53. A Diamond in My Pocket by Lorena Angell

#1 Unaltered

read on Kindle
2011
286 pgs.
YA Paranormal Fantasy
Finished 5/22/2021
Goodreads rating: 3.84 - 1783 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary northern Ohio/Montana/and elsewhere...

First line/s: "I don't understand what's happening to me.  Something strange and inexplicable is going on inside my body, and there isn't anyone I can tell about it.  I wouldn't know where to start."

My comments: A story that flew right by in memorable pleasure.  First realistic, then somewhat dystopian, then into full-fledge fantasy mode, it was fun to accompany Calli on her adventure.  A fairly sensible girl, she went with the flow without thinking about things to deeply - and that's what made this book fun.  There was the "perfect" hot guy, the absolute horrible jerk, and the mean girls/s.  Nothing disappointed, and the end came together quite satisfactorily so that if you decide not to go on to  book two it would be a perfectly satisfying ending  However, I can't wait to go on....

Goodreads synopsis:  J.K. Rowling meets Stephen King in this fresh, thrilling take on superpowers.                 Currently being optioned for film.

          After breaking the 100m world record, sixteen-year-old Calli is whisked away to a secret facility where she's placed with other teens who possess superhuman speed. She soon finds herself in a deadly situation involving other superpowers, a mystical diamond, and a centuries-old clan vying for world domination. Calli will have to rely on her quick wit and gut instinct to navigate her new world which includes secretly carrying a power-infusing diamond, all the while steering clear of the young man who mistakenly believes she's his soulmate.
          Book one of The Unaltered series introduces a secret universe existing within our own. In this world, cosmic energy grants superhuman abilities, and people of like ability band together in clans for both safety and community. Flesh-ripping demons prowl at night, drawn to the cosmic energy. Governments spy on clans, clans spy on governments, and trusting the wrong person may carry a terrible price.

24. V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton

#22 Kinsey Millhone
listened to eAudio/Bosler Library
narrated by Judy Kaye
Unabridged audio (15:11)
2011 Putnam Adult
437 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 2/4/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.96 - 26,591 ratings
My rating:
Setting: 1988 Santa Theresa (Santa Barbara), California, and a bit in San Luis Obisbo

First line/s: "So this is how it went down, folks.  I turned 38 on May 5, 1988, and my big birthday surprise was a big punch in the face that left me with two black eyes and a busted nose."

My comments:  I haven't read a Kinsey Millhone in years, so it was really fun to start listening to this.  I totally remembered the voice of Judy Kay, which is definitely the voice of Kinsey Millhone from my past.  Sue Grafton was the detail queen of the police procedural!  They were so many minute details - many of them unnecessary -  but it was fun to listen and try to determine which were important and which weren't.  Back-and-forth between a number of characters, it was fun looking at the story from all sorts of angles, including the sorta bad guy, which = spoiler alert!! = you really begin rooting for.  An entrancing story, even though it was over fifteen hours of listening, which did seem a little long at one or two points.  Fun book.

Goodreads synopsis:  A spiderweb of dangerous relationships lies at the heart.
          A woman with a murky past jumps off a bridge, or was she thrown? A spoiled kid awash in gambling debt thinks he can beat the system. A lovely woman whose marriage is about to splinter into a thousand fragments. A professional shoplifting ring working for the Mob, racks up millions from stolen goods. A wandering husband is rich and ruthless. A dirty cop is so entrenched on the force he is immune to exposure. A sinister gangster is conscienceless and brutal. A lonely widower mourns the death of his lover, desperate for answers, which may be worse than the pain of his loss. Private detective, Kinsey Millhone's thirty-eighth-birthday gift is a punch in the face that leaves her with two black eyes and a busted nose.
           And an elegant and powerful businessman whose dealings are definitely outside the law: the magus at the center of the web.
          V: Victim. Violence. Vengeance.

8. House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths

listened to the Audio Book (bought Audible)
narrated by Jane McDowell
Unabridged audio (10:45)
2011 Quercus Publishing
352 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 1/13/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.93 - 14,424
My rating: 4
Setting: Norwich area, England

First line/s:  "Two people, a man and a woman, are walking along a hospital corridor."

My comments:  I like Ruth Galloway a lot.  I like that she's not gorgeous, a tiny bit overweight and out of shape, and very, very smart.  I like that she is an atheist but goes along wither her Druid friend and her Catholic friends,  rolling her eyes at her "born again" parents constantly.  And I like that we follow, step-by-step, what happens with people's realization of who Kate's father a might be, nd and what happens between Ruth and Nelson, who is happily married to Michelle.  I do believe that you can love two people at the same time, and that's what's happening to Nelson.  Ruth's learning to live with it quite well, and I really respect her living in her cottage and isolation with her cat and baby, teaching at the local university and being pulled into local police activities when her expertise as a forensic archaeologist/anthropologist is needed.  Interesting series, quirky , well developed characters, and fascinating setting.

Goodreads synopsis:  Ruth Galloway has just returned from maternity leave and is struggling to juggle work and motherhood. When a team from the University of North Norfolk, investigating coastal erosion, finds six bodies at the foot of the cliff, she is immediately put on the case.

From Amazon:  A team of archaeologists, investigating coastal erosion on the north Norfolk coast, unearth six bodies buried at the foot of a cliff. How long have they been there? What could have happened to them? Forensics expert Ruth Galloway and DCI Nelson are drawn together again to unravel the past. Tests reveal that the bodies have lain, preserved in the sand, for sixty years. The mystery of their deaths stretches back to the Second World War, a time when Great Britain was threatened by invasion. But someone wants the truth of the past to stay buried, and will go to any lengths to keep it that way... even murder.

30. Cornerstone by Misty Provencher

(#1 in Cornerstone series)
read on my iPhone
2011 self published:  Corner Stone Publishing
230 pgs.
YA Dystopia/Fantasy
Finished 3/19/19
Goodreads rating:  3.91 - 1388 ratings
My rating:  3.5
Setting:  Contemporary America

First line/s:  "I HATE PAPER DAY.  HATE.  IT.  But I still do it every week, sometimes twice a week, because my mom asks me to.  I know I shouldn't.  I know it doesn't help.  But I do it because I know that the only people in the world that we can count on is us."

My comments:  Cornerstone is the kind of book that draws you in immediately.  The first half of the book, well, I just couldn't put down.  The second half slowed down a bit and didn't hold my attention quite as much.  The instalove was the most offputting for me because I didn't understand what made Garrett so quickly drawn to Nalena.  Why hadn't he befriended her earlier?  The ending was not as much a cliffhanger as it was a segue into another chapter.  Will I read more?  Probably not, but I did enjoy this one. 

Goodreads synopsis:  Nalena Maxwell has been branded ‘The Waste’ at her new school, due to her mom's obsessive paper hoarding. Nalena desperately wants something to change in her life, but when she receives a sign (and it's the wrong dang one) inviting her into a mysterious, ancient community, too much changes. What she knew of her family, what she thought of her life and what she believed about her future, is no longer applicable. Seventeen years worth of family skeletons come crashing into Nalena's life and it is the boy...the one that smiles at her like he wants to hear everything she'll ever say...that already knows her powerful secrets. But it is only Nalena that can choose between protecting the life that is already crumbling beneath her feet and the one that might sacrifice everything she could ever have.

89. Sanctus by Simon Toyne

read on my iPhone/Kindle/Book/Audible
2011 Harper
486 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 9/5/18
Goodreads rating: 3.81 - 7049 ratings
My rating:  2
Setting: Contemporary Turkey

First line/s:  "A flash of light filled his skull as it struck the rock floor."

My comments: I quite enjoyed this until the "revelation"" at the end, which made me roll my eyes...heavenward, lol...  I actually quite liked the writing, especially the descriptions, but the premise of the story was silly  So, liked and and disliked it....

Goodreads synopsis:  REVELATION OR DEVASTATION?
          The certainties of the modern world are about to be blown apart by a three thousand year-old conspiracy nurtured by blood and lies …
          A man throws himself to his death from the oldest inhabited place on the face of the earth, a mountainous citadel in the historic Turkish city of Ruin. This is no ordinary suicide but a symbolic act. And thanks to the media, it is witnessed by the entire world.
          But few understand it. For charity worker Kathryn Mann and a handful of others in the know, it is what they have been waiting for. The cowled and secretive fanatics that live in the Citadel suspect it could mean the end of everything they have built – and they will kill, torture and break every law to stop that. For Liv Adamsen, New York crime reporter, it begins the next stage of a journey into the heart of her own identity.
          And at that journey's end lies a discovery that will change EVERYTHING …
SANCTUS is an apocalyptic conspiracy thriller like no other – it re-sets the bar for excitement and fascination, and marks the debut of a major talent in Simon Toyne.

76. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

#1 Lux
listened on Audible
2011, Entangled Publishing
287 pgs.
YA SciFi/Dystopia
Finished 8/9/2018
Goodreads rating: 4.22 - 191,833 ratings
My rating:  2.5
Setting: Contemporary West Virginia

First line/s:  "I stared at the pile of boxes in my new bedroom, wishing the internet had been hooked up."

My comments:  What you see on the cover (any of the many) is pretty much what you get in the book.  Lots and lots of sexual tension and page after page of the same kind of banter and discourse.  The sci-fi and dystopian aspects, though interesting, were too much of a minor part of the story.  If I had a quarter for every time one of the characters asked, "are you okay," or "how are you feeling," I could purchase enough of these books to fill a whole shelf.  Felt somewhat like a Twilight wannabe, but not as well written, and I'm not even a big fan of the Twilight series.  The gal who read the book - I listened to it - had a breathy, ridiculous voice that turned me off completely other than the one she used for Deamon.  If the next book in the series was a 20-page summary, I would probably read it, but i think a full length novel would be just too painful.

Goodreads synopsis: Starting over sucks.
          When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.
          And then he opened his mouth.
          Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. 
          The hot alien living next door marks me.
          You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 
          If I don't kill him first, that is.

PICTURE BOOK - The Runaway Wok by Ying Chang Compestine

Illustrated by Sebastia Serra

2011, Dutton Children's Books

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.84 - 478 ratings

My rating:  2.5

Endpapers:  Bright yellow-orange

1^st line/s:  "One Chinese New Year's Eve, a poor couple sent their son, Ming, to the market."

My comments:  What a great story, with really fun illustrations, with one not-so-tiny flaw.  Set during the Chinese New Year in Beijing, China, a wok steals from the rich and gives to the poor.  It also kidnaps the rich and gets rid of them (we know not how or where) forever.  What???  The beginning of the story seems based on Jack and the Beanstalk, the next based on Robin Hood.  But outright stealing and kidnapping instead of something more magical and legal would fit the bill for me a bit better.  I still can't rate it down too TOO much because the illustrations and the Chinese culture that shines through are wonderful.  Not to be missed:  The author's note and the "Festive Stir-Fried Rice" recipe at the end of the book.

Goodreads:  When a boy goes to the market to buy food and comes home with an old wok instead, his parents wonder what they'll eat for dinner. But then the wok rolls out of the poor family's house with a skippity-hoppity-ho! and returns from the rich man's home with a feast in tow!
          With spirited text and lively illustrations, this story reminds readers about the importance of generosity.

45. Eyes of the Innocent by Brad Parks

#2 Ross Carter, New Jersey journalist
listened on Audible
2011 Minotaur Books
304 pgs. (9:43)
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished May 24, 2018
Goodreads rating: 3.89 - 741 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: contemporary Newark , NJ

First line/s:  "I made at least four mistakes that Monday morning, the first of which was going into the office in the first place."

My comments:  I listened to this great narration, whose inflections realized the subtle humor of the protanogist.  Carter is really honest, knowledgeable, smart, and a pretty darn good writer.  Other than the interplay with Tina, one of the editors of the newspaper for which he works, which gets a little tedious, this was a great addition to the series. The mystery comes together well, leaving no questions unanswered.

Goodreads synopsis: Carter Ross, the sometimes-dashing investigative reporter for the Newark Eagle-Examiner, is back, and reporting on the latest tragedy to befall Newark, New Jersey, a fast-moving house fire that kills two boys.
          With the help of the paper’s newest intern, a bubbly blonde known as “Sweet Thang,†Carter finds the victims’ mother, Akilah Harris, who spins a tale of woe about a mortgage rate reset that forced her to work two jobs and leave her young boys without child care. Carter turns in a front-page feature, but soon discovers Akilah isn’t what she seems. And neither is the fire. 
          When Newark councilman Windy Byers is reported missing, it launches Carter into the sordid world of urban house-flipping and Jersey-style political corruption. With his usual mix of humor, compassion, and street smarts, Carter is soon calling on some of his friends—gay Cuban sidekick Tommy Hernandez, T-shirt-selling buddy Tee Jamison, and on-and-off girlfriend Tina Thompson—for help in tracking down the shadowy figure behind it all.   
          Brad Parks’s debut, Faces of the Gone, won the Shamus Award and Nero Award for Best American Mystery. It was heralded as an engaging mix of Harlan Coben and Janet Evanovich. Now Parks solidifies his place as one of the brightest new talents in crime fiction with this authentic, entertaining thriller.

58. Legend by Marie Lu

#1 Legend series
listened on Audible
2011, Putnam juvenile
305 pgs.
YA Dystopia/Fantasy
Finished 9/16/17
Goodreads rating: 4.19
My rating:  5

First line/s:  "But the biggest thing that doesn't compute for me is this:  Day has never killed anyone before."

My comments:  Told from two points of view, one of Day - the Republic's most wanted criminal, and one of June - one of the Republic's greatest and brightest stars. They are both fifteen years old, but I picture them at least three years older.  Strong characterization.  A dystopian world that I can believe and see, with equal amounts of goodness and badess.  An adventurous storyline, although it could have a very bad ending, does not go in that direction completely.  I like stories that you know, deep down, will end well, but you're never really absolutely sure.  I'm surprised I haven't read this earlier.  Looking forward to number two in the series.  I have no problem rating this a five, particularly since I listened to it and the two different reader were wonderful, really good casting.

Goodreads synopsis: What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
          From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

54. Dear America: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson: With the Right of Angels; Hadley, Virginia, 1954 by Andrea Davis Pinkney

read by Channie Waites, on cd, in the car
6 unabridged cds  (6:37)
2011 Scholastic
336 pgs.
Middle grades Historical Fiction
Finished 9/1/17
Goodreads rating:4.05 - 646 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting:   Hadley, Virginia 1954

First line/s:  "It's early, before the sun even knows she's got sleep in her eyes."

My comments:  Take a seat front and center to learn about the beginning of integration/desegregation in Virginia in 1954.  I listened to this wonderful, inspired story which was incredibly enhanced by the reading of Channie Waites.  Although the Dear America series is not ABOUT real people, I've got to guess they're based on real people, particularly in this case.  Fascinating, disgruntling, ridiculous, unbelievable - the idea that people should be divided because of the color of their skin.  My granddaughter listened to the first two discs with me and was mesmerized.  I'm positive she never had a clue about segregation.  This was an outstanding story, taking the reader inside the head of a young African-American girl who had to break those difficult, scary, almost-impossible boundaries set up by white people throughout history in our country.   Highly recommended.

Goodreads synopsis:  Coretta Scott King winner Andrea Davis Pinkney brings her talents to a brand-new Dear America diary about the Civil Rights Movement.
          In the fall of 1955, twelve-year-old Dawn Rae Johnson's life turns upside down. After the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Dawnie learns she will be attending a previously all-white school. She's the only one of her friends to go to this new school and to leave the comfort of all that is familiar to face great uncertainty in the school year ahead.
          However, not everyone supports integration and much of the town is outraged at the decision. Dawnie must endure the harsh realities of racism firsthand, while continuing to work hard to get a good education and prove she deserves the opportunity. But the backlash against Dawnie's attendance of an all-white school is more than she's prepared for. When her father loses his job as a result, and her little brother is constantly bullied, Dawnie has to wonder if it's worth it. In time, Dawnie learns that the true meaning of justice comes from remaining faithful to the integrity within oneself.

1. Sixkill by Robert B. Parker

#39 Spenser
listened in the car
2011, G P Putnam's Sons
293 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished January 2, 2017
Goodreads rating: 3.99 - 7,617 ratings
My rating: 2.5
Setting: Contemporary Boston

First line/s: "It was spring.  The vernal equinox had done whatever it was it did, and the late March air drifting in through the open window in my office was soft even though it wasn't even warm yet."

My comments: Zebulon SIXKILL, called Z.  That's where the title came from.  A Cree Indian from Montana, by way of the California college football scene. Befriended...and trained...by Spenser, he has the same kind of comedic skills as Hawk.  They get stronger and stronger as the story evolves.  Hawk seems to be somewhere in Asia.  And why another Hawk-type character?  This book was short (as are they all), and a good half of this was repartee between Spenser ans Susan Silverman, which I must admit got a little tiring.  I also got tired hearing about how little Susan ate, half bites of tiny fruits, tiny sips, tiny bites.  It was entertaining for the boring, long, tedious ride from Maine to PA but not a particularly thrilling book.  Disappointing, actually.  And I do love Parker and Spenser.  2.5 to be honest.

Goodreads synopsis:  On location in Boston, bad-boy actor Jumbo Nelson is accused of the rape and murder of a young woman. From the start the case seems fishy, so the Boston PD calls on Spenser to investigate. Things don't look so good for Jumbo, whose appetites for food, booze, and sex are as outsized as his name. He was the studio's biggest star, but he's become its biggest liability. 
          In the course of the investigation, Spenser encounters Jumbo's bodyguard: a young, former football-playing Native American named Zebulon Sixkill. He acts tough, but Spenser sees something more within the young man. Despite the odd circumstances, the two forge an unlikely alliance, with Spenser serving as mentor for Sixkill. As the case grows darker and secrets about both Jumbo and the dead woman come to light, it's Spenser-with Sixkill at his side-who must put things right.

35. Lucifer's Tears by James Thompson

Helsinki Inspector Kari Vaara #2
Listened on Audible
2011 G. P. Putnam's
336 pgs.
Contemporary Murder Mystery
Finished 6/14/16
Goodreads rating: 3.84 - 1665 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Helsinki

First line/s: "The baby kicks against me from my hand and rouses me from my nap."

My comments:  There are three scenarios twisting and turning through this book, two investigations that Kari Vaara is working on, and a home situation that he must stay on top of.  He's moved to Helsinki from the Arctic Circle with his very-pregnant wife, a move he didn't want to make.  He has a brash young partner that tries him.  He's having debilitating headaches that you know aren't good.  He's investigating the murder of a shady Russian businessman's wife and trying to sniff out the facts about possible Nazi collaboration by his adored Finnish grandfather.  The cherry on top is that his wife Kate's siblings have come to stay with them from America.  Not only are they intolerant about Finnish customs and history, but one is a Bible thumper and the other's an alcoholic.  Kari Vaara is smart, an honorable, likable man.  Although a couple of the scenarios are wrapped up in this book, another is begun, and the possibilities at the end of the book are scintillating.  Can't wait to read more!  My only critical note is that there is a LOT of 20th century Finnish history mentioned, the names and situations are unfamiliar to me so they were a bit tedious and difficult to follow at times.

Goodreads synopsis:  Inspector Kari Vaara returns, more haunted than ever, in the follow- up to Snow Angels, "a must for fans of the international crime novel." (Booklist) 
     The Sufia Elmi case left Kari Vaara with a scarred face, chronic insomnia, a constant migraine, and a full body count's worth of ghosts. Now it's a year later, in Helsinki, and Kari is working the graveyard shift in the homicide unit, terrified that his heavily pregnant wife will miscarry again after she lost the twins just after Christmas. 
     Kari is pushed into investigating a ninety-year-old national hero for war crimes committed during World War II. The Interior Minister demands a conclusion of innocence, preserving Finland's heroic perception about itself and its role in the war, but Germany wants extradition. 
     In a seeming coincidence, Kari is drawn into the murder-by-torture case of Iisa Filippov, the philandering wife of a Russian businessman. Her lover is clearly being framed for the crime-and Ivan Filippov's arrogance and nonchalance point the finger at him. But he's being protected from above, leading Kari to the corrupt corridors of power. Soon the past and present collide in ways no one could have anticipated.

62. Tag Man - Archer Mayor

Joe Gunther #22
7 unabridged cds
2011 Minotaur Books
290 pgs.
Adult mystery
Finished 10/28/15
Goodreads rating:  3.79
My rating:  2.5
Setting: Contemporary Brattleboro, VT

First line/s:  "He sat in the center of the love seat, in the darkened bedroom, settled against the soft pillows behind him.  His hands, clad in thin cotton gloves, were folded in his lap; his feet, wrapped in blue surgical booties stretched out before the neatened coffee table before him."

My comments: A police procedural "murder mystery" set in contemporary Brattleboro, Vermont.  There were lots and lots of books in the series that came before this one, none that I'd read, but I had no problem at all following the characters or plot.  It was okay.  I don't know why I wanted more, but I did.

Goodreads Summary:  Someone is breaking into the homes of the rich, bypassing their high-tech security, their state-of-the-art locks and then making himself at home. The intruder doesn’t seem to steal anything except some food. At each break-in, he leaves the remains of his snack out and a Post-it note stuck next to the bed where the owners are sleeping. One word is written on the note: Tag.
Although the press loves him, problems begin for the elusive Tag Man when he removes some documents from the home of a mobbed-up man. Shortly thereafter, the danger increases when a trip through a beautifully furnished mansion turns up a secret basement room, where the Tag Man discovers a truly horrifying secret. Joe Gunther, struggling to recover from a devastating personal loss, leads his VBI team to untangle the many conflicting pieces of evidence, while the burglar himself struggles for survival in the no-man's-land between the police and the villains.

22. Red Mist - Patricia Cornwell

Kay Scarpetta #19

Audio read by

11 unabridged cds

2011 Putnam Adult

512 pgs.

Adult Mystery

Finished 3/15/2015

Goodreads rating: 3.70

My rating:   4 - Excellent story

PBS

Contemporary Savannah, GA

My comments:  I haven't read a Kay Scarpetta novel in years and years, so when this audio book "fell" into my hands I decided to take another look/listen.  I still find Scarpetta self-absorbed, haughty, and unlikable, but the mystery and the story surrounding it are fascinating.  Cornwell can certainly spin an interesting tale....interesting, gruesome, and actually, quite believable.....

Goodreads book summary: Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated. But Scarpetta discovers connections that compel her to conclude that what she thought ended with Fielding's death and an attempt on her own life is only the beginning of something far more destructive: a terrifying terrain of conspiracy and potential terrorism on an international scale. And she is the only one who can stop it.

19. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

Audio read by Wil Wheaton

13 unabridged cds (15.5 hrs)

2011 Random House

374 pgs.

YA/Adult Fantasy

Finished 3/5/2015

Goodreads rating: 4.31

My rating:  3.5

TPPL

Setting: Oklahoma City & Columbus, but most of it was inside a virtual world

My comments:  This was certainly not my "usual" type of book.  It's all about 1980 video games being played in the 2040's, when the physical earth is in tatters and everyone lives pretty much in the virtual world of OASIS, with their personal avatar trying to find a virtual "egg" that a crazy now-dead billionaire programmer left as the prize at the end of an all-consuming quest.  Phew.  That sentence is too long, but it says it all!  Of the 13 unabridged cds, there are probably four or five complete cds worth of 1980s game, music, movie, and computer talk.  None of this really interested me, but the exceptional reading voice of Wil Wheaton kept me on track and I greatly enjoyed the story itself.  I compare it to The Circle in that it made me think of a future world where technology consumes us and changes the meaning of humanity completely.

Goodreads book summary:  In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. 
   But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

9. Saint's Gate - Carla Neggers

(It DOES look there will be more...)

2011, Mira Books

334 pgs.

Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 1/26/2015

Goodreads rating:  3.64

My rating: 2 - It was okay, but didn't grab me at all

TPPL

Setting:  Contemporary southern Maine coast (with a tiny bit of Dublin, Ireland thrown in)

1st sentence/s:  "Emma Sharpe steeled herself against the sights and sounds of her pas adn kept up with the nervous woman rushing ahead of her in the dense southern Maine fog."

My comments:  I SOOOO wanted to like this book, but it was a little too like a cozy mystery for me.  The story could have been told quite well in 100-or so less pages.  The introduction and description of the two major paintings in the story were confusing...it took me more than awhile to realize that two different paintings were being discussed.  There were too many solutions that just fell into their laps (one chapter even began with the protagonist "finding" a key to get into the rectory, a place he's never before been.....).  One of the reasons I picked up this book was the setting - I've been in all those smallish Maine coastal towns hundreds of times and the descriptions in the book didn't take me there at all.  Not even a little.  So I was really disappointed.  However, I bet there are lots of mystery readers that will love this book...a "lighter" mystery than my tastes crave.

Goodreads book summary:  When Emma Sharpe is summoned to a convent on the Maine coast, it's partly for her art crimes work with the FBI, partly because of her past with the religious order. At issue is a mysterious painting depicting scenes of Irish lore and Viking legends, and her family's connection to the work. But when the nun who contacted her is murdered, it seems legend is becoming deadly reality.   
          Colin Donovan is one of the FBI's most valuable assets -- a deep-cover agent who prefers to go it alone. He's back home in Maine after wrapping up his latest mission, but his friend Father Bracken presents him with an intrigue of murder, international art heists and a convent's long-held secrets that is too tempting to resist. As the danger spirals ever closer, Colin is certain of only one thing—the very intriguing Emma Sharp is at the center of it all.    
          A ruthless killer has Emma and Colin in the crosshairs, plunging them into a race against time and drawing them deeper into a twisted legacy of betrayal and deceit.

8. Fifty Shades Darker - E. L. James

#2 Fifty Shades

2011 First Vintage Books

532 pgs.

X-Rated Adult 

Finished 1/18/15

Goodreads rating: 3.93

My rating:   2

2nd hand book through Amazon

Contemporary Seattle

1st sentence/s:  "I have survived Day Three Post-Christian, and my first day at work."

My comments:  Well, I discovered what Christian's major hangups were.  There was a bit of a plot in this second in the series, and ended with the possibility of more plot to come.  A good half of the book was Ana and Christians repeated sexual escapades, which were...pretty much....very, very similar to each other.  They say the same things to each other over and over and over.  Okay, so now I've read two of them.  I'm fully prepared for the movie next month.  (Oh, yes - this book was misnamed.  It should have been Fifty Shades Lighter.....)

Goodreads book summary:  Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. 
           But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.
           While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.
          This book is intended for mature audiences.

2. - Fifty Shades of Grey - E. L. James

Fifty Shades #1

2011, Vintage Books

510 pgs.

X-rated Adult Erotica

Finished 1/6/2015

Goodreads rating: 3.70

My rating:   (3) Liked it  

Setting:  contemporary Washington State (including Seattle)

1st sentence/s:  "I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror.  Damn my hair -- it just won't behave, and damn Katherine Kavanaugh for being ill and subjecting me to this ordeal."

My comments:  There have been many negative reviews by people that consider this book horrible because of all the erotica and sexual content.  Well....the genre is erotica, so if you don't like erotica and read it anyway, of course you're not going to like it.  Me?  I liked it.  The characters were interesting, thought-provoking (I might even read the second in the series to see if more is revealed about Christian's hangups) and ..... fun.  Neither were entirely believable, but that's okay in this story, for me.  Ana's innocence and inexperience, at 21--- not believable.  Oh well.  The humor that appears in the many emails that go back and forth between them is clesver.  My biggest complaint?  Ms. James used the word "clamber" dozens and dozens of times. THAT'S what drove ME crazy! (The movie is coming out next month, the trailer enticed me to read the book before seeing the movie - and yes, I'm going to see it!)

Goodreads book summary:  When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
           Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
          Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.
          This book is intended for mature audiences.

POETRY PICTURE BOOK - Dear Hot Dog - Mordicai Gerstein

Illustrated by the author

2011, Abrams Books for Young Readers

HC $16.95

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.49

My rating: 4

Endpapers: Bright, sunny yellow

Title Page:  Across the two pages the little girl is waking up as the sign rises behind her prone figure.

Illustrations: Acrylics on paper.

Toothbrush

All night

dozing in your holder

you wait for me.

I give you toothpaste

for breakfast,

mint,

your favorite flavor.

Then you go to work

in the foamy, pink

cave of my mouth,

scouring and scrubbing,

gargling your little song;

shreds of carrot,

pebbles of peanut,

cracker crumbs

hiding in cracks

---all washed away.

I rinse you off, and

back in your holder

you sigh and dry.

As my day begins,

you go back

to sleep.

Socks

I never stop
to think about socks,
and if I get them
for a birthday present
from Aunt Adi,
I'm disappointed.
You can't play
with socks.
But now,
with wind rattling
the icy windows,
putting on these
soft, thick, red ones
makes me happy
all day.

Ice-Cream Cone

I hold you high against the sky

like Liberty's torch,

a snow-topped,

milky mountain,

while rivers

of vanilla slide

over my fingers

and down my sleeve.

I turn you and lick you,

and with every lick

there's less of you.

Come back!

I see you hiding

deep in the cone.  

I bit off its 

bottom tip

and the very las of you

dribbles into my mouth.

I give the cone

to my little brother.

He likes them.

I don't.

My comments:  Great poems, from the point-of-view of three different boys during the day.Toothbrush, Pants, Toes (! !) Socks, Shoes, Cup, Bowl, Kite, Air, Water, Summer Sun, Hot Dog, Ice-Cream Cone, Leaves, Rain, Books, Crayons, Scissors, Spaghetti, Bear, Light, and Pillow!  Great poems!

Goodreads:  Whether it’s slurping up spaghetti or catching some sun at the beach, the everyday wonders celebrated in this collection of poems will appeal to young readers.
          Cleverly crafted by Mordicai Gerstein, Dear Hot Dog follows three friends from the time they wake up and brush their teeth to when they snuggle up for bed with their favorite stuffed animal. In between playing outside, making crafts, eating their favorite treats, and reading, together they delight in the adventure and magic that each day brings. Gerstein’s vibrant illustrations and lighthearted verse make Dear Hot Dog a great introduction to poetry for young readers

.

61. Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie - Julie Sternberg

#1 Eleanor
illustrated by Matthew Cordell

2011, Amulet Books

120 gs.

Early Reader - CRF - in verse

Finished 9/21/2014

Goodreads rating: 3.77

My rating:  4/ Loved it

Paperback Swap - Hardcover!

Setting: Contemporary city (she lives upstairs in an apartment building, very New Yorky in feel and illustrations)

1st sentence/s:  
     "I had a bad August."
      A very bad August.
      As bad a pickle juice on a cookie.
      As bad as a spiderweb on your leg.
      As bad as the black parts of a banana.
      I hope your August was better.
      I really do."

My comments:  This is a very charming book, written in verse, with lots of illustrations,so it's somewhat of a graphic novel, too. Eleanor is about to start 3rd grade, but her beloved babysitter (the daily kind), Bibi, has had to move to Florida.  Eleanor is distraught.  It's a book that's easy-to-read but not babyish.  And it's the beginning of a series!

Goodreads book summary:  When Eleanor's beloved babysitter, Bibi, has to move away to take care of her ailing father, Eleanor must try to bear the summer without Bibi and prepare for the upcoming school year. Her new, less-than-perfect babysitter just isn't up to snuff, and she doesn't take care of things like Bibi used to. But as the school year looms, it's time for new beginnings. Eleanor soon realizes that she will always have Bibi, no matter how far away she is. 
          Written in a lyrical style with thoughtful and charming illustrations throughout, this remarkable debut novel tells a poignant story of friendship and the bittersweet feelings of growing up.