VictoriaPL's Hanging Out with the 2018CC crew

Hi there! I'm Victoria and I've been hanging out in the Category Challenge Groups since 2008.
There is no numbers goal, I just want to enjoy another year of reading and talking about books with my favorite people.

Wishing you all a wonderful 2018!

Group Reads



1. No Middle Name: the Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories by Lee Child 7.18.2018

Young Adult / New Adult



1. Kindred by Octavia Butler 3.25.2018
2. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell 10.30.2018

WWII



1. Woman in the Shadows by Jane Thynne 2.10.2018
2. For Freedom: the Story of a French Spy by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 3.21.2018
3. Searching for Anne Frank: Letters from Amsterdam to Iowa by Susan Goldman Rubin 3.21.2018
4. Adolfo Kaminsky: A Forger's Life by Sarah Kaminsky 4.18.2018
5. Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand 5.2.2018
6. Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling 5.18.2018
7. From Broken Glass by Steve Ross 6.26/2018
8. The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook 11/6/2018
9. Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave 11.7.2018
10. The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy 11.15.2018
11. If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan 11.16.2018
12. The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti 11.22.2018
13. The Girl From Berlin by Ronald H. Balson 11.28.2018

Space Program and Sci-Fi



1. Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre 7.9.2018
2. Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre 7.24.2018
3. The Astronaut from Bear Creek by Nick Allen Brown 11.4.2018

TBR shelf



1. All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie 1.4.2018
2. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn 1.24.2018
3. Raylan by Elmore Leonard 3.5.2018
4. Riding the Rap by Elmore Leonard 3.13.2018
5. Dissonance by Lisa - Lenard-Cook 3.18.2018
6. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson 4.7.2018
7. The Fireman by Joe Hill 6.15.2018

Shiny / Random



1. The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash 1.18.2018 (RidgewayGirl)
2. Night of the Comanche Moon by T.T. Flynn 2.3.2018 (DeltaQueen50)
3. Yesterday by Felicia Yap 2.14.2018
4. The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton 2.16.2018
5. Those Girls by Chevy Stevens 4.3.2018
6. The Stronghold by Lisa Carter 4.9.2018
7. You by Caroline Kepnes 10.21.2018
8. Night Blindness by Susan Strecker 11.9.2018

Favorite Authors



1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 8.19.2018
2. Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter 9.15.2018
3. The Hush by John Hart 10.1.2018
4. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult 12.26.2018

Non-Fiction



1. How to Build an Android The True Story of Philip K Dick's Robotic Resurrection by David F. Dufty. 1.29.2018
2. Killers of the Flower Moon: Oil, Money, Murder and the Birth of the FBI by David Green 8.29.2018

Full List of Books

1. All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie 1.4.2018 3/5
2. The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash 1.18.2018 4/5
3. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn 1.24.2018 4.5/5
4. How to Build an Android The True Story of Philip K Dick's Robotic Resurrection by David F. Dufty. 1.29.2018 3/5
5. Night of the Comanche Moon by T.T. Flynn 2.3.2018 3/5
6. Woman in the Shadows by Jane Thynne 2.10.2018
7. Yesterday by Felicia Yap 2.14.2018 2.5/5
8. The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton 2.16.2018 4/5
9. Raylan by Elmore Leonard 3.5.2018 4/5
10. Riding the Rap by Elmore Leonard 3.13.2018 3.5/5
11. Dissonance by Lisa Lenard-Cook 3.18.2018 3.5/5
12. For Freedom: the Story of a French Spy by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 3.21.2018 4.5/5
13. Searching for Anne Frank: Letters from Amsterdam to Iowa by Susan Goldman Rubin 3.21.2018 3/5
14. Kindred by Octavia Butler 3.25.2018 4/5
15. Those Girls by Chevy Stevens 4.3.2018 2.5/5
16. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson 4.7.2018 3/5
17. The Stronghold by Lisa Carter 4.9.2018 3.5/5
18. Adolfo Kaminsky: A Forger's Life by Sarah Kaminsky 4.18.2018 3.5/5
19. Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand 5.2.2018 5
20. Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling 5.18.2018 3
21. The Fireman by Joe Hill 6.15.2018 3.5
22. From Broken Glass by Steve Ross 6.26/2018 3.5
23. Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre 7.9.2018 4/5
24. No Middle Name: the Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories by Lee Child 7.18.2018 3/5
25. Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre 7.24.2018
26. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 8.19.2018
27. Killers of the Flower Moon: Oil, Money, Murder and the Birth of the FBI by David Green 8.29.2018
28. Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
29. The Hush by John Hart
30. You by Caroline Kepnes
31. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell 10.30.2018
32. The Astronaut from Bear Creek by Nick Allen Brown 11.4.2018
33. The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook 11/6/2018
34. Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave 11.7.2018
35. Night Blindness by Susan Strecker 11.9.2018
36. The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy 11.15.2018
37. If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan 11.16.2018
38. The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti 11.22.2018
39 The Girl From Berlin by Ronald H. Balson 11.28.2018
40. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult 12.26.2018

Nice set up. I recognise The Breakfast Club, Ghostbusters and Harry Potter. I don't know about the rest of your pictures though. Happy reading for 2018. I can't wait for the new challenges to begin. :-)

Great pictures!

Yay! I like your non-fiction category best ;) Have a great reading year!

Fun setup. Love the pics you choose for your categories (nonfiction made me giggle).

I've put a number goal on mine, but like you I'm mostly hoping to just keep connected with people. :)

I like how you haven't put any target numbers down. I believe that makes for more relaxed and enjoyable reading. Have a great year!

Hi - nice to see you back again. Try to keep those BBs to a minimum - I have so many other things to read.

Dropping my star! Have a great year of reading!

Hi everyone!! So glad to see you all here and so looking forward another year of great reading!!

Hi Victoria, dropping by and starring your thread. I also wanted to alert you to the planned release of a Will Trent book around July 31st!

Love the images you chose to go with your categories - so fun! Looking forward to following your reading adventures.

>19 lsh63: fangirling!!

>7 VictoriaPL: - CLUE!!!!!!!!! Love that you have that picture. I look forward to following you as usual.

One more day and we can officially start! I can't get any reading done for the planning and revised planning.

Haha, love your picture choices! Glad to see you here for another year, Victoria!

Wonderful pictures! Have you watched Stranger Things?

>25 hailelib: Yes, you could say that. I watched Season 1 straight through in one go and then died a slow death until Season 2 was released.

I was hooked at The Breakfast Club! I loved that movie. And I'm a big fan of Clue, but haven't seen the movie.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Victoria. I've dropped my star and I am all ready for another fun reading year.

I watched The Breakfast Club again when it was on over Christmas. I've not seen it since it came out (when I was a teen). At first I thought how dated it looked, but gradually, I got sucked back in. I realised again how much that had meant to the teens of my generation - it was one of our seminal moments. Came away feeling 15 again. Don't want to be 15 again, that would be stupid!

>29 Helenliz: LOL. Yes, I think those John Hughes movies really did spark something in our teenage selves. I'm partial to Some Kind of Wonderful.

1. All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie 1.4.2018 3/5



Amazon description:Perhaps it is a blessing when Jasmine Dent dies in her sleep. At long last an end has come to the suffering of a body horribly ravaged by disease. It may well have been suicide; she had certainly expressed her willingness to speed the inevitable. But small inconsistencies lead her neighbor, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid of Scotland Yard, to a startling conclusion: Jasmine Dent was murdered. But if not for mercy, why would someone destroy a life already so fragile and doomed? As Kincaid and his capable and appealing assistant Sergeant Gemma James sift through the dead woman's strange history, a troubling puzzle begins to take shape -- a bizarre amalgam of good and evil, of charity and crime . . . and of the blinding passions that can drive the human animal to perform cruel and inhuman acts.

This book was a gift from Carrie and I picked it up off my TBR shelf last week when I couldn't really settle on what I wanted to launch in to next. It didn't completely captivate me, it's a small book and yet took me several sittings to get through but still there was something about it that kept drawing me back. I liked that Crombie took the time with setting her places, that helped me visualize them. I didn't see the ending coming and I wasn't sure how plausible the setup was. That can be said about many, many books though. I really like Gemma and Kincaid. I enjoyed the observations they made about each other and I want to see what becomes of them. Maybe I'll revisit Crombie later. Thanks Carrie!!

>31 VictoriaPL: I think you'll find the series improves.

>31 VictoriaPL: - That one is next up for me in the series. I hope to get to it this year.

Hi Victoria,

The Gemma and Duncan series is one of my favorites. As Lori indicated, it will improve. Now I want to look back and see if I read them back to back. Knowing my reading habits, I probably did.

>32 thornton37814: >34 lsh63: good to know!
> 33 let me know what you think Betty!

I love the completely open approach to your 2018 reading!

>31 VictoriaPL: - >33 dudes22: - Actually I was just checking it out and I have #3 scheduled for the Mar Color Cat so I need to get this one read before then.

On Tuesday RidgewayGirl and I met for Book Bingo at my local branch library. We both won bingo at the same time, it was funny. Even though we played for a full 90 mins and there were multiple wins, most players capped their winnings at two books. I chose:

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
and
No Middle Name: the complete Jack Reacher short stories by Lee Child

in other news, I"ve been trying to read Frankenstein for about two weeks now and am only 32 pages in. I keep falling asleep. I think I'm going to move on.

Also reading a loaner from RidgewayGirl, The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash and quite enjoying it.

>38 VictoriaPL: One of the ENG 101 classes had to read Frankenstein last semester. I'm wanting to read The Last Ballad this year.

2. The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash 1.18.2018 3.5/5



The Last Ballad is based on the true story of Ella May Wiggins and the Loray Mill strike of 1929. It came highly recommended to me by RidgewayGirl. This is actually my second dance with Cash, having read A Land More Kind Than Home in 2016. I found Ballad instantly interesting because my husband's family lived in Bessemer City, NC for many years and his father worked at several mills in the Gastonia area. I find Cash's style very readable and he's obviously put forth so much effort into researching this novel. I would have like to have known more of the details but it's very possible that, given the timeframe, he's presented us with all that is available. Cash does supply more resources at the end for those readers who want more on Ella May.

>40 VictoriaPL: I will eventually get to that one. We have it here and will keep it because it is regional.

>40 VictoriaPL: Hi Victoria. This one is definitely on my wish list, I love Wiley Cash's writing!

Just stopping by to see what's new! Good to see you again.

>41 thornton37814:, >42 DeltaQueen50: I look forward to seeing what you think of it!

>43 cmbohn: So glad you're back with us this year!

3. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn 1.24.2018 4.5/5



Amazon description:
"Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave."
These ominous words are the last threat that Sir Edward Grey receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, he collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.
Prepared to accept that Edward's death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that her husband was murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers damning evidence for herself, and realizes the truth.
Determined to bring the murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward's demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.

This book was another gift from Carrie (cbl_tn) and I can't thank her enough for bringing it to my attention. Where has Deanna Raybourn been all my (reading) life? Moldering among my countless recommendations, no doubt. I absolutely ate this book up from chapter to chapter. It's so easy to do when she leaves a hook as the last sentence every. single. time. It was a rolicking adventure complete with corsets and gypsies and rakish gentlemen. I'm not entirely certain at this early point, but it might be a nice successor to the Carnation books and fill a niche in my reading life that's been absent lately. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

>45 VictoriaPL: Glad you enjoyed that one!

>45 VictoriaPL: I hadn't thought about the similarities to the Pink Carnation series, but I can definitely see how Silent in the Grave would scratch a similar itch!

>47 christina_reads: So you've read the series?

Nice reviews! I love both of those mystery series - the Crombie and the Raybourn.

>49 Crazymamie: thanks! And good to know!

>48 VictoriaPL: I've read the first three, and I definitely enjoyed them overall. I can't remember much about them now, nor can I recall why I stopped reading them!

>45 VictoriaPL: - Oooh, I have that one on my shelf just waiting to be read. Sounds like I really need to pull it down for February. I also have the first book in her other series to read as well.

4. How to Build an Android The True Story of Philip K Dick's Robotic Resurrection by David F. Dufty. 1.29.2018



Amazon description:
In late January 2006, a young robotocist on the way to Google headquarters lost an overnight bag on a flight somewhere between Dallas and Las Vegas. In it was a fully functional head of the android replica of Philip K. Dick, cult science-fiction writer and counterculture guru. It has never been recovered.
In a story that echoes some of the most paranoid fantasies of a Dick novel, readers get a fascinating inside look at the scientists and technology that made this amazing android possible. The author, who was a fellow researcher at the University of Memphis Institute of Intelligent Systems while the android was being built, introduces readers to the cutting-edge technology in robotics, artificial intelligence, and sculpture that came together in this remarkable machine and captured the imagination of scientists, artists, and science-fiction fans alike. And there are great stories about Dick himself―his inspired yet deeply pessimistic worldview, his bizarre lifestyle, and his enduring creative legacy. In the tradition of popular science classics like Packing for Mars and The Disappearing Spoon, How to Build an Android is entertaining and informative―popular science at its best.

Since I saw Bladerunner as a tween, I have been a fan of Philip K Dick. And now is a great time to be a fan. Amazon has given us two great series based on Dick properties: The Man in the High Castle and Electric Dreams and Hollywood recently released a Bladerunner sequel. I felt it was time to delve into this book. For the most part it held my interest. The discussions on the programming sometimes lost me, but I enjoyed the debate on whether androids will be more like Asimov's ideal or Dick's. It was interesting to read about the loading of all of Dick's works and his many, many, many interviews into the android. There was the awkward reveal of the android to Dick's daughter, Isa. The problems the android had when he would get lost in long monologues, I felt, was kind of like the mental illness that Dick battled with during his life time. Such a shame it was lost.

The android had quite a run before he disappeared. You can Google 'Phillip K Dick android' and see photos and videos aplenty.

Some excellent reviews. You have me interested in All Shall be Well and also Silent in the Grave. I have been reading Deanna Raybourne's Veronica Speedwell mysteries and have found them quite good so far. I have multiple of her other books on my wishlist. Another good review to give me a nudge.

I look forward to see what you are reading next! It could be dangerous for me hanging around here.

>54 Roro8: aw, you have to stay now that I've lured you in here! LOL

>53 VictoriaPL: I remember Pete (psutto) or Claire (clfisha) reading that one and being mildly intrigued. I don't read much non-fiction but I might make an exception for this.

I just checked and it was Claire and I too prefer the UK title: Losing the head of Philip K. Dick

>56 AHS-Wolfy: that’s a great title!

>53 VictoriaPL: Well, I have never heard of that one, but I am a fan of PKD, so of course, you hit me. Adding it to The List. Great review - I'll add my thumb if you posted that.

>56 AHS-Wolfy: LOVE that title!!

>58 Crazymamie: thanks, I appreciate the kind words!

>53 VictoriaPL: - Great review! I thought the book was very informative and made for an interesting read for me.

>60 lkernagh: thanks! It was interesting. When I first saw the title I was like - no way! They built a PKD Android?!?

5. Night of the Comanche Moon by T.T. Flynn 2.3.2018 (DeltaQueen50) 3/5



Amazon description
Ann Carruthers had no idea what searching for her brother in the wild New Mexico Territory would mean. But what else could a girl, even an English girl not much past twenty, do when her brother vanished? How could she know that bandits, Indians and violence were things people in the territory lived with every day? Ann didn't realize how much danger she was in until the son of a Comanche chief offered one hundred horses for her. To save herself she had to pretend to belong to John Hardisty. Sure, he was a loner and a hardcase, but he could ride, shoot, and fight. And he was her one chance of survival in the lawless wilderness.

This was a bookbullet from Judy (DeltaQueen50) years ago that I had put on my library iist. Well, I finally got around to it! LOL. A quick read and a pretty standard Western. It was a nice palate cleanser but I didn't love it. I think I gave it a half-star less than Judy.

From androids to the wild west. What next? Maybe WWII? Maybe Romance. Haven't decided yet.

How about a good WWII romance?

I'm bogged down with Tournament of Books books, but when I finish with them, I'm going to read the frothiest books I can find.

>63 RidgewayGirl: a WWII romance sounds just like me, eh?
February is good for frothy books Kay!

>62 VictoriaPL: Wow, I barely remember Night of the Comanche Moon, I think I liked it because it reminded me to those B westerns that I used to see on Saturday afternoons!

>65 DeltaQueen50: I know, it took me forever to get around to it!

Currently reading Woman in the Shadows by Jane Thynne.
Also picked up from the library:
Yesterday by Felicia Yap
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

6. Woman in the Shadows (aka The Winter Garden) by Jane Thynne 2.10.2018



Amazon Description
Berlin, 1937. Clara Vine’s star is on the rise. The British-born, half-German actress is about to take her first leading role in a movie produced by the Nazis’ official film studio. Even as she moves through the upper echelons of the Third Reich, Clara never stops acting. At cocktail parties hosted by Joseph and Magda Goebbels, she collects key information for Britain, risking her life for the cause. But soon it is another young woman’s life, and its abrupt end, that draws her attention. Clara knew Anna Hansen as a dancer and artist’s model in the heady days of the cabaret scene. But Anna left that all behind when she became engaged to an SS officer. Attending one of Hitler’s notorious Bride Schools, she was being groomed as the perfect Nazi wife. When she is found murdered on the school grounds, her death is hushed up, one casualty among many in the lead-up to war. But Clara cannot fathom why Anna’s death would be concealed. Was it simply an embarrassment to the regime, or did Anna know something that hastened her demise? Clara must tread carefully to unravel the truth—for the Gestapo is one step behind.


I'm not reading the Clara Vine series in order. It makes it more complicated when the books have different names on either side of the Atlantic. But that's okay, I'm enjoying them anyway! This one did not hold my attention as well as Black Roses. I didn't very much care for the Bride School portions or the use of the Mary character. I enjoy Clara best when she's at the studios or rubbing elbows with the elite. I did think that the inclusion of the Windsors' honeymoon trip was well done. I just love Clara vine. I can't wait to read more of Thynne's series.

Books that have different titles in the US and UK are the worst. I don't know how many times I bought a book, excited to find a book by that author I hadn't read, only to realize a few chapters in, that it all sounded very familiar. Mystery novels are the worst offenders.

We have a new cat, Victoria!

>68 VictoriaPL: Have you seen the cover of this on another book? It's the third I can think of. I am almost sure the background changes but the model, dress and pose are the same. I hope the artist was fairly compensated.

I'm going to check the library when I'm there tomorrow, it looks good, inside as well as out!

>70 clue: I know what you mean! LOL

I've never heard of this author. I'll have to check it out!

We have that title difference here in Australia too. Sometimes we get the UK title and sometimes the US. I went to one of those meet the author luncheons for Kate Morton (an Australian author, so I think her debut book was released here initially) a while back. Her first book was released as The Shifting Fog here in Australia. She said that the UK publishers felt that fog had too many negative connotations so the book was released as The House at Riverton in the UK. Then I noticed some bookstores here were selling the two versions of the same book right next to each other. I don't think that's right.

>73 Roro8: Perhaps similar to a used bookstore selling different editions?

7. Yesterday by Felicia Yap 2.14.2018



Amazon Description:
Imagine a world in which classes are divided not by wealth or religion but by how much each group can remember. Monos, the majority, have only one day's worth of memory; elite Duos have two. In this stratified society, where Monos are excluded from holding high office and demanding jobs, Claire and Mark are a rare mixed marriage. Clare is a conscientious Mono housewife, Mark a novelist-turned-politician Duo on the rise. They are a shining example of a new vision of tolerance and equality-until...
A beautiful woman is found dead, her body dumped in England's River Cam. The woman is Mark's mistress, and he is the prime suspect in her murder. The detective investigating the case has secrets of his own. So did the victim. And when both the investigator's and the suspect's memories are constantly erased--how can anyone learn the truth?
Told from four different perspectives, that of Mark, Claire, the detective on the case, and the victim--Felicia Yap's staggeringly inventive debut leads us on a race against an ever-resetting clock to find the killer. With the science-fiction world-building of Philip K. Dick and the twisted ingenuity of Memento, Yesterday is a thriller you'll never forget.

So the blurb for this novel name-dropped PKD and Momento and I was suckered in. I slogged through most of it, admittedly skimming through the last third. It didn't feel Dickish? Dickian? at all and Momento was a far superior tale. I cannot recommend this one.

>75 VictoriaPL:, The concept sounds interesting, so it's a shame it didn't work out better. Maybe the just meant the concept was reminiscent of Dick, which I could imagine from the description? Oh well. Out of curiosity, because I'm drawn to books dealing with memory, I looked at some of the reviews, and they tear apart the logic/premise of it. Sorry you suffered through it :(

>76 whitewavedarling: I know that Dick does touch on memory and how that shapes our belief/reality but this one just did not touch base with me at all.

>77 VictoriaPL:, Oh, don't get me wrong--I'm not going to touch it! Concept by itself doesn't make a good book :)

8. The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton 2.16.2018



Amazon Description:
Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe ... he can open them all.
It's an unforgivable talent. A talent that will make young Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people and, whether he likes it or not, push him ever close to a life of crime. Until he finally sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.
Steve Hamilton steps away from his Edgar Award-winning Alex McKnight series to introduce a unique new character, unlike anyone you've ever seen in the world of crime fiction.
The Lock Artist is the winner of the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Novel.

A great example of the let me tell you how my life went off the rails genre. Loved the conversational tone.
Jumping back and forth in the timeline didn't completely work out for me, I'll admit I got lost a few times. Overall, really enjoyable. I'll have to read more of Hamilton.

>79 VictoriaPL: that sounds a really interesting surmise. Making note of that one.

I'm finally starting to get back to that Scott Kelly book. I put it aside when I was hospitalized in early December but now feel like reading it again.

>81 lindapanzo: yay!! I've been feeling like a Space book too.

I'm a little late to the party, but dropping by now. Great category-illustrations!!

>83 -Eva-: thanks!!

9. Raylan by Elmore Leonard 3.5.2018 4/5



If you've been wondering where I've been, let me tell you, I jumped down the rabbit hole that was six seasons of the tv show Justified. Justified is based on the characters in a short story by Elmore Leonard called Fire in the Hole, which is in the collection When the Women Come Out to Dance. Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is still dealing with the repercussions of being transferred back to his home state of Kentucky, getting deeper and deeper entrenched with the people he left behind years ago.

Leonard was so impressed with the show that he wrote this novel, Raylan, and told the producers that they could use his material - and they did use most of it. I absolutely love these characters (and performances). Of course there are differences between the screen and the books. I think the reason why it doesn't rate a full 5 stars for me is that the performances of the cast were just SO good that sometimes the book's characterization didn't feel quite true to home. Still an excellent read if you're into crime novels.

>85 VictoriaPL: Victoria, I absolutely loved the program "Justified", and it goes without saying that I have the biggest crush on Timothy Olyphant!

>86 DeltaQueen50: the biggest crush, Judy!

I note that there's an interesting looking new space-related book due out next month. Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon by Robert Kurson. Due out April 3rd, I think. The 50th anniversary is coming up.

Also, in late May, a new bio of Neill Armstrong, called First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen. Sounds like this one will be made into a movie.

Any interest?

>88 lindapanzo: I think the First Man movie comes out in October. Definitely interested in reading that one before the film comes out!

10. Riding the Rap by Elmore Leonard 3.13.2018 3.5/5



Amazon description:
Before U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens began electrifying TV viewers across America (in the hit series Justified), he “starred” in Elmore Leonard’s Riding the Rap—an explosive, twisty tale of a brazen Florida kidnap caper gone outrageously wrong. Chock full of wildly eccentric and deliciously criminal characters—including a psycho enforcer with a green thumb, a Bahamian bad man, and the beautiful, unabashedly greedy psychic Reverend Dawn—Riding the Rap dazzles with Leonard’s trademark ingenious plot turns and razor-keen dialogue.

While browsing my TBR shelf, I told myself to leave the Elmore Leonard for later, not to binge on them all in one go. But I've always been an impatient gal, I was even born premature. So, it was more of Raylan Givens for me. Note, this installment is in Florida which is a switch from the Kentucky locale in the TV series Justified. I've read a few Florida crime novels - Naked Came the Manatee, Big Trouble, The Dreadful Lemon Sky, etc and Riding doesn't quite feel like those. Or maybe it's just me having trouble divorcing the character from the show. I'll have to read some of Leonard's other Florida novels to be sure.

11. Dissonance by Lisa - Lenard-Cook 3.18.2018 3.5/5



Amazon description:
"When Anna Kramer, a Los Alamos piano teacher, inherits the journals and scores of composer Hana Weissova, she is mystified by this bequest from a woman she does not know. Hana's music, however, soon begins to uncover forgotten emotions, while her journals, which begin in 1945 after she is released from a concentration camp, slowly reveal decades-old secrets that Anna and her family have kept buried. "

Beautifully, beautifully written. Love her style of prose. Wish there was more of Hana's time in the concentration camp instead of the Anna's present-day story.

>91 VictoriaPL: I loved that one when Carrie let me borrow her copy!

12. For Freedom: the Story of a French Spy by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 3.21.2018 4.5/5



Amazon description
From the Newbery Honor and Schneider Award-winning author of The War that Saved My Life comes For Freedom, the thrilling true story of one of France's youngest spies during World War II and perfect for fans of Code Name Verity and The Diary of Anne Frank.
Suzanne David's everyday life is suddenly shattered in 1940 when a bomb drops on the main square of her hometown, the city of Cherbourg, France, killing a pregnant neighbor right in front of her. Until then the war had seemed far away, not something that would touch her or her teenage friends. Now Suzanne's family is kicked out onto the street as German soldiers take over their house as a barracks.
Suzanne clings to the one thing she really loves--singing. Her voice is so amazing that she is training to become an opera singer. As Suzanne travels around for rehearsals, cosume fittings, or lessons, she learns more about what the Nazis are doing and about the people who are "disappearing." Her travels are noticed by someone else, an organizer of the French Resistance. Soon Suzanne is a secret courier, a spy fighting for France and risking her own life for freedom.

I usually enjoy YA WWII fiction and For Freedom did not disappoint me. I always find it interesting reading "adult" WWII and "YA" WWII stories. Bradley has simplified the experience of the occupied French without glossing over it, which is a fine line.

>93 VictoriaPL: Book bullet taken!

>94 christina_reads: let me know what you think of it!

13. Searching for Anne Frank: Letters from Amsterdam to Iowa by Susan Goldman Rubin 3.21.2018 3/5



To say that Anne Frank and Juanita Wagner were pen pals is a bit of a stretch, but the intention was there. Each girl received one letter from the other before the war interfered. Wagner's family had no idea that Frank and her family were Jewish and that the family was nearly extinguished in the camps. The book is set up chronologically, alternating the chapters between what Anne and the Franks were going through and what Juanita's life was like at the same time. It's hard to imagine Otto Frank's reaction to coming home and finding Juanita's second letter to Anne, knowing that his daughter could never write a reply. Or that of Betty (Juanita's sister) when she heard a radio advertisement for The Diary of Anne Frank and went immediately to purchase a copy. Written for young adults, the book has many photos and is somewhat simplified but it's a good introduction to Anne and a nice companion to her Diary.

14. Kindred by Octavia Butler 3.25.2018 4.5



Wikipedia description:
"The book is the first-person account of a young African-American woman writer, Dana, who finds herself being shunted in time between her Los Angeles, California home in 1976 and a pre-Civil War Maryland plantation. There she meets her ancestors: a proud black freewoman and a white planter who has forced her into slavery and concubinage. As Dana's stays in the past become longer, the young woman becomes intimately entangled with the plantation community. She makes hard choices to survive slavery and to ensure her return to her own time."

To be honest, I did not enjoy the first third of this book. I couldn't seem to stick with it, it didn't captivate me and I wondered why I had put it down on my 'to read' list at all. But then suddenly the drama got my heart racing and the dialogue was snappy and all I wanted to do was read the next page and the next after that. I can't believe this book was written for young people in 1979, for topics like brutality and rape might be more commonly explored in the genre now, but I don't believe they were at that time. An interesting look at the issues concerning slavery and plantation life.

>93 VictoriaPL: Your bullet hit with that one!

>97 VictoriaPL: Glad it turned around for you.

15. Those Girls by Chevy Stevens 4.3.2018 2.5



Amazon description:
Life has never been easy for the three Campbell sisters. Jess, Courtney, and Dani live on a remote ranch in Western Canada where they work hard and try to stay out of the way of their father's temper. One night, a fight gets out of hand and the sisters are forced to go on the run, only to get caught in an even worse nightmare when their truck breaks down in a small town. As events spiral out of control they find themselves in a horrifying situation and are left with no choice but to change their names and create new lives.
Eighteen years later, they are still trying to forget what happened that summer. But when one of the sisters goes missing, followed closely by her niece, they are pulled back into the past. And this time there's nowhere left to run.
With Those Girls Chevy Stevens presents her most visceral thriller yet: an unforgettable portrait of desperation, loyalty, and evil. A story of survival...and revenge.

In a word: Meh.
I've read more captivating thriller / revenge tales. I resorted to skimming in several spots. Can't recommend.

>100 VictoriaPL: I have read one by Chevy Stevens and I wasn't very impressed by it either. I would like to just ignore this author but she is from my home town so I feel obliged to keep giving her books a shot.

I read one of Chevy Stevens's books and I was so mad at it by the end -- she started with an excellent premise and then systematically made it all as boring and unbelievable as possible.

I've heard a lot about Octavia Butler's work, but I've never read anything by her. Sounds like I should remedy that at some point.

Kindred is definitely on my list! Great review.

>101 DeltaQueen50: I think she has a niche but I don't think it's me, LOL

>102 RidgewayGirl: yes! I plan to read more of Butler

>103 cmbohn: let me know what you think of it!

Hi Victoria! Have you read Lauren Willig's The English Wife? I just started it last night and thought of you. :)

>105 christina_reads: Aw, thank you for thinking of me! I have not read that one but it's on my radar now. We should pick another Willig to read together for old time's sake! :)

>106 VictoriaPL: Agreed! Or find a similar author, preferably one who has written a long series. :)

16. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson 4.7.2018 3/5



Amazon description
On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.


I enjoyed the first 150 pages the best. After that it felt like a long slog to the end. Taxing. All the different reincarnations of Ursula's life remembering - did that happen, this time - or not? I admire the wordsmith that she is but something about her plots just don't sit right with me. I want to like her better than I actually do.

17. The Stronghold by Lisa Carter 4.9.2018 3.5/5



Description from Christianbook.com
As a tribal cop on the Apache reservation, Pilar To-Clanny has witnessed much brutality. She experienced it first-hand in her own life. Now she must battle the memories of her past in order to protect the young women of the reservations from a vicious kidnapper and murderer she knows all too well. Her one ally in the race against time is FBI special agent Alex Torres, another painful part of her past life.


I met Lisa Carter this weekend at a writing workshop she gave locally. She is a Christian writer, mostly in the romantic suspense and modern romance genres. I tend to like anything with an FBI Agent or a Tribal Police officer in it, so I figured I would check this one out. I wanted to see if Carter put what she teaches into action and she does, I'll give her that. I read it all in one sitting so I don't have any problem with the pacing or the action but somehow it just doesn't rank a full 5 stars for me.

>108 VictoriaPL: I know what you mean about Life After Life, I loved the idea and the setup, but it never seemed to come to a conclusion. Was the last life we read about the last life? I remain unsure that she had an ending in mind, as it didn't seem to come to one.

Amazingly, I've never read The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. I hope to remedy that during my upcoming short-term disability, after my April 18th surgery.

>110 Helenliz: I’m told there is a sequel...

>111 lindapanzo: really? I still have fond memories of it. The movie version is good as well.

>112 VictoriaPL: I've heard it's not so much a sequel as a book that takes Teddy as its main focus. It's one I'd probably pick up if I saw it in the library, but I can't see myself seeking it out, if that makes sense.

18. Adolfo Kaminsky: A Forger's Life by Sarah Kaminsky 4.18.2018



Amazon description:
At the age of seventeen Adolfo Kaminsky had narrowly escaped deportation to Auschwitz and was living in Nazi occupied Paris, using forged documents to hide in plain sight. Due to his expert knowledge of dyes and his ability to masterfully reproduce official documents with an artistic eye, he was recruited to join the Jewish underground. He soon became the primary forger for the Resistance in Paris, working tirelessly with his network to create papers that would save an estimated 14,000 men, women, and children from certain death. Upon the Liberation and for the next twenty-five years, Kaminsky worked as a professional photographer. But, recognizing the fight for freedom had not ended with the defeat of the Nazis, and driven by his own harrowing experiences, he continued to secretly forge documents for thousands of refugees, exiles, immigrants, freedom fighters, and pacifists. Kaminsky kept his past cloaked in secrecy well into his later life, until his daughter and biographer Sarah Kaminsky convinced him to share the details of the life-threatening work he did on behalf of people fighting for justice and peace throughout the world.


I was browsing the internet last week when I came upon a transcript of an interview Anderson Cooper did with Adolfo Kaminsky and was instantly struck by his story. A few more hyperlinks and clicks and that evening A Forger's Life was on it's way to my doorstep. What an age we live in. An interesting tale of duplicity. His faux life as a photographer, which made excuses for his chemicals and paper, and his real passion, the forgeries. But not all was golden, Aldolfo sacrificed a lot along the way - his personal growth, his time, his relationships with women, all were impacted.

>97 VictoriaPL: - Kindred knocked my socks off when I read it a couple of years ago. I find myself still thinking about it from time to time and recommending it to others.

>114 VictoriaPL: - I'm going to take a BB for this. Sounds like an interesting book.

>115 LittleTaiko: I still think about it too!

>116 dudes22: Let me know what you think!

>114 VictoriaPL:
Very interesting indeed. Taking a BB as well.

>118 -Eva-: hi Eva! Hope you enjoy!

19. Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand 5.2.2018 5/5



Amazon Description:
In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.

"I'll be an easier subject than Seabiscuit," Louis once told me, "because I can talk."
I enjoyed Seabiscuit and I knew that Hillenbrand would not let me down, especially about one of my favorite subjects, World War II. I can't explain why it took me so long to actually pick up the book though. It's become one of those in the genre that Must. Be. Read. But a friend, who had enjoyed the book, said some things about the film adaptation that gave me pause. And I do find that his statement carries some truth. Like Louie's track runs, this book is an endurance. At some point in reading about the weeks on the life raft, the years in the POW camp, the brain just shuts off. The reader has to take a break from the suffering, the brutality. The more I read about captive conditions during WWII (and any conflict, really) the more I am humbled and grateful for the luxury that I live in here and now.

20. Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling 5.18.2018 3



Amazon description:
Max Berenzon’s father is the most successful art dealer in Paris, owner of the Berenzon Gallery, home to both Picasso and Matisse. To Max’s great surprise, his father forbids him from entering the family business, choosing instead to hire a beautiful and brilliant gallery assistant named Rose Clément. When Paris falls to the Nazis, the Berenzons survive in hiding, but when they return in 1944 their gallery is empty, their priceless collection vanished. In a city darkened by corruption and black martketers, Max chases his twin obsessions: the lost paintings and Rose Clément.

Carrie (cbl_tn) recommended this novel to me. It sounds like me all over: Nazi occupied Paris, art and a love affair. Something just didn't mesh with me though and honestly I just think it's Houghteling's style. That's okay though, there is no shortage of WWII novels to read...

>121 VictoriaPL: The title immediately brought to my mind the excellent music of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. (Yes, I'm dating myself!)

I just finished another WW2 book myself - Beneath a Scarlet Sky - a fictionalized story of real people and events. Wonderful!

>122 mamzel: Looks interesting Mamzel! I'll see if I can find a copy.

>122 mamzel: And the excellent music of Mussorgsky! That novel has been on my radar for ages because of the title alone. :)

21. The Fireman by Joe Hill 6.15.2018 3.5



Amazon Description:
No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies—before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.
Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she’s discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper wants to live—at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.
Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads—armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn’t as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.
In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn child—goes up in smoke.

Joe Hill so reminds me of his Daddy. The entire time I was reading this one all I could think about was The Stand. I think there are some obvious callouts to it.
I enjoyed the concept and the setup of the story but I admit towards the middle I got tired and had to come back to it. An e-reader would be helpful with this one too, at 750 pages it's a little heavy to hold.

>125 VictoriaPL: I haven't got around to reading any of his novels as yet. I really should though as I really enjoyed his Locke & Key graphic novels. I do have Heart-Shaped Box currently sat on the tbr shelves so I will at some point.

>126 AHS-Wolfy: Wolfy, Heart-Shaped is a great one to start with!!

22. From Broken Glass by Steve Ross 6.26/2018 3.5



"People say the phrase all the time. Never forget. Never forget. They say it in synagogues on the Sabbath and in churches when they talk about cruelty in the world. They say it whenever a Holocaust survivor passes on, at memorial events across the country. Never forget. Never forget. Famous people have created foundations so that we all never forget. Even some of the concentration camps are now preserved as museums so that people remember what happened there.
Sometimes when I think of those words I get confused. I know they mean that we don't want our sons and daughters and grandchildren to fail to remember the truth, and that we want those who hold power to understand that this cannot be allowed to happen again. I know the phrase means that we want future generations of people all over the world to withstand the power of hate; to stand up to indignities; to not let any one group of people be blamed for the wrongs of the world and be subject to extermination. I know all that. And I want those things to.
But sometimes, I think to myself, I would do anything to forget."

Amazon Description:
Ross was eight years old when the Nazis invaded his Polish village, forcing his family to flee. He spent his next six years in a day-to-day struggle to survive the notorious camps in which he was imprisoned, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau among them. When he was finally liberated, he no longer knew how old he was, he was literally starving to death, and everyone in his family save for his brother had been killed.
Ross learned in his darkest experiences--by observing and enduring inconceivable cruelty as well as by receiving compassion from caring fellow prisoners--the human capacity to rise above even the bleakest circumstances. He decided to devote himself to underprivileged youth, aiming to ensure that despite the obstacles in their lives they would never experience suffering like he had. Over the course of a nearly forty-year career as a psychologist working in the Boston city schools, that was exactly what he did. At the end of his career, he spearheaded the creation of the New England Holocaust Memorial, a site millions of people including young students visit every year.
Equal parts heartrending, brutal, and inspiring, From Broken Glass is the story of how one man survived the unimaginable and helped lead a new generation to forge a more compassionate world.


Enjoyed this one. Really heart wrenching at times and yet truly inspiring.

Kay (RidgewayGirl) and I went bookshop hunting yesterday and found a gem. We could tell when we opened the door and smelled that used book/old paper fragrance that we were going to enjoy our stop.



I found more Philip K. Dick for my collection. I could probably read him all summer just off what's on my TBR shelf.
Lies, Inc
A Maze of Death

That was a lot of fun, Victoria! I really like finding new bookstores and McDowell's Emporium was certainly one that would be worth a return visit, if only to see the bookstore cat again.

>130 RidgewayGirl: that cat loved you!

She was a sweetie!

We'll have to do that again. I know there are a few interesting independent bookstores near Columbia.

>130 RidgewayGirl: >131 VictoriaPL: I suppose I need to get to Anderson to make the cat's acquaintance!

>133 thornton37814: Lori, she looks like she's an 11 month old kitten but turns out she's an 11-year old grande dame.
She's really sweet.

>134 VictoriaPL: Sounds like a winner!

23. Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre 7.9.2018 Sirantha Jax, Book#2 4/5



AnnAguirre.com description:
Sirantha Jax is a “Jumper,” a woman who possesses the unique genetic makeup needed to navigate faster than light ships through grimspace. Jax has worked for the Farwan Corporation her entire career. But now the word’s out that the Corp deliberately crashed a passenger ship, and their stranglehold on intergalactic commerce has crumbled—which means that Jax is out of a job.
She’s also broke, due to being declared dead a little prematurely. So when the government asks her to head up a vital diplomatic mission, Jax takes it. Her mandate: journey to the planet Ithiss-Tor and convince them to join the Conglomerate.
But Jax’s payday is light years away. First, she’ll have to contend with Syndicate criminals, a stormy relationship with her pilot, man-eating aliens, and her own grimspace-weakened body. She’ll be lucky just to make it to Ithiss-Tor alive…

Book 2 is still holding my interest. Which is good, I always like to find a strong female role in a male-dominated genre such as sci-fi.
I think I have #3 and #4 on my TBR shelf. My shelf seems to be full of either sci-if or WWII.
BUT I think my next book will be a re-read of Wuthering Heights as Miss Emily Bronte's bicentennial is just around the corner.

>136 VictoriaPL: I enjoyed Grimspace enough to want to continue the series at some point so I'm glad to hear the 2nd book of the series holds up to the promise of the 1st. You might want to check the touchstone though if you're bothered by such things.

>137 AHS-Wolfy: thanks Wolfy, I caught that in every other place, LOL.

24. No Middle Name: the Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories by Lee Child 7.18.2018



I think I've read two Jack Reacher books. This one intrigued me enough to pick it up off the Book Bingo table after I had won a round. The stories are all over the place. Some are very long, some very brief. I think they are all sufficiently independent as to not spoil any of the books.

All right, now I really will be delving into a read-read of Wuthering Heights.

>125 VictoriaPL:
Any book that can be favorably compared to The Stand is worth putting on the wishlist...

25. Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre 7.24.2018 4/5



AnnAguirre.com Description:
Sirantha Jax isn’t known for diplomatic finesse. As a “Jumper” who navigates ships through grimspace, she’s used to kicking ass first and taking names later—much later. Not exactly the obvious choice to sell the Conglomerate to the Ithtorians, a people whose opinions of humans are as hard as their exoskeletons.
And Ithiss-Tor council meetings aren’t the only place where Ambassador Jax needs to maneuver carefully. Her lover, March, is frozen in permanent “kill” mode, and his hair-trigger threatens to sabotage the talks—not to mention their relationship.
But Jax won’t give up on the man or the mission. With the Outskirts beleaguered by raiders, pirates, and the flesh-eating Morgut, an alliance with Ithiss-Tor may be humanity’s only hope. Which has Jax wondering why a notorious troublemaker like her was given the job…

Alright. I couldn't sleep the other night. While I was up, I kept thinking about how much I enjoy Aguirre's world craft and literary style. So I read another one.
I can't wait to read the next but it will be after Wuthering Heights, I promise!

26. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 8.19.2018 reread



I finally finished my long sojourn on the moors. I still love this book and I've lost count of how many times I've read it. Even though the passages and language are familiar and comforting, I discover something new each reading.

27. Killers of the Flower Moon:Oil, Money, Murder and the Birth of the FBI by David Green 8.29.2018 3/5



RidgewayGirl brought this to me and suggested that I might like it. I did enjoy it, like any non-fiction, some parts held my attention more than others. I was shocked to learn that J Edgar Hoover had been a clerk at the Library of Congress. To think, if he had just been content to be a librarian his entire career!

>142 VictoriaPL: Killers of the Flower Moon has been near the top of the pile for quite some time now. I really need to pick it up. Didn't know that about J. Edgar Hoover.

Linda, the other shocking secret about J. Edgar revealed in this book is that he was a fine looking young man.

Victoria, how are you liking Pieces of Her? I'm not sure what to make of it yet, but I can't stop reading.

Hello VictoriaPL! I love your category toppers. Fantastic choice on all the imagery.

>85 VictoriaPL: >90 VictoriaPL: I remember listening to Riding the Rap many year ago. I watched the first couple of episodes of the show. I think I will got back and watch it on DVD. I need another modern Western now that Longmire is over.

>136 VictoriaPL: >141 VictoriaPL: This series looks interest and the cover artwork is eye catching.

>145 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! Thanks for stopping by!

Sorry I've been so MIA. Life. I am trying to do better about LT

I have recently finished:
Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
The Hush by John Hart
You by Caroline Kepnes

RidgewayGirl and I attended the Friends of the Library sale this weekend.
It was great fun and I really enjoyed myself.
Here's what I picked up:

The Velvet Hours by Alyson Richman
The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black
Dunkirk Crescendo, Paris Encore and London Refrain by Bodie and Brock Thoene
Wilderness by Robert Penn Warren
The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame Smith
The Astronaut of Bear Creek by Nick Allen Brown
Night Dawn The Accident by Elie Wiesel
Twilight by Elie Wiesel
Night Blindness by Susan Strecker
Our Man in the Dark by Rashad Harrison
Soul Catcher by Michael White
The Paris Spy by Susan Elia Macneal
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
Cuts Through Bone by Alaric Hunt
As Time Goes By by Michael Walsh

You beat me by one! That was fun and I look forward to our tandem read.

>147 VictoriaPL: Wish I could have joined you, but I was in Raleigh.

>148 RidgewayGirl: me too, Kay! It looks good.

>149 thornton37814: next time Lori!

I saw First Man last week. Excellent movie.

Great haul, Victoria, now you better get reading!

>151 lindapanzo:. Linda, I loooooved it!

>152 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy! I have already dipped my toes into The Astronaut from Bear Creek

>151 lindapanzo: Yay! I'm hoping to see it with my BF sometime.

31. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell 10.30.2018



Amazon blurb: When Evie's father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that she only slowly recognizes. She finds herself falling for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him . . . until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two.

Meh. Telegraphed "the twist" all the way and kind of ruined that for me. I enjoyed the coming-of-age tale and I thought the writing was well done.

32. The Astronaut from Bear Creek by Nick Allen Brown 11.4.2018



A one-legged girl with a food allergy is orphaned when her aunt and uncle are killed. A recently-widowed woman is adrift after her solder-husband's funeral. An agoraphobic astronaut makes furniture in the family-owned inn he inherited. All three lives collide in Bear Creek.

I like several things the author did but it did not knock my socks off. He didn't go where I thought he was going to go, so props for that! A nice feel-good tale. I'm sorry if I made it sound a bit Nicolas Sparks, don't worry, it's not.