Play Book Tag discussion
Member Challenge Tracking 2024
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Cindy/LibraryCin's 2024 Challenges
12x12 RTT, RTT, HistoryCATStonehenge / Rosemary Hill.
2 stars
This is all about Stonehenge. Historiography, lots of Druids, some Romans, archaeology, astro-archaeology, tourism, and more I just skimmed over. I found this very dry. It got a bit more interest from me when we hit the archaeology (20th century) and tourism (21st century) sections, but overall, I just found this very dry.
12x12 Oh Canada, Travel Across Canada, ScaredyKIT, RandomKITDark Roads / Chevy Stevens
4 stars
Teenaged Hailey is an orphan, and she has recently been living with her Aunt Lana her aunt’s husband, Vaughn, and their son. Vaughn is a police officer and pretty much forbids Hailey to do much of anything outside the house. She does not like him at all and tries her best to avoid him. They live in a rural community in British Columbia along a highway where a number of girls and women have been murdered or gone missing over years. They think it’s not only one person who have done the murdering, but that there has been more than one person responsible over time. When Hailey finds something on Vaughn’s computer, she has to get away. Not long after, her new girlfriend, Amber, is found dead.
Yes, this was based on the famous “Highway of Tears” in B.C. where a number of women and girls (many First Nations) have been murdered or gone missing. The author changed the name of the highway and made up the town where it took place, but it’s recognizable and she does mention it in a note at the end.
I listened to the audio and was mostly able to pay attention to what was happening. When Amber’s sister, Beth, from Vancouver arrives to try to find out what happened to Amber, the POV switches between Beth and Hailey. I mostly didn’t find Beth’s story as interesting as Hailey’s but it did come together at the end. Have to admit, I also though Beth did a supremely stupid thing near the end. I also ended up really not liking Hailey much – at least at the end of the book. No surprise here, but I loved Hailey’s dog, Wolf.
12x12 Nonfiction, HistoryCAT, BWF ExtraRace to the Polar Sea: The Heroic Adventures of Elisha Kent Kane / Ken McGoogan
3 stars
Elisha Kent Kane travelled from the US to the Arctic in search of Franklin’s lost expedition in the mid-1800s. This covers not only this “trip” (where he and his crew were trapped for a couple of winters), but the bulk of Kane’s life, as well. He studied to become a doctor, but found he wanted to sail to the Arctic (despite being prone to seasickness). He loved a woman whom his family did not think was “good enough” for him, and things did not go well for the two of them, though she loved him, as well.
It took a long time for me to get interested in this (I have no explanation as to why this was). I was more interested in the second half of the book. The author looks at multiple sources detailing the expedition, as some of the crew did not think highly of Kane and others had no problem with him. The author did look at some of these specific sources at the end of the book to discuss.
12x12 ARCs, AlphaKITGuilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida / Mikita Brottman
4 stars
In Tallahassee, Florida, Mike and Denise & Brian and Kathy were all friends in high school and continued that friendship beyond once Mike and Denise were married, as well as Brian and Kathy. They were fairly religious Baptists. It was only on (or near) Mike and Denise’s 6th anniversary in 2000 when Mike disappeared while on a hunting trip. Not long after, Brian and Kathy divorced and Brian and Denise began seeing each other. It seemed pretty obvious – Brian and Denise likely had something to do with Mike’s disappearance (death? murder?). After years of Brian and Denise’s marriage, things started to crumble.
I knew nothing about this, but I found it quite interesting. And kind of crazy that Brian and Denise could do such a good job of convincing themselves they’d done nothing wrong. God-fearing and all… sure. I was focused when reading and was happy to just continue reading; it was unfortunate when I had to put the book down. But, life…
12x12 Oh Canada, PrizeCAT, CalendarCAT, PBTThe Wars / Timothy Findley
2.5 stars
Robert is a young Canadian who decides to enlist in the army to head to Europe to fight in WWI.
This started off better, but I had zero interest in the “love” story parts of the book. Told by the younger sister of Barbara, the female side of that love story, they were long and not in the least bit interesting (at least to me). The war and the fighting were of interest, and there were war situations I’ve not read about before (at least not that I recall). The book also jumped around quite a bit.
12x12 Audio, Steeplechase, AlphaKITAn Inquiry Into Love and Death / Simone St. James
2.5 stars
In the 1920s, university student Jillian’s Uncle Toby fell off a cliff while he was ghost hunting in a small town and she is the only one able to go pack up his things. She can immediately tell there are ghosts where she is staying. There is also a young detective from Scotland Yard who is there to investigate Toby’s death.
I listened to the audio, so I suspect it’s (at least in part) why I missed “half” (or more) of what was going on. Not sure if I would have liked it better in print or not. I’ve really liked other books I’ve read by this author, so this was disappointing. (And I have listened to at least one other of hers.) I definitely missed a lot of the “reveal” at the end. I would hear something and think – who is that? What is this about? How did this tie in? And I have no idea. And I still don’t even really know how it wrapped up, though I got to the end of the book.
12x12 Overflow, MysteryKITTwo Days Gone / Randall Silvis
3.5 stars
Writer/professor Thomas Huston has disappeared and his wife and three kids (one a baby) have been murdered. The baby was stabbed and all other three had their throats slit. Sargent Ryan DeMarco thinks there is more going on than meets the eye. But is his friendship with and admiration for Huston clouding his judgement? Meanwhile, the reader is following Huston in the woods as he tries to hide, while at the same time, dealing with immense grief. What actually happened in that house?
I liked this. It is also quite dark. I liked the discussion with the author at the end comparing literary fiction (more focus on character-development and less on plot) vs genre fiction (the opposite). He has written literary fiction in the past and in this novel (and presumably the series – this is the first in the series), he does a very good job of combining these. DeMarco himself is dealing with the loss of his own baby a few years previous, which led to his wife also leaving him. I will continue the series.
12x12 Trim, PBT Trim, Roundtuits, Hist Fict ChDeliverance from Evil / Frances Hill
4 stars
This is a fictional account of the Salem witch trials. It starts off in two different states (Massachusetts and Maine). Of course, in Massachusetts, we have Salem Town and Salem Village. It is in Salem Village where Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam start the witch accusations. In Maine, in a town called York, the village is attacked by “Indians”. George Burroughs is a minister in nearby Wells, and goes to help the survivors. Included in the people he brings back to Wells is Mary; they soon fall in love and marry. Later in the Salem drama, Burroughs is accused of leading the “witches” and is arrested. Mary and George’s best friend Peter work to try to free George.
The author has written at least one (one that I’ve read) very good nonfiction book on the Salem witch trials. Into this fictional account, she has brought the bulk of the people involved in Salem along with many other real people, but the “behind the scenes” with Mary and Peter trying to free George is the fictional account. Interestingly, I enjoyed this part of the book the most – at least once George was arrested, the book really picked up for me at that point. I’m a bit sad to see the overall low ratings of this book. I really liked it.
12x12 TravelThe One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot / Marianne Cronin
3.5 stars
Lenni is 17-years old and in a terminal ward in a hospital. She doesn’t seem to have many friends (and her family doesn’t visit), but she wanders into the hospital chapel one day and becomes good friends with the minister there (despite not being the least bit religious), Father Arthur. In addition, once there are art classes offered, Lenni meets 83-year old Margot and becomes good friends with her, too. Together they decide to create 100 works of art between them for the collective 100 years they have lived. We go back in time in both their lives to discover how they ended up where they are.
I listened to the audio book and it was good. There were two different narrators for each of Lenni and Margot. I wouldn’t say one was better than the other. In all honesty, although I (mostly) enjoyed both their life-stories, I did also lose track every so often, for both of them. I really enjoyed the humourous moments in the book. Overall, it was good, though I didn’t cry like I thought I would at the end.
12x12 Off the Shelf, PBT Trim, Roundtuits, PBT, BWF ExtraOn This Day / Nathaniel Bellows
3.25 stars
Warren and Joan are (young adult) siblings and orphans. Their dad, then mom, died within a short time span (although the back of the book (and the blurb) says how, I feel like it is a bit of a spoiler, so I will not mention it here). They lean on each other heavily for support as they deal with their losses, but they were always quite close. They feel like they are getting along just fine, but it’s obvious that they are having some trouble.
It is told from Warren’s point of view and it went back and forth in time. It was decent. Slow-moving, definitely not full of plot, although there was one “surprise” (I had guessed it). There were some things I didn’t like about both Warren and Joan, but they were dealing with a lot. Things aren’t fully resolved, either, but I suppose that’s more realistic.
12x12 Travel, Steeplchase, BingoDOG, CaledndarCAT, BWF extraWomen Talking / Miriam Toews
3.5 stars
In the mid-2000s, in a remote Mennonite village in Bolivia, several of the women (and some children) were waking up in the mornings, bleeding, sore, and bruised. They were told they were being punished for sins, etc. It was only when one of the women caught one of the men coming into her bedroom did they figure out that multiple men were drugging and raping them in the night. When one of the women attacked one of the men with a scythe, the eight accused men were sent away to jail (for their protection). But the other men wanted to bail them out and bring them back. The women would then be expected to forgive them, or they would lose their place in heaven.
This really happened. This book takes that situation and (fictionally) has the women discussing what to do while the men are away. Three options: they can do nothing, they can stay and fight, or they can leave. These are the options being discussed (at least among those who don’t want to simply do nothing). They need to decide before the men return, so there is a limited time frame to discuss and decide.
One man, a teacher who once left the community with his excommunicated parents, but did return, is in the women’s meeting to take notes. None of the women can read, they do not know their way around very far outside their own community, and they only speak Low German (not any local languages outside their community).
What a horrible situation! Their were even children who were violated. It was an interesting discussion happening among the women (though told from August’s POV, and what he was seeing and hearing during the discussions). I would have liked to know what the women really did in the end (if anything), and will likely look that up.
12x12 RTT, RTT, CalendarCAT, HistoryCAT, MysteryKIT, BingoDOG, RoundtuitsThe Lost Girls of Paris / Pam Jenoff
4 stars
In 1946 in New York City, Grace comes across an abandoned suitcase and finds pictures of 12 young women in the suitcase. Who were these women and who does the suitcase belong to?
In 1943, Eleanor in London starts a women’s unit of the SOE (Special Operations Executive). Women are recruited and trained to head over to France to help the resistance there. They will transmit (coded) information by radio, they might even help blow up bridges. It is a dangerous mission and the women are risking their lives.
In 1944, Marie, who has recently sent her daughter outside London to live with an aunt and keep her safe, is recruited because she is fluent in French. But there is so much secrecy, it takes a while to figure out what they are asking of her.
I really liked this. Though the women weren’t spies, they were often referred to that way, with no other “good” word to describe what they were doing. It was very dangerous work, and not something I knew about before now. I enjoyed all three storylines. Of course, it was loosely based on real women who did this work (though men did it, too).
12x12 BIPOC, PBT, BWF, AlphaKITBehold the Dreamers / Imbolo Mbue
3 stars
Jende and Neni have immigrated to the United States from Cameroon with their young son. Jende is excited to soon find work as a chauffeur, something he has wanted to do for a long time. Of course, they are also in the US to make a better life for themselves and their son. Jende’s boss, Clark, is a good and generous man, and Jende is a good worker. But things get a little tricky when Jende is asked to do something he really doesn’t think he should. But he doesn’t want to lose his job.
It listened to the audio and it was ok. The narrator did a very good job with accents (at least as far as I could tell). It seems I did miss some of the goings-on in the book, but I’m pretty sure I caught the main things happening. Overall, I’m rating it ok.
12x12 Overflow, RandomKIT, AlphaKIT, ScaredyKITCell / Stephen King
3.5 stars
Clay is in Boston from Maine when, on the street, people start going crazy and violent! Someone rips off a dog’s ear and people start attacking (and killing) one another. Initially not sure what is happening, after a bit, Clay realizes those who went “crazy” were all on their cell phones just before it happened. Clay doesn’t have a cell phone. He meets up with Tom, who seems ok, and 15(?) year old Alice, who ran after her mom was affected. Initially they hide out in Clay’s hotel lobby with one of the staff. But Clay wants to get home to Maine to check on his (estranged? ex?) wife and son, Johnny. Sharon doesn’t have a phone, but little Johnny does, though he doesn’t use it often… but sometimes Sharon uses it.
I thought this was good. A bit slow-moving, but good. I really liked the climax of the book, but the actual end itself… I’m not too sure. It was pretty open-ended.
12x12 Off the shelf, Roundtuits, PBT Trim, BWF extra, BingoDOGBet Me / Jennifer Crusie
3.5 stars
Min(erva) is a larger woman and is self-conscious about it. When she is dumped (because she hasn’t slept with him after 2 months), she heads out with a couple of girlfriends where she sees her ex. And overhears him betting the most good-looking of the men he is with (Cal) that Cal can’t get Min to dinner that night, then to bed within a month. Prickly Min goes with Cal, anyway. Turns out Cal is a pretty nice guy…
I enjoyed this. The larger woman self-consciousness hits home, but I’m happily single, anyway. I rarely read romances, anymore, and only occasionally chick lit, but I still enjoyed this. It’s nice to think the larger woman can get the good-looking guy. There were multiple perspectives in this book, including the ex-boyfriend. There were a number of secondary characters, mostly friends of both Min and Cal; I particularly enjoyed Emilio, the restaurant owner.
12x12 ARCs, AlphaKITWhat Have You Done? / Shari Lapena
4 stars
Popular 17-year old Diana is found murdered in a farmer’s field. Things like this don’t happen in small towns where everyone knows everyone!
There are multiple points of view, including a few of Diana’s friends, a teacher and principal, her mother, the suspects, and Diana’s ghost. Diana doesn’t actually remember how she died, so it’s a reveal for her, too. There are three main suspects and it could be any of them. It’s a small town, so everyone is connected in some way. It didn’t feel fast-paced, but it was fast to read, and I quite liked it.
12x12 AudioValley of the Moon / Melanie Gideon
4 stars
In 1975, while her son is visiting her parents, Lux goes camping for a weekend. When a fog comes up, she wanders into it… and on the other side finds herself in the 1900s! There is a very nice group of people who have been stuck on this side of the fog for years in a community called Greengage. They ended up there after the earthquake in San Francisco and know they are unable to leave. They are surprised when someone from the future comes through. One of the “leaders” of Greengage, Joseph, is enthralled by everything he can learn about the future from Lux. Luckily, Lux is able to get back to her own time, but time does funny things on both sides of the fog as Lux continues to come back and forth when the fog appears during the full moon.
I listened to the audio and there were two different narrators, depending if the perspective was Lux’s or Joseph’s. We more commonly got Lux’s perspective, as we followed her in the more recent years, as well as when she was at Greengage, whereas we didn’t follow Joseph when Lux wasn’t back in time. Things got trickier because of Lux’s young son. It was slow-moving, but I really liked it. I kind of guessed the end (not early on, but closer to it), and I think it fit the story.
12x12 Nonfiction, RandomKIT (May), AlphaKIT, RoundtuitsSchulz and Peanuts: A Biography / David Michaelis
4.25 stars
Charles “Sparky” Schulz created the Peanuts comic strip and wrote one daily comic for over fifty years. He was born in 1922 in St. Paul, Minnesota and died in 2000 in California. His father was a barber and though friendly with his customers, he didn’t like to travel or really leave home at all. Sparky was shy and grew up to be much like his father. His mother died when he was in his early 20s. Sparky was married twice and had five children.
There is so much detail! It is almost 700 pages long, and nonfiction, so it took a long time to read. Because I had other books to get to, although it’s a very good book, I did put it down for close to two months before getting back to it again. There are plenty of Peanuts strips peppered throughout the book, as Schulz often included autobiographical stuff in his strips; there is also two sections of photographs. The book itself, I’m giving 4 stars, but for the immense amount of research (much information given with help from the family) and detail, it gets the extra ¼ star.
Piranesi / Susanna Clarke2.5 stars
“Piranesi” is in some world where there are multiple connected Halls and there are statues everywhere. There is only one other (live) person (whom he calls The Other), but Piranesi has found bones of about thirteen other people, so includes them in his count, as well. Piranesi and The Other are scientists.
This was odd. It got slightly more interesting toward the end, but still odd. Combine some parts fantasy (and/or magical realism) and literary fiction (and maybe some philosophy?) and it’s mostly not my thing.
12x12 ARCs, (Aug) RTT, (July) CalendarCAT, Steeplechase Olympics challengeThe Naturalist's Daughter / Tea Cooper
4 stars
Tamsin is a librarian in the early 1900s in Sydney, Australia. She is tasked to fetch a donated sketchbook of a naturalist from almost 100 years previous, Charles Winton. But when she arrives, the woman who is planning to donate the book has died and her daughter wants to sell the book, not donate it. In addition, the book has some sketches that don’t quite “fit”, though… ones that he may not have drawn, so where did they come from? Tamsin is able to take the book back to the library to try to figure out the provenance.
Almost 100 years earlier, Rose lives with her mother and father, Charles Winton, a naturalist studying platypus. When Winton gets sick just before leaving for England to share his information on the platypus, he sends his daughter Rose, instead. But it’s not easy to get a group of scientific men to listen to a woman, no matter how credible she is.
I really enjoyed this. I liked both timelines and both women, who fought for what they were trying to do. It got a bit confusing toward the end, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book.
12x12 RTT, (Aug) RTT, (July) AlphaKITIndex, A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age / Dennis Duncan
2.5 stars
The title pretty much sums this one up. This is a history of the index that we usually currently find at the back of a nonfiction book that places topics from the book in alphabetical order. (Not all of these things have always been the case for an index!)
I listened to the audio and my attention waxed and waned. Some of it was interesting, but I got distracted and lost interest quite a bit, as well. I think it’s not the best book for an audio, anyway, as there were examples of indexes that had to be read out, which would be much easier to look at.
12x12 PBT, PBT, Roundtuits, Steeplechase, BingoDOGWhite Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism / Robin DiAngelo
3.5 stars
The author is a sociologist and, for a couple of decades now, has been hired to train employees of companies on antiracism. DiAngelo explains that there is a difference between prejudices (held by individuals) and racism (institutions and society). In The U.S., Canada, and Western Europe where the bulk of people are white, we are raised in racist societies, and there is no way to get away from that. What we can do, though, is challenge it. Be aware of those racist tendencies that will and do happen within ourselves, and challenge it. If someone points out something racist that you’ve said or done, don’t get defensive; this what she defines as “white fragility”, and it shuts down any further conversation.
This was interesting and I don’t doubt what she’s said. It is very difficult to face your own racism and prejudices. There were many things in the book that were repeated multiple times, but in a lot of cases, it’s helpful to have that repetition, especially with such a difficult subject when people want to deny. I will read more on the topic.
12x12 Series, RoundtuitsAlex / Lauren Oliver
2.5 stars
This is a short story in the Delirium series, focused on Alex. In this dystopian world, love is made to not exist once teenagers get to a certain age, but some have been rebelling. They’ve had to run away. Alex is trying to run and gets caught while the girl he loves, Lena, manages to get away. This tells what Alex went though.
I think I only remember the premise of the world because it wasn’t too long ago I read one of the other books in the series. So unfortunately, it really didn’t recap much of what was going on. And it was so incredibly short, so there is not really a chance to get invested in Alex’s story.
12x12 Nonfiction, RandomKITA chef on ice: Living and working as a chef in Antarctica / Sebastien J.M. Kuhn
3.5 stars
Sebastien was living in Australia and his dream was to get to Antarctica, so he jumped at the chance to apply for a job as a chef on the icy continent. He actually goes back and forth a few times via cooking jobs (except for the first time, the rest were all with the same tourism company), and a portion of the book is back in Australia (where he brought back an idea of something he cooked during his for Antarctic job, and started a booth at various farmers’ markets in between Antarctic seasons). The tourism company he later worked for was based out of South Africa, so he headed there a few times, as well.
This was good. There was more off-Antarctica than I’d expected, but it did tie in somewhat (though I was initially disappointed in this). I feel like this might be of more appeal to foodies. I am not one, but in addition to his travel adventures, the author does describe a lot of the food he cooked, as well; not only that, there are recipes at the end of the book. There were pictures included, but I was reading an ebook on a black & white Kobo; would have loved to see those pictures in colour!
12x12 PBT, PBT, BWF, Hist Fict ChAll Quiet on the Western Front / Erich Maria Remarque
3 stars
World War I at the Western Front. This is told from the POV of a young German soldier (Paul, 19-years old) who joined to fight alongside his friends. Although the soldiers are German, there isn’t really any way to tell that beyond their names (until the end of the book), as the “sides” of the war aren’t obvious. It’s simply the life of the soldiers in the trenches (and when Paul is home on leave for a short time, which was also quite difficult for him). The book was originally published in 1927 in German; the author was a soldier himself, so I imagine much of it are actually things he saw and/or experienced.
I’m rating it ok. I found parts of it a bit vague as to what was going on, but maybe it was just because I periodically lost interest. Obviously, given what the book was about, there were some tough things going on.
12x12 Audio, PBT, ScaredyKITBlood of My Blood / Barry Lyga
3.5 stars
This is the 3rd in a trilogy, YA horror. I will try not to give away much from the first two books. 17- (or 18-) year old Jasper (Jazz) Dent is the son of notorious serial killer Billy Dent. Jazz has spent his entire life trying to prove that he is not (nor will not be) like his father (despite his father trying to mold him to continue on in his footsteps!). Jazz was mostly raised by his grandmother. At this point in his life, he has a best friend in hemophiliac Howie, and a girlfriend, Connie. Jazz has, in fact, been trying to help the police find and capture his father. At the start of book three (this one), all three of Jazz, Howie, and Connie, are in precarious positions. I’ll leave my summary there.
I listened to the audio (as I believe I did for the first two books). I had a harder time “getting into” this one and had to rewind a few times to hear things I’d missed. I would have liked to have more of a recap of what had happened in the previous books; I guess a bit of one came a bit further into the book, but at the start of the book, things were moving quickly, but I couldn’t remember much of what had happened up to this point. There were a couple of twists in this one. I’m pretty sure I rated the first two higher (though, on average, this one is also highly rated by others).
12x12 Oh Canada, Roundtuits, RTT, AlphaKIT, BWF extra, Travel Across CanadaGutenberg’s Fingerprint: A Book Lover Bridges the Digital Divide / Merilyn Simonds
3.5 stars
The author collected some stories she’d written and decided to publish them in an old-style way: hand made paper and an old-style printing press where the type is set by hand, etc. This documents that procedure along with plenty of history of paper, ink, type, the printing press, and much much more. It also looks at how she (and her son) created the ebook, and the last chapters of the book talk about the history of ereaders and ebooks.
This was interesting. It took me back to my “History of the Book” class in library school when we did field trips to learn to make paper, then we later went to a printing press where we hand set the type and printed our names on our paper that we’d already made. The modern technology was also interesting to read about. It’s not fast paced or “can’t put the book down” kind of read, but it was definitely interesting to read about all those things.
12x12 BIPOC, BWF extra, PBT, CalendarCAT, RoundtuitsConcrete Rose / Angie Thomas
4 stars
Maverick is 17-years old and waiting on a paternity test. When it shows he is the father, the mother walks out and leave the baby with Mav. The mother is not Mav’s girlfriend (that would be Lisa) and he wrestles with how to tell Lisa. Luckily, Mav’s mother helps out, more with advice than actually doing the parenting, and Mav turns out to be a good father. Mav’s cousin, Dre, encourages Mav to lead a clean life, but that’s hard to do when you are part of a gang and you sell drugs; not only that, what real job will pay what Mav needs to be paid to take care of himself and a baby and to also help his mom?
This was really good. A bit gritty, and you have to shake your head at the gang lifestyle and how that can seem so appealing. (At least I did, multiple times!) The book did talk about the “draw” of that lifestyle, as well (the money, the friends), but with regard to the friends, it seems to me the real friends are the ones like Dre, who realize that that life is ultimately not a good choice. It’s a tough world, but the humourous bits in the book are a nice relief.
12x12 Travel, RandomKIT, AlphaKIT, BWF extraThe Collector of Dying Breaths / M. J. Rose
3 stars
In the 16th century, Rene is a perfumer for Catherine de Medici. But even before that (and he continues on with his experimenting), he collected the dying breaths of people; the idea was that the person’s soul was in that last breath, and he hoped to find a way to reanimate that soul. Rene was continuing on the work of his mentor/father-figure. In addition, Catherine managed to convince Rene to also produce some poisons.
In the current day, Jac’s younger brother has also been continuing on this tradition of dying breaths, and Jac follows a trail to continue on after her brother dies. This bring her into contact with some… interesting people as she tries to find some of the ingredients that Rene might have used hundreds of years earlier. Jac also thinks she has been continually reincarnated and has been responsible for her love dying in more than one life, so she has pushed her current love away.
This was ok. It got more interesting at the end as things heated up particularly for Jac, but I found much of it unbelievable and slow-moving. It was interesting to read the author’s note at the end that indicated that Rene was Catherine’s perfumer; the dying breath theory was possible, but it’s not known if people thought that at the time.
12x12 Trim, Roundtuits, MysteryKIT, RandomKIT, BingoDOG, BWF extraThree Bedrooms, One Corpse / Charlaine Harris
3 stars
Aurora (Roe) has left her library job and is trying out real estate with her mother. As she fills in while her mom is running late, she shows a brother (Martin) and sister from out of town a large house… and they find the dead body of another realtor in one of the bedrooms! Meanwhile, Roe is very attracted to this older man Martin, and they start dating while the real estate agents in town are a bit nervous.
This was ok. I listened to the audio, and it started off well, but my mind did tend to wander, as it sometimes (often?) does with audios, so I definitely missed more than I would have liked to. I do think Roe did a really stupid thing at the end (but they often do in cozy mysteries – rather than going to the police with what they’ve discovered, they do something dangerous instead). I’m undecided if I should continue the series or not. I might try one more.
12x12 Series, PrizeCAT, AlphaKIT, BWF extraThe Relentless Moon / Mary Robinette Kowal
4 stars
This is the third in a series. Series summary: In the 1950s a meteorite hit the Earth and wiped out much of the US East Coast. It also caused extreme climate changes. Now in 1963, there has been a decade of of space travel and plans to send humans to the moon and to Mars to start colonizing there as the Earth becomes more uninhabitable. There are protesters, though, as everyone knows there will be only some who will be able to move to the moon or Mars – not everyone will get that opportunity.
In this book, the 3rd in the series, one of the original women astronauts, Nicole, leaves her politician husband (he is governor of Kentucky) on Earth to help set up the colony on the moon. It is difficult for both of them, as Kenneth has just announced that he will run for president; they also know that because Kenneth has a heart problem, he will never be able to leave Earth. In addition, it appears that someone is trying to sabotage these colonizing missions; the sabotage is happening both on the moon and on Earth. While on the moon, Nicole, with the help of some of her friends, try to figure out who it is and things heat up when their communication to Earth is cut off.
I really liked this one. The entire series is very good. I think I liked this and the 2nd one more than the first in the series. This one was longer than the others, but I also think there was more going on, including Nicole dealing with anorexia and a polio outbreak on the moon. There was rarely a moment when I wasn’t interested in what was going on.
12x12 Trim, Roundtuits, HistoryCATFootsteps in Time / Sarah Woodbury
4 stars
Teenage siblings David (14) and Anna (17) crash their car and appear someplace unexpected. They are in a field of bodies and horses. It’s not long before they figure out they seem to have travelled back in time. Not only that, they ended up on a battlefield where they saved the life of Prince Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, who should have died in this fight with England. Lucky for David and Anna, their mother is a historian with a particular interest in 13th century Wales, so they know quite a bit about the time period. Due to their saving Llewellyn’s life, they are taken in and taken care of. Not only that, David is being trained to help out in this Welsh war. And Anna is a bit bored, since women aren’t really allowed to do much. But they make the most of it, though with David rightfully scared with a real war happening that it appears they are training him to help in!
I really liked this. I was thinking this was 2nd in a series, but it’s technically the first; I’ve just read the prequel already (I would actually recommend reading the prequel first). The time travel is really just the first part of the book, and after that, it’s primarily historical fiction (one of my favourite genres); ah, I guess the time travel does come up again a couple of times. 13th century Wales is definitely not a place nor time period I know much about, so that was definitely interesting. I also loved the pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book – I did refer back to that a few times!
12x12 Audio, AlphaKITThe Little French Bistro / Nina George
2 stars
Marianne and her husband are visiting Paris from Germany when Marianne heads into the Seine, planning to kill herself. Someone pulls her out. While Marianne is in the hospital, her husband heads home. Marianne recovers and stays in France, working at a cafe.
I was disappointed, as I thought the title was cute, but the book didn’t live up to it for me. I listened to the audio and this was boring. Slow-moving, not much really happened beyond some romances (not my thing). Oh, I do believe someone died. There were so many characters that (because I really wasn’t paying attention), I had no idea who they were or how they related to each other (except for a couple of them). I’d like to say I didn’t like any of the characters, but I probably didn’t hear enough to know if I might have had I been paying attention. From what I did hear, though, I didn’t like them. Weren’t there people cheating on other people? (I mean besides Marianne… not that her husband was a prize, either, but...)
12x12 Series, MysteryKIT, AlphaKIT, CalendarCATBooked for Trouble / Eva Gates
4 stars
This is book two of a series. Librarian Lucy lives in a small town where the library is in a lighthouse and Lucy’s apartment is above the library. When Lucy’s mom (Suzanne) is visiting, Suzanne has a bad (very public) interaction with some people she knew back in high school. Later, Suzanne comes to Lucy’s book club, where both of those people also attend. Suzanne makes up with one of those people she’d earlier had a run-in with (Karen), but the next morning, Karen is found dead outside the library.
I really liked this. I love the library/lighthouse setting and I like many of the characters (though there were a number of unlikable characters, as well). Lucy does seem a bit innocent in her relationships, but even so, I like the two men who seem interested, though I might like one just a little more than the other.
12x12 Off the Shelf, BWF extra, HistoryCAT, Aug PBT Trim, AlphaKITThe Taster / V. S. Alexander
4 stars
Magda is a German girl, living in Berlin in 1943. She does not care one way or the other about the Reich or the Nazis; her mother supports the Nazis, but her father does not agree with Hitler or this war (but he needs to keep quiet about it). Her parents are worried for her safety, so they send her out of Berlin to live with her aunt and uncle. Magda’s aunt insists she work for her keep, but the only job she is able to find, with the help of her uncle, is for the Nazis. She is chosen to be a “taster” for Hitler. She, along with other girls/women, taste his food before he eats to be sure it isn’t poisoned. but she needs this job. The work gets more dangerous as time goes on (for various reasons).
Another different perspective on WWII. This is, of course, based on real events – a mishmash of real events and real people, anyway. I thought it was very interesting. Interesting to see that not all Germans supported what Hitler and the Nazis were doing (and some, in fact, tried to sabotage what he was doing), plus interesting to see the danger that civilians (including those who did not support Hitler) in Germany also faced.
12x12 BIPOC, HistoryCAT, BWF extraSisters in Arms / Kaia Alderson
4 stars
When the WAAC (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps) in the US allows black women to join (telling them it won’t be segregated, but it most definitely is), Grace (a budding Julliard pianist) and Eliza (who wants to be a sports journalist) join and clash right away. But they become stronger as they train and eventually make their way to Europe.
I listened to the audio and really liked this. I suspect it was hard enough for women in the army, but black women? Had to be so much harder. I think something the audio missed (looks like – from other reviews – there might have been): an author’s note… and maybe some citations? I like author’s notes in my historical fiction so I know what was real and what was fictional, so I would have liked to have had that. I do realize Grace and Eliza were fictional, but I would have liked to be told what parts were real without having to find that from other reviews or looking it up after. That being said, I did really like the story and the audio was well done.
12x12 Oh CanadaThe Northwomen: Untold Stories From the Other Half of the Viking World / Heather Pringle
3.5 stars
This is a look at the women in Viking society. The author looks at archaelogical evidence of the kinds of activities women likely did. Many are things that people do not assume of Viking women. They do include things like weaving (sails, armour, etc.) and there were slaves, but there were also women warriors, merchants, voyagers, and more.
This was good. Interesting. I’ve really not read much about Vikings. This did include some broader Viking history, but with a focus on the women and the archaeological evidence that has been found to refute the assumptions that it was men only who were the warriors, merchants, and travellers. I did find this mostly interesting, but I did also lose focus at times. Being nonfiction, it did take a bit longer to read.
12x12 BIPOCPassing / Nella Larsen
2 stars
Set (and published) in the 1920s, Clare and Irene were friends and ran into each other after they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Beyond this, I had to read the summary on GR to get an idea of what was going on. They are both black women and one of them (I can’t remember which) was passing for white. Apparently (based on the summary I read), the one passing is married to a racist man who doesn’t know she is actually black.
I listened to the audio and obviously, wasn’t paying close enough attention to even know what was happening in the book. It didn’t (obviously) hold my interest at all.
12x12 ARCsSupremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World / Parmy Olson
4.5 stars
The subheading tells you generally what this is about, but it also includes some biographical information on two people who were working on getting AI to where it is today. They both wanted to use AI for the good of humanity and didn’t want it to be abused or used for ill. Of course, given the amount of computing power needed to get AI “ready” for the world, they both ultimately sold out to large companies, Google and Microsoft. They both tried to include restrictions (like an independent ethics board, for example) to prevent it from going sour, but here we are...
I thought this was very interesting. I found it particularly interesting to find Elon Musk so involved, particularly in the “ethics” side of things. Though there was a difference explained between AI ethics and AI safety. Elon Musk ended up promoting the “safety” side of things. I didn’t know about that part of the AI controversy, but apparently there are a bunch of people who legitimately think AI will annihilate humans in some way, shape, or form, Musk being one of them. So they formed organizations to help prevent that. On the more frustrating side was the part I did know about: the ethics – the racism, sexism, made up information/citations, etc. Frustrating in that there were (at least initially) people hired to help prevent this, but (without saying too much in my review), that just didn’t pan out. I have read a bit about AI, and at work (I’m a librarian), AI has become a big topic, so not everything was new to me.
12x12 PBT, PBT, HistoryCATAnne Frank Remembered / Miep Gies, Alison Leslie Gold
4 stars
Miep Gies worked for Otto Frank (Anne’s father) in Amsterdam when the Nazis invaded. Miep was a friend to Otto and his entire family, so she and her husband “Henk” (Anne’s pseudonym for him; his name was actually Jan) didn’t hesitate to hide them on the upper floors of their office and help them out with daily visits, food, and anything they could do to help. This book recounts Miep’s story during this time.
This was very good. I listened to the audio and only occasionally did I miss something because my mind wandered. Miep and Jan helped other Jewish friends, as well. In addition to the other family and the dentist who were in hiding with the Franks, they held on to items (as well as a neighbours’ cat) belonging to Jewish friends in hopes they would one day return and be able to get those items back.
There was biographical information about Miep herself before we got to the Franks’ going into hiding. It was interesting to see the difficulties that Miep went through to help. The “story” included updates (of many people/neighours mentioned) after the war. Otto, of course, came home, but the rest of the family did not, though it was a while before they knew the fates of Anne and her sister Margot. There were a couple of “afterwords”; the last one being a later edition just before Miep turned 100 years old.
12x12 Nonfiction, Steeplechase, Travel Across Canada, RandomKIT, AlphaKIT, PBTFire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World / John Vaillant
4.5 stars
Record-breaking heat, strong winds, and desert-like humidity all played a part in the wildfire that hit Fort McMurray, Alberta in May 2016. This book initially introduces the reader to Fort McMurray and its main industry, the oil patch (or tarsands, to be more accurate – that’s not just the environmentalist in me saying that; it seems that really is the most accurate term for it (vs “oilsands” – it really is tar until a lot of equipment, energy, money, etc. go into it to make it liquid)).
The next section is all about the fire, as 88,000 people evacuated the city with no notice, almost all heading out the one highway in/out that doesn’t lead to a dead end. The book then mostly followed first responders who stayed back to fight the fires.
The last section of the book discusses climate change. And the impact this has on the environment, the temperature, fires, and other major disasters that are now happening much more frequently and are stronger than ever before.
I live in Alberta and very distinctly remember the wildfire; I expect many people around the world also remember, with the images and videos that came out as people were evacuating. I remember the one person’s camera inside their house with the fish tank that recorded the fire taking over the house until the camera cut out – this is described in the book (and I went to rewatch the video – those poor fish!).
I have never been to Fort McMurray, nor do I know anyone who works in the oil patch (if I do, I don’t know them well). Of course, the fire was the main pull for me to read the book; I also am fascinated by disaster stories. But also: has anyone else heard of “fire tornadoes”!? Holy crap! New phenomenon. The first one ever occurred in Australia in 2003, then it happened in California in 2017 or 2018. Crazy! The author did provide a lot of information on fires, in general, as well, which I found interesting.
I also read a lot about climate change, and Vaillant had a lot of information in this book, including quite a bit about oil companies that knew what was happening and that humans (and the contributions from oil/gas production) were part of (that is, the main) cause of climate change this time around. It made me think of tobacco companies who didn’t want to lose their profits, so they not only do nothing, they stifle attempts to make things better.
12x12 Trim, Roundtuits, CalendarCATLet Him Go / Larry Watson.
3.5 stars
After George and Margaret’s adult son died, and left a wife and young son, they brought the two to live with them. But when Lorna fell for bad boy, Donnie, she moved in with him and his family in Montana, a ways away from George and Margaret in North Dakota. Margaret wants to see her grandson again, so they take a road trip, but Donnie’s (odd) family only allows about a 2-minute reunion before the little boy is shooed away to bed. There is something not only odd about this family, but it seems they are also dangerous.
It was kind of slow to start, and I somehow (initially) missed why George and Margaret were doing this road trip. But it did pick up when they met Donnie’s parents after they were invited for a meal while they waited for Lorna and Jimmy to return home for the log-awaited reunion with their grandson. Then it picked up even more…
12x12 PBT, PBT, RoundtuitsThe Polygamist's Daughter / Anna LeBaron, Leslie Wilson
4 stars
Anna LeBaron’s dad was Ervil LeBaron; he was high up in the heirarchy of the Fundamentalist (polygamist) Mormons during the 1970s. Anna, her mother, and siblings (and many half siblings) moved often and on short notice. It was later Anna found out that her dad was trying to avoid the FBI; though they mostly didn’t live with him, anyway, they were also trying to stay away from authorities. Anna did manage to get away from her mother (and the “cult”) by the time she was 13 when she went to live with a sister, her husband, and their children. But Anna’s background still had a lasting effect on her life. It turns out her father had ordered a list of people killed. Even with her father gone (after he died), life was somewhat dangerous.
Another very good FLDS biography, with a different perspective – this time it was not the perspective of a child bride, as this was before the girls who were forced to marry were really young (even for Anna’s age group, though, they were often married at 15 years old (but it got worse later on)). Not that Anna’s life was good, either. There was a lot of fear and loneliness, and knowing her father barely knew who she was, nor really cared (though she tried to convince herself with any morsel that hinted he might).
12x12 Overflow, ScaredyKITA Face in the Crowd / Stephen King, Stewart O’Nan
3.5 stars
Dean Evers is a widower and enjoys watching baseball on tv. But one day in the stands, he sees a dentist in the crowd – a dentist he hated from when he was a child. Dean is certain this dentist is long-dead, so how is he at a baseball game?
This was good. Short – it’s a super-short story, but good.
12x12 Audio, AlphaKITThe Lesser Dead / Christopher Buehlman
3.25 stars
The narrator, Joey, was turned to a vampire when he was only 14, but he is considerably older than that now (in the late ‘70s when this is set). He lives in the subway tunnels of New York City with other vampires and their “head” vampire (the one who turned Joey), Margaret. But when a group of child vampires arrives, seemingly without ever having been taught how to control themselves (they need to control themselves somewhat, in order to avoid being discovered), Joey and a few others take the kids under their wing, but they seem very resistant to learning what the others are trying to teach.
I listened to the audio. I liked the way the narrator broke the 3rd wall and narrated directly to the reader. This was done often throughout the book. Some of the ‘70s pop culture references were fun (I haven’t thought about the tv show “Soap” for years!! Maybe decades?) Unfortunately, though, there were too many parts when I lost focus. Despite this, I would say the narrator was good (and it was apparently the author); he did some good accents, too. I did like the end, though. I heard some of it, lost focus, then (although I rarely do this when the audio isn’t keeping my attention for the most part) I rewound to hear what I missed because that was a good ending! 3 stars is “ok” and I’m giving an extra ¼ star for the end.
12x12 Nonfiction, RandomKIT, AlphaKIT, RoundtuitsClimate Changed by Philippe Squarzoni / Philippe Squarzoni
4.25 stars
This is a graphic novel that chronicles the author as he learns about various aspects of climate change. The author interviewed nine experts in their fields, many (most?) climate experts/scientists, but also economists (with some kind of connection/knowledge of climate change), and one person who combines study of the environment, economics, and society.
I’ve read a lot about this topic, but I still learned a lot from this. It was interesting the way he did this graphic novel, where the majority of the book is providing the information, but some of it was his own musings with his partner about what he was learning. There was much about the science, the exact causes (information about the gases themselves), but also what can be done (or HAS to be done) to mitigate what we’ve done/are doing to have caused those gases to overwhelm nature and our world.
There were dry parts, often when he was going through what some of the scientists were saying (with illustrations that only showed the scientists), but even when the focus was on the experts, it wasn’t all dry; in fact, most of it wasn’t. I also think it’s very important information. Not only do we need to stop our reliance on fossil fuels, we still need to cut back severely on over-consumption and so much more. Things many people aren’t going to want to do.
I learned more about some of the solutions being proposed (mostly by people/politicians who still don’t want to move to renewables (though even that won’t be enough to change our current trajectory, which I suspect is much worse now, as the book is 10 years old), but also by the people who profit from those industries), like hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and nuclear power (that’s only for electricity and nothing else).
It seemed to me this was very truthful discussion. Something I haven’t really read much about or heard/seen discussed much was the intersection of the economy, the environment, and society, particularly from the one expert where that is her field of study.
12x12 RTT, RTT, RoundtuitsAnne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride / Elizabeth Norton
3.5 stars
Anne of Cleves was Henry VIII’s fourth wife. She outlived him and all his other wives, though she was only 41-years old when she died. She was only his wife for about 6 months before he divorced her (or found a way out of the marriage, anyway); he never liked her while they were married (though they got along well afterward). She was well taken care of while he was still alive (though this did not necessarily continue after he died, at least until Mary became queen).
There is not as much written about Anne of Cleves as some (all?) of Henry’s other wives, though I believe I have read one other that focused on only her. I like Anne, and she was well-liked by the people of England while she was there. It is sad to read that although she was well-taken care of and Anne put on a brave public face that she was ok with everything after they were apart, she really did consider herself to still be his wife after he put her aside for the young Katherine Howard. Lots of interesting little tidbits about Anne in this book. Also a great section of pictures, some of seen before and some I haven’t.
12x12 Audio, PBT, BWFThe Dressmaker / Kate Alcott
3.5 stars
When Tess lands a job with Lucille Duff Gordon, a famous fashion designer, to serve her while on the Titanic, Tess is thrilled. She is an aspiring fashion designer herself. On board, she meets and befriends a couple of men – one first class, one part of the crew. Obviously, things go very wrong when the ship hits an iceberg and sinks. Tess and Lady Gordon both made it off the ship, but on different boats, and Tess is horrified to hear how Lady Gordon behaved on her boat – one that should hold at least 50 that went down with only 12 passengers; it was said Lady Gordon not only wouldn’t allow the boat to go back to pick up people from the water, but her husband bribed the crew to stay away. Tess wants to be loyal to Lady Gordon but doesn’t know what to believe; her attraction to the crew member (who was in Lady Gordon’s boat) makes things even more difficult when the trials begin.
I listened to the audio and was interested through most of the story. The possible romances were less interesting, and I did lose focus at times. But I do enjoy Titanic stories. I have read about the Duff Gordons’ (man and wife) behavours, and based on the author’s note at the end, what happened at the trials was very close to how she portrayed things in the book. I always appreciate the author’s notes in my historical fiction.
12x12 Off the Shelf, PBT TrimMinding Frankie / Maeve Binchy
3.5 stars
Noel is an alcoholic and lives with his parents, but when a girl he doesn’t even remember contacts him to tell him a. she’s dying; b. she’s pregnant; c. the baby’s his, it takes a bit to get used to the idea, but he manages to pull himself together and takes on fatherhood to his new baby girl, Frankie. He has a lot of help from family, neighbours, and (new – he never really had any before) friends. In addition his cousin, Emily, has come from the US to visit and see Ireland where her father grew up, but never went back to. Moira is a social worker keeping an eye on Frankie to make sure Noel can provide a good home, but sadly, she seems to have something against him and is constantly watching for him to mess up. And there’s more!
The book was good. But there are so many characters. All the way through, I kept forgetting who was who and how they related. I do realize many (most? all?) of them are characters from other books, as well, and I recognized some of them, but it’s been so long since I read the books that focused on those I recognized, I really didn’t remember much of them from those books, either. There was a little surprise at the end of the book. Overall, it’s an enjoyable read.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic (other topics)Pretty Baby (other topics)
Favorite Wife: Escape from Polygamy (other topics)
The Librarian of Burned Books (other topics)
Something About Sophie (other topics)
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Resistance / Jennifer A. Nielsen
4 stars
Chaya is a 16-year old Jewish girl in Poland in the early 1940s. She is a “courier” that is helping Jewish people in the ghettos. Mostly she smuggles in food and fake identification papers. She looks Polish so is easily able to fit in outside the ghetto, as well. As time goes on, though, things get more and more dangerous. Especially as the resistance fighters start planning bigger events.
I don’t know if I knew about the various uprisings in some of the ghettos during the war. If I did, I’d forgotten. There were a couple of big ones, particularly one in Warsaw, where the resistance fighters got into the ghetto and between themselves and some of the others in the ghetto fought back. Although the main characters in this story were fictional, there is an author’s note that mentions specific people, higher up in the resistance, who were real people; some were minor characters in this story. I have one complaint about the cover of the book, though. Chaya is pictured with a dark-coloured braid down her back, but she was able to easily fit in as Polish, in part due to her blond hair.