After seeing The Hobbit last week, I decided to finish out the year with some Tolkien.
The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien - Bilbo finds the ring.
The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien- the ring must be destroyed.
The Two Towers by Tolkien - men are caught between Sauron and Saruman.
4 stars for all
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Dec 15-21, 2013
Vigilante by Claude Bouchard - a vigilante is killing the bad guys and the police can't catch him. They turn to a computer expert for help. Not very well written, it goes back and forth between viewpoints and everyone seems rather wooden.
2 stars
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The Halo Effect by M.J. Rose - someone is killing prostitutes. Badly written and the heroine is just stupid. Also too graphic. I think I only finished just to see how bad it could be.
0 stars
The two books above were in a Kindle bundle called Nine Great Mysteries I got for .99 cents. I deleted the rest, not even worth .99 cents.
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Agatha Webb by Anna Katharine Green - in which the reader will attempt to elucidate on the mystery surrounding the death of Agatha Webb, a story found in Greatest Mystery Collection Volume 2, purchased on Amazon, not the great tributary found in South America, but the online store wherein every item known to man may be purchased, for $2.99, an amount fitting the constrained budget of the reader. Too. many. words. This was written in 1899 by a woman considered the mother of mysteries. She was writing detective novels 10 years before Conan Doyle invented Sherlock. There are over 60 books, that's books, not short stories, in this collection. Probably will only be reading them when I'm desperate.
2 stars
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Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman - this is called a Leaphorn and Chee novel although it seems to be centered more on Chee's wife, Bernie. The author is continuing the series begun by her father. A pretty good first time book, although there were a lot of driving scenes.
3 stars
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Spirit of Steamboat: A Walt Longmire Story by Craig Johnson - a Christmas time novella that's not a mystery. It tells the story of a time in 1988 when Walt and the former sheriff, Lucius, undertake a wild flight in a storm. Too much technical detail about the plane and medical procedures.
2 stars
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The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell - I was drawn into this book on the very first page and finished it in one sitting. The story of a mousy police typist during the 1920's. She's gradually drawn into a different world by one of the other typists. The ending was a shock, I still don't know what to think.
5 stars
2 stars
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The Halo Effect by M.J. Rose - someone is killing prostitutes. Badly written and the heroine is just stupid. Also too graphic. I think I only finished just to see how bad it could be.
0 stars
The two books above were in a Kindle bundle called Nine Great Mysteries I got for .99 cents. I deleted the rest, not even worth .99 cents.
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Agatha Webb by Anna Katharine Green - in which the reader will attempt to elucidate on the mystery surrounding the death of Agatha Webb, a story found in Greatest Mystery Collection Volume 2, purchased on Amazon, not the great tributary found in South America, but the online store wherein every item known to man may be purchased, for $2.99, an amount fitting the constrained budget of the reader. Too. many. words. This was written in 1899 by a woman considered the mother of mysteries. She was writing detective novels 10 years before Conan Doyle invented Sherlock. There are over 60 books, that's books, not short stories, in this collection. Probably will only be reading them when I'm desperate.
2 stars
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Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman - this is called a Leaphorn and Chee novel although it seems to be centered more on Chee's wife, Bernie. The author is continuing the series begun by her father. A pretty good first time book, although there were a lot of driving scenes.
3 stars
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Spirit of Steamboat: A Walt Longmire Story by Craig Johnson - a Christmas time novella that's not a mystery. It tells the story of a time in 1988 when Walt and the former sheriff, Lucius, undertake a wild flight in a storm. Too much technical detail about the plane and medical procedures.
2 stars
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The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell - I was drawn into this book on the very first page and finished it in one sitting. The story of a mousy police typist during the 1920's. She's gradually drawn into a different world by one of the other typists. The ending was a shock, I still don't know what to think.
5 stars
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Dec 8-14, 2013
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) - pretty sure I had this on my list before the secret was out about who really wrote it because I would have been prejudiced against it. Cormoran Strike is hired to discover is a model's suicide really is a suicide. I really liked this, it ripped right along.
4 stars
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No Man's Nightingale by Ruth Rendell - the author has been writing about Inspector Wexford for 50 years and I've read all 24. Now he's retired but drawn into an investigation by his house cleaner. Things move pretty slow and don't seem to have a lot to do with the case. Not one of the best of this series.
3 stars
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We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler - something happened to the narrator's sister many years ago that she has completely blocked out. Because of the incident, her brother has disappeared and is wanted by the FBI for being a terrorist. A major plot point is revealed on page 79. Don't read anymore about this book if you want to be surprised.
4.5 star
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Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich - the 20th of the Stephanie Plum books and things are still pretty much the same. She can't decide between Morelli and Ranger, she's still a klutz, her grandmother is looney and Lula is still dressing like a hooker. Getting tiresome and some of the situations are completely unbelievable. She needs to pick Ranger and get on with her life.
2 stars
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The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly - a Micky Haller book. He takes a murder case that soon becomes about dirty law enforcement. I always enjoy Michael Connelly.
4 stars
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Night Watch by Linda Fairstein - another Alexandra Cooper case. This time she's in France visiting her boyfriend when she's called back to New York do deal with a high profile case. Then her boyfriend gets involved in a murder case. The two stories have absolutely nothing to do with each other. This is supposed to be a series about a strong woman but she doesn't stand up for herself very well and is pretty whiny. I skimmed the middle part of the book.
2 stars
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The Second Chance Dog by Jon Katz - I've always enjoyed this author's books about his dogs but this one just dragged on and on. His editors didn't do their job, there was lots of repetition. It's the story of the dog belonging to the woman he wants to date after his divorce. The dog part was good - the rest, not so much.
2 stars
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The Widow File by S.G. Redling - Dani works for what she thinks is a highly skilled security company. That turns out to not be true. Really intense action and you're never sure who is actually helping Dani get away. The plot is somewhat convoluted but that doesn't take away from action. This was an ebook I tried just because it was cheap on Kindle First. I'm glad I did. If it hadn't been for too much vulgarity, I would have given it a 5.
4 stars
4 stars
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No Man's Nightingale by Ruth Rendell - the author has been writing about Inspector Wexford for 50 years and I've read all 24. Now he's retired but drawn into an investigation by his house cleaner. Things move pretty slow and don't seem to have a lot to do with the case. Not one of the best of this series.
3 stars
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We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler - something happened to the narrator's sister many years ago that she has completely blocked out. Because of the incident, her brother has disappeared and is wanted by the FBI for being a terrorist. A major plot point is revealed on page 79. Don't read anymore about this book if you want to be surprised.
4.5 star
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich - the 20th of the Stephanie Plum books and things are still pretty much the same. She can't decide between Morelli and Ranger, she's still a klutz, her grandmother is looney and Lula is still dressing like a hooker. Getting tiresome and some of the situations are completely unbelievable. She needs to pick Ranger and get on with her life.
2 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly - a Micky Haller book. He takes a murder case that soon becomes about dirty law enforcement. I always enjoy Michael Connelly.
4 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Watch by Linda Fairstein - another Alexandra Cooper case. This time she's in France visiting her boyfriend when she's called back to New York do deal with a high profile case. Then her boyfriend gets involved in a murder case. The two stories have absolutely nothing to do with each other. This is supposed to be a series about a strong woman but she doesn't stand up for herself very well and is pretty whiny. I skimmed the middle part of the book.
2 stars
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The Second Chance Dog by Jon Katz - I've always enjoyed this author's books about his dogs but this one just dragged on and on. His editors didn't do their job, there was lots of repetition. It's the story of the dog belonging to the woman he wants to date after his divorce. The dog part was good - the rest, not so much.
2 stars
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The Widow File by S.G. Redling - Dani works for what she thinks is a highly skilled security company. That turns out to not be true. Really intense action and you're never sure who is actually helping Dani get away. The plot is somewhat convoluted but that doesn't take away from action. This was an ebook I tried just because it was cheap on Kindle First. I'm glad I did. If it hadn't been for too much vulgarity, I would have given it a 5.
4 stars
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Dec 1-7, 2013
A Street Cat Named Bob: How One Man and His Cat Found Hope on the Streets by James Bowen - a true story of a recovering addict and how taking a cat into his life helped him get stronger. James is pretty straightforward about his problems and also has an interesting take on life on the streets of London. The writing isn't the greatest but the cat is.
3 stars
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Doing Hard Time by Stuart Woods - this is another Stone Barrington book. And just like many others in the series, everything comes too easily to the main characters and none of them have any problems with money. A far cry from the authors first book, Chiefs. And yet I keep reading them.
2 stars
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The Bones of Paris by Laurie R King - Paris, 1929, and an American private investigator is hired to look for a missing girl. Everything seems to involve the art world and he runs across famous and infamous people. Somewhat macabre and it seems to move slowly until the end.
3 stars
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The Spy Who Loved:The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville by Clare Mulley - a biography of the first woman spy for the British during WWII. Should have been an interesting book but the writing was dull and at times seemed to be just a list of Polish names. I have to be honest and say I just skimmed the middle of the book. Also poorly edited, I found several errors.
2 stars
3 stars
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Doing Hard Time by Stuart Woods - this is another Stone Barrington book. And just like many others in the series, everything comes too easily to the main characters and none of them have any problems with money. A far cry from the authors first book, Chiefs. And yet I keep reading them.
2 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bones of Paris by Laurie R King - Paris, 1929, and an American private investigator is hired to look for a missing girl. Everything seems to involve the art world and he runs across famous and infamous people. Somewhat macabre and it seems to move slowly until the end.
3 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Spy Who Loved:The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville by Clare Mulley - a biography of the first woman spy for the British during WWII. Should have been an interesting book but the writing was dull and at times seemed to be just a list of Polish names. I have to be honest and say I just skimmed the middle of the book. Also poorly edited, I found several errors.
2 stars
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Nov 24-30, 2013
Wet Desert by Gary Hansen - I started this book thinking the writing wasn't very good (the author's first book) but then got caught up in the action. A terrorist blows up a dam on the Colorado River and several stories intertwine as people try to escape the flood or solve the problem.
3 stars
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The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - a 13 year old boy is left parentless when his mother is killed in an explosion at a museum. He's shunted from family to family and basically left to raise himself. A 771 page book that just kept me reading and reading.Language and unsavory happenings.
5 stars*
I think I'm the only one of my blog readers that would give this 5 stars.
3 stars
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The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - a 13 year old boy is left parentless when his mother is killed in an explosion at a museum. He's shunted from family to family and basically left to raise himself. A 771 page book that just kept me reading and reading.Language and unsavory happenings.
5 stars*
I think I'm the only one of my blog readers that would give this 5 stars.
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