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Read, Reading Now and Reading Next (2015)
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while Reading
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The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony (with Graham Spence) – 4**** I really enjoyed this memoir of the author’s time spent with a herd of wild elephants on his game reserve in South Africa. There are moments of humor as well as harrowing tales of danger. What really comes across his is deep love for these magnificent animals. While the elephants are central to the tale, he also includes details of the Zulu culture in post-apartheid South Africa and information about other endangered species. Simon Vance does a superb job voicing the audio book; I felt as if I were sitting around a campfire in the bush hearing Anthony recount his adventures.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Reading , Listening to & NEXT UP:
[bookcover:Bold Tric..."Have you started Masked by Moonlight yet Ezi?
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I'm on chapter 2 of
and listening to
.Next will be
and
Read
Currently listening to
Reading Next
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and 
. Reading 
and 
. Will be reading [bookcover:Across the Uni..."I LOVED Delirium & book 2 Pandemonium
I was going to read
after
but instead I'm now reading
and will read
next
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith – 3* Book # 2 in the Isabel Dalhousie series has our philosopher investigating mysteries of the heart – both literally and figuratively. I enjoy the philosophical / ethical / moral dilemmas (both real and imagined) that Isabel contemplates. And I really like her relationship with the various characters. This is a gentle, thoughtful read with endearing characters and some food for thought. Davinia Porter does a fine job performing the audio.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Bartender’s Tale by Ivan Doig – 4**** Ivan Doig has a way of exploring the everyday events of a person’s life and making them seem epic in scope. In this marvelous novel he gives us a precocious, if worried, twelve-year-old narrator who hero worships his father. Rusty is a great observer and while his imagination can get ahead of the facts, he can also be pretty astute when judging character. I loved reading about these two and the family unit they create. I really love the way Doig paints the landscape; the sense of place is so strong that the setting is practically a character.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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. 3.5 stars.Currently listening to
Next up:
or
Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Listened to . 3.5 stars.Currently listening to
Next up:
or [bookcover:Samurai Game|..."Will be curious to hear what you think of Monster in His Eyes.
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. 3.5 stars.Currently listening to
Next up: [bookcover:Monster in His Eyes|21..."
I just started it. That prologue read like one of those Fifty shade-ish books or Maya Banks Rush.
I groaned and just told myself to take a deep breath and keep going...in the morning!
now I will watch TV
The Paper Magician by Charlie N Holmberg – 2* Book #1 in a series that is clearly meant to ride the coattails of The Night Circus. A strong heroine doesn’t save the poor plotting or simple writing. Mostly I was bored.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin – 4**** Someone is murdering children in 12th-century Cambridge England. King Henry II sends for a medical expert from Salerno; he doesn’t expect to get a woman – a mistress of the art of death. This is not only a great mystery, and but a fine work of historical fiction. I was invested in the story and in Adelia’s work from the beginning. The murders are pretty ghastly, and there are a few scenes of real terror and graphic violence. But the strong central character is what really held my interest and I’ll definitely read more of the series. Rosalyn Landor does a fine job performing the audio book.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read (finished yesterday & today):
,
,
, enjoyed them all very much.Reading:
, and it's boring me to tears. Such a drag of a book. It's got really cool things and plots in it, and the language is beautiful, but the characters are such...I don't even know what, not cardboard-cutouts, since they're certainly not cliche, but I just can't feel anything for anyone. Hopefully that'll change or I'll be bored to death instead of just tears.Next up:
,
for group reads and
and
as soon as I get them in my hands.
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now reading
, up next is
Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "read now reading , up next is "How'd you like Monstesr?
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now reading , up next is "How'd you like Monstesr?"
yes, I liked it. I like Darhower's writing. It's not super fast paced, but it's not slow either. It just works for me.
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both were subpar, now reading
, up next is
Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "Penni wrote: "Ezinwanyi~the Impish Angel wrote: "read now reading , up next is "How'd you l..."
Been wanting to read it for awhile now. Will need to figure out a way to move it up the list.
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now reading ."It's a good book, there is a sequel
The Sugar House by Laura Lippman – 3*** Book # 5 in the Tess Monaghan series has the former reporter turned private investigator taking on a job as a favor to her Dad. I like this series and I really like Tess. She’s intelligent, strong willed, confident, resourceful and tenacious; and she doesn’t rely on some “strong, handsome type” to get her out of a jam. Lippman fills the books with local references giving the reader a definite feel for the location. And, since Tess was an English major, the novel is also full of references to books. All in all, a solid mystery read.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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and it was pretty awful but has protential. Reading
&
and listening
Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy – 3*** When curator and Marshfield Manor director Abe Vargas is murdered, newly hired assistant curator Grace Wheaton steps in to keep things running smoothly on the estate. She also begins investigating the murder, and a finds a family secret in the bargain. This is a decent cozy mystery with a likeable heroine. I’ll continue reading this series.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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. Now reading
and listening to
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and didn't love
.READING/ listening to
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READING NEXT
The Secret Piano by Zhu Xiao-Mei – 4**** Subtitled: From Mao’s Labor Camps to Bach’s Goldberg Variations, this is a memoir that speaks about the irrepressible human spirit and the power of music and art to elevate and inspire. I was completely fascinated and couldn’t put down Zhu’s recollections of her time in China. The book did bog down somewhat for me after Zhu arrived in Paris, but it’s still a good read.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read Fallen by Lauren KateCurrently reading Torment by Lauren Kate
Up next Passion by Lauren Kate
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★★★½ Reading:
Reading Next:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – 4**** This is a classic tale of resurrection and redemption set against the backdrop of the French Revolution. It wouldn’t be Dickens without a huge cast of supporting characters, several twists in the plot, secret identities, unexpected connections, and long discourses wherein the characters expound on various issues, while the reader is anxious for the action to continue. But don’t let that dissuade you. It’s a marvelous story and the last hundred pages just flew by for me. Frank Muller does a wonderful job performing the audio book.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Next
"great choices
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AGAINReading
Next: I don't know :D I need something super angsty maybe
or
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Now listening to
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and reading
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The Old Man Who Read Love Stories by Luis Sepulveda – 4**** This is a story of the jungle, green hell and Eden; of the Shuar Indians, who know how to live in harmony with it; of the machines and settlers and gold prospectors and gringos who have invaded it. Nature, out of balance, becomes vengeful and violent. The writing is poetic and atmospheric, with a great sense of place. I couldn’t help but think of my father – the way he knew the land and respected the animals who made it their home.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The House Girl by Tara Conklin – 3*** In contemporary New York City, attorney Carolina Sparrow is working on an historic class-action lawsuit seeking reparations for the descendants of American slaves. In 1852, Josephine is a house slave who tends to the mistress of a Virginia tobacco plantation; her mistress is the artist Lu Anne Bell. I loved the sections of the book dealing with Josephine and her struggles. But Conklin alternates chapters and I thought the present-day story weakened the impact of Josephine’s story. Bahni Turpin does a fine job narrating the audio book.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton – 3*** Fiona Sweeney is a librarian who accepts a job with a charitable foundation to bring books to the tiny, far-flung communities of northeastern Kenya. That clash of cultures was what was most interesting to me in the book. But Hamilton also includes a couple of relationships that become somewhat entangled in the story. This took the book in a direction I wasn’t expecting and found somewhat dissatisfying.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read
and loved it! Now reading
and
Next
Firestorm by Nevada Barr – 3*** This is the 4th mystery in the series featuring U.S. Park Ranger Anna Pigeon. Anna is intelligent, tenacious, strong (in body and mind) and resourceful. I like that the romantic interest is kept mostly off-screen, not distracting from the plot. It’s a good, suspenseful mystery that kept me interested from beginning to end.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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The Challenge Factory
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