Play Book Tag discussion
Member ChallengeTracking 2016-20
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LibraryCin/Cindy's 2018 Challenges
12x12 Mystery Subgenre, Mystery Subgenre, BingoDOG, AlphaKITThe Good Girl / Mary Kubica
5 stars
When Mia is kidnapped, her hired kidnapper, Colin, doesn’t deliver her to the actual kidnapper; instead, he takes off with her!
The story is told “before” and “after” from a few different points of view: from Colin’s, from her mother Eve’s, and from the detective Gabe’s. The chapters tell you whose POV you are following and when, so I found it easy to follow. It was a bit slow-moving at times, but I was still fascinated with what was happening. In my opinion, I thought the author did a very good job of keeping me “on board” with what was going on (as I try to describe it without giving too much away!). The twist at the very end – impressive. If I was one to reread, I would definitely reread and look for potential clues! I did reread the epilogue.
12x12 Trim the TBR, Trim the TBRLeaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children / John Wood
3.5 stars
John Wood was working for Microsoft when he took a trip to Nepal only to discover the lack of books/libraries in the schools there. Being an avid reader since he was a kid, he promised to return in a year with books for the school. It didn’t take long before he became so passionate about it, that he quit his job and started up what later became Room to Read in order to help developing countries build schools and libraries. This was later extended to grant scholarships to be sure girls would complete their schooling, as well. Room to Read has also expanded beyond Nepal into a number of other (mostly Asian) countries.
This was good. He obviously loves what he does and it’s amazing how quickly Room to Read grew and how many countries it now helps. The first half of the book includes parallels and how working at Microsoft helped him start up this small non-profit. In the second half, he tells more stories of some of the kids who were/are personally impacted by the schools, and particularly some of the girls who have been granted scholarships.
12x12 CAT Challenges, MysteryCATBULLIED TO DEATH: A Story Of Bullying, Social Media, And The Suicide Of Sherokee Harriman / Judith A. Yates
4 stars
Sherokee Harriman was only 14-years old when she committed suicide in a park in front of some of the kids who bullied her. She led an extremely troubled life – abused from the time she was only 3 years old, she also had a number of mental illness issues. When she plunged a knife into her belly on that day…
I think the subtitle of this one is a bit misleading, as I don’t think “social media” needs to be there. The author used social media in her research, as well as texts between Sherokee and her family and friends (in addition to interviews and plenty of other research). However, it is a sad story of a mentally ill girl who just couldn’t seem to get a break. Chapters near the end include some stats on bullying and suicide, so at that point it gets away a bit from Sherokee’s story, specifically. But, still interesting.
12x12 Audio, PBTThe Museum of Extraordinary Things / Alice Hoffman
2.5 stars
This is set in the early 1900s in New York City. Coralie was born with webbed hands and she is an amazing swimmer. Her father runs the “Museum of Extraordinary Things”, which includes sideshow “freaks”. Coralie becomes a part of them, and feels she fits in with them. Eddie is a photographer.
I listened to the audio and there are three narrators: Coralie, Eddie, and a generic narrator (voiced by Judith Light). Of the story itself, only Coralie’s story interested me. (Which is why I have said next to nothing about Eddie in my summary, as I can’t tell you much more, as my mind wandered during his parts.) As for the audio, one thing that bothered me was Judith Light’s dialogue for any character – it seemed to me very staccato/robotic, but only when she was doing the dialogue. The audio includes a short interview/conversation (that kind of disintegrates into gushing about each other’s work at times) between Judith Light and Alice Hoffman. The book/story, though – really didn’t interest me all that much, though in addition to Coralie’s story, there were some interesting tidbits about the Triangle Factory fire.
12x12 KIT Challenges, ColourCAT, Trim the TBR, AlphaKITSisters / Suzanne Goodwin
3 stars
This is a romance set in England during WWII. We follow three sisters who all fall for military men. One, a pilot; one, a submarine guy; and the third sister… well, she just falls for them all.
There probably is more of the historical fiction to this than the romance. Or, since I so rarely read romances, maybe that’s just what I focused on more. I don’t even remember why I have this book, but I’ve had it a long time! Overall, I’m rating it ok. The story was fine, and I did enjoy the setting, but there were definitely some eye-rolling moments, as well as some cringe-worthy moments when it came to the various romances.
12x12 Animals, RandomCATA Dog's Purpose / W. Bruce Cameron
5 stars
This tells the story of a dog that lives multiple lives. (S)He remembers his/her previous lives and builds on them. His first life is quite short, but his next life is as the best friend to a boy. After that, he becomes a search and rescue dog… then circles back around as a friend to an older man.
I loved this! This is told from the dog’s point of view and it really feels like the dog is telling the story. The author seemed to get things so right. This dog had a few bad things happen to him, so the reader gets a glimpse into some of the bad things that can happen, but mostly this dog leads good lives. I had to laugh a bit at his thoughts about various pet cats! It was a quick read, and I think any animal lover would enjoy this!
12x12 Animals, Reading Through TimeThe Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History / Elizabeth Kolbert
4 stars
There have been five major extinctions. We may be headed (primarily due to humans) toward a 6th. This book is a mix of archaeology, paleontology, geology, anthropology, zoology, biology, history… The author looks at some species that have already gone extinct and others that appear to be heading that way. The book is filled with mastodons and mammoths, dinosaurs, rhinos, bats, neanderthals and humans (though we’re the only ones in this scenario that are expanding!).
I quite liked this, but I have to admit (and maybe it’s – at least in part – due to listening to it rather than reading it), I’m afraid I won’t remember most of it before too long. The information was not really surprising to me, but I did find it very interesting while I listened, even if I’m not sure how much I will remember..
12x12 Nonfiction, Passport Challenge, ListopiaCleopatra: A Life / Stacy Schiff
3 stars
Cleopatra ruled Egypt as queen for 22 years within the 50 years before the common era (BCE). She was a strong and smart woman.
Women were pretty much equal in this time and place – at least in Egypt, though not necessarily in Rome or elsewhere at the time. Unfortunately, though, there is not a lot of contemporary/primary source material on Cleopatra. Also unfortunately for me, I do prefer reading about historical women, not men. This book (by necessity, I think) told mostly of the men who ruled at the time of Cleopatra (Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Octavius…) and for purposes of trying to recreate her life, it feels like she’s an afterthought in the book, always where she is and what she’s doing in relation to these ruling men. Because of that, I tended to lose some interest in the book. It’s too bad, because I really don’t know much about her. I know a bit more now, and I’m still rating it “ok”, but I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more about her.
12x12 Oh Canada, PBT, PBT Decathlon, Trim the TBRThe Firebird / Susanna Kearsley
3.75 stars
Nicola is able to “see” things when she touches them. When her work takes her to Russia to buy some art, she has a second mission in mind. A woman had recently come in wanting to sell a piece of art that she insisted came through her family’s generations, originally gifted from Peter the Great’s wife, Catherine. But there is no proof. Nicola is hoping to find some proof while she’s in St. Petersburg, along with her friend, Rob, who has the same “gift” of sight, but is better at it than Nicola is.
I preferred the modern day storyline to the historical one in this one. I’ve been to St. Petersburg and loved “visiting” some of the places again: Church of the Saviour on the Spilt Blood and, in particular, the Hermitage… but also, one of a chain of restaurants our tour group visited, Stolle, was mentioned in the book: “a small chain with several locations strung all through the city, and served what one might call traditional Russian ‘fast food’: homemade pie.” Yum! Good memories!
Anyway, I was surprised to find that many of the historical characters in this one were real – thanks to an author’s note at the end, which I always like to see in my historical fiction! In fact, it was quite a detailed note. I guess this is the second book in a “series” (loosely-based, I think), where one of the (historical) characters in the first book reappears in this one (I haven’t read that one). I recognized one of the contemporary characters from another book by this author that I’ve read, though, so that’s always fun.
12x12 PBT, PBT, AlphaKIT, BingoDOGGhosts / Raina Telgemeier
4 stars
Cat’s little sister, Maya, has cystic fibrosis, so in order to help her health, they are all moving from southern to northern California, to a town beside the ocean with more cloud, rain, and fog. Not only that, but when they arrive, Maya is excited, and Cat nervous, to learn that the town they’ve moved to is known for the ghosts. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Nov. 1, is very big in this town.
I enjoyed this. The girls are learning more about their Mexican heritage, and I found it really interesting to also learn about Dia de los Muertos. I also learned a little bit about cystic fibrosis. This is a YA graphic novel and I loved the illustrations; they are fairly simple, bright, and effective. For the Dia de los Muertos celebration, I thought the illustrations showed the joy and fun of the night.
12x12 KIT Challenges, ScaredyKIT, MysteryCATThe Black Dahlia / James Ellroy
2.5 stars
“The Black Dahlia” was the name given to a murder (true crime) that happened in LA in 1947. Elizabeth Short had been tortured and was found naked, cut in half. It was never solved. This is a fictionalized account, focusing on a detective who worked the case.
It took a long time for the story to really get going, I thought. I really wasn’t interested in the detective’s personal life – at all. Once Elizabeth’s body was found, it got more interesting, but even still, only to a point. I listened to the audio, so it may have had some effect on my rating, but I’m not sure it would have brought it up all that much if I’d read it, either. I have to admit, the narrator did accents very well.
12x12 OverflowThe Storyteller / Jodi Picoult
4 stars
Sage is a baker and a loner. When she goes to a grief couselling session, she becomes friends with Josef, a ninety-something year old man. It’s not long before Josef confides in Sage that he was a Nazi. He would like Sage to forgive him (after finding out she’s Jewish), then “help him die”.
This was very good. It alternated viewpoints between not only Sage and Josef, but also Sage’s grandmother, who had been in a concentration camp, and Leo, a detective who hunts down war criminals. Should I admit that I didn’t like some of what Sage was doing to Josef, who now trusted her with a pretty big secret? Surprisingly, I figured out the twist about half-way through.
12x12 CAT Challenges, AlphaKIT, MysteryCAT, Trim the TBRSleep with the Lights On / Maggie Shayne
4 stars
Rachel has been blind since she was a teenager, and now she’s receiving a cornea transplant that finally “takes”. She has no idea what she’s in for. She received the corneas of a serial killer and is now having terrifying visions. And the killing continues…
I really liked this one. It kept me wanting to read. I did guess at the mystery very shortly before it was revealed, but I still really enjoyed the story to get there. Apparently, it is a series, and I do plan to continue.
12x12 Trim, Trim the TBR, PBT, Passport ChallengePills and Starships / Lydia Millet
3.5 stars
Nat and Sam are siblings and their parents have paid for a contract to take their own lives. The Coporations have packages one can choose and, although there are different settings to choose from, there is a set plan for that last week of their lives. The family is heading to Hawaii. As the week goes on, more “pharms” are given to all of them to make things easier on everyone. It’s sometime in the future, and Nat and Sam’s parents are in their 80s and 90s (it’s not uncommon for humans to live longer and longer now) and can remember when life was as we know it now: before things had to change as most species went extinct and nonrenewable resources are no longer available for human use/consumption.
I quite liked this. It’s a fast YA read, and seemingly/possibly not that far off once we run out of oil and such. It is told in diary form from Nat’s point of view. She writes as if she is writing to “you”, the reader, as a space person of some sort, which I thought was a bit odd. The “you” part didn’t bother me, but I’m not sure where exactly space fit in. Overall, I thought it was good.
12x12 Series, PBT, AlphaKIT, Trim the TBRCrossed / Ally Condie
3 stars
It’s been so long since I read the first book in the trilogy, I can only assume this is picking up where book 1 left off. I hope I’m not giving away any spoilers for book 1 by simply saying that Ky and Cassia have been separated and they are searching for each other.
I really hate when a series (especially one that continues right where the last one left off) doesn’t give some kind of recap of the previous book. I was pretty lost for a good portion of it, but it did pick up for me about half way through. Even though I still didn’t understand how the characters got to where they are now, at least I could just concentrate on what was happening “now”, in this part of the story. This was told in alternating viewpoints between Ky and Cassia. I liked a couple of the new characters, particularly Eli and Hunter. I will read the last book in the trilogy, if nothing else but for closure of the series. I’m rating this one “ok”, only because it was better in the second half.
12x12 PBT, PBT, PBT Decathlon, ScaredyKITWool Omnibus / Hugh Howey
3.5 stars
I think it’s hard to give a summary for this one without giving too much away. It starts with Holston, whose wife, 3 years ago, was sent for a “cleaning”. Basically, she was suited up, and sent outside where she was meant to clean the cameras, and she never returns. It seems that anyone breaking the law is sent for a cleaning. There’s much more beyond this, but that’s where I don’t want to start giving things away.
It was good. There was a lot of tech stuff (mostly mechanical) that I wasn’t as interested in. But, it was definitely interesting and it picked up for me a little ways in, with the focus more on Juliette (except the mechanical stuff!). For some reason, I thought this was YA, but it’s not. I think I will continue the series (I read the Omnibus, which collected the 5 short stories, but there are apparently two more books beyond this one).
12x12 Off the Shelf, ColourCAT, AlphaKIT, Trim the TBRMilkrun / Sarah Mlynowski
4 stars
When Jackie’s boyfriend leaves for Thailand (after she has packed up in order to follow him to Boston!) to “find himself”, then she hears from him that he’s found a new girlfriend, Jackie is devastated and doesn’t quite know what to do. With one of the very few girlfriends she has (she only has two, and one is in New York), she decides to get all dolled up and go out and find someone new.
This was fun! I wasn’t crazy about Jackie, herself, but parts of the story were quite amusing and I laughed out loud! Her job was entertaining (she’s a copy editor for a romance publisher). I don’t read a lot of chick lit, but I quite enjoy it when I do. This was a quick read and I do like this author. I really liked the ending.
12x12 Overflow, Reading Through TimeHannah / Kathryn Lasky
4 stars
It’s 1899. Hannah is an orphan and, at 15 years old, can no longer be supported by the orphanage. When she is sent inland (from Boston), she has an odd skin reaction and soon after ends up back in Boston where the sea air seems better for her. She finds a job as a scullery maid, and meets a painter who seems to be able to sense something about her…
I really liked this. It’s YA, so very quick to read. The author has some beautiful descriptions. Quickly glancing at other reviews, some people didn’t like the focus on a servant’s life, but I really like historical fiction and found it very interesting!
12x12 Audio, MysteryCAT, AlphaKITWhite Nights / Ann Cleeves
2.25 stars
A stranger has wandered into an art opening on the Shetland Islands, and makes a scene. He is later found dead – it is initially deemed a suicide, but on closer inspection, it appears to be a murder.
So, the premise sounds really good. I was hopeful. But, I was also listening to the audio, and it just couldn’t hold my interest. I did follow enough at the start to get my little summary (and it’s why the extra .25 stars), but it really went downhill after that, and I could rarely focus on what was going on. It makes me not want to continue the series, but I feel like I should try the 3rd one, just not on audio, and decide from there. I don’t remember the first book blowing me away, either, though I did rate it as “good”.
12x12 Mystery Subgenre, Mystery Subgenre, AlphaKITKiller Instinct / S.E. Green
4 stars
Lane is a teenager and has urges to hurt, or possibly even kill, people. She is fascinated by serial killers and begins to satisfy her urges by becoming a vigilante and hurting those people who seem to get away with a crime. In the meantime, she is contacted by a real-life serial killer, but why is the killer contacting her?
I thought this was really good. I was pulled in right away and found it fascinating (and a bit terrifying!) to be in Lane’s head! Being a YA book, it is a fast read. I listened to the audio and was kept interested. Lane did have a bit of a “softer” (somewhat) side to her when it came to her family and to animals, which I found kind of interesting, as well.
12x12 SeriesThe Fiery Cross / Diana Gabaldon
3.25 stars
*****Possible SPOILERS for earlier book(s) in the series*****
(view spoiler)
*****END SPOILERS*****
Plus lots more to cover over 1000 pages…
These books are so long. I read one/year, during my holidays from work. I don’t know whether or not it’s worth continuing. This one (as the others might, but it’s been a while) felt like a series of vignettes… in order to fill over 1300 pages, so in some ways, kind of like short stories with the same characters. Some of those vignettes I found interesting; others, I didn’t. It’s not a fast paced book (or series), but there were open-ended threads left at the end of the book. The length of these books makes me not want to continue, but I’m still interested, so I don’t know. I will certainly continue watching the tv show.
12x12 Off the ShelfThe Paris Seamstress / Natasha Lester
4 stars
In the early 1940s, Estella, in her early 20s, is sent away by her mother to the United States when the Germans are coming close to Paris. Estella takes with her the knowledge of Paris fashion, how to design, and how to sew. In 2015, Estella is in her late 90s and lives in New York City. Her son has recently died, and she has a very close relationship with her granddaughter, Fabienne. Fabienne hasn’t heard her family’s story. In fact, much of Estelle’s own family history was a surprise to her when she arrived in New York in the 40s.
I really liked this. I got caught up in it early on, and I was kept wanting to read to find out. I don’t feel like there were many twists, but I thought the secrets were unraveled very nicely. One thing that did come as a surprise to me was in the author’s note about what events were historically true.
12x12 CAT Challenges, RandomCAT, Trim the TBRGeneration Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before / Jean M. Twenge
4 stars
What the author, a professor of psychology, calls “Generation Me” has also been referred to as “Millennials” and “Generation Y” – people born primarily in the 1980s and 1990s. She compares studies of three generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X and “GenMe”, with the focus on GenMe, and brings those statistics to this book. The statistics speak to averages and she also offers anecdotes that illustrate those averages she’s found in the statistics.
GenMe-ers have always been told they are special, to pursue their dreams and that they can be anything they want to be. But, the reality is that it’s now harder for that to realistically happen. So, people of this generation are disappointed, sometimes to the point of anxiety and/or depression when they do not actually realize those dreams. Additional chapters in the book also look at sex, equality, and work.
This was originally published in 2006, but I read the “Revised and Updated” edition, published in 2014, so there was more up to date info. I found this very interesting. It is a lot of stats, but I thought the author made it very readable. I think it might be even more interesting to parents, teachers, etc, as she also offers advice at the end of the book.
12x12 Travel, AlphaKIT, Reading Through TimeThe Stowaway: A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica / Laurie Gwen Shapiro
3.75 stars
Billy Gawronski’s parents immigrated from Poland to New York. He grew up wanting to be a sailor, and at 17, though his Dad wanted him to take over his successful interior design business, Billy stowed away on a ship belonging to his hero, Richard Byrd. Byrd had planned to be the first to fly over the Atlantic, but Lindberg just barely beat him to it. Instead, Byrd decided to head to Antarctica by ship, then to be the first to fly to the South Pole. Billy wanted to be part of it all.
This was good. It followed Billy (and Byrd), not just to Antarctica and back (and that is the bulk of the book), but I liked that it continued when they returned. They returned in 1930, just after the collapse of the stock market and the economy was bad, so it was not easy for any of the returning crew (though hailed as heroes) to find work at that time.
12x12 Off the ShelfBorn Scared / Kevin Brooks
3.5 stars
13-year old Elliot has been afraid of everything since he was born. About the only things he’s not afraid of is his room, and three people: his mother, his aunt, and his doctor. This is a severe, debilitating phobia of everything. He needs pills just to make the phobias less severe (though they are still there).
One Christmas Eve day, just before the stores will be closed for a couple of days, there is an error with Elliot’s prescription. Elliot’s mom must leave him at home by himself to go pick up the correct prescription, but things go terribly wrong, and Elliot must find a way to get that prescription before it runs out…
This was good. It is YA, so the chapters are short and overall, it’s very fast to read. I thought the author has some really good descriptions of Elliot’s fears. I was waffling between 3.5 stars (good) and 4 stars (really good), but went to the 3.5 when it ended without wrapping up quite as much as I would have liked to have wrapped up. Also, there was a lot of coincidence in things happening as they did at the same time as Elliot was trying to get his prescription. Still a good read, overall, though.
12x12 AudioConclave / Robert Harris
3.5 stars
This is a fictional account of a conclave, when Catholic cardinals from around the world are called to Rome when a pope dies. They must now elect a new pope. To do so, anyone can be voted for, but there needs to be a 2/3 majority. They just keep voting until that happens. If it takes longer, they take breaks in order to pray on it.
This story is told from the point of view of the “Dean”, Lomeli, who is basically in charge of making sure protocol is followed properly. In addition to prayer, there is a lot more going on behind the scenes, including politics and scandal.
This was much more interesting to me than I expected it to be (I am not Catholic, nor even religious). Because I listened to the audio, it did take a bit at the start to get “into” it, but once it got going, it was pretty good. There is quite the twist at the end!
12x12 Trim, Trim the TBRBelle Epoque / Elizabeth Ross
4 stars
When Maude leaves her home in the countryside of France, she heads to Paris. The only work she is able to find is to work as a “repoussoir”, or as a sort of “foil” to a pretty girl. That is, Maude is the ugly or plain girl who is hired to accompany a debutante to one or more events in order to make the debutante look better by comparison. Maude is hired by the Isabelle’s mother, but Isabelle doesn’t know that that’s why Maude is there. They become friends and Maude wants to help Isabelle in the things she wants, but she is forced to help Isabelle’s mother encourage Isabelle to marry, as that is her job.
I really liked this. I was wondering if it was based on a real agency that hired out girls for this purpose, so I was looking forward to the author’s note at the end (it was based on a fictional agency in a short story). It was also set during the time the Eiffel Tower was being built, which is interesting. The book has some strong girl characters.
12x12 Kit Challenges, AlphaKIT, Trim the TBRBlood & Beauty: The Borgias / Sarah Dunant
2.5 stars
This book follows a fictional account of the Borgias. Rodrigo became pope in the late 1400s. He had four(?) children, including Cesare and Lucrezia. History has not looked upon them kindly. Rodrigo had a number of mistresses. Cesare, though becoming a cardinal (for a while) also slept around. There were rumors of incest among them, and murders happened. This book opens when the conclave is happening just as Rodrigo will be voted in as the new pope and Lucrezia is 13 years old and soon to be married.
How was this even acceptable for a pope!? How did he get voted in? (Hmmm, missed in in my reading of the book, but the summary tells me he bought his way to the papacy.) And for a cardinal (Cesare)? All the sleeping around. Even if there wasn’t any incest going on, Rodrigo’s children made it obvious he wasn’t celibate. Was this not a requirement of priests and higher ups in the Catholic Church at the time!? Anyway, I just didn’t find most of the book very interesting. I found the parts that focused on Lucrezia the most interesting and paid most attention to that, otherwise I was often skimming.
12x12 Nonfiction, Reading Through Time, PBT, ListopiaIn the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin / Erik Larson
3.5 stars
This book follows the American Dodd family in Berlin in the 1930s, with the focus being 1933 and 1934. William Dodd, a history professor, was the US ambassador to Germany at the time, and his entire family, including his adult children in their 20s, moved to Berlin at this time, so they all experienced life in the German city during the rise of Hitler. The book primarily follows William and his 20-something year old (very promiscuous) daughter, Martha.
The setting is certainly an interesting time and place, but I didn’t like it as much as the other books I’ve read by Larson. I found the descriptions of what was going on in Germany interesting, but there was a lot of politics that I didn’t find as engaging. Overall, though, I still thought the book was good, just not as good as his others, at least for me.
12x12 Animals, RandomCAT, Trim the TBRFollowing Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship / Tom Ryan
3.5 stars
The White Mountains in New Hampshire have 48 peaks over 4,000 feet. The author, Tom Ryan decided to raise money for cancer by hiking these peaks in the winter with his little miniature schnauzer, Atticus. This is their story.
I listened to the audio (read by the author). He does have an accent, which took my mind off what I was listening to occasionally to spell the word in my head (i.e. park = pawk), though mostly it wasn’t a big deal. (Oh, but for the life of me, I could not figure out the town he lived in (though that wasn’t the accent)! All I could hear was “Newb Report”; I looked it up and it was Newburyport. Say that fast (or even a normal speed!) and it sounds like Newb Report, which sounded like a very odd name for a town!) Anyway, I liked Atticus and they sure had a wonderful connection. The story just didn’t “wow” me, but it was enjoyable.
12x12 Mystery Subgenre, Mystery Subgenre, Trim the TBR, Passport ChallengeSacrifice / S.J. Bolton
4 stars
Tora has recently moved to the Shetland Islands, a ways off the coast of Scotland, with her husband, Duncan. When one of her horses dies and she digs a hole to bury him, she discovers a very well preserved body of a woman. Tora works at the local hospital with pregnant women and can tell that this woman gave birth not long before she died. Also, her heart was taken. Tora can’t stop herself from trying to figure out what happened, even as the police as also trying to do their jobs.
I really liked this. I was pulled in early and wanted to keep reading, to know what was happening. There are a few twists along the way and page-turning moments. Also, there is some local mythology that makes up a good portion of what’s going on, which is interesting.
12x12 Travel, MysteryCAT, AlphaKITThe Poisoned Pilgrim / Oliver Potzsch
3.5 stars
This is book 4 of the series. Jakob is the hangman in a small town in Bavaria; Magdalena is his adult daughter. She married “above her station” to the local doctor, Simon, and they have two young sons. Magdalena and Simon have gone to the next town over on a pilgrimage. They are at a monastery when two murdered monks are discovered and a third has disappeared along with an automaton one of the monks had been working on. Jakob comes to help find out what’s going on.
I quite enjoyed this installment of the series. I hate when I’m not sure how to rate something, though. 3.5 is good, and that’s how I felt through most of the book. I never lost interest in the almost 500-page book, but at the same time, it wasn’t really a “page-turner”, either. Boy, the number of times everyone seemed to insult others, though! I still enjoyed it enough, though, to continue with the series.
12x12 PBT, PBT, PBT Decathlon, ColourCAT, MysteryCATThe Alice Network / Kate Quinn
4.5 stars
It’s 1947. Charlie is pregnant and her mother is taking her to Europe to take care of it. While there, unbeknownst to her mother, Charlie wants to try to find her cousin, Rose, who disappeared late in the war. Charlie has a couple of names and an address to help start her off. So, she pays Eve a visit. Charlie doesn’t yet know this (she knows nothing about Eve), but Eve was a spy in WWI. Now, Eve is a bitter woman, but she, her driver, Finn, and Charlie head to France to see what they can find out about Rose. It was the other name Charlie showed up with, Rene, that convinced Eve to help. On their journey, both Finn and Charlie find out more about Eve’s life as a spy as they also try to find what happened to Rose.
The book flipped back and forth between Charlie’s viewpoint in 1947 and Eve’s during WWI, but the start of the chapter tells us who we are following and when, so it’s pretty easy to follow. I liked both storylines equally. Everyone had flaws, but I liked all the main characters, even the cantankerous Eve! “The Alice Network” really was a network of women spies during WWI, which I hadn’t heard of. It was really interesting to read about. Despite the length, I found it quick to read. I really, really liked this and I’m sure it will make my top 10 of the year.
12x12 Series, ScaredyKITLocke & Key. Vol. 5: Clockworks / Joe Hill
4 stars
In this volume of the Locke & Key series, the kids find a key for a clock that can take them back in time. We find out some history of how and why the house ended up as it is, and also, the kids go back to 1988 when their dad was a teenager. He and his friends knew all about the keys and had some trouble as they were playing around a bit before they knew they would soon start to forget about the keys, as they finished high school and moved away.
I think this might be among my favourite volumes in the series. I particularly enjoyed the parts with the kids’ father and his friends. Apparently, there is only one more volume left.
12x12 Oh Canada, MysteryCATThrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd / Alan Bradley
3.5 stars
Flavia has come home from her stint at boarding school in Canada to find that her father is ill and in the hospital. Before she gets a chance to go visit, she – once again – stumbles across a dead body and must (in her opinion) set out to figure out what happened.
I still think the character of Flavia is a lot of fun, and I love Jayne Entwhistle doing her voice for the audio books. To be honest, I’ve never thought much of the mysteries themselves. I keep going for Jayne’s version of Flavia. Here’s the thing I’ve never mentioned, though. With most audio books, if my mind wanders too much, I rate it lower – usually a 3 or less. With this series, Jayne/Flavia have been propping it up for me. I think this one actually kept my attention a bit more, but not much more. Surprising to me, I’m actually debating whether or not I should try the next one NOT in audio format – just to see if I might enjoy the mystery/plot a bit more without a wandering mind.
12x12 Nonfiction, Trim the TBR3,096 Days / Natascha Kampusch
4 stars
Natascha Kampusch was 10 years old in 1998 when, walking to school alone for the first time, she was grabbed and thrown into a white delivery van. She was kept prisoner, mostly in a “dungeon” underground in her kidnapper’s house for 8 years before she escaped.
This is the first kidnapping story that I remember being so blown up in the media. (Sadly, there have been a number of them since). For those who are squeamish about sex/rape, she leaves this out; it doesn’t actually sound like there was a lot of that, anyway. There is plenty of physical abuse, though.
It is a translation, so there is the occasional awkward phrase or sentence, but I was certainly interested in her story. I think it gave a really good insight into how dependent she was on her kidnapper, especially since she was with him during those formative years between the ages of 10 and 18, and why she might have mixed feelings towards him. I feel so badly that she was not always treated well after she escaped due to those mixed feelings towards her former captor.
Something interesting about this book that I’ve not seen before (though I don’t have a Smartphone, so couldn’t take advantage of them) were the QR codes for more information at the end of each chapter. The book was published in 2010, so it’s possible the codes may not work anymore. However, as with many true crime stories I read, I had to look up more information online to find out how she’s been doing since the book was published.
12x12 Animals, ScaredyKITChase / Linwood Barclay
4 stars
Chipper is a dog, but he’s much smarter than the average dog (to say the least!). As the book opens, he is in a cage and the “White Coats” are coming for him. He manages to outsmart the humans and get away: far away, where he is looking for Jeff. Jeff is 12-years old. His parents both recently died and he is living with his aunt, who is making him work hard at her business. But, the White Coats, who are coming after Chipper, won’t stop…
I really enjoyed this. It’s YA, so not nearly as complex as Barclay’s other novels, but I thought it was still a good thriller. As YA, it’s a quick read. The point of view alternated, mostly between Chipper and Jeff, but I think there was an occasional other POV thrown in every so often. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really an end to the book, as it left off on a cliffhanger. I will, of course, pick up the sequel.
12x12 CAT Challenges, ColourCAT, MysteryCAT, BingoDOG, PBTThe Woman in White / Wilkie Collins
3 stars
When Walter comes across a mysterious “woman in white”, he must find out who she is. In the meantime, he has fallen in love with Laura, who will be married to Sir Percival, though she is in love with Walter.
The book is told from many different points of view – technically, all “secondary” characters to the story. I actually thought this was kind of a cool way to tell the story, it’s just that I didn’t enjoy all the perspectives – many of them bored me.
I was bored by the beginning and the end. It did pick up for me about ¼ of the way through (in my edition, that took about 125 pages), but then it slowed down again for the last 175 pages. It was the middle section, as told by the sister, Marian, that I really liked. This was when Laura/Lady Glyde was married. I’m not sure if it was just that part of the plot that kept my attention the best, or if I preferred the narrative as told by a woman? I quite liked Marian’s character, but thought Laura was pretty much a non-entity – she had no personality… despite being so much part of the plot, she seemed to mostly be in the background. I suppose that could be due to the fact that it was told by everyone else’s perspectives?
Averaging out that I wasn’t crazy about the beginning and end, but that I really did enjoy the middle part, I’m giving it 3 stars, “ok”.
12x12 KIT Challenges, AlphaKIT, Denizen PBTDoomsday Book / Connie Willis
4.5 stars
Kivrin has decided she wants to travel back to 1320, as she’s always been fascinated with the Middle Ages. She is prepared, but when the day comes, she is sent back in time, but things go wrong! When she arrives, she is sick. Not only that, one of the techs who sent her back is also ill (still in the 20th century). Kivrin is coping with being in the 14th century while ill, while Bahdri, the tech, can’t make himself understood to someone who could help Kivrin as to what exactly went wrong with “the drop”. Meanwhile, the illness (in the 20th century) is spreading like wildfire.
A little bit of time travel, a little bit of suspense, a lot of historical fiction. All things I like. The last one-quarter to one-third of the book had me on the edge of my seat and I just wanted to keep reading. At the same time, as the book continued on, it was heartbreaking. A roller coaster of emotions for this one.
12x12 Audio, AlphaKITFrom the Corner of His Eye / Dean Koontz
2.5 stars
Junior is a rapist and murderer, including pushing his wife off a cliff. Anges goes into labour and has her baby, Bartholomew, shortly after she and her husband are in a car crash and her husband dies. Bartholomew is a prodigy and loses his eyes to cancer when he is only 3 years old. Fimmy (sp? aka Seraphim) has a baby after being raped by Junior; her sister Celestine brings up baby Angel. How are they all connected?
Not a very good summary, I know. I listened to the audio, and it just didn’t hold my attention much, so I missed a lot. I was tempted to rate it ok (3 stars), but I don’t know. Although I’m a tough rater and don’t give out 5 stars often, on the other side, I feel like I’m often not harsh enough on some books. This is definitely not your usual Dean Koontz.
12x12 Travel, AlphaKIT, ColourCATThe Door / Magda Szabo
3 stars
The narrator (I don’t think we ever learn her name in the book, though the blurb on the back calls her Magda) is a writer who hires an older woman, Emerence, to do her housekeeping. Emerence does lots of cleaning jobs and shows up when she feels like it. The two women form a friendship, despise Emerence’s “quirks”, including where she doesn’t ever let anyone, anyone at all, see inside her home.
I hated Emerence and didn’t see how there was any kind of friendship on either side. I would, in fact, call Emerence a crazy old b**** - seriously crazy. She had temper tantrums that she took out on everyone around her, including the narrator’s dog, Viola. Not sure why Viola liked Emerence so much, when Emerence periodically beat Viola for no reason to do with the dog. Emerence also had cats and I worried for their safety, in addition to Viola’s. Though the book was pretty slow-moving, it did pick up a bit toward the end. But, I still hated Emerence and didn’t “get” the friendship, at all.
12x12 Trim, Trim the TBR, AlphaKITDawn / Elie Wiesel
2 stars
Set after WWII, Elisha had been in a concentration camp, but when he got out, he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He was then recruited into a terrorist group in Israel. At 18 years old, Elisha is told he is to murder a kidnapped English soldier. The (very short) book (in the intro, Wiesel calls it a novel, but it’s under 100 pages) is the day or two leading up to the murder, as Elisha is coming to terms with what he has been tasked to do.
Boring. The premise doesn’t sound too bad, but ultimately, it was mostly Elisha discussing philosophy with his fellow terrorists. It is billed as book 2 after “Night”, but it was fiction whereas Night was a memoir. I won’t be reading the 3rd book.
12x12 KIT Challenges, AlphaKIT, PBT, PBT Decathlon, BingoDOGThe Heart's Invisible Furies / John Boyne
4.5 stars
When Cyril’s teenage mother gets pregnant in 1945 rural Ireland, she is publicly humiliated by her priest and kicked out of town. She heads to Dublin, not sure what she will do next. While there, she finds a job and decides to give up her baby for adoption. Cyril is raised by Maude and Charles Avery, who don’t really seem all that interested in Cyril, though he is not treated badly. He is, however, always reminded that he is their “adopted son”, and not a real Avery. When Cyril is 7, he meets Julian, whom he is fascinated by. They don’t see each other again until they are 14 and at school together, when they become best friends.
I won’t go into more, but the book jumps forward every 7 years and goes over something substantial that happens in Cyril’s life at those times. The book follows Cyril through his entire life. The book touches on many different issues as time goes on, particularly in very Catholic Ireland, but even beyond. To be honest, it’s slow paced, but I was interested and wanted to know what would happen. At almost 600 pages, I managed to finish it over 2 days in a long weekend. I can’t say I liked Cyril all the time, and I certainly didn’t like Julian all that much, but since it followed Cyril (and some of the people he interacted with) through his entire life, people grow and change. There were a lot of coincidences in the book. I suppose the world Cyril was a part of is smaller (probably especially at the time), but I think still some big coincidences.
12x12 Animals, AlphaKIT, RandomCAT, Trim the TBRThe Mitten / Jan Brett
3.5 stars
This is a Ukrainian folk tale turned into a picture book. A boy asks his grandmother to knit white mittens for him and he promptly loses one of the mittens. In the time it takes him to find it again, various wildlife find their way into the mitten to get warm and cozy.
I’d rate the story 3 stars (ok), but the illustrations (as usual in her books) are gorgeous. There is a main picture on each page, with beautiful borders on either side. She does a very nice job of making it look Ukrainian (the first page describes some of the research she did for the book), and the borders add a bit of a preview as to what might be coming on the next page. So, 3 stars for the story and 4 stars for the illustrations gives it 3.5 stars from me, overall.
12x12 PBT, PBT, Reading Through TimeThe Great Gatsby / F. Scott Fitzgerald
2.5 stars
Nick is renting a place on Long Island near some very rich people; his immediate neighbour is Jay Gatsby. They finally meet at one of Gatsby’s parties and Gatsby asks Nick to help set up a meeting with Nick’s friend (or cousin?) Daisy, who is married to Tom. Amidst adultery, drinking, partying, and driving (in the 1920s, when not everyone did drive), things go horribly wrong.
I thought about rating it 3 stars, ok, but decided to go with the lower rating when I read a wikipedia summary, knowing I’d missed what happened at one point (even after reading it a couple of times, I still couldn’t quite figure out exactly what had happened) and wanting to find out what it was I’d missed, only to realize I’d missed way more than I thought throughout the book!
I thought I was mostly following, but somehow, in Fitzgerald’s vagueness (or was it just not keeping my attention? Since I tried reading that one part twice and it still didn’t make sense, I’m saying vagueness – at least mostly), some things just went right over my head. It would be nice to not have to reread sections to figure out what he was trying to say, especially when I still couldn’t figure it out on the reread! I saw the diCaprio movie when it came out, and I thought it was good, but it was long enough ago, that I didn’t recall most of it to help me with the book. But hey – at least it wasn’t a long book.
12x12 CAT Challenges, MysteryCAT, Trim the TBRLittle Girl Lost / Richard Aleas
4 stars
John Blake is in his late 20s and is a private investigator. When he sees in the news that his high school girlfriend, now a stripper, has been murdered, he takes it upon himself to find out what happened. Not just the murder, but how did the girl he once knew, who left to go to school to become an eye doctor (optometrist or ophthalmologist, he couldn’t remember), end up a murdered stripper ten years later?
I really liked this one. There was a personal element to it, so that might be why I liked this more than most “noir” mysteries that I’ve read. But also, I liked John and I liked one of the other characters who was helping him. It crossed my mind at one point (in part) what might have happened, but I had good reason to doubt that, so it only briefly floated through my mind. So, the end wasn’t a complete surprise, though it did have to be explained how that could even be (and it was explained). There is another book in the series, but only one more, so I’m not sure if there will be more or not, but I will definitely read the 2nd one.
12x12 Series, ScaredyKIT, Trim the TBRFinders Keepers / Stephen King
4 stars
When Morris and a couple of friends break in to an author’s home, Morris really just wants to steal notebooks. His favourite series didn’t end how he wanted and Morris hoped to find a better ending to the series in the author’s notes. They end up murdering the author and they steal the notebooks and money. Morris later goes to jail for raping a girl, but only after he’s hidden the notebooks and money. Decades later, when teenager Pete finds them (his family now lives in what was once Morris’s home), he doesn’t tell his parents, but instead anonymously mails them some of the money every month, in order to try to stop them from breaking up over money. When Morris is released from prison, though, he is looking for that money and those notebooks…
I listened to the audio, and though there were occasional parts where my mind wandered somewhat, there was enough that kept my attention that I liked it. Even better, as it got closer to the end, I was kept wanting to listen to find out what would happen. What I’ve found with some mystery/suspense/thriller books – whether on audio or if I’m actually reading the words – the parts where I’m more likely to lose focus is usually when it’s the POV of the “bad guy”. Though that wasn’t the case all the time for this book, it was for a portion, I think. Overall, though, another really good book by King.
12x12 Off the ShelfThe Clockmaker's Daughter / Kate Morton
4.5 stars
When an archivist, Elodie, in 2017 comes into possession of a few items, it leads her to a house that holds all kinds of secrets since the mid-1800s. In fact, her family is even connected to the house; her grandmother and her grandmother’s children once lived in that house.
This one covered snippets of many points in time, starting with the mid-1800s onward (well, it hopped around back and forth in time), though the bulk of the story is in that earliest time period. It took me a long time to figure out who the “I” was, to be honest, as there was an “I” character in many different time periods. The shocker at the end (quite horrifying, really) was what brought up my rating to 4.5.
12x12 Trim, Trim the TBR, PBTI'm Down / Mishna Wolff
4 stars
Mishna was a white girl raised in a poor black neighbourhood in Seattle. Her father wanted to think he was black, so that’s the neighbourhood he chose to raise his two daughters. Mishna, in particular, had a hard time fitting in when she was young. Once she finally started making friends in the neighbourhood, though she still lived there, she had tested high on some academic tests, so she had to switch to a school in a rich neighbourhood with smart rich kids, and once again, she didn’t know how to fit in there.
I really liked this book. She wrote it, mostly with a humourous slant, but it was sad to see that her father did not treat her well. His girlfriends varied on how they treated Mishna. She did learn later on that even some of the rich kids, despite their money, had problems, as well. She was born not long after me, so I certainly identified with much of the 80s culture, in general, which is always fun. It was a quick read.
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Yarrow / Charles de Lint
3.5 stars
Cat is an author and gets her inspiration through dreams. Unfortunately, she has not been dreaming for a few months and is now blocked. What she doesn’t know is that there is… something out there feeding on her dreams! And he’s feeding on others, as well, but Cat’s dreams are the ones he really wants.
This was good. I liked the real world sections of the book more than the dream sections, but that’s not a surprise to me. Cat didn’t really have friends in the real world, so I enjoyed the sections where she was making friends (though that was more secondary to the story). There were a lot of characters introduced at the very start of the book, so I was afraid I would get them confused, but surprisingly, it was rare to not figure out who we were following in the story fairly quickly – de Lint must have given enough clues to be able to follow easily.