Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang - the author had access to recently released documents which put Cixi in a new light. Previously, most of what was known about her was told by her detractors.
3 stars
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The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick - Bartholomew finds himself alone after the death of his mother. He doesn't quite fit into the world and begins writing a series of letters to Richard Gere as a way to cope. One of the characters in the book uses the f word in every sentence, almost like a tic. It irritates me that authors seem to do this for the shock value, it could just as easily have been strawberry. If you can't make your eyes whoosh over that word, you won't be able to enjoy the story.
3 stars
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A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash - two boys see something they shouldn't and several people pay the consequences. Although this story - evil backwoods Southern preacher - has been told ad infinitum, I really like this author's writing. There is some wandering into the past that made the story meander.
3 stars
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A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith - 13 years after WWI, the US government decides to send gold star mothers - those who have lost children in the war - to the cemeteries in France where those children are buried. Mrs. Blake joins a group of four other women on the journey. How the women mesh together and the people they meet on their journey is only part of the story.
3 stars
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The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida - written by an autistic 13 yo boy in 2007 and translated to English in 2013. It's written mostly in question-answer form, with the author telling why he does the things many autistic children do. Interesting, but he seems to think all autistic people think the same way he does.
3 stars
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After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story by Michael Hainey - the author was 6 when his father died and many of his questions were unanswered. As an adult, he begins to dig for the truth. Written in a sparse style that I liked.
3 stars
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Never Go Back by Lee Child - a typical Jack Reacher novel, with Jack fighting for the underdog and breaking bones in the process. This time it's himself he's trying to save from trumped up charges. I thought the end was weird.
3 stars
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Feb 9-15, 2014
Tell No Lies by Gregg Huritz - a counselor for violent ex-offenders accidentally receives a death threat in his office mail. But it's too late and someone is dead. He gets caught up in the case and finds himself under threat. Pretty exciting in parts but I had a little trouble seeing the hero as indomitable as he apparently was.
3 stars
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This Dark Road to Mercy by Riley Cash - two sisters are in the foster system when the father they haven't seen in years comes looking for him. When he takes them from their bedroom at night and they go on the run, their court appointed guardian begins looking for them. Also searching is a scary person from the past. The story is told from 3 viewpoints and moves right along.
4 stars
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Double Double: A Dual Memoir of Alcoholism by Martha and Ken Grimes - a mother and son account of alcoholism. I expected the chapters by Martha to be better since she is the author ( the Richard Jury novels) of the duo but I thought her chapters were very rambling. And she seems to think her way - rehab - is better than the 12-step program her son went through.
2 stars
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Before I Burn: A Novel by Gaute Heivoll - this is written as fiction but is based on a true story. A pyromaniac is setting fires in Norway and the author grew up hearing the stories and decides to write about it. I was totally confused by the way the story goes back in forth in time. It is never explained why the fires were set.
1 star
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Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - a 16 yo boy discovers the stories his grandfather has been telling him may be true after all. He travels to Wales to find out. The book is interspersed with pictures of very odd children. Fairly exciting at the end. First book in a series.
3 stars
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Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith - the authors decided to quit their jobs and visit all 58 National Parks. They tell their story in a series of emails to their friends. Not a park travelogue, but a description of their feelings about the parks, other visitors and each other. I laughed out loud several times.
4 stars
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The Martian by Andy Weir - an astronaut has an accident and is left behind on Mars by his crewmates because they believe him dead. Now he must survive 4 years before the next mission. In spite of all the techy talk, this is quite action packed. Surprisingly humorous in spots. Some language.
5 stars
3 stars
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This Dark Road to Mercy by Riley Cash - two sisters are in the foster system when the father they haven't seen in years comes looking for him. When he takes them from their bedroom at night and they go on the run, their court appointed guardian begins looking for them. Also searching is a scary person from the past. The story is told from 3 viewpoints and moves right along.
4 stars
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Double Double: A Dual Memoir of Alcoholism by Martha and Ken Grimes - a mother and son account of alcoholism. I expected the chapters by Martha to be better since she is the author ( the Richard Jury novels) of the duo but I thought her chapters were very rambling. And she seems to think her way - rehab - is better than the 12-step program her son went through.
2 stars
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Before I Burn: A Novel by Gaute Heivoll - this is written as fiction but is based on a true story. A pyromaniac is setting fires in Norway and the author grew up hearing the stories and decides to write about it. I was totally confused by the way the story goes back in forth in time. It is never explained why the fires were set.
1 star
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Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - a 16 yo boy discovers the stories his grandfather has been telling him may be true after all. He travels to Wales to find out. The book is interspersed with pictures of very odd children. Fairly exciting at the end. First book in a series.
3 stars
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Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith - the authors decided to quit their jobs and visit all 58 National Parks. They tell their story in a series of emails to their friends. Not a park travelogue, but a description of their feelings about the parks, other visitors and each other. I laughed out loud several times.
4 stars
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The Martian by Andy Weir - an astronaut has an accident and is left behind on Mars by his crewmates because they believe him dead. Now he must survive 4 years before the next mission. In spite of all the techy talk, this is quite action packed. Surprisingly humorous in spots. Some language.
5 stars
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Feb 2-8, 2014
Last Rituals by Yrsa Siguroardottir - a rather uninspired telling of a murder with possible ritualistic overtones. Set in Iceland. Even though I didn't care for this book, I'll probably read the next in the series to see if it gets better.
2 stars
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The Apartment by Greg Baxter - one long introspective talking to himself ramble by a man in an unidentified European city looking for an apartment. There are no chapter breaks. I started off thinking I was going to like this but at the end I was just "huh?"
2 stars
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The Wind is Not a River by Brian Payton - WWII and a newspaper correspondent is shot down over the Aleutian Islands. While he is trying to survive on an island held by the Japanese, his wife decides to begin trying to find him. While I vaguely knew about this part of history, I didn't know what happened to the natives at the time. That's just a small part of the story, though.
4 stars
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Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd - an Ian Rutledge mystery. Two seemingly unrelated men are shot down a few weeks apart and Inspector Rutledge is sent to discover the cause. Set in the Fens, with lots of atmospheric weather. For some reason I had trouble keeping up with all the characters and I thought the solution was somewhat of a cheat.
3 stars
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Amelia Peabody;s Egypt by Elizabeth Peters - a non-fiction book with fictional characters from the Amelia Peabody books inserted. All the stuff about Egypt is true. Includes chapters about the Victorian attitude toward Egypt. Probably only interesting is you've read the Amelia Peabody series - which I recommend.
3 stars
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The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton - 834 pages, a LOT of talking. I'm still not really sure how I feel about this book. It's a contemporary novel set in the 1860's and written in that style. The first half of the book is spent introducing all the characters and the situation. Once that was over is when it started to get pretty good. But then near the end the book changes again and I thought that was a weak point. All the chapters are introduced with astrological symbols and I think the author was trying to tie the story into that but I just ignored that part. Mostly because I don't understand it and don't care enough to try. At times I hated the book and at times I really enjoyed it. I did have to put it down two different times to read something else. I guess I'll average it out and give it
3 stars
2 stars
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The Apartment by Greg Baxter - one long introspective talking to himself ramble by a man in an unidentified European city looking for an apartment. There are no chapter breaks. I started off thinking I was going to like this but at the end I was just "huh?"
2 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wind is Not a River by Brian Payton - WWII and a newspaper correspondent is shot down over the Aleutian Islands. While he is trying to survive on an island held by the Japanese, his wife decides to begin trying to find him. While I vaguely knew about this part of history, I didn't know what happened to the natives at the time. That's just a small part of the story, though.
4 stars
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Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd - an Ian Rutledge mystery. Two seemingly unrelated men are shot down a few weeks apart and Inspector Rutledge is sent to discover the cause. Set in the Fens, with lots of atmospheric weather. For some reason I had trouble keeping up with all the characters and I thought the solution was somewhat of a cheat.
3 stars
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Amelia Peabody;s Egypt by Elizabeth Peters - a non-fiction book with fictional characters from the Amelia Peabody books inserted. All the stuff about Egypt is true. Includes chapters about the Victorian attitude toward Egypt. Probably only interesting is you've read the Amelia Peabody series - which I recommend.
3 stars
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The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton - 834 pages, a LOT of talking. I'm still not really sure how I feel about this book. It's a contemporary novel set in the 1860's and written in that style. The first half of the book is spent introducing all the characters and the situation. Once that was over is when it started to get pretty good. But then near the end the book changes again and I thought that was a weak point. All the chapters are introduced with astrological symbols and I think the author was trying to tie the story into that but I just ignored that part. Mostly because I don't understand it and don't care enough to try. At times I hated the book and at times I really enjoyed it. I did have to put it down two different times to read something else. I guess I'll average it out and give it
3 stars
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Jan26-Feb 1, 2014
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - an ordinary man gets pulled into the Under London world. This is not a light and airy fantasy. It was too grim for me and I didn't completely understand what was going on.
2 stars
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Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason - a young child is found murdered and the police must determine if it's racist in nature or something else. Part of a series of dark Icelandic mysteries led by Erlendur.
3 stars
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The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carissi - a convoluted tale of serial killers, a secret sect within the Vatican and a policewoman investigating the death of her husband, all set in Rome. While the story was good, the constant switching back and forth in time and between protagonists was quite confusing. I wasn't sure what was happening until about the last third of the book. The end was a shocker though. If I was grading on just the way it was written, it would get 2 stars. Actually, I liked the writing, but it was too disjointed. If I was grading on the story, 4 stars.
3 stars
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Light of the World by James Lee Burke - I don't know what it is about authors as they get older, they either get very verbose or formulaic. This particular story could have been told in about 200 less pages. More and more evil people doing more and more evil acts kept being introduced while the main protagonist prattled on about philosophical matters. A serial killer thought dead is trailing Dave Robicheaux's daughter, and even though he's a policeman, he's thinking about handling things his way. Fairly violent, including sexual violence.
2 stars
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Starting at Zero by Jimi Hendrix - the words of Jimi Hendrix, compiled from his writings, interviews, and lyrics. Put together by Peter Neal and Alan Douglas, who was his last producer. Jimi seemed like an intelligent man very much driven by his music. His last writings seemed to me to be very much influenced by drugs but maybe I'm projecting.
3 stars
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Red Light by T. Jefferson Parker - Merci Rayburn is back and this time she's investigating the death of an upscale hooker and a cold case from the 60's. And it seems her boyfriend is involved. This was a struggle to get through. Lots of angst.
2 stars
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The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro - a young married woman learns she has received an inheritance in Paris from a woman she doesn't know. The story moves from 1955 to previous years, but not in a confusing way. I really liked the way this was written. A little crude in some places.
4 stars
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Disappointed - I started a book by an author I gave 5 stars to last year and couldn't finish it. It really annoyed me and I figured out right away what I'm sure was supposed to be a big surprise at the end. Perfect by Rachel Joyce.
2 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason - a young child is found murdered and the police must determine if it's racist in nature or something else. Part of a series of dark Icelandic mysteries led by Erlendur.
3 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carissi - a convoluted tale of serial killers, a secret sect within the Vatican and a policewoman investigating the death of her husband, all set in Rome. While the story was good, the constant switching back and forth in time and between protagonists was quite confusing. I wasn't sure what was happening until about the last third of the book. The end was a shocker though. If I was grading on just the way it was written, it would get 2 stars. Actually, I liked the writing, but it was too disjointed. If I was grading on the story, 4 stars.
3 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Light of the World by James Lee Burke - I don't know what it is about authors as they get older, they either get very verbose or formulaic. This particular story could have been told in about 200 less pages. More and more evil people doing more and more evil acts kept being introduced while the main protagonist prattled on about philosophical matters. A serial killer thought dead is trailing Dave Robicheaux's daughter, and even though he's a policeman, he's thinking about handling things his way. Fairly violent, including sexual violence.
2 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starting at Zero by Jimi Hendrix - the words of Jimi Hendrix, compiled from his writings, interviews, and lyrics. Put together by Peter Neal and Alan Douglas, who was his last producer. Jimi seemed like an intelligent man very much driven by his music. His last writings seemed to me to be very much influenced by drugs but maybe I'm projecting.
3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Red Light by T. Jefferson Parker - Merci Rayburn is back and this time she's investigating the death of an upscale hooker and a cold case from the 60's. And it seems her boyfriend is involved. This was a struggle to get through. Lots of angst.
2 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro - a young married woman learns she has received an inheritance in Paris from a woman she doesn't know. The story moves from 1955 to previous years, but not in a confusing way. I really liked the way this was written. A little crude in some places.
4 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disappointed - I started a book by an author I gave 5 stars to last year and couldn't finish it. It really annoyed me and I figured out right away what I'm sure was supposed to be a big surprise at the end. Perfect by Rachel Joyce.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Jan 19-25, 2014
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd - the author describes this book as a thickly imagined story inspired by the life of the real protagonist. Sarah Grimke is 11 when she is given a slave for her birthday. The story follows the lives of Sarah and Handful, her slave, as they strain against the expectations of society. It won't spoil the story to say that Sarah and her sister became the first women to speak out for abolition and women's rights.
4 stars
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Tag Man by Archer Mayor - tag man likes to break into wealthy people's homes, look around, and eat some gourmet food before leaving a note that says tag on it. Then he discovers something that puts him in danger. I enjoyed this book, maybe because the regular characters were more in the background and the story was also told from tag man's viewpoint.
3 stars
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Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - poor Major Pettigrew, England's standards are changing all around him and his only child seems to be interested only in making money. Then he becomes friends with Mrs. Ali from the village store. Loved the very dry humor of Major Pettigrew.
3 stars
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Paradise City by Archer Mayor - a rather convoluted story involving stolen jewelry, illegal aliens used as slave labor and three different police agencies. Also told from many different viewpoints.
3 stars
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These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner - a fictionalized account of the author's great-grandmother in the years 1881-1901. Quite a spunky woman.
4 stars
4 stars
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Tag Man by Archer Mayor - tag man likes to break into wealthy people's homes, look around, and eat some gourmet food before leaving a note that says tag on it. Then he discovers something that puts him in danger. I enjoyed this book, maybe because the regular characters were more in the background and the story was also told from tag man's viewpoint.
3 stars
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Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - poor Major Pettigrew, England's standards are changing all around him and his only child seems to be interested only in making money. Then he becomes friends with Mrs. Ali from the village store. Loved the very dry humor of Major Pettigrew.
3 stars
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Paradise City by Archer Mayor - a rather convoluted story involving stolen jewelry, illegal aliens used as slave labor and three different police agencies. Also told from many different viewpoints.
3 stars
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These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner - a fictionalized account of the author's great-grandmother in the years 1881-1901. Quite a spunky woman.
4 stars
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Jan 12-18, 2014
Stella Bain by Anita Shreve - a woman comes to in a military hospital during WWI not knowing who she is. She journeys to England and is taken in by a doctor and his wife. Not so much a story of the war as it is a story of a woman finding herself.
4 stars
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After Dark by Wilkie Collins - published in 1856, this is a collection of six short stories woven together by "Leah's Diary". Evidently a story couldn't just be told back then without preface upon preface, it took forever to get to the first story. Too many words.
2 stars
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Paw Prints at Owl Cottage by Denis O'Connor - I like the stories the author tells of his cats, I didn't always like the way he told them. Also, as a psychologist, he seemed to want to treat his cats as people in almost demanding their affection. I am ambivalent.
3 stars
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Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman - Huguette was the daughter of W.A. Clark, a man who made millions in the copper industry. In 2009, it was discovered that she owned 3 mansions but was living in a hospital and had been for 20 years. Could have been a very dry book but was not.
3 stars
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Twenty-eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank - Rose Gardner is 24 and has been belittled and mistreated by her mother all her life. She's also psychic and has visions of usually mundane things which she then blurts out. So most of her town thinks she's weird. But when her mother is killed and she is a suspect she finally begins to stand up for herself. I saw this series mentioned on another site and the first book was free on Kindle so then I was hooked.
3 stars
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Twenty-nine and a Half Reasons
Thirty and a Half Excuses
Falling to Pieces
Thirty-one and a Half Regrets all by Denise Grover Swank - the continuation of Rose Gardner's changing life. She's still learning about herself and still getting caught up in murder and mayhem. These are part romance novels and there are sex scenes that get more graphic with each book. While I've enjoyed these books, I don't think I'll read the new one coming out later this year. Evolving into a storyline that aggravates me and too graphic.
3 stars for all except Falling to Pieces, 2 stars. It was one of those .5 books that are supposed to bridge the gap between two "real"books and it was mostly a retelling of the previous book.
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Saints of the Shadow Bible - Rebus is back and the Complaints Dept of the police force is re-opening a 30 years old case he and old workmates were involved with. This tangles with a current case and there are lots of turns and twists and wondering who can be trusted. Figured it out at the same time as Rebus so that left me feeling quite smart.
4 stars
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Dragons of the Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis - actually, this was a graphic novel based on the book, my library doesn't have a copy of the book. Too many characters for a graphic novel where the art doesn't help you distinguish them.
2 stars
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The Blue Hour by T. Jefferson Parker - a retired detective undergoing cancer treatment is called back to help an unseasoned detective track down a serial killer. Quite exciting at the end.
3 stars
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After Dark by Wilkie Collins - published in 1856, this is a collection of six short stories woven together by "Leah's Diary". Evidently a story couldn't just be told back then without preface upon preface, it took forever to get to the first story. Too many words.
2 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paw Prints at Owl Cottage by Denis O'Connor - I like the stories the author tells of his cats, I didn't always like the way he told them. Also, as a psychologist, he seemed to want to treat his cats as people in almost demanding their affection. I am ambivalent.
3 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman - Huguette was the daughter of W.A. Clark, a man who made millions in the copper industry. In 2009, it was discovered that she owned 3 mansions but was living in a hospital and had been for 20 years. Could have been a very dry book but was not.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twenty-eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank - Rose Gardner is 24 and has been belittled and mistreated by her mother all her life. She's also psychic and has visions of usually mundane things which she then blurts out. So most of her town thinks she's weird. But when her mother is killed and she is a suspect she finally begins to stand up for herself. I saw this series mentioned on another site and the first book was free on Kindle so then I was hooked.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twenty-nine and a Half Reasons
Thirty and a Half Excuses
Falling to Pieces
Thirty-one and a Half Regrets all by Denise Grover Swank - the continuation of Rose Gardner's changing life. She's still learning about herself and still getting caught up in murder and mayhem. These are part romance novels and there are sex scenes that get more graphic with each book. While I've enjoyed these books, I don't think I'll read the new one coming out later this year. Evolving into a storyline that aggravates me and too graphic.
3 stars for all except Falling to Pieces, 2 stars. It was one of those .5 books that are supposed to bridge the gap between two "real"books and it was mostly a retelling of the previous book.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saints of the Shadow Bible - Rebus is back and the Complaints Dept of the police force is re-opening a 30 years old case he and old workmates were involved with. This tangles with a current case and there are lots of turns and twists and wondering who can be trusted. Figured it out at the same time as Rebus so that left me feeling quite smart.
4 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dragons of the Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis - actually, this was a graphic novel based on the book, my library doesn't have a copy of the book. Too many characters for a graphic novel where the art doesn't help you distinguish them.
2 stars
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The Blue Hour by T. Jefferson Parker - a retired detective undergoing cancer treatment is called back to help an unseasoned detective track down a serial killer. Quite exciting at the end.
3 stars
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Jan 5 - 11, 2014
The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons by Lawrence Block - the author thought he was retired and then discovered he had one more Bernie Rhodenbarr in him. Bernie is a bookseller/thief but his stories aren't so much about the thefts as all the things that happen before and after. Lots of witty talk and quite a bit of innuendo. I had a lot of fun reading this.
4 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett - a recently widowed antiquarian bookseller finds a watercolor of a woman looking just like his wife. This leads to a possible important find in Shakespeare literature. A few sex scenes, not gratuitous.
4 stars
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The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett - a true story of a boy who has an IQ higher than Einstein's. But his genius was almost lost when he was diagnosed as autistic and his parents were told he would never read.
4 stars
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Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill - the author's parents were part of Sea Org, the part that runs Scientology, and they practically abandoned her for the cause. Her uncle is the man who runs everything now. Although the story itself was interesting the writing was not. Lots of acronyms, almost as bad as reading something military. It's hard to believe she had a co-writer, the book was very poorly edited. I have to say I skimmed the middle parts.
2 stars
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Beasts and Super-Beasts by Saki - first published in 1914 by H.H. Munro using his pen name of Saki. A collection of very short stories poking fun at British society of the time. Some of them don't age well and are certainly not politically correct. I especially enjoyed the stories of people refusing to be bored by tellers of tall tales by telling even more tall tales themselves.
3 stars
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Seven Keys to Baldpate by Earl Derr Biggers - written in 1913, it's a story of lies, corruption and romance, all told in a light-hearted style with lots of clever lines. My idea of what was going on kept changing as more people kept coming to Baldpate Inn, which is closed for the winter.
4 stars
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The Automobile Girls in the Berkshires by Laura Dent Crane - written in 1910. I couldn't decide if this was supposed to be written for adults or children, it was very Nancy Drewish.
1 star
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The Bat by Jo Nesbo - the first book in the Harry Hole series finally published in the US. It gives some background we've been missing because the books are published out of order. Harry is in Australia helping find a serial killer. Not quite as good as the brooding set in Norway books.
3 stars
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Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father by Alysia Abbott - Alysia's mother was killed in a car accident when she was 2 and she and her gay father move to San Francisco. She recounts what it was like growing up there in the 70's and 80's.
3 stars
4 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett - a recently widowed antiquarian bookseller finds a watercolor of a woman looking just like his wife. This leads to a possible important find in Shakespeare literature. A few sex scenes, not gratuitous.
4 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett - a true story of a boy who has an IQ higher than Einstein's. But his genius was almost lost when he was diagnosed as autistic and his parents were told he would never read.
4 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill - the author's parents were part of Sea Org, the part that runs Scientology, and they practically abandoned her for the cause. Her uncle is the man who runs everything now. Although the story itself was interesting the writing was not. Lots of acronyms, almost as bad as reading something military. It's hard to believe she had a co-writer, the book was very poorly edited. I have to say I skimmed the middle parts.
2 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beasts and Super-Beasts by Saki - first published in 1914 by H.H. Munro using his pen name of Saki. A collection of very short stories poking fun at British society of the time. Some of them don't age well and are certainly not politically correct. I especially enjoyed the stories of people refusing to be bored by tellers of tall tales by telling even more tall tales themselves.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seven Keys to Baldpate by Earl Derr Biggers - written in 1913, it's a story of lies, corruption and romance, all told in a light-hearted style with lots of clever lines. My idea of what was going on kept changing as more people kept coming to Baldpate Inn, which is closed for the winter.
4 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Automobile Girls in the Berkshires by Laura Dent Crane - written in 1910. I couldn't decide if this was supposed to be written for adults or children, it was very Nancy Drewish.
1 star
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bat by Jo Nesbo - the first book in the Harry Hole series finally published in the US. It gives some background we've been missing because the books are published out of order. Harry is in Australia helping find a serial killer. Not quite as good as the brooding set in Norway books.
3 stars
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Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father by Alysia Abbott - Alysia's mother was killed in a car accident when she was 2 and she and her gay father move to San Francisco. She recounts what it was like growing up there in the 70's and 80's.
3 stars
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