The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - as she says, everyone's happiness project is different, so this is her research into what makes people happy and her experiment in becoming happier over a year's time. I'm actually going to read this again and jot down some ideas. I'll be reading her second book, too, in preparation for a scrapbooking project.
4 stars
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Cat Bearing Gifts by Shirley Rousseau Murphy - this is the 18th in the Joe Grey series about talking cats. I started out loving this series but I think this will probably be the last I read. At first the stories were just about Joe Grey and how his humans discovered he could talk and how together they solved mysteries. But now the author involves every.single.person.and.cat she has introduced and it's just too much. Also, getting a little woo-woo with the reason the cats can talk.
2 stars
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The Art Forger by B A Shapiro - is a Degas a forgery or the real thing? There are two stories in this book - the main character is making a copy of a Degas that is supposed to be an original and at the same time she is becoming convinced that the original is a forgery. Small amount of sex, not blatant.
5 stars
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Son by Lois Lowry - the fourth and last book in The Giver series. This one wraps everything up in a nice way, although a character introduced at the end seemed off to me. Still, I don't have to wonder what happened to everyone anymore.
3 stars
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The Darkest Room by Johan Theorin - really liked his first book and this has some of the same characters. Takes place on an island off Sweden and the weather is almost another character in the book. The story has ghostly elements that I found a little off-putting. If a third book is translated, I'll be looking at it more closely before I read.
4 stars
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Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin - the sequel to her 1st book. I found this to be pretty repetitious, besides repeating many ideas from the first book, she also repeated herself a lot within this book.
2 stars
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Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill by Gretchen Rubin - a different take on a biography as the author writes 40 very short chapters, some of them taking opposing views of Churchill. A quick read and I learned a lot more than I got from the 250 pages I read of a 1,043 page book I couldn't finish.
4 stars
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The Child's Child by Barbara Vine aka Ruth Rendell - this was a book within a book, with the book withing much longer than the book without. The inner book takes place in 1929 and the outer 2011. It's supposed to be about the difference in public opinion toward homosexuals and unwed mothers in those time periods. But I found it to be more about the danger of loving the wrong person. I've read quite a few books by this author and found myself disappointed in this one.
2 stars
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Dec 30-Jan5
The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal - a search into the past about a families loss and regaining of a collection of netsuke. I really liked the way this was written and found it fascinating. I thought it was as much about anti-Semitism as lost treasure.
5 stars
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The Buzzard's Table by Margaret Maron - a part of a series featuring Judge Deborah Knott. She's a judge in a rather small town and sometimes gets caught up in murder mysteries. This is the last in a fairly long series and I've missed a few in the middle.
3 stars
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Echoes From the Dead by Johan Theoren - a new author for me and I really enjoyed this one although it's a bit melancholy as are many Scandanavian mysteries. A young boy went missing 20 years ago and his mother is still trying to deal with it. Her father thinks he has received some new evidence so she returns to her hometown. I was totally surprised at the end by what really happened. I already have the next book on hold at the library.
4 stars
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Severe Clear by Stuart Woods - a Stone Barrington novel. There's a plot afoot to take out the President and most of LA. Many characters from previous novels are here. Sometimes annoying because everyone is either very rich, very smart or both. Stone usually has sexual encounters with at least two women per novel - I find him rather amoral. Enjoyed this one more than the last few. If you want to read a good book by Stuart Woods, try Chief, his very first.
3 stars
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Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert - another China Bayles mystery. I enjoyed this one more than most because China leaves Pecan Springs and goes to a Shaker village to help with an herb class. Of course a mystery ensues, but interwoven are chapters from journals written by the village inhabitants in 1912.
3 stars
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Just a Geek: Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise by Will Wheaton - a lot of this is taken from his blog. Some language and sex jokes.
3 stars
5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Buzzard's Table by Margaret Maron - a part of a series featuring Judge Deborah Knott. She's a judge in a rather small town and sometimes gets caught up in murder mysteries. This is the last in a fairly long series and I've missed a few in the middle.
3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Echoes From the Dead by Johan Theoren - a new author for me and I really enjoyed this one although it's a bit melancholy as are many Scandanavian mysteries. A young boy went missing 20 years ago and his mother is still trying to deal with it. Her father thinks he has received some new evidence so she returns to her hometown. I was totally surprised at the end by what really happened. I already have the next book on hold at the library.
4 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Severe Clear by Stuart Woods - a Stone Barrington novel. There's a plot afoot to take out the President and most of LA. Many characters from previous novels are here. Sometimes annoying because everyone is either very rich, very smart or both. Stone usually has sexual encounters with at least two women per novel - I find him rather amoral. Enjoyed this one more than the last few. If you want to read a good book by Stuart Woods, try Chief, his very first.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert - another China Bayles mystery. I enjoyed this one more than most because China leaves Pecan Springs and goes to a Shaker village to help with an herb class. Of course a mystery ensues, but interwoven are chapters from journals written by the village inhabitants in 1912.
3 stars
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Just a Geek: Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise by Will Wheaton - a lot of this is taken from his blog. Some language and sex jokes.
3 stars
Thursday, January 3, 2013
5 star books for 2012
First I'll explain how a book gets 5 stars from me. My criteria will likely differ from yours.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - an absolutely lyrical book, it pulled me in right away. A story of lost love, Japanese internment, family tradition and kindness when unexpected.
Sister by Rosamund Lupton - Bee's sister has gone missing and she's determined to find her. Absolutely unexpected ending.
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley - Myfawny Thomas wakes up in a body that is not hers and without her memory. She only has a note in the pocket of her coat to guide her. That's the beginning of a very unusual fantasy/mystery. Everything is revealed to the reader as Myfawny discovers it. Loved it, very different.
Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer - a married couple is going through a crisis: her wig has fallen off in a car wreck, revealing her baldness and her husband is on his way to the moon to colonize it. Another very unusual book. And despite the moon part I wouldn't classify it as sci-fi. There is some sex. Written by a homeschool mom.
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton - a 16 year old girl witnesses her mother commit a crime and 50 years later tries to discover the reason. I thought the writing was beautiful.
The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal - a search into the past about a families loss and regaining of a collection of netsuke. I really liked the way this was written and found it fascinating. I thought it was as much about anti-Semitism as lost treasure.
- It has to interest me from the first page.
- If it's a mystery, I can't guess the bad guy.
- I don't read the end to see if I should keep reading.
- I have to enjoy the way the book is written.
- Nothing irritates me. And believe me, after 56 years of reading I'm easily irritated.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - an absolutely lyrical book, it pulled me in right away. A story of lost love, Japanese internment, family tradition and kindness when unexpected.
Sister by Rosamund Lupton - Bee's sister has gone missing and she's determined to find her. Absolutely unexpected ending.
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley - Myfawny Thomas wakes up in a body that is not hers and without her memory. She only has a note in the pocket of her coat to guide her. That's the beginning of a very unusual fantasy/mystery. Everything is revealed to the reader as Myfawny discovers it. Loved it, very different.
Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer - a married couple is going through a crisis: her wig has fallen off in a car wreck, revealing her baldness and her husband is on his way to the moon to colonize it. Another very unusual book. And despite the moon part I wouldn't classify it as sci-fi. There is some sex. Written by a homeschool mom.
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton - a 16 year old girl witnesses her mother commit a crime and 50 years later tries to discover the reason. I thought the writing was beautiful.
The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal - a search into the past about a families loss and regaining of a collection of netsuke. I really liked the way this was written and found it fascinating. I thought it was as much about anti-Semitism as lost treasure.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Dec 23-29, 2012
Sleep No More by Iris Johansen - I think I'm done with this author for awhile. All the women have beautiful eyes, are brilliant and very strong, although some of them don't know it yet. All the men treat the women with respect, encourage them in their careers and still keep the romance alive. All the villains are psychopaths. The main character, Eve Duncan, still has trouble setting boundaries with her mother. In this book she finds out she has an older step sister who has just escaped from a mental institution.
2 stars
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Jack Reacher's Rules - Jack Reach is a fiction character created by Lee Child but this book was compiled by someone else. It's just a very short book with the rules Jack lives by and if you've read most of the books you already know them. It was kind of fun to see them altogether. Some of the rules only work if you're 6'5 though.
3 stars
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When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde - a man finds a newborn boy in the woods and their lives become intertwined. Every few chapter the viewpoint switches between the man and the boy. Interesting to see how never giving up on someone can change their life.
3.5 stars
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Sutton by J. R. Moehringer - a fictionalized account of the life of Willie Sutton, a famous bank robber. I really like this one, how it was written and the story itself. Some bad language and sex.
4.5 stars
2 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Reacher's Rules - Jack Reach is a fiction character created by Lee Child but this book was compiled by someone else. It's just a very short book with the rules Jack lives by and if you've read most of the books you already know them. It was kind of fun to see them altogether. Some of the rules only work if you're 6'5 though.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde - a man finds a newborn boy in the woods and their lives become intertwined. Every few chapter the viewpoint switches between the man and the boy. Interesting to see how never giving up on someone can change their life.
3.5 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sutton by J. R. Moehringer - a fictionalized account of the life of Willie Sutton, a famous bank robber. I really like this one, how it was written and the story itself. Some bad language and sex.
4.5 stars
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Dec 16-22, 2012
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan - the first in the Wheel of Time series. A fantasy with a hero who doesn't know he's the hero yet and his friends and new acquaintances caught up in a fight with good against evil. I got a little irritated since the book seemed to drag along at times but it was interesting enough that I kept going. One thing I liked was I could keep all the characters straight and new ones were introduced slowly. I'm interested enough to read the second in the series.
3.5 stars
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Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety by Daniel Smith - a witty (sometimes trying to be too much so) description of the author's anxiety and how he learned to deal with it. This was helpful seeing anxiety from the sufferer's viewpoint.
3 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bleed For Me by Michael Robotham - another novel featuring psychologist Joe O'Loughlin. This time his daughter's best friend is accused of killing her father. Somehow this becomes mixed up with a hate crime trial. I was surprised by the ending.
3.5 stars
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Black List by Brad Thor - a member of a Black Ops force finds himself on black list - marked for assasination - and doesn't know why. A secret organization is planning to take down the internet and thereby take over the country. Some intense action with a lot of computer talk in the middle. My eyes glazed over during that part. Would be really scary if it weren't fiction. A part of me wonders how much is true.
3 stars
3.5 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety by Daniel Smith - a witty (sometimes trying to be too much so) description of the author's anxiety and how he learned to deal with it. This was helpful seeing anxiety from the sufferer's viewpoint.
3 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bleed For Me by Michael Robotham - another novel featuring psychologist Joe O'Loughlin. This time his daughter's best friend is accused of killing her father. Somehow this becomes mixed up with a hate crime trial. I was surprised by the ending.
3.5 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black List by Brad Thor - a member of a Black Ops force finds himself on black list - marked for assasination - and doesn't know why. A secret organization is planning to take down the internet and thereby take over the country. Some intense action with a lot of computer talk in the middle. My eyes glazed over during that part. Would be really scary if it weren't fiction. A part of me wonders how much is true.
3 stars
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Dec 9-15, 2012
No books read last week!
A Wanted Man by Lee Child - this is a Jack Reacher book, and as usual is pretty fast and furious. Jack travels the country by hitchhiking and this time is picked up by two men and a woman who aren't quite what they seem. I always enjoy how Jack figures things out. Somewhat violent.
4 stars
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Unwind by Neal Shusterman - a book written for young adults but I really enjoyed it. What would happen if abortion were illegal, but people could "unwind" their children after their 13th birthday if they didn't want them? The stories of 3 kids intertwine as they run from the authorities. Exactly what unwinding is is revealed slowly throughout the story.
4 stars - I'm already on the waiting list for the 2nd book in the series.
A Wanted Man by Lee Child - this is a Jack Reacher book, and as usual is pretty fast and furious. Jack travels the country by hitchhiking and this time is picked up by two men and a woman who aren't quite what they seem. I always enjoy how Jack figures things out. Somewhat violent.
4 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unwind by Neal Shusterman - a book written for young adults but I really enjoyed it. What would happen if abortion were illegal, but people could "unwind" their children after their 13th birthday if they didn't want them? The stories of 3 kids intertwine as they run from the authorities. Exactly what unwinding is is revealed slowly throughout the story.
4 stars - I'm already on the waiting list for the 2nd book in the series.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Nov 25-Dec1 2012
Say You're Sorry by Michael Robotham - this won't be for everyone. It's about two teen girls who have been missing for 3 years and then one of them turns up dead. Some of the story is told from the viewpoint of the other missing girl and the rest is the psychologist who is helping the police. It was certainly suspenseful although I had an inkling early on about the perpetrator and I was right.
3.5 stars because it kept me guessing
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The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle - I wouldn't really consider this a mystery although there are some good guys and some bad guys. It did make me want to go to Marseille and eat French food though.
2 stars
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The Longest Way Home , One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down by Andrew McCarthy - yes, the actor. Couldn't finish this one. I just didn't like his writing style.
0 stars
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Worth Fighting For by Lisa Niemi Swayze - this is mostly about Lisa and Patrick's relationship after he is diagnosed with cancer. I thought she was pretty honest in sharing her emotions. I found the whole book pretty sad.
3 stars
3.5 stars because it kept me guessing
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The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle - I wouldn't really consider this a mystery although there are some good guys and some bad guys. It did make me want to go to Marseille and eat French food though.
2 stars
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The Longest Way Home , One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down by Andrew McCarthy - yes, the actor. Couldn't finish this one. I just didn't like his writing style.
0 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worth Fighting For by Lisa Niemi Swayze - this is mostly about Lisa and Patrick's relationship after he is diagnosed with cancer. I thought she was pretty honest in sharing her emotions. I found the whole book pretty sad.
3 stars
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