I have to ask, did they not have HIPAA when Hayden was teaching school? No, research (okay, wikipedia) informs me Bill Clinton signed this bad boy into law in 1996. Read More »
I Read a Lot of Books
I read a lot of books. Sometimes I review them.
The Mammoth Book of Jacobean Whodunnits edited by Mike Ashley
Full disclosure, historical fiction is high on the list of things I avoid reading. No judgments against those who enjoy it, I just find it a bit silly, trying to force the characters into unlikely scenarios that inevitably are interesting historical events. For this, and many other reasons I’ll enumerate later on, I REALLY disliked The Mammoth Book of Jacobean Whodunnits. Read More »
O is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton
Yes, I am aware that these reviews are woefully out of order. But what was I to do when I found O is for Outlaw at our little free library, what could I do? Read More »
R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Another Kinsey Millhone alphabet mystery. I feel like I enjoy these more the more I read them, but they are very simple literary efforts. I don’t like to read reviews of the books I’ve read before I read them, but somehow I stumbled into some reviews for the later alphabet books by purist fans. They seem to be all up in arms as to the direction Kinsey’s character is going. Read More »
High Tide at Gettysburg by Glenn Tucker
I am not a Civil War buff. I find it interesting, but it isn’t the first thing I gravitate toward when looking for non fiction. I actually married into this book. When my husband was a teenager he picked it up because he enjoys military tactics, but he found it pretty unreadable and never finished it. Having read the whole thing, I can understand why he desisted. This was a long, slow slog of a read. Read More »
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
I don’t read a lot of fantasy written for adults. I did; however, really enjoy the Mistborn series. I was intrigued by Sanderson’s idea to write a novel where we actually see a fantasy world that has progressed and we see how technology is used within the framework of magic. Read More »
How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer
I grew up with brothers… who watched football. The kind where people wear pads and you throw the ball about. We lived in a small town without soccer leagues. Despite this, I’ve enjoyed soccer. A soccer match is significantly shorter than a football game, and I imagine that is part of the appeal. I even played on an indoor soccer league once upon a time, and ‘coached’ an intramural team. Thus, my soccer credentials are obviously impeccable. Read More »
Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile by Sarah Wheeler
Have you ever gone on a trip with someone loatheable? I have… in Ireland… and the beauty of the country could not eclipse the nagging annoyance of the person I was with. That was what reading Travels in a Thin Country felt like. Read More »
Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton
This has been my favorite of the Kinsey Millhone series. I’m not sure if it was the mystery itself I found more compelling, or if I just enjoyed finding out more about Kinsey’s parents, but I burned through this one and felt very satisfied at the end.
Trails to Testimony: Bringing Young Men to Christ Through Scouting by Bradley D. Harris
My husband suggested I read this book, as he was required to read it since he volunteers in the good ole BSA. He works with the Varsity boys (ages 14-16) and oh the stories he could tell! Read More »
Into the Mist by Patrick Carman
If any of you are Land Of Elyon fans, you might be sorely disappointed in this review. I had never read, or heard of these books, and I don’t generally read a lot of YA Fantasy. For those in the know, this is actually the fourth book in the series, but not really. Read More »
My New American Life by Francine Prose
Meh. My New American Life was okay, but not terribly exciting. I did have a chuckle at the back jacket reviews because they call Prose’s ‘social satire’ brilliant. I’ll be the judge of that, because I rarely find social satire brilliant, unless it is written by Stella Gibbons or Jasper Fforde. Read More »
P is for Peril by Sue Grafton
Kinsey Millhone, lady PI, is back. And yes, I am aware that I have not yet read O is for Outlaw because I don’t own it and I don’t think it is important enough to go hunt it down in a library. Read More »
Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling by Beth Raymer
While I was reading this book, I was unsure of whether I liked it or not, and after I finished, I decided I did. Read More »
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James McPherson
Bless you, James McPherson… I LOVED this book! Though I don’t consider myself a Civil War enthusiast, I do enjoy learning about the battles and the individuals who lived through that turbulent times. When I say individuals, I don’t necessarily mean the Lincolns or the Lees, but the lay soldiers, and those ‘ordinary people’ who witnessed what was going on and felt direct effects. Read More »
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood
I’d been looking forward to reading the second installment of The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. It didn’t disappoint. Read More »
The Second World War by John Keegan
Yet another WWII book. I know I promised there would be less of these in the future, but my husband bought this one and it has been staring at me from the bookshelves for nearly two years. Read More »
I Hate Your Guts by Jim Norton
This book was absolutely awful. Absolutely. Awful. The highlight of this book was when I used it to kill a wasp this very morning. In short, not worth the time I spent reading it, and certainly not worth any more time reviewing it.
The Complete Book of Running for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Training, Nutrition, Injury Prevention, Motivation, Racing, and Much, Much More by Claire Kowalchik
Okay. The title is pretentious. Lets just get that out of the way now, shall we? Aside from the title, I find it very hard to review self help books. Do I look at it purely as a literary endeavor? Do I actually judge whether the ‘help’ is helpful? Read More »
They Call Me Baba Booey by Gary Dell’Abate with Chad Millman
I don’t listen to Howard Stern. Ever. So I had no idea who this guy was, but as with every free book, I gave this one a chance. I am glad I did. I feared that I would dislike it as much as the other biographies that came as a result of the library fairy, but to my pleasant surprise, this was oddly uplifting.
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
I don’t think I am ever going to get tired of books about Percy Fawcett. An explorer who got lost in the Amazon in search of a lost city? A mystery? Theories upon theories? And David Grann believes he has solved the mystery. Read More »
N Is for Noose by Sue Grafton
Full Disclosure: I’ve never read any other Kinsey Millhone mysteries. My husband’s Grandma was trimming her library and apparently decided to get rid of N on down to V, and since I never turn down a free book… I’ll be reviewing more from this series in the future. Full Disclosure Part Two: I think Tana French’s writing has ruined me for all mystery novels. So my review will be jaded by that high standard. Read More »
Louisa May Alcott: An Intimate Anthology by Louisa May Alcott
Any little girl who ever loved to read and write (guilty!) imagined that they were Jo March. I remember the first time I read Little Women in third grade. I really felt that Louisa May Alcott was the greatest writer on earth. I still re-read the Little Men/Little Women/Jo’s Boys books every couple of years. Read More »
La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith
I adore Alenxander McCall Smith. Really. Adore him. When I lived in Scotland I shelled out a pretty penny, or pence, to hear him speak. He was charming. His books can be described as charming. La’s Orchestra… a mix of charming and melancholy, which is a mix I can get behind. Read More »
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson
It is no secret that I am a fan of Erik Larsen. I’ve wanted to read this one for a while. Larsen is a master, no the master, at blending history with the lives of those living it to create something vivid that even the non history buff can appreciate. It reads like the most delicious fiction, but it is fact, and that is why I finished this book in one wonderful day. Read More »
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
Flavia de Luce is back in action. I’ve actually owned this book for a year (exactly) but I saved it to read during the Christmas season. Read More »
Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier by Scott Zesch
As a western girl (which means I live in the west, not that I like country music) I will admit a fascination to anything that harks back to the lawlessness of the Wild West. A time when you could go around stealing horses, children, and shooting people? Read More »
Broken Harbor by Tana French
Tana French has done it again. Or rather, she’s done it as well as she did the first time around with In The Woods.
Read More »
There is Something in the Air by David Yarbrough
This book was a hard read, full of the problems that one encounters in the world of the self published book, which is truly a shame because I feel that there is a story here that needs to be told. Unfortunately, There is Something in the Air, is not the best way to tell it. Read More »
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
This book gets the highest grade possible because it was awesome. You should read it. The end… Read More »