CBL reads at home in 2018 - Thread 2

Hi, I'm Carrie, and this is my 8th year in the 75 books group! By day I'm a librarian. At home I am "mama" to Adrian, my ~7-year-old Shih Tzu. (I adopted him from the Humane Society 5 years ago, and his age is their best estimate.) My reading is fairly eclectic. Mysteries are my favorite genre, but I also read a fair bit of literary fiction, history, literary travel, biography, and genealogy.

I recently bought my first home and my reading dropped off quite a bit as I went through the process of closing and moving. After a very slow second half of 2017 and first half of 2018, I'm getting back to a more normal reading rhythm.

My thread toppers usually feature my fur baby Adrian. Here's one of my favorites for football season.

Best of 2018
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale (4.5) - Review
A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression by Jane Ziegelman & Andrew Coe (4.5) - Review
Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter (4.5) - Review
Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner (4.5) - Review
Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, & Marjory Wentworth; illustrated by Ekua Holmes (5) - Review
In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke & Jennifer Armstrong (4.5) - Review
Voices from the Second World War: Stories of War as Told to Children of Today (4.5) - Review
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (4.5) - Review
Gateway to the Moon by Mary Morris (4.5) - Review
Anne Frank : the diary of a young girl : the definitive edition by Anne Frank (5) - Review
The Foundling by Paul Joseph Fronczak & Alex Tresniowski (4.5) - Review
The Continuum by Wendy Nikel (4.5) - Review
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan (4.5) - Review
We Followed Our Stars by Ida Cook (5) - Review
The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman (5) - Review
They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie (4.5) - Review
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (5) - Review
Interrupting Chicken and the Elephant of Surprise by David Ezra Stein (4.5) - Review
A Fine Line by Gianrico Carofiglio (4.5) - Review
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by David Rosenfelt (4.5) - Review

Books read in August
73. We Followed Our Stars by Ida Cook (5) - completed 8/3/18
74. Sackett's Land by Louis L'Amour (4) - completed 8/5/18
75. The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman (5) - completed 8/5/18
76. Blue Water Hues by Vicki Delany (3.5) - completed 8/18/18
77. Voices from the Rust Belt edited by Anne Trubek (4) - completed 8/19/18
78. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (3.5) - completed 8/22/18
79. Temporary Perfections by Gianrico Carofiglio (4) - completed 8/22/8
80. Architects of Death by Karen Bartlett (3) - completed 8/23/18
81. The Nakamura Letters by Frankie Bow (2.5) - completed 8/25/18
82. The Retrieval of Janice Westhouse by Wendy Nikel (3) - completed 8/26/18
83. Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station by Dorothy Gilman (4) - completed 8/27/18
84. The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle (4) - completed 8/31/18

Books read in September
85. Death at the Selig Studios by Frances McNamara (2.5) - completed 9/1/18
86. Acqua Alta by Donna Leon (4) - completed 9/2/18
87. They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie (4.5) - completed 9/4/18
88. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (5) - completed 9/6/18
89. Good Rosie! by Kate DiCamillo; pictures by Harry Bliss (4) - completed 9/7/18
90. Jesus and the Holocaust: Reflections on Suffering and Hope by Joel Marcus (4) - completed 9/8/18
91. The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy (3.5) - completed 9/12/18
92. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (3.5) - completed 9/13/18
93. Top of the Heap by A. A. Fair (3) - completed 9/15/18
94. The Under Dog and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (4) - completed 9/20/18
95. My brother's keeper: Christians who risked all to protect Jewish targets of the Nazi Holocaust by Rod Gragg (4) - completed 9/22/18
96. Transcription by Kate Atkinson (3.5) - completed 9/25/18
97. Dodger by Terry Pratchett (4) - completed 9/30/18

Books read in October
98. Interrupting Chicken and the Elephant of Surprise by David Ezra Stein (4.5) - completed 10/1/18
99. Zoo Station by David Downing (4) - completed 10/5/18
100. Depth of Winter by Craig Johnson (4) - completed 10/7/18
101. In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear (4) - completed 10/11/18
102. The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke (4) - competed 10/13/18
103. Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson (4) - completed 10/19/18
104. The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva (4) - completed 10/21/18
105. Looking for Strangers by Dori Katz (3) - completed 10/24/18
106. Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright (3.5) - completed 10/25/18
107. A Fine Line by Gianrico Carofiglio (4.5) - completed 10/28/18
108. Something Fresh by P. G. Wodehouse (4) - completed 10/31/18

Books Read in November
109. The Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri (4) - completed 11/5/18
110. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman (4) - completed 11/11/18
111. The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items from the First World War (4) - completed 11/14/18
112. The Dead Can Wait by Robert Ryan (3.5) - completed 11/22/18
113. The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley (3.5) - completed 11/25/18
114. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield (4) - completed 11/25/18
115. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (3.5) - completed 11/27/18

Books Read in December
116. The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by David Rosenfelt (4.5) - completed 12/1/18
117. The Shepherd, the Angel and Walter the Miracle Christmas Dog by Dave Barry (4) - completed 12/3/18
118. A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon (3.5) - completed 12/4/18
119. The English Assassin by Daniel Silva (3) - completed 12/10/18
120. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald (4) - completed 12/13/18
121. Murder Once Removed by S. C. Perkins (3) - completed 12/15/18
122. Mort Ziff Is Not Dead by Cary Fagan (4) - completed 12/16/18
123. Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews (3) - completed 12/18/18
124. The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare (3.5) - completed 12/19/18
125. A Wild Goose Chase Christmas by Jennifer AlLee (2) - completed 12/24/18
126. Trust Fall by Frankie Bow (3) - completed 12/25/18
127. High Rising by Angela Thirkell (4) - completed 12/29/18
128. Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie (3.5) - completed 12/30/18
129. American Nations by Colin Woodard (3.5) - completed 12/31/18

Books added in July
36. The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle (free audio download)
37. Voices from the Rust Belt edited by Anne Trubek (Thingaversary purchase)
38. The Continuum by Wendy Nikel (free ebook)
39. The Grandmother Paradox by Wendy Nikel (ER ebook)
40. Blue Water Hues by Vicki Delany (June ER book)

Books added in August
41. The Nakamura Letters by Frankie Bow (July ER book)
42. The Retrieval of Janice Westhouse by Wendy Nikel (purchased)

Books added in September
43. Good Rosie! by Kate DiCamillo; pictures by Harry Bliss (August ER book)
44. Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon (gift)

Books added in October
45. Interrupting Chicken and the Elephant of Surprise by David Ezra Stein (September ER book)
46. Edible Memory by Jennifer A. Jordan (free ebook)
47. A Fine Line by Gianrico Carofiglio (purchased)
48. The Dead Can Wait by Robert Ryan (purchased)

Books added in November
49. Mort Ziff Is Not Dead by Cary Fagan (October ER book)

Books added in December
50. The Big Jones Cookbook by Paul Fehribach (free ebook)
51. The Truth About Fat by Anthony Warner (November ER book)
52. Hotel Silence by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir (SantaThing gift)
53. Jane Austen's England by Roy & Lesley Adkins (swap gift)
54. The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West (swap gift)
55. The Thief of Auschwitz by Jon Clinch (swap gift)
56. Only a Few Bones by John Philip Colletta (Christmas gift)
57. Dog Tales & Pup Parables by Janet DeCaster Perrin (Christmas gift)
58. An English Christmas: Traditional Carols from the British Isles Arranged for Solo Piano by Jason W. Krug (Christmas gift)
59. Watling Street by John Higgs (SantaThing gift)
60. To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey (SantaThing gift)

British Authors Challenge:

JANUARY - Debut novels
Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym - completed 1/4/18

FEBRUARY - 1970s
Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter - completed 2/19/18

MARCH - Classic thrillers
Decision at Delphi by Helen MacInnes - completed 3/11/18

APRIL - Folklore, fables, and legends
Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson - completed 4/30/18

MAY - Queens of crime
The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey - completed 6/2/18

JUNE - Travel writing
Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson - completed 7/7/18

JULY - The angry young men

AUGUST - British science fiction
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - completed 8/22/18
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle - completed 8/31/18

SEPTEMBER - Historical fiction
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson - completed 9/13/18
Transcription by Kate Atkinson - completed 9/25/18
Dodger by Terry Pratchett - completed 9/30/18

OCTOBER - Comedic novels
Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson - completed 10/19/18
Something Fresh by P. G. Wodehouse - completed 10/31/18

NOVEMBER - First World War
The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items from the First World War - completed 11/14/18
The Dead Can Wait by Robert Ryan - completed 11/22/18

DECEMBER - British Series
High Rising by Angela Thirkell - completed 12/29/18
Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie - completed 12/30/18

Nonfiction Challenge:

JANUARY - Prize winners/nominees
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale - completed 1/24/18

FEBRUARY - Biography
Symphony for the City of the Dead by M. T. Anderson - completed 3/1/18

MARCH - Travel
Survivors in Mexico by Rebecca West - completed 3/25/18

APRIL - History
The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff - completed 4/18/18
In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke & Jennifer Armstrong - completed 4/24/18
Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone - completed 4/26/18
Voices from the Second World War: Stories of War as Told to Children of Today - completed 4/29/18

MAY - Boundaries: Geography, Geopolitics and Maps
On the Map by Simon Garfield - completed 5/27/18

JUNE - The great outdoors
Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson - completed 7/7/18

JULY - The arts
Dancing with the Enemy by Paul Glaser - completed 7/18/18
We Followed Our Stars by Ida Cook - completed 8/3/18
The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman - completed 8/5/18

AUGUST - Essays (short & sweet)
Voices from the Rust Belt edited by Anne Trubek - completed 8/19/18

SEPTEMBER - Spirits, Spirituality, Gods, Demons, and Supernatural Beings
Jesus and the Holocaust: Reflections on Suffering and Hope by Joel Marcus - completed 9/8/18
My brother's keeper: Christians who risked all to protect Jewish targets of the Nazi Holocaust by Rod Gragg - completed 9/22/18

OCTOBER - First Person Singular
Looking for Strangers by Dori Katz - completed 10/24/18
Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright - completed 10/25/18

American Authors challenge
FEBRUARY - Colson Whitehead - The Underground Railroad
MARCH - Tobais Wolff - This Boy's Life - completed 3/12/18
MAY - Pete Hamill - Tabloid City - completed 5/30/18
JULY - Amy Tan - The Bonesetter's Daughter - completed 7/31/18
AUGUST - Louis L'Amour - Sackett's Land - completed 8/5/18
SEPTEMBER - Pat Conroy - The Water Is Wide - completed 9/12/18
NOVEMBER - Diane Ackerman - The Zookeeper's Daughter - completed 11/11/18
DECEMBER - F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Stories - completed 12/13/18

Reading Projects:

Agatha Christie
A Murder Is Announced - completed 3/11/18
They Came to Baghdad - completed 9/4/18
The Under Dog and Other Stories - completed 9/20/18

Jane Austen
Cowboy Pride by Lacy Williams - completed 7/23/18

I always include a "blast from the past" in my threads. This one was taken in my second grade classroom. That's my brother with me, not one of my classmates.

Currently reading:


How to Read Poetry Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
Death at the Selig Studios by Frances McNamara
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle

Happy new thread, Carrie!

Adrian is, as always, adorable :-)

>11 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

Happy new thread, Carrie! Adrian is adorable, as usual . . . :)

>13 tymfos: Thanks, Terri!

Happy new thread, Carrie. Congrats on reading and surpassing 75 and getting caught up on your reviews! I see that you read the first Mrs Pollifax. I really enjoyed them and cozy spy thrillers is a great way to described them.

Happy new thread, Carrie!

Happy new thread, Carrie! Cute "blast from the past"!

Happy new thread, Carrie!

>15 Familyhistorian: >16 harrygbutler: >17 Carmenere: >18 MickyFine: Thanks, everyone!

>15 Familyhistorian: I have been reading the Mrs. Pollifax books as I've come across them and not in any particular order. This one is somewhere near the middle of the series. I've loved them all!

Happy new thread!

>20 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

84. The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle

When you mention Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, most people will immediately associate him with his great detective, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes's fame overshadows that of another of Conan Doyle's literary creations, Professor Challenger. In the first of his adventures, readers travel with the Professor and his three companions to a remote plateau in South America where dinosaurs and other prehistoric life forms still roam the earth. Just as Holmes needed Watson to record his adventures, Challenger has young newspaper reporter Malone to record the events of the expedition. Adventurer Lord John Roxton and Challenger's antagonist, Professor Summerlee, round out the party.

Challenger's personality and physical characteristics reminded me of Professor Emerson of the Amelia Peabody series. H. Rider Haggard's novels inspired some of Amelia Peabody's adventures. It seems that Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger may have also influenced Peters' writing. Malone joined the expedition to prove himself to the woman who rejected his proposal. She believed that she could only love a great man. Apparently she hadn't read Middlemarch to see how well that worked out for Dorothea Casaubon.

This novel's title was prophetic in that the world inhabited by the explorers was soon to change with the outbreak of the First World War.

4 stars

85. Death at the Selig Studios by Frances McNamara

Emily Cabot Chapman teaches criminology. She often works closely with Detective Whitbread of the Chicago police, and her skills have been useful in helping him to solve murders. Emily is looking forward to leaving Chicago with her family to spend summer at Cape Cod. However, her plans change when her brother, Alden Cabot, becomes a primary suspect in a murder at the Selig Polyscope Company. Emily can't believe her brother is capable of murder, and she won't leave Chicago until he's cleared of suspicion. The trouble is, the more she learns, the more it appears that Alden might really be guilty.

The historical setting in Chicago and the silent film industry seems authentic, with lots of period detail. However, I wasn't enamored with Emily as an amateur detective, let alone a professor of criminology. Based on this outing, I have to classify her among the amateur sleuths who are “too stupid to live.” She jumped to conclusions based on speculation rather than clues, and she was careless of her own safety. Fortunately other characters were more savvy so they were in a position to rescue Emily from mortal danger. It would be interesting to explore how a wife and mother balanced an academic career and her home life in the first decade of the 20th century. Emily doesn't seem to try for balance. I'm not even sure that she spoke to the youngest of her three children at any point in the book.

This review is based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

2.5 stars

Happy newish thread, Carrie.

Sorry I haven't been around quite so much this year.

>24 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! I have not been around so much this year, either. But I'm happy to say that things are picking up!

86. Acqua Alta by Donna Leon

Although Venice's Commissario Brunetti doesn't normally handle robberies, he manages to get himself assigned to the case of Dr. Brett Lynch, who was severely beaten in her home. Brunetti had met Dr. Lynch several years earlier when he investigated the death of a conductor at La Fenice. Dr. Lynch is an expert in Chinese antiquities. She has come to Venice to meet with the director of a museum that had hosted an exhibition of Chinese antiquities several years earlier. The loaned pieces were in her care, and she has recently discovered that the pieces that were loaned were not the pieces that were returned.

This book is a bit different than the previous books in the series since Brunetti is assisting a living victim. Brunetti spends a lot of time with Dr. Lynch and her partner, opera diva Flavia Petrelli, and the three of them work together to solve the crime. Seasonal flooding (“acqua alta”) provides a backdrop for the story, with the cold water encroaching into the lower levels of many homes.

This is the most tightly plotted of the books to this point in the series, with Brunetti spending most of his time investigating the crime (when he wasn't battling the flood waters to get to his next interview). I found that I missed his family time and Paola's insightful comments that trigger connections that help Brunetti make progress in whatever case he's working on.

4 stars

>86 thornton37814: I'm finishing up one that is due before it for another challenge, but it's up after that on Overdrive. I've also got a print book and audio book going.

>27 thornton37814: Hope you enjoy it!

87. They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie

Shorthand typist Victoria Jones fines herself suddenly out of a job. She meets a young man in a London park and they take a fancy to each other. Edward is returning to his secretarial job in Baghdad. Now that she's at loose ends, Victoria determines to join him there. She manages to get a temporary job as companion to a female traveler on her way to Baghdad, and surely a shorthand typist – even a not very good one – can find some sort of job there. One thing leads to another and, before she knows it, she's mixed up in international intrigue. Is anyone who he or she seems to be? She'll have to rely on her wits and her ability to lie convincingly to stay out of the clutches of the conspirators, whoever they are.

Although Christie is better known for her mystery novels, several of her adventure novels are among my favorites. I've now added this one to that list. This book strikes just the right balance between suspense and humor. Although I guessed a few of the book's secrets, Christie still managed to surprise me. This would have been a 5-star read if not for the fact that the conspiracy Victoria was enlisted to thwart was never actually explained!

”The delusion that by force you can impose the Millennium on the human race is one of the most dangerous delusions in existence. Those who are out only to line their own pockets can do little harm—mere greed defeats its own ends. But the belief in a superstratum of human beings—in Supermen to rule the rest of the decadent world—that, Victoria, is the most evil of all beliefs. For when you say, 'I am not as other men'—you have lost the two most valuable qualities we have ever tried to attain: humility and brotherhood.”

4.5 stars

88. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

Sisters Ruth and Lucille are dropped off at their grandmother's house just before their mother drives a car off a cliff into the lake. Ruth and Lucille stay in the house, first with their grandmother, then a couple of great aunts, then their mother's sister Sylvie. Sylvie is eccentric. She cares about Ruth and Lucille, but she is unconcerned with conventions. Eventually their idiosyncratic behavior brings unwanted attention from community leaders.

Ruth narrates the story, which is much more than an account of what happened to her family. She has a philosopher's soul, and she makes observations about weighty things like boundaries, transience, being on the outside looking in versus being on the inside looking out, loneliness, death, the meaning of family, and the relationship between humans and the landscape. I listened to the audio version read by Becket Royce. At first I thought she spoke too fast, but I soon adjusted to her cadence. At some point, the narrator became Ruth, and the words flowed as effortlessly as thought.

5 stars

89. Good Rosie! by Kate DiCamillo; pictures by Harry Bliss

Rosie is an only dog who lives with George. She is lonely for the company of other dogs. One day George takes Rosie to a dog park, where she meets the much bigger Maurice and the much smaller Fifi. Can these dogs learn how to be friends?

It's obvious that both author and illustrator know dogs. The book is designed like a graphic novel and has the color palette of a comic strip, yet the drawings have realistic details. The book works simply as a sweet, funny animal story. However, it could also be used with young children to teach them about friendship. It might be particularly useful for sharing with children who are big for their age who might play too roughly with smaller children without meaning to hurt them. Parents/teachers can discuss how the very big Maurice (is he a St. Bernard?) had to learn to play more gently with tiny Fifi.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

4 stars

Hi Carrie - Happy newish thread. I also got Good Rosie! as an ER book. Scout and I read it, and she loved it. Her favorite part was when Maurice and Fifi met. Kate Di Camillo is wonderful.

>32 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! I'm so glad to hear that you got to share such a wonderful book with Scout!

90. Jesus and the Holocaust: Reflections on Suffering and Hope by Joel Marcus

These homilies were first delivered at a Good Friday service in 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Holocaust. The author is a New Testament scholar with a secular Jewish background, so the intersection of Christianity and the Holocaust is of special interest to him. Each homily is prefaced by an image (a painting or photograph) and a poem or prose excerpt with a theme related to the homily. A theme that runs throughout the collection is that of unjust suffering – of the millions of Jews who suffered and died because they were Jews, and of the innocent Christ who suffered and died on the cross. It would be a good collection for Lenten reading list.

4 stars

91. The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy

This book is based on the year that Conroy taught in a school on a South Carolina island. It's described variously as a novel and as a memoir. Although the name of the island, the students, and other school personnel have been changed, it's not really fiction. Conroy tells his story thematically, and many of the events are not recounted in chronological order. Conroy was in his twenties when he took this job, and it shows. He was passionate about teaching, but also arrogant like many of us were in our twenties, and this eventually cost him his job. This is a must-read for educators, but one word of warning is in order. The book is a product of its time, and Conroy's frequent use of a racial epithet is jarring. (Conroy didn't use this word in his own conversation, but he quoted others who used it.)

3.5 stars

92. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

After his father's death in 1751, young David Balfour learns about an uncle he'd never heard of before. David is surprised to learn that he is the heir to an estate, but before he can get used to the idea, his uncle has him kidnapped on a ship headed for the American colonies. En route, he befriends Jacobite Alan Breck Stewart. Although the highland Catholic Alan and the lowland Protestant David make an unlikely pair, they share adventures including shipwreck and pursuit through the highlands. It's an entertaining tail of adventure, and it's worth reading just to get acquainted with David Balfour. I listened to the audio version and I found it difficult to understand the reader's accent and the somewhat archaic Scots dialect.

3.5 stars

Hi, Carrie! You've done some good reading.

I liked Acqua Alta, and it resonated due to parts of our town being flooded when I read it.

Death at the Selig Studios sounds awful. Thanks for saving me the trouble of trying to read it!

>37 tymfos: Hi Terri! I have a few books I associate with certain places or times. I bet Acqua Alta is one you'll remember because of the flooding. I hope your town has recovered OK.

Death at the Selig Studios sure sounded like a book I would like. I was disappointed that it didn't work for me.

93. Top of the Heap by A. A. Fair

A young man hires Los Angeles’s Cool & Lam agency to help him find the two women who can provide him with an alibi for the night of the disappearance of a gangster’s girlfriend. Lam easily wraps up the case. That’s the problem. It’s too easy. Against the client’s wishes—and the wishes of his partner, Bertha Cool, Donald Lam keeps digging. The trail takes him to San Francisco, where he uncovers murder and a money laundering scam. If he wants to stay out of jail, or maybe even just stay alive, he’ll have to get to the bottom of things.

Perry Mason author Erle Stanley Gardner wrote this series under the pseudonym A. A. Fair. It’s an entertaining but otherwise forgettable hardboiled crime novel characteristic of the mid-20th century.

3 stars

94. The Under Dog and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

This is a collection of previously published short stories. All but the title story are narrated by Hastings, and Inspector Japp appears in a few of the stories. This collection is a representative sample of the Poirot canon and it would be a good introduction for newbies. The audio version is narrated by Hugh Fraser (Hastings in the TV series) and David Suchet (Poirot in the TV series). The stories will sound right to those like me who consider Suchet to be the definitive Poirot.

4 stars

95. My Brother's Keeper: Christians Who Risked All to Protect Jewish Targets of the Nazi Holocaust by Rod Gragg

This book is a collection of brief profiles of Christians who risked their lives to protect Jews during the Holocaust. Some of the subjects of the sketches are well known for their work during the Holocaust, such as the Ten Boom family. Some rescued hundreds or thousands, and others rescued one or two. Some are surprising, like Princess Alice of Battenberg, mother of Prince Philip. All were motivated to act by their Christian faith, and all have been designated as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.

I was glad to see one local man recognized. Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds was a local boy from Knoxville, Tennessee. As the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer in a German POW camp, he used his position to protect the Jewish soldiers who were fellow POWs. When the Germans ordered the Jewish soldiers to report one morning, Edmonds feared that they would end up in an extermination camp. He ordered all of the American soldiers to report, and they followed his order. When questioned by the Germans, they claimed “We are all Jews.” The Germans backed down in the face of this, and the Jewish soldiers were spared. Roddie Edmonds was the first—and at this point the only—American soldier recognized by Yad Vashem.

4 stars

96. Transcription by Kate Atkinson

The book begins and ends in 1981, when Miss Juliet Armstrong, having just returned to London after years abroad, has stepped in front of a taxi and been run over. The meat of the story has to do with Juliet’s past as a transcriptionist for MI5 in the Second World War and her work with a BBC children’s radio program a decade later. Juliet thought that her past was behind her until she received a threatening message at work. Then she begins to see people she knew during the war years. One of them, Godfrey Toby, had been a double agent during the war. But whose side was he on? And how about the others from her past? What terrible memory do they share?

Kate Atkinson breaks conventions for avoiding plots that hinge on coincidence. Somehow she makes it work. Maybe it’s as simple as having her characters acknowledge and struggle with them. This book is short enough to read in a single evening, and I wish I had approached it that way. The plot and characters are complicated enough that it’s easy to forget important details between sittings. The plot and setting feel authentic, and they’re based on real events and people from the war years and British Broadcasting. Recommended for Atkinson’s fans and fans of World War II espionage stories.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

3.5 stars

97. Dodger by Terry Pratchett

In Victorian, a young tosher’s luck changes on a stormy night when he rescues a young woman of means from her cruel captors. Henry Mayhew and Charles Dickens happen on the scene and arrange for the young woman to be cared for in Mayhew’s home. The woman is the young wife of a prominent foreign man, and she is desperate to escape from her cruel husband and remain in England, the land of her mother’s birth. Mayhew, Sir Robert Peel, Disraeli, and others want to avoid a diplomatic crisis. Dodger just wants to protect Simplicity, as they decide to call her.

This entertaining tale mixes fictional characters with historical characters in Victorian London. With Dickens as a character, it’s not surprising that it has the atmosphere of a Dickens novel, with scenes in Fleet Street, Seven Dials, and the London sewers. Dodger is as sharp as his (supposed) namesake, and readers will root for his success. Steven Briggs provides excellent narration in the audio version.

4 stars

98. Interrupting Chicken and the Elephant of Surprise by David Ezra Stein

Chicken comes home from school and asks Papa to read stories with her. Chicken wants to look for the “elephant of surprise” that her teacher says is in every good story. Papa tries to explain to Chicken that her teacher meant an “element of surprise” and that there are no elephants in The Ugly Duckling, Rapunzel, or The Little Mermaid. But in Chicken’s version, there are!

This is a delightfully funny story that will also serve the purpose of teaching children about stories and story telling. Like Chicken, children will learn to look for the element (or elephant!) of surprise in other stories. This book belongs in all elementary school libraries. If I was a primary classroom teacher, this book would be in my classroom collection.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program.

4.5 stars

99. Zoo Station by David Downing

John Russell is a British expat in Germany in 1939. Although conditions are worsening for many in Hitler’s Germany and it seems like Europe is heading for another war, Russell is loath to leave Germany because of his young son, who lives with Russell’s ex-wife and her new husband. Russell also has a German lover he’d rather not leave behind. Russell is approached by a Soviet agent with a request to write a series of articles about life in Nazi Germany. Soon the British have requests for him, too. He walks a fine line trying to keep the Soviets and the British happy without getting into trouble with the Nazis.

The book has a strong sense of place. It explores the growing danger for German Jews in 1939, with Russell assisting a Jewish family to whom he’s been giving English lessons. It also explores the dangers faced by other groups targeted by the Nazis – homosexuals and persons with disabilities. Russell is a bit of an antihero. He’s not a moral crusader on a mission to rescue Jews and defeat the Nazis, but he does his part to help those who need it within his circle of friends and acquaintances.

4 stars

100.

Depth of Winter by Craig Johnson

In this series entry, Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire is in pursuit of the Mexican criminal who is carrying out a very personal vendetta against Longmire. Walt’s daughter has been kidnapped, and Walt is determined to rescue her even at the expense of his own life. He doesn’t have the patience to wait on the US and Mexican authorities to sort out the legalities, so he sneaks across the border on his own. For assistance he has a blind, legless man known as the Seer, who puts Walt in touch with others who can help him.

This book is more Western adventure novel than mystery. There is no mystery about who is responsible for Cady’s kidnapping. Although there is crime involved, Walt is out of his jurisdiction so he doesn’t represent law enforcement. The book reminded me of a Chuck Norris action movie. It’s not the type of book I naturally gravitate toward, but at this point in the series I’m so invested in the characters that there’s no way I would have skipped this one.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

4 stars

101. In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs has reopened her investigative agency in her old offices and with her old assistant, Billy Boyle and her newer assistant, Sandra Pickering. The story begins on September 3, 1939, the day that Britain declared war with Germany. Maisie is approached by a former colleague in the intelligence community and asked to take on a case. Francesca Thomas now works for the Belgian embassy, and she asks Maisie to look into the deaths of Belgian refugees from the first world war. Meanwhile, Maisie’s father, her stepmother, and her late husband’s parents open their homes to children who’ve been evacuated from London. Maisie’s stepmother, Brenda, is troubled by one small girl who doesn’t seem to belong. The girl hasn’t spoken since she arrived. Maisie takes on the responsibility of finding out who the girl is, where she came from, and what needs to be done to care for her.

This is a strong entry in the series. The last couple of books in the series involved more espionage than detection. In this book, Maisie returns to the type of case that attracted readers to this series in the first place, with the war as a backdrop. Maisie’s best friend, Priscilla Partridge, never fully recovered from the loss of her three brothers in the First World War. I have long been worried about Priscilla’s three sons, and indeed one of them has joined the RAF and his life will be in danger. While I look forward to Maisie’s subsequent adventures, I dread what might become of Priscilla’s boys and Billy’s sons.

4 stars

102. The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

While on a school trip to Berlin, 16-year-old Ellie Baum grabs hold of a red balloon that transports her back to 1988 East Berlin. She’s discovered by Kai, a Romani Runner who helps transport people over the Berlin Wall to freedom. The Runners work with Schöpfers, magicians who write mathematical equations on the red balloons that are used for transportation. Kai and his Runner partner, Mitzi, keep Ellie in a safe house until they can figure out how to get her back to her own time. When other dead time travelers begin to appear, the three become increasingly afraid that one of the Schöpfers has gone rogue.

This isn’t the kind of book I would normally pick up – young adult, historical fantasy, teen romance. It was selected as this quarter’s OverDrive Big Read, and when I saw that the plot has a Holocaust connection, I decided to check it out. I enjoyed it more than I expected to. I was fascinated by the setting in East Berlin just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The three main characters have a heightened sense of danger because they belong to socially unacceptable groups. Ellie is Jewish, Kai is Romani, and Mitzi is lesbian. The characters wrestle with questions of good and evil and the moral obligations of individuals in a totalitarian society. The Holocaust and survivors guilt have a role in the story. I was a bit disappointed with the ending. Kai’s sister figured out a way to send Ellie back to her own time, but the book ended without telling readers if she really made it home and what happened when she arrived.

4 stars

103. Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson

Emmeline “Lucia” Lucas is the queen bee in the hive of Riseholme, until opera singer Olga Bracely moves into the village. The wit and sophistication that Lucia works so hard to cultivate come naturally to Olga, and it doesn’t take long for the village drones to shift their loyalty to a new queen. Since Olga is as gracious as she is charming, peace will be restored eventually.

The mental picture I formed of Lucia is a lot like Hyacinth Bucket of television’s Keeping Up Appearances. Lucia’s husband, Peppino, is a less reluctant participant in Lucia’s schemes than Richard Bucket is in Hyacinth’s. The neighbors seem to take Lucia’s pretensions at face value until the contrast with Olga Bracely’s real accomplishments makes Lucia’s artificiality obvious. The book is just the right length to be entertaining rather than tedious.

4 stars

104. The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva

Former Mossad assassin Gabriel Allon is settled in Cornwall and working as an art restorer when his old boss convinces him to take on one more mission. Tariq is a Palestinian terrorist intent on thwarting the peace negotiations between Yasser Arafat and Israel’s prime minister. Allon and Tariq are old enemies, each having lost a beloved family member to the other’s hand. They’re playing a cat and mouse game, but which one is the cat and which one is the mouse? Allon’s character has a lot in common with NCIS’s Jethro Gibbs. Even though it was a page turner, I was a little disappointed that art is secondary to Middle East politics in the plot. I’m partial to mysteries and thrillers with an art theme, and I hope that art has more of a central role in some of the other books in this series.

4 stars

105. Looking for Strangers: The True Story of My Hidden Wartime Childhood by Dori Katz

Dori Katz was born in Belgium to Jewish parents during the Holocaust. After her father’s arrest and deportation to a concentration camp, Dori’s mother placed her with a Gentile family in a Belgian town. Dori was later placed in an orphanage for a couple of years before being reunited with her mother after the war. Several decades later, Dori saw a documentary featuring the woman who had taken her to her host family’s home. It awakened her curiosity about her surrogate Belgian family. Although the couple who gave her a home had both died by this time, she was able to reconnect with their children. The author had mixed feelings about the reunion. It is apparent from her narrative that she had unresolved psychological issues stemming from her experience. While I believe it’s important for all Holocaust survivors to tell their stories, each of which is unique, there are parts of Katz’s story that I think would have been better kept between the author and her therapist.

3 stars

106. Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948 by Madeleine Albright

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright learned details about her Jewish heritage shortly after her appointment. Albright was born in Czechoslovakia, but spent the war years in England. Her father, Josef Korbel, was a diplomat. He spent the war years with the Czech government in exile preparing and giving daily broadcasts on BBC radio. Albright’s parents were secular Jews who celebrated Christmas, etc. Some time after their arrival in England, the Korbel family converted to Catholicism, and Albright was raised in the Catholic faith. In this memoir about her childhood, Albright explores her Jewish heritage and the fate of her relatives who died in the Holocaust, including three of her four grandparents. (The fourth grandparent died before the extermination of Czechoslovakia’s Jews began.)

Given Albright’s lifetime involvement in diplomacy, it’s perhaps not surprising that this book focuses as much on Czechoslovakia’s political and diplomatic history during the period covered in the book (1937-1948). I am not as interested in politics, diplomacy, and foreign relations as the author is, so those portions of the book dragged a bit for me.

I listened to the audio version narrated by the author. I discovered that Albright is a better writer than she is a narrator. She paused in the wrong places often enough that it’s noticeable. Listeners who are willing to overlook this minor flaw will be rewarded with a listening experience that’s like having a personal conversation with the author.

3.5 stars

107. A Fine Line by Gianrico Carofiglio

Bari attorney Guido Guerrieri takes on a high profile client in this series entry. Pierluigi Larocca is a magistrate who believes he may be under investigation for corruption. Guido and the judge had been in school at the same time and had been friendly at the time, but that was years ago. More recently, they had seen each other mainly in the courtroom. Guido views him as an ethical judge, which makes his decision to take the case a fairly easy one. It’s a decision he may come to regret.

Like the fictional Guido, the author of the series is a lawyer born in Bari. Through Guido, he reflects on the nature of justice and the role of attorneys and judges in the judicial system. This is the best book in the series so far, and unfortunately it seems to be the last, at least for the time being.

4.5 stars

108. Something Fresh by P. G. Wodehouse

Take an absent-minded English earl, his not-too-bright younger son, the son’s American heiress fiancee and her brash father, a rival for the heiress’s affections, a couple of penniless pulp fiction writers, a con artist, assorted relatives and domestics, and a missing Egyptian scarab, and throw them all in an English country estate, and you have all the makings for an entertaining farce. Wodehouse is a master of the genre. The audio version read by Frederick Davidson is laugh out loud funny.

4 stars

>52 cbl_tn: I'm still working on A Fine Line (no reading time lately -- had to get a renewal on the ILL and was able to, thank heavens!). However, so far I do think it's the best of the series.

109. The Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri

As inspector Montalbano investigates the murder of a woman from Bologna whose body was discovered in the house she was renovating, he also has to navigate departmental politics. When the new commissioner takes the case away from Montalbano and assigns it to the captain of the Flying Squad, Montalbano continues to investigate it under the radar. It may jeopardize his career if he’s found out. On the home front, Montalbano’s plans to marry his girlfriend and adopt an orphan hit a snag.

In this fourth book in the series, Montalbano’s flaws have become familiar. He is irritable, short-tempered, he’ll lie when it’s more convenient than the truth, and he is quicker to insult his subordinates than to compliment them. His strengths are also familiar. He is loyal, compassionate, and tenacious in his pursuit of the truth. He will not let a case rest until he is certain that he’s found the real culprit. The Sicilian scenery and local cuisine provide an appealing backdrop for this series.

4 stars

>55 tymfos: Hi Terri! I am glad that I stuck with the Guido Guerrieri series after the first book. I enjoyed my time with him!

Carrie, I have missed seeing you around this year as much as normal but at least I haven't missed wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend.

Thank you, Paul! I've enjoyed the holiday and a bit more time for reading!

110. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

In the 1930s, Antonina and her husband Jan were the zookeepers of Warsaw’s zoo. Both the zoo and Jan were well respected in the international zoo community. The family’s idyllic life changed almost overnight with the German invasion of Warsaw. Some of the best specimens were removed to German zoos for “safekeeping” (i.e., looted), but many of the other animals perished as a result of the invasion and bombing raids. The Zabinskis were able to remain in the villa at the zoo during most of the war, and they used the house, some of the animal shelters, and the tunnels on the zoo property to shelter Jews. Most of the Jews were temporary guests and soon moved on to other safe houses. A few of the Jews were long-term guests who became part of the family. Yad Vashem has recognized the Zabinskis as Righteous Among the Nations.

Antonina’s diary and books provide the foundation for the book. Ackerman, who has Polish ancestry and extensive experience in nature writing, turned Antonina’s story into a bestseller. Antonina’s uncanny ability to understand and communicate with wild animals was essential to her family’s survival and their success in sheltering several hundred Jews during the Holocaust. It’s a fascinating story that can be recommended to readers of all ages and interests.

4 stars

111. The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items from the First World War

This is a collection of original short stories inspired by artifacts from the First World War. Authors include Michael Morpurgo, Tracy Chevalier, and Marcus Sedgwick. The stories all feature children or teens. Some are more successful than others. The story that appealed most to me was “Our Jacko” by Michael Morpurgo, about a 21st century teenager for whom the First World War became personal with the discovery of a great-grandfather who lost his life in the war. The audio version uses several narrators, and each reader’s voice suits the story he or she reads. The main downside to the audio version is that it doesn’t include the illustrations depicting the artifacts that inspired the stories. Candlewick Press seems to consistently publish high quality children’s and young adult books, and this anthology is no exception.

4 stars

112. The Dead Can Wait by Robert Ryan

In the second book featuring an aging Major John Watson, Watson is called on to investigate the mysterious deaths of seven men in a training exercise. The men were testing a new weapon in a top secret location in rural England. Watson is reluctant to become involved, but when he learns that his old friend Sherlock Holmes is being interred on a remote island, Watson agrees to investigate in the hope that he can help his old friend. The story is a page-turning mix of detection and espionage with a strong sense of place.

3.5 stars

113. The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley

As the book opens, Flavia’s oldest sister Ophelia (“Feely”) is marrying one of her suitors. What would a wedding reception be without a gruesome discovery? This time it’s a severed finger in the wedding cake. Flavia has turned professional in a partnership with Buckshaw’s gardener/butler Dogger. Their investigation is soon sidetracked by their first paying client, as well as the arrival of overflow guests from the vicarage in the form of a couple of spinster missionaries from Africa. Flavia puts all the pieces together with her usual flair. As Flavia edges toward puberty, it’s reassuring to see cousin Undine showing signs of a similar precociousness. My enjoyment of Flavia’s adventures was marred this time by Dogger’s open encouragement of Flavia’s interference in a police investigation and his complicity in withholding evidence from the police. It’s one thing for a 12-year-old to do this, and quite another for a responsible adult to do so.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

3.5 stars

>61 cbl_tn: I downloaded that one so I'll look forward to it.

>63 cbl_tn: I'm getting close to caught up with the series, but we usually get those at the library. Several people enjoy Flavia!

>64 thornton37814: I think you'll like the first story in the collection!

114. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield went from being a lesbian feminist university professor to a preacher’s wife and homeschooling mother. This book is the story of her spiritual journey. In a time when many on opposite sides of cultural and political divides cannot manage to be civil to one another, it is refreshing to read about the open and respectful dialogue Butterfield experienced with her new acquaintances in the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Butterfield recognizes the difference between cheap and costly grace. Her conversion to Christianity came at the cost of cherished friendships, career, and community. The themes of repentance and hospitality stand out in this memoir, and hospitality is the major theme of the additional content in the expanded edition.

4 stars

Too many good books here, many tempting, but restricting myself to just two.

>62 cbl_tn: Ooh, thanks for the reminder of this series. Downloaded the next one!

Way back up there - I love the idea of the unexpected elephant - have added it to the shopping basket.

Hi Carrie, I haven't been around much visiting threads. Hope all is well.

Hi Carrie, I see you read the send Dr. Watson mystery - I need t get back to that series! I have The Zookeeper's Wife on my shelves but since I watched the movie on Netflix recently, I think I will wait awhile before picking it up. I hope you and Adrian are doing well.

>67 charl08: Hi Charlotte! I enjoy the Dr. Watson series. It's one I have to buy since it's not available in either public library I have access to.

>68 lindapanzo: Hi Linda! All is well here. I haven't been visiting threads much this year, either. Now that I'm feeling more settled in the new place I hope to be more involved in the group next year.

>69 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy! Adrian and I are doing well! I looked for The Zookeeper's Wife on Netflix the other day and didn't see it. I'll keep an eye out for it since things seem to come and go regularly on Netflix.

>70 cbl_tn: I suspect what is available differs from the U.S. and Canada as well. I often see people talking about a program that doesn't seem to available on Netdflix here in Canada.

>63 cbl_tn: Can't wait until Golden Tresses gets published! I love the series.

Karen O.

>71 DeltaQueen50: That makes sense!

>72 klobrien2: Another Flavia fan! 🙂

>70 cbl_tn: Good to hear that you are feeling more settled in your place now, Carrie. I hope you have a great week ahead.

>74 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg!

115. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

As the novel opens, artist Basil Hallward is painting a portrait of an extraordinarily handsome young man, Dorian Gray. In a conversation with his friend, Lord Henry Wotton, Hallward tells him that he believes the portrait is the best work he’s ever done. Lord Henry arranges to meet Dorian and he soon gains influence over the impressionable young man. The finished portrait is remarkable, and Dorian unthinkingly expresses a desire that the portrait would age while he maintained the beauty of youth. Lord Henry encourages Dorian to hedonistic excess. To Dorian’s horror, his portrait becomes uglier as Dorian’s character becomes more and more corrupt. It’s as if the portrait reveals the true state of Dorian’s soul. Although I haven’t seen the academy award-winning film version of this book, I have a feeling that I’d probably like it better than the book. Wilde doesn’t leave enough to the imagination, and much of the horror in the story is diluted by wordiness.

3.5 stars

116. The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by David Rosenfelt

New Jersey lawyer Andy Carpenter is hired to defend Martha “Pups” Boyer against a zoning complaint. “Pups” fosters puppies for local shelters, in violation of zoning rules that limit the number of pets in a household. Carpenter’s satisfaction in his successful defense of his client is short-lived when the anonymous complainant is murdered and Pups is arrested for the crime. With so much circumstantial evidence pointing to her guilt, how can Carpenter prove her innocent of murder?

I was in the mood for a holiday mystery. Although legal mysteries are not my favorites, I chose this one because of its dog theme. I’m glad I did. I loved the quick-witted, sarcastic protagonist and the ensemble of secondary characters. Grover Gardner is the perfect narrator for this book. He does sarcasm well. I’m looking forward to more visits with Carpenter and his friends and colleagues.

4.5 stars

>76 cbl_tn: I read that in print a long time ago. I hated it. I thought I'd try it again when we got the Naxos audio through Sync a couple years ago. I still didn't like it although the narrator was good. I abandoned it. Wilde is not for me!

>77 cbl_tn: I wondered if that one would appeal to you because of the dog theme.

117. The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry

This short story has everything a good Christmas story should – nostalgia, childhood, mischief, drama, Nativity play, pathos, romance, and humor. Best of all, there are dogs! Author Dave Barry proved to be a capable narrator. It’s perfect for getting into the Christmas spirit.

4 stars

118. A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon

Human remains are unearthed in a field near the mountains. Although the location is well outside of Venice, Commissario Guido Brunetti ends up with the case when it appears to be the remains of the kidnapped son of a Venetian noble. Brunetti did not work on the kidnapping case, and as he looks into the files he notices some irregularities that weren’t pursued by the investigators.

This is not the best book in the series. It seemed like Brunetti’s investigation was just beginning when the solution was revealed. People, places, and things were introduced early in the novel and then dropped, never to be seen or heard from again. In a tightly written mystery, everything should serve a purpose, even if it’s a false lead or red herring. Anything less seems underdeveloped.

3.5 stars

>79 cbl_tn: I read that one before joining LibraryThing. We still pull it out for Christmas book displays sometimes.

>81 thornton37814: It’s a good one!

119. The English Assassin by Daniel Silva

Gabriel Allon’s second outing finds him headed to Switzerland to restore a painting. When he arrives, he discovers his prospective employer dead in his study. Allon is swept up in a web of art theft and conspiracy that stretches back decades, revealing the dark side of Switzerland’s banking industry.

I enjoy mysteries and thrillers about art and music and set in exotic locations. This book has plenty of all three. The author seemed to write himself into a corner a couple of times, though. The hero’s life was spared twice because two different villains had a pang of conscience and passed up opportunities to kill him.

3 stars

120. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald

In addition to the title story, this audio collection also includes "Babylon Revisited," "Three Hours Between Planes," "The Bridal Party," and "The Lost Decade." I thought the title story was the weakest in the bunch. It’s more of a novelty than anything else. It reminds me of the kind of stories that Mark Twain wrote. The other stories have a more melancholy tone. They all involve men renewing acquaintances with people or places after long absences. Some of the stories seem autobiographical, with the main characters coping with the effects of alcohol abuse and failed relationships with women. The most heart-wrenching is "Babylon Revisited,” a story about a recovering alcoholic trying to regain custody of his daughter.

4 stars

121. Murder Once Removed by S. C. Perkins

When Texas genealogist Lucy Lancaster solved a 150+ year old murder, she didn’t expect it to lead to a 21st century murder or put her own life and the lives of her friends in danger. Her research seems to have unearthed secrets that someone would rather stayed buried. The problem is, there are still some missing pieces so Lucy isn’t sure who is willing to kill to protect the secrets or who might be next in the killer’s sights. With the help of her two best friends and reluctant assistance from a hunky FBI agent, Lucy just might be able to right a very old wrong.

It took a while for me to warm up to Lucy. She started off on the wrong foot with some seriously unprofessional behavior. It’s not a good idea to get plastered at a lunch meeting with an important client. I was gradually won over by some of the secondary characters, including the FBI agent and the owner of the Mexican restaurant which is Lucy’s favorite hangout. I did spot a glaring error in Lucy’s genealogy research. She mentions finding someone in the 1890 census, but this census was mostly destroyed in a fire nearly a century ago. The person in question did live in a state for which a few fragments remain, but as frequently as Lucy boasted about her genealogical research skills, I think she would have bragged about her luck at finding the person in one of the fragments if the author was aware that most of the 1890 federal population census hasn’t survived.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

3 stars

>85 cbl_tn: A little torn on requesting this one, but since all the genealogists will probably talk about it, I requested it.

>86 thornton37814: I'll be curious to see how well you like it.

122. Mort Ziff Is Not Dead by Cary Fagan

It’s 1965, and Norman Fishbein has just won the grand prize in a mall contest. He could buy a spectacular model airplane with his winnings, but he decides instead to take the whole family to Miami during the Christmas holiday. On the first day at their hotel, Norman’s two older brothers start a rivalry with the three Horvath sisters. Norman and the youngest Horvath sister Amy, would rather be friends. They also befriend Mort Ziff, the aged stand-up comedian who entertains diners in the hotel restaurant. When they find out that Mort is in danger of losing his job to a Beatles wannabe band, Norman and Amy enlist their siblings help them save the day.

This is a fun story about family, friendship, and generosity. Although it’s written for a middle grade audience, many adult readers would enjoy the story, too, especially those old enough to remember The Love Boat. Substitute the Pacific Princess for Miami’s Royal Palm Hotel and you’d have a ready-made script for an episode of The Love Boat. Readers expecting a Christmas story may be disappointed. Even though the trip to Miami takes place at Christmas time, the Fishbeins are Jewish and no holiday celebrations are mentioned.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program.

4 stars

>87 cbl_tn: You know my opinion of the one genealogist who was quite unethical! I might not like this one any better.

>89 thornton37814: I guess we'll see!

123. Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

It’s Christmas time in Savannah, and antiques dealer Weezie (Eloise) has her hands full. She needs come up with a knockout decorating theme for her store window for a contest. She faces stiff competition from the gay couple who recently opened a shop across the square. She needs to find the perfect present for her boyfriend, Daniel, who hates Christmas. She’s hosting a family dinner on Christmas Eve. Her dog keeps running out the back gate that someone keeps leaving open. To top it all off, someone is breaking into her shop and even into her home. She’ll have the help of her best friend Bebe to overcome all of these challenges.

I was in the mood to listen to a Christmas book and this was available. It was about what I expected – a light and funny feel-good Christmas story. It has just enough mystery to appeal to many cozy mystery readers, although there are a few uses of profanities that you wouldn’t find in a typical cozy. I’m sure the narrator did her best to mimic a Savannah accent but it just didn’t sound right. I almost abandoned the audiobook because of the reader’s accent, but I finally resigned myself to it.

3 stars

124. The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare

Sir John Falstaff is in Windsor with plans to seduce two married women, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford. The two women are aware of his plans and come up with a scheme of their own to make him look foolish. Meanwhile, the Page’s daughter, Ann, has three suitors competing for her favor. Which one will she marry? There’s just enough plot on which to hang the farce. The mispronounced English of the Welsh parson and the French doctor, as well as the malapropisms of the doctor’s servant, provide additional humor. I’ve visited Windsor enough times to be familiar with all the locations mentioned in the play, and that added to my enjoyment. I think I would enjoy watching a performance more than reading the text.

3.5 stars

Hoping your holidays are filled with good friends and good books

>93 Carmenere: Thanks Lynda! Same to you!

Merry Christmas to you and Adrian, Carrie.

Have a Merry Christmas, Carrie. I hope you and Adrien have a fun holiday.

>95 DeltaQueen50: >96 Familyhistorian: >97 Ameise1: Thank you all! I hope each of you has a wonderful Christmas and a 2019 filled with good reading.

Happy holidays, Carrie.

Received a lovely card just as I was leaving for the UK - hopefully I have some others to look forward to on my return. xx

>99 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! I’m happy that one thing at least reached you before you left! This Christmas like many has an international flavor. I celebrated this evening with my brother and SIL and several of my SIL’s Mexican relatives and friends. We have fun sharing our favorite Christmas foods and traditions from our respective cultures.

Merry Christmas, Carrie!

I hope you and Adrian had a wonderful Christmas!

Best wishes to you for a very merry Christmas!

>101 harrygbutler: >102 Dejah_Thoris: >103 AMQS: Thank you all! I had a lovely Christmas, although not with Adrian. It took me a day longer to get home than I expected, though. The weather in the Dallas/Fort Worth area on Wednesday resulted in a lot of flight cancellations, including mine. :-(

125. A Wild Goose Chase Christmas by Jennifer AlLee

After her beloved grandmother’s death, Izzy is surprised when a stranger shows up at her door with a legacy from her grandmother – an antique quilt that has been passed down through generations of women in Izzy’s family. But it seems that her grandmother had also promised the quilt to Max Logan, a museum curator who wants it for a special exhibition he’s designing. The quilt is unique because it is documented in diaries written by the quilters...if only the diaries could be found. It seems that Izzy’s grandmother intended for her to go on a treasure hunt. At the same time, Izzy needs to find a way to bridge the distance between herself and her mother and brother.

On the positive side, this is Christian fiction that isn’t as preachy as some. The Christian jargon is mostly limited to the early part of the book. However, the dialogue suffers from the same fault as a lot of Christian fiction. No one really talks this way. For instance, Izzy is looking for the pastor before the funeral. The organist tells her, “Try his office. He’s probably getting in some quiet prayer time.” I’ve hunted for my share of people in church buildings over the years, and the typical conversation ends at “Try his office.” I’d probably add a “Thanks” as I head towards the office, but that would be it.

The plot of this book should really be right up my alley. However, with all the mention of the diaries and the ancestors who made the quilt, it’s disappointing that readers don’t get to meet these women or learn anything about the content of the diaries beyond an excerpt or two. Also, the author doesn’t seem to have a deep knowledge of quilting. I had a hard time buying some of the statements of the quilting expert in the story. While I am not a quilter, I suspect that readers with quilting experience might be equally disappointed with this story.

2 stars

126. Trust Fall by Frankie Bow

Molly and her friend and fellow professor Emma are participants in their Hawaiian university’s mandatory team-building retreat. They are horrified when one of the activities ends in the death of a man neither of them much likes. Worst of all, Emma had exchanged harsh words with the man just before his death and it’s clear that her colleagues are holding her responsible for the accident. How will she ever get tenure with this on her record? As Molly and Emma look into the incident, it dawns on them that it might not have been an accident at all…

This is another fun outing with Professor Molly, who is in her element as a detached observer of university politics. The books in this series are usually laugh-out-loud funny. This Kindle short is a great light read for filling in a spare half hour in a waiting room.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the author.

3 stars

Hi Carrie, happy weekend. I've noticed that you'll join the shared reading (Dick Francis) the upcoming year. Glad to have you on board. I like his books.

>107 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! I'm glad you are joining in, too!

>108 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori! But only one cat?! ;-)

127. High Rising by Angela Thirkell

After her husband’s death left her with four young boys to raise, Laura Morland discovered that she had a talent for writing good second-rate books about the world of fashion. Laura spends holidays and her son Tony’s school breaks at her home in High Rising, where her circle of friends and neighbors includes her secretary, Anne Todd, who lives with her chronically ill mother, widower and fellow author George Knox and his young adult daughter Sibyl, Dr. Ford, her maid Stoker and Mr. Knox’s maid Annie. Her publisher, Adrian Coates, and her dear friend Amy Birkett (wife of young Tony’s headmaster) are frequent guests. The tranquility of life in the Risings (High and Low) has been disturbed by the arrival of George Knox’s new secretary, Miss Grey. It’s obvious to all except George that Miss Grey is intent on marrying him. She is doing her best to drive a wedge between George and his friends, particularly the single women. Something must be done about this.

This is an entertaining story of village life between the wars in the first half of the twentieth century. It’s hard not to wonder how much Laura Morland resembles Thirkell herself, particularly in her attitudes toward literature and authorship. Laura’s offhand comments about Jews are disturbing given that this book was first published as Hitler rose to power in Germany.

4 stars

128. Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie

Mrs. McGinty’s dead. How did she die?
Down on one knee, just like I.
Mrs. McGinty’s dead. How did she die?
Holding her hand out, just like I.

Mrs. McGinty is indeed dead, her killer has been convicted, and he is scheduled to die. But is he really guilty of the murder, or did someone else kill Mrs. McGinty? All the evidence pointed to James Bentley as the killer, yet Superintendent Spence isn’t satisfied. He calls on his old acquaintance, Hercule Poirot, and asks if Poirot might look into the case to see if he can spot anything the police missed. Poirot takes a room in a lodging house in the village and begins asking questions. The Superintendent’s suspicion will prove right when another murder occurs. This time there is no question that James Bentley could have done it, because he is in custody awaiting his execution.

Detective novelist Ariadne Oliver is reunited with Poirot in this book. Her comments on her detective and the writing process provide comic relief. It’s not hard to see her comments as Christie’s own feelings about her own fictional detective, Hercule Poirot. Mrs. Oliver is in the village to collaborate with a young playwright who is adapting one of her novels for the stage. Some aspects of the plot, setting, and characters remind me of the plot, setting, and characters of The Mousetrap, which debuted in the same year that this book was published.

3.5 stars

>109 cbl_tn: Only one in the graphic! I guess Barney and Mr. b were hiding from the fireworks.

>110 cbl_tn: That one is on my TBR pile for 2019.

Wishing you and yours a happy and joyous 2019, filled with peace, love, and great books.

Thanks, Dejah!

I wish you from my heart a healthy 2019 filled with happiness, satisfaction, laughter and lots of good books.

>115 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara!

One last review to wrap up 2018:



129. American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North
America by Colin Woodard

Woodard suggests that the United States has never been a single nation. Rather, it’s comprised of eleven regional cultures that aren’t confined to political boundaries. According to Woodard, the Yankee and Deep Southern cultures have always been opposed to each other, and the other cultures have aligned themselves with one or the other at various points in U.S. history. I didn’t find a lot of new insight here, perhaps because I’ve read many of the books he recommends for further reading. It’s not possible to address eleven cultures in depth in such a short book, so this is largely generalizations about the cultures. The author provides examples to support his thesis, but he doesn’t discuss points that might contradict his thesis. For example, he doesn’t address potential homogenizing effects of mass media and globalization.

3.5 stars

Congrats on squeezing that one in!