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 »
I Read a Lot of Books
I read a lot of books. Sometimes I review them.
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 »
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
One Child by Torey L. Hayden
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Justice For All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made by Jim Newton
As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes I have a difficult time enjoying a biography if I don’t necessarily like the person the book is written about. To separate the book from the person is a challenge, so full disclosure, I think Earl Warren was kind of a jerk. And a bit of a hypocrite. Read More »
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
I approach winners of the Man Booker Prize with caution, having been lead astray down that path ONE two many times. Read More »