I truly enjoy reading Flavia de Luce novels. I can’t help it. Bradley manages to capture perfectly inconsistencies that radiate from 11/12 year old girls. He also captures a time that I find fascinating in English history.
I Read a Lot of Books
I read a lot of books. Sometimes I review them.
L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton
I’m going to ask for you to indulge me while I go off on a bit of a tangent. I saw W is for Wasted in the bookstore as I was doing all my last minute shopping. I am thrilled that I did not start this series back in 1984 when the series first was released. Sure, I was five then, so I am not sure mystery novels would have been appropriate reading material, but I am glad I arrived at the tale end. Read More »
Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-first-century Parenthood by Drew Magary
I’m a parent. I wasn’t always a parent. I find it hard, now, to remember what my life was like before I had all these irrational fears and before I spent my days worrying about things like potty training progress or which educational school of thought best fits my ideal of the type of people I would like to release into the world. Read More »
The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean
I first heard about this book on Radiolab, and yes, I immediately like most of what I hear about on Radiolab. Now, I am not fascinated by scientific details, generally speaking, so I probably would not have selected this book had I not heard some excerpts beforehand and that would have been a shame because this book was GREAT! Read More »
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente
This is the second book in Valenti’s Fairyland series. I was looking forward to it for a LONG time, but with a bit of trepidation. How does one improve or add to a story that I personally enjoyed so much? Read More »
The Oxford Book of Modern Women’s Stories edited by Patricia Craig
I was skeptical when I initially got this for my birthday. What constitutes a Modern Women’s Story anyway? Happily, Patricia Craig explains what does it for her, and since she is the editor, thats what made it into the book. Read More »
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown
Fun fact about me, one of my life’s goals is to go to a regatta. In my mind it would have been on the Thames, but now I have a new regatta in mind, all thanks to The Boys in the Boat. Read More »
T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton
This is my favorite Kinsey Millhone novel thus far. At first, I was a bit thrown off by the narrative. Grafton switches back and forth between Kinsey and a sociopath that she is dealing with, Solana Rojas (alias). I haven’t known Grafton to do that before, but it made the narrative a bit more eerie which I found interesting. Read More »
Silent Courage: An Indian Story by George P. Lee
Oh, so many thoughts about this one. My uncle brought this one to me during Thanksgiving and said, “It is an interesting book. Despite what happened to him later on.” Despite what happened to him later on?! What happened to him later on? To google George P. Lee then and there, or read the book first? Read More »
Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick with William L. Simon
I slightly dislike these written with books because I am not sure how much was the not so ghost writer and how much was Kevin Mitnick? Which to criticize first, or last? And yes there is plenty to criticize, only where to begin? Read More »
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
I have a friend, who we’ll call Andrew (that is his name, by the way), who reads a lot of books. I told him that I’d been reading the Alphabet Murder books by Sue Grafton as my ‘bubble gum’ reads. He confessed that he likes to read the Stephanie Plum ‘number books’ for his bubble gum reading. Read More »
A Nasty Piece of Work by Robert Littell
I enjoy a good mystery, so I was excited to receive Littell’s novel for Christmas, my excitement faded when I delved in and discovered that, despite success writing stories about the CIA, A Nasty Piece of Work was rife with cliche. Read More »
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Meh. So many problems with this book, which was sad because I have been wanting to read it for some time. The largest problem is that of legitimacy. Quiet tries to pass itself of as a serious psychological work when it is really just another self help book (gag). Read More »
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I often re-read books that I love, but I rarely re-read them so quickly in succession. I finished this, and promptly started reading it the next week aloud, to my husband. I appreciated the opportunity for that second read. Read More »
Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams
I really enjoyed this book, which came as a bit of a surprise. I know I’ve said it before, but I tend not to like when the author inserts himself into the non fiction story. There are clearly exceptions, but they are rare. When I picked up this book at the bookstore, I thought I’d give it a chance based solely on my strange obsession with Machu Picchu. Read More »
You Can’t Say You Can’t Play by Vivian Gussin Paley
My husband heard about this book on NPR and we’d had a spirited debate about the merits of not allowing children to exclude other children from play. He got me the book for Christmas so we could, no doubt, continue the debate. Read More »
The Dead Fish Museum: Stories by Charles D’Ambrosio
Ah, the world of short stories. The art of a short story is a difficult one. The author needs to create emotional impact and create interest in a location or character in a short amount of time. Story arcs must move more quickly which is a bit of a challenge. Read More »
Maps and Legends: Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands by Michael Chabon
I suspect my husband judged this book by its cover as he bought it for me. He is a graphic designer. It does have a nice cover, but happily the inner workings are just as nice. Read More »
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
One can’t review this book, without talking about the controversy surrounding this story. Read More »
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Gag. I feel like Brunt tried to create a modern day To Kill a Mockingbird. Sadly, it just came off as a bit weird. The book starts with June Elbus recounting sitting for a portrait with her sister. Her uncle is a famous painter who happens to be dying of Aids. So a barrel of laughs, right from the beginning. Read More »
J is for Judgment by Sue Grafton
I liked this one. The plot seems a bit more complex than other Grafton novels, so that was nice. Also, I know I should always put the disclaimer in here, that I am not reading these in the order they were written, but rather the order that they come into my possession, and this came via a birthday gift from a used bookstore. Read More »
H is for Homicide by Sue Grafton
Yet another piece of the alphabet murder books puzzle. These are so easy to read and have really taken over most of my bubble gum reading these past months. Read More »
Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
I have finally finished the series! I’ve had the book for a long time, and to be honest, the only reason I decided to read it at this particular moment is that the book takes up quite a bit of space, and I am trying to consolidate that shelf to make room for my anticipated Christmas books! That pretty much sums up my feelings of the entire Fablehaven series. Read More »
We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen
I LOVED this book! Loved it. I struggle to find non genre (lit fiction) fiction that is good. Much of it is broody, and depressing, and overly self-conscious. Most are trying to sell a message, and though they try to be subtle, I generally find it distasteful. We, the Drowned was fiction done right. Read More »
Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard
This was the first book of Leonard’s that I have ever read, and most likely the last. I enjoy crime books, but not necessarily criminal books. Do you see the distinction? Read More »
Going Rogue: An American Life by Sarah Palin
I’ve never liked Sarah Palin, I thought she was a poor choice for Senator John McCain as a Vice Presidential nominee, but I will say, this book made me appreciate Sarah Palin a bit more. I won’t say I could envision us being bosom buddies, or anything, but I feel I understand more about her as a person than I did before reading this book. Read More »
Great Tales from English History: The Truth About King Arthur, Lady Godiva, Richard the Lionheart, and more by Robert Lacey
I like history, but I am unsure about where this book falls into the historical non fiction category. Lacey covers a lot of events, in chronological order, but does not delve deeply into cause, morality, or effect, of many of the events. Read More »
America Back on Track by Edward M. Kennedy
Oh, Ted, Ted, Ted… So many things to write about this book. First, for those of you OUT of the political know, Ted Kennedy died way back in 2009. Also, my political beliefs rarely line up with the late Mr. Kennedy, but I do like to keep informed about different ideas and the values behind them. I also got this book for free and I will read anything that comes into my hands for free. Read More »
The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright
Confession time, my husband likes yard sales. I really don’t like them, but whenever he goes I tell him to pick me up some books. Sometimes he hits, and sometimes he misses, but I appreciate new books no matter where they come from, or how they turn out. The Wednesday Letters was a miss. Read More »