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What Are You Reading....The Third
Pecan Pies and Homicides – Ellery Adams – 1*
Book three in the “Charmed Pie Shoppe” series gets more ridiculous. I guess I need some pie, because I’m no longer charmed by the eccentric characters and the lead character, Ella Mae, drives me crazy. Oh, well. It was a fast read and it satisfied a challenge.
My full review HERE
This one will grip you from the start!The Hunted by Gabriel Bergmoser
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
An ok look into alien cults, but honestly not one of the author's best.What You Wish For by Mark Edwards
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Last Romantics – Tara Conklin – 3***
A family epic following the four Skinner siblings over several decades. I love character-driven novels, getting to know and understand the psychology of the characters as they cause and/or react to events in their lives. That these four people are damaged by their childhood is without question. The ways they find to cope, or not, is what fascinated me in the novel. I was sorry that COVID19 interrupted our book club’s scheduled meeting on this work. I would certainly have enjoyed that discussion.
My full review HERE
I just finished Verdict Unsafe
by Jill McGown, which I was reading with the short story collection Funny Bones: 15 New Tales of Murder and Mayhem
edited by Joan Hess.Still working on Funny Bones but have started reading Agatha Christie's Elephants Can Remember
.
A very good, twisty, psychological thriller!The Bride by Wendy Clarke
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
by Deanna Raybourne.
Notorious RBG – Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik – 5*****
Subtitle: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Oh, my stars, but this is one HELL of a woman! I've admired her for some years, but I really enjoyed learning more about her. I thought the authors did a great job of making this a very approachable biography. There is no truth without Ruth!
My full review HERE
Upstairs At the White House – J B West & Mary Lynn Kotz – 4****
Subtitle: My Life With the First Ladies. J B West served as the chief usher in the White House from midway through the years of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s terms through the beginning of the Nixon administration. This is an interesting and engaging memoir of his experiences running the private residence for a variety of first ladies. Some interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits, but no real juicy gossip. Discretion was – and is – a chief characteristic of JB West’s.`
My full review HERE
Just finished:
The Apartment
by: K.L. Slater
Solid psychological thriller with an interesting subplot. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Olio as a book of poetry. All the Pretty Horses until I lost it somewhere in my travels pre-covid. Both are excellent.
English Creek – Ivan Doig – 4****
This is a coming-of-age story set in Depression-era Montana. Doig really puts the reader into the era and landscape of this novel. The sky is vast, the landscape majestic, the weather sometimes brutal, and the dangers – both natural and man-made – palpable. Fourteen-year-old Jick McCaskill is a keen observer, if sometimes perplexed. There were times when Doig’s work made me think on my own father, and how he taught us love of the land and nature. That made the book all the more enjoyable for me.
My full review HERE
Book Concierge wrote: " English Creek
– Ivan Doig – 4****
This is a coming-of-age story set in Depression-era Montana. Doig really puts the reader into the era and landscape of this ..."
love the personal insight. I'll check out your review for the rest.
An enjoyable mystery set on the Isle Of ManLittle Girls Tell Tales by Rachel Bennett
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Right Stuff – Tom Wolfe – 4****
This is the story of the Mercury Astronauts and how they came to be chosen – evaluated to ensure they had The Right Stuff to succeed in this vital mission. Wolfe does a great job of giving us the background of those first seven astronauts – warts and all. I was fascinated by the extensive testing they underwent to evaluate their fitness for this work. And I think Wolfe did a great job of explaining the differences in their personalities that resulted in success, or missteps.
My full review HERE
Enrique’s Journey – Sonia Nazario – 4****
Subtitle: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite With His Mother. Journalist Sonia Nazario first heard of mothers who leave their children behind from her cleaning lady. Her interest piqued, she sought to document what such a journey entails … for the mother who goes ahead, for the children left behind, for the boy who was determined to travel nearly 2,000 miles alone to find the mother he had not seen for more than a decade. Their stories are heartbreaking and eye-opening.
My full review HERE
Another wonderful entry in the Tomorrow series.Darkness, Be My Friend by John Marsden
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Don't bother with this one!CHICK FLICKED TO ... TALLINN: History repeats itself for Chloe in Estonia by Rochelle London
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
By Book Or By Crook – Eva Gates – 3***
Lucy Richardson leaves a failed engagement and her job at Harvard’s library for a visit with her Aunt Ellen on Bodie Island in the Outer Banks. There she snags a job as assistant librarian for the Lighthouse Library. And becomes enmeshed in a mystery when a priceless first edition is stolen during a private party and a body is found. Interesting premise if a few bumps in the execution. Still, I was entertained and I’ll likely read more of this series.
My full review HERE
Hi all, I am currently reading
by John Grisham.. I am half way through at the moment and can not put it down!I also recently loved
by Cara Hunter. This for me was another page turner and one I could not just read a few pages of then and then put down :)
An enjoyable crime novel about the kidnapping of a young girl.Vanished by Kendra Elliot
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Snow Leopard – Peter Matthiessen – 2.5**
In general, I love nature and wildlife nonfiction, especially when it deals with endangered species and the efforts to protect them from extinction. The snow leopard is one of the most endangered. Unfortunately for me, and for my rating, this book isn’t really about the snow leopard. As in real life, the creature is extremely elusive in the book, hardly ever mentioned, and not making an actual appearance until late in the journey. Instead this is more Matthiessen’s personal quest for enlightenment. I grew bored and struggled to keep reading.
My full review HERE
Murder Plain and Simple – Isabella Alan – 3***
I found this moderately entertaining as cozy mysteries go. There’s a decent premise, and I did like Oliver (her bulldog, who is afraid of birds). Alan gives the reader the beginnings of a possible love interest, which will likely develop in subsequent books in the series. And there’s a reasonable cast of supporting characters.
My full review HERE
Just finished:
Road Seven
by: Keith Rosson
Unique, fun and well-written. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm reading
. It's an ARC and been interesting so far.
Two For the Dough – Janet Evanovich – 3***
Book two in the series starring totally inept bounty-hunter Stephanie Plum. The great cast of supporting characters carries the series for me: Lula, Steph’s long-suffering mother, and especially Grandma Mazur. A fast, fun read.
My full review HERE
Because Of Winn-Dixie – Kate DiCamillo – 5***** and a ❤
DiCamillo has written a lovely book that deals with some serious issues. India and her father struggle to come to grips with their new reality now that her mother has left and they’ve moved to a new community. But with the help of a smiling dog, they begin to heal. No, everything doesn’t turn out perfect, but DiCamillo gives her readers a sense of hope that India (and her father) will come out of this period of their lives with full hearts.
My full review HERE
I’m about half way through Long Bright River. It is so good. I have so many questions and can’t wait to find out how it all comes together!
I’m reading The Library Book. I’m about 15% into it and I’m not very interested. I hope it picks up.
The Overstory – Richard Powers – 3***
I am having a very hard time pinpointing what it was about this book that I found so interesting. I tend to gravitate towards character-driven works, and this is certainly that. But nine “main” characters is a daunting task and I think it detracted from Powers’ message of environmental stewardship, and what a bad job humans are doing of that.
My full review HERE
It’s a Long Story – Willie Nelson – 4****
Oh, Willie! I’ve had a long-standing crush on the “red-headed stranger” and am glad to have learned more about him, because I like him even more now. Willie lays it all out there … from childhood to stardom, the good, the bad, the ugly and the shiningly beautiful.
My full review HERE
A fascinating insight into the rewarding art of street photography.Joel Meyerowitz: How I Make Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories – H P Lovecraft – 2**
Of course, I’ve heard of H P Lovecraft for years, but I’d never bothered to read anything by him. Just not my genre of choice, but I needed “science fiction” for a challenge, and I happened to have this one in the house. First, these stories are mostly NOT science fiction. Second, as horror stories, I didn’t find them all that horrifying. And reading them one after another in this collection made them seem formulaic and dull.
My full review HERE
Just finished:
Growing Things and Other Stories
by: Paul Tremblay
Timely epidemiological apocolyptic thriller. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This one rambled on a bit too much for me.Turned to Stone by Jorge Magano
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Cannot decide if I like my first Murakami yet. It's kind of great and has flawed, weird characters, but kind of really sexist? Men Without WomenAnother book that had similar characters but were done really well
(just recently read) was Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories
The Simplicity of Cider – Amy E Reichert – 3***
Yes, the plot has been done before and includes most of the rom-com tropes. Yes, the heroine’s hard shell will be cracked by the genuine goodness of the hero. Yes, she – a confirmed avoider of children – will come to love the hero’s precocious son. Yes, there will be major obstacles to their getting together. But has that ever stopped a couple in a rom-com? Well, Reichert is not about to break that mold. It’s a fast, fun, enjoyable read. And I loved the food references!
My full review HERE
Just finished:
Who Did You Tell?
by: Lesley Kara
A twisty tale of inner turmoil and self-flagellation. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A deceptively simple style of writing for a serious subject.
My Sister, the Serial Killer 4 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A quick and easy to read cozy.Murder on a Mississippi Steamboat by Leighann Dobbs
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I loved the first half of this book but it almost completely failed to live up to its potential and barely made 3 stars.
Gnomonhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Currently reading (172/262) The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris :)
Currently reading The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.Starts slow (to me) with discussion of history of the practice of medicine in the US in the 19th century. Picks up & is much more interesting when the 1918 pandemic starts. Interesting parallels to today's current pandemic, especially the federal, state & local government's ability to ignore and/or blatantly hide the facts from the public. Just keep in mind this pandemic occurred during a world war & was spread widely by troops. I am about midway through this book & it is an in depth look at the 1918 pandemic. I recommend reading this if you are interested in learning more in depth information regarding viruses & how they are a part of our world.
I am reading Rules of Civility. I am about half-way through and hoping it continues being so good. If it carries on like this I will like it even more than A Gentleman in Moscow.
Just finished:
The Boy from the Woods
by: Harlan Coben
Amibitious and timely. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Listened to Erik Larson's Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania and Demi Moore's memoir Inside Out. i read The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan.Now I'm listening to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (third time) and reading a brand new Terraformer by Colleen Houck which is scheduled for publicaton on 5/12/20.
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Shakespeare for Squirrels
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I've always enjoyed Christopher Moore's writing.