I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High by Tony Danza - in 2009, the actor began teaching English to 10th graders at the largest high school in Philadelphia. He talks a little about the reality show that was being filmed at the same time. But it's mostly about his frustration with trying to reach the kids and the difficulty of teaching to the test.
3 stars
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Feb 15 - 21, 2015
A Fine Summer's Day by Charles Todd - this is a prequel to the Ian Rutledge series. It takes place just as WWI is starting and we see what the inspector was like before he was haunted by war. He has just become engaged and is also investigating some baffling murders.
3 stars
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Dead on the Island by Bill Crider - P.I. Truman Smith has retired from investigating after failing to find his missing sister. But when an old friend asks him to find a missing girl he's back in action. By the author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes books.This was written in 1991 and some if it feels rather dated. Lots of time spent feeding the cat.
2 stars
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Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home by Nina Stibbe - in 1982, when she was 20, the author became the nanny of two precocious boys. She began writing letters to her sister describing her life in the home of a magazine editor and neighbor to a famous playwright. Lots of initials used so it gets confusing at times. Fairly amusing, some language.
3 stars
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Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver - Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman with a wandering husband. When she's invited to a party at the seaside by her former fiance she doesn't know there will be murder as well. An old fashioned murder mystery with lots of twists and turns and quite a surprise ending. At least to me. I hope there is another by this author.
3 stars
3 stars
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Dead on the Island by Bill Crider - P.I. Truman Smith has retired from investigating after failing to find his missing sister. But when an old friend asks him to find a missing girl he's back in action. By the author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes books.This was written in 1991 and some if it feels rather dated. Lots of time spent feeding the cat.
2 stars
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Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home by Nina Stibbe - in 1982, when she was 20, the author became the nanny of two precocious boys. She began writing letters to her sister describing her life in the home of a magazine editor and neighbor to a famous playwright. Lots of initials used so it gets confusing at times. Fairly amusing, some language.
3 stars
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Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver - Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman with a wandering husband. When she's invited to a party at the seaside by her former fiance she doesn't know there will be murder as well. An old fashioned murder mystery with lots of twists and turns and quite a surprise ending. At least to me. I hope there is another by this author.
3 stars
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Feb 8 - 14, 2015
The Heist by Daniel Silva - Israeli spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon is on the trail of a lost Caravaggio masterpiece. Somehow this turns into a plot to relieve a Middle East president of his ill-gotten gains. This was pretty slow getting started but I'm glad I stuck with it.
3 stars
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I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe - when her new husband joins the Union army, Rosetta disguises herself as a man and joins his regiment. It's a love story about a woman determined to think and act for herself. Some war scenes.
4.5 stars
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Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback - 1717 in Sweden and Maija and her family are trying a fresh start in the mountains. Soon after they arrive, her daughter finds a dead man in the woods. Neighbors say he was killed by a wolf or bear but Maija is sure it was a person. Religion, superstition, and mysticism all swirl together during a very cold winter while everyone is just trying to survive.
4.5 stars
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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Rachel peers into the same backyard everyday on the train and makes up an idealistic story about the couple living there. Then one day she sees something shocking that makes her revise everything. She makes a rash move and entangles herself in their lives. Everyone in this book has flaws, some larger than others. Very suspenseful, kept me guessing most of the time, and the end is quite exciting. Read it straight through.
5 stars
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Breaking Creed by Alex Kava - Ryder Creed trains dogs to do all kinds of searches. On one of his searches he finds something unexpected and invokes the wrath of a drug lord. This read kind of like a tv pilot where everyone is introduced but you don't learn anything of depth. A second book is in the works.
3 stars
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I've decided as a public service to start listing some of the books I start but don't finish.
Unbecoming by Rebecca Sherm - I kept picking this up and putting it down and actually got more than two thirds through before deciding to quit. It starts in Paris with a young girl living a meager life as a gem-restorer. Gradually you learn she's dreading the release from prison of some friends in her hometown in America. But the mystery is revealed so slowly that you spend too much time with the girl and find she's not very likeable. I decided I didn't care.
3 stars
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I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe - when her new husband joins the Union army, Rosetta disguises herself as a man and joins his regiment. It's a love story about a woman determined to think and act for herself. Some war scenes.
4.5 stars
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Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback - 1717 in Sweden and Maija and her family are trying a fresh start in the mountains. Soon after they arrive, her daughter finds a dead man in the woods. Neighbors say he was killed by a wolf or bear but Maija is sure it was a person. Religion, superstition, and mysticism all swirl together during a very cold winter while everyone is just trying to survive.
4.5 stars
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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Rachel peers into the same backyard everyday on the train and makes up an idealistic story about the couple living there. Then one day she sees something shocking that makes her revise everything. She makes a rash move and entangles herself in their lives. Everyone in this book has flaws, some larger than others. Very suspenseful, kept me guessing most of the time, and the end is quite exciting. Read it straight through.
5 stars
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Breaking Creed by Alex Kava - Ryder Creed trains dogs to do all kinds of searches. On one of his searches he finds something unexpected and invokes the wrath of a drug lord. This read kind of like a tv pilot where everyone is introduced but you don't learn anything of depth. A second book is in the works.
3 stars
*************************************************************************
I've decided as a public service to start listing some of the books I start but don't finish.
Unbecoming by Rebecca Sherm - I kept picking this up and putting it down and actually got more than two thirds through before deciding to quit. It starts in Paris with a young girl living a meager life as a gem-restorer. Gradually you learn she's dreading the release from prison of some friends in her hometown in America. But the mystery is revealed so slowly that you spend too much time with the girl and find she's not very likeable. I decided I didn't care.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Feb 1-7, 2015
Shotgun Saturday Night by Bill Crider - the 2nd of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes that I've become quite hooked on. This time the sheriff has a dope and motorcycle problem in the county. There's always something kooky going on too.
3 stars
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Cursed to Death by Bill Crider - I seem to be hooked on these books right now and they're always an easy read. In the 3rd of the series, a dentist has disappeared but it's his wife who is found murdered.
3 stars
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Photo Finished by Laura Childs - the 2nd in the scrapbook mystery series. The antique dealer from the store next to Carmela's scrapbook store is found murdered in the alley. Only a little bit of "investigating" by Carmela but lots of running around all over New Orleans. I'll probably read the latest in the series and then be done with it.
2 stars
3 stars
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Cursed to Death by Bill Crider - I seem to be hooked on these books right now and they're always an easy read. In the 3rd of the series, a dentist has disappeared but it's his wife who is found murdered.
3 stars
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Photo Finished by Laura Childs - the 2nd in the scrapbook mystery series. The antique dealer from the store next to Carmela's scrapbook store is found murdered in the alley. Only a little bit of "investigating" by Carmela but lots of running around all over New Orleans. I'll probably read the latest in the series and then be done with it.
2 stars
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Jan 25-31, 2015
The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson - it's 1909 in Paris. Maud is studying painting at the LaFond Acadamie and finding it hard to survive on her meager savings. Then she's offered a position as a companion to a young woman by the woman's older brother. She discovers things aren't quite as idyllic as they seem on the surface. The first book I've really enjoyed this year.
4.5 stars
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A Small Indiscretion by Jan Ellison - a short-lived affair comes back to haunt a woman and her family 20 years later. Things are revealed slowly in a letter written by her to her son. Can a marriage built on a lie survive? Some sex scenes.
4 stars
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A Breach of Security by Susan Hill - a very short Simon Serrailler e-book. A racist group attacks members of a gay pride parade and then threaten major damage at a troop welcome home. Not much to this story, I don't know if parts of it will be in the next book.
2 stars
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Switchblade by Michael Connelly - a very, very short Harry Bosch e-book. Harry finds a prisoner also has ties to an unsolved murder. Not really resolved and a little disappointing.
2 stars
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Too Late to Die by Bill Crider - the 1st of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes books. Having read the last four of the series, I'm starting at the beginning. It's election year and the sheriff has a murder on his hands that could cost him the election. A little twist at the end. It will be interesting to watch the character development in future books, I thought they started out strong in this first book.
3 stars
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The Soul of Discretion by Susan Hill - very disappointed in this book and I got more than halfway through before I couldn't finish it. Her books are always dark but this was just too much. Sex crimes against children and a separate case against a woman. I find the main character cold. I've never liked his father and in this book he's heinous. I think I'm done with this series. And this is one of the few books I paid for.
4.5 stars
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A Small Indiscretion by Jan Ellison - a short-lived affair comes back to haunt a woman and her family 20 years later. Things are revealed slowly in a letter written by her to her son. Can a marriage built on a lie survive? Some sex scenes.
4 stars
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A Breach of Security by Susan Hill - a very short Simon Serrailler e-book. A racist group attacks members of a gay pride parade and then threaten major damage at a troop welcome home. Not much to this story, I don't know if parts of it will be in the next book.
2 stars
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Switchblade by Michael Connelly - a very, very short Harry Bosch e-book. Harry finds a prisoner also has ties to an unsolved murder. Not really resolved and a little disappointing.
2 stars
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Too Late to Die by Bill Crider - the 1st of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes books. Having read the last four of the series, I'm starting at the beginning. It's election year and the sheriff has a murder on his hands that could cost him the election. A little twist at the end. It will be interesting to watch the character development in future books, I thought they started out strong in this first book.
3 stars
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The Soul of Discretion by Susan Hill - very disappointed in this book and I got more than halfway through before I couldn't finish it. Her books are always dark but this was just too much. Sex crimes against children and a separate case against a woman. I find the main character cold. I've never liked his father and in this book he's heinous. I think I'm done with this series. And this is one of the few books I paid for.
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