Shakespeare's Counselor by Charlaine Harris - I'm pretty sure this is the last of the Lily Bard series, it was written in 2001. I think the author is concentrating on her Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood series. Or she got tired of writing about this somewhat angry young woman. This time Lily deals with being newly married and trying to figure who is stalking her new counselor.
3 stars
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Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman - a very differently written book, told in short chapters or from social services reports. A young girl tries to escape from generations of poverty, abuse and a history of very young motherhood.
4 stars
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The Black Box by Michael Connelly - one of my favorite authors. Harry Bosch is trying to solve a crime committed 20 years ago during the riots in LA. I like how he just picks at threads until finally one leads to finding the murderers. The murderers themselves are rather caricatures but the solving is what's fun.
4 stars
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An Unacceptable Death by Barbara Seranella - the last of the Munch Mancini mysteries, the author died shortly after this was written. I don't like when a character's life is just starting to go well and then something bad happens. Don't know if the author's illness was the reason for this.
2 stars - the story was okay but it irritated me because of the above.
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Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich - the books in this series usually make me laugh out loud because of the outlandish things that happen to the heroine. But I do find her waffling between the two men in her life irritating. Might be a little too much sex for some.
3 stars
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon - a really different book told from the viewpoint of a 15 yo autistic boy. He really goes off on tangents because that's the way his mind works and this particular boy takes refuge in math and actually explains several math problems. Really quirky so I gave it
4 stars
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Feb 10-16, 2013
My Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshall - the actress/director talks about her childhood and how she got into directing. Her mother was odd, but no more so the Penny. I found the book rather disjointed once she got into her adult life, it seemed to move around in time. A lot of drug taking.
3 stars
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The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan - right before WWI begins, an ocean liner blows up and 39 people are trapped in a lifeboat for many days. I wanted to like this more than I did. I didn't find the protagonist very likeable.
3 stars
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Mission Flats by William Landay - the mystery part was good but there were some twists later in the story I didn't like and ultimately found it fairly depressing.
3 stars
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Canada by Richard Ford - written by a Pulitzer prize winner and I guess that means you have to use lots of words. I found it rather repetitious and somewhat unbelievable. The parents of 15 year old twins decide to rob a bank. Once that finally happens the rest of the story is about what happens to the son.
2 stars
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Suspect by Robert Crais - a stand alone not in his regular Elvis Cole series. A wounded cop and a wounded war veteran dog wind up together. Sometimes told from the viewpoint of the dog. Really liked this because it was a little different.
4 stars
3 stars
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The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan - right before WWI begins, an ocean liner blows up and 39 people are trapped in a lifeboat for many days. I wanted to like this more than I did. I didn't find the protagonist very likeable.
3 stars
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Mission Flats by William Landay - the mystery part was good but there were some twists later in the story I didn't like and ultimately found it fairly depressing.
3 stars
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Canada by Richard Ford - written by a Pulitzer prize winner and I guess that means you have to use lots of words. I found it rather repetitious and somewhat unbelievable. The parents of 15 year old twins decide to rob a bank. Once that finally happens the rest of the story is about what happens to the son.
2 stars
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Suspect by Robert Crais - a stand alone not in his regular Elvis Cole series. A wounded cop and a wounded war veteran dog wind up together. Sometimes told from the viewpoint of the dog. Really liked this because it was a little different.
4 stars
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Feb 3-9, 2013
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - takes place in the near future. A young man takes a job in a bookstore and discovers all is not as it seems. He tries to figure out what's going on and stumbles across a mysterious group searching for eternal life. Really much lighter than it sounds and really hard to explain.
5 stars
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Starring Miss Marple by Agatha Christie - I'm on an Agatha kick lately. This was actually 3 books: A Murder is Announced, The Body in the Library and Murder With Mirrors.
3 stars
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The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler - a middle-aged man tries to come to terms with the death of his wife.
4 stars
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Looking for Yesterday by Marcia Muller - the latest in the Sharon McCone series. I've read every book in this series - some are better than others. I like to catch up on all her relatives and the people she works with. I still remember reading her first, Edwin of the Iron Shoes.
4 stars
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Far North by Michael Ridpath - another Icelandic mystery. This time the policeman has spent time in America and become a policeman there before coming back to Iceland. Someone starts picking off the bankers and politicians they feel are responsible for Iceland's financial crisis. Didn't know who the final bad guy was till the very end.
3 stars
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The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman - a young couple living on an island tending a lighthouse in the 1920's find a baby in a lifeboat along with her dead father. Decisions are made which affect many people.
5 stars
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The Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell - a Kay Scarpetta novel. I keep saying I'm going to quit reading these but my OCD towards series makes me keep going and hoping. Kay whines way to much. She needs to get rid of some of the people in her life. She needs to quit thinking about fooling around on her husband and that every man desires her even if she's 50.
2 stars
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The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith -this time Precious Ramotswe meets Clovis Anderson, the author of the guide to private investigation she follows.
3 stars
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The Racketeer by John Grisham - a man in prison claims he know who has killed a federal judge and will tell for commutation of his sentence. Had no idea where this book was going and it has some twists and turns.
4 stars
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Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris - not about Shakespeare at all, instead about a cleaning woman who lives in a town by that name in Arkansas. She always gets involved in mysteries.
3 stars
5 stars
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Starring Miss Marple by Agatha Christie - I'm on an Agatha kick lately. This was actually 3 books: A Murder is Announced, The Body in the Library and Murder With Mirrors.
3 stars
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The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler - a middle-aged man tries to come to terms with the death of his wife.
4 stars
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Looking for Yesterday by Marcia Muller - the latest in the Sharon McCone series. I've read every book in this series - some are better than others. I like to catch up on all her relatives and the people she works with. I still remember reading her first, Edwin of the Iron Shoes.
4 stars
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Far North by Michael Ridpath - another Icelandic mystery. This time the policeman has spent time in America and become a policeman there before coming back to Iceland. Someone starts picking off the bankers and politicians they feel are responsible for Iceland's financial crisis. Didn't know who the final bad guy was till the very end.
3 stars
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The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman - a young couple living on an island tending a lighthouse in the 1920's find a baby in a lifeboat along with her dead father. Decisions are made which affect many people.
5 stars
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The Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell - a Kay Scarpetta novel. I keep saying I'm going to quit reading these but my OCD towards series makes me keep going and hoping. Kay whines way to much. She needs to get rid of some of the people in her life. She needs to quit thinking about fooling around on her husband and that every man desires her even if she's 50.
2 stars
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The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith -this time Precious Ramotswe meets Clovis Anderson, the author of the guide to private investigation she follows.
3 stars
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The Racketeer by John Grisham - a man in prison claims he know who has killed a federal judge and will tell for commutation of his sentence. Had no idea where this book was going and it has some twists and turns.
4 stars
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Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris - not about Shakespeare at all, instead about a cleaning woman who lives in a town by that name in Arkansas. She always gets involved in mysteries.
3 stars
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Jan 27-Feb 2, 2013
Alaska Traveler Dispatches From America's Last Frontier by Dana Stabenow - a collection of magazine articles. I've read most of the author's mystery books and these were an interesting different side of Alaska from her. I really enjoyed her humor and the interesting places she went.
3 stars
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The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith - I really like these gentle books although I still can't fathom how a white man writing about a black woman in Botswana makes it all seem so plausible. I really like the musings of Mma Ramotswe as she solves the little mysteries that come to her detective agency and helps her friends with their problems.
3.5 stars
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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - recently retired Harold receives a letter from an old friend and on his way to post a reply and begins a walk to see her almost by mistake. Quite a different book and I really enjoyed it.
5 stars
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Tucker Peak by Archer Mayor - a Joe Gunther mystery about misdeeds at a ski resort.
3 stars
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The Mousetrap and Other Plays by Agatha Christie - 8 plays with stage directions and suggestions by the author. I find it a little difficult to read plays since I'm distracted by the stage directions. I knew a couple of the stories already but it was fun to re-read them. The longest book I've read so far this year.
3 stars
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The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim - the story begins with Japan's taking control of Korea and continues through WWII. I knew little about Korea and had no idea Japan took it over. The story is told mainly from the viewpoint of the daughter but some chapters are from other viewpoints. I really liked it and am not sure why I can't give it 5 stars.
4.5 stars
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Shiver by Karen Robards - this book touts itself as a thriller but it was really more like a Harlequin romance book. Yes, there were exciting parts, but in the meantime the heroine and hero are lusting after each other. Finished it because I wanted to know how they got out of their predicament but way too much sex and I figured out the real bad guy almost right away.
2 stars
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3 stars
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The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith - I really like these gentle books although I still can't fathom how a white man writing about a black woman in Botswana makes it all seem so plausible. I really like the musings of Mma Ramotswe as she solves the little mysteries that come to her detective agency and helps her friends with their problems.
3.5 stars
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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - recently retired Harold receives a letter from an old friend and on his way to post a reply and begins a walk to see her almost by mistake. Quite a different book and I really enjoyed it.
5 stars
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Tucker Peak by Archer Mayor - a Joe Gunther mystery about misdeeds at a ski resort.
3 stars
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The Mousetrap and Other Plays by Agatha Christie - 8 plays with stage directions and suggestions by the author. I find it a little difficult to read plays since I'm distracted by the stage directions. I knew a couple of the stories already but it was fun to re-read them. The longest book I've read so far this year.
3 stars
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The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim - the story begins with Japan's taking control of Korea and continues through WWII. I knew little about Korea and had no idea Japan took it over. The story is told mainly from the viewpoint of the daughter but some chapters are from other viewpoints. I really liked it and am not sure why I can't give it 5 stars.
4.5 stars
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Shiver by Karen Robards - this book touts itself as a thriller but it was really more like a Harlequin romance book. Yes, there were exciting parts, but in the meantime the heroine and hero are lusting after each other. Finished it because I wanted to know how they got out of their predicament but way too much sex and I figured out the real bad guy almost right away.
2 stars
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