking to have a baby with or without a husband or partner. Unfortunately, Josie has a secret about her brother's death and revealing that could cause a further fissure in her and her sister's relationship. I enjoyed this novel and I raced through it to find out what was going to happen to the sisters and their relationship.
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor - Lisa Kleypas – 3***
I knew going in that this was a cheesy holiday romance. Despite the book jacket’s promised “magic” there isn’t much of it here … unless you count a child’s belief in fairies and Santa Claus as magic. But that’s okay, it’s still a fun read.
LINK to my review
The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers by Harry Bernstein, 4****sI loved this amazing story written by a 96-year-old man (his first book!). He tells the story of his family living in a village in England in the early 1900's, in which the people who lived on one side of the street were Christian and the people living on the other side were Jewish. Therein lies "the invisible wall." His family was Jewish. He tells of some of the persecution the Jewish families endured in the neighborhood, and he and his friends at school. But the major part of the story was about his family and the traumas and dramas that they went through, many of them because they were Jewish. And, of course, a Jewish girl would never fall in love--would never be allowed to fall in love, with a Christian boy.... but what happens if she does? Well, Harry will tell you.
A lot of the time the story is sad, but somehow Harry Bernstein tells the story in a way that makes you also feel the joy in their poverty-ridden lives, and makes you want to keep reading.
In 1922, when Harry is 12 years old, his family moves to Chicago. Bernstein, at the age of 98, wrote his next book "The Dream: A Memoir" of this time in his life. And I think I'm going to have to read it next! I highly recommend this author!
The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton, 4****sIf you like Sherlock Holmes, you'll like Horne Fisher and how he thinks and solves mysteries. Also, Chesterton is the author of the Father Brown mysteries, so that's another reason to recommend this book and this author :)
In the Woods - Tana French – 4****
This is a stunning debut. Gripping and suspenseful, with many twists and turns. I guessed the culprit fairly early on, but was still enthralled by the psychology of the characters – whether police, victims or perpetrator.
LINK to my review
Terris wrote: " The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton, 4****sIf you like Sherlock Holmes, you'll like Horne Fisher and how he thinks and solves my..."
I should revisit Chesterton. I read a small collection of the Father Brown mysteries when I was in 7th or 8th grade and remember enjoying them. And I LOVE the PBS / BBC series!
The World's Greatest Crimes of Passion, Tim Healey4 solid stars
I didn't expect to like this book nearly as much as I did. It's packed with juicy little stories of crimes passionels, each one well if briefly told -- most of them murders, but not all. The main thing this book is lacking is a bibliography to lead you to further reading, because did I ever want to know more about some of these cases! This is a real page-turner, well worth your time.
Living To Tell the Tale - Gabriel Garcia Marquez – 3***
This is the first in a planned three-volume autobiography, taking the reader from Marquez’s birth in 1927 to his young adulthood in the mid 1950s. In recounting his early life, the author also tells the history of Columbia – the politics, culture, troubles and triumphs of the people. Magical realism is a style that is ingrained in the oral story-telling traditions of Latin America, and I loved those little hints of magical realism in this work. Reminded me of listening to my grandparents recount tales of their own childhoods.
LINK to my review
Just finished World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech
by Franklin Foer; it was excellent.
In Great Waters, Kit Whitfield5 enthusiastic stars
What a great read! Combines the best kind of interspecies romance -- piscatorial love -- with all the real issues that would come of that if it ever really happened the way it does in this story. Full of old-scho0ol medieval scheming and intrigue, too. Beautifully written for the most part, except the author kept jolting me out of the story by using "him" and "her" in place of the correct "he" or "she." Otherwise the text was almost free of anachronism. Highly, highly recommended.
The Three Weissmanns of Westport - Cathleen Schine – 3.5***
This is a charming re-telling of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility . I had great fun trying to match Schine’s characters with Austen’s, and trying to figure out how certain plot elements might play out. Despite my familiarity with the original, Schine surprised me more than once.
LINK to my review
Mod
All the Birds in the Sky
Charlie Jane Anders
2.5/5 stars
In this fantasy/science fiction novel, Patricia who is a witch and Laurence, a engineer disagree about what is happening to the world as disaster after disaster is occurring on the planet. As the world falls apart, the two friends/lovers who met as unhappy children, try to save the world in different ways until they discover that will never work.
I had a hard time with this novel. It did not quite live up to my expectations though I did not hate her writing (and I loved certain sections) but the plot was quite convoluted and at times I had a hard time following it and all the characters.
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Unless - Carol Shields – 4****
When Reta Williams, a successful author and translator, discovers that her 19-year-old daughter has left college to panhandle on a Toronto street corner, she struggles to understand how and why Norah could have come to this. Sheilds’ novel explores what it means to be a woman, a mother, a writer, a feminist.
LINK to my review