Danielle's bookshelf: all

Danielle's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 27 Apr 2025 09:37:42 -0700 60 Danielle's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3)]]> 6411961
Washington DC: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned at the last minute to deliver an evening lecture in the Capitol Building. Within moments of his arrival, however, a disturbing object - gruesomely encoded with five symbols - is discovered at the epicentre of the Rotunda. It is, he recognises, an ancient invitation, meant to beckon its recipient towards a long-lost world of hidden esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon's revered mentor, Peter Solomon - philanthropist and prominent mason - is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes that his only hope of saving his friend's life is to accept this mysterious summons and follow wherever it leads him.

Langdon finds himself quickly swept behind the facade of America's most historic city into the unseen chambers, temples and tunnels which exist there. All that was familiar is transformed into a shadowy, clandestine world of an artfully concealed past in which Masonic secrets and never-before-seen revelations seem to be leading him to a single impossible and inconceivable truth.

A brilliantly composed tapestry of veiled histories, arcane icons and enigmatic codes, The Lost Symbol is an intelligent, lightning-paced thriller that offers surprises at every turn. For, as Robert Langdon will discover, there is nothing more extraordinary or shocking than the secret which hides in plain sight...]]> 509 Dan Brown 0385504225 Danielle 4 3.75 2009 The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3)

author: Dan Brown
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves:
review:
The protagonist was annoying and clueless. And the ending was a bit preachy. But everything in between was pretty good. Like a Reuben.
]]> Turning Angel (Penn Cage #2) 80630 646 Greg Iles 0743454162 Danielle 1 4.12 2005

author: Greg Iles
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2005
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2025/02/28
shelves:
review:
This book is gross. I’m going to have to put it down halfway through it, which I never do. The justifications for adult men to ogle and sexualize teen girls is inexcusable. The poor girl has daddy issues, so of course she’s been hit on by grown men and instead of seeing her as a girl who has been traumatized and sexually abused, she’s consid3ed “mature�� enough to run away with her 40 year old doctor, a man who has abused his position of authority. Of course his wife is an unloving drug addict who drove him into the arms of this child. Penn, our hero, is at first grossed out by the thought of this “relationship,�� but eventually he starts having eyes for the 18 year old babysitter, and he’s drooling and unable to look away from the naked pictures of this 17 year old girl. It’s a pathetic attempt to justify sex with a minor. Horrific.
]]> True at First Light 133595
A blend of autobiography and fiction, the book opens on the day his close friend Pop, a celebrated hunter, leaves Ernest in charge of the safari camp and news arrives of a potential attack from a hostile tribe. Drama continues to build as his wife, Mary, pursues the great black-maned lion that has become her obsession. Spicing his depictions of human longings with sharp humor, Hemingway captures the excitement of big-game hunting and the unparalleled beauty of the scenery -- the green plains covered with gray mist, zebra and gazelle traversing the horizon, cool dark nights broken by the sounds of the hyena's cry.

As the group at camp help Mary track her prize, she and Ernest suffer the "incalculable casualties of marriage," and their attempts to love each other well are marred by cruelty, competition and infidelity. Ernest has become involved with Debba, an African girl whom he supposedly plans to take as a second bride. Increasingly enchanted by the local African community, he struggles between the attraction of these two women and the wildly different cultures they represent.

In True at First Light, Hemingway also chronicles his exploits -- sometimes hilarious and sometimes poignant -- among the African men with whom he has become very close, reminisces about encounters with other writers and his days in Paris and Spain and satirizes, among other things, the role of organized religion in Africa. He also muses on the act of writing itself and the author's role in determining the truth. What is fact and what is fiction? This is a question that was posed by Hemingway's readers throughout his career and is one of his principal subjects here.

Equally adept at evoking the singular textures of the landscape, the thrill of the hunt and the complexities of married life, Hemingway weaves a tale that is rich in laughter, beauty and profound insight. True at First Light is an extraordinary publishing event -- a breathtaking final work from one of America's most beloved and important writers.]]> 320 Ernest Hemingway 0684865726 Danielle 3 3.37 1999

author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.37
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/10
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves:
review:
It’s Hemingway, so it reads well. But he’s so unlikeable as his own character. If you like dead animals, stilted conversation, a woman who is obsessed about killing a lion and putting down everyone around her while her partner is philandering right in front of her, this is your book.
]]> <![CDATA[Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)]]> 76703559 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.]]> 406 Sarah J. Maas 163973094X Danielle 5 4.18 2012 Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)

author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
A terrific book, full of interest and intrigue. A little heavy on the “will they won’t they”’s but not enough to detract.
]]> <![CDATA[The Inheritor (Occult Tales, #2)]]> 61890 354 Marion Zimmer Bradley 0312862938 Danielle 2 3.49 1984

author: Marion Zimmer Bradley
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.49
book published: 1984
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves:
review:
I just started this book, but this line from our protagonist does not bode well: “Probably more a victim than a victimizer, one of the hundreds of thousands of men so brutalized by society that no reasonable person could hold him responsible; but she wished, whoever he was, that he would take his grudge out on whoever was really to blame.��
]]> Around the World in 80 Days 1038671 317 Jules Verne 1416939369 Danielle 4 3.63 1872

author: Jules Verne
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1872
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #3)]]> 15768409 There is.

She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.

She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.

Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.

Retribution has arrived.]]> 470 Michelle Hodkin 1442484233 Danielle 3 …Nevermind. 14- I just counted them.]]> 4.07 2014 The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #3)

The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #3)

author: Michelle Hodkin
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/29
date added: 2024/08/29
shelves:
review:
Meh. I didn’t like any of the characters and the ending seemed tepid at best. And do we have to have ten pages dragging out a teen hook up scene?
…Nevermind. 14- I just counted them.
]]> Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Danielle 3 3.86 1814

author: Jane Austen
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Seasparrow (Graceling Realm, #5)]]> 57503085 The fifth novel in the bestselling and award winning Graceling Realm series focuses on Hava, Queen Bitterblue's spy, and her harrowing journey back to Monsea after the events of 2021's Winterkeep.

In the immediate aftermath of the events of Winterkeep, Bitterblue and her entourage begin the journey back to Monsea with the only copies of the formulas for the zilphium weapon. Bitterblue must decide what she will do with her world-shaping power. But before they've even made it halfway home, storms drive their ship off course and then wrecking them in the ice far north of the Royal Continent. The survivors must make a harrowing trek across the ice in order to make it back to Monsea.

Seasparrow is told entirely from the point of view of Hava, Bitterblue's personal spy and secret half-sister. And while Bitterblue grapples with how to carry the responsibility of a weapon of mass destruction, Hava must decide what she will do with herself in the new world Bitterblue will make.]]> 624 Kristin Cashore 0593616030 Danielle 0 to-read 4.06 2022 Seasparrow (Graceling Realm, #5)

author: Kristin Cashore
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)]]> 3236307
She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.]]> 471 Kristin Cashore 015206396X Danielle 5 4.07 2008 Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)

author: Kristin Cashore
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/21
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves:
review:
The enthusiasm for this book has spread like a wildfire throughout my family. My kids love it- very engaging, and the characters were extremely likable and relatable. Fun, quick read with some unexpected twists and turns.
]]> As Bright as Heaven 35133917 Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Bridge Across the Ocean comes a new novel set in Philadelphia during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which tells the story of a family reborn through loss and love.

In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters--Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa--a chance at a better life.

But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without--and what they are willing to do about it.

As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world, not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.]]> 387 Susan Meissner 0399585966 Danielle 4 4.09 2018 As Bright as Heaven

author: Susan Meissner
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/11
date added: 2024/07/11
shelves:
review:
This is a great book, but I don’t know who to recommend it to. It’s a very specific niche- which I enjoyed. I loved the characters. The perfect combination of sweet and sad.
]]> <![CDATA[I Need Thee Every Hour: The Joy of Coming to Christ]]> 830418 Book by Yorgason, Blaine M. 500 Blaine M. Yorgason 1590382307 Danielle 2 4.48 2003

I Need Thee Every Hour: The Joy of Coming to Christ

author: Blaine M. Yorgason
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2003
rating: 2
read at: 2024/05/02
date added: 2024/05/02
shelves:
review:
It was hard to get through. Repetitive, dense, uninspiring to me unfortunately
]]> The Midnight Library 52578297
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?]]> 288 Matt Haig 0525559477 Danielle 4 3.96 2020 The Midnight Library

author: Matt Haig
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/13
date added: 2024/04/15
shelves:
review:
Such great book. The little things that bugged me were eclipsed by the premise. I want my own library!
]]> After Alice 24331115 Wicked comes a magical new twist on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Lewis's Carroll's beloved classic

When Alice toppled down the rabbit-hole 150 years ago, she found a Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abrasive egos as the world she left behind. But what of that world? How did 1860s Oxford react to Alice's disappearance?

In this brilliant new work of fiction, Gregory Maguire turns his dazzling imagination to the question of underworlds, undergrounds, underpinnings �� and understandings old and new, offering an inventive spin on Carroll's enduring tale. Ada, a friend of Alice's mentioned briefly in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is off to visit her friend, but arrives a moment too late �� and tumbles down the rabbit hole herself.

Ada brings to Wonderland her own imperfect apprehension of cause and effect as she embarks on an odyssey to find Alice and see her safely home from this surreal world below the world. If Euridyce can ever be returned to the arms of Orpheus, or Lazarus can be raised from the tomb, perhaps Alice can be returned to life. Either way, everything that happens next is After Alice.]]> 273 Gregory Maguire 0060548959 Danielle 2 2.79 2015

author: Gregory Maguire
name: Danielle
average rating: 2.79
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2024/04/15
date added: 2024/04/15
shelves:
review:
I gave it two stars because the book had complete sentences and I wanted to give Maguire the benefit of the doubt. It was dull, uninspired and so difficult to get through. I’m going to have to return it to the thrift store I got it from because I can think of no one who’d be interested in this book. So disappointing.
]]> My Contrary Mary (Mary, #1) 43604047
Welcome to Renaissance France, a place of poison and plots, of beauties and beasts, of mice and . . . queens?

Mary is the queen of Scotland and the jewel of the French court. Except when she’s a mouse. Yes, reader, Mary is an Eðian (shapeshifter) in a kingdom where Verities rule. It’s a secret that could cost her a head—or a tail.��

Luckily, Mary has a confidant in her betrothed, Francis. But things at the gilded court take a treacherous turn after the king meets a suspicious end. Thrust onto the throne, Mary and Francis face a viper’s nest of conspiracies, traps, and treason. And if Mary’s secret is revealed, heads are bound to roll.

With a royally clever sense of humor, Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows continue their campaign to turn history on its head in this YA fantasy that’s perfect for fans of A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.]]> 512 Cynthia Hand 0062930060 Danielle 3 3.88 2021 My Contrary Mary (Mary, #1)

author: Cynthia Hand
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/10
date added: 2024/04/10
shelves:
review:
I picked it up to vet it for my daughter. It’s cute and spunky sometimes, and it’s interesting enough, but I didn’t like any of the characters. Meh.
]]> <![CDATA[The Journey from Abandonment to Healing: Turn the End of a Relationship into the Beginning of a New Life]]> 77805 352 Susan Anderson 0425172287 Danielle 4 4.22 2000

The Journey from Abandonment to Healing: Turn the End of a Relationship into the Beginning of a New Life

author: Susan Anderson
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/04
date added: 2024/01/05
shelves:
review:
Really useful concepts for clients I’m working with. The idea of inner child has significantly resonated with many people I’ve worked with
]]> <![CDATA[Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre]]> 52454426
But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing—and too earth-shattering in its implications—to be forgotten.

In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate’s extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it.

Kate’s is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity’s defiance in the face of a terrible predator’s gaze, and inevitably, of savagery and death.

Yet it is also far more than that.

Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us—and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.

Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it—and like none you’ve ever read before.]]> 286 Max Brooks 1984826786 Danielle 4 3.88 2020 Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre

author: Max Brooks
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/11/05
shelves:
review:
Sasquatch. Mt. Rainier. Groups of survivalists. It had the elements I often look for in a good story, but there were elements that were a bit irritating. Irritating personalities are to be expected, but not when it's the protagonist. I didn't like the shifting perspectives. And I don't like the vague ending. That being said, bravo for a pretty good story!
]]> <![CDATA[Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike]]> 27220736
In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of startups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all startups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable symbols in the world today.

But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, in a memoir that is candid, humble, gutsy, and wry, he tells his story, beginning with his crossroads moment. At 24, after backpacking around the world, he decided to take the unconventional path, to start his own business—a business that would be dynamic, different.

Knight details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream—along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls the formative relationships with his first partners and employees, a ragtag group of misfits and seekers who became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.]]> 400 Phil Knight 1501135910 Danielle 5 4.45 2016 Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

author: Phil Knight
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/11/05
shelves:
review:
Very engaging, the book felt so... Oregon'ish. It was compelling, and easy to get into. I didn't always agree with the life choices Knight made as other reviewers commented on, but that's not what makes a book interesting. It was recommended to me and I'd definitely recommend it on.
]]> Before I Fall 6482837 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver emerged as one of today's foremost authors of young adult fiction. Like Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why and Gayle Forman's If I Stay, Before I Fall raises thought-provoking questions about love, death, and how one person's life can affect so many others.

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12��"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

Named to numerous state reading lists, this novel was also recognized as a Best Book of the Year by Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, The Daily Beast, NPR, and Publishers Weekly. It has been optioned for film by Fox 2000 Pictures.

Supports the Common Core State Standards.]]> 470 Lauren Oliver 0061726818 Danielle 4 3.89 2010 Before I Fall

author: Lauren Oliver
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/02
date added: 2023/10/03
shelves:
review:
i liked that i disliked the protagonist. i never warmed up to her. i like that she wasn't able to completely redeem herself, and that the story wasn't bent on "correcting" her behaviors and values. i'm fine reading about someone i can't relate to. and i'm glad the protagonist embraces this. it's a refreshing read.
]]> <![CDATA[Never Let Go (Uncommon Justice, #1)]]> 40392262
Ex-FBI agent--and Willow's ex-flame--Austin McKade readily offers his help to protect the woman he never should have let get away. Together they'll follow where the clues lead them, even if it means Austin must face the past he's spent much of his life trying to forget. And even if it puts Willow's tender heart at risk.

In this fast-paced and emotional page-turner, bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard keeps the stakes high, the romantic tension sparking, and the outcome uncertain until the very end.]]> 363 Elizabeth Goddard 0800729846 Danielle 4 (it's nice to read a story where you know there will be a twist, and there's nothing that hints at what's coming!)]]> 3.97 2019 Never Let Go (Uncommon Justice, #1)

author: Elizabeth Goddard
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/04
date added: 2023/10/03
shelves:
review:
this was surprisingly good! i didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this. this book is definitely going in the box to my sister!
(it's nice to read a story where you know there will be a twist, and there's nothing that hints at what's coming!)
]]> <![CDATA[Raven Black (Shetland Island, #1)]]> 644655 Winner of Britain’s coveted Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award, Ann Cleeves introduces a dazzling new suspense series to mystery readers.

Raven Black begins on New Year’s Eve with a lonely outcast named Magnus Tait, who stays home waiting for visitors who never come. But the next morning the body of a murdered teenage girl is discovered nearby, and suspicion falls on Magnus. Inspector Jimmy Perez enters an investigative maze that leads deeper into the past of the Shetland Islands than anyone wants to go.

]]> 384 Ann Cleeves 0312359667 Danielle 4 3.88 2006 Raven Black (Shetland Island, #1)

author: Ann Cleeves
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/24
date added: 2023/09/24
shelves:
review:
Did I love it? Meh. Did I put it down a couple of times? Yes. But I still enjoyed it overall. The story was engaging, I couldn’t guess the ended yet it wasn’t too far fetched. I’d read more books by this author and I would definitely pass this on to people I like.
]]> Honolulu 4618728 The story of a young immigrant bride in a ramshackle town that becomes a great modern city.

"In Korea in those days, newborn girls were not deemed important enough to be graced with formal names, but were instead given nicknames, which often reflected the parents; feelings on the birth of a daughter: I knew a girl named Anger, and another called Pity. As for me, my parents named me Regret."

Honolulu is the rich, unforgettable story of a young "picture bride" who journeys to Hawai'i in 1914 in search of a better life.

Instead of the affluent young husband and chance at an education that she has been promised, she is quickly married off to a poor, embittered laborer who takes his frustrations out on his new wife. Renaming herself Jin, she makes her own way in this strange land, finding both opportunity and prejudice. With the help of three of her fellow picture brides, Jin prospers along with her adopted city, now growing from a small territorial capital into the great multicultural city it is today. But paradise has its dark side, whether it's the daily struggle for survival in Honolulu's tenements, or a crime that will become the most infamous in the islands history...

With its passionate knowledge of people and places in Hawai'i far off the tourist track, Honolulu is most of all the spellbinding tale of four women in a new world, united by dreams, disappointment, sacrifices, and friendship.]]> 360 Alan Brennert 0312360401 Danielle 5 4.06 2009

author: Alan Brennert
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/09/20
shelves:
review:
This was an amazing book. I found it to be engaging and captivating- I felt the characters to be believable and intriguing. I loved the descriptions and didn't find them to be at all heavy handed, the action and dialog was well balanced, and I really connected with the writing. This book is good enough for me to pass on to my sister.
]]> The Girl Who Drank the Moon 28110852
One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a��young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she’s always known.]]> 388 Kelly Barnhill 1616205679 Danielle 4 Absolutely delightful. 4.11 2016 The Girl Who Drank the Moon

author: Kelly Barnhill
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/09
date added: 2023/09/09
shelves:
review:
Absolutely delightful.
]]> The Summer Before the War 25776122
East Sussex, 1914. It is the end of England's brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha's husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won't come to anything. And Agatha has more immediate concerns; she has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master.

When Beatrice Nash arrives with one trunk and several large crates of books, it is clear she is significantly more freethinking—and attractive—than anyone believes a Latin teacher should be. For her part, mourning the death of her beloved father, who has left her penniless, Beatrice simply wants to be left alone to pursue her teaching and writing.

But just as Beatrice comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha's reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war.]]> 481 Helen Simonson 0812993101 Danielle 5 3.73 2016 The Summer Before the War

author: Helen Simonson
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/08
date added: 2023/09/08
shelves:
review:
This was such a good book. It carried me through a transition in my personal life and was great having a connection with the characters to help me escape into their own chaotic world. I did get a bit frustrated with Ms. Nash, who I found dry and moody and quite judgmental at times (even given the era the book was set in), but the book was lovely and unpredictable.
]]> Year of Wonders 4965
Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition.

As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love.

As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. ]]> 304 Geraldine Brooks 0142001430 Danielle 3 4.00 2001

author: Geraldine Brooks
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2019/06/15
date added: 2023/08/03
shelves:
review:
Some parts moved a little more slowly than others. But overall, it kept me moving through the book. There were bits that were horrific but not over the top because the plague wasn’t rainbows and puppy dogs. I even didn’t mind the bit about the minister being a secret sadist/masochist. But the last handful of pages were just too odd for me. I wouldn’t say it spoiled the book, but I didn’t get a proper ending, which is pretty frustrating.
]]> <![CDATA[More Ghost Stories (Red Hot Reads)]]> 394854 222 Aidan Chambers 0753457369 Danielle 3 3.57 2004

author: Aidan Chambers
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/24
date added: 2023/06/24
shelves:
review:
the selection was decent. i like that these were lesser none stories from more classical writers. some of the stories held my interest, but very few of them kept me riveted enough to read in one sitting. it was more of a "put it down, pick it up when i think of it" sort of book. my kids have no interest in reading it, so i'll donate it to see if it can find life on someone else's shelf.
]]> Frog Music 18295858
The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days, she will risk everything to bring Jenny's murderer to justice--if he doesn't track her down first. The story Blanche struggles to piece together is one of free-love bohemians, desperate paupers, and arrogant millionaires; of jealous men, icy women, and damaged children. It's the secret life of Jenny herself, a notorious character who breaks the law every morning by getting dressed: a charmer as slippery as the frogs she hunts.

In thrilling, cinematic style, FROG MUSIC digs up a long-forgotten, never-solved crime. Full of songs that migrated across the world, Emma Donoghue's lyrical tale of love and bloodshed among lowlifes captures the pulse of a boomtown like no other.]]> 405 Emma Donoghue 031632468X Danielle 3 3.18 2014 Frog Music

author: Emma Donoghue
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.18
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/05
date added: 2023/06/05
shelves:
review:
It was okay. Good enough to read through, not good enough to recommend to anyone I like.
]]> <![CDATA[Time Travel Short Stories (Gothic Fantasy)]]> 43254005
Classic authors F. Anstey, Edward Bellamy, John Buchan, L. Maria Child, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, Harold Steele Mackaye, Edward Page Mitchell, William Morris, Philip Francis Nowlan, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, H.G. Wells.]]> 480 David Wittenberg Danielle 2 3.57 2017 Time Travel Short Stories (Gothic Fantasy)

Time Travel Short Stories (Gothic Fantasy)

author: David Wittenberg
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2020/05/13
date added: 2023/04/24
shelves:
review:
Sometimes reading this book was a delight and other times it was a chore. The stories were varied, which was nice. I like diversity. But some of the selections were awful. I had to skim them because I couldn’t get into them or they were just awful. It has an attractive cover, so I was excited because I like time travel and I like fancy looking books. But I can’t give this one away fast enough. At the very least, it rekindled my enthusiasm for some of the old classics- I loved revisiting Wells and Twain. And a few new authors I’ll keep an eye out for. But just because the story fits the theme doesn’t mean it should be given space in the book.
]]> Remarkably Bright Creatures 58733693 Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.]]> 368 Shelby Van Pelt 0063204150 Danielle 4 fictional more octopus.]]> 4.35 2022 Remarkably Bright Creatures

author: Shelby Van Pelt
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/27
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves: fictional
review:
i love it when the protagonist is a crotchety curmudgeon. that being said, i couldn't get a finger on the pulse of this character's motives. she seemed lonely, talked about being lonely, but pushed away everyone who wanted to get close to her. for no apparent reason. yes, she lost some significant people in her life, but it felt as if she was fine for a while and then one day she just woke up angry with the world. i was frustrated for her. she also didn't seem to be as impulsive as she ended up being so sometimes i was just- confused. the octopus- loved him.
more octopus.
]]> <![CDATA[The Oxford Book of American Literary Anecdotes]]> 3286968 360 Donald Hall 0195029380 Danielle 2 3.42 1981

The Oxford Book of American Literary Anecdotes

author: Donald Hall
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.42
book published: 1981
rating: 2
read at: 2023/03/27
date added: 2023/03/27
shelves:
review:
i love reading about the private lives of authors. it humanizes them and helps me understand better what drives them to write about the subjects they choose. that being said, the selection of anecdotes in this book were for the most part uninteresting and oftentimes didn't even make sense. the punchlines were tired or lost entirely. i didn't find many of them entertaining and it was hard to get through this book.
]]> Footnotes in Gaza 6796708 From the great cartoonist-reporter, a sweeping, original investigation of a forgotten crime in the most vexed of places

Rafah, a town at the bottommost tip of the Gaza Strip, is a squalid place. Raw concrete buildings front trash-strewn alleys. The narrow streets are crowded with young children and unemployed men. On the border with Egypt, swaths of Rafah have been bulldozed to rubble. Rafah is today and has always been a notorious flashpoint in this bitterest of conflicts.

Buried deep in the archives is one bloody incident in 1956, that left 111 Palestinians dead, shot by Israeli soldiers. Seemingly a footnote to a long history of killing, that day in Rafah—cold-blooded massacre or dreadful mistake—reveals the competing truths that have come to define an intractable war. In a quest to get to the heart of what happened, Joe Sacco immerses himself in daily life of Rafah and the neighboring town of Khan Younis, uncovering Gaza past and present. Spanning fifty years, moving fluidly between one war and the next, alive with the voices of fugitives and schoolchildren, widows and sheikhs, Footnotes in Gaza captures the essence of a tragedy.

As in Palestine and Safe Area Goražde, Sacco’s unique visual journalism has rendered a contested landscape in brilliant, meticulous detail. Footnotes in Gaza, his most ambitious work to date, transforms a critical conflict of our age into an intimate and immediate experience.

]]> 432 Joe Sacco 0805073477 Danielle 4 4.34 2009 Footnotes in Gaza

author: Joe Sacco
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/28
date added: 2023/01/28
shelves:
review:
this was such a work of love. well-researched, heartbreaking, the images really painted a picture. it left an impression on me. we should require readings like these in high school to really understand the horrors that humans are capable of.
]]> <![CDATA[Against the Wall (Against the Wall, #1)]]> 13612031
Warning: this book contains the following adult content.
Sex and nudity: Yes!
Profanity: Hell yes!
Alcohol: That too!]]> 304 Julie Prestsater Danielle 1 3.73 2012 Against the Wall (Against the Wall, #1)

author: Julie Prestsater
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2012
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2023/01/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America]]> 53056522 From the author of the New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk About Race, a history of white male America and a scathing indictment of what it has cost us socially, economically, and politically

After the election of Donald Trump, and the escalation of white male rage and increased hostility toward immigrants that came with him, New York Times-bestselling author Ijeoma Oluo found herself in conversation with Americans around the country, pondering one central question: How did we get here?

In this ambitious survey of the last century of American history, Oluo answers that question by pinpointing white men's deliberate efforts to subvert women, people of color, and the disenfranchised. Through research, interviews, and the powerful, personal writing for which she is celebrated, Oluo investigates the backstory of America's growth, from immigrant migration to our national ethos around ingenuity, from the shaping of economic policy to the protection of sociopolitical movements that fortify male power. In the end, she shows how white men have long maintained a stranglehold on leadership and sorely undermined the pursuit of happiness for all.]]> 278 Ijeoma Oluo 1580059511 Danielle 2 4.40 2020 Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America

author: Ijeoma Oluo
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2023/01/01
date added: 2023/01/01
shelves:
review:
I get the premise- but it was hard to get into what the writer was trying to say when she jumped from topic to topic too quickly. I really wanted to get into the meat and potatoes of this book, and the beginnings of the chapters were interesting, but the following paragraphs meandered and never seemed to find their way to a solid conclusion. A book still needs to be written well, despite the juiciness of the topic.
]]> When Women Were Dragons 58783802 A rollicking feminist tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.

The first adult novel by the Newbery award-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve.]]> 367 Kelly Barnhill 0385548222 Danielle 5 3.79 2022 When Women Were Dragons

author: Kelly Barnhill
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/10/20
date added: 2022/10/20
shelves:
review:
I loved it. It was such a beautiful book.
]]> The Girl on Evangeline Beach 1687961 253 Anne Laurel Carter 077376139X Danielle 3 Meh 3.32 2000

author: Anne Laurel Carter
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.32
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at: 2022/08/16
date added: 2022/08/16
shelves:
review:
Meh
]]> Krampus: The Yule Lord 13505670
��ǳ� Krampus

The author and artist of The Child Thief returns with a modern fabulist tale of Krampus, the Lord of Yule and the dark enemy of Santa Claus

One Christmas Eve in a small hollow in Boone County, West Virginia, struggling songwriter Jesse Walker witnesses a strange spectacle: seven devilish figures chasing a man in a red suit toward a sleigh and eight reindeer. When the reindeer leap skyward, taking the sleigh, devil men, and Santa into the clouds, screams follow. Moments later, a large sack plummets back to earth, a magical sack that thrusts the down-on-his-luck singer into the clutches of the terrifying Yule Lord, Krampus. But the lines between good and evil become blurred as Jesse's new master reveals many dark secrets about the cherry-cheeked Santa Claus, including how half a millennium ago the jolly old saint imprisoned Krampus and usurped his magic.

Now Santa's time is running short, for the Yule Lord is determined to have his retribution and reclaim Yuletide. If Jesse can survive this ancient feud, he might have the chance to redeem himself in his family's eyes, to save his own broken dreams, . . . and to help bring the magic of Yule to the impoverished folk of Boone County.]]> 357 Brom 006209565X Danielle 3 4.10 2012 Krampus: The Yule Lord

author: Brom
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2022/08/12
date added: 2022/08/12
shelves:
review:
Sloppy writing but the premise was intriguing enough to keep me engaged.
]]> <![CDATA[Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral]]> 129579
“Move over, Thelma, and make way, Louise!��Annie Freeman's raucous and heart-tugging journey to eternity��will put Kris Radish on the map—in a RED Cadillac!”—Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean

For Katherine Givens and the four women about to become her best friends, the adventure begins with a UPS package. Inside is a pair of red sneakers filled with ashes and a note that will forever change their lives. Katherine’s oldest and dearest friend, the irrepressible Annie Freeman, left one final request—a traveling funeral—and she wants the most important women in her life as “pallbearers.��

From Sonoma to Manhattan, Katherine, Laura, Rebecca, Jill, and Marie will carry Annie’s ashes to the special places in her life. At every stop there’s a surprise encounter and a small miracle waiting, and as they whoop it up across the country, attracting interest wherever they go, they share their deepest secrets—tales of broken hearts and second chances, missed opportunities and new beginnings. And as they grieve over what they’ve lost, they discover how much is still possible if only they can unravel the secret Annie left them. . . .

Praise for Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral

“Radish’s characters help readers realize they are not alone in the world and their struggles have been or will be experienced by other women.�� Albuquerque Journal

“Radish sings the praises of sisterhood by creating an enticing world of women helping women to become the empowered individuals they were meant to be.�� Booklist]]> 331 Kris Radish 0553382640 Danielle 2 3.41 2006 Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral

Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral

author: Kris Radish
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.41
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2022/06/24
date added: 2022/06/24
shelves:
review:
I feel like Annie Freeman herself would not have wanted me to waste my time reading this book. It took me several times sitting and smudging through it before I got to the end. The premise was enough to get me to buy the book, but it was dull. The characters were described as very different from each other, but they all talked, laughed and cried exactly the same way for the same things. Less time talking about the bra please, and give me some actually meat regarding the traveling funeral. Don’t tell me they didn’t get along, show me. Too much fluff in all the wrong places.
]]> <![CDATA[Ghosts: The Warriors at Helgeland, an Enemy of the People]]> 8073225 256 Henrik Ibsen 1406790087 Danielle 4 ! Seriously !]]> 4.00 2007

Ghosts: The Warriors at Helgeland, an Enemy of the People

author: Henrik Ibsen
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2022/02/03
date added: 2022/02/03
shelves:
review:
Warriors at Helgeland: why do I love this play so much? Hjordis is a mess. Sigurd should have known it wasn’t going to work out when he pledged his love to her. Of course she was going to kill him. When someone tells you who they are, believe them! If someone is hateful, spiteful and vengeful, believe they’re going to treat you the same way even if they proclaim their undying love for you
! Seriously !
]]> The Best of Roald Dahl 6330
Contents

- Madame Rosette
- Man from the South
- The Sound Machine
- Taste
- Dip in the Pool
- Skin
- Edward the Conqueror
- Lamb to the Slaughter
- Galloping Foxley
- The Way Up to Heaven
- Parson's Pleasure
- The Landlady
- William and Mary
- Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat
- Royal Jelly
- Georgy Porgy
- Genesis and Catastrophe
- Pig
- The Visitor
- Claud's Dog (The Ratcatcher, Rummins, Mr. Hoddy, Mr. Feasy, Champion of the World)
- The Great Switcheroo
- The Boy Who Talked with Animals
- The Hitchhiker
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
- The Bookseller]]> 520 Roald Dahl 0679729917 Danielle 4 4.39 1978 The Best of Roald Dahl

author: Roald Dahl
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1978
rating: 4
read at: 2022/01/28
date added: 2022/01/29
shelves:
review:
I’ve read these stories several times and they never cease to surprise me, even though I know what the ending is. I think about them at odd times because who could ever forget that baby bee? Or the story Skin? And it always always helps to realize my life could be so much worse.
]]> <![CDATA[Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites (Tennis Shoes, #1)]]> 121809 268 Chris Heimerdinger 1577344677 Danielle 4 4.00 1989

Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites (Tennis Shoes, #1)

author: Chris Heimerdinger
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/01/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim]]> 10176 --davidsedarisbooks.com]]> 257 David Sedaris 0965904830 Danielle 4 4.12 2004

author: David Sedaris
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2022/01/20
date added: 2022/01/20
shelves:
review:
It read quickly and was entertaining. I like his easy style- I even laughed a few times. I’m looking forward to the next one!
]]> <![CDATA[Children Learn What They Live: Parenting to Inspire Values]]> 705016 ��
A unique handbook to raising children with a compassionate, steady hand—and to giving them the support and confidence they need to thrive. Expanding on her universally loved poem “Children Learn What They Live,�� Dorothy Law Nolte, with psychotherapist Rachel Harris, reveals how parenting by example—by showing, not just telling—instills positive, true values in children that they will carry with them throughout their lives. Addressing issues of security, self-worth, tolerance, honesty, fear, respect, fairness, patience, and more, this book of rare common sense will help a new generation of parents find their own parenting wisdom—and draw out their child’s immense inner resources.
��
If children live with criticism they learn to condemn.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
��
And more wisdom.
��]]> 224 Dorothy Law Nolte 0761109196 Danielle 4 4.20 1998 Children Learn What They Live: Parenting to Inspire Values

Children Learn What They Live: Parenting to Inspire Values

author: Dorothy Law Nolte
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2022/01/02
date added: 2022/01/02
shelves:
review:
I think this will be useful to refer to clients who struggle with building meaningful and lasting relationships with their children. A strong forum on values over punishment.
]]> <![CDATA[A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1)]]> 50548197
A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) �� until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate�� or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.]]> 320 Naomi Novik 0593128486 Danielle 4 3.93 2020 A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1)

A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1)

author: Naomi Novik
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/12/26
date added: 2021/12/27
shelves:
review:
This book took a long time to get going. I shlogged through it the first several chapters before it took off. And then I couldn’t put it done. The world was a little complex to immediately understand. And all the effort put into surviving was exhausting. But I’m glad to have finished it and am now interested in the next book.
]]> Dragon Teeth 31287693
The year is 1876. Warring Indian tribes still populate America's western territories, even as lawless gold-rush towns begin to mark the landscape. Against this backdrop two palaeontologists pillage the Wild West for dinosaur fossils while deceiving and sabotaging each other in a rivalry that will come to be known as the Bone Wars.

Into this treacherous territory plunges William Johnson, a Yale student with more privilege than sense. Determined to win a bet against his archrival, William has joined world-renowned palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh on his latest expedition. But Marsh becomes convinced that William is spying for his nemesis, Edwin Drinker Cope, and abandons him in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a locus of crime and vice.

Soon William joins forces with Cope and stumbles upon a discovery of historic proportions. The struggle to protect this extraordinary treasure, however, will test William's newfound resilience and pit him against some of the West's most dangerous and notorious characters....

©2017 Michael Crichton (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Limited]]> 295 Michael Crichton 0008173060 Danielle 4 3.79 2017 Dragon Teeth

author: Michael Crichton
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2021/12/27
date added: 2021/12/27
shelves:
review:
It was really fun and a quick read. Dinosaur bones, the Wild West and loose women. What could be better?
]]> <![CDATA[LDS Women's Treasury: Insights and Inspiration for Today's Woman]]> 9689748 497 Jay A. Parry 1573451665 Danielle 3 3.71 1997

LDS Women's Treasury: Insights and Inspiration for Today's Woman

author: Jay A. Parry
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 2019/03/01
date added: 2021/07/22
shelves:
review:
Some of these articles were inspiring and spot-on for me. Others- not so much. I took what I needed, jotted down the best passages, then passed it on.
]]> All's Well That Ends Well 104790 282 William Shakespeare 0743484975 Danielle 3 3.62 1604

author: William Shakespeare
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1604
rating: 3
read at: 2021/04/04
date added: 2021/04/04
shelves:
review:
come on. what's a clever girl like Helen doing with someone like Bertram? he's going to cheat on her repeatedly. He's going to treat her terribly. she could literally have anyone she wanted and that's who she settles on? i have a hard time feeling sorry for her.
]]> <![CDATA[Standing in the Rainbow (Elmwood Springs, #2)]]> 31493
The time is 1946 until the present. The town is Elmwood Springs, Missouri, right in the middle of the country, in the midst of the mostly joyous transition from war to peace, aiming toward a dizzyingly bright future.]]> 560 Fannie Flagg 0345452887 Danielle 5 4.04 2002 Standing in the Rainbow (Elmwood Springs, #2)

Standing in the Rainbow (Elmwood Springs, #2)

author: Fannie Flagg
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 2021/03/20
date added: 2021/03/20
shelves:
review:
This is such a feel good book. One of the few I’ve read more than once. I can eat it in small chunks and be able to easily pick up right where I left off.
]]> <![CDATA[Crown of Empire (Crisis of Empire, #4)]]> 219311 244 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro 0671722085 Danielle 1 3.22 2012

author: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.22
book published: 2012
rating: 1
read at: 2021/01/31
date added: 2021/01/31
shelves:
review:
i can't even- this story was so dull. i couldn't keep track of who was who- it was all fighting and dialog. i didn't even know where the characters were half the time. i'm definitely putting this on my "do not recommend" list. disappointing because in general, i really like this author.
]]> <![CDATA[Five Go Off to Camp (Famous Five, #7)]]> 557188 250 Enid Blyton 0340796219 Danielle 2 3.99 1948

author: Enid Blyton
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1948
rating: 2
read at: 2021/01/24
date added: 2021/01/24
shelves:
review:
i was reading this to see if i should use it for involuntary home school. it started out fine, even though it's a bit creepy for a grown, unrelated man to take four kids camping for an indefinite period of time. the boys treated the girls horribly and the children were very gender-stereotyped. one of the little girls was the "camp housekeeper", the other wasn't allowed to go adventuring. the kids really picked on and ended up bullying this other kid who came to visit and seemed to have a good laugh over it- maybe it was better for the 60s but for today it felt really dated and terrible.
]]> <![CDATA[A Better Man (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #15)]]> 44034500 Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the Sûreté du Québec in the latest novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny.

It's Gamache's first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Floodwaters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil, a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter.

As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father.

Increasingly hounded by the question, how would you feel..., he resumes the search.

As the rivers rise, and the social media onslaught against Gamache becomes crueler, a body is discovered. And in the tumult, mistakes are made.

In the next novel in this "constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves" (The New York Times Book Review), Gamache must face a horrific possibility, and a burning question.

What would you do if your child's killer walked free?]]> 437 Louise Penny 1250066212 Danielle 3 4.20 2019 A Better Man (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #15)

A Better Man (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #15)

author: Louise Penny
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2021/01/23
date added: 2021/01/23
shelves:
review:
it was okay. i could predict from the beginning who-dun-it. and i was so frustrated that the rest of the crew didn't see it. the author did a great job at lacing hints throughout the story but how did this group who are supposed to be good at investigating not see it? and why were they so immediately biased? it was frustrating. i haven't read any of the other books so maybe i missed other important things going on, but there were some loose ends that didn't get tied up and that was disappointing.
]]> <![CDATA[Fablehaven: The Complete Series Boxed Set (Fablehaven, #1-5)]]> 8331312 New York Times��bestselling series about siblings Seth and Kendra, who discover their grandparents are the caretakers of a sanctuary for magical creatures!

This hardcover boxed set includes:
Fablehaven
Rise of the Evening Star
Grip of the Shadow Plague
Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
Keys to the Demon Prison]]> 1500 Brandon Mull 1606418327 Danielle 5 4.61 2010 Fablehaven: The Complete Series Boxed Set (Fablehaven, #1-5)

Fablehaven: The Complete Series Boxed Set (Fablehaven, #1-5)

author: Brandon Mull
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/20
date added: 2021/01/20
shelves:
review:
My kids and I have devoured these books. We should have read them out loud instead of staggering them because the last reader got cheated out of being the first to discover the direction the adventure was taking our heroes next. Can I say delightful? Entertaining? Fun? This series made my son finally put down the dogman books. Hallelujah.
]]> Rodzina 54365 224 Karen Cushman 044041993X Danielle 2 3.74 2003 Rodzina

author: Karen Cushman
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2003
rating: 2
read at: 2021/01/20
date added: 2021/01/20
shelves:
review:
Am I allowed to not like a book about orphans? Because I didn’t like this book. If I was an alien and had only read this book without meeting an actual child, I would never want to meet one. No one was likeable. Everything was implausible. And it was dull. Even my kids who are satisfied reading the backs of cereal boxes couldn’t get into it. And that’s saying something.
]]> Selected Stories 114604 150th Anniversary Edition

Praised by Tolstoy as an "incomparable artist", Chekov is considered one of the masters of the short story. This collection features twenty of his most noted stories, including The Confession, Ninotchka, and The Cure for Drinking.

The confession --
The understood --
At sea--a sailor's story --
A nincompoop --
Surgery --
Ninochka--a love story --
A cure for drinking --
The jailer jailed --
The dance pianist --
The milksop --
Marriage in ten or fifteen years --
In Spring --
Agafya --
The kiss --
The father --
In exile --
Three years --
The house with the mansard--an artist's story --
Peasants --
The darling.]]> 300 Anton Chekhov 0451528794 Danielle 4 fictional 3.96 1898 Selected Stories

author: Anton Chekhov
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1898
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/01/10
shelves: fictional
review:
nearly all left me hanging, but overall well-written, and content was quite good.
]]> <![CDATA[Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)]]> 16085481
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back.

Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should—and should not—marry.

Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.]]> 403 Kevin Kwan 0385536976 Danielle 5 I love this book. 3.91 2013 Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)

Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)

author: Kevin Kwan
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/08
date added: 2021/01/08
shelves:
review:
I love this book.
]]> <![CDATA[The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)]]> 20912424 An exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War 2, from the acclaimed author of Jefferson’s Sons and for fans of Number the Stars.
��
Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
��
So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?
��
This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity—a classic in the making.]]> 316 Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 0803740816 Danielle 5 4.47 2015 The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)

The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)

author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2020/12/28
date added: 2020/12/28
shelves:
review:
Riveting. I couldn’t put it down. The author really tapped into trauma and gave us a sincere view of someone who had been traumatized.
]]> Where the Crawdads Sing 36809135
But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life's lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.]]> 384 Delia Owens 0735219117 Danielle 4 4.35 2018 Where the Crawdads Sing

author: Delia Owens
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/27
date added: 2020/12/28
shelves:
review:
So very very sad. That poor girl couldn’t catch a break. It was moving and beautifully written. Not always plausible, but that didn’t detract from the story. So heart breaking.
]]> <![CDATA[Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King, #1)]]> 33643994 There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I've gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map―the key to a legendary treasure trove―seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

In Daughter of the Pirate King, author Tricia Levenseller blends action, adventure, romance, and a little bit of magic into a thrilling pirate tale.]]> 308 Tricia Levenseller 1250095964 Danielle 4 3.95 2017 Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King, #1)

Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King, #1)

author: Tricia Levenseller
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/28
date added: 2020/12/28
shelves:
review:
I thought it was a fun and fluffy read. I needed the distraction and it worked. It’s a good start for female pirate stories. We need more!
]]> The Fortune Hunter 18404135
Beautiful, athletic and intelligent, Sisi has everything - except happiness. Bored with the stultifying etiquette of the Hapsburg Court and her dutiful but unexciting husband, Franz Joseph, Sisi comes to England to hunt. She comes looking for excitement and she finds it in the dashing form of Captain Bay Middleton, the only man in Europe who can outride her. Ten years younger than her and engaged to the rich and devoted Charlotte, Bay has everything to lose by falling for a woman who can never be his. But Bay and the Empress are as reckless as each other, and their mutual attraction is a force that cannot be denied.

Full of passion and drama, THE FORTUNE HUNTER tells the true story of a nineteenth century Queen of Hearts and a cavalry captain, and the struggle between love and duty.]]> 473 Daisy Goodwin 1250043891 Danielle 2 3.49 2013

author: Daisy Goodwin
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2020/11/29
date added: 2020/11/29
shelves:
review:
I was really looking forward to reading this book because I am fascinated by Sisi. In this book, though, she came across as flat and forgettable. History in rewritten in this highly factionalized novel- Bay chooses the girl over the empress. Not so in real life- there must have been something to the empress to keep him coming for so man6 years despite his engagement. Even though the cover looks lovely on my bookshelf, I’m passing it on.
]]> Dream Boy 712418 135 Ann Reit 1440925607 Danielle 2 3.63 1986

author: Ann Reit
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1986
rating: 2
read at: 2020/11/21
date added: 2020/11/21
shelves:
review:
Maybe it’s because I’m reading this as an adult, but this is awful. The protagonist is so bratty and irritating, I don’t know how anyone can like her. I’m donating this so my own kid can’t get her hands on it. I don’t like the lesson of having to change and get rid of her relationships just to please someone else. And how she treats her family is so unforgivable. Ugh.
]]> A Common Pornography 6629709
One of Sampsell's previous books was written as a kind of "memory experiment," in which he recollected luminous details from his childhood in independently amusing chapters. Employing the same form of memoir in A Common Pornography, he intertwines the tragic with the everyday, the dysfunctional with the fun, lending the book its undeniable, unsensationalized reality. He captures the many shades and the whole of the Sampsell family �� both its tragedy and its resiliency.]]> 218 Kevin Sampsell 0061766100 Danielle 2 3.48 2010 A Common Pornography

author: Kevin Sampsell
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2020/10/16
date added: 2020/11/14
shelves:
review:
It’s just gross. I can’t stand anyone who shames someone for being raped by her father. Even if you thought that when you were young, clarify that you no longer feel that way. The whole thing was depressing and underwhelming with the exception of a handful of interesting bits.
]]> <![CDATA[17th Suspect (Women's Murder Club, #17)]]> 35212978 In this #1 NYT bestseller, Sergeant Lindsay Boxer puts her life on the line to protect San Francisco from a shrewd and unpredictable killer.

When a series of shootings exposes San Francisco to a mysterious killer, a reluctant woman decides to put her trust in Sergeant Lindsay Boxer. The confidential informant's tip leads Lindsay to a disturbing conclusion: something has gone horribly wrong inside the police department.

The hunt for the killer lures Lindsay out of her jurisdiction and impacts her in dangerous ways. She suffers unsettling medical symptoms, and her friends in the Women's Murder Club warn her against taking the crimes to heart. But with lives at stake, the detective can't help but follow the case into terrifying terrain.

A decorated officer, loving wife, devoted mother, and loyal friend, Lindsay has always acted with unwavering integrity. But now she is confronting a killer who is determined to undermine it all.

]]> 353 James Patterson 1780895216 Danielle 3 3.89 2018 17th Suspect (Women's Murder Club, #17)

author: James Patterson
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/12
date added: 2020/11/14
shelves:
review:
Jumped around too much. And the characters seemed really predictable and immature. Boring.
]]> <![CDATA[A Conspiracy of Bones (Temperance Brennan, #19)]]> 46212909 #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a new riveting novel featuring her vastly popular character forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who must use all her tradecraft to discover the identity of a faceless corpse, its connection to a decade-old missing child case, and why the dead man had her cell phone number.

It’s sweltering in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Temperance Brennan, still recovering from neurosurgery following an aneurysm, is battling nightmares, migraines, and what she thinks might be hallucinations when she receives a series of mysterious text messages, each containing a new picture of a corpse that is missing its face and hands. Immediately, she’s anxious to know who the dead man is, and why the images were sent to her.

An identified corpse soon turns up, only partly answering her questions.

To win answers to the others, including the man’s identity, she must go rogue, working mostly outside the system. That’s because Tempe’s new boss holds a fierce grudge against her and is determined to keep her out of the case. Tempe bulls forward anyway, even as she begins questioning her instincts. But the clues she discovers are disturbing and confusing. Was the faceless man a spy? A trafficker? A target for assassination by the government? And why was he carrying the name of a child missing for almost a decade?

With help from a number of law enforcement associates including her Montreal beau Andrew Ryan and the always-ready-with-a-smart-quip, ex-homicide investigator Skinny Slidell, and utilizing new cutting-edge forensic methods, Tempe draws closer to the astonishing truth.

But the more she uncovers, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes...]]> 342 Kathy Reichs 1982138882 Danielle 3 3.64 2020 A Conspiracy of Bones (Temperance Brennan, #19)

A Conspiracy of Bones (Temperance Brennan, #19)

author: Kathy Reichs
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/14
date added: 2020/11/14
shelves:
review:
It was okay. Not a lot of detail and the entire ending was rushed and written out of her perspective. And where were the bones? One tiny mention. And the protagonist’s biases against poor and overweight people was very off putting. You can be descriptive without being offensive. I don’t know if I’ll read any other of these books.
]]> L'Orangeraie 18627221
Ces frères jumeaux auraient pu vivre paisiblement à l’ombre des orangers. Mais un obus traverse le ciel, tuant leurs grands-parents. La guerre s’empare de leur enfance et sépare leurs destins. Des hommes viennent réclamer vengeance pour le sang versé.

Amed, à moins que ce ne soit Aziz, devra consentir au plus grand des sacrifices. Et tous payeront le tribut des martyrs, les morts comme ceux qui restent.

Larry Tremblay frappe encore un grand coup, mais vise cette fois le cœur, laissant au lecteur le soin de départager les âmes pures des fourbes, les fanatiques des héros. Un texte à la fois actuel et hors du temps qui possède la force brute des grandes tragédies et le lyrisme des légendes du désert.]]> 168 Larry Tremblay 289694169X Danielle 4 4.09 2013 L'Orangeraie

author: Larry Tremblay
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2020/11/12
date added: 2020/11/12
shelves:
review:
So heartbreaking. Without explicitly hitting you over the head with it, there was so much pain and despair. There should have been a warning on this book stating how sad it was going to be.
]]> <![CDATA[Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s]]> 1197423 340 Jennifer Worth 0297853147 Danielle 3 4.24 2002

Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s

author: Jennifer Worth
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/11
date added: 2020/11/12
shelves:
review:
It read quickly. I enjoyed how it transported me to a different time. I wasn’t very sympathetic with the protagonist, however. She was judgy and frankly not someone I would want to know. The way she described some of the poorer characters was just heartbreaking at times. She managed to get over her judgments when they “proved�� something about their worth to her. Every time I managed to get back into the book, she would make one of these judging statements and I was disappointed again. Really off putting, sadly.
]]> 1356 (The Grail Quest, #4) 15739863
Thomas of Hookton, a veteran of Crecy and many other battles, is the leader of a mercenary company of bowmen and men-at-arms who ravage the countryside east of Gascony.

Edward, Prince of Wales, later to be known as the Black Prince, is assembling an army to fight the French once more but before Thomas can join, he must fulfil an urgent task.

La Malice, a sword of mythical power guaranteeing victory to its owner, is thought to be concealed somewhere near Poitiers. With signs that a battle between the English and the French is looming others are seeking the treasure too, and some �� French, Scots and even English �� are pursuing their private agendas against Thomas.

But all �� Thomas of Hookton, his enemies and friends and the fate of La Malice �� become swept up in the extraordinary confrontation that follows, as the large French army faces the heavily outnumbered English in battle.]]> 400 Bernard Cornwell 0007331843 Danielle 3 4.08 2012 1356 (The Grail Quest, #4)

author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/31
date added: 2020/10/31
shelves:
review:
It was good in parts. The battle at the end was long, but overall it was a satisfying read.
]]> 75 Short Masterpieces 1333182
A wedding without musicians / Sholem Aleichem --
He swung and he missed / Nelson Algren --
Senor Payroll / William E. Barrett --
Houseparty / Walter Bernstein --
How light belief bringeth damage / Bidpai --
A psychological shipwreck / Ambrose Bierce --
The father / Bjornstjerne Bjornson --
Neifile's story / Boccaccio --
I see you never / Ray Bradbury --
The lottery ticket / Ventura Garcia Calderon --
Daughter / Erskine Caldwell --
A wicked boy / Anton Chekhov --
Luck / Samuel Clemens --
The chaser / John Collier --
The upturned face / Stephen Crane --
A game of billiards / Alphonse Daudet --
Fear / Rhys Davies --
The riddle / Walter De La Mare --
The jewels of M. Lantin / Guy De Maupassant --
The heavenly Christmas tree / Fyodor Dostoevsky --
The ghosts / Lord Dunsany --
The scoop / James T. Farrell --
The bedchamber mystery / C.S. Forester --
Mr. Andrews / E.M. Forster --
The test / Angelica Gibbs. Truth and consequences / Brendan Gill --
The disabled soldier / Oliver Goldsmith --
Virtuoso / Herbert Goldstone --
Her lover / Maxim Gorky --
Proof positive / Graham Greene --
The butterfly / James Hanley --
Absent-mindedness in a parish choir / Thomas Hardy --
The hollow of the three hills / Nathaniel Hawthorne --
A question of blood / Ernest Haycox --
The boy who drew cats / Lafcadio Hearn --
The lost soul / Ben Hecht --
The exact science of matrimony / O. Henry --
Fard / Aldous Huxley --
The wife / Washington Irving --
Charles / Shirley Jackson --
Then came the legions / Mackinlay Kantor --
If not higher / Isaac Loeb Perez --
The wild duck's nest / Michael Mclaverty --
A toast to Captain Jerk / Russell Maloney --
Germans at meat / Katherine Mansfield --
Born of man and woman / Richard Matheson --
The ant and the grasshopper / Somerset Maugham --
The guardian angel / Andre Maurois --
The fiddler / Herman Melville --
The pearl of Toledo / Prosper Merimee --
The sniper / Liam O'Flaherty. The crime on Calle De La Persequida / Palacio Valdes --
How the devil lost his poncho / Richard Palma --
The standard of living / Dorothy Parker --
The oval portrait / Edgar Allan Poe --
Three letters- and a footnote / Horacio Quiroga --
A dangerous guy indeed / Damon Runyon --
Reginald's choir treat / Saki --
The kiss / William Sansom --
The shepherd's daughter / William Saroyan --
The foreigner / Frances Steegmuller --
Tom Varnish / Richard Steele --
Over the hill / John Steinbeck --
An attempt at reform / August Strindberg --
The three hermits / Leo Tolstoy --
The doctor's heroism / Villiers De L'Isle-Adam --
The beggar-woman of Locarno / Heinrich Von Kleist --
The phoenix / Sylvia Townsend Warner --
Slipping beauty / Jerome Weidman --
The hour of letdown / E.B. White --
Moonlight sonata / Alexander Woollcott --
God / Eugene Ivanovich Zamiatin --
HoewGrandpa came into the money . Elsa Zantner --
The three veterans / Leane Zugsmith --
Kong at the seaside / Arnold Zweig]]> 283 Roger B. Goodman 0553251414 Danielle 3 3.64 1961 75 Short Masterpieces

author: Roger B. Goodman
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1961
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/19
date added: 2020/10/19
shelves:
review:
It’s a mixed bag. Then again, it would be hard to select something everyone would enjoy. One man’s junk being another’s treasure and all that. Some were delightful- I got a real kick out of The Three Veterans. Some were boring. Some sad. Overall a great combination though.
]]> <![CDATA[Until the End (Final Friends, #1-3)]]> 9918053
The death is declared a suicide, but nothing quite adds up. Convinced there’s a murderer on the loose, no one knows who they can turn to or who they can trust. Nowhere is safe, not the homecoming dance, not even graduation.

The truth will terrify them, but it must be revealed. Their lives depend on it.]]> 846 Christopher Pike 1442422521 Danielle 2 4.05 1993 Until the End (Final Friends, #1-3)

author: Christopher Pike
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1993
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2020/10/14
shelves:
review:
I’m one chapter in and I’m already gritting my teeth with this book, wondering how much further I can get into it. The protagonist is so irritating. All the little judgments- calling someone a peasant because they have “big hands and a big butt��, telling her friend who fell asleep in class due to picking her family up at the airport at 3am that she’s making a fool of both of them- and who outside of the 60s calls their high school a joint? It’s amazing this girl has any friends at all. She’s so annoying. And what does this mean? “Sarah was cute- she rated an 8 on a scale of 1-14. In other words she was slightly more than average.�� Inconsistencies all over the place. It’s just so ugh.
]]> <![CDATA[Kissed by an Angel/The Power of Love/Soulmates (Kissed by an Angel, #1-3)]]> 321645
Kissed by an Angel: Ivy and Tristan have the love of a lifetime--until Tristan dies in a car accident. Now Tristan returns as an angel, but Ivy is unable to feel his presence.

The Power of Love: Tristan has learned that the person responsible for the car crash is after Ivy. Can he cross the boundaries of life and death to warn Ivy that she is in trouble?

Soulmates: Tristan must rescue Ivy, but if he does so his mission will be finished and he will have to leave his true love forever.]]> 690 Elizabeth Chandler 0671023462 Danielle 3 4.11 1995 Kissed by an Angel/The Power of Love/Soulmates (Kissed by an Angel, #1-3)

Kissed by an Angel/The Power of Love/Soulmates (Kissed by an Angel, #1-3)

author: Elizabeth Chandler
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/12
date added: 2020/10/13
shelves:
review:
It was okay. It moved along pretty quickly, which is good. But it could have easily been wrapped up in one volume instead of drawn out to three. It really beat around the bush sometimes. The characters were mostly likeable, although they could be frustrating at times. Ivy was overly naive, Tristan overly simpering yet self centered- but it was a good story and the ending moved at a very nice pace.
]]> Secrets of the Model Dorm 134149 288 Amanda Kerlin 0743298268 Danielle 1
I get depravity and debauchery. I’m not a sensitive flower who can’t read about drug use or clubbing. But the writing was tepid and boring. I’d give the book away except I hate to think of burdening someone else with having to read this book.]]> 2.97 2007 Secrets of the Model Dorm

author: Amanda Kerlin
name: Danielle
average rating: 2.97
book published: 2007
rating: 1
read at: 2020/10/10
date added: 2020/10/10
shelves:
review:
This was truly an awful book. The protagonist was so terrible, I didn’t root for her, not once. She had bad things to say about everyone. Russians, old people, overweight people, people with accents, Mormons. She gets mad at a roommate who “squeals�� on an underage roommate having sex with much older men. She has a flat personality throughout and many stories are left unresolved. She says her Mormon roommate was told by her church to use her model looks to marry a good Mormon man. There is a scene where the protagonist goes to a shoot and gets huffy because she wants to talk about art and the photographer wants her to be quiet and do her job. Of course he does. That’s what you’re getting paid for. But she makes it all about not being appreciated for her MIND.

I get depravity and debauchery. I’m not a sensitive flower who can’t read about drug use or clubbing. But the writing was tepid and boring. I’d give the book away except I hate to think of burdening someone else with having to read this book.
]]> Mercy (Mercy, #1) 8373527 Longlisted, 2011 Davitt Awards

Mercy wakes on a school bus bound for Paradise, a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business... Or thinks they do. But Mercy has a secret life. She is an angel, doomed to return repeatedly to Earth, taking on a new human form each time she does, in an effort to resolve a cataclysmic rift between heavenly beings.

In Paradise, Mercy meets Ryan, an eighteen-year-old whose sister was kidnapped two years ago and is presumed dead. When another girl is also taken, Mercy knows she has to act quickly and use extraordinary powers to rescue her, even if it means exposing her true identity.

An electric combination of angels, mystery and romance, Mercy is the first book in a major new series.]]> 288 Rebecca Lim 0007382227 Danielle 3 3.72 2010 Mercy (Mercy, #1)

author: Rebecca Lim
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/17
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves:
review:
It took me too long to figure out what was going on. and it’s always irritating when characters are perfect at everything. That being said, it was a unique story and kept me interested. So there’s that.
]]> A Beautiful Mind 13912 The Absent-Minded Professor, or Ralph Nader, said to have had his own key to the library as an undergraduate. Or the "Phantom of Fine Hall," a figure many students had seen shuffling around the corridors of the math and physics building wearing purple sneakers and writing numerology treatises on the blackboards. The Phantom was John Nash, one of the most brilliant mathematicians of his generation, who had spiraled into schizophrenia in the 1950s. His most important work had been in game theory, which by the 1980s was underpinning a large part of economics. When the Nobel Prize committee began debating a prize for game theory, Nash's name inevitably came up—only to be dismissed, since the prize clearly could not go to a madman. But in 1994 Nash, in remission from schizophrenia, shared the Nobel Prize in economics for work done some 45 years previously.

Economist and journalist Sylvia Nasar has written a biography of Nash that looks at all sides of his life. She gives an intelligent, understandable exposition of his mathematical ideas and a picture of schizophrenia that is evocative but decidedly unromantic. Her story of the machinations behind Nash's Nobel is fascinating and one of very few such accounts available in print (the CIA could learn a thing or two from the Nobel committees).]]> 461 Sylvia Nasar 0571212921 Danielle 5 4.14 1998 A Beautiful Mind

author: Sylvia Nasar
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2020/09/15
date added: 2020/09/16
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very detailed and balanced. It wasn’t too encyclopedic, although some of the casual colloquialisms threw me off at time. The book really allowed one to get inside Nash’s perspective. It attempted to explain his achievements in a way we non-mathematicians can understand. I liked the deep dive. It didn’t sugar coat anything nor did it glamorize anyone- it allowed the experience to speak for itself. Well done.
]]> Uninvited 1720099
Jordan's life sucks. Her boyfriend, Michael, dumped her, slept his way through half the student body, and then killed himself. But now, somehow, he appears at her window every night, begging her to let him in.

Jordan can't understand why he wants her, but she feels her resistance wearing down. After all, her life -- once a broken record of boring parties, meaningless hookups, and friends she couldn't relate to -- now consists of her drinking alone in her room as she waits for the sun to go down.

Michael needs to be invited in before he can enter. All Jordan has to do is say the words....]]> 204 Amanda Marrone 1416939784 Danielle 1 2.95 2007 Uninvited

author: Amanda Marrone
name: Danielle
average rating: 2.95
book published: 2007
rating: 1
read at: 2020/09/16
date added: 2020/09/16
shelves:
review:
Worst. Book. Ever. I couldn’t even read the snippet at the end for the author’s next book. The characters were too predictable and underdeveloped. The dialog was stiff and unrealistic. Even the vampire was... boring and too easy. The only thing I found interesting was- nope. Can’t think of anything. I’ll be donating this book as quickly as I can to get it off my shelf.
]]> <![CDATA[Goth Girl Rising (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, #2)]]> 6318035 Time is a funny thing in the hospital. In the mental ward. You lose track of it easily. After six months in the Maryland Mental Health Unit, Kyra Sellers, a.k.a. Goth Girl, is going home. Unfortunately, she’s about to find out that while she was away, she lost track of more than time.

Kyra is back in black, feeling good, and ready to make up with the only person who’s ever appreciated her for who she really is.

But then she sees him. Fanboy. Transcended from everything he was into someone she barely recognizes.
And the anger and memories come rushing back.

There’s so much to do to people when you’re angry.
Kyra’s about to get very busy.]]> 390 Barry Lyga 0547076649 Danielle 3 3.83 2009 Goth Girl Rising (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, #2)

Goth Girl Rising (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, #2)

author: Barry Lyga
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/14
date added: 2020/09/15
shelves:
review:
There was some pretty snazzy writing in the book. I don’t want to detract from that. But the author’s portrayal of teen girls was.... awful. A lot of focus in breasts. And a lot of focus in whether or not someone was too promiscuous. And Kyra? She was supposed to be smart. She assumed things without asking to a point where she was about to ruin someone’s life because she wouldn’t confirm anything. She just assumed. And the ending didn’t stick. Too neatly tied up and “just in the nick of time.�� Commit to the build up or walk away. Don’t just pretend everything is amazing just because you can’t find an interesting way to end it. Disappointing.
]]> <![CDATA[A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read (Psych, #1)]]> 6068450 Based on the hit usa network TELEVISION series

A tie-in readers will be totally psyched �about...

Shawn Spencer has convinced everyone he's psychic.

Now, HE HAS TO either clean up--or be found out��

After the PSYCH detective agency gets some top-notch publicity, Shawn's high-school nemesis, Dallas Steele, hires him to help choose his investments. Naturally, their predictions turn out to be total busts. And the deceptive Dallas is thrilled that he has completely discredited and humiliated Shawn once and for all--until he's found murdered.

But the police have a suspect found--at the scene with a smoking gun. And she says Shawn took control of her mind and forced her to do it. After all, he is a psychic...]]> 288 William Rabkin 0451226356 Danielle 1 3.77 2008 A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read (Psych, #1)

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read (Psych, #1)

author: William Rabkin
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2008
rating: 1
read at: 2020/08/22
date added: 2020/08/22
shelves:
review:
You lost me at “[the guy wore] thick black horn-rims, and they made him look like a ‘tard.�� It’s offensive. And worse, the author made it seem Gus was the one thinking this. It seems so out of character. The characters in the book seemed one dimensional caricatures of themselves. The plot line was so implausible. Why are they driving around with a woman who hit Gus with her car? It’s boring- just a huge disappointment all around.
]]> Dry 38355098
The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers.

Until the taps run dry.

Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return and her life—and the life of her brother—is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive.]]> 390 Neal Shusterman 1481481967 Danielle 4 4.02 2018 Dry

author: Neal Shusterman
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/15
date added: 2020/08/16
shelves:
review:
I can’t believe this wasn’t written during COVID. It’s eerily reminiscent of what some of us are going through now. Unfortunately I forgot to drink something after reading the book because I had thirsty dreams all night and woke up completely parched. Overall pretty good. I like the flash sideways. A little too neatly tied up at the end, though, with few casualties and fewer answers.
]]> <![CDATA[The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3)]]> 43822024
In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.]]> 625 Neal Shusterman 1481497065 Danielle 3 4.15 2019 The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3)

author: Neal Shusterman
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/14
date added: 2020/08/16
shelves:
review:
This book lost all its steam for me. Everything falls apart at the end. The motivations have completing changed and the characters are pretty unremarkable by the end of it. And shooting them all into space seems like a cop out to me. At one point it’s stated that sending people into space would enable the world to do without the culling but now it’s a limited option and people still need to be killed. Too easy.
]]> <![CDATA[Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe, #2)]]> 33555224
Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order�� scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish�� so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?]]> 504 Neal Shusterman 1442472456 Danielle 4 4.38 2018 Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe, #2)

author: Neal Shusterman
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/12
date added: 2020/08/16
shelves:
review:
I’m losing some momentum- the characters aren’t as engaging or easy to understand their motivations. Dry places sometimes. I feel like we’re supposed to empathize with the Thunderhead but I can’t.
]]> Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1) 28954189 Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art�� of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

An alternate cover edition of ISBN: 9781442472426]]> 435 Neal Shusterman Danielle 5 4.32 2016 Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1)

author: Neal Shusterman
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2020/08/10
date added: 2020/08/16
shelves:
review:
A good start! Engaging, interesting concept, I’ll pick up the next book.
]]> <![CDATA[Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage]]> 12810684
In many ways, the Browns are like any other middle-American family. They eat, play, and pray together, squabble and hug, striving to raise happy, well-adjusted children while keeping their relationship loving and strong. The difference is, there are five adults in the openly polygamous Brown marriage—Kody and his four wives—who among them have seventeen children.

Since TLC first launched its popular reality program Sister Wives, the Browns have become one of the most famous families in the country. Now Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn reveal in their own words exactly how their special relationship works—the love and faith that drew them together, the plusses and pitfalls of having sister wives, and the practical and emotional complications of a lifestyle viewed by many with distrust, prejudice, even fear. With the candor and frankness that have drawn millions to their show, they talk about what makes their fascinating family work, addressing the topics that intrigue How do the four relationships differ? What effect does a polygamous upbringing have on their children? What are the challenges—emotional, social, or financial—involved in living this lifestyle? Is it possible for all four sister wives to feel special when sharing a husband—and what happens when jealousy arises? How has being on camera changed their lives? And what’s it like to add a new wife to the family—or to be that new wife?

Filled with humor, warmth, surprising insights, and remarkable honesty, this is a singular story of plural marriage and all the struggles and joys that go with it. At heart, it’s a love story—unconventional but immediately recognizable in the daily moments of trust, acceptance, forgiveness, passion, and commitment that go into making one big, happy, extraordinary family.]]> 271 Kody Brown 1451661215 Danielle 2 3.12 2012 Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage

Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage

author: Kody Brown
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.12
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2020/08/03
date added: 2020/08/03
shelves:
review:
This book was a missed opportunity. It was bland at best. In fact, I’d read it before and failed to remember that until I accidentally picked up this book and started reading it again. Dry bare bones and it seems overly cleaned up. No book reflecting real life should be without sin yet everyone in this book resolved their issues within a few paragraphs. And the voices sound the same. Just disappointing .
]]> Dracula 17245 You can find an alternative cover edition for this ISBN here and here.

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.

In Dracula, Bram Stoker created one of the great masterpieces of the horror genre, brilliantly evoking a nightmare world of vampires and vampire hunters and also illuminating the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.

This Norton Critical Edition includes a rich selection of background and source materials in three areas: Contexts includes probable inspirations for Dracula in the earlier works of James Malcolm Rymer and Emily Gerard. Also included are a discussion of Stoker's working notes for the novel and "Dracula's Guest," the original opening chapter to Dracula. Reviews and Reactions reprints five early reviews of the novel. "Dramatic and Film Variations" focuses on theater and film adaptations of Dracula, two indications of the novel's unwavering appeal. David J. Skal, Gregory A. Waller, and Nina Auerbach offer their varied perspectives. Checklists of both dramatic and film adaptations are included.

Criticism collects seven theoretical interpretations of Dracula by Phyllis A. Roth, Carol A. Senf, Franco Moretti, Christopher Craft, Bram Dijkstra, Stephen D. Arata, and Talia Schaffer.

A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography are included.]]> 488 Bram Stoker 0393970124 Danielle 5 4.02 1897 Dracula

author: Bram Stoker
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1897
rating: 5
read at: 2020/07/17
date added: 2020/07/17
shelves:
review:
I really loved this book. I was worried it would be boring or archaic or just awful to get through. Instead it was vibrant and engaging and I really loved the fine balance of voices the author gave to each of the characters. Some of his descriptions were truly chilling. I felt like I was there at times, breathing the musty air. And poor Lucy! When her mother kept taking the garlic flowers off of her, I thought my heart was going to explode. It was (not to be too dramatic) absolutely sublime.
]]> <![CDATA[Breach of Duty (J.P. Beaumont, #14)]]> 127755 384 J.A. Jance 038071843X Danielle 4 4.06 1999

author: J.A. Jance
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/20
date added: 2020/06/20
shelves:
review:
It was a good afternoon read. The book read fast, there were a few predictable twists. It was a bit dated and the language wasn’t as sensitive as it could be, which got a little under my skin at times. While it was decent, it didn’t interest me enough to read any more about this character.
]]> <![CDATA[In the Face of Death (Madelaine de Montalia, #2)]]> 219286 This erotic and historical vampire novel is set in America in the years before and during the Civil War and features Madaleine de Montalia, sometime lover of Count Saint-Germain; General William Tecumseh Sherman; and, in a supporting role, Saint-Germain himself. Madaleine lives with and studies the native tribes of America, trying to document their culture and knowledge before they are changed unalterably by contact with the settlers new to North America, only to find herself in the middle of some of the most horrifying events of the war. The stubborn and highly disciplined Tecumseh wrestles with his conscience as he falls in love with Madelaine, while the strong-willed Madaleine is torn between her love for Tecumseh and the demands of her nature.
]]> 288 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro 1932100296 Danielle 2 3.84 2001 In the Face of Death (Madelaine de Montalia, #2)

In the Face of Death (Madelaine de Montalia, #2)

author: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at: 2020/06/10
date added: 2020/06/10
shelves:
review:
I’m going to meh this one. It didn’t have enough meat to it.
]]> A Mortal Glamour 219272 368 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro 0809557940 Danielle 4 3.40 1985

author: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.40
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/08
date added: 2020/06/08
shelves:
review:
A bit slow at times, but it’s worth it as the ending really packed a punch. Creepy. A slow, detailed amble...
]]> A Baroque Fable 1024505 243 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro 0425090817 Danielle 2 3.31 1986

author: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.31
book published: 1986
rating: 2
read at: 2020/05/28
date added: 2020/05/30
shelves:
review:
So tropey. I feel like it’s been done before, a fairy tale with tongue in cheek. I rolled my eyes far too often. None of the characters were particularly interesting. A bored princess? An egotistical prince? An overly endearing queen and an emotionally distant king? This author has written some really good pieces so this could only be a disappointment.
]]> Keeping Faith 10913 �� Richmond Times Dispatch “Extraordinary.��
�� Orlando Sentinel From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult ( Nineteen Minutes, Change of Heart, Handle with Care ) comes Keeping Faith : an “addictively readable�� ( Entertainment Weekly ) novel that “makes you wonder about God. And that is a rare moment, indeed, in modern fiction�� ( USA Today ).]]> 422 Jodi Picoult 0060878061 Danielle 3
What really drove me batty was the constant shift in perspectives. As well as in and out of first person narrative. Very distracting.]]> 3.79 1999 Keeping Faith

author: Jodi Picoult
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2020/03/28
date added: 2020/03/30
shelves:
review:
I read it during quarantine and it effectively passed the time. The story moved along, which was good, but the ending was horrible. It’s hard to get into protagonists with zero self esteem.

What really drove me batty was the constant shift in perspectives. As well as in and out of first person narrative. Very distracting.
]]> The Sot-Weed Factor 24835 The Sot-Weed Factor has acquired the status of a modern classic. Set in the late 1600s, it recounts the wildly chaotic odyssey of hapless, ungainly Ebenezer Cooke, sent to the New World to look after his father's tobacco business and to record the struggles of the Maryland colony in an epic poem.

On his mission, Cooke experiences capture by pirates and Indians; the loss of his father's estate to roguish impostors; love for a farmer prostitute; stealthy efforts to rob him of his virginity, which he is (almost) determined to protect; and an extraordinary gallery of treacherous characters who continually switch identities. A hilarious, bawdy tribute to all the most insidious human vices, The Sot-Weed Factor has a lasting relevance for readers of all times.]]> 756 John Barth 1903809509 Danielle 0 currently-reading 4.09 1960

author: John Barth
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1960
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/02/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Alfred Hitchcock's Solve Them Yourself Mysteries]]> 37566193 206 Alfred Hitchcock 3948124256 Danielle 3 4.12 1963

Alfred Hitchcock's Solve Them Yourself Mysteries

author: Alfred Hitchcock
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1963
rating: 3
read at: 2019/07/14
date added: 2020/02/14
shelves:
review:
They were fun but really outdated. I wanted to read them to my kids but they couldn’t get past the language. I love his arrogance and the chatty way he interrupts the stories.
]]> Oreo 1007499 Oreo is an uproariously funny novel about relations between African Americans and Jews. It is as fresh and outrageous today as when it was first published in 1974.

Born of a Jewish father and black mother, Oreo grows up in Philadelphia with her grandparents while her mother tours with a theatrical group. Soon after puberty Oreo heads for New York to search for her father, but in the big city she discovers that there are dozens of Sam Schwartzes. Oreo's mission turns into a wickedly humorous picaresque quest, reminiscent of the ancient Greek myth of Theseus. This is an ambitious and playful narrative that challenges not only the accepted notions of race, ethnicity, and identity, but also those of the novelistic form itself.]]> 212 Fran Ross 1555534643 Danielle 1
It was almost like it was two different books. If it had ended the way it began, I would have loved it.

Don’t mind me as I put this in my “won’t be picking that up again�� pile.]]> 3.62 1974 Oreo

author: Fran Ross
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1974
rating: 1
read at: 2020/02/09
date added: 2020/02/09
shelves:
review:
Go ahead and love this book. I couldn’t stand it. I wanted it to hit me in the face with its brilliance and its wit, but ... nothing. I couldn’t stand its lighthearted take on rape. The protagonist just wasn’t likeable. She reminded me of pippi longstocking, but without any of the endearing qualities. She was arrogant, annoying, and everything consistently worked out in her favor against every odd.

It was almost like it was two different books. If it had ended the way it began, I would have loved it.

Don’t mind me as I put this in my “won’t be picking that up again�� pile.
]]> <![CDATA[The Country of the Blind and Other Stories]]> 3979792
The collected stories' 1st publication:
"The Jilting of Jane" Pall Mall Budget 7/12/1894
"The Cone" Unicorn 9/18/1895
"The Stolen Bacillus" Pall Mall Budget 6/21/1894
"The Flowering of the Strange Orchid" Pall Mall Budget 8/2/1894
"In the Avu Observatory" Pall Mall Budget 8/9/1894
"Æpyornis Island" Pall Mall Budget 12/27/1894
"The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes" Pall Mall Budget 3/28/1895
"The Lord of the Dynamos" Pall Mall Budget 9/6/1894
"The Moth" Pall Mall Gazette 3/28/1895
"The Treasure in the Forest" Pall Mall Budget 8/23/1894
"The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham" The Idler 5/1896
"Under the Knife" The New Review 1/1896
"The Sea Raiders" The Weekly Sun Literary Supplement 12/6/1896
"The Obliterated Man" unpublished
"The Plattner Story" The New Review 4/1896
"The Red Room" The Idler 3/1896
"The Purple Pileus" Black & White 12/1896
"A Slip Under the Microscope" The Yellow Book 1/1896
"The Crystal Egg" The New Review 5/1897
"The Star" The Graphic 12/1897
"The Man Who Could Work Miracles" The Illustrated London News 7/1898
"A Vision of Judgement" Butterfly 9/1899
"Jimmy Goggles the God" The Graphic 12/1898
"Miss Winchelsea's Heart" The Queen 10/1898
"A Dream of Armageddon" Black & White 5-6/1901
"The Valley of Spiders" Pearson’s Magazine 3/1903
"The New Accelerator" The Strand 12/1901
"The Truth About Pyecraft" The Strand 4/1903
"The Magic Shop" The Strand 6/1903
"The Empire of the Ants" The Strand 12/1905
"The Door in the Wall" The Daily Chronicle 7/14/1906
"The Country of the Blind" The Strand 4/1904
"The Beautiful Suit" Colliers 4/10/1909]]> 574 H.G. Wells Danielle 4 fictional 3.88 1911 The Country of the Blind and Other Stories

The Country of the Blind and Other Stories

author: H.G. Wells
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1911
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/01/10
shelves: fictional
review:
i adore H.G.Wells. this collection of stories is pretty darn good. i like the country of the blind, but have the suspicion i've read it before... several times. good buncha tales.
]]> <![CDATA[Lord of Opium (Matteo Alacran, #2)]]> 19972646 Pourtant Matt a d’autres ambitions. Il compte en finir avec la culture de la drogue et libérer les eejits, ces clandestins transformés en esclaves-zombies programmés pour travailler sans relâche dans les champs de pavot. Mais avant d’y parvenir, il doit apprendre à se faire respecter et tenir à distance les autres Seigneurs de la drogue prêts à fondre sur son territoire, comme le terrifiant Glass Eye Dabengwa.
Quitte à suivre les conseils que lui murmure à l’oreille une voix familière, celle d’El Patrón, comme revenu d’entre les morts…]]> 433 Nancy Farmer Danielle 4 3.92 2013 Lord of Opium (Matteo Alacran, #2)

author: Nancy Farmer
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/03
date added: 2019/09/03
shelves:
review:
So good. A satisfying conclusion.
]]> <![CDATA[The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran, #1)]]> 13376
At his coming-of-age party, Matteo Alacrán asks El Patrón's bodyguard, "How old am I?...I know I don't have a birthday like humans, but I was born."

"You were harvested," Tam Lin reminds him. "You were grown in that poor cow for nine months and then you were cut out of her."

To most people around him, Matt is not a boy, but a beast. A room full of chicken litter with roaches for friends and old chicken bones for toys is considered good enough for him. But for El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium—a strip of poppy fields lying between the U.S. and what was once called Mexico—Matt is a guarantee of eternal life. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself for Matt is himself. They share identical DNA.]]> 380 Nancy Farmer 0689852231 Danielle 4 4.08 2002 The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran, #1)

The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran, #1)

author: Nancy Farmer
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/01
date added: 2019/09/02
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed it. I was surprised because I read another book by this author and put it down after the first dozen pages. I’m definitely picking up the second book. Here goes!
]]> The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm 633270 311 Nancy Farmer 0140376410 Danielle 1
Not for me. I couldn’t get through the first chapter and for me that’s saying a lot.]]> 3.86 1994

author: Nancy Farmer
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1994
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2019/08/23
shelves:
review:
I love Zimbabwe. I love the people in Zimbabwe. I enjoy sci fi, so of course a sci fi book set in Zimbabwe must be stellar, right?

Not for me. I couldn’t get through the first chapter and for me that’s saying a lot.
]]> <![CDATA[Four: A Divergent Story Collection (Divergent, #0.1-0.4)]]> 18126198 Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Divergent with a special edition of Four, a collection in the #1 New York Times bestselling series that captured the hearts of millions of readers and inspired a series of major motion pictures starring Shailene Woodley. This edition features exclusive content from Veronica Roth and beautiful reimagined cover art from award-winning illustrator Victo Ngai.

Readers first encountered Tobias as "Four" in Divergent and will find more of this charismatic character's backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When read together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias's life, from his transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his initiation, and the decisions of loyalty—and love—that Tobias makes in the weeks after he meets Tris Prior.

“The same mix of tension, uncertainty, and hope that made the original stories irresistible. A welcome trip down memory lane.�� Publishers Weekly

“Fans of Divergent who can’t get enough—and maybe even the rare reader who missed the first rush—will snap up this story collection told. It will fly off the shelves and for good reason.�� —ALA Booklist]]> 285 Veronica Roth 0062285688 Danielle 2 3.95 2014 Four: A Divergent Story Collection (Divergent, #0.1-0.4)

Four: A Divergent Story Collection (Divergent, #0.1-0.4)

author: Veronica Roth
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2019/08/22
date added: 2019/08/23
shelves:
review:
Certainly lived down to my expectations. The vignettes didn’t offer anything to the story and the author didn’t switch to a new voice... it felt like the same perspective as the previous books. Very disappointing.
]]> Allegiant (Divergent, #3) 18710190
But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, ALLEGIANT, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the DIVERGENT series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in DIVERGENT and INSURGENT.]]> 531 Veronica Roth 0007524277 Danielle 2 3.59 2013 Allegiant (Divergent, #3)

author: Veronica Roth
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2019/08/20
date added: 2019/08/20
shelves:
review:
This book is so much less than the other two . It felt rushed, and I couldn’t stand switching between characters- the author didn’t do it in the previous two books, why do it now? It felt like a ploy to set up for a fourth book and oh, look! There is one! And in another character’s perspective! It felt like any easy out. Disappointant- that should be the next title.
]]> Insurgent (Divergent, #2) 11735983
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian DIVERGENT series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.]]> 525 Veronica Roth 0007442912 Danielle 4 3.97 2012 Insurgent (Divergent, #2)

author: Veronica Roth
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/18
date added: 2019/08/18
shelves:
review:
Book two, just as good, moving right along here...
]]> Divergent (Divergent, #1) 13335037
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.]]> 487 Veronica Roth 0062024035 Danielle 4 4.13 2011 Divergent (Divergent, #1)

author: Veronica Roth
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/17
date added: 2019/08/17
shelves:
review:
Was I entertained? Yes I was. Did I have a hard time putting it down? Yes I did. Did I find myself going nuts with the occasional naïveté and stupidity of the main character and my inability to relate to her? Absolutely...
]]> <![CDATA[Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell]]> 42299829
In his first collection, North American Lake Monsters, Nathan Ballingrud carved out a distinctly singular place in American fiction with his “piercing and merciless�� (Toronto Globe and Mail) portrayals of the monsters that haunt our lives—both real and imagined: “What Nathan Ballingrud does in North American Lake Monsters is to reinvigorate the horror tradition�� (Los Angeles Review of Books).

Now, in Wounds, Ballingrud follows up with an even more confounding, strange, and utterly entrancing collection of six stories, including one new novella. From the eerie dread descending upon a New Orleans dive bartender after a cell phone is left behind in a rollicking bar fight in “The Visible Filth�� to the search for the map of hell in “The Butcher’s Table,�� Ballingrud’s beautifully crafted stories are riveting in their quietly terrifying depictions of the murky line between the known and the unknown.]]> 288 Nathan Ballingrud 1534449922 Danielle 3 4.03 2019 Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell

Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell

author: Nathan Ballingrud
name: Danielle
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/08/15
date added: 2019/08/15
shelves:
review:
Meh. Parts were very creepy. And disturbing. The details were exquisite. But then the stories would just... drop off, unresolved. They were more like snapshots than stories. None of them were very satisfying, but I did enjoy reading them. For the most part.
]]> <![CDATA[The Death Cure (The Maze Runner, #3)]]> 7864437 It’s the end of the line.

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.

Will anyone survive?

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

The truth will be terrifying.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.

The time for lies is over.]]> 325 James Dashner 0385738773 Danielle 4 3.78 2011 The Death Cure (The Maze Runner, #3)

author: James Dashner
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/11
date added: 2019/08/11
shelves:
review:
Ahh... and a satisfying conclusion.
]]> <![CDATA[Carmen suivi de Les âmes du purgatoire]]> 3260137 Le mythe est universel. Mérimée lui donne sa propre dimension. Sauvage, effrontée, une fleur de cassis à la bouche, telle apparaît Carmen, fille de l'amour et de la liberté, toujours prête à mettre la rage au cœur, à pousser au crime. De ce jeu cruel elle est bientôt la victime, mais la mise à mort, ici, n'a pas lieu dans l'arène. Elle se tient à huis clos, pacte secret entre don José et sa gitane maudite.
Maudit aussi don Juan de Maraña qui, après une vie de scandales, ose, un soir, provoquer Dieu et lui soustraire une de ses nonnes. A l'heure du rapt, il croise an long cortège d'âmes du purgatoire qui accompagnent sa dépouille mortelle à l'église. Son imagination lui joue-t-elle un tour ou est-ce un signe du ciel ?]]> 127 Prosper Mérimée 2290313823 Danielle 5 drama encore!]]> 3.48 Carmen suivi de Les âmes du purgatoire

author: Prosper Mérimée
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.48
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2008/04/01
date added: 2019/08/08
shelves: drama
review:
charming! thrilling! i gobbled the thing up after the first word. i'm fascinated with the Roma because of my own ancestry, and really enjoyed the drama of this story.
encore!
]]> <![CDATA[The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner, #2)]]> 7631105 Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.
��
Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.
��
There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.
��
The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
��
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.
��
There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers�� destruction—and they’re determined to survive.]]> 362 James Dashner 0385738757 Danielle 4 3.90 2010 The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner, #2)

author: James Dashner
name: Danielle
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/07
date added: 2019/08/07
shelves:
review:
It’s moving right along. A bit graphic for me, but I’m still having a good time....
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