Cindy/LibraryCin's 2019 Reads

Will keep track of my reviews and pages read here.

If anyone is interested in following my challenges, they are listed in the 2019 Category Challenge group in this thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/301207

I'm so far behind! Still haven't wrapped up 2018 - need to figure out stats!

Anyway, this is my hope for January:

- Bird Watching for Dummies / Bill Thompson III (CalendarCAT)
- The Perfect Storm / (Reading Through Time, PBT)
- Bad Wolf - Nele Neuhaus (SeriesCAT)
- The Alienist / Caleb Carr (ScaredyKIT)
- The Parasite / Ramsay Campbell(TBRCAT, PBT Trim, Passport Challenge)
- Enchanting Lily / AB (Trim the tbr, AlphaKIT)
- The Queen's Lady / Barbara Kyle (AlphaKIT)
- The Unusual Education of Anne ... / Joanna Wiebe (RandomCAT)
- Child of the Wolves / Elizabeth Hall (PBT)

Audio:
- The Book of Negroes / Lawrence Hill
- Sleeping Beauties / Stephen King (if it comes in at the library)

I'm waiting on 4 audios at the library and the above two, I think, should be in soon, so I don't want to start something different on audio.

1. Bird Watching for Dummies / Bill Thompson III
4 stars
364 pages

Another one of the “For Dummies” books, this one focuses on bird watching. It not only goes through ways to help you learn how to ID birds (what to watch for, listen for, etc.), but also ways to make your yard more bird-friendly (feeders, shelter, water… also gardening – what types of trees, shrubs, flowers, etc), keeping lists, sketching, what to look for in binoculars, field guides, and more.

I always enjoy these books – there is usually some humour thrown in, though this one had maybe less than some of the others I’ve read. This one was published in 1997, though, so a bit outdated, as he mentions organizations with their mailing addresses, rather than a website, for instance; there was one chapter that included Internet and email resources, but CD-ROMs are also mentioned. Other than that, though, I thought there was a lot of good information here. Oh, I’ve seen comments about the colour photos, but my edition didn’t have that (maybe that was just in the 1st edition?).

Cumulative page total = 364

2. The Parasite / Ramsey Campbell
3 stars
373 pages

When Rose is a child, she is taken to a séance where something happens, but she can’t remember it. As an adult, suddenly there are odd things happening to her. She is scared and doesn’t understand what’s going on, until a friend, Diana, tries to help her understand that Rose seems to be able to leave her body and float around. Rose doesn’t believe it at first, but things soon change.

It was ok. A bit odd at times, but I thought the end (probably the last quarter of the book) was much better than the rest of it, as it sped up as things really came to a head.

Cumulative page total = 737

3. The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant / Joanna Wiebe
4 stars
409 pages

Anne is being sent to a private school across the country from her California home, on an island in New England. It’s a school with mostly rich kids, so Anne isn’t sure how her dad managed to pull some strings to get her in. However he managed it, she’s hoping for a fresh start with other kids who don’t know her. But, when she arrives, there is something very odd about this school… She is heartened to find someone she knew from California is also there, though, and he seems to be the only person interested in being friends.

I really enjoyed this! Yeah, many of the characters were unlikeable, but they’re teenagers. That didn’t bother me. I was interested and curious to find out what the heck was going on at this school! There were a few surprises along the way, though at least one of them I guessed very shortly before it was revealed, anyway. Unfortunately, it’s one of those books that ended on a cliffhanger. I’m not a big fan of that, but I was hoping, as I read, that it would be the first in a series, and it looks like it’s a trilogy. I will definitely pick up the next book.

Cumulative page total = 1146

Another book I'd had on hold at the library for a while came in for me, so I'm also fitting it in this month:
- Lies of the Heart / Michelle B

>3 LibraryCin: How interesting! I have participated in the bird-watching activities at Cornell University's Ornithology Lab, most notably their Project Feeder Watch. It works great to update LT while noting birds that come to my feeders.

I like that they include ways to make your yard more bird friendly. We planted some natives shrubs and flowers, and lo and behold saw some Greater Flycatchers perching on the bare stalks over the past few winters!

>7 threadnsong: Every time I see someone looking for people to help count birds, I would love to, but I need to be able to identify them first!

I do tend to get decent numbers of birds in the summer, but very very few in the winter. I'm certain it's because there were no trees in my yard when I moved here 2-1/2 years ago. I have added in 4 (baby) aspens and the City added 1 (baby) mountain ash (all native to here). I wanted an upright juniper, as well, so there would be an evergreen in my yard, but I managed to kill it the first year. :-( Too expensive to replace.

But, they're pretty tiny, still, so not really any shelter for them in the winter.

4. The Book of Negroes / Lawrence Hill.
3.75 stars (3rd read; overall - all 3 reads, 4 stars)
470 pages

**********POSSIBLE SPOILERS***********
In the mid-1700s, Aminata is only 11-years old when her parents are murdered and she is kidnapped from her village in Africa. She is forced to walk for months to the ocean where she boards a ship to cross. She arrives in South Carolina, where she is sold to an indigo plantation owner and works there until she is then sold to another man and his wife, where she helps keep their home. After a number of years, "Meena" escapes to New York, and after a time, she finds herself in "The Book of Negroes" - a real list of Negroes who want to escape New York and the rebels for Nova Scotia as British Loyalists. All her life, she has really just wanted to go home, back to her village in Africa.
*********END SPOILERS***********

This was very very good, there was so much detail, and it seemed so realistic. The Book of Negroes was a real list - something I had never heard of - and it was interesting (and sad) to read how the mostly former slaves were treated when they arrived in Canada. I waffled for a long time between giving the book 4 or 4.5 stars; unfortunately I lowered it to 4 stars because I was disappointed in the ending, which took away from the book's realism for me.

Reread, 2 years later:
I still really enjoyed this book on a reread. I did remember some parts of the book before I even started rereading it, and a lot of the rest of the book came back to me as I read. My rating remains the same as the first time around.

3rd read, just over 5 years after the last time:
3.75 stars
This is my 3rd time reading this one, and I think rereading is just not for me. I rated it 4 stars the first two times, and 3.5 this time around, but I listened to the audio this time and would give an extra ¼ star for the narrator, so 3.75 this time. Good story; still find the ending unbelievable. I really don’t think I should reread it again, though – not without a long long time in between, at least.

Cumulative page total = 1616

5. Lies of the Heart / Michelle Boyajian
4 stars
346 pages

Katie’s husband, Nick, was murdered by Jerry, a man with an intellectual disability… a man that Nick worked with and they both loved like a son. But, Jerry is now on trial, and as the trial goes on, we also go back in time to learn what happened.

I quite liked this. No, Katie may not be terribly likeable, and she certainly made plenty of decisions I didn’t agree with, but it’s a compelling story, I thought. Sure felt bad for Jerry. It was easy to be torn on this. There was a small thing at the end I still didn’t quite understand, but still thought the book as a whole was really good.

Cumulative page total = 1962

6. The Perfect Storm / Sebastian Junger
3.5 stars
229 pages

In 1991, a storm hit the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern coast of the US and Canada. There were fishing boats out there: one of them, the “Andrea Gail”, disappeared and others had people aboard who needed to be rescued. In addition, the book includes information about fishing and the fishing industry, and the history of both. It also includes some information about weather and storms.

It was good, but there was a lot of detail that I just ended up skimming over. The author talked to families and loved ones of the missing fishermen, and to some of the rescuers and survivors, as well as others who had a link to the people caught in the storm. There were a lot of people to keep track of, and I was unsuccessful at much of that, often forgetting who was who unless there was a reminder. There is no way to know what happened aboard the Andrea Gail, so that is kept to speculation about what most fishermen were likely to do in similar circumstances. Some of the fishing techniques upset me (trawling), and I’m sure things have gotten worse since 1991 (and 1997 when the book was published), but that also wasn’t news, sadly. Probably the most interesting parts of the book, for me, were the descriptions of the various rescues.

Cumulative page total = 2191

7. Child of the Wolves / Elizabeth Hall
4 stars
163 pages

Granite is a Siberian husky, born in Alaska. When he is about to be sold, he runs away into the wilderness where he comes across a wolf, Snowdrift – a mom who has recently lost all her puppies to humans who have stolen them away. Snowdrift takes on Granite, though the other wolves in the pack mostly don’t like him much. As Granite grows, he learns more and more about how to fit in with the pack.

This is told from Granite’s point of view and I really enjoyed it. There is an author’s note at the start that talks about animal intelligence and emotions and she obviously wanted to show that in this book. It did take some time for Granite to learn how to behave as a wolf, as it didn’t come naturally to the dog. I really liked this children’s story.

Cumulative page total = 2354

Currently, on audio:
The Lonely Hearts Hotel / Heather O'Neill

And, of course, just when I started that, one of my four audio holds came in a day later! Sigh...

8. Bad Wolf / Nele Neuhaus
4 stars
404 pages

When a dead girl is found floating in a river, detective Pia ends up on a case with far-reaching consequences. And multiple cases that match up, including a popular tv celebrity who has taken on a new topic for her sometimes-controversial show, but it’s not a topic she is sharing with anyone until she gets everything lined up. Unfortunately for her, someone knows what she’s looking into and she is in danger, as well.

Another really good book in this series. I do wish all the books were translated into English and it would have been nice to read them in order. But, that’s not the case. They are pretty much standalones, with the police the connecting thread between the books, including their personal lives. Previous cases are mentioned, but really just in passing. The book is divided into days and there are snippets from different characters’ points of view during each day, so there are a lot of characters to follow, which can get a bit confusing, but overall, it wasn’t too bad for following and the story was certainly enough for me to really enjoy it.

Cumulative page total = 2758

9. Enchanting Lily / Anjali Banerjee
3.5 stars
288 pages

When Lily’s husband dies, Lily drives away from the big city in California and finds herself on a small island on the Pacific Coast. She falls in love with a cottage that she buys and decides to turn into a business: she sells vintage clothing. A white cat happens by and makes herself at home with Lily and Lily decides to keep her as a shop cat while she tries to make a go of her new business.

This was good. Simple and quick to read, but enjoyable. No surprise that I loved the cat! Chapters alternated between Lily’s point of view and the cat’s. I have to comment on the well-chosen cover with a cat that actually matches the description of the cat in the book, right down to the two different-coloured eyes: green and blue.

Cumulative page total = 3046

10. The Lonely Hearts Hotel / Heather O'Neill
2.5 stars
398 pages

Rose and Pierrot grew up at the same orphanage in Montreal, where they performed for rich people to raise money, once Pierrot’s piano-playing talent and Rose’s dancing talent was discovered. While at the orphanage, despite abuse at the hands of the nuns, they fall in love. As they grow older, however, they are separated and spend their lives trying to dig their way out of poverty and pining for each other.

Not a fan. I listened to the audio and the narrator was good, but it wasn’t enough. I thought, at the start, I was going to like it, but it didn’t turn out that way. I didn’t like any of the characters, and I didn’t care about what happened to them (except when they were young and still at the orphanage). Disappointing, especially since I really liked “Lullabies for Little Criminals” by this author.

Cumulative page total = 3444

Hopes for February:
- Sweet Valley Confidential / Francine Pascal (SeriesCAT, PBT Trim)
- Neverwas / Kelley Moore (SeriesCAT, AlphaKIT)
- The Hidden Bones / Nicola Ford (TBRCAT)
- The Cat and Shakespeare / Raja Rao (TBRCAT)
- A Pug's Tale / Alison Pace (CalendarCAT)
- Delirium / Lauren Oliver (SeriesCAT, ScaredyKIT, AlphaKIT)
- The End Games / T. Michael Moore (ScaredyKIT, RandomCAT)
- Something Fierce / Carmen Aguirre (Book Club)
- The Last Little Blue Envelope / Maureen J (RandomCAT, SeriesCAT)
- Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness... / Barbara Ehrenreich (PBT)

- The Children's War / Monique C (Passport Challenge) (if the ILL comes in)
- Marriage: A History / Stephanie Coontz (Reading Through Time) (if the ILL comes in)
- The French Lieutenant's Wife / John Fowles (Reading Through Time) (if the hold comes in)

Audio:
- Sleeping Beauties / Stephen King (con't from Jan)
- All the Light We Cannot See / Anthony Doerr

Backpack Across Europe game (con't). Technically the game is over, but I want to finish.

9. France
- Becoming Marie Antoinette / Juliet Grey
10. Spain
- Sister Queens / Julia Fox

>8 LibraryCin: But thank you at least for trying! It can be a lot of fun to count birds, and trees and shrubs can be tricky. I tried a couple of years ago to keep some shrubs and a black willow alive, but not enough water.

Then this past year we were deluged and had a surplus of water. If only! But yes, they do get expensive. And you have to time planting them as well.

>18 threadnsong: When I first bought my place, I bought some native trees (there were none!). I bought an upright juniper for right beside the house. Supposed to be an easy one. Native to the area, too. I managed to kill it.. :'( It was so expensive.

I really wanted another one, but I replaced it (it was no cost from the original nursery, but the junipers they had when I went back - a year later - were not doing well) with 3 powderface willows (also native; their suggestion). Now, almost a year later, it's possible only one will make it. Sigh... Maybe two, if I'm lucky, but I would say I haven't been so far.

Trying to fit one more in for Jan!
The Pact / Carol Coffey

11. The Alienist / Caleb Carr
3 stars
499 pages

It’s the late 19th century. A psychologist (aka “alienist”), a reporter, a secretary for the police (who wants to be an officer herself), and two detectives interested in pursuing new methods of solving crimes work together to find a serial killer – someone who’s been murdering young boy prostitutes. The psychologist is interested in profiling, something that’s not really been done before.

Overall, I’m rating this ok. It was slow moving, though it picked up somewhat in the last third to quarter of the book. There were times I found it a bit hard to follow, as sometimes a character’s first name, and sometimes their last name was used. I didn’t like the end, but I did enjoy reading about the beginning of profiling and “new” techniques of solving crimes – things like fingerprinting, photographing the imprint of last seen image on the victim’s eye, etc.

Cumulative page total = 3943

12. The Queen's Lady / Barbara Kyle
3 stars
574 pages

Honor is taken in, as a ward, by Sir Thomas More during Henry VIII’s reign in the 16th century. At this time, Henry is trying to find a way to get rid of his first wife Catherine, so he can marry Anne Boleyn. When Honor is old enough, she goes to Catherine and serves her. But, she gets caught up in the religious conflicts going on at the time, and things become dangerous.

It was ok, but I just lost interest at times (this was not an audio!). Some of it held my interest, but there were too many dry patches for my liking. The historical note at the end was nice. Obviously, Honor was fictional, as were her close friends, etc.

Cumulative page total = 4517

13. The Pact / Carol Coffey
3.75 stars
290 pages

When there is an attempted murder (a hanging) of a “slow” boy (well, actually 21-years old) in a Mennonite community, a police officer from outside the community, Locklear, is brought in to help solve it. He has to work with Carter, a local police officer, who knows the people and might be able to bring some insight, though Locklear would prefer to be working on his own. The case seems to have something to do with a family feud that has gone back as far as the Civil War, 150 years previous.

It was good, though not edge-of-your-seat, through most of it, and I thought it picked up in the last 1/3 or so. With some Mennonite heritage in my family, I was interested in the setting. I’m not sure I completely “bought” Locklear’s character, though. He mostly seemed to be a tough guy with a soft side, but I’m not sure it quite worked for me; I think the soft seemed a bit too soft. Overall, though, I quite enjoyed the story.

Cumulative page total = 4807

14. Something Fierce / Carmen Aguirre
3.5 stars
266 pages

Carmen was raised in Canada, where her parents had arrived as refugees after being exiled from their native Chile because they were revolutionaries. When Carmen was 11, she, her mother, her stepfather, and her sister all moved to Bolivia (beside Chile) so they could help with the revolution from there. The book follows Carmen’s life as she grows up to help in the revolution herself, until it comes to an end in 1989 when she’s in her early 20s.

It was shorter and there wasn’t as much politics in it as I was expecting (which, for me, was a good thing!). There was still some; of course, more when Carmen was older. I was surprised that her parents brought Carmen and her sister with them, as it was very dangerous, though Carmen seemed quite happy to be there, so close to her grandparents, as she and her sister were able to travel across the border to visit (though her mother and stepfather were unable to). Certainly, when Carmen was younger, there is not as much mention of the danger, as Carmen herself was not thinking about it at the time.

Cumulative page total = 5073

15. Sweet Valley Confidential / Francine Pascal
3 stars
201 pages

Beautiful blonde twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are now 27 years old. Something has happened so that Elizabeth is furious with Jessica, and she will not speak to her sister. Elizabeth is now living in New York and working as a writer for a small newspaper, whereas Jess is still in Sweet Valley.

I know the book has had a lot of negative reviews, but I’m still rating it “ok”. It’s been 30+ years since I read about these characters (and even then, I only read some of the original series, Sweet Valley High – I was a bit older and had lost interest by the time the Sweet Valley Twins came out when they were younger and I’m not even sure when Sweet Valley University came out!), and I enjoyed reading about them again and seeing what had happened (even if there was a lot of crap that had happened). I still remembered the majority of the characters.

The story jumps between Elizabeth and Jessica and back and forth in time. This book, I thought was not far off from a lot of chick lit – very soap opera-like. I didn’t like some of the outcomes of the characters I read so much of when I was younger, but I didn’t think the story was really so terrible (again, in comparison to other chick lit). Though some of the characters really didn’t seem to have grown up much, I still found it somewhat entertaining, and it was a fast read.

Cumulative page total = 5274

16. Neverwas / Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, Larkin Reed
3 stars
311 pages

This is the 2nd book in a trilogy. Sarah has moved from Oregon to Maryland with her family to take over her grandmother’s old house (from book 1). It’s been too long since I read book 1 to remember what led to the current “situation”, and I don’t want to give too much away, but Sarah seems to be seeing things. Her best friend since childhood (and a neighbour), Jackson, also sees things, but different things.

Ok, I was confused through parts of it, and kind of lost interest a bit (mostly in the things Sarah was “seeing”, but not as much in her “here and now”), and I’m sure the losing interest helped with the confusion. Ultimately, I decided on an “ok” rating, simply because I’m still interested enough to find out what happens in the last book. This one isn’t nearly as good as the first book, though.

Cumulative page total = 5585

17. A Pug's Tale / Alison Pace
3 stars
294 pages

Hope works at the Metropolitan Museum with the artwork. She regularly brings her pet pug to work. On a day when there is a pug-themed party for a prominent donor – a donor who loves pugs, herself – a valuable painting is stolen and a fake left in its place. Hope discovers it and lets her boss know. One other employee, who was in charge of the night’s party, also discovers it. Between them, they decide not to go to the police, but to hire a private investigator to see if they can figure out what happened themselves.

The book was ok. Hope’s pug, Max, was cute. I did find pretty much all of Hope’s social interactions a bit awkward, especially with the donor, as they became “friends”. I just didn’t see the friendship. Overall, just an ok read.

Cumulative page total = 5879

18. Sleeping Beauties / Stephen King, Owen King
3.5 stars
736 pages

Women all around the world are going to sleep and not waking up. Not only that, once they are asleep, they are then shrouded in some kind of cocoon. The book primarily follows the people in a town called Dooling, a town that also houses a women’s prison. Included in that prison is a woman, who gave her name as Evie, who appeared right around the time women were falling asleep and not waking up. Evie was arrested just after a house blew up and two men were murdered.

I listened to the audio, which I think made things a bit trickier for me to follow. Like most of Stephen King’s book, there was a very large cast of characters and we jumped around between different character’s perspectives, so it was very easy for me to lose track of who was who, and there were some I never did remember right up to the end of the book. Overall, though, it was a good story, and I enjoyed the little addition at the end of the audio book, that included an interview with both Stephen and Owen.

Cumulative page total = 6615

19. The Hidden Bones / Nicola Ford
3.5 stars
351 pages

Claire has just lost her husband and is invited by a university friend to come help on an archaeological dig. Claire is an archaeologist and welcomes the chance to get away and try to forget things for a while. They are taking over a site that was excavated in the early 70s, but nothing was written about it; the archaeologist in charge (and the man who owns the land) has just passed away. Initially, Claire and David find that an artifact has gone missing. It’s not long after that that they discover that there also seems to have been a murder somewhere along the way!

It was good, but a bit slow to get started. I guess the author was trying to get all the background information in before bringing in the mystery. I enjoyed the characters and, as this is meant to be the first in a series featuring Claire, I’m interested in continuing.

Cumulative page total = 6966

20. Delirium / Lauren Oliver
4 stars
303 pages

Lena’s mom and dad died when she was young, so Lena was raised by her aunt. Lena’s 18th birthday is coming up soon, and it will be such a relief to be able to have the surgery done – the cure! – to prevent the sickness “amor deliria nervosa” (aka love). Everyone gets the cure on their 18th birthday. She’ll be matched with someone to marry and her life will be perfect. But, before her birthday (and the surgery) arrives, she meets Alex…

I really liked this. It seems an odd premise, but I went with it, and quite enjoyed it. I liked Lena’s best friend, Hana, and her young cousin(?), Grace, although a bit more interaction with Grace might have been nice. Maybe one of the upcoming books in the series will have more about her? I will definitely be continuing.

Cumulative page total = 7269

21. Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer / Barbara Ehrenreich
3.5 stars
235 pages

The author has a PhD in cellular immunology. In this book she looks at ways humans try to prolong their lives, and whether or not they are or can be effective.

This was interesting, though a few chapters that went a little bit deeper into the biology (chapters that talked more about cells) kind of “lost” me just a little bit. I still got the gist of those chapters, though. There was also a couple of chapters that were a little heavier on philosophy that wasn’t quite as interesting for me (the cells were of more interest). But, most of the other chapters (including on exercise, meditation, medical industry) were good. Thinking back, I probably will remember some of the information on cells when it comes to cancer (do those cells help fight disease, or are they helping the cancer spread!?).

Cumulative page total = 7504

22. The End Games / T. Michael Martin
3.5 stars
301 pages

Michael and his little brother, 5-year old Patrick, are playing a “game” where they are fighting the “Bellows”. Michael is only hoping he can get himself and Patrick safely to their mother, and he’s hoping she’s safe, too! Really, Michael IS trying to get to the “Safe Zone” he heard about on the radio, but it’s tough.

At the start of the book, I really wasn’t sure if it was a game or not, but once I realized that it wasn’t, it got more interesting. There were certainly some suspenseful moments and I was kept wanting to read. I do think zombies aren’t my favourite thing to read about. Though there were 4-star portions of the book, the majority of it was 3.5 stars for me (good). For some reason, I thought it was the start of a series, and I was all ready and willing to continue the series, but it seems that it is a stand-alone, after all!

Cumulative page total = 7805

Next audio:
- End of Watch / Stephen King

23. All the Light We Cannot See / Anthony Doerr
2 stars
531 pages

Marie Laure is blinded when she is little. Werner is a good German boy who gets himself into the Hitler Youth. Marie Laure ends up in Paris after her father is arrested.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure exactly what else happened. Or, not enough to really summarize, anyway, though there were bits and pieces I caught. I listened to the audio and knew I was in trouble as soon as I heard the male voice; I tend to lose focus much more quickly and more often with male narrators, and this was no exception. Sorry to everyone who loved it, but I’m not a fan – at least not of the audio, anyway.

Cumulative page total = 8336

24. The Last Little Blue Envelope / Maureen Johnson
4 stars
210 pages

This is a continuation of “13 Little Blue Envelopes”. Potential spoilers for the first book: Ginny didn’t get to finish her aunt’s “treasure hunt” when her backpack with the envelopes was stolen in Greece. She had one envelope left.. Back at home in the US, Ginny hears from someone who has that last envelope, and he’s in London. Ginny decides to travel back to London to get her hands on that last envelope and keep going. While in London, she looks up the boy she’d been dating, Keith. Ginny, Keith, and two others set off to follow the instructions on the last envelope that brings them to a few different European countries.

I really enjoyed this one. It appears I read the first book 6 years ago!! I found it interesting that I commented in that review that I wasn’t a fan of Keith; still not in this book, either. However, I did like the new guy, Oliver, who was the one who found Ginny’s envelopes. Also enjoyed “travelling” around Europe with Ginny and her friends; I particularly enjoyed the B&B in… I think it was Belgium (cats!).

Cumulative page total = 8546

25. The Cat and Shakespeare / Raja Rao
1.5 stars
104 pages

What the *bleep* was that!!!? Is there such a thing as “philosophical fiction”? That may have been this. I don’t think there was any kind of plot. From what I could gather there as a man with a wife and a mistress (one, I’m not sure which, was “woman”… not “a woman”, just “woman”). He has a daughter (“child”, not “a child”, just “child”). He works. A boy child got sick, a cat appeared somewhere along the way, a boss died, the mistress was pregnant (and I think had a baby). I think. The book gets the extra half star for what I think I actually followed in the book (since I was surprised that I managed to follow anything – at least I think I did!). Sorry if any of what I mentioned as a spoiler – my apologies if I’ve ruined the book for anyone!

Cumulative page total = 8650

So, hopes and plans for March:

- 1888: London Murders in the Year of the Ripper / Peter Stubley (RandomCAT, ScaredyKIT, Reading Through Time?)
- Broken Promise / Linwood Barclay (SeriesCAT, AlphaKIT)
- When We Wake / Karen Healey (TBRCAT)
- Undivided / Neal Shusterman (AlphaKIT)
- The Secrets Between Us / Thrity Umrigar (AlphaKIT)
- The Last Rhinos / Lawrence Anthony (AlphaKIT, CalendarCAT)
- Intolerable / K. Al-S (CalendarCAT)
- The Boat People / Sharon B (CalendarCAT)
- Love Story / Erich Segal (PBT, AlphaKIT)
- Lost and Found / Elizabeth Hess (PBT Trim, AlphaKIT)
- The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly / S.M.H (PBT Horizons)
- Sing Unburied Sing / Jesmyn Ward (Book club #2)

Audio:
- End of Watch / Stephen King (SeriesCAT)
- New York / Edward Rutherfurd (Reading Through Time)

And one last book to finish in last summer's Backpack Across Europe:
Technically the game is over, but I want to finish:
10. Spain
- Sister Queens / Julia Fox

26. Becoming Marie Antoinette / Juliet Grey
4 stars
453 pages

Marie Antoinette was born and grew up in Austria. When she was 10(ish) years old, it was determined that she would wed Louis Auguste of France, Louis XV’s grandson and heir to the French throne. However, Antonia (as she was called then) had a few hoops to jump through before the deal was sealed. When they did marry, Antonia was sent to France where she had to learn a new culture and at the same time be charming and have people love her, as she was to be the future queen. She continued to be pressured and influenced by her mother (from a distance).

This is the first in a trilogy, so we only get as far into Marie Antoinette’s life as Louis XV dying and she and her husband succeeding to the throne when they are 18-years old. I have read a biography of her, but it was a few years ago, so I don’t recall a lot of what I read then. I did like how she was portrayed in this novel, and I appreciated the author’s note at the end, which explains that the majority of people and events in the book did happen. I am really looking forward to reading the next book.

Cumulative page total = 9103

27. The French Lieutenant's Woman / John Fowles
2.25 stars
477 pages

In the 1860s in Lyme Regis, England, we have a love triangle. Ernestina is in love with Charles, but Charles falls for some mysterious woman, Sarah (apparently the “French Lieutenant’s Woman” of the title… though in my skimming I never did “get” that).

Started off badly, just based on the cover – very creepy, in my opinion – a woman’s eyes and top half of her face are whited-out and there are branches growing from her head. Wtf is that!? Anyway, when the first bit appeared to be a lot of description, I almost immediately lost interest. When I lose interest, I skim. I don’t put books aside, as I hope they will get better, but I know that because I’m skimming, it’s hard to notice if it improves. I do try to slow myself down every so often to see if it helps. And I did find, with this one, with about ¼ of the book left, I got more interested (that’s the extra .25 stars) – most of the time. There were odd parts where the actual narrator, who was set in the 1960s commented for a chapter or so. Oh, I did enjoy the couple of mentions of Mary Anning, finder of fossils in Lyme Regis during the time the novel is set. “The Collector” was so much better; however given this book, I don’t know that I’ll read more by this author.

Cumulative page total = 9580

>39 LibraryCin: I had pretty much the same reaction, and it put me off of reading anything else of his although maybe I will consider The Collector. I believe there is a movie version of this book - have you seen it?

>40 Darth-Heather: I have not seen it, but I did know there was a movie made. I think Meryl Streep is in it?

Next audio (as I wait on 2 holds from the library):
- The Illegal / Lawrence Hill

I might set this aside if either of the holds come in.

28. End of Watch / Stephen King
3.5 stars
448 pages

This is the third in the “Mr. Mercedes” trilogy. Possible spoilers for the first book: Brady Hartzfield (Mr. Mercedes) has been in the hospital, pretty much brain-dead. Retired Det. Hodges visits him and thinks there is more going on in Brady’s head than Brady is letting on. And he’s right! Meanwhile, people (many, teenagers) are committing suicide, but it turns out many of them have been playing a game on an older, now-defunct tablet. What is going on?

Holly and Jerome also return in this 3rd book in the series. Holly still grates on me some (I reread my other reviews, and in the first book Holly did “grow on me”), but at other times, I found her amusing. I listened to the audio, and it’s possible it’s the way the narrator “plays” Holly that, at least plays a part in my irritation with her. Apparently, I didn’t like this one quite as much as the first two (each rated 4 stars), but overall it was still good. And, I think, a good conclusion to the series.

Cumulative page total = 10,028

29. Sing, Unburied, Sing / Jesmyn Ward
3 stars
290 pages

Jojo is 13-years old and lives with his mom, grandparents, and little sister, Kayla. His father, Michael, is in jail. When Michael is let out of jail, Jojo’s mom, Leonie, takes the kids (and her best friend, who also has a boyfriend in the same jail) to go pick him up. Leonie and Michael are an interracial couple and his parents didn’t approve, so they aren’t quite sure where they’ll go. Leonie isn’t a very good mom.

The story is told, mostly between Jojo’s and Leonie’s points of view. There is a 3rd POV, Richie, who I didn’t include in the summary. I could have done without Richie and his story altogether, really. Could have done without the ghosts and magical realism, in general. I didn’t like Leonie or Michael, but I did like Jojo and Kayla, and Pop, their grandfather. There was some back and forth in time, especially at the start of the book. Overall, I’m giving this 3 stars, ok. I did like the dysfunctional family storyline, and would have preferred the book stick to that part of the story.

Cumulative page total = 10,318

30. Love Story / Erich Segal
3.5 stars
96 pages

Oliver is a hockey player at an ivy league college. Jenny works in the library. Oliver is rich; Jenny is not. Yet, they still fall in love. However, we know from the first sentence that Jenny will die young.

This was surprisingly short! I thought I’d seen the movie years ago, but now I’m not sure; it’s possible I only saw bits and pieces. I think it would have been nice if things hadn’t moved so quickly in the story, if the reader had more time to get to know Oliver and Jenny. I thought the end would devastate me, even knowing how it ended, but it didn’t. It was still a good story, overall, but I guess I just expected a bit more.

Cumulative page total = 10,414

31. Broken Promise / Linwood Barclay
4 stars
362 pages

David left his job as a reporter in Boston to come home to Promise Falls with his son. He took a job with the local paper, only to lose it on his first day when the paper shuts down. When he goes to visit his cousin, Marla, he finds her with a baby… that’s not hers! A number of months back, Marla had lost a baby and later tried to take another one from the hospital – this was hushed up by her mother. Marla tells David that an “angel” dropped off the baby to her. He finds some info that gives him a clue to where the baby might belong and manages to convince Marla to go with him and they bring the baby. When they arrive, they find the mother murdered on the floor in the house!

I really enjoyed this. There were a couple of other storylines, as well, but the others weren’t wrapped up by the end. I did know this was a series, so I expect those will be finished up in further books. Barclay’s books are told from different points of view, but we are told at the start of each chapter whose POV we are following (or most chapters, anyway). As usual, there are twists in the book.

Cumulative page total = 10,776

32. Undivided / Neal Shusterman
4 stars
377 pages

This is the 4th book in the Unwind “dystology” (I was also going to say final book, but it looks like there are some short stories added on in an additional book). Cam, Lev, and Risa (and others) are all continuing to fight to stop unwinding; different people have different ideas about how to best fight it.

I really liked this last book in the series. There is a nice little intro to explain who some of the major players and companies are, and it includes general terminology, as well. Because I go so long in between reading books in a series, I also looked back at my summaries from the other books, which was helpful. I did have trouble remembering characters in the 3rd book, but I was able to catch on quicker and remember much better in this one. I still like the way the little “advertisements” are done in this series. I thought this one was quite exciting, though there were some tough happenings. Really good ending.

Cumulative page total = 11,153

33. 1888: London Murders in the Year of the Ripper / Peter Stubley
3.5 stars
273 pages

1888 in London had more murders than the women Jack the Ripper killed. This book looks at many more of them, though some are manslaughter, and some of the possible/potential murderers are acquitted. . They include bar fights, domestic abuse, infants and newborns, prostitutes, hit and runs (horse and carriage), and more. Of course, the chapter that includes prostitutes does also talk a bit about the Ripper murders.

It was good and interesting as I read it, but fitting so many murders into one book, the descriptions of them have to be fairly short, so it felt a bit like short stories to me. And to me, that means I probably won’t remember much of it in the not-too-distant future. Enjoyable at the time, but maybe not memorable later on. There was some history of London, especially near the start of the book, to help describe the conditions, so that was interesting, too.

Cumulative page total = 11,426

34. When We Wake / Karen Healey
3.75 stars
297 pages

In 2027, when Tegan dies, she is only 16-years old. And when she awakes, it’s one hundred years later! Tegan just wants to try to live a normal life (or as normal as possible, considering she has to adapt to a new culture, and she is mourning the loss of everyone she knew), but of course, they want to study her, as she is the first to wake up in this study. Reporters also want to get their hands on her.

I really liked this; however, there was one thing that was quite unrealistic, I thought, very soon after Tegan woke up. The storyline moved forward in time quite quickly, but then, YA books often do. There is some discussion of social and political issues, and the most obvious change is the climate, and how people have had to adapt, and the effect those changes have had on people and countries. I actually liked how it ended. It left it open for a sequel (and there is one), but I feel like, even with the unanswered questions at the end, it could have ended there. I’m not sure why I’m ok with leaving those questions unanswered, but of course, since there is another book, I will plan to read it and continue the story.

Cumulative page total = 11,723

35. Lost and Found: Dogs, Cats, and Everyday Heroes at a Country Animal Shelter / Elizabeth Hess
4 stars
223 pages

The author is a journalist who went to volunteer at an animal shelter in New York state. This tells of some of the behind-the-scenes happenings at the shelter.

I was surprised at how much the author was invited to help with, but maybe they had to her doing more to help with her book? I have volunteered at both “kill” and “no-kill” animal shelters, so much of the book wasn’t a surprise, including reasons people surrender their animals, etc. Although, not a surprise to me, still sad and/or frustrating, and/or sometimes just making me completely angry! Though I’ve read and seen video (see “Animal Cops” on Animal Planet), one of the hardest chapters for me to read was when the author accompanied the director of the shelter on a puppy mill raid. Another tough one was the one discussing euthanasia. Overall, a good look at animal shelters.

Cumulative page total = 11,946

I've added in one Netgalley book this month (and may add in a second one later, as well):

At the Mountain's Edge / Genevieve Graham

36. At the Mountain's Edge / Genevieve Graham
3.75 stars
368 pages

It’s the late 1800s. Liza and her family live in Vancouver, but her father decides he wants to pack up and head north to Dawson City to set up his business there and cash in on the gold rush traffic. Liza and her brother are both adults, but the entire family sets off on this adventure. It’s cold and dangerous even just to get there, as they have to traverse the Chilkoot Trail.

Meanwhile, Ben, who had an abusive childhood, has been wanting to become a Mountie most of his life. He manages to do so, and is sent to Dawson City to help with the policing there. As he (and other Mounties) make their way along the Chilkoot Trail and toward Dawson City, he and Liza cross paths more than once.

I quite enjoyed this. At first, I was more interested in Liza’s story, but I also got more interested in Ben as the story continued on. The disasters in the book were the best parts for me. I also really enjoy reading books set near me, so reading about the Frank Slide was fun. (Frank was a small mining town in southern Alberta where a rock slide buried the town in 1902.) The romance was not overdone, so I felt better about that, as well (not always a romance fan). I also enjoyed the author’s note at the end. I could tell how passionate she is about Canadian historical fiction and the research she did.

Cumulative page total = 12,614

I have started another NetGalley book:
Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up / Tom Phillips

37. The Last Rhinos / Lawrence Anthony
4 stars
327 pages

Lawrence Anthony was running a game reserve in South Africa when he heard that there were only about 15 northern white rhinos left in one reserve in the Congo. Unfortunately, the reserve had been abandoned by the people meant to protect the rhinos because of the presence of a terrorist group, the Lord’s Resistance Army. Lawrence was still worried about those rhinos, so he gathered a group of people who were willing to help and went to government officials to see if he could convince them to allow him and his people to rescue the rhinos to take them somewhere safe. In amidst all this, Lawrence ended up negotiating with the LRA for peace, while trying to enlist their help in protecting the rhinos.

I really liked this, even though there was more politics in the book than I’d expected. The start and end of the book focused on the rhinos and the animals in Lawrence’s own reserve, but most of the middle of it was his negotiations with the LRA. Even so, it was written in a way that I was quite interested in how it would all go, both with the animals and with the peace negotiations.

Cumulative page total = 12,941

38. Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up / Tom Phillips
3.75 stars
320 pages

This is a (somewhat) humourous look at history and errors that humans have made in the realms of agriculture, science, war, international relations, etc.

I quite enjoyed this. I originally expected there to be a lot of environmental stuff, and there was some, but there was much more. Some of the humour is sarcastic, but that’s ok. The funniest was the photo at the very end, after a paragraph of doom, then a paragraph of positive, then a photo (not going to say what it’s of – I don’t want to spoil it!). That photo really made me laugh after the positive words in the previous paragraph!

Some of the anecdotes were short and some were longer and went into more detail. I did lose a bit of interest in a couple of the longer ones, but mostly it was interesting. Some of it was history I (broadly) knew about and some of it was stuff I either didn’t know about, or just didn’t know much about (i.e. Ghengis Khan – no, he wasn’t he one who make the stupid mistake…). Overall, though, quite enjoyable!

Cumulative page total = 13,261

I had two ILLs come in at the library, plus my next book club book, so next up:

- Inside the O'Brien's / Lisa Genova
- The Children's War / Monique (Feb Passport Challenge)
- Marriage: A History (Feb Reading Through Time)

39. Inside the O'Briens / Lisa Genova
4.5 stars
343 pages

Joe is a cop in Boston. He and his wife Rosie have 4 adult children when Joe is diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease while in his early 40s. It’s a progressive disease with no cure that will lead to his death. In the meantime he can expect involuntary movements, slurring of his speech, rage, OCD, and a host of other symptoms. Huntington’s is inherited and each of Joe’s kids has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the gene. There is a test, if they’d like to know. Joe’s oldest son is married and they’ve been trying to have a baby. The youngest, Katie, is just getting into a serious relationship, and is having trouble trying to figure out how to deal with this.

Wow! This was so good! In addition to learning about Huntington’s Disease (which is quite rare), Genova did an amazing job, I thought, of bringing the O’Brien family to life. I loved the Sunday dinners with the family and all their interactions. The book followed Joe and Katie, and how they each dealt with Huntington’s, so we got to see how Joe was dealing with living with it, and how Katie was trying to deal with her father having it, and how it would potentially affect her and her new relationship, and her struggle to decide if she wanted to know if she carried the gene or not. This will make my favourites this year.

Cumulative page total = 13,604

Ok, looking at April...

ILL that recently came in at the library:
- Marriage: A History / Stephanie Coontz (Feb Reading Through Time)

This is my next audio:
And one last book to finish in last summer's Backpack Across Europe:
Technically the game is over, but I want to finish:
10. Spain
- Sister Queens / Julia Fox

For March (still waiting on the library hold):
- The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly / S.M.H (PBT Horizons)

For April challenges:
- Classified as Murder / Miranda James (CalendarCAT, AlphaKIT, SeriesCAT)
- Packing for Mars / Mary Roach (CalendarCAT, AlphaKIT)
- To Sleep with the Angels / (TBRCAT)
- By the Shores of Silver Lake / Laura Ingalls Wilder (SeriesCAT, AlphaKIT, Reading Through Time)
- Blizzard of Glass / Sally Walker (AlphaKIT, PBT)
- In a Dark Dark Wood / Ruth Ware (ScaredyKIT)
- The Round House / Louise Erdrich (RandomCAT)
- Lady of the Forest / Jennifer Roberson (PBT Trim)
- Dark Tide / SP (PBT)
- Ghosts of Everest / JH (Passport Challenge)

Audio:
- The Devil's Queen / J K (PBT Horizons)

40. New York / Edward Rutherfurd
3.5 stars
862 pages

This is a novel that follows multiple characters through 400+ years in New York City. Primarily, we follow the same family(ies) through the generations. Starting in the 17th century with a Dutch family (and we also follow African Americans, Irish, Italians…), we follow from grandparent to grandchild (for the most part) and we see the characters through colonization, slavery, the Civil War, Tammany Hall, The Triangle Factory fire, the Depression, up to and including 9/11.

I listened to the audio, and for me, audios narrated by a male voice aren’t always exciting for me; add to that, the length of this one (I also tend to have trouble with very long audios), and I was pleasantly surprised. I waffled between rating this 3 stars (ok) and 3.5 (good), as there were parts where I lost interest. I think I rated “Sarum” 3 stars, and though it was a number of years ago, I do think I preferred “New York”. In some ways, with the different characters (though all family), it felt a bit like short stories – some situations and characters I found more interesting than others. It did end on a strong (but very difficult) note with 9/11.

Cumulative page total = 14,466

41. The Illegal / Lawrence Hill
3 stars
400 pages

When Keita’s father is murdered, he flees his country to neighbouring Freedom State, where he is considered an “illegal”. Keita is a (very gifted) runner, so he continues to train and enter marathons. When he hears his sister has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom, the stakes on winning those marathons (and the money) are so much higher.

There is a bit more to this, with secondary characters (a lesbian journalist in a wheelchair, a young prostitute “illegal” sent home and murdered, the madame of the brothel, some high level political figures, a teenaged talented documentary maker).

Overall, I’d rate it ok. I’m not sure if it would be of more interest to people who enjoy sports, with all the running, or maybe to people who enjoy political fiction. Sometimes political stuff is of more interest to me, but I think it depends on how it’s done. I listened to the audio, and the narrator was fine, nothing special, but didn’t detract, either, I didn’t think. The story itself was fine.

Cumulative page total = 14,866

42. The Children's War / Monique Charlesworth
3 stars
369 pages

In 1939, Ilse is just about to turn 13 when her mother sends her away from Germany to live with her uncle in Morocco. Ilse is half Jewish on her father’s side and her mother is worried for her. Unfortunately, Ilse’s visa is only good for 6 months, and her uncle is going to fight, himself. Uncle Willy’s wife is not interested in looking out for Ilse, so Ilse is sent to France to meet up with her father. The idea is that her mother will join them later. In the meantime, her mother has found good work in Hamburg as a housekeeper, where there are children living. 13 (or 14)-year old Nicolai will soon be part of the Hitler Youth.

The book goes back and forth between Ilse’s and Nicolai’s perspectives. I found Ilse’s story much more interesting, but even that wasn’t as good as many other WWII books I’ve read (in my opinion). Could it be because I’ve read too many? Possibly, or maybe in-part, anyway. I did enjoy some of the secondary characters (at least in Ilse’s story), and I liked the ending (also for Ilse’s part of the story).

Cumulative page total = 15,235

43. Marriage: A History / Stephanie Coontz
3.5 stars
417 pages

Love has only been a precursor to marriage the past couple of hundred years or so. Before that, marriage was mostly for financial or political reasons. Love may or may not have come later. So what many call “traditional marriage” is not really as “traditional” as some might have one believe. What’s often seen as traditional or ideal was really only what marriage was (seen as) in the 1950s for just over a decade. Of course, what went on behind closed doors is not exactly what “Ozzie and Harriet” would have us all believe, either.

The author is a family studies professor. The book takes a look at the history of marriage during different times and cultures in history (though the focus, certainly for modern marriages, is on the Western world). I found this quite interesting. The book has an extensive “Notes” section at the end for those of us who also like to peruse through it for extra tidbits of information. As someone who has never been married, for some reason, I added this to my tbr ages ago!

Cumulative page total = 15,652

44. The Round House / Louise Erdrich
3 stars
399 pages

Joe is only 13-years old when his mother is attacked. She has a hard time getting back on her feet when it comes out that she was raped. Joe and his father (a judge) try to figure out who might have done this, as they don’t know if the police (or which police, if any – the town police?, the tribal police?) will do anything.

The beginning of the book started off with a “bang”, so to speak, and it kind of ended that way, as well, but it was pretty slow-going in the middle. Overall, it was ok for me. I liked one of the other characters’ stories a bit better (but that could also be because it was condensed) – Linda. The author included some sad stats at the end of the book, with regards to native women and rape.

Cumulative page total = 16,051

45. Sister Queens / Julia Fox
3.5 stars
370 pages

Katherine of Aragon (Henry VIII’s first wife) and Juana of Castile (often referred to as Juana the Mad) were sisters, both daughters of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain. Katherine went on to become first Arthur’s, then his brother Henry’s, wife and Mary I’s mother. Katherine was divorced by Henry (after he split from the Catholic Church) after she would not give him a son, so he could wed Anne Boleyn. Juana married Philip of Spain and had many children, but was ruled by Philip, although she was a queen in her own right after Isabella died. After Philip died, Ferdinand ruled while indicating to the world that Juana was insane after Philip’s death. When Ferdinand died, Charles (Juana’s son) continued to insist that Juana was crazy, so while she remained locked up, Charles was able to rule instead.

I listened to the audio, which overall, I’ll rate good. I have read so much about the Tudors, there wasn’t a whole lot new to me about Katherine. Though, the author did highlight some of the connections and interactions (few that there were) between Katherine and Juana. I’ve read only a little bit about Juana and it’s been a while, so she was a bit more interesting; however (and the author warns us of this at the start), there are a lot of years where there just isn’t a lot of information about Juana, while she is locked away.

Cumulative page total = 16,421

46. Classified as Murder / Miranda James
4 stars
237 pages

Charlie is a librarian and works with rare books at the local college. While volunteering at the local public library, he meets wealthy James Delacorte. James asks to hire Charlie to go through his personal rare book library to help discover what’s gone missing, as James is certain some items have. Unfortunately, James is found dead on Charlie’s first day of work.

I really enjoyed this! I loved Charlie’s Maine Coon cat, Diesel, who pretty much goes everywhere with Charlie. Charlie’s adult son also moved back him with his dog, so the critters were a lot of fun! There may have been a few things, librarian-related, that I found more interesting or enjoyable than others might (and there were a few things I wasn’t sure a non-librarian would understand, but maybe those things were small enough for most people to gloss over if it didn’t mean anything to them?). Overall, very enjoyable cozy mystery.

Cumulative page total = 16,658

47. The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly / Sun-Mi Hwang
4 stars
134 pages

Sprout is an egg-laying hen, but is going to be culled. She manages to get free before she dies, but is not welcome in the farm-yard. She has always wanted to lay an egg and be able to sit on it and hatch it and raise the chick, so imagine her happiness when she finds a deserted egg that she is able to hatch!

I really enjoyed this. I love animals, and really felt for Sprout. Even if they weren’t animals, there is a lot of mother-child type interactions going on between Sprout and the little one. And interesting (and sad) interactions between Sprout, the little one, and the other farm animals.

Cumulative page total = 16,792

48. Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 / Sally M. Walker
4 stars
142 pages

On Dec 6, 1917, there was an explosion in the Halifax Harbour. Around 2000 people were killed and many more injured.

This book is aimed toward younger readers, but I found it a good introduction. There are also plenty of archival photos included. The author decided to tell the stories of a few specific families – to follow what happened to the people in those families, what they were doing at the time, etc. I do think this makes the book more “relatable”.

I did know of the explosion, but this is the first I’ve read about it, to really get more info/details on it. I already have other books on my tbr about the topic, as well. I thought this book was very well done. (Hate to say I “really liked” a book about a disaster, though I’m sure I have before!)

Cumulative page total = 16,934

49. In a Dark, Dark Wood / Ruth Ware
4.25 stars
310 pages

When Nora (Lee when she was growing up; both short for Leonora) is invited to the “hen party” (bachelorette party/stagette) of a friend from high school, a friend she hasn’t seen in 10 years, she wonders why she was invited. However, a mutual friend. Nina, decides to go, so Nora figures she’ll join them. This hen party is a weekend away in the woods in a glass house.

Chapters alternate between what happened at the hen party and Nora currently in the hospital, with a police guard outside her hospital room door, while she tries to remember what happened. Imagine her surprise when she overhears the word “homicide”!

I really liked this. It wasn’t go-go-go from the start, with the hen party and the set up there, but it was definitely enough to get me curious as to what was going on. Part-way through, especially with that glass house in the woods, it did get creepy in parts. Of course, it was easy to second-guess everything that went on, with Nora not really being able to remember what had happened. There was more history between Clair and Nora to delve into, as well.

Cumulative page total = 17,244

50. The Devil's Queen / Jeanne Kalogridis
2 stars
~230 pages?

Note that this review is for the abridged audio. Catherine de Medici, in the mid-16th century, went from Italy to France to marry, and she later became queen. Her husband much preferred his mistress, who was old enough to be his mother, to Catherine.

Unfortunately, this book had a double whammy against it – audios don’t always hold my attention (though some, I have no problem with). And, just after I checked it out from the library, I happened to notice it was abridged. Sigh. Why…? Why bother making them abridged! Now, I have read a bit about Catherine de Medici, but not a lot, so it’s sometimes hard to remember the people and how they are related to each other. This can be harder to follow in an audio book, but even worse in an abridged audio where there are huge parts that seem to be skipped over (or, in the case of this historical fiction, huge chunks of time, anyway).

So, this is more a review of the abridged audio (not worthwhile), than of the book itself. Also, one of the “books” I’ve read about her was a trilogy. So, if one author had to write 3 books to cover her life… this is already narrowed down to one book, but not only that, the one book is abridged! I hate abridged. If I’d had another audio book lined up and ready to go, I might have switched.

Cumulative page total = 17,474

New audio came in at the library. Was meant for May, but I'll get a head start:

The Trespasser / Tana French (May SeriesCAT)

51. By the Shores of Silver Lake / Laura Ingalls Wilder
4 stars
291 pages

Laura and her family are heading West. Laura and Pa are excited, though Ma is a bit hesitant, but Pa has promised they will find a homestead and settle down, and the girls can go to school.

This is such a great series! There were some beautiful descriptions of the Prairies (there were also some “extra” descriptions (of the prairie and other things) as Laura was Mary’s eyes, as Mary had recently gone blind after a bout with scarlet fever). I also really enjoyed the building of the town. You just don’t think about what it takes to start from scratch with no one else around and to watch a town be built from nothing!

Cumulative page total = 17,765

52. Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory & Irvine / Jochen Hemmleb, Larry A. Johnson, Eric R. Simonson.
4 stars
205 pages

In 1999, the authors, along with others including a crew from the BBC, got together to climb Mount Everest, not necessarily with the plan to summit, but wanting to find clues to George Mallory’s and Andrew Irvine’s disappearance and the mystery as to whether or not they’d actually been the first to summit the mountain in 1924. This book details that expedition, in addition to telling the story of Mallory and Irvine, in general.

The first half of the book – including preparation and parts of the known portions of Mallory and Irvine’s story – I would rate 3.5 stars (good), but it really picked up for me in the second half when the group searching for clues got climbing. And they did find quite a few things, and a couple of them even managed to summit afterward. This book contains some of the best photos I’ve seen of Everest in the books I’ve read; they really gave me a better perspective than I think I’ve realized before, possibly due to the fact that all the photos are in colour. It’s easier to see details in the colour photos. The second half of the book and the photos upped my enjoyment and rating of the book.

Cumulative page total = 17,970

53. Lady of the Forest / Jennifer Roberson
3 stars
831 pages

Robert of Locksley (later Robin of Locksley, then Robin Hood) has been fighting with King Richard (the Lionheart) in the Crusades. Richard has been imprisoned, but Robert makes his way home. There, he comes across Marian, who he knew when they were younger. Marian is the King’s ward since her father passed away, and the Sheriff hopes to marry her. When Will Scarlet, wanted for murder, kidnaps her, though he doesn’t “defile” her, everyone assumes so, so she is ruined. Doesn’t change that the Sheriff still wants to marry her, but she will have none of it.

It’s a long book. It took 200 of the 800 pages for me to get interested, and even then, that was only when they started bringing in characters I already recognized from the Robin Hood story: Little John, Will Scarlett, “Brother” Tuck. I feel like I shouldn’t have to recognize the story to get interested in it. I also sometimes have a hard time when the same person/character is referred to by different names – last name, first name, title – at different points. It took me way too long to realize that Willian deLacey and the Sheriff were one and the same! I really did like the last 100 pages. Overall, though, I’m keeping it at an “ok” rating. I already have the sequel, so I will read it at some point.

Cumulative page total = 18,801

Hopes/plans for May:

- Dancing Lessons / Cheryl Burke (RandomCAT)
- Love Saves the Day / Gwen Cooper (TBRCAT)
- Your Cat's Just Not That Into You / RS (TBRCAT)
- The Captive of Kensington Palace / Jean Plaidy (CalendarCAT)
- A Taste for Monsters / MJK (ScaredyKIT)
- The Wonder / Emma Donoghue (Book club)
- Hungry: A Young Model's Story / CR, MI (PBT, AlphaKIT) (Oops - had to request via ILL, won't likely see it for a couple of months.)
- The Key to Midnight / Dean Koontz (PBT Trim)
- The Seven Sisters / LR (PBT Horizons)
- Reign of Madness / LC (Passport Challenge)
- Valley of Amazement / Amy Tan (AlphaKIT)
- Garbology / EH (AlphaKIT)
- North of Beautiful / J Chen (PBT)

Audio:
- The Trespasser / Tana French (SeriesCAT)
- Norse Mythology / Neil Gaiman (Reading Through Time) (hoping the audio comes in for me at the library.)

54. To Sleep With the Angels: The Story of a Fire / David Cowan, John Kuenster
4.5 stars
297 pages

On Dec. 1, 1958, a fire started in the basement of the overcrowded Our Lady of the Angels Catholic school in Chicago. The building was old and more recent fire regulations did not apply to the older buildings, as they were grandfathered in. The building had only one fire escape; it was two stories, but the only fire door was on the first floor. Because of that, the fire crept past the first floor, then exploded on to the 2nd floor. By the time the kids and nuns realized there was a fire, they couldn’t go out the hallways. Kids started jumping out the windows, while others – too scared to do so – waited and hoped to be helped to safety. Ninety-two kids, ages 8 to 14, died as a result of that fire, along with three nuns.

The book takes us through the lead-up to the end of the school day when the fire started, and some of the kids and families involved. It continues to describe the fire and the rescue efforts, and the aftermath, including those kids who got out alive, but had to recover in hospital. It continued still, with the investigation into what caused the fire and through the aftermath years later, as people remembered (or tried not to). The book also has a map of the school, and it shows the number of fatalities and injured in each room. There are also photos. Devastating story, but a fascinating read (and it always feels so weird to describe these real-life disaster books this way). But, they can be (and this one is) so compelling.

Cumulative page total = 19,098

55. The Wonder / Emma Donoghue
3 stars
274 pages

In the mid-1800s, Lib is a nurse from England who has come to Ireland to keep watch, for two weeks, over a young girl who has not eaten in four months. Lib and another nurse, a nun, will swap shifts to always watch to see if the girl can really subsist on nothing. Is it a miracle? Lib is doubtful and expects she’ll be able to prove the hoax in short order.

I wondered part-way through if there had been people who really thought they could live without eating, and in fact, there were. Donoghue’s book was not based on one specific person, but on multiple people. Some did have people watch them at all times, as well. Donoghue’s author’s note tells us that each real-life instance had different outcomes.

I might have rated it higher, but the story was pretty slow-going. For the last third of the book or so, I thought it picked up quite a bit, but decided that I’d keep my rating at “ok”, which is where it fell for me for most of the book. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised at the crazy religious people.

Cumulative page total = 19,372

Next audio:
Brian's Winter / Gary Paulsen

56. A Taste for Monsters / Matthew J. Kirby
3.5 stars
344 pages

Evelyn heads to a hospital in the East End of London not long before the Jack the Ripper killings begin. She is hoping to find employment as a nurse; instead, she is offered a position is a maid to Joseph Merrick, who resides at the hospital. Merrick is more well-known as “the Elephant Man”. Once the Ripper killings begin, Evelyn must help Mr. Merrick deal with the ghosts that are showing up nightly.

I enjoyed this. It’s YA, and I would have liked to have an author’s note. It seems to me that the information about the Ripper killings and his victims was pretty factual, but this is the first I’ve read about Merrick and would like to know more about him. I expect that him living in the hospital and not going out is probably pretty accurate. But, I don’t really know. I did enjoy this story, though. Evelyn was also coming to terms with her facial disfigurement, from “phossy jaw” at her former workplace and preferred to stay inside the hospital herself.

Cumulative page total = 19,716

57. The Trespasser / Tana French
4 stars
480 pages

When Aislinn (pronounced Ashleen – I only know this because I listened to the audio!) is found dead in her home, next to a table set for what looked to be a romantic dinner, the boyfriend is the immediate suspect. But, there might be more to it. Antoinette and Steve are partners on the murder squad, but Antoinette, as the only woman on the squad, has had to take a lot of crap and she’s getting tired of it! Antoinette and Steve are pushed by some of the other detectives to simply arrest the boyfriend and call it a day. But they want an air-tight case.

Another really good book in the series! I also really like the audios of these. I haven’t listened to them all, but I have for many of them, and they are always done really well. I like the Irish accent, too. I also always enjoy the personal stories of the detectives in these books. I was always kept wanting to read more, to find out how things were going to unfold. Really enjoyed this one!

Cumulative page total = 20,196

>56 LibraryCin: Merrick's is rather a sad story. He died at the age of only 27, having indeed been allowed to spend the last several years of his life living in rooms in the basement of London Hospital in Whitechapel, (according to Wikipedia). A very intelligent young man by all accounts.
There is a film about his life, made in 1980 and starring John Hurt as Merrick, and Anthony Hopkins as his doctor/friend Frederick Treves.

>80 Sergeirocks: Ok, so the book did have him living in the basement of the hospital. It did say he was in the 20s (I can't remember if it was more specific than that) and that he died within 2 years of the Ripper murders, when the book was set. So, that sounds about right.

I remember bits and pieces of the movie from when I was a kid. Not sure if I saw the entire thing or not, but I don't think so. I was pretty young, so I probably wasn't all that interested at the time!

Coincidental timing, but Merrick's grave may have been 'discovered' within the last few days - If you are interested, here's a link to the BBC news website (providing it works!), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-48149855

>82 Sergeirocks: Thank you! Someone posted the story (same story, different site/article) in another of my groups yesterday, as well. Very interesting!

58. Brian's Winter / Gary Paulsen
3.5 stars
144 pages

In “Hatchet”, 13(?)-year old Brian is stranded in the Canadian North after a plane crash. What if winter had come and he was still there? This looks at Brian trying to survive the winter on his own.

I listened to the audio and enjoyed it. It looks like I rated the first two books 4 stars each, but on thinking back, I feel like “Hatchet” should have been 4 stars and “The River” probably 3.5, same as this one. In any case, it was interesting to see the kinds of things Brian had to do/learn in order to survive over the winter.

Cumulative page total = 20,340

A book club book came in to the library a bit early for me (was meant for next month), so I'll get it to before it has to be returned:
Bel Canto / Ann Patchett

59. The Seven Sisters / Lucinda Riley
3.5 stars
453 pages

Maia is the oldest of six adopted sisters, who grew up with a wealthy single father in Switzerland. When their father dies, they are each left with a hint about where they came from and it is up to them whether or not they want to pursue it. Maia decides to find out her story and heads to Brazil to do so. There, she meets someone who tells her of her great-grandmother’s story – a story of a “lost” love in France, while having to marry someone she doesn’t love in Brazil.

I enjoyed this. I enjoyed Izabela’s story more than Maia’s, and, unfortunately, I just didn’t “get” the connection between Maia and her love interest. Other than that, I did like Maia’s story, as well, but it really was Izabela’s that shone for me. I also liked the story of the creation of the Christ the Redeemer statue that stands in Rio de Janeiro; the people were real people, but of course, the story as written here was fictional. It is another book that goes back and forth in time with the two storylines, but that’s not something that bothers me. I do plan to continue the series, which I imagine will focus on each sister separately.

Cumulative page total = 20,793

60. The Captive of Kensington Palace / Jean Plaidy
3.75 stars
285 pages

This is the first in a series by the author focusing on Queen Victoria. This one opens when Victoria is still a child, living with her mother (the Duchess of Kent), older sister, and her mother’s suspected lover (Sir John) in Kensington Palace. Her mother and Sir John are very ambitious, and knowing that Victoria is next in line to the throne once the childless King (no legitimate children), the Duchess is all for using her daughter to her advantage and hoping that her brother, King William, will die before Victoria turns “of age” (18 years), which would mean the Duchess would be Regent.

I’ve not read anything about Queen Victoria until now, nor do I really know anything about her or the Monarchy in England before and leading up to her rule, so this was interesting. Have to admit, because there were so many names/people I didn’t know at the start of the book, I was a bit lost initially, but it didn’t take long before I was able to figure most of it out. The book did get better and better as it went on, as Victoria grew older and was able to (sometimes) stand up to her mother. I definitely want to continue the series, and hope I am able to before too much time passes, so I remember what lead up to everything to this point.

Cumulative page total = 21,078

61. North of Beautiful / Justina Chen
3.5 stars
302 pages

Terra is beautiful, tall, blonde… and has a giant purple birthmark on the right side of her face. She wants to go to art school across the country to get as far away from her father and the small town she is living in as possible. In the meantime, she works at a small gallery in her town, and has tried many different ways to get rid of her birthmark. On the latest trip to Seattle to do so, she and her mother get in a car accident on the way home, where Terra almost runs into an Asian Goth boy, Jacob.

I liked this. There are a few themes going on here, beauty being the main one, both Terra’s face and her art, but also the (emotional/verbal) abuse she and her mother (and brothers, until they left home) face from her father. Cartography is big in the book, and there is a trip to China. This was more than your usual lighthearted YA romance book; it felt a bit weightier. The trip to China was interesting to see a bit of the Chinese culture. The romance, Terra’s birthmark/face/beauty, and the family situation were probably the best parts for me. I really liked the interactions between the siblings (before their father came home).

Cumulative page total = 21,380

62. Norse Mythology / Neil Gaiman
3 stars
281 pages

Primary gods in Norse mythology include Odin, Thor, and Loki. Many/most of these stories focused on them, but there are a few others thrown in to the mix, including the beautiful Freya, in many of the stories, as well.

Neil Gaiman does have a nice voice and is a good narrator (I listened to the audio), but somehow he doesn’t always hold my attention. Seems to depend what else I’m doing at the time, though. At home/housework, I’m fine; walking somewhere – too many distractions and I lose focus. I’ve listened to a few he’s narrated, but I think it’s all been short stories, which I think is also harder on audio because when you lose focus (or when I do, anyway!), it’s harder to catch up again. I do wonder if I would have a better time listening to him read one of his novels. I’m also not always a short story fan, though the first ones in this book (when I was focusing) were good. The rest, I missed too much to really say. Overall, I’m rating this ok.

Cumulative page total = 21,661

63. Dancing Lessons / Cheryl Burke
3.25 stars
244 pages

Cheryl is a professional ballroom dancer who has appeared on Dancing With the Stars since season 2. There were plenty of behind-the-scenes stories, more about her partners, rather than the other pros on the show. Of course, there were stories about her life, as well: growing up painfully shy, her hard-working Filipino mother, how she got into dancing to begin with, relationships (some abusive), her career including and since her DWTS fame.

I don’t usually read celebrity biographies, but this one fit a challenge and I’d been considering reading it. It’s fairly short and entertaining for someone who is a fan of the show. I stopped watching DWTS a few years ago, but I still enjoyed the stories, and I certainly remembered most of the celebrities she was talking about (I even looked a couple of the dances up on youtube after I finished the book so I could watch again!). It was interesting to read about her life, the bits and pieces that she included. She is a very positive person, so there was no “dirt” dished out about the show or the people on it.

Cumulative page total = 21,905

64. Reign of Madness / Lynn Cullen
4 stars
437 pages

Juana of Castile, also known as “Juana the Mad”, was the daughter of Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. With two older siblings, she never thought she’d have a chance to be queen. She was married to Philippe of Flanders, who was lower ranked than she was. Initially in love with Philippe, things turned sour after a while, as Philippe dallied with other women, and began to treat Juana badly. When Juana did inherit her mother’s crown in Casile, Philippe managed to take her power from her.

The book started when Juana was young and living with her parents and siblings. It continued to follow her and Philippe’s relationship and travels between the Spains and Flanders. I found the beginning of the book a bit slow. It also jumped over time a bit. But, I thought it really picked up about the time Juana realized what a cad Philippe was. The author fictionalized a reason why Juana may have ultimately wanted to stay out of the limelight and not be queen, which was somewhat entertaining. In any case, I found the additional information about Christopher Columbus interesting, as I haven’t read much about him (though I did know his explorations were funded by Isabel and Ferdinand). The author did have a note at the end, separating out fact from fiction, which is always nice. It was particularly interesting to note what really happened with Beatriz, who was Juana’s closest lady.

Cumulative page total = 22,342

65. The Key to Midnight / Dean Koontz
3.5 stars
419 pages

Alex is a private detective and recognizes Joanna when he walks into her club in Kyoto. He recognizes her as Lisa, who went missing 12 years ago and disappeared without a trace. Joanna insists she is not Lisa, but as they look further into it, they are convinced she is, but she really doesn’t remember being Lisa. She has memories of her life (as Joanna) before Kyoto and before 12 years ago. What happened?

I thought this was pretty good. At first, I thought Alex was not a good person, but that turned out to be wrong (it wasn’t long before we figured this out, so it’s not a spoiler). The nightmares that Joanna had were creepy. This was originally written under a pseudonym, as it was a different genre than Koontz usually writes. He rewrote parts of it to update it in 1995 (from the original 1979), though a lot of the subject matter still felt a bit 70s. Overall, though, it was good.

Cumulative page total = 22,761

66. Bel Canto / Ann Patchett
3.5 stars
352 pages

In South America (Peru?), there is a birthday party with lots of rich people. The president of the country was supposed to have been there. An American opera singer is there. The party is stormed by guerrillas, and all the people are taken hostage. They were really looking for the president, but he backed out at the last minute and wasn’t there, so they made do with the rest of the people. The hostage situation went on for months…

It was pretty slow-moving, but the story was good. Unfortunately, I found I (mostly) didn’t care about the characters. I guess by the end, I did a little bit, but still not as much as I would have hoped. The epilogue was unexpected – I’m not sure I liked it. My edition had an interview with the author at the end, so I found it interesting to discover that the book was based on a real-life hostage situation at the Japanese embassy in Peru that did last months.

Cumulative page total = 23,113

67. Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair With Trash / Edward Humes
4 stars
269 pages

We have become a consumer culture, a society where disposable is all too common. This book looks at trash and all it entails: landfills, recycling, and what else can be done with it, and/or about it, and/or ideally things we can do to reduce it. Plastic is, of course, a big issue - including the “patch” of plastic floating around the Pacific Ocean (which is apparently more of a soup or chowder (smaller chunks all over the place), rather than a patch where it’s all together in the one spot).

I thought this was quite interesting. Some people have actually studied trash (garbologists). There was some history of how landfills got started, and how people traditionally got rid of their trash. Of course, the consumer culture – marketing to promote more and more buying (and also throwing away because we want the new stuff) – came to rise in the 50s, and hasn’t let up.

One idea that was new to me (at least in the detail described in this book) was the waste-to-energy idea, turning trash into energy. I have heard of it, but this book went into more detail than I ever knew about it. Denmark and Germany seem to be the forerunners for this, and it sounds like a great idea. Of course, alongside these kinds of ideas, humans really do need to figure out ways to cut down on the amount of stuff we acquire (and subsequently throw away). There was also some info on things some people are doing to cut down on their consumerism and disposables.

Cumulative page total = 23,382

68. Your Cat’s Just Not That Into You / Richard Smith
3 stars
148 pages

This is meant to be a humourous look at cats. Much of it is set up in a letter “dear Abby” advice-type format, but there are other little snippets, as well. There were a few times I laughed out loud, but really not many. It wasn’t as amusing or enjoyable as I’d hoped, though I am still rating it “ok” (that may be generous). It was a quick read, at least.

Cumulative page total = 23,530

Possible plans/hopes for June:

- Inferno / Dan Brown (Reading Thru Time, AlphaKIT)
- I Shall Wear Midnight / Terry Pratchett (SeriesCAT)
- Love Saves the Day / Gwen Cooper (CalendarCAT)
- Silver Sparrow / TJ (AlphaKIT, CalendarCAT)
- Fables. Vol 20: Camelot / Bill Willingham (PBT)
- Nights of Rain and Stars / Maeve Binchy (PBT Horizons)
- Circus / Claire Battershill. 3 stars (PBT Trim)
- Locavore / Sarah Elton (RandomCAT)
- Six Degrees / Mark L (RandomCAT)
- The True Tales of Baker and Taylor / Jan Louch (CalendarCAT)
- An American Princess / (Passport Challenge)

Holdover from May (ILL that has just come in):
- Victoria Victorious / Jean Plaidy

Audio:
- Stardust / Neil Gaiman
- The Circle / Dave Eggers (ScaredyKIT, AlphaKIT)
- The Stars are Fire / Anita Shreve

69. The Valley of Amazement / Amy Tan
4 stars
474 pages

It’s 1912. Violet is half-American, half-Chinese and growing up with only her American mother, Lulu, in Shainghai. Lulu runs a courtesan house, but is tricked when Violet is 14-years old; Violet is kidnapped while her mother heads to San Francisco to find her son.

I really liked this. A warning that there are some graphic scenes, though – sex, violence. The book certainly kept me wanting to read to find out what happened. It was a bit of an emotional roller-coaster with ups and downs. A small portion of the book told Lulu’s story; admittedly, at first, I didn’t think this was necessary, but it got more interesting as it went on, and it was nice to see the pieces come together as it continued.

Cumulative page total = 24,004

70. Inferno / Dan Brown
4 stars
466 pages

When Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital, he doesn’t realize he’s in Italy and when he finds that out, he has no recollection of why he’s there or how he got there. He quickly finds out someone has shot him in the head, and whoever it is is still coming after him! He and a doctor helping him escape together and try to find out why he is there and why someone is trying to kill him.

I quite liked this. It did slow down for me in the middle, but it picked up again at the end. I almost never say this, but I was, in this instance, cheering for the bad guy!

Cumulative page total = 24,470

71. The Stars are Fire / Anita Shreve
4 stars
256 pages

Grace and Gene are in an unhappy marriage. They live in Maine and have two young kids. When a wildfire threatens their town and they are forced to evacuate, Grace is waiting at home for Gene to return from helping fight the fire, so they can get out, but it’s too late and she much leave with her kids. She and her best friend/neighbour, Rosie, take their kids and run to the beach. After they are saved from the beach, neither knows where their husbands are, and both of their homes were destroyed.

Apparently, the fire really happened; unfortunately, there was no author’s note to tell me that. It took me quite a while to figure out when the book was set (it was the 1940s). The fire itself was fairly quick in the book, so the bulk of the book was picking up the pieces afterward. It did slow down a bit in the middle for me, but I thought the fire itself was written well, near the start of the book, and it picked up again at the end of the book. Pretty scary, the fire.

I listened to the audio and it kept my attention (this is a good thing, as many don’t!). As I started listening to the book, there were wildfires north of me, and towns were evacuated. The smoke made it to my city. I’m lucky I’ve never had to worry about such a thing, but it is a very real possibility for many people.

Cumulative page total = 24,726

Ugh! I have to add in 3 additional books!!! Two were ILLs meant for last month (my public library is so slow with the ILLs!), and one is a Netgalley book I need to get to asap!

- One Little Secret / Cate Holahan
- Hungry / Crystal Renn

72. Love Saves the Day / Gwen Cooper
4 stars
318 pages

Sarah took in Prudence, a brown tabby kitten, when she found her. Sarah’s daughter, Laura, doesn’t visit often, and things seem strained when she does. Prudence knows Sarah’s best friend, Anise, better. But one day (after Prudence has been on her own for a number of days), Laura and Josh come to pack everything up and Prudence has to go with them. Prudence can only hope that Sarah will come back to take her back home again soon.

This was mostly told from Prudence’s point of view, with a few chapters from Laura’s and a couple from Sarah’s. I really enjoyed Prudence’s chapters, in particular. The author knows cats well! I had to laugh at parts of it! I was horrified to find out about an event that really took place in New York City in 1998 that is part of the background in this story – it shows how Sarah and Laura’s relationship became strained. I just don’t want to give it away as a bit of a spoiler. Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

Cumulative page total = 25,044

73. Stardust / Neil Gaiman
3 stars
274 pages

Tristran is in love with Victoria, and when they see a falling star, Tristran vows to go get it and bring it back for her. Unfortunately, this means Tristran has to somehow get to the other side of the Wall. No one goes on the other side, except for a flea market that is held only every nine years.

I listened to the audio, read by Gaiman himself (of course!). He does have a wonderful storytelling voice, but for some reason, it still doesn’t always hold my attention. The other books I’ve listened to him read were short stories, so I had hoped a novel would be better for me. Unfortunately, it was about the same. It was ok. There were plenty of things that I missed, though being an entire novel, I was usually able to catch the gist of where we were in the story, as I listened (which isn’t necessarily the case with short stories, because they end so quickly). I think it was a cute story, at least what I paid attention to!

Cumulative page total = 25,318

74. Circus: A Story from Circus / Clair Battershill
3 stars
14 pages

This is just one story from a book of short stories. I don’t think I realized that when I picked it up. Or, if I did, I’d forgotten by the time I picked it up to read (now)! Anyway, I can’t really do a summary because it was so short and it seemed a bit all over the place. It moved too quickly to really have any kind of plot or story. It seemed like it might have made for a nice outline of an actual novel, maybe. That’s what gave it the 3 stars (ok) from me. A nice outline for a novel. But, really, it was too short, nothing much happened (until the very end, but then it ended, so we didn’t really get to find out what that was all about!).

Cumulative page total = 25,332

75. Fables, Vol. 20. Camelot / Bill Willingham
3.75 stars
252 pages

As usual, there were smaller storylines going on at the same time, but the main storyline in this volume is Rose Red trying to recreate the Knights of the Round Table. She has a table built in a field, then spreads the word that she is looking for knights to populate her round table. Many Fables gather to see who she will choose.

I really enjoyed this main storyline, as well as the next biggest storyline in this one, involving Snow White and her children. I so love the illustrations in this, and like the others in the series, the borders are a nice “extra” that also helps you figure out which characters/storyline is happening on that page. It ended on a slow note for me, which is mostly whatbrought down my rating by that ¼ star. Overall, though, I quite liked this volume.

Cumulative page total = 25,584

76. One Little Secret / Cate Holahan
4 stars
320 pages

Susan and Nadal have recently moved to the neighbourhood. Their kids and those of their neighbours are around the same age. Susan decides she wants to get to know the neighbours better (Ben and Rachel, and Louis and Jenny), so they plan a trip together while the kids are away at camp. On the first morning, one of them is found dead on the beach.

I really enjoyed this. I thought it was paced well, and I definitely wanted to keep reading. It’s told by way of “The day before”, “The day of”, and “The day after”, referring to the murder, but I thought it was pretty easy to keep track of where I was. In opposition to the title, there were actually quite a few secrets going on in this book! Of course, this is one with all the twists and turns.

Cumulative total = 25,904

77. I Shall Wear Midnight / Terry Pratchett
3.5 stars
423 pages

Tiffany Aching is now 15 years old. She is a good witch and helps people when they need help. Unfortunately, an older man, the Baron (also the father of Tiffany’s friend, Roland) passes away under her care. Also a girl, Amber, has been abused by her father and she is found with the Nac Mac Feegles (the tough Scottish fairies) and their “kelda” (female leader). Somehow an evil force has awakened and is coming after Tiffany.

Hard to write a summary, as there were a few different things going on. Overall, I liked the book, though some parts were better than others. I found Amber’s storyline interesting, as well as when Roland’s fiancee, Letitia, appears – I liked her, too. There were parts that I didn’t find quite as interesting, but overall, it was enjoyable.

Cumulative page total = 26,327

78. The Circle / Dave Eggers
4 stars
491 pages

When Mae manages to get a lucrative job (well, the job itself isn’t lucrative, just the chance to work there) with The Circle, she is thrilled! The Circle is a huge tech company and, to her surprise, there is so much more going on at The Circle than just work, so many social events. As the days go on, Mae is expected to be more and more social, online and in-person. Though it seems very difficult to keep up, Mae manages to do so, but there are drawbacks to all this online activity…

I listened to the audio, and had no trouble following without losing interest. I really liked this. It was hard to fathom how she could get more and more sucked in to that life and not realize the implications. I guess I felt like she had been brainwashed, like a cult. In fact, pretty much all of them had “drunk the Kool-Aid”! It was an interesting tale of taking social media way too far.

Cumulative page total = 26,818

Current audio (not on original list for June):
Reached / Ally Condie

79. The True Tails of Baker and Taylor / Jan Louch
4 stars
274 pages

Baker and Taylor were two library cats (Scottish folds) in small-town Nevada, who lived in the 1980s and 90s and were named after the bookselling company, Baker & Taylor. When the company found out about the cats, they decided to use them in the company’s promotional material, propelling the cats to stardom and creating a lasting image for the company, as they still use the cats’ likenesses 20+ years later.

Books and cats – my two favourite things! I also have three Baker & Taylor shopping bags, where I store unread books! I really enjoyed this. There is a section of photos in the middle of the book. Baker and Taylorare so cute, and each had their own personalities. They even had a fan club made up of a grade 2 class elsewhere in the country. The teacher had her class write letters (to help them with their writing) every year to the cats, and send gifts. These were quite cute. There was (like with Dewey’s book) some biographical information about the librarian (and author) who mainly took care of the cats, as well.

Cumulative page total = 27,092

80. Hungry: A Young Model's Story... / Crystal Renn
4 stars
237 pages

When Crystal was 14-years old, a modelling scout saw her and told her she needed to lose a lot of weight (she was 5’9’’ and 165 lbs), but if she did, she could make it in the modelling world. Crystal decided this was what she wanted to do, and went down to 95 lbs before heading to New York City to seek out that scout and the Agency he was a part of. She suffered for three years with anorexia before she pulled herself together, only to become bigger, still (no pun intended!), in the plus-size modelling world (at a size 12 once her weight settled).

I thought this was really interesting. Horrifying how skinny she became. She did share photos in the book, as well. After her bout with anorexia, she seemed so much more positive about her body-image as a plus model. I did look her up online after, though, to see that she’s gone down a couple of sizes since. What an awful world that is, though – the fashion industry.

Cumulative page total = 27,329

81. Victoria Victorious / Jean Plaidy
3.75 stars
571 pages

This is a fictional biography of Queen Victoria. She had an unhappy childhood, but she married someone she loved (Albert), they had 9 children, who all lived.

This is a long book. It’s only the second book I’ve read on Queen Victoria, the first was only a month ago, and also written by Plaidy, but that one only included her childhood (there are sequels to that, so I will continue, but with larger gaps in between). Most of what I’ve read about British royalty was from the Tudors and earlier on, so 300+ years earlier. Some differences that happened in between included Royals being able to choose their spouses, and I found it interesting how much travel they did to see each other after Victoria’s children moved away to other countries. England now also had a Prime Minister, so decisions were not made by the monarchy, though they were discussed between the PM and the monarchy.

It was interesting to learn about Queen Victoria, as well as the different world that England had become over 300 years. I’m not sure, historically, how her husband, Albert, is regarded, but I was not a big fan, given how he’s described in this book. Victoria loved him, but I didn’t like him much. I found her family life (both as a child, and as an adult) more interesting than the politics in the book.

Cumulative page total = 27,900

82. Nights of Rain and Stars / Maeve Binchy
3.5 stars
327 pages

Andreas owns a small cafe in a small town in Greece. He has a few tourists at his cafe when they watch, from a distance, a tourist boat go up in flames in the water. This brings them all together, as they get to know each other over the few days they spend in Aghia Anna. Irish nurse Fiona and her awful boyfriend Shane; beautiful blonde German tv personality Elsa; divorced American dad Thomas; young English man David. They all have their own secrets and issues, as do some of the townsfolk that they meet.

I lovethe title of the book! The book itself was enjoyable. There was one part of the ending I wasn’t too crazy about. I didn’t see it coming, and I definitely think I was picturing Thomas differently from how he was meant to be pictured!

Cumulative page total = 28,227

83. An American Princess: the Many Lives of Allene Tew / Annejet van der Zijl
2.5 stars
225 pages

Allene Tew was born in 1872 and lived till the mid-1900s. In that time, she married five times, had three children (who all died fairly young – one as a toddler, the other two were adults, but young), and became incredibly rich. She became a “princess” of the title when she married her… 4th (??) husband, a prince in Germany (??).

So, I think I just don’t tend to find rich people who don’t do a whole lot all that interesting. Much of the book focused on the people around her (which I’ve found with other biographies of historical women, as well), and because she married so many times, there were a lot of different people. After a while I had trouble keeping them all straight. I think the section on WWI was the most interesting to me, and maybe the rise of Hitler and WWII, as well. But that was more interest in the historical times than interest in Allene, herself.

Cumulative page total = 28,452

84. Locavore: From Farmers' Fields to Rooftop Gardens... / Sarah Elton
4 stars
232 pages

This looks at trying to eat locally in various parts of Canada. The first half of the book looks at agriculture and farming (the family farm, young farmers, organics, greenhouses), and the second half of the book moves into cities (urban farming, restaurants serving local, etc.)

Lots of people in lots of places across the country are doing things to try to make the world better by sourcing locally. It was interesting to learn about some of those different things. The author has a section at the end where she tries to help offer suggestions on what people can do/look for/ask if they want to move toward eating locally. She admits that she isn’t perfect about it, but really, every little bit helps. At the same time, once again, I wish I liked to cook or garden or both – would be really useful for my environmental sensibilities.

Cumulative page total = 28,864

The plan/hope for July:

- Packing for Mars / Mary Roach (CalendarCAT, AlphaKIT)
- Curtains / Tom Jokinen (CalendarCAT, AlphaKIT)
- Change of Heart / Jodi Picoult (TBRCAT, AlphaKIT)
- Who Has Seen the Wind / W.O. Mitchell (Book club)
- Blue Moon / Alyson Noel (SeriesCAT)
- Page / Tamora Pierce (SeriesCAT, AlphaKIT)
- The Sandman, Vol. 2. The Doll's House (SeriesCAT, ScaredyKIT)
- Chills / Mary SanGiovanni (ScaredyKIT, AlphaKIT)
- Owls in the Family / Farley Mowat (RandomCAT, TBRCAT)
- The Sixteen Pleasures / Robert Hellenga (PBT Trim)
- Homes: A Refugee Story / Abu B al R (PBT Horizons)
- A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon

- ??? (Passport Challenge)

Audio:
- Reached / Ally Condie (con't)
- The Day the World Came to Town / Jim DeFede (CalendarCAT, Reading Through Time)
- Dust and Shadow / Lyndsay Faye (PBT)
- Silver Sparrow / Tayari Jones

85. Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker-in-Training / Tom Jokinen
4 stars
231 pages

What happens behind the scenes when someone dies until they “appear” at the funeral? The author looks at this, in addition to the business of being an undertaker, in all the historical changes – from burial to cremation… and still to come, green burials. He works with a family funeral home in Winnipeg where he learns all the different aspects of the business. He also heads to California, where he learns more about green burials (at the time of writing – this was published in 2010 – in Canada, the only place you could have a green burial was in Guelph, Ontario, and somewhere in BC was building someplace for it), then to Las Vegas for an undertaker trade show – see all the new and best in funerial apparel!!

I found this really interesting. Of course, there was a bit of humour thrown in here and there. In such a business, I think there needs to be!

Cumulative page total = 29,095

86. Reached / Ally Condie
3 stars
512 pages

This is the 3rd book in the Matched trilogy. Possible SPOILERS for the first two books… The Rising is taking over and is trying to cure all those who have become infected with the Society’s plague. Xander works as a medic, Ky as a pilot. Cassia is still working for the Society, as a sorter.

I take too long in between books to remember what happened previously; these books were not great for recapping, so I have to just try to pick up and figure out what’s going on. Once I did, it was ok. I listened to the audio and parts kept my interest and other parts didn’t, so I did miss some things, but was able to follow the gist of what was happening. I think I had a similar reaction to the 2nd book, but I decided to finish the trilogy, so now I have.

Cumulative page total = 29,607

87. The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland / Jim DeFede
4.25 stars
256 pages

Gander, Newfoundland has about 10,000 people. It was once a hub for airliners to stop to refuel, so it has lots of space for large aircraft. On 9/11, when the terrorists took down the Twin Towers in New York, air space in all of the United States was closed. Flights already in the air were ordered to land as soon as possible. 38 planes chose to, or were ordered to, land in Gander, adding 7,000 people in to the community who ended up staying for a few days before being able to get back on flights to continue on (or go back).

When Gander declared a state of emergency, people were housed at schools, churches, and anywhere else that had room, while flight crews took over all the hotel rooms. The people in Gander donated hours of their time, items from their homes, food, and places to stay for some of the stranded passengers. Friendships (and maybe even at least one romance) were formed.

The book was published in 2002, about a year after the events of the day. Some of the people the book followed included: a husband and wife returning from Kazakhstan with a little girl they’d just adopted; there was the parents of a missing firefighter in New York; there was royalty; there was a couple of higher-up people in well-known companies; there were a few Jewish people, in a town where most of the people had never met a Jewish person before, and more. I hadn’t thought about the animals that were on those planes, in the cargo hold!

I’m Canadian. I grew up in a small town, and can see people reacting as the people of Gander did, doing everything they could do to help. 9/11 itself is an emotional topic, though I have no close personal connections to New York. This was emotional, it made me feel proud to be Canadian, to read about everything the people in Gander had done.

I listened to the audio book, so I missed out on some photos that were included in the book. Overall, a really good (and emotional) account of what some of the people who were flying that day went through when they landed in a small isolated town in Eastern Canada.

Cumulative page total = 29,863

88. A Breath of Snow and Ashes / Diana Gabaldon
3.5 stars
1354 pages

Everyone is settled on Fraser’s Ridge in North Carolina. And more settlers are moving there. They are coming close to the date that Roger and Bree had seen as the date Claire and Jamie died in a fire. They are also coming close to the Revolutionary War/the War of Independence in the colonies.

To me, this one felt a bit like “filler” to get somewhere, but at the same time, it (mostly) kept my interest. A few big things happened as time went on, but much of it was day-to-day. Those big things picked the action up for a while as each one happened. Claire had an apprentice to help her out/someone to teach, which I liked. There was something missing (in my opinion) that I would have liked to have “seen” just before the epilogue. I thought maybe that would be part of the next books, but I guess not.

Cumulative page total = 31,217

89. Who Has Seen the Wind / W.O. Mitchell
3 stars
331 pages

Brian is a boy growing up in Saskatchewan in the 1930s. He lives with his parents, a younger brother, and his grandmother, whom he hates! The book starts when Brian is (I think) 4-years old and continues until he is 11 (I think).

It was ok. Pretty slow-moving, as nothing big really happens. It was just things that happened in his life as he was growing up. I grew up in Southern Sask (though in the 70s and 80s!), but “recognized” some of the small town prairie happenings (i.e. (sadly) kids trying to get gopher tails; luckily, I never saw it, just heard about it). Overall, it was ok.

Cumulative page total = 31,548

90. The Sandman, Vol. 2: The Doll's House / Neil Gaiman
3.5 stars
232 pages

Rose and her mother are flown to England and are in for a surprise when they arrive. Rose then heads back to the US to find her younger brother whom she hasn’t seen in seven years, since she was a teenager and he was only 5-years old. There is an odd convention happening.

Rose’s story was the most interesting storyline for me, though there a bit more going on in addition to her story and the convention. I reread my review for Vol. 1 and found that my favourite parts in that volume were also about the humans; I didn’t find the Sandman parts as interesting, though he does intersect with Rose’s story. On thinking back, I thought I had rated Vol. 1 lower than what I did. So, officially, I rated both volumes “good”, but I feel like I liked this one better, at least as compared to what I remember of the first one.

Cumulative page total = 31,780

91. Blue Moon / Alyson Noel
3.75 stars
284 pages

****Possible SPOILERS for the first book****
Soul mates Ever and Damon are together and in love. All is going well, though Ever misses her family, and especially her sister, Riley.
****END SPOILERS****
But when Roman shows up at school and charms everyone, Ever can tell there is something “wrong” with him. What is he up to?

I thought this was good. Have to admit, I didn’t remember much of the first book at all. I think I read it fast (it’s YA), and it just slipped my memory, but it came back as I read this one. I thought it got better as it got to the end of the book, and I will definitely be continuing the series.

Cumulative page total = 32,064

92. Owls in the Family / Farley Mowat
3.75 stars
58 pages

Billy has a collection of animals as pets, including gophers, snakes, rats… He and a couple of friends decide they want an owl, so go looking to steal one from a nest, but instead find an injured baby owl and bring him home. They later come across a second injured one, and bring him home for company for Wol, the first owl. The two owls are very different in personality, but they both seem to not realize they are owls who can fly and do other things owls can do.

This was so short; I wish it had been longer. I felt terrible when I thought Billy was going to bring home an owl by stealing it out of a nest! There were plenty of humourous stories about Wol and Weeps. I am curious if Mowat actually had owls as pets.

Cumulative page total = 32,122

93. Page / Tamora Pierce
3.75 stars
178 pages

This is the 2nd book in the series. Kel has completed her first year to learn to become a knight. She is the only girl, and was bullied and picked on in her first year. Now in her second year, she hires a shy, scared girl (by request of the girl’s uncle) to be a servant to her while she continues to train, along with her friends, and some of her tormentors are still around.

I really enjoyed this. I liked Kel and I liked her friends. I also liked her new servant Lalasa. This one went pretty fast, as it sped through all the remaining years of Kel’s training, so it might have been nice to get more detail as we went along, but I guess being a YA book, it was sped up a bit. It’s certainly a great series for young girls, with Kel being such a strong role model, herself. But, of course, I’m enjoying it, too!

Cumulative page total = 32,300

94. The Sixteen Pleasures / Robert Hellenga
3 stars
370 pages

Margot is a book conservator and has headed to Florence, Italy to help restore some books after a flood in 1966. She ends up in a convent, helping the nuns with their library, where she finds a rare 17th century book with erotic poems and pictures. The nuns would like to sell the book and be able to use the money, but the books and the library are owned by the bishop and they know he won’t allow it.

This was ok. I found the book conservation parts of it interesting, but I really didn’t like Margot, nor any of the other characters, except for the nuns. It was a bit difficult to figure out right at the start, as it flipped back and forth in time and was a bit hard to tell where we were (in time), but that didn’t last long. It was pretty slow-moving, but it was ok. An author's note would have been nice.

Cumulative page total = 32,670

95. Packing for Mars / Mary Roach
4 stars
334 pages

In Mary Roach’s usual style, she takes a humourous look at NASA and space travel in this one, looking at some of the things that most of us just don’t think about when it comes to travelling in zero-gravity. She looks at using the “toilet”, eating, sex, throwing up, hygiene, and more.

This did, of course, include some history of space travel, as well. I hadn’t even realized when I started reading it a few days ago that the 50th anniversary of the walk on the moon was yesterday, while I was in the middle reading this – good timing for me! In the first chapter, it was interesting to read about how they made the flag “fly” (with no gravity!) on the moon, and also how to even pack it to bring with them, with the limited space available. There was one real transcript of three astronauts having a discussion when one of them noticed a “turd” flying in the air – omg, I couldn’t stop laughing and crying reading that transcript! Kept me from continuing to read for at least 5 minutes, if not more!! This, and “Stiff” are my favourites of the ones I’ve read by her so far.

Cumulative page total = 33,004

"New" one added in for this month:
The Blue Castle / L.M. Montgomery

96. The Blue Castle / L.M. Montgomery
4 stars
273 pages

Valancy is turning 29 years old and is constantly reminded by her family that she is an old maid. She has always been a good, obedient daughter, but hates pretty much everything about her life with her family. She even wears only clothes her mother approves of and an old-fashioned hairstyle approved by her mother. When she receives some news, she finally stands up to her family and does things that she wants to do, just for herself.

I really liked this. I liked Valency, though I hated her awful family. I liked some of the other characters, as Valency gets to know them after her rebellion from her family. It’s frustrating, the lack of options for an unmarried woman during this time (the 1920s). It’s slow-moving, but I really enjoyed it.

Cumulative page total = 33,277

Next up, one that was intended for June, but I had to request via ILL, so it came late:
- The Storm Sister / Lucinda Riley

97. Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson / Lyndsay Faye
2.5 stars
325 pages

The title pretty much says it. This book has Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson looking into the Jack the Ripper murders.

I listened to the audio. I’m not sure if it was more the audio I wasn’t a fan of, or if I just don’t like Sherlock Holmes books (written by Conan Doyle OR by others). The audio didn’t help, anyway. I lost interest way too much. There were times here and there that I was paying attention; I think it depended what else I was doing at the time. In any case, I wasn’t a fan, though there were parts that were ok.

Cumulative page total = 33,602

98. The Storm Sister / Lucinda Riley
4 star
491 pages

When six adopted sisters lose their father, he leaves with each of them a clue as to where they originally came from. Initially, Ally, the second oldest sister, decides she’s in a good place in her new relationship and doesn’t need to look into her family history - until tragedy strikes, and she decides to follow her father’s clues to Norway and her musical family’s history.

I really liked this one. The history of her family started in the 19th century, and included one generation living in Norway during the Nazi occupation during WWII. Initially I liked the family history story better than Ally’s present-day story, but I thought Ally’s story picked up as the book went on. Have to admit I really disliked one thing that happened at the start, but if it hadn’t happened that way, the rest of the story may not have worked the way it did. Also disliked something that happened in the 19th century storyline, but that was explained later on.

I like the way this series is being done, though I can see if being difficult to write. The books start off with the same event, but then go in different directions as each sister is followed in the separate books. The author has to keep the storylines and timing straight for all the sisters for when they intersect. There was an author’s note and a Q&A at the end, which looked at this a bit.

Cumulative page total = 34,093

Next audio - came in from the library a bit early, was meaning to read it for a couple of August challenges:

- The Night Sister / Jennifer McMahon

Maybe I'll get on with listing my August reads today or tomorrow, anyway...

Ok, plan/hope/options for August:

- A Geography of Blood / Candace Savage (CalendarCAT)
- Tracks / Louise Erdrich (CalendarCAT)
- Blackout / Connie Willis (SeriesCAT)
- A Royal Pain / Rhys Bowen (SeriesCAT)
- What Pet Should I Get / Dr. Seuss (TBRCAT)
- Into the Water / Paula Hawkins (TBRCAT, AlphaKIT)
- The Garden of Ruth / Eva Etizioni-Halevy (Reading Through Time - ILL will probably not come in in August)
- Hold Tight / Harlan Coben (book club)
- The Long Winter / Laura Ingalls Wilder (RandomCAT)
- The Julian Chapter / R.J. Palacio (RandomCAT)
- iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids... / Jean M. Twenge (PBT)
- A Town Like Alice / Nevil Shute (PBT Horizons)
- West of the Moon / Margi Preus (Passport Challenge)
- Goodnight Nobody / Jennifer Weiner (PBT Trim)

Audio:
- The Night Sister / Jennifer McMahon (AlphaKIT, ScaredyKIT)
- Silver Sparrow / Tayari Jones

99. Change of Heart / Jodi Picoult
4 stars
461 pages

Shay is hired as a handyman around June’s house. When she comes home one day to find her young daughter and her husband murdered, Shay is charged, found guilty, and is the first person to be put on death row in the state in decades. In prison, it is noticed that he seems to be able to “do” things, magical sorts of things. He would also like to make amends the only way he can think of and donate his heart to June’s other daughter, who is in need of a transplant. Lawyer Maggie comes in to try to help grant Shay his wish, while priest Michael (who has a secret of his own in regards to Shay), comes in to counsel Shay.

There is a lot going on in this book, primarily religion and the death penalty. The story is told from four different points of view: June, Michael, Maggie and another prisoner, Lucius. I’m not religious myself, but did find some of the religion “debates” interesting; these mostly focused on the Gnostic Gospels, which I’d heard of, but didn’t know anything about. The “magic” portions reminded me a bit of “The Green Mile”, and in fact, one of the prisoners at one point nicknamed Shay “Green Mile”, which I did think was kind of a fun way to address that (not that it needed to be addressed, but…). At the same time, these events made the book less realistic for me. I still quite enjoyed it, though.

Cumulative page total = 34,554

Next up... an ILL intended for a couple of months ago that just came in now:
- Red Hood's Revenge / Jim C. Hines

100. Red Hood's Revenge / Jim C. Hines
3.25 stars
339 pages

Roudette (aka Red Riding Hood) is an assassin who is coming after Talia (Sleeping Beauty), a princess of Arathea who has been exiled and is living in a neighbouring country with Danielle (Cinderella) and Snow (White).

There is a lot of fighting in this series. Yeah, kick-ass princesses are fun, but I have to admit, I tend to skim some of the fighting scenes. I briefly considered giving up on the series, but with only one book left, I think I might as well finish it off. I keep waffling between feeling like I liked it (3.5 stars) and feeling like it was ok (3 stars).

Cumulative page total = 34,893

101. West of the Moon / Margi Preus
4 stars
156 pages

Astri and her younger sister, Gerta, are living with their aunt and uncle in Norway after their mother has died and their father has gone to America. They are expecting him to send for them, but before that happens, Astri’s aunt and uncle sell her as a servant to a neighbour. While working there, she dreams of escape and running to America to find her dad.

I really enjoyed this. It’s a bit simple at times and seems easy to get out of some of her predicaments, but it’s a kid’s book, so I can look past that. There aren’t a lot of illustrations in the book, but I loved the ones that were there! It’s historical fiction (set in the mid-1800s), so it was nice to see that historical note at the end. She based it on a diary of her ancestors who came across the ocean from Norway – they had met a girl on her own, so this story was to make up why that girl might be on her own. The note also described some of the medical conditions in the book and how they would have been dealt with at that time.

Cumulative page total = 35,049

102. What Pet Should I Get? / Dr. Seuss
4 stars
39 pages

This was a book that Dr. Seuss started, but never finished. It was found later and published in 2015. The main part of the book consists of two kids in a pet store, trying to pick out which pet to bring home, as they are only allowed one. The second part is a publisher’s note that addresses how the book was found and a bit more of the background, and also a bit about Dr. Seuss’s personal life (and pets!), along with photos.

I was going to give the book itself 3.5 stars (good). I was initially disheartened when they were in a pet store and not adopting from a rescue… then I had to remind myself that it was originally written decades ago. The publisher’s note did address this, to my relief. I also didn’t like the rhyming as much as his other books, as it didn’t seem to flow as well, in my opinion, but I upped the rating for all the extra, really interesting, information provided in the publisher’s note. The story itself – I did like the ending. Which pet did they get?

Cumulative page total = 35,088

103. A Royal Pain / Rhys Bowen
4 stars
258 pages

This is the second book in this series. Georgie is a cousin to the Prince of Wales, and is 34th in line to the throne. Unfortunately, she and her brother don’t have much money. Georgie has moved into the family home (castle?) in London, where she has had to learn life without a maid and servants. It hasn’t been easy for Georgie. Things get a bit more complicated when the queen asks Georgie to host visiting royalty from Germany; the queen hopes the German princess will catch the Prince of Wales’ eye. In any case, things take a turn when people seem to start dying around them.

I really enjoyed this. I think I liked it better than the first one (at least from what I remember, anyway). There are humourous, lighthearted moments in the books. Though I am not necessarily a fan of some of her rich friends, I do like Georgie, as she’s had to learn to be more self-sufficient.

Cumulative page total = 35,346

104. The Night Sister / Jennifer McMahon
3.5 stars
336 pages

Amy, Piper, and Margot were friends in the 1980s when they were young (Piper and Margot are also sisters); Jason was an outsider who was in love with Amy. Amy lived in a motel that had been in her family for a while. At that same motel in the 1950s, Amy’s mother, Rose, and Rose’s sister Sylvie grew up. Rose and Sylvie’s grandmother told them stories of “mares”, humans who changed into monsters, but their mother told them it was just her grandmother telling stories. At the same time, weird things happened at the motel… As adults, Amy is married and calls Jason (who is now married to Margot) in a panic to come talk to her; a week later, tragedy…

I listened to the audio, so that often has some influence. To be honest, I found the first half of the book a bit slow, and lost interest at times, but I did pick up most of what was going on. Half way through, the pace picked up for me, and for the last third, it was much more riveting, I thought. When I heard the twist at the end, I didn’t believe that could work from what had already been told in the story, so I thought re-listening (or reading) would be helpful to figuring it out, but ultimately, I think things did all get explained. Overall, I’m rating it “good”, averaging out the slowness of the start, with the fast-pace of the end.

Cumulative page total = 35,682

105. A Geography of Blood / Candace Savage
4 stars
172 pages

This starts off as a memoir. The author and her husband come across the town of Eastend, Saskatchewan, near Cypress Hills on their travels back home to Saskatoon from the U.S. They initially stayed for 2 weeks on vacation, but were drawn to the town enough to buy a house and live there part-time. While there, the author wrote about the landscape, the dinosaur history and the T-Rex Centre that is there, then started looking into the more recent history of the First Nations people who were there, but were driven off the land in the late 19th century once the white settlers started arriving. The last half of the book looks at the First Nations history of the area.

I probably would have given this 3.5 stars (good), except that I grew up only a couple of hours from Eastend, and have been there a few times. I can picture Eastend, the T-Rex Centre, Cypress Hills, the surrounding land, the ghost towns nearby that were mentioned... I’m sure I also once (though I didn’t remember it) learned the history of Chimney Coulee and the Cypress Hills Massacre. I’m pretty sure I’ve been to Chimney Coulee and can also picture that in my head. Good book, sad stuff about the First Nations people and everything that happened, but important to learn about.

Cumulative page total = 35,854

106. A Town Like Alice / Nevil Shute
3.5 stars
260 pages

Jean is in her 20s when she is left an inheritance by an uncle she never knew; she is his only descendant. But, he didn’t trust women to take care of money, so it was left in a trust with the lawyer, Noel, until Jean turns 35. Noel gets to know Jean quite well and learns of her history as a prisoner of war in Malaya (Singapore) with other women and children who were forced to march on and on and on because there was no actual prison for them. Many died in the travels. Along the way, Jean met an Australian prisoner.

It was good. Odd point of view, told from Noel’s POV, though Jean was the main character, so it was pretty much her story told by him, but at a distance. There was racism (a heck of a lot to our 21st century eyes and ears), sexism, and the end, I thought, was pretty implausible. I don’t want to say too much, but Jean single-handedly doing as much as she did? I doubt it. Despite all that, though, it was a good story. The author’s note at the end was interesting – the prisoner march of women and children really did happen.

Cumulative page total = 36,114

107. Hold Tight / Harlan Coben
292 pages

2011 review:
4.25 stars

Mike and Tia decide to put spy software on their 16-year old son's (Adam's) computer after he starts acting oddly, a few months after one of his best friends committed suicide. Adam appears to have some kind of secret... a big one. In the meantime, women are disappearing and being murdered. And much more...

Another very good book by Coben, although I didn't like it nearly as much as The Woods. He brought back a few of the characters from The Woods. As a Canadian, I did like the hockey references. Coben does a very good job of bringing together all the characters and various storylines going on in the book.

2019 Reread:
4 stars
Once again, I really liked this. It’s been long enough since I read this the first time that I really didn’t remember anything. Although some things came back to mind as I was reading them, any twists and turns were a surprise to me again this time around. There were a lot of characters, a lot going on, but I found the characters fairly easy to follow who was who. A drawback to writing about technology – already some of it has been surpassed by more technology!

Cumulative page total = 36,406

108. Silver Sparrow / Tayari Jones
3.5 stars
352 pages

Dana’s mother was married to her father, but only after he’d also married someone else. He wasn’t divorced; he was a bigamist. Dana and her mother knew this, as James lived with his other wife and daughter. But James’ other wife and daughter didn’t know about Dana and Gwen. Set mostly during the 1980s, we follow Dana in the first half of the book, as she struggles with why Chaurisse (James’ other daughter) always has first choice for everything, over Dana and his secret family. Dana and Chaurisse are the same age and Dana can’t help but be curious about her sister. The second half of the book is told from Chaurisse’s point of view.

I listened to the audio and it was good; the audio kept my attention. There was a separate narrator for each of the sisters. To be honest, I really don’t have a lot to say about this one, except I can’t say that I liked James much.

Cumulative page total = 36,758

Next audio:

The Last Olympian / Rick Riordan

109. Blackout / Connie Willis
4.5 stars
506 pages

In 2060, time travel has been invented and is “regulated”. Historians are able to travel back in time to what they are studying, knowing that the laws of time travel will prevent them from changing anything, but they will be able to experience what they are studying first-hand! (I love this entire concept!)

Three historians are travelling back to 1940 in England. Polly is headed to London during the Blitz; Merope/Eileen heads to the countryside outside London, where she is able to work with and study some of the children who were evacuated from London. Mark is travelling back as an American reporter; he will also be outside London. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for them to realize something has gone wrong, and they are having trouble getting back when they should…

The start of this one was a bit confusing, but what was going on (the historians were being shuffled about with regards to the dates they would be leaving and the exact places they’d be travelling to) was also confusing for the characters. As a reader, I was trying to remember some of the characters from previous books, the terminology of the time travel, and get back into how it all works.

There were a lot of characters to introduce, as well, with multiple historians going back in time. However, once things got going, they really got going, at least for me. I didn’t want to stop reading; I wanted to just keep going to find out what happened. I really liked some of the “contemps” (the contemporary people living in their time) – I especially loved the actor Polly met. Luckily, I had seen somewhere ahead of time that this book does not conclude; it is continued in the next book, so I’m going to want to get to that sequel fairly soon.

Cumulative page total = 37,264

110. Into the Water / Paula Hawkins
4 stars
389 pages

There’s a body of water that has been claiming women’s lives for centuries. In 2015, within a few months, 15-year old Lena’s best friend Katie, then Lena’s mom, both end up in that water. It appears to be suicide for both. Lena’s mom, Nel, has been writing about the deaths and that water. Nel was estranged from her younger sister, Jules, who has now come to look after the niece she’s never met.

It started off a bit slow, but I thought it picked up as it went on. A bit confusing, especially at the start, with not only a lot of characters, but each chapter being told from someone else’s viewpoint. Of course, it wasn’t a different character for every chapter all the way through, but it was difficult to get used to who was who at the start, and it seemed more so with the differing viewpoints, but it might just have been the number of characters overall. The chapters are short, which helps it feel faster to read. In any case, I quite liked it in the end. A few twists, but not too many, mostly at the very end.

Cumulative page total = 37,653

111. The Last Olympian / Rick Riordan
2.5 stars
381 pages

I can’t summarize the plot very well, because I missed much of it. I do know that there is some kind of prophecy, something that’s supposed to happen to Percy, or something that Percy’s supposed to do when he’s 16 (maybe both) - I think it’s something dangerous. His 16th birthday is coming real soon.

I wanted to give this 3 stars (ok), but I listened to the audio, and the audios of these books just don’t hold my attention, though I caught some things here and there. From what I gathered there was lots of fighting, but hard to pick out a plot. Or, maybe that’s the idea? I wish I had looked back at my reviews for the other books in the series for that reminder to not listen to the audios. I do (kind of) know how it wrapped up – at least some of the things that happened at the end with Percy’s friends, and an agreement made with the gods.

I see that the series continues with a focus on the Camp for the demi-gods. Might be more interesting; I’m not sure, but I’m thinking it’s just not worthwhile for me to continue. Oh, and I still only ever think of a cute blue Muppet every time I hear the name “Grover”! And shoot, now that I’ve actually read the plot summary, I feel like I should lower my rating to 2 stars because I caught so little of that…

Cumulative page total = 38,034

Next audio:

Heidi / Johanna Spyri

112. iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids are Growing up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy... / Jean M. Twenge
3.5 stars
307 pages

The author is a psychologist who studies and compares generations. She calls the youngest generation “iGen”: this generation was born in 1995 and later, and they have only ever known a life with the Internet, and for many, smartphones. In this book, she looks at how the internet and social media (“new media” vs “old media” (tv, radio)) have affected them and their mental health. She also looks at communication, religion, politics, sex and dating, work and college, racism, and more. She believes that iGen is taking a much longer time to grow up; they have extended their childhoods.

Her previous book, Generation Me, looked at Millenials and I found it very interesting. Ditto for this one. I don’t have kids, but I still found this fascinating (and in some cases, horrifying – those “safe spaces” on college campuses? For anything that might offend anyone!). She includes a lot of statistics in the book; I like that she is able to compare the generations, but when all the generations were teens and young adults, due to surveys that have been done since the 1970s.

She also includes a lot of graphs, which are hard to read on my small Kobo screen, so print might be a better way to go if you want to look at the graphs. In addition to the statistics, though, she has done a lot of interviews, so she can take some of the stories from the interviews to highlight some of the findings from the stats (or show other perspectives) – the stats are averages. Overall, it’s a very interesting book.

Cumulative page total = 38,341

113. The Julian Chapter: a Wonder Story / R.J. Palacio
3.5 stars
88 pages

It’s been a few years since I read “Wonder”, but I really liked it. This is one of the shorter spin-offs, told from Julian’s point of view. Julian was the main bully toward Auggie, the boy who came to school with a severely disfigured face. We get to see a bit of Julian’s home life, and his possible motivation for the bullying.

I liked this. Seeing part of Julian’s home life included a visit to his grandmother in Paris, and I loved her story.

Cumulative page total = 38,429

114. Goodnight Nobody / Jennifer Weiner
4 stars
385 pages

Kate is a mom of three, living in the suburbs and feeling like she just doesn’t live up to the other moms, and none of them are interested in being friends with her. She misses her best friend Janie from when they lived in New York City; luckily, “Aunt” Janie comes to visit fairly often. When one of the other local moms (Kitty) invites Kate over to talk about something, Kate instead stumbles upon Kitty’s dead body in the kitchen, with a knife sticking out of her back. Kate and the other moms are worried when the police aren’t finding who did it. Kate, having a reporter background, decides to do some digging herself. While digging, Kate also learns that Kitty was in touch with an old crush of Kate’s in New York, and the digging brings them together.

I really enjoyed this. The ex-flame helping out makes for a slightly more interesting investigation. After taking a peek at some of the other reviews, I had no problem with Kate! I guess I “get” her infatuation with her former crush (though I am not married, so…), and I don’t have kids, so the fact that she wasn’t terribly happy with her current situation didn’t really bother me. In any case, I really enjoyed the story!

Cumulative page total = 38,814

115. The Long Winter / Laura Ingalls Wilder
4.5 stars
335 pages

The Ingalls family has come to the Dakotas and is homesteading there. When there are early signs of a really bad winter, Pa decides they should move into town and live in their store, which is better insulated against the cold to come. This turns out to be a good choice, as this particular winter turns out to have blizzard after blizzard after blizzard hit, with few breaks in between. Due to all the blizzards, trains can’t get through to bring additional supplies – food, coal (for heat), etc.

I love these books! The series is so much fun to reread. This one, I thought, was so good at describing/capturing the cold of the prairie winters. I grew up on the Canadian Prairies and it can be cold. Of course, we are now very lucky to have the heating we do. I can’t imagine that kind of cold inside the house or the isolation they would have felt at the time, as well, with the trains not able to get to them! This really is an amazing series.

Cumulative page total = 39,149

Added in one I've been trying to get to for months!
-The Accidental Veterinarian / Philipp Schott

And, starting early on my Sept book club book:
- Kindred / Octavia Butler

116. Heidi / Johanna Spyri
3.5 stars
295 pages

5-year old Heidi, an orphan, has been raised by her aunt since she was a baby, but now Heidi’s aunt feels that it’s time Heidi went to live with her grandfather on a mountain in the Swiss Alps. Heidi loves the mountain and the goats who belong to the goatherd neighbour, Peter. Heidi, later, is recruited to go to Frankfurt to be a companion to Clara, who is in a wheelchair. But, oh, she misses her mountain and her grandfather so much!

I remember that I read this as a child, and I loved it! I didn’t remember much about it, except that Heidi lived with her grandfather on a mountain. I remembered nothing else (until the characters were introduced: oh, yeah – Peter the goatherd and Clara, the girl in a wheelchair!). I started off thinking I’d rate this read of it (an audio) 4 stars, I decided on 3.5 (good). I suspect it might have been better to read it, rather than listen; however, fond memories remain. I did enjoy the reminder of what actually happened in the book (although it does seem I missed bits and pieces, here and there – I suspect I wouldn’t have if I’d not listened to the audio).

Cumulative page total = 39,444

Ok, hopes and plans for September:

- Strawberry Shortcake Murder / Joanne Fluke (SeriesCAT, AlphaKIT)
- The Personal History of Rachel Dupree / A.W. (Reading Through Time, AlphaKIT)
- The End of Night / Paul Bogard (RandomCAT)
- Every Note Played / Lisa Genova (CalendarCAT)
- Fables, Vol. 21 / Bill Willingham (CalendarCAT, AlphaKIT)
- The Haunting of Ashburn House / DarcyCoates (ScaredyKIT)
- What the Night Knows / Dean Koontz (ScaredyKIT, AlphaKIT)
- Bury Me Standing / Isabel F. (PBT, AlphaKIT)
- Tracks / Louise Erdrich (PBT)
- Upstream / Sharon Butala (PBT Trim)
- Intolerable / K.al.S. (PBT Horizons)
- Kindred / Octavia Butler (Book club)
- On the Island / Tracy G.G. (Passport Challenge)
- Cannery Row / John Steinbeck (TBRCAT)

Audio:
- Kim / Rudyard Kipling (TBRCAT)

117. Kindred / Octavia Butler
2011 read: 4.5 stars
287 pages

Dana is a 26-year old black woman married to a white man, Kevin. It is 1976. Suddenly, Dana finds herself on a slave plantation in the early 1800s. How did she get here and how does she get home again? Dana is pulled back and forth in time for varying amounts of time as she tries to figure out what's going on. She seems drawn to a white boy, Rufus, son of the plantation owner. Each time Dana is pulled back in time, she learns more and more about how to literally survive in this time, all the while witnessing and being right in the middle of, the horrors of slavery.

This was really good. I was drawn in right away and when I wasn't reading, I wanted to be. One thing that hadn't occurred to me until I was reading about that part was fitting back in to modern-day society after having been in such a radically different time and place for so long. The descriptions of the treatment of the slaves was horrifying and brought it all terrifyingly to life. This is one that did live up to the hype for me, and it will make my favourites list this year.

2019 reread: 5 stars

It’s not very often that a reread will result in a higher rating from me, but this one has. Maybe I’m just in a higher-rating mood, but wow! Warning: there is a lot of violence in this book, but I feel like that was the reality of slavery. And for a “modern-day” (from the 1970s, when the book was first written) woman to experience it… wow!

I read the 25th anniversary edition of the book (I’m pretty sure the same as I read last time), and I’m going to venture a guess (though it’s more tongue-in-cheek; I don’t really think this is why) that I docked the ½ star due to the boring, academically-written Reader’s Guide – it was kind of like an introduction or afterword to a classic (though I was glad it was in there after the book, not as an introduction – I hate those, since they usually give away some of what happens in the book!).

Cumulative page total = 39,731

118. The Accidental Veterinarian: Tales from a Pet Practice / Philipp Schott
4 stars
234 pages

The author is a veterinarian in Manitoba, and this is a memoir of how he became a vet, as well as anecdotes of his practice, including not only the pets/animals he sees, but also the people and behind the scenes, as well. It was originally written as a series of blog posts (or most of the stories, anyway).

I found this really interesting; in addition to the animal stories, he discusses things like costs, diseases, etc. He gives tips on dealing with your vet, as well as dealing with your pet (i.e. giving a pill to your cat!). He also talks about the people he sees. Because it’s written in short “essays”, it moves from one topic to the next quickly, but that didn’t really bother me. I really enjoyed this!

Cumulative page total = 39,965

119. Upstream / Sharon Butala
3.5 stars
251 pages

Chloe is ½ French and ½ English, and she grew up in Saskatchewan. When her husband heads to Scotland to work on his PhD, she discovers he has been having an affair. Not knowing what to do about her marriage, she travels for a bit with a friend, then heads to her father’s French town in Sask. for a while. While there, she learns about being French in Saskatchewan and comes across her grandmother’s diary.

Unfortunately, there were no likable characters in this book. That almost brought my rating down to 3 stars (ok). However, I got much more interested in the second half of the book when Chloe started reading her grandmother’s diary – about having to move from Quebec to Saskatchewan and starting over in an English province (though in a French town). I am not French, but I grew up in a small, primarily French, town in Saskatchewan, so I found this really interesting: the history of the Fransaskois (French-Saskatchewanians). The town this was set in was not near the town I grew up in, but it was close to Batoche, famous for the battle during the Rebellion where Louis Riel was defeated.

Cumulative page total = 40,216

120. Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes / Kamal Al-Solaylee
4 stars
171 pages

The author was born in Yemen in the 1960s. He was the youngest of 11 siblings and was only 3 years old when the family moved to Beirut (Lebanon), then not long after, they moved to Cairo (Egypt), where he spent his years growing up, and figuring out that he was gay. Most of the family eventually headed back to Yemen, but long before then, Kamal knew he had to get out of the Middle East. He yearned to go to England or the US, where he felt he would be able to be himself and not hide. He managed a scholarship to study in England, and from there, he eventually made his way to Canada.

This covered the 1960s (when the people of Yemen and Egypt were relatively free and not so constrained by religion) up to and including 2011. As Kamal yearned to leave, he hated to leave his mother and sisters behind, the way women were being treated by the time he got out. Some of his brothers had gone fervently religious, too much for Kamal’s liking. He tried to not look back on his life there, and even speaking to his family was difficult, as he was still hiding who he really was and it reminded him of how bad things were in the country he was born in. As things got worse in the Middle East, and in Yemen in particular with a civil war happening in 2011, he did seek out news from home.

This was really good. It was also very interesting, to read the cultural differences between the Middle Eastern countries he lived in and the Western countries. As a Canadian myself, it was really nice to see how accepted he was in Canada (Toronto, though I am from the West), regardless of his nationality and his sexual orientation. Completely not book-related, but as someone who has taken bellydance classes off and on, I had to take a brief break from reading to look up a famous Egyptian bellydancer his father hired to perform at one of his sisters’ weddings.

Cumulative page total = 40,387

I will finish my current audio tomorrow, so had to find another as my next one:

A Mother's Reckoning / Sue Klebold

121. The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light / Paul Bogard
4 stars
300 pages

The author of this book travels to various places around the world – some are the brightest places and some are the darkest places. He is trying to find the best ways to get back to some natural darkness, and not let light pollution take over our world.

There is a scale to measure darkness (from 1-9, 1 being the darkest), and I liked that he numbered his chapters in reverse, as he started at the brighter places (Las Vegas, brightest in the world! And Paris, City of Lights), and made his way to darker places, as he continued on. He not only discussed the light or darkness of each place, and of course, the resulting lack of stars that can be seen, he also talked about crime (some light helps, but more and more light doesn’t make a difference), and also the effect of perpetual light at night on humans’ health, not just due to sleepyness for those who work at night, but also cancer. Of course, there was discussion of other animals, as well, who rely on night and darkness.

I found this very interesting. I love looking at the stars and miss being in a rural area in order to actually see the stars (or more than the very few I can see in the city I now live in). I love to be out at my parents’ cabin in the summers when I visit, and I can see the Milky Way and pick out so many constellations when I’m out there.

Cumulative page total = 40,687

>162 LibraryCin: Instant wishlisting! Why have I never heard of this book? A few years ago we did the walk up Mt Sinai to be able to watch the dawn from the peak, but oh! that night sky!

>163 haydninvienna: And I can't recall where I heard of the book, either. It was published in 2013, so it's been a few years already.

And, oh that walk sounds beautiful!

122. Kim / Rudyard Kipling
1.5 stars
286 pages

Kim is an orphan. Apparently, this is 19th century India. This is all I know.

What’s a baboo? What’s a lama? (I know Dalai Lama is a title, but I still don’t know what a lama is.) Mack Boob. Mack Bow Valley (or Mack Bow Bally?) - these are what might have been names (or what sounded like it on the audio). Thou and thee. I heard these words over and over. Beyond that, nothing registered. It just didn’t interest me enough to keep my attention… not even a little bit. I did catch, at the very start, that Kim was an orphan. That’s it. That’s all I know. It got an extra .5 because I didn’t hate it. I didn’t hate it because I wasn’t paying attention. Hate is strong.

Cumulative page total = 40,973

>164 LibraryCin: We were staying in Sharm al-Sheikh on the coast of Sinai and did the tour from there to the mountain, which takes all night—drive to the foot of the mountain, walk up it in the dark over rocks (no lights), and watch the sun come up, then go down a different way to the St Catherine monastery for breakfast. The monastery has what is supposed to be the original Burning Bush out of which God spoke to Moses.

ETA I have actually ordered the book.

>166 haydninvienna: Wow! Sounds amazing!

>166 haydninvienna: That does sound absolutely amazing. Keep your distance from that bush:)

>168 Carol420: It's in an enclosure, and it doesn't seem to be particularly fiery at the moment. The mountain, and the monastery, are both places I would go back to in a heartbeat, but unfortunately the Islamists have been active in the Sinai since we were there and the area is now regarded as unsafe. The monastery itself is probably safe because the Prophet (peace be upon him) is supposed to have placed it under his special protection.

123. What the Night Knows / Dean Koontz. 4.5 stars
4.5 stars
402 pages

When John was a kid, his entire family was murdered. He killed the murderer. His family was the last of four families to be murdered at the time. John is now married with kids of his own and is a cop. 20 years later and another family is murdered, seemingly by the 14-year old son. But there are too many similarities to the first of the four family murders 20 years earlier for there to be a coincidence…

I really liked this. It drew me in immediately. It did slow down in the middle (but in part, I also think that’s because I had shorter amounts of time that I could sit and read; I would have liked to sit for longer periods of time for this book), and it picked up again at the end. It is horror, it is violent. I found many parts of it, especially at the start, very creepy (which I love, but wasn’t great to be reading right before bed, which I mostly was for this one!). Definitely creepy...

Cumulative page total = 41,375

124. Homes: A Refugee Story / Abu Bakr al Rabeeah & Winnie Leong
4 stars
134 pages

Abu Bakr (or Bakr) was born in Iraq and his family (mom, dad, 5 sisters, 2 brothers + extended family) moved to Syria when he was 9 years old in 2010. Not long after, a civil war started, so the family was living with gun fire, bombs, and raidings on a regular basis. They had to always carry their id with them. Their father, in the meantime, was working on getting the entire family out of the country as refugees, but this took 4 long years. Bakr enlisted the help of one of his English teachers after he and his family arrived in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to help him write his story.

What a scary way to live. And I’m impressed that a still young boy (17 years old when this was published) managed to get this story out there and so well-received. His teacher, the woman who helped him write the book, also talked to the rest of his family for their perspective on the stories he told. She also confirmed the real events that he told her about.

Learned about something I didn’t think about with refugees – how lonely it is. At least for Bakr and his family; the extended family did not come with them to Canada, and they had such a large space that they weren’t used to. His friends (and cousins) were still back in Syria, and it was (of course) very difficult for them all with the language barrier when they first arrived.

Cumulative page total = 41,509

125. The Personal History of Rachel Dupree / Ann Weisgarber
3.5 stars
322 pages

Rachel is a black woman who married Isaac, on a deal to get land in South Dakota. Fourteen years later and five kids with one more on the way (and two in the ground), and they are suffering the worst drought, and don’t know how they will survive. It’s 1917, as they struggle, and it’s even more difficult due to being the only black family for miles.

This was good. They may have been the only black family, but there were “Indians” nearby; Isaac hates the Indians, so Rachel took her cue from her husband (though she would need the help of one of the women later on). I especially liked the way it ended, and would love for there to be a sequel, as I’d love to know what happens next!

Cumulative page total = 41,831

Next up, my book club book for October:
- The Perfect Nanny / LS

126. A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy / Sue Klebold
4 stars
305 pages

Sue Klebold was Dylan Klebold’s mother. Dylan was one of the two Columbine High School shooters in April 1999. He and his friend Eric killed 15 people (14 students and 1 teacher) and injured 24 others in their rampage before shooting themselves. Sue has had to figure out how to deal with the fact that, not only did her son kill himself, he killed and hurt others before he did it. She was blindsided. The parents were often blamed; there were lawsuits. I listened to the audio, which she narrated herself.

She starts off the day it happened. She and her husband, Tom, knew there was a shooting at school, but knew nothing else (for sure) until late that evening. They were kept out of their house while the police searched, meanwhile not knowing if Dylan was alive, and only going on rumors that Dylan was involved somehow. Coming to terms with the aftermath took a long time. The son she knew and raised was not someone who could have done such a thing. Obviously, Dylan hid his troubles well. Though the book started off well for me, and most of the book continued that way, the very end lagged a bit. Sue does work now, trying to help people see the signs of suicide and to be able to see the difference between normal teenage behaviour and potential suicidal behaviour – have to admit that that’s where I wasn’t quite as interested.

Cumulative page total = 42,136

127. The Perfect Nanny / Leila Slimani
3.5 stars
217 pages

When Myriam decides it’s time to head back to work (after having two children, Mila and Adam), she and her husband, Paul, hire a nanny. Louise seems perfect. She’s not only great with the kids, but she stays late, cooks, and cleans, too! But something goes very wrong.

So, the first chapter started with (first chapter, not a spoiler) discovering the murdered children, then backs up to see how we got to this point. I found the writing a bit stilted. Now, this is a translation, so that could be the culprit. I didn’t like any of the characters (though I felt badly for the kids). I was actually waffling between 3.5 and 4 stars, but the end pulled it down without a doubt. It didn’t completely seem to finish, or if it did, I didn’t get it. Now, from my review, even 3.5 might seem a bit high rating, but I was interested to find out what happened (sadly, the end let me down).

(Now that I’ve written my review, I’ve read a few others, and I feel like lowering my rating because obviously other people were seeing things in the book and in Louise that I just didn’t!)

Cumulative page total = 42,353

128. Fables, Vol. 21. Happily Ever After / Bill Willingham
3.5 stars
197 pages

******Possible SPOILER for earlier volumes*******
Bigby is back (sort of) but on a rampage.
******END SPOILER******
Magic is no longer concealing Fabletown (and, in particular, a castle) from the residents of New York City. We are gearing up for a battle between the sisters, Snow White and Rose Red.

Well, I wouldn’t say this lives up to “happily ever after”! There is one more volume to go. As usual, there are lots of different stories going on in this one volume, so I enjoyed some stories better than others. I found one story particularly interesting, as we learn of Snow and Rose’s mother’s story (which extends to their own story). We even had a couple of surprising deaths in this one. Not my favourite, but still a good volume in the series.

Cumulative page total = 42,550

129. Cannery Row / John Steinbeck
3.25 stars
190 pages

Cannery Row is a community and this tells the story of the people in that community, including a Chinese grocer, a marine biologist, and others. (Somehow I missed – until I read summaries after – that everyone in this community is poor; I guess, thinking back, there were plenty of opportunities to see that, but it just didn’t completely register for me.)

Much of the first… half?… of the book was introducing characters. It got better once the characters were introduced and there was a bit of a storyline. The boys all seemed to like to party and didn’t seem to care what got broken. It was kind of entertaining for the last half once a few things actually happened.

Cumulative page total = 42,740

A book came in for me at the library (finally!) that I'd intended on for August. Am starting tonight or tomorrow:
- The Garden of Ruth / Eva Etzioni-Halevy

130. Every Note Played / Lisa Genova
4 stars
259 pages

Richard is a famous concert pianist and, in his mid-40s, has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gherig’s Disease). He starts off by losing the use of his right hand, and has lost “only” (only in comparison to what’s to come) this (so far) when his ex-wife, Karina, learns of his diagnosis. Karina might have also become a famous pianist, if not for her marriage and the arrival of their (now college-aged) daughter, Grace.

What a horrible disease. I can’t even imagine living on my own (as I do) and having to face, little by little, every step that happens with this degenerative disease. And at the same time, completely losing one’s independence. It’s a scary thought – what would I do without someone to care for me, to help me, if it happened to me? At the start, Richard does live alone and has only the help of a few home-care workers, whom he can only afford for about 4 hours per day. I loved one of these workers in the story, though – Bill. These are amazing people, those who care for the terminally ill, and with diseases where bit-by-bit, someone else needs to help with every single thing. And to go through it all, over and over again, with different people.

Have to admit, though, that I didn’t (at least for the first bit of the book) like either Richard or Karina. Of course, we learn more about them, their relationship, their histories, and how they ended up where they are as the story goes on.

Hard to imagine it being me… hard to imagine it being a loved one… even hard to think about those amazing people who look after those with ALS day after day, even if not a loved one, but to help multiple people and go through it with each of them over and over.

Cumulative page total = 42,999

Looking at October (though I still have a few to figure out):

- Vanishing Girl / Shane Peacock (RandomCAT)
- The Magician's Lie / Greer Macallister (AlphaKIT, TBRCAT)
- All Clear / Connie Willis (SeriesCAT)
- Dinosaur Lake 2 / Kathryn Meyer Griffin (AlphaKIT, ScaredyKIT, CalendarCAT)
- Saga of the Swamp Thing / Alan Moore (ScaredyKIT)
- The Cuckoo's Calling / Robert Galbraith (Passport Challenge, PBT, AlphaKIT)
- Babylon's Ark / Lawrence Anthony (Passport Challenge)
- Madame Millie / Max Evans (PBT Trim)
- Born of Deception / Teri Brown (SeriesCAT, AlphaKIT)
- The Great Train Robbery / Michael Crichton (PBT)
- Beneath a Scarlet Sky / M S (Reading Through Time)
- Fantasticland / Mike B (PBT Fall Flurry)

- ?? (PBT Horizons)

131. The Garden of Ruth / Eva Etzioni-Halevy
3.5 stars
294 pages

Osnath has come to Bethlehem at 15-years old and falls for two brothers, Eliab and David. While there, she is intrigued by the mystery surrounding Eliab and David’s ancestor (and I think, also in some way, her own ancestor), Ruth. It takes her a while to uncover Ruth’s story, while she is torn between the two men.

So, this is about the Biblical Ruth, and how her story may have come to be written. Actually, the first half of the book mostly focuses on Osnath, and the second half on Ruth. I don’t know the Bible – even less the Old Testament – but I did recognize a few names: Ruth; Samuel, a prophet; David (though I didn’t recognize him until Goliath was mentioned!). There were probably a few others. I didn’t remember it, but Osnath’s grandmother, Pninah, is one of the main characters in The Song of Hannah, also written by Etzioni-Halevy.

Anyway, I thought this was good, both women’s stories. A lot of jumping in between men’s beds (for both Osnath and Ruth!), though not in detail, but the story was still interesting. As always, I appreciate the historical note that was added in at the end.

Cumulative page total = 43,293

132. All Clear / Connie Willis
4 stars
649 pages

In this continuation of “Blackout”, it picks up exactly where the first book leaves off.
******POSSIBLE SPOILERS for “Blackout”******

Eileen, Polly and Mike have found each other in London in 1941 during the Blitz. They are still trying to figure out how to get back home to 2060, since their drops won’t open.
******END POSSIBLE SPOILERS******
It is coming close to the time where Polly won’t know where and when the bombs are landing, and after that, things will be far more dangerous for them. In addition, Polly has a deadline. One of her earlier assignments had her travel back to VE-Day in 1945, so her 1941 self has to be gone so there is no overlap.

It has only been a couple of months, I think, since I read “Blackout”, so the events weren’t too far away in my head. However, the first 1/3 of the book or so wasn’t as interesting as it got to be later in the book. Have to admit, for how much I disliked Alf and Binnie, they were some good comic relief, at times! Still loved Sir Godfrey. I liked how the book wrapped up, though I was still left with one question from one hint of something at the very end, so I’m not quite sure I understood that one little bit. Didn’t like this one quite as much as the first, though. Still, overall, really liked it.

Cumulative page total =43,942

133. Strawberry Shortcake Murder / Joanne Fluke
3 stars
320 pages

This is the second book in the series. Hannah is involved in a tv “bake off” when one of the judges is murdered. Since the judge was abusive toward his wife, Hannah’s friend, it appears that the wife did it, but Hannah wants to prove that her friend is innocent.

I listened to the audio, and overall, I’d say it was ok. To be honest, nothing was super-appealing about this one, and I think I’ll probably stop the series here. Nothing was really wrong with it, either, but just not appealing enough for me to keep going.

Cumulative page total = 44,262

Next audio:
Rise of the Rocket Girls / Nathalia Holt

134. Vanishing Girl / Shane Peacock
3 stars
208 pages

A young Sherlock Holmes wants to prove himself worthy of one day working for Scotland Yard, so he sets out to solve the kidnapping of a young rich girl. In doing so, he is also in a race to beat his rival for Irene Doyle’s affections, the young criminal, Malefactor, who Irene has also tasked with solving the crime.

This was ok. It’s another series where I think I will not continue with, though. There were interesting parts, but overall not enough to keep my interest throughout, nor enough to make me want to pick up the next book.

Cumulative page total = 44,470

135. The Cuckoo's Calling / Robert Galbraith
3.5 stars
435 pages

Strike is a Private Investigator, and not doing well. He and his fiancee have split up and he is sleeping at the office… the office where he is at a point where he may not be able to make any more payments to keep it open. On the same day the temp secretary, Robin, walks in (by mistake, as Strike had intended on cancelling the temp), Strike gets a job to investigate the suicide of a lawyer’s sister. John, the lawyer, doesn’t believe it was suicide.

This was good. There were parts that lost my interest just a little bit. I think sometimes the “hard-boiled” (darker, grittier) mysteries don’t always keep my interest as much as other mysteries (maybe not always). This may have been one of those. Overall, though, I still thought it was good. I am planning to try the next in the series, so I’ll continue for now.

Cumulative page total = 44,905

I have a couple additional not in the original October plan (came in at the library - one early, one late):

- On the Island / Tracy G G (Sept Passport challenge)
- The Power / Naomi Alderman (Nov book club)

136. Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 1 / Alan Moore
3 stars
208 pages

It seemed like I was missing something right at the start! I guess this only started with Swamp Thing #21, when Alan Moore took over the writing of it. Oops! Didn’t realize. And didn’t really know the story. It did seem to back up a bit after the opening bit to explain, and I found the explanation of how the Swamp Thing came to be quite interesting. The rest of the book was ok. I don’t think I’ll continue the series.

Cumulative page total = 45,113

Another addition (should have been in my original plan, but missed mentioning it; it's a Netgalley book, so I need to get to it asap!):

- The Dead Girls Club / Damien Angelica Walters (Fall Flurries)

137. On the Island / Tracey Garvis Graves
4 stars
328 pages

Anna is a teacher and uses the summers to find work tutoring. She is hired to tutor 16-year old T.J. T.J. has just recovered from a cancer diagnosis and missed a lot of school. He needs to catch up, but his family is whisking them all away to an island for the summer, where the tutoring will happen. Anna and T.J. follow the rest of his family on a later flight, when the pilot suffers a heart attack and they are stranded somewhere amongst the many islands of the Maldives.

I really liked this. The chapters alternated between Anna and T.J., which was a bit confusing at first (even though the start of the chapter tells you whose POV it is), but it didn’t take long before I was ok with it. It was a fast read – read in one day. Short chapters. I could say more, but there are just too many spoilery things – beware of other reviews, as many do include what I would consider to be spoilers.

Cumulative page total = 45,441

138. Born of Deception / Teri Brown
4 stars
213 pages

Anna, a young magician and medium, has just arrived in London from New York. She is hoping to get connected with a society of Sensitives, where she hopes to meet people like her, and to get advice on using her powers. At the same time, she manages to find a job with a group doing a vaudeville-like tour of Europe. Shortly after she arrives, though, a couple of the sensitives turn up murdered.

I really enjoyed this. I was sure frustrated with Anna and Cole and their lack of communication? Understanding of each other? (Sadly, it’s been a few days since I finished, so I’m already forgetting details of how I felt about the book!) I did like the cowboy (part of the touring show Anna becomes a part of) – he was a fun addition. Although, not quite as good as the first book, I still enjoyed the atmosphere of this one. As YA, it was also a fast read.

Cumulative page total = 45,654

139. Rise of the Rocket Girls / Nathalia Holt
3 stars
338 pages

This book follows some of the human calculators who worked for NASA (and the precursor to NASA), starting in the 1940s up to and including the 21st century. It follows both their work and their home lives. Of course, at their work early on, it was mostly women who were the calculators, while men were the engineers. As women of the time, they were expected to leave when/if they got married, then pregnant.

I listened to the audio and my interest came and went. What I paid attention to was interesting. As we got closer to current times, with my (for a while) interest in astronomy, it was fun to read about some of those space missions that I remember. Well, the first one I really remember wasn’t a “fun” one, Challenger in 1986, but some of the later ones were: Hubble Space Telescope, Spirit and Opportunity (sent to Mars to take photos and explore; intended on only lasting 1 year on the planet, but lasted 5 and 10 years instead!), and more. Oh, I also enjoyed the one little tidbit of info about Jupiter’s moon Io (which I named my current oldest cat after) – apparently it is filled with volcanoes.

Cumulative page total = 45,992

Found a fun Halloween-type audio to listen to.

It's called Appointment with Fear, which was a BBC radio show in the 1940s! They have 4 of the 10 radio dramatizations, at a half hour each. I've already listened to three of them.

I may hold on to the last one until I'm doing housework next week. I hate chopping up short stories on audio using my 5 or 10 minute walks to/from transit.

And I've picked out another audio to listen to during the week:
- Dead By Sunset / Ann Rule

140. The Dead Girls Club / Damien Angelica Walters
4 stars
583 pages

When Heather was 12-years old, she was best friends with Becca. Rachel and Gia rounded out their group of friends, and the one summer they called themselves the “Dead Girls Club”, as they discussed serial killers and Becca told the other girls the story of the “Red Lady”, a witch who was horribly murdered, but maybe wasn’t actually dead.

Almost 30 years later, Heather begins receiving things in the mail that remind her of that awful summer – the summer she killed her best friend (not a spoiler – it is revealed very early on in the book). Who could be sending these things!? Who even knew what happened that night?

I really liked this. It pulled me in and kept me wanting to read. It turned out to be a pretty fast read. It is told alternating between Then and Now, as the reader slowly learns what happened that summer, while at the same time trying to figure out who has contacted Heather now. Yes, I was surprised by a couple of twists at the end. Maybe some will figure it out (at least one of the twists), but it never occurred to me! And, there were a few creepy parts, so fitting for an October read.

Cumulative page total = 46,575

142. Appointment With Fear / Valentine Dyall
3.75 stars
(~144 pages - I could only find page numbers for one of the stories, so I just multiplied by 4, as each of the episode was the same length)

This is a BBC radio show that aired in the 1940s. This audio book features four of the programs that aired: “The Pit and the Pendulum”, “The Clock Strikes Eight” “The Sleeping Clock”, and “And the Deep Shuddered”.

I read “The Pit and the Pendulum” in high school, so I remember the gist of it. The other stories were new to me. I enjoyed this. I like these radio shows and dramatic productions of stories. I liked the “Deep Shuddered” one, as well as one of the “Clock” ones (but I can’t remember which was the one I liked better; one ran right after the other, so I’m not sure which was which!). Really, they were all entertaining. I’m giving it the extra ¼ star for the radio dramatization.

Cumulative page total = 46,719

Looks like I missed posting my #141 "The Power" by Naomi Alderman. Will try to remember to come back and do that in the next couple of days.

143. Dead by Sunset: Perfect Husband, Perfect Killer / Ann Rule
4 stars
~272 pages

Charming Brad Cunningham likely killed his 4th wife Cheryl in 1986. They had three sons, and were in the midst of a divorce and custody battle. Brad was an abuser. He was eventually convicted via circumstantial evidence.

I listened to an abridged audio. I usually don’t like abridged (and I still wonder why they bother! Why not just narrate the entire book!?), but they did this one well. I usually notice when information is skipped or missed, but I didn’t notice this time while listening – it wasn’t obvious. I only suspected because it was much shorter than I expected.

That being said about the audio, it kept my attention pretty much the whole time. It was all circumstantial evidence that convicted Brad, but a whole LOT of it! Because it was written in 1995, just after Brad was originally convicted, I had to look up online if he’d been released since. I’m also curious how his sons are doing. At the time the book was written, it sounded like they were well-cared for, but I still wonder what kind of influence he had on them (hopefully, not much, in the end).

Cumulative page total = 46,991

I'm now just picking up random audio books, from what's available at the library...
Next up:

- The Killer Next Door / Alex

144. Madam Millie: Bordellos from Silver City to Ketchikan / Max Evans
3.5 stars
347 pages

Millie and her sister were orphans in the early 20th century after their parents died within a short time frame. Although, they were in and out of foster homes, they mostly managed to stay together. When Millie’s older sister Florence, got sick, it was suggested she head for someplace dry. They ended up in New Mexico, with Florence in a sanitorium and Millie needed to find a way to make enough money to pay for Florence’s care. It’s how Millie got into prostitution, and not long after, she started buying and running the whorehouses, herself. She married a number of times, but held on to those whorehouses, and added to them.

Millie was feisty, that’s for sure. She was also well-respected. And had a few brushes with the law. I’m not sure she was someone I would like, but it takes all kinds. She has lots of good stories. The book certainly kept my interest. Overall, it was good.

Cumulative page total = 47,338

141. The Power / Naomi Alderman
3 stars
326 pages

Teenaged girls are suddenly waking up to a sort-of electrical current running through them. This gives them extra strength, power, electricity running through them. Roxy is able to get away from men who have come to kill her mother. Allie manages to kill the man who is her foster father, who has been raping her, and she runs away. Tunde is a male reporter. Margot is a mayor who is worried for her daughter, one of the few girls who is not developing this current.

This started off good for me, but the middle lagged. I guess I wasn’t as interested when the girls all went soldier/war-like on the world. Just didn’t find those parts as interesting. I can see that it’s an interesting look on gender role-reversals, though. What would happen if, suddenly, it was mostly women in charge, with all the power. What would happen? Overall, though, I’m rating it ok.

Cumulative page total = 47,664

Hope/plan for November:

- Bury Me Standing / Isabel Fonseca (carry-over; meant for Sept)
- The Calculating Stars / Mary Robinette Kowal (SeriesCAT)
- Shopaholic Ties the Knot / Sophie Kinsella (SeriesCAT, AlphaKIT)
- The 5th Wave / Rick Yancey (AlphaKIT)
- Split Estate / Charlotte Bacon (AlphaKIT, Trim the tbr)
- After Visiting Friends / Michael Hainey (TBRCAT)
- Blaze / Richard Bachman (ScaredyKIT)
- Hillbilly Elegy / JD Vance (RandomCAT)
- Tracks / Lousie Erdrich (CalendarCAT, PBT Horizons)
- The Chalk Man / CJ Taylor (Book club)
- The Persian Pickle Club / Sandra Dallas (PBT, PBT Trim, AlphaKIT)
- The Librarian of Auschwitz / Antonio Iturbe (Reading Through Time)
- ??? (Passport Challenge)

Audio:
- Bloodlands / Europe Between Hitler and Stalin / Timothy Snyder (Fall Flurries, CalendarCAT)

145. Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo / Lawrence Anthony
4.25 stars
249 pages

In 2003, during the war in Iraq, a few hundred animals were abandoned in their cages, unable to fend for themselves, in the Baghdad Zoo. When Lawrence Anthony, conservationist and owner of the Thula Thula animal sanctuary in South Africa saw this on tv, he knew he had to help. He worked as fast as he could to organize everything to be allowed in to Baghdad at this time. He was one of the only foreign civilians allowed in at this time, while war still went on around the city. The zoo had been looted, and most of the animals, by now, had been stolen, either for food or to sell on the black market. The ones that remained were not in good shape. This tells of Lawrence Anthony’s efforts to round others up and to help the remaining animals.

This one pulled me in from the start. Those poor animals. What a nightmare of a time, trying to fix everything up, get water and food for the animals (and the zoo staff who came back to help out – they needed food, too!), trying to keep looters from continually coming back, etc. With gunfire happening here and there all around. Really good book.

Cumulative page total = 47,913

146. Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising / Kathryn Meyer Griffith
4 stars
301 pages

It’s been five years since the park at Crater Lake had to deal with dinosaurs that appeared and were attacking people. Now, they are back! But, not the same dinosaurs – these are different ones, these ones can fly…

I really enjoyed this one, as well. There was a stretch in the middle where it slowed down a bit and we were dealing with the head park ranger’s (Henry’s) wife’s (Ann’s) illness, but it picked up again soon after that. Speaking of Ann, I still quite liked most of the characters (the only ones I didn’t like were very secondary), and I was interested in how things would go for them. Also loved the kitten. :-) I do hope to continue with the series (though, it’s self-published, so a bit trickier to get my hands on).

Cumulative page total = 48,214

147. The Magician's Lie / Greer Macallister
4 stars
343 pages

When famous magician, the Amazing Arden, finishes her show, her husband is found murdered and she runs. A police officer catches up with her and takes her in for questioning. He listens to her life story as she tries to explain and hopes he’ll believe that she didn’t do it. It’s a story of poverty and abuse, and an escape to a life of performance.

The story goes back and forth in time. It’s set between the late 19th century and 1905. I quite enjoyed it, but wasn’t overly crazy about the end. I really liked the setting and the atmosphere of the story. I also love the cover. There was an interview with the author at the end of my copy; I had been wondering as I read, and it was confirmed, that Arden’s magician mentor in the story was a real woman. There really weren’t many women illusionists at the time (nor are there now, I don’t think). One of the events near the end of the story (a fire at a theatre in Chicago) also really happened.

Cumulative page total = 48,557

148. Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey / Isabel Fonseca
3 stars
316 pages

The author is a journalist (she is not an anthropologist, though I had to check that). She spent time in various Eastern European countries in the early ‘90s (this was published in 1995), to talk to and get to know the Romani (aka Gypsies) to learn about their lives and culture. She also talks to other local people to find out their views of the local Roma (usually negative).

Overall, the book was ok. I didn’t learn as much as I thought I might. I have read a book by Ian Hancock, who is Romani himself, and I liked it better. Fonseca was a bit all over the place – the chapters didn’t really tie together. I guess each chapter was in a different country. I think I didn’t like her writing style. She included some photos of some of the various people she talked to. I suppose the most interesting to me was the chapter on the Holocaust. I’m not sure any stereotypes were quenched by reading this – she said it early in the book: they lie, they steal… I found it odd. If she was trying to fight stereotypes (as other reviews are saying), I definitely missed that. Oh, one stereotype broken: they don’t travel, nor necessarily want to always be travelling; they are just so unwelcome in so many places, they don’t have a lot of options. I’m still rating it ok. It held my interest, so that’s a good thing. It just wasn’t what I expected, and I didn’t learn as much as I’d hoped.

Cumulative page total = 48,873

149. Tracks / Louise Erdrich
2 stars
228 pages

This was set in the 1910s, I believe on a Native reserve. Not sure what it was supposed to be about. There was a girl, Fleur, who gambled with the men, then slept with and married someone. There was a nun (or maybe that was a different woman, not the nun?), who seemed to have a crush on one of the other women in the story. Other reviews tell me the book was set in North Dakota and about the Native land being taken away. Had no idea.

I was confused. I didn’t “get” it. “I” was used in the book, but part of the time “I” was male and part of the time “I” was female. I wasn’t sure if “I” was switching back and forth somehow or what, but a review I saw said something about there being two narrators, one an old man and one a young woman. Had no idea.

Nanapush was the name(?) of the old man “I”, but I don’t know if it was just a name or if it was meant to represent the native trickster/legend of the same name?

I should probably not bother reading any more of Erdrich’s adult novels, though I have enjoyed a couple of her children’s literature.

Cumulative page total = 49,101

150. The Killer Next Door / Alex Marwood
3.5 stars
392 pages

Cher (Cheryl) is a teenager who has run from the “system”. Vesta is an old woman who has lived where she is all her life. Colette (aka Lisa) is running from someone, for her own safety. Hossein and Thomas also live in the building. The landlord is a creepy, greedy bastard. Nikki used to live in the building but recently left without saying goodbye. They all live in the same cheap, falling-down building. They all have secrets, but one has a secret bigger than all the others.

I listened to the audio, and had a bit of trouble figuring out what was going on at the start. Part of it was that it didn’t grab me and hold my attention right away, and I think part of it was also the number of characters. But, after a bit, I figured out the characters, though I still think I missed a bit of the happenings at the start. The middle of the book was very good, but I got a bit “lost” at the end, as well. I caught some of what happened at the end, but had a bit of trouble figuring out how things were tied up. Overall, though, I liked it.

Cumulative page total = 49,493

151. The Chalk Man / C.J. Tudor
4 stars
277 pages

In 1986, when Eddie was 12, a lot of things happened. He and a new teacher saved a girl who’d been hit by debris when a carnival ride went out of control; his friend (Mickey)’s, brother (someone who had bullied Eddie, and probably other kids, too) died in the river; Eddie, Mickey, and their other friends (two more boys and one girl) started drawing symbols with chalk that meant something only to them; they found a dismembered body in the woods…

In 2016, Eddie and his friends are now 42 years old. Some have left the small town; others, including Eddie, stayed. However, they all received a letter with chalk figures on it. What is going on now?

I really liked this, especially as I was reading. There were a lot of characters, though, and many had nicknames. Somehow, at the start of each time I sat down to read, I got a bit confused as to who was who, and trying to remember what had happened the last time I read. Not sure why I had to much trouble keeping things straight in between readings, but I liked it a lot while I was actually reading it, so I’m leaving it at a 4 star rating.

Cumulative page total = 49,770

152. Hillbilly Elegy / JD Vance
4 stars
257 pages

The author grew up in Kentucky (Appalachia) and Ohio (where his grandparents moved to get away). They were poor. JD’s mother was not much of a mom – she did drugs and went from man to man. JD and his sister often lived with their grandmother, Mamaw, who took care of them. Even still, their entire home/family life included a lot of yelling and insults. But, apparently, this is how a lot of poor Appalachian kids grow up. JD eventually managed to get away, get a good education, and become a lawyer.

This was interesting. In addition to looking back on his own family life, he looks at statistics and some interesting insights about people in the area, their family dynamics and growing up poor. It is impressive that he worked his way up and out of that kind of life. He does credit that to a few members of his family who were good examples – interesting that they all married outside of the Appalachian culture (to, I think, very understanding people!).

Cumulative page total = 50,027

153. The Persian Pickle Club / Sandra Dallas
3.25 stars
197 pages

The story is told from Queenie’s point of view. It is the “dirty thirties”. When city-girl, Rita, moves to Harveyville, Kansas, she is quickly taken in and befriended by the local quilting women, the “Persian Pickle Club”. Rita has married Tom, a man from the town and they have moved back to live with Tom’s family. Queenie quickly befriends Rita, but Rita stays a bit distant. As a budding journalist, Rita is all over the story when a body is found in a field – the man had been gone for over a year.

The book was pretty slow, but did pick up about half-way through when the body was found, and as a few other more exciting/interesting things happened. Overall, it’s all about the women’s friendships. The first half, I was about to rate it 3 stars (ok), but upped it just a bit once it got more interesting in the second half.

Cumulative page total = 50,224

154. The Librarian of Auschwitz / Antonio Iturbe
4 stars
426 pages

Dita was 9-years old when the war started, and 14-years old when she and her parents were brought to Auschwitz. At Auschwitz, for a while, there was a children’s school in Block 31. Dita was soon asked to be the school’s “librarian”. Books were prohibited, but somehow there were 8 books that had been smuggled in. It was a dangerous job, as Dita would have to make sure the books were never discovered by the guards.

Dita was a real person, and the author interviewed her. Many of the additional people were also real – a couple of additional people/situations the author included were people who escaped (one SS guard, and one Jewish boy who was was helping in the camp, so actually was in a “good” position, as compared to some of the others) to try to get help (the SS guard wanted to help one of the prisoners escape, along with her mother, and the Jewish boy wanted to get word out to the international community as to what was really happening in the concentration camps). I quite enjoyed this one, and it was interesting to read about the Block 31 school, the “library”, and the escapees, none of which I’d heard about before (that I recall).

Cumulative page total = 50,650

155. Blaze / Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
3.75 stars
340 pages

Blaze and George are best friends and (mostly) small time criminals. Blaze was abused as a child, and is now a bit “slow”. Unfortunately, after beginning to plan their biggest crime, George passed away, but Blaze wants to go it alone (with George in his head, egging him on). Blaze is about to kidnap a baby…

The book actually goes back and forth in time, so we also see how Blaze grew up, first abused by his father, then in a home for orphaned boys. I didn’t find the back story quite as interesting as the current-day kidnapping. Well, I found Blaze more interesting as he was younger and a teen, with his best friend (and his only other friend besides George, ever), Johnny, more interesting, but it was less so once Blaze met George (at least for me). The end of the story was really good, though, and had me eagerly turning pages to find out how things would end. Waffling between 3.5 and 4 stars (good and really good), I did not come to a decision and averaged it out.

Cumulative page total = 50,990

156. Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin / Timothy Snyder
3 stars
544 pages

This book looks at Stalin’s Soviet Union and Hitler’s political policies, mostly in the years leading up to and including the 2ndWorld War. Stalin took over many of the Baltic states, and – via policy – starved many of the peasants in the Ukraine: even as they were growing food for others, they were left to starve. I didn’t know any of this, so this part was particularly interesting to me. Both Stalin and Hitler wanted to take over Poland, and of course, we ended up with the Holocaust and World War II.

I feel like I would have liked this better if I hadn’t listened to the audio. I was afraid right from the start, though, when I heard the voice. Male voice (already a bad sign for me), and I’m sure I recognized it from another audio that didn’t hold my attention. There were parts that did, though, particularly about the starvation of the people in the Ukraine. Overall, I’m considering it ok.

Cumulative page total = 51,534

157. The 5th Wave / Rick Yancey
4 stars
460 pages

Not long after the aliens invaded, Cassie’s mom got sick and died. Later on, she, her dad, and her brother were gathered with others when they were rounded up. The kids were taken to “safety” on a school bus and everyone else… well, Cassie escaped. She had promised Sammy she’d come for him, and she must do that. But, it’s hard to know whom to trust when she needs help. Meanwhile, kids are being trained for a war to fight the invasion.

I’ve given away a bit more than the blurb on the book, but I don’t think it’s too much information. There are the two separate storylines that we follow in the book, so I wanted to mention both. I really liked this. Even as we get to know characters, it’s hard to tell if they are trustworthy or not – the author does a good job of that, I think. It got better in the last little bit, and I just wanted to keep turning pages. Of course, it’s a series, so I will – at some point – be picking up the next one.

Cumulative page total = 51,994

158. The Calculating Stars / Mary Robinette Kowal
3.5 stars
431 pages

It’s 1952. Elma and her husband Nathaniel are out of town, when they see a ridiculously bright light. It doesn’t take long before engineer Nathaniel and calculator Elma figure out that a meteor has hit and likely wiped out a good portion of the population of the East Coast, which is where they would have been had they not been on a weekend getaway. Elma then calculates that the Earth’s temperature will drop, then rise catastrophically, though it will take years. Humans need to see if they can create a colony somewhere on another planet. Oddly, only men are initially chosen to go into space. Elma (formerly a WASP who flew during WWII), and her friends fight to be considered to the space program.

The meteorite hitting and the resulting confusion started this book off with a “bang”, so to speak! It caught my attention right away, and I was hooked. It definitely slowed down in the middle, but there was plenty of sexism and racism going on (it was the 50s!) to keep things “interesting”. Overall, I enjoyed it, and I will be continuing the series.

Cumulative page total = 52,425

Currently reading two I originally hadn't planned on:

- Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul
- The Girls with No Names / Serena Burdick

159. Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul / Jack Canfield, et al.
3.5 stars
384 pages

I think everyone knows what the “Chicken Soup” books are – little “feel good” stories on whatever the topic is for that book. Mostly, these were good while I read them, but I’ve also already forgotten most of them. There is one I will definitely remember – the cat (he is ok, and we are told that at the beginning of the story) who got his head stuck in the garburator! While reading, I had planned on 3.5 stars (good), but only a day later, I can only remember the one story. I will stick with how I felt about the book while reading (which is usually how I rate, anyway).

Cumulative page total = 52,809

Hopes and dreams to finish off the year. We'll see how many I manage in December...

- My Secret Sister / Helen Edwards (AlphaKIT, RandomCAT)
- Emily / Elle Klass (AlphaKIT, RandomCAT)
- The Right to be Cold /Sheila Watt-Cloutier (RandomCAT, CalendarCAT, Fall Flurries, AlphaKIT)
- Iced In / Chris Turney (CalendarCAT, PBT Trim, Reading Through Time, Fall Flurries?)
- Wolf By Wolf / Ryan Graudin (SeriesCAT)
- Small Great Things / Jodi Picoult (TBRCAT)
- Fantasticland / Mike B (ScaredyKIT)
- Black Rose / Nora Roberts (PBT)
- The Shah / Abbas M (Passport Challenge)

Audio:
- Landline / Rainbow Rowell (CalendarCAT, AlphaKIT)
- The Thorn Birds / Colleen McCullough

160. The Girls With No Names / Serena Burdick
3.75 stars
336 pages

Effie and Luella are sisters. On Jan 1, 1900, Effie was born with a heart defect and they didn’t think she’d live long. She has, however, made it to 14 years old when the two sisters discover the gypsies living nearby. Luella, being a risk-taker, convinces Effie to come with her to visit regularly. When Luella disappears, Effie needs to find her! Effie is convinced her parents found out about the gypsies and have deposited Luella into the nearby “home” for wayward girls, the House of Mercy. Effie comes up with a plan to get in, herself, in order to be reunited with Luella.

The summary I’ve provided is actually the slower part of the book, in my opinion. It really picked up after Effie got into the House of Mercy. Right around that point in the book (maybe half-way through?), the perspective changes away from Effie, and we sometimes get her mother’s perspective, and sometimes the perspective of another girl at the House of Mercy, along with her background/story. I thought this is where the book really picked up, and I enjoyed the second half more. It was interesting to learn of the House of Mercy (which was real), and the kinds of things that went on in “homes” like this. Also interesting was a big event worked in to the storyline, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. I could see it coming, with a few of the characters working there… As always, I appreciated the historical note at the end.

Cumulative page total = 53,145

161. Small Great Things / Jodi Picoult
4 stars
471 pages

Ruth has been a nurse for over 20 years and is good at her job. She works in Labor and Delivery and when she takes over from another nurse to start checking over a newborn, she notices an iciness from the parents. When she notices the Nazi tattoo on the father, Turk, it’s not long before Turk and Brit ask for their baby to not be handled by the black nurse. In order to keep things calm and smooth, Ruth’s boss grants their wish and asks Ruth not to handle their baby. Unfortunately, when circumstances leave Ruth alone with the baby and something goes wrong, what is she to do…? Next thing you know, Turk and Brit have accused Ruth of murdering their baby.

I really liked this. Oh, Turk and Brit were so hateful! The perspective changed between Ruth, Turk, and the public defender who became Ruth’s lawyer, Kennedy. Kennedy provided a very interesting perspective as a white woman who never saw herself as racist, but through Ruth sees how many little things that white people take for granted that don’t even bring a second thought, when it’s so different if you are black. Picoult does have a note at the end where she does address her, as a white woman, writing from the point of view of Ruth, a black woman.

Cumulative page total = 53,616

162. The Right to be Cold / Sheila Watt-Cloutier
3.5 stars
248 pages

Sheila Watt-Cloutier was born in a Northern Quebec Inuit community and raised by her mother and her grandmother. She was sent away to school in Churchill, and (mostly) enjoyed her time there. She later married, had kids, and went back and forth between her home in Northern Quebec and the southern part of the province.

Eventually, she would become an activist; she is most commonly associated with environmental activism, but really she is an activist for her Inuit culture, for education and health care, and yes, for the environment and climate change, and how it is currently affecting the Inuit culture and lifestyle. They are seeing the effects of climate change now, and they feel that they deserve “the right to be cold” – they need that cold – in order to sustain their traditional culture.

This was good. I expected more of the environmental aspect in the book (and a lot of that did come in the 2nd half), but actually ended up enjoying the biographical part of the book best. Much of the 2nd half of the book included her travels to various conferences and counsels to tell the story of the Inuit to put a “human face” on the environmental crisis in the Arctic. Surprising to me, I just didn’t find that part as interesting. Overall, though, I liked it.

Cumulative page total = 53,864

163. Landline / Rainbow Rowell
3 stars
320 pages

When Georgie decides she needs to stay home and work over the Christmas holiday (she’s a script writer and she has a deadline to get multiple new scripts done for her dream show in a short time), her husband takes their two daughters to his “home” in Nebraska for the holiday. Georgie has trouble getting ahold of her husband on the phone, but does manage on her mom’s landline. BUT, it appears that the Neal she has gotten ahold of is not her current husband; the Neal on the other end of the landline is the Neal she knew before she married him… she is talking to the Neal from 15 years ago!

Both main characters were very unlikable. Neal did not come off as a nice person, at all, in my opinion, and Georgie was such a whiner and acted like she was still a teenager, all angsty over the holiday separation. I also had a hard time, at times, figuring out if we were in current day or flashing back to when they were both younger or if it was current-day Georgie talking on the landline to younger Neal. I listened to the audio, which was fine and held my attention, but overall I was disappointed. Even still, I’m rating it ok, but I think I liked the premise more than the execution of it.

Cumulative page total = 54,184

Changed my mind on the next audio. Instead:

Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates / Mary...

164. Black Rose / Nora Roberts
3 stars
268 pages

Roz is running a gardening business out of her home and has hired Mitch to help investigate who might be the ghost that has been in her historical home all her life. She suspects one of her ancestors, but wants to find out for sure.

This is the second book in a series (trilogy, I think). Unfortunately, it took me about 2/3 of the book to figure out who most the supporting characters were (though two of them would have been the main characters in the first book; I just remembered nothing about it!). Even after figuring out most of the characters, there were still a few that confounded me until the end. Anyway, I’m rating the book ok. The ghost story is the interesting part of the story. The romance – meh. Roz, I think, was 47 years old (my age), but to me, for some reason, I pictured her in her 60s! I’m not sure if I’ll read the last book or not, although I am curious to find out more about the ghost.

Cumulative page total = 54,452

165. The Shah / Abbas Milani
2.5 stars
445 pages

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the last Shah (king) of Iran. He ruled for 37 years, starting during the Second World War, and continued until the Islamic Revolution in 1979. In some ways, he was trying to modernize Iran (religious freedom, women’s rights), but he resisted democratizing the country.

I found much of it dry. There was a lot of politics, attempts to oust the Prime Minister and vice versa, foreign negotiations with the USA and Britain. There wasn’t as much biography as I was expecting; it was more political history than anything. It was long; technically, under 500 pages, but the font was very small, so it took longer to read than I’d hoped. There was a lot of information I didn’t know about Iran, so I did learn some things. I do feel like some photos would have been nice to be included in the book, but there were none.

Cumulative page total = 54,897

166. Wolf by Wolf / Ryan Graudin
3.75 stars
385 pages

What if the Axis had won World War II? Yael was a little girl and had been one of the medical subjects in one of the concentration camps. What they did was inject her with something to make her appear more Aryan. Turns out she could do more than appear Aryan after a while – she could “skinshift” to look like anyone else. Because of this, she was able to escape, and years later, in 1956 when she is 17-years old, she is part of the resistance and she has a mission – she is impersonating a girl motorcycle racer. Once she wins, she’ll have access to Hitler…

This one took a bit for me to get “into” it, but once it got going, I thought it was good. We go back and forth in time from current day Yael in the resistance to young Yael in the concentration camp and everything leading up to how she got to her current mission. There was a good twist at the end and it is a series (or maybe trilogy?), so I will continue.

Cumulative page total = 55,282

167. Iced In: Ten Days Trapped on the Edge of Antarctica / Chris Turney
4 stars
305 pages

The author, Chris Turney, gathered together many people in 2013/2014, mostly scientists, to travel to Antarctica to do some research. Antarctica is a dangerous place, as the weather and ice conditions can change in a heartbeat. This group was lucky enough to start off with a number of good weather and ice days, but things quickly changed on Christmas Eve and they ended up locked in by ice.

This was really good. Turney also recounts Ernest Shakleton’s story of being trapped 100 years earlier, so he goes back and forth between his crew and Shakleton’s. As the leader of the expedition, and impressed by how Shakleton had handled things in his time, Turney made decisions based on “what would Shakleton do?”. It’s a different world now, though, as compared to during Shakleton’s time when no one knew what had become of Shakleton and his crew. With Turney’s group, they kept in connection via radio, satellite phone, social media, and were able to call in for help. Even still, there were times where things were dicey, and they really weren’t sure when or if they’d be able to get everyone out safely.

Cumulative page total = 55,587

168. FantasticLand / Mike Bockoven
4 stars
272 pages

When a hurricane ravishes Florida, amusement park FantasticLand is left on its own for a while, as it’s a bit further inland, plus there is plenty of food to keep the few hundred staff who stayed behind going for quite a while. Most of the staff is young, in their late teens or early twenties. Little do they know on the outside that the staff have turned savage and are killing each other…

We actually hear about the aftermath at the start of the story. The book is in the form of interviews, looking back at what happened. The start of the book is interviews with people about the storm itself and the people ready to go in to help, and the preparations within the park for disasters. The main part/middle of the book is interviews with the staff left behind in the park, as we get a look at how things went bad and the things that actually happened in the park while they were cut off from the outside world. The interviews at the end were with people associated with the rescue and aftermath.

This was very suspenseful, though a little slow to get started, as it took a bit to find out what was going on inside. Every chapter was interviewing a different person, so there were a lot of characters to remember, but it gave insight into a bunch of different perspectives. Very creepy at times. But, for those who like creepy and horror, it’s one you want to keep reading.

Cumulative page total = 55,859

169. Emily: Evan's Girls / Elle Klass
3 stars
103 pages

Emily was adopted when she was young enough that she doesn’t remember her biological family. She is happy and isn’t interested in learning about them. All she knows is that they died in a car crash. As she grows up, though, she overhears discussions that make her wonder, though she never questions it. However, things get dangerous for her as an adult once she is married and has a family of her own.

I really liked the first ¾ of the book, but it took an odd turn and I wasn’t crazy about the ending. This was book 2 in a series; I “won” the book in a giveaway without realizing there was a book 1, so I hadn’t read it. Up until the end, I don’t think I needed to, but the main character (based on the title of book 1) does make an appearance at the end. Since I found the ending, not just odd, but somewhat confusing, I wonder if it would have been better to have read the first one first? Either way, up until the end, I thought I was going to (go back and read book 1), but the odd turn the ending took just didn’t… I just didn’t like it, so I don’t think I’ll plan to read the first one (nor will I plan to read the 3rd). I still gave it an “ok” rating, though, as I did really liked most of the book.

Cumulative page total = 55,962

170. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light / Patrick McGilligan
3.5 stars
818 pages

Alfred Hitchcock was born in 1899 and died in 1980. He went from Great Britain to Hollywood and over six decades, starting with silent films in the 1920s up to only months before he died, he was working on movies, over 50 in total. He usually had two going at a time.

This is a very long book (over 800 pages). I was expecting more biography, but really, it was a very detailed account of behind-the-scenes of many of his movies, with a bit of biography thrown in here and there. There were definitely some interesting tidbits, though, enough that I’m rating it “good” (I was tempted to go with “ok”, but by the end I realized, I actually did think it was good, despite not being what I expected).

I’m sure real Hitchcock afficionados would love all the detail. Of course, the movies I’ve seen, or at least knew about, held more interest for me, as well as some that starred super-well-known actors (Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Grace Kelly...). It does make me want to go out and watch more (some again, since I don’t really remember); I already looked up some clips of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” intros that he did (also something I’d love to watch some of, again – if only I ever made time to watch movies or tv!).

Cumulative page total = 56,780

171. The Forgotten Home Child / Genevieve Graham
4 stars
384 pages

When Winny is young, she finds herself in the streets of London and finds friends in Mary, Jack, Cecil and Edward. They are caught stealing one day and are taken to an orphanage. From there, they eventually are sent to Canada, where they will be sent out to families and should have a better life. They are split up, but vow to find each other again.

Apparently, between the mid-1800s and up to 1948(?) over 100,000 children – the British Home Children – were sent to Canada. Sadly, for the majority of these kids, it was not a better life. Many (most) were neglected, malnourished, abused. They were indentured servants and most were not treated well.

In the book, Winny is actually 90-some years old, and having been ashamed of her background all these years, she never told her family. But, the book goes back and forth between Winny telling her granddaughter and great-grandson her story and, of course, the story itself: Winny and her friends in the 1930s and through WWII.

This was very interesting. I had never heard of the British Home Children, and that’s why the author wanted to write the story. It’s not taught in schools, and many of the kids sent over kept their stories to themselves, so it’s not well-known. The author includes a good historical note at the end. The author used examples from many of the people she talked to – things that really happened. It was a quick read, but I hope I don’t forget it soon.

Cumulative page total = 57,164

172. Hans Brinker, or, The Silver Skates / Mary Mapes Dodge
3 stars
256 pages

Hans and his younger sister live in Holland and love to skate. Unfortunately, their father had an accident 10 years earlier when Gretel was just a baby, and has been in a coma(?) since, so Hans makes their skates out of wood. But, with a race coming up, a nice girl offers to buy Hans some new skates. Meanwhile, they are still hoping their dad will wake up, as he had hidden away a large chunk of money just before his accident. Money they could really use.

This was ok. I liked Hans’ family’s story, but there was also a section (mostly in the middle of the book) that focused on some of the other local boys. I mostly lost interest when the focus was on them. There was some nice descriptions of the area and the (19th century) culture in the book, and one of the other boys was from out of the country, so some of this was seen through his eyes, in a way. Overall, it was ok.

Cumulative page total = 57,420

173. The Other Mrs / Mary Kubica
4.5 stars
368 pages

Will and Sadie have moved out to an isolated island community in Maine after Will’s sister died and left her house, and the care of her 16-year old daughter, to them. They are hoping this will be a fresh start for their family after they’ve come across a few bumps. Unfortunately, not long after they move in, a woman across the street is murdered.

This was really good. It kept me wanting to keep reading, wanting to know what would happen. The story is (mostly) told from three different viewpoints, Sadie being the main one. I didn’t think Sadie was particularly likeable. There were (of course) twists at the end. I had figured out one small portion of what would happen at the end, but I had other theories that were wrong and there was far more than what I’d guessed.

Cumulative page total = 57,788

And that will be it for 2019!

I will do some stats and a top 10 and post those, probably tomorrow.

My top 10 in 2019:
(4.5 + 4.25 stars):

Inside the O’Briens / Lisa Genova
To Sleep With the Angels / David Cowan, John Kuenster
Blackout / Connie Willis
The Long Winter / Laura Ingalls Wilder
What the Night Knows / Dean Koontz
The Other Mrs / Mary Kubica
In a Dark Dark Wood / Ruth Ware
The True Tales of Baker and Taylor / Jan Louch
The Day the World Stood Still / Jim DeFede
Babylon’s Ark / Lawrence Anthony

Dishonourable mentions
(1.5-2 stars):

The Cat and Shakespeare / Raja Rao
Kim / Rudyard Kipling
All the Light We Cannot See / Anthony Doerr
The Devil’s Queen / Jeanne Kalogridis
Tracks / Louise Erdrich

It seems I was a very tough rater this year, with no 5 stars books! Yikes!

I always think of historical fiction as my favourite genre, but I think thriller/suspense is giving it a run for its money, certainly based on this year, anyway!

Reading stats for 2019:

Stats
173 books
57,788 pages
= 334 pages / book (average)

New authors to me: 84 out of 173 = 48.6%
Canadian authors: 19 out of 173 = 11%

Some genres (some of these will overlap, and I probably missed some, too):
Nonfiction (not including Biography/Memoir): 21 out of 173 = 12.1%
Historical fiction: 32 out of 173 = 18.5%
Young adult: 14 out of 173 = 8.1%
Children’s Lit: 7 out of 173 = 4%
YA + Children’s: 21 out of 173 = 12.1%
Biography/Memoir: 19 out of 173 = 11%
Graphic novels: 4 out of 173 = 2.3%
Mystery/Thriller: 21 out of 173 = 12.1%
Contemporary Fiction: 20 out of 173 = 11.6%
Nonfiction + Biography/Memoir: 40 out of 173 = 23.1%

Great stats, Cindy - you're well-organised 😉

I keep the same list of things I want the stats for each year. I just need to count and calculate at the end of each year. Occasionally I will add something, combine something, or take something out. But, I do like to compare year to year, too!