Lock In by John Scalzi - in the near future, a virus causes millions of people to become locked in. They are mentally aware but can't move their bodies. Through a process not really explained, they are able to use robots to live outside of themselves. Or, they can use an Integrator, a real person, to have a special experience. The problems start when an Integrator supposedly murders someone. Was it the Integrator or the client?
3 stars
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One Kick by Chelsea Cain - Kick Lannigan was abducted when she was 6 and found 6 years later. Since then she has trained hard to never be a victim again. When two children go missing near her, she is approached by a man seeking her help to find them. Some sex, violence and danger to children.
3 stars
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The Celtic Dagger by Jill Paterson - this is called an Inspector Fitzjohn mystery but he barely appears. Action and clues are generated by one of the chief suspects, whose brother is the murder victim. This was a free Kindle book.
1 star
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Mother Daughter Me: a Memoir by Katie Hafner - the author has spent most of her life wishing her mother had acted like a mother to her. Her mother has spent a large part of her life not remembering portions of it because of alcoholism. When her mother moves in with her, they begin a new, fragile relationship.
3 stars
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Letters from Alcatraz by Michael Esslinger - not as many letters as I was expecting. Instead, a very long foreward and a history of Alcatraz. There was a lot of recounting stories told by inmates after they were released but those weren't letters. Also extremely repetitive. And the Kindle edition was so full of editing and spelling errors that it actually changed the meaning of some sentences.
1 star
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Why Read Moby Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick - the author lists his reasons in a very short book. I found them compelling enough that I'm going to re-read Moby Dick. But probably not this year.
3 stars
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Oct 12-18, 2014
Waiting for Wednesday by Nikki French - this is the third book in series about Freida Klein, psychotherapist. The main plot is about a seemingly perfect wife and mother found murdered in her home. There are many other subplots told in bits and pieces and it's not until the middle of the book that things start to make sense. I found Freida a little tiresome. She has suffered a trauma and is not being very smart about dealing with it.
3 stars
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To Dwell in Darkness by Deborah Crombie - the 16th Kincaid and James book. I've read all of them and really enjoy the progression the characters have made. Kincaid has been unwillingly transferred and is still getting the feel of his new team when he is called to what may be a terrorist bombing at St. Pancras Station. While the mystery is resolved, something happens in the last two pages that leaves a very big question. Rather annoying.
4 stars
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The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - Mr. Parker Pyne, Hercule Poirot, and Miss Marple all make appearances in this collection. I've read them all before but it's always fun to read them again.
3 stars
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Not My Father's Son: A Memoir by Alan Cumming - in 2010 Alan was asked to be on Who Do You Think You Are and he agreed thinking it would be an opportunity to learn about his maternal grandfather. There had always been a mystery about what happened to him after WWII. But doing the show brought back memories of the mental and physical abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. While I don't usually like books that go back and forth in time, I thought this was a very effective way to tell the story. I don't know if he had help writing this, I thought it was very good.
4.5 stars
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The Bone Garden by Kate Ellis - the 5th Wesley Peterson book. As usual, a hundreds year old skeleton and a current murder are discovered almost simultaneously. The story of the skeletons is told with excerpts from old writings at the beginning of every chapter. I also like the character development.
4 stars
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The Woodcutter by Kate Danley - a rather odd retelling of many fairy tales all smooshed together in this one story. Someone is trying to control the magic for evil purposes and it's up to the Woodcutter to set things right. I was so busy trying to figure out who everyone was that the story didn't really pull together for me.
2 stars
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Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs - an escaped serial killer is back in business, this time near where Temperance Brennan is working in Charlotte. Some good twists and turns and Brennan is not her usual annoying put herself in danger self. Better than the last couple of books.
3 stars
3 stars
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To Dwell in Darkness by Deborah Crombie - the 16th Kincaid and James book. I've read all of them and really enjoy the progression the characters have made. Kincaid has been unwillingly transferred and is still getting the feel of his new team when he is called to what may be a terrorist bombing at St. Pancras Station. While the mystery is resolved, something happens in the last two pages that leaves a very big question. Rather annoying.
4 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - Mr. Parker Pyne, Hercule Poirot, and Miss Marple all make appearances in this collection. I've read them all before but it's always fun to read them again.
3 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not My Father's Son: A Memoir by Alan Cumming - in 2010 Alan was asked to be on Who Do You Think You Are and he agreed thinking it would be an opportunity to learn about his maternal grandfather. There had always been a mystery about what happened to him after WWII. But doing the show brought back memories of the mental and physical abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. While I don't usually like books that go back and forth in time, I thought this was a very effective way to tell the story. I don't know if he had help writing this, I thought it was very good.
4.5 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bone Garden by Kate Ellis - the 5th Wesley Peterson book. As usual, a hundreds year old skeleton and a current murder are discovered almost simultaneously. The story of the skeletons is told with excerpts from old writings at the beginning of every chapter. I also like the character development.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Woodcutter by Kate Danley - a rather odd retelling of many fairy tales all smooshed together in this one story. Someone is trying to control the magic for evil purposes and it's up to the Woodcutter to set things right. I was so busy trying to figure out who everyone was that the story didn't really pull together for me.
2 stars
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Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs - an escaped serial killer is back in business, this time near where Temperance Brennan is working in Charlotte. Some good twists and turns and Brennan is not her usual annoying put herself in danger self. Better than the last couple of books.
3 stars
Friday, October 10, 2014
Oct 5-11, 2014
The Shelf: From LEQ to LES: Adventures in Extreme Reading by Phyllis Rose - the author chose a fiction shelf from the New York Society Library and tried to read most of the books. One book she read in four different translations. She found she couldn't limit herself to just reading the books but had to find out about the authors and the times they wrote in. I thought some of the writing about her tangents was too lengthy but it could be because that particular subject didn't interest me. I liked this because it made me think about my reading habits. I've also put another of her books on my to-read list.
3.5 stars
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Let's Just Say it Wasn't Pretty by Diane Keaton - the author reflects on aging when your looks are tied to your job. Evidently she has never been happy with how she looks. Now she has decided that instead of fighting to stay beautiful, she will enjoy the beauty around her. Rather rambling and she is an actress so I'm left wondering how much is actually true.
3 stars
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Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs - the first in a cozy mystery series set in a scrapbook store. Lots of people introduced and hard to keep track of at first, I suppose you get to know them as the series goes on. Carmela's estranged husband is suspected of killing a man during one of the Mardi Gras parades. I think I'll give one more book a try but I can't see the series becoming a favorite.
3 stars
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Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers - the first Lord Peter Wimsey book, published in 1923. A body is found in someone's bathtub and no one knows who it is or how it got there. I've read this series before. This time I found Peter's speaking style irritating and the class and racial prejudice appalling.
But that's looking back on almost 100 years ago.
3 stars
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The Funeral Boat by Kate Ellis - the 4th Wesley Peterson novel, I actually had to buy it as it doesn't seem available in any US libraries. A skeleton is discovered on a farm - is it the body of a man who disappeared three years ago or much older? There is also a rash of robberies at local farms and a foreign tourist has disappeared. All these mingle together and as each one is solved it seems the mysteries deepen for the other cases. This is my favorite in the series so far.
4 stars
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haatchi and little b by Wendy Holden - Haatchi was left to die on a train track and subsequently lost a hind leg and his tail. Little B, Owen, has a rare degenerative disease that is stunting his growth. Somehow they come together and gain strength from each other. A true story. I thought the writing was a little amateurish, I think partly out of a desire to not say anything negative.
3 stars
3.5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let's Just Say it Wasn't Pretty by Diane Keaton - the author reflects on aging when your looks are tied to your job. Evidently she has never been happy with how she looks. Now she has decided that instead of fighting to stay beautiful, she will enjoy the beauty around her. Rather rambling and she is an actress so I'm left wondering how much is actually true.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs - the first in a cozy mystery series set in a scrapbook store. Lots of people introduced and hard to keep track of at first, I suppose you get to know them as the series goes on. Carmela's estranged husband is suspected of killing a man during one of the Mardi Gras parades. I think I'll give one more book a try but I can't see the series becoming a favorite.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers - the first Lord Peter Wimsey book, published in 1923. A body is found in someone's bathtub and no one knows who it is or how it got there. I've read this series before. This time I found Peter's speaking style irritating and the class and racial prejudice appalling.
But that's looking back on almost 100 years ago.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Funeral Boat by Kate Ellis - the 4th Wesley Peterson novel, I actually had to buy it as it doesn't seem available in any US libraries. A skeleton is discovered on a farm - is it the body of a man who disappeared three years ago or much older? There is also a rash of robberies at local farms and a foreign tourist has disappeared. All these mingle together and as each one is solved it seems the mysteries deepen for the other cases. This is my favorite in the series so far.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
haatchi and little b by Wendy Holden - Haatchi was left to die on a train track and subsequently lost a hind leg and his tail. Little B, Owen, has a rare degenerative disease that is stunting his growth. Somehow they come together and gain strength from each other. A true story. I thought the writing was a little amateurish, I think partly out of a desire to not say anything negative.
3 stars
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Sept 28-Oct 4, 2014
Murder 101 by Faye Kellerman - this is the 22nd Peter Decker book and imo it really shows. Decker has retired from the LAPD and is working in a small town in upstate New York. What starts out as a theft from a mausoleum turns into murder and missing art. Many cliches: the snotty, upstart young detective, blowhard extremely wealthy men, amoral art students, ex-CIA turned professor, and let's throw in some Russians too.
2 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little - Jane is released on a technicality after 10 years in prison for the murder of her mother. She immediately goes incognito to a small town hoping to find the truth. I'm somewhat ambivalent about this book, parts of it were very good. But parts of it read like an entry in the Edward Bulwer-Lyyton contest. And the heroine is unlikeable. Hated the ending. Lots of cussing.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - the author's brief thoughts on random things organized like an encyclopedia. If I could write, this is how I would want to do it.
4.5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton - it's 1686 in Amsterdam and 18 yo Nellie has just arrived at the home of her new husband. He gives her a replica of their home as a wedding present and when Nellie arranges for a miniaturist to furnish it strange things begin to happen. While I really enjoyed the writing, the story itself was frustrating. Too many modern day concepts introduced and I didn't really understand what the role of the miniaturist was.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Lewis Man by Peter May - a body is found in a peat bog on the Isle of Lewis. What follows is a story told in the past and present of love and revenge. This is the second in a trilogy. While it's not necessary to read the first, The Blackhouse, it might make this book more enjoyable.
4 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - a collection of short stories, most written very early in her career, and the last short story written by her.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guys Can Be Cat Ladies Too: A Guidebook for Men and Their Cats by Michael Showalter - a semi-tongue in cheek look at how guys can become cat lovers. Includes chapters on choosing the right cat and how to understand your cat.
3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One Plus One by Jojo Moyes - Jess is a single mom with two kids barely keeping it together. Ed has just made a mistake at work that may cost him everything. Somehow they and a very large dog end up making a trip to Scotland in Ed's car. Funny and sad. A couple of sex scenes.
4 stars
2 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little - Jane is released on a technicality after 10 years in prison for the murder of her mother. She immediately goes incognito to a small town hoping to find the truth. I'm somewhat ambivalent about this book, parts of it were very good. But parts of it read like an entry in the Edward Bulwer-Lyyton contest. And the heroine is unlikeable. Hated the ending. Lots of cussing.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - the author's brief thoughts on random things organized like an encyclopedia. If I could write, this is how I would want to do it.
4.5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton - it's 1686 in Amsterdam and 18 yo Nellie has just arrived at the home of her new husband. He gives her a replica of their home as a wedding present and when Nellie arranges for a miniaturist to furnish it strange things begin to happen. While I really enjoyed the writing, the story itself was frustrating. Too many modern day concepts introduced and I didn't really understand what the role of the miniaturist was.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Lewis Man by Peter May - a body is found in a peat bog on the Isle of Lewis. What follows is a story told in the past and present of love and revenge. This is the second in a trilogy. While it's not necessary to read the first, The Blackhouse, it might make this book more enjoyable.
4 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - a collection of short stories, most written very early in her career, and the last short story written by her.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guys Can Be Cat Ladies Too: A Guidebook for Men and Their Cats by Michael Showalter - a semi-tongue in cheek look at how guys can become cat lovers. Includes chapters on choosing the right cat and how to understand your cat.
3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One Plus One by Jojo Moyes - Jess is a single mom with two kids barely keeping it together. Ed has just made a mistake at work that may cost him everything. Somehow they and a very large dog end up making a trip to Scotland in Ed's car. Funny and sad. A couple of sex scenes.
4 stars
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