Sunday, June 24, 2018
Sunday, June 17, 2018
June 10 - 16, 2018
Milk!: A 10,000-Year Food Fracas by Mark Kurlansky - almost more than you want to know about all kinds of milk and the uses for it. Too many recipes in the first part of the book reaching back many years and impossible to duplicate now even if you wanted to. The book also discusses the constant debate between bottle-fed babies and breastfed and how the pendulum swings back and forth every few years. Also some talk about the merits of raw milk versus pasteurized and organic versus non organic. I've read a few of this author's books, Salt was one of my favorites. This isn't quite as interesting.
3 stars
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Outside the Jukebox: How I Turned my Vintage Music Obsession in My Dream Gig by Scott Bradlee - I love almost everything Postmodern Jukebox does so when I saw that Scott was writing a book I actually pre-ordered it. He tells about all the hard work it took to become an "overnight" YouTube success. He also gives lots of encouragement to artists pursuing their dreams.
4 stars
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The Boy, the Bird, and the Coffin Maker by Matilda Woods - a plague robs Alberto of his family and he becomes the coffin maker for his town of Allora. A town where fish fly out of the sea and all the houses are brightly colored. Thirty years later Alberto discovers someone is stealing food from him. It's a young boy all alone except for his brightly colored bird. As he gradually earns the boys trust, Alberto discovers he's terribly afraid of someone. This is a children's book that is full of the ordinary and the magical. The illustrations are wonderful.
4 stars
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Lost Creed by Alex Kava - Ryder Creed's sister disappeared from a truck stop 16 years ago and it's the main reason he runs a dog training facility. When he gets news there may be a clue to Brodie's disappearance he is quick to join the investigation. As so often when a writer gets on a soapbox, the story is somewhat neglected. This was also very disjointed with multiple viewpoints and plot lines. The clues were so heavy I knew what was going on long before the characters. The Kindle version was also poorly edited. Human trafficking is a huge and ongoing problem, I don't think weaving it into a book in a preachy way is the best way to educate the public.
2 stars
3 stars
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Outside the Jukebox: How I Turned my Vintage Music Obsession in My Dream Gig by Scott Bradlee - I love almost everything Postmodern Jukebox does so when I saw that Scott was writing a book I actually pre-ordered it. He tells about all the hard work it took to become an "overnight" YouTube success. He also gives lots of encouragement to artists pursuing their dreams.
4 stars
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The Boy, the Bird, and the Coffin Maker by Matilda Woods - a plague robs Alberto of his family and he becomes the coffin maker for his town of Allora. A town where fish fly out of the sea and all the houses are brightly colored. Thirty years later Alberto discovers someone is stealing food from him. It's a young boy all alone except for his brightly colored bird. As he gradually earns the boys trust, Alberto discovers he's terribly afraid of someone. This is a children's book that is full of the ordinary and the magical. The illustrations are wonderful.
4 stars
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Lost Creed by Alex Kava - Ryder Creed's sister disappeared from a truck stop 16 years ago and it's the main reason he runs a dog training facility. When he gets news there may be a clue to Brodie's disappearance he is quick to join the investigation. As so often when a writer gets on a soapbox, the story is somewhat neglected. This was also very disjointed with multiple viewpoints and plot lines. The clues were so heavy I knew what was going on long before the characters. The Kindle version was also poorly edited. Human trafficking is a huge and ongoing problem, I don't think weaving it into a book in a preachy way is the best way to educate the public.
2 stars
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Sunday, June 3, 2018
May 27 - June 2, 2018
Plotted: A Literary Atlas by Andrew DeGraff/Daniel G. Harmon - actual maps of 19 books drawn by DeGraff with a short essay about the book by Harmon. These seemed more like illustrations than maps. I really just skimmed the essays, especially the ones about books I hadn't read. Still a pleasant way to pass the time.
2 stars
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To Die but Once by Jacqueline Winspear - England is at war in 1940 but still, Maisie Dobbs is busy with clients. But a case somewhat personal begins when a local boy's father asks her to look for him. He's been working as an apprentice painter on secret business at the airfields. Maisie is also concerned about her good friend's son who wishes to be involved in the war effort even though he's underage. (Btw, is Priscilla's apparent alcoholism ever going to be addressed?) And there's still the question of Anna, Maisie's young ward living with her father.
3.5 stars
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Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson - Anna Treadway is the dresser for Iolanthe Green, star of screen and stage. When Green disappears after a performance there is a hue and cry but the search for her is soon pushed back by other matters. Anna is determined to find her and is joined by a young accountant from Jamaica. They begin a parallel investigation alongside the detective assigned to the case. This book is labeled a mystery but seemed more character driven and a social commentary on the times. It takes place in 1965, England, but some of the scenes could come straight from our news. This one left me vaguely unsatisfied.
2.5 stars
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Dead, to Begin With by Bill Crider - Sheriff Dan Rhodes is dealing with the usual crimes in Clearview, Texas. A woman taking a sledgehammer to the beauty salon because she's upset about her haircut, a chicken crossing the road and causing a four car pileup, and a road rage incident in the Walmart parking lot. Things get serious when the body of a wealthy recluse is found on the stage of the opera house he had just bought. It looks like more than an accident to the sheriff. This is the 24th book in the series. Sadly, there will be no more since the author passed away earlier this year.
3 stars
2 stars
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To Die but Once by Jacqueline Winspear - England is at war in 1940 but still, Maisie Dobbs is busy with clients. But a case somewhat personal begins when a local boy's father asks her to look for him. He's been working as an apprentice painter on secret business at the airfields. Maisie is also concerned about her good friend's son who wishes to be involved in the war effort even though he's underage. (Btw, is Priscilla's apparent alcoholism ever going to be addressed?) And there's still the question of Anna, Maisie's young ward living with her father.
3.5 stars
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Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson - Anna Treadway is the dresser for Iolanthe Green, star of screen and stage. When Green disappears after a performance there is a hue and cry but the search for her is soon pushed back by other matters. Anna is determined to find her and is joined by a young accountant from Jamaica. They begin a parallel investigation alongside the detective assigned to the case. This book is labeled a mystery but seemed more character driven and a social commentary on the times. It takes place in 1965, England, but some of the scenes could come straight from our news. This one left me vaguely unsatisfied.
2.5 stars
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Dead, to Begin With by Bill Crider - Sheriff Dan Rhodes is dealing with the usual crimes in Clearview, Texas. A woman taking a sledgehammer to the beauty salon because she's upset about her haircut, a chicken crossing the road and causing a four car pileup, and a road rage incident in the Walmart parking lot. Things get serious when the body of a wealthy recluse is found on the stage of the opera house he had just bought. It looks like more than an accident to the sheriff. This is the 24th book in the series. Sadly, there will be no more since the author passed away earlier this year.
3 stars
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