The Astronaut Wive's Club by Lily Koppel - I was disappointed with this book, I didn't think it lived up to the hype I heard about it. I couldn't keep all the wives straight and the author really didn't go into to much depth. She also couldn't keep her snark out of the book. It was interesting to hear how the wives were expected to act while their husbands were off being heroes. I have to be honest and say I skimmed the last third. Because the subject matter was interesting...
2 stars
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The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - my library labeled this as historical but it should be labeled fantasy history. A Golem is made for a man on his way to America, but he dies on the journey and she is left masterless. A Jinni is accidentally released from his bottle in a small tin smith's shop in New York in 1898. Somehow the two meet and touch several lives. I really found myself immersed.
5 stars
Sunday, October 20, 2013
October 13-19, 2013
The Whole Enchilada by Diane Mott Davidson - a Goldy's Catering mystery. One of Goldy's friends dies right after a party catered by Goldy. As usual, she gets involved in trying to solve the mystery in spite of the admonitions of her policeman husband. In spite of the fact that many things were repeated over and over, I still found the story somewhat confusing. And then something unexpected happens right at the end that I feel should have had a bigger part in the story.
3 stars
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Finding Colin Firth - three women's stories intertwine in a small Maine town at the same time Colin Firth is there to make a movie. A cute story and a fast read.
3 stars
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The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer - six teenagers meet at summer camp in 1974 and dub themselves the interestings, mostly out of a feeling of superiority. Two of them fade away a few years later but the remaining four remain friends for several decades. Too much sex.
2 stars
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Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures by Virginia Morrel - the author interviews many scientists doing experiments to determine if animals are actually thinking. Very interesting and not overly scientific. All from an evolutionary standpoint.
4 stars
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How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny - an Inspector Gamache/Three Pines mystery. Gamache is asked by one of his friends in Three Pines to look into the disappearance of an old friend. Meanwhile, the cover-ups and persecution of Gamache at the Surete are coming to a head. The previous three books in the series should be read before this book. Corruption/political scandal irritates me so this didn't get 5 stars.
4 stars
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The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - I don't know how to describe this book. I guess a dark fairytale for adults. An older man returns home for a funeral and finds himself at a house he visited as a child. Then he begins to remember fantastic things.
4 stars
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Hearts of Sand: A Gregor Demarkian Novel by Jane Haddam - Gregor is called in to help solve the murder of a woman who has been missing for 30 years.
3 stars
3 stars
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Finding Colin Firth - three women's stories intertwine in a small Maine town at the same time Colin Firth is there to make a movie. A cute story and a fast read.
3 stars
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The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer - six teenagers meet at summer camp in 1974 and dub themselves the interestings, mostly out of a feeling of superiority. Two of them fade away a few years later but the remaining four remain friends for several decades. Too much sex.
2 stars
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Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures by Virginia Morrel - the author interviews many scientists doing experiments to determine if animals are actually thinking. Very interesting and not overly scientific. All from an evolutionary standpoint.
4 stars
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How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny - an Inspector Gamache/Three Pines mystery. Gamache is asked by one of his friends in Three Pines to look into the disappearance of an old friend. Meanwhile, the cover-ups and persecution of Gamache at the Surete are coming to a head. The previous three books in the series should be read before this book. Corruption/political scandal irritates me so this didn't get 5 stars.
4 stars
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The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - I don't know how to describe this book. I guess a dark fairytale for adults. An older man returns home for a funeral and finds himself at a house he visited as a child. Then he begins to remember fantastic things.
4 stars
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Hearts of Sand: A Gregor Demarkian Novel by Jane Haddam - Gregor is called in to help solve the murder of a woman who has been missing for 30 years.
3 stars
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Oct 6-12, 2013
As I Knew Him: My Father, Rod Serling by Anne Serling - Anne decided to write this book after reading other biographies that described a man she didn't recognize. She portrays Rod as a warm, caring, very funny man. He hated injustice and prejudice. Many of her memories take place at the summer cabin where the family had more of his attention. However, I didn't like the tense it was written in so...
3 stars
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Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs - a Temperance Brennan novel. This was a little better than the last couple of Brennan books I've read, partly because she didn't seem to be quite so self-centered in this one. An unidentified teenage hit and run and inspecting the remains of Afghanistan nationals make the book seem like two separate books at first. A fairly exciting ending.
3 stars
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Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford - A 12 year old Chinese boy in a Seattle orphanage becomes convinced a Chinese actress is his mother. I was disappointed in this book, I didn't think it was nearly as good as his first.
3 stars
3 stars
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Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs - a Temperance Brennan novel. This was a little better than the last couple of Brennan books I've read, partly because she didn't seem to be quite so self-centered in this one. An unidentified teenage hit and run and inspecting the remains of Afghanistan nationals make the book seem like two separate books at first. A fairly exciting ending.
3 stars
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Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford - A 12 year old Chinese boy in a Seattle orphanage becomes convinced a Chinese actress is his mother. I was disappointed in this book, I didn't think it was nearly as good as his first.
3 stars
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Sept 29-Oct5, 2013
Seven For a Secret by Lynsday Faye - it's 1846 and Timothy Wilde has been on the New York police force for 6 months. He becomes involved in the kidnapping of free blacks by blackbirders. This is the second book in the series and I liked it better than the first. The headings at the beginning of chapters are very interesting - they're from actual newspaper articles or books and tell opposing viewpoints of the times. Rather dark and bleak.
4 stars
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Julia's Cats: Julia Child's Life in the Company of Cats by Patricia Barey - a short and simple book about Julia's love of cats and the many cats that kept her company. Lots of pictures but I thought the use of French was overdone and pretentious.
3 stars because I like cats
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The Why of Things by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop - a family who has recently experienced a tragedy arrive at their summer home right after a young man has driven his car into the quarry in their backyard. The rest of the summer is spent with them coming to terms with both events.
4 stars
4 stars
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Julia's Cats: Julia Child's Life in the Company of Cats by Patricia Barey - a short and simple book about Julia's love of cats and the many cats that kept her company. Lots of pictures but I thought the use of French was overdone and pretentious.
3 stars because I like cats
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The Why of Things by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop - a family who has recently experienced a tragedy arrive at their summer home right after a young man has driven his car into the quarry in their backyard. The rest of the summer is spent with them coming to terms with both events.
4 stars
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