27. The Fifth Gospel - Ian Caldwell

It looks like The Rule of Four may be some sort of prequel, but I'm not sure...
listened to on Audible
2015
431 pgs.- I'm guessing I read over 200 of them, because I listened for over 7 hours
Adult mystery
Abandoned 5/15/16
Goodreads rating  3.69
My rating:  2/I tried....
Setting: Vatican City, Rome, Italy

First line/s:  "My son is too young to understand forgiveness."

My comments:   I truly enjoy forays into the history of biblical times - but this was so rooted in the Catholic church, the differences between orthodox Greek and Roman Catholic, and believing in the bible, that the plodding manner in which this book moved was just too slow for me to read all the way through. I did read over half the book, but I couldn't get enamored with any of the characters enough to find out more about the history OR who the murderer was.  So I made the decision to go on to one of the thousands of other books waiting for me to read (the same thing happened to me in Rule of Four, I should have paid attention to that, but am forever optimistic....)

Goodreads synopsis:  A lost gospel, a relic, and a dying pope's final wish send two brothers - both Vatican priests - on a quest to untangle Christianity's biggest mystery (the shroud of Turan)

68. The Lost Sisterhood - Anne Fortier

2014, Ballantine books

585 pgs.

Adult CRF/HistFict/Mystery

Finished 11/2/2014

Goodreads rating: 3.80

My rating:  (5) Awesome 

TPPL

Setting: Contemporary Oxford University, Algeria, Turkey, Germany, and Finland, Ancient Algeria, Turkey, Troy

1st sentence/s: "In her own obscure fashion, my grandmother did what she could to arm me for the carnage of life.  Stamping hooves, rushing chariots, rapacious males . . . thanks to Granny, I had it more or less cased by the age of then."

My comments:  For me, this was in incredible piece of storytelling.   Yes, it was a little long, especially through the middle, but the first third and the last third made up for the middle third.  Told in alternating voices in two very different time periods - Myrina of the Amazons and Diana of contemporary scholarship - exploring the world of 3,000 years ago and today; it included strong females, a great grandmother-granddaughter relationship, a bit of sexual tension, and loads of mystery.  I've never been an Odyssey fan, and I still loved the story. The ending went in a direction and to a locale that I never expected.  This was a great read for me.  It even tapped into my Nordic genes!

Goodreads book summary: The Lost Sisterhood tells the story of Diana, a young and aspiring--but somewhat aimless--professor at Oxford. Her fascination with the history of the Amazons, the legendary warrior women of ancient Greece, is deeply connected with her own family's history; her grandmother in particular. When Diana is invited to consult on an archeological excavation, she quickly realizes that here, finally, may be the proof that the Amazons were real.
          The Amazons' "true" story--and Diana's history--is threaded along with this modern day hunt. This historical back-story focuses on a group of women, and more specifically on two sisters, whose fight to survive takes us through ancient Athens and to Troy, where the novel reinvents our perspective on the famous Trojan War.
          The Lost Sisterhood features another group of iconic, legendary characters, another grand adventure--you'll see in these pages that Fortier understands the kind of audience she has built with Juliet, but also she's delivering a fresh new story to keep that audience coming back for more.

65. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness

Viking, 2011
43 chapters, 580 pgs.
HC $28.95
for: adults
Rating:  5 (I really don't want to give it a 5, but it was lovely writing, a hard-to-put-down plot and storyline, characters that were so well defined I felt as if I knew them,  and a strong, smart, librarian/scholar protagonist.  Everything I love in a book.  And I loved this book.....)

First line/lines:  The leather-bound volume was nothing remarkable.  To an ordinary historian, it would have looked no different from hundreds of other manuscripts in Oxford's Bodleian Library, ancient and worn.  But I knew there was something odd about it from the moment I collected it.

Setting: Contemporary Oxford, for the first third of the book; in the countryside near Lyon, France for the second third; and upstate New York for the third third.
OSS:  Diana Bishop, a noted American historian and college professor who has always tried to ignore her roots as a witch, becomes involved with a vampire while trying to unravel the secret of an ancient book of alchemy.

As I read the last page, I was quite disappointed that I didn't know the final, "final," outcome, but decided to like the ending because of the hugely entertaining possibilities, and started to examine the fine print of the book.   A DISCOVER OF WITCHES IS PART ONE IN THE ALL SOULS TRILOGY.  LOOK FOR THE NEXT NOVEL IN 2012.  NO NO NO NO NO !!!!!

How will I ever remember every character and their part in the story between now and when a sequel comes out?

Witches and vampires and daemons.  All hate each other and have for millenniums.  Humans factor very little in this book (if at all), all the main players are creatures - namely witches, vampires, and daemons.  They are not supposed to mix, to fraternize, and a natural animosity usually even keeps them from being friends.  Until Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont meet.  KABOOM!  Sparks fly.  Literally.

Diana has always suppressed her witch tendencies.  She wants to be ordinary.  But a subhuman amount of adrenaline keep her running, rowing, and doing yoga whenever she's not researching.  She has no close friends (oddly), and the two aunts that raised her after her parents' murder worry obsessively about her. Although she is very attractive and has had lovers before, there are no males in her life. She has kept herself aloof emotionally, which is the perfect for what is about to happen.

Diana is no wimp.  She is no Bella - thankfully.  She is more of a Hermione, with a touch more determination and spunk (though Hermione did gather those possessions as she matured.)  Diana comes from a long line of Bishops, originating, she thinks, from Bridget Bishop who was killed during the Salem witch trials in the late 15th century.

I loved the first third of the book, the part that took place in Oxford.  The French part was really interesting, the American third had so much change and new information to absorb that I didn't enjoy it quite as much.  I can't believe that I decided to read an almost 600 page novel, but I'm really glad I did!

52. The Other Rembrandt - Alex Connor

Silver Oak Publishing, 2011
Pap $14.95
for adults
392 pgs.
Rating:  4
First line:  His body was bent over, his head submerged in the confines of the basin, his knees buckled, trousers pulled down.
Setting:  London, Amsterdam, and New York
OSS:  Marshall Zeigler, who has always avoided his family's interest and business in the art world, finds himself pulled into it when his father is brutally murdered.

The entire story revolves around letters that Rembrandt's mistress, Geertje Dircx (oh, how I wish I knew how that was pronounced) wrote while she was incarcerated in a prison/asylum.  She tells of the Rembrandt, and of Rembrandt's students who, under Rembrandt's tutelage and instructions, painted portraits in his style and passed them off as the great master's.  The letters have been secretly held by Marshall's father, Owen, and could change the whole world of Renaissance art.

Four murders take place surrounding these letters, and Marshall has to piece it all together.  Woven into the fabric of the story are the letters that Geertze Dircx wrote.  She had been treated horribly by Rembrandt, and had secrets to tell, of Rembrandt's cruelty, of an illegitimate son, also a painter, and of the art scams pulled off by Rembrandt.  And, apparently, some of this is based on actual hints and facts that have been passed down through the years!

There are many characters, and we must decide who to trust, who is telling the truth, who has secrets of their own to hide.  I figured out the culprit about 2/3 of the way through the book, but the surprise twist at the end surprised me, and keeps me wondering still.  The book kept my attention and made me think.  I liked it.

31. The Jasmine Trade - Denise Hamilton

Eve Diamond, LA Investigative Reporter, Book 1
Pinnacle Books, Kensington Publishing, 2001
pap $6.99
328 pgs (with about 20 more following the story, the first of book number 2, The Sugar Skull.)
For : Adults
Rating:  5

Eve Diamond is 29, smart, quick, and  little bit dare-devilish.  She writes for the LA Times, particularly in the San Gabriel Valley. Her JOB is to horn her way into people's lives so she can get the down and dirty.  And she does her job well.

The whole suburban area around LA is the setting, and Denise Hamilton uses it well.  The descriptions became so real that I found a suburban LA map and spent a good hour pouring over it, glad to have it handy when I encountered a new place that Eve had to cover.  She describes her home in Silverlake so well, I can hear it, see it, smell it.

The book begins when she is asked to write a story about a 17 year old Chinese-American girl that was murdered during a car jacking.  The girl was rich and pretty, but only Eve sensed that there was more to the story than a simple car jacking.  Along the way I learned so much, about "parachute kids", kids whose parents have moved them to southern California to go to good schools to get into good colleges, ensconcing them in huge, fancy, homes....and then going back to China or Hong Kong or Malaysia and being a long-distant parent.  I learned about Asian gangs, brothels, and the kidnapping sex trade......as bad as the slave trade from Africa.  It was well written, and every single one of my questions was answered by the end of the book.  Nothing was left hanging.  Characters became real, hearing Eve's thoughts were an added bonus.

This was a great story, truly interesting, informative, well-written, and suspenseful.  I can't wait to read number two!

20. The Moses Expedition - Juan Gomez-Jurado

for: adults
Atria Books, 2007, translated to English (from Spanish) 2010
HC $24.99
386 pgs.
Rating: 2

The story is told in a way to keep even a person with major ADHD interested...short 2-3 page chapters, coming from different points-of-view. Characterization is a weak point, and almost every single character, including one of the two protagonists, is not very likable. Everyone argues with one another, is incredibly rude to each other, or likes each other for either no reason at all or for a ridiculous reason. The plot is predictable, a billionaire with Jewish roots is trying to find the Ark of the Covenant in the middle of the Jordanian desert in total secrecy. Of course, the leader of an Islamic terrorist cell is included in the top-secret, greatly guarded mission. No one is who they are supposed to be, and the selfish, stupid, "heroine" journalist that's asked to accompany the mission is the only survivor. Okay. I've given a lot away. I wish I'd never started the book, 'cause it over took a week's worth of major reading time, Once I was into it and wanted to stop, I felt I'd put too much time into it and should finish. So I did. I can't wait to begin something else.

6. The Book of Names - Jill Gregory & Karen Tintori

Audio read by Christopher Graybill
Brilliance Audio, 2007
7 unabridged cds
9 hours
HC 320 pgs.
Rating: 3

Professor David Shepherd's life changed when he fell off a roof as a teenager and almost died. Ever since that time he gets a terrible headache and names come to him. He keeps these names written in a book. He has no idea about why they come or what they are. He's shared his questions with his best friend, but few others.

This book is the story of the Gnoseos (who are the bad guys) vs. the Hidden Ones. The Hidden Ones are predestined righteous souls whose names have been given to David. The Gnoseos are attempting to destroy the world by eliminating these righteous souls. It is when he discovers that his beloved stepdaughter, Stacy, is one of these special Hidden Ones and she is kidnapped that he goes after the bad guys full throttle.

Always questions who is a good guy and who is a secret bad guy, this is one bumby ride from beginning to end. You sort of have to suspend belief in reality to go along with some of the happenstance in the story. It was entertaining, frustrating, and interesting. Some of the setting was in Israel, but I couldn't reallly picture it from the telling.

70. The Book of Air and Shadows - Michael Gruber

A Novel
Audio read by Stephen Hoye
Published: 2007
For: Adults
15 cds/ 18.5 hours
480 pages
Rating: 3
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

Told from three points of view, parts of this book were v-e-r-y tedious, others more interesting. My biggest problem with it, right from the start, was that I didn't think the reader (Stephen Hoye) fit. At all. Something about the timbre of his voice, or his accent, or......well, I'm not sure. But I began wishing I were reading it instead of listening to it. I bet I would have liked the story much more.

The three points of view: Jake Mishken was a dolt. Albert Crusetti was a gem. Richard Brayskirtle was a pompous ass, a seventeenth century pompous ass (and Jake Mishken was his 20th century counterpart). Well, this doesn't tell much about the story. Okay. Albert Crusetti and his coworker, Caroline Raleigh, find some hidden letters inside the covers of a 17th century book. Some are encoded. Throughout the book, we, the readers, are allowed to hear/see/read these letters, the tale of Richard Brayskirtle and his association with William Shakespeare. Apparently, he has hidden away a WS play about Mary, Queen of Scots. When Crusetti gets duped out of the letters, they make their way to Jake Mishken, an intellectual property lawyer, who becomes very deeply embroiled in the escapades that are to follow - including his family (Nazi mother, Jewish father, former thug-current priest brother, rich Swiss wife and two odd children), the Crusetti family (librarian mother, deceased cop father, lawyer and cop siblings), and a variety of Russian gangsters and Shakespearean scholars. It sounds a bit complicated, and it is....it's interesting at points, exciting at points, and pointless at points.

Get it? You switch back and forth between Shakespeare's early 1600's and contemporary America, with a bit of contemporary England thrown in. Good luck.

MOVIE - Angels & Demons

Nonstop action with never a dull moment!
Viewed May 27 at El Con
PG-13 (2:20)
RT: 37% cag: 70%
Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor
Director: Ron Howard

It seems like I've been rating a lot of movies at 70% or so lately. That's good. Means I've not been disappointed.

I read this book early in 2001. It kept me occupied while Steve was sick when no other book could. So I've remembered it quite well, which isn't usually the case. However, I went to the movie with the attitude I was going to watch it as a movie in itself and not compare it to the book. I was pretty much able to do that. And sure, some of the plotline was the same. I also totally remembered who the BAD GUY was (I didnt' want to),even though as the ending approached I thought that part may have been changed. I DO think the ending of the movie was changed from the ending of the book, but that was totally okay. It worked. Except now I've got to get ahold of a copy of the book and see if I remembered, perhaps, the ending of ANOTHER book....

Tom Hanks and his female sidekick go on a crazy ride through the city of Rome from historical church to historical church following clues related to the illustrious Illuminati that Hanks' character is such an expert on. He matches wits with Vatican priests and Swiss guards, trying to prevent the murder of four cardinals and the destruction (literally) of the Vatican while the Cardinals are locked in voting for a new pope. Ah, such hair-raising excitement. I remember this book made me ask a multitude of questions about the politics of the Catholic church, many more than the movie did....

It was fun to watch. I had a nervous stomach by the end, though. Tom Hanks is so much fun to watch!

13. The Book of Lies - Brad Meltzer

AUDIO Read by Scott Brick
For: Adults
Book Pub: 2008
Audio:
10 discs/11.5 hours
352 pgs.
Rating: 2
Finished: Feb. 23, 2009

This was my first Brad Meltzer. I was not greatly impressed. Neither the story nor the characters were very engaging - I had no empathy for any of the characters, I never really felt like I got to know a single one of them. It switched around from one person's perspective to another. And there were an awful lot of "bad" guys. The protagonist is Cal Harper, whose father pushed and killed his mother when Cal was nine. After eight years in jail, his dad never came to find him. So now at 28 he lives his life in a beat-up van on the streets of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, helping and working with homeless people. Very noble. His partner, a black preacher named Roosevelt, is his philosophical friend. When they happen upon a shooting in the park and discover the victim is Cal's long-lost father, the mystery and flight after an unknown historical treasure begins. We hear from a guy named Ellis, who, with his dog, Benoni, is also after the treasure. Ellis works for a mysterious "Prophet." Cal's father is accompanied by a young woman named Serena - it's really quite foggy about how she came into his life- and then there's the law enforcement official, Naomi, who's after them all. She doesn't know who the bad guys are, and she thinks a lot about her adopted son, which seems really out-of-place. She's constantly on the phone with a wheelchair-boound guy named Scotty, and Ellis keeps calling an unknown judge. This, I suppose, is to keep the suspense high while wondering who the bad guy/s really is/are. Throw in Cain and Abel, Superman author Jerry Segal and his father, Mitch, a trip to Cleveland, Nazis and a strange group called The Thule, lots of tension between Cal and HIS father, Russia.....and lots of vague information. Get the picture? It's pretty foggy, eh?

My last impression was "who cares?" Not a good way to end eleven and a half hours of listening. It was not easy listening, either, because I really didn't care for the reader. He emphasized words in a way that I never would have if I'd been reading them myself. I went to the library this evening to pick up a new audio book and as I was walking toward the check-out I realized the reader was Scott Brick. I must admit, I turned around and found another book.

5. People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks

For: Adults
Published: January, 2008
372 pgs.
Rating: definitely a 5
Finished this afternoon, MLK Day, Jan. 19, 2009

This one took me a week to read, but I took every opportunity I could, because I became fully engrossed in it very quickly. Hanna Heath, a book conservator from Sydney, Australia, is called to Sarajevo to restore an ancient illuminated Haggadah. It is 1996, and the bombings and the war in Bosnia are just over. Sarajevo is still a mess, and it is found that the Haggadah had been saved by the head librarian of Sarajevo's library, a Moslem named Ozren Karaman. Five hundred years of history come with this beautfiully preserved book, and part of Hanna's mission is always to find out as much of the history of her restorations as possible.

The story goes back and forth between Hanna in 1996, then backwards to 1480, when the illuminations were first drawn - 12 years before the Hebrew and bindings were added. From wine stains tainted with blood to salt markings on the parchment, from a piece of a butterfly wing to a thin white hair, Hanna uses friendships and acquaintances around the world along with modern technology to come up with some ideas about the history. Ah, and what history. So much tension between Jews and Christians. The Spanish Inquisition. Nazi Germany and the resistance. Venice. Vienna. Gambling. Love. Hate. We, the reader, get the full story. And it's fascinating.

The story ends in 2002 - with a very interesting, intriguing twist. Geraldine Brooks knows how to do it. She has written two previous novels (Year of Wonders and March, both on my TBR list), received a Pulitzer Prize. and now lives on Martha's Vineyard. I can't wait to read more of her writing. A real winner.

Addendum: There's a great interview on the web with Geraldine Brooks at: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=81413