I am now hideously behind. I will try to get through this quickly.
The Thirteenth Tower by Sara C. Snider – I received this as an e-book from the publisher via Netgalley. It is a great story and it is really well written. This is young adult fantasy. I was quite impressed with it, actually. I am giving it 4 stars.
The Big Four by Agatha Christie – This was an actual book that I borrowed from my mother. This is Hercule Poirot #5. This is a fairly typical Poirot mystery. Sometimes I think you could substitute Poirot and Hastings for Holmes and Watson, but as I liked all of those too, it doesn’t detract from the novel. The only thing I disliked about it is that Poirot fakes his death at one point, which is so incredibly, obviously a ruse since there are a gajillion other books in the series. I’m giving it 3 stars.
The Mummy’s Ransom by Fred Hunter – I received this from a friend a long time ago. She was trying to clean out her house and was donating books to everyone and I took some. I, in turn, am trying to clean out my house, so this is headed for the donation box. This is Ransom & Charters #8. I liked it. It was a very quick read. It was sort of like a Scooby-Doo mystery. I’m giving it 3 stars.
Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King – I borrowed this as an e-book from the BPL. This is Russell & Holmes #12. I borrowed this and read it quickly because I received #13 from the publisher and realized that I wasn’t quite up to date with the series. In this, Russell is missing and Holmes sets off through the desert to find her. Russell has amnesia and doesn’t know who or where she is. She uses her skills to keep herself alive and out of the hands of the authorities. This was good, and an excellent addition to the series. I’m giving it 3 stars.
The Prince of the Marshes by Rory Stewart – I borrowed this as an actual book from my mother. Apparently, it took me over 2 years to read. I liked his other book a lot. This one is about his time working as an administrator in Iraq. It’s interesting and very informative. Unfortunately, it’s very dry and a bit boring to read. I’m giving it 3 stars anyway because I feel like I learned something.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – I borrowed this as an e-book from the Norwood Public Library. There is a lot of hype surrounding this book. It’s post-apocalyptic, which seems to be the thing these days. Basically, everyone gets the flu and dies. There is a travelling theater company and a crazy bible-mad preacher and they do battle. You’ll have to read it. I’m giving it 4 stars.
Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan – I borrowed this as an audiobook from the Boston Public Library. This is a novel about Robert Louis Stevenson and the woman that would eventually become his wife. One funny thing about this one… I kept waiting for my favorite book to be mentioned. About 2/3 of the way through, I realized that my favorite RLS book was actually written by Daniel Defoe. Oops. Despite being a bit of an airhead, I enjoyed this. The author obviously did a lot of research and I learned a lot about RLS that I didn’t know previously. I’m giving it 3 stars.
I will try to be better and file more posts shortly. Right now I need to get ready for a phone interview. Real life is so intrusive sometimes.
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