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2016: What are you reading?
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The Anteater of Death
� Betty Webb� 3***
As cozy mysteries go, this is a pretty good one. A zookeeper is an interesting � and different � occupation for an amateur sleuth. Webb gives tidbits of information on the animals Teddy cares for, as well as the joys and challenges of living aboard a refitted trawler. There were plenty of suspects to keep me guessing, and a reasonably satisfactory ending. I’ll definitely read more of this series.
LINK to my review
Our Souls At Night - Kent Haruf - 5
In the small (fictional) town of Holt, Colorado, Addie Moore drops in on her neighbor, Louis Waters one evening, and asks if he isn’t as lonesome for conversation and companionship as she is. What follows is a beautifully written story of a mature couple in a different, but very loving, relationship. The strength and dignity with which they faced life endeared them to me.
LINK to my review
The Koala of Death - Betty Webb � 3***
I like this cozy series for the information about the animals and the relationships between Teddy and her mother, Caro, and boyfriend, Sheriff Joe Rejas. Webb gives us plenty of suspects and twists in the plot that keep the reader guessing right up to the end.
LINK to my review
The Prince and the Pauper - Mark Twain � 4****
This is a wonderful classic that explores the difference in class in 16th century England, and the ways that appearance effects how one is treated. Both boys learn much from their experience as “the other.� It’s a wonderful lesson in “walking in the other person’s shoes.� Twain’s use of 16th-century English may be a little off-putting to today’s readers; I recommend listening to the audio.
LINK to my review
The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware � 3***
This reminded me so much of The Girl on the Train that I’m surprised editors didn’t call Ware on certain plot points. Ware uses a mixed time frame � interspersing emails or news reports that occur AFTER the main events on board ship described by Lo’s first-person narrative. This foreshadowing should add additional suspense, but I found it confusing and not really helpful. Still, it’s a decently written thriller, with plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep the reader guessing.
LINK to my review
A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote � 5 and a �
Capote was a gloriously talented writer and he is at his best here. The reader feels the anticipation of a child, smells the piney woods, shivers in the crisp morning, and is comforted in the warmth of love.
His writing is never so brilliant as when he is mining his childhood for stories such as this. The emotion is evident and genuine. His descriptions are gloriously vivid without overwhelming the story. The lessons learned � about kindness, tolerance, family, love and forgiveness � are gently told but ring loud and clear in the reader’s heart.
LINK to my review
I am currently reading Heat Wave by Richard Castle as well as Harry Potter and the Chamber 9f Secrets.
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I will be closing this one by the end of the month!
Cheers!
Right now I'm reading Deja Dead. It's bet slow for me but I still like it.
Coffee & Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Helveteselden (other topics)Hell Fire (other topics)
A Christmas Memory (other topics)
The Woman in Cabin 10 (other topics)
The Prince and the Pauper (1881) (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Fleur McDonald (other topics)Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Tamara McKinley (other topics)
Sarah Armstrong (other topics)
Nicole Alexander (other topics)
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When Dan’s mother buys him a “survival week experience� so he can bond with her new fiancé, Dan and his friend Charlie concoct a plan to scare Hank away. This sounded like a decent premise for a YA novel but Calame’s reliance on scatological humor and descriptions that only a 13-year-old boy will find funny just lost me. It should have been a fast read, but it didn’t hold my attention, and it took me a full week to finish it.
LINK to my review