Well of Lost Plots

by Jasper Fforde
Hennepin County Library, hardcover, 373 pages
genre: SciFi, humor

I didn't like this book quite as well. Thursday goes into a book to take a break from SpecOps, Goliath, and trying to get her husband back. She becomes Bellman in jurisfiction. The mnemonomorph Aornis is messing with Thursday.

Lost in a Good Book

by Jasper Fforde
Hennepin County Library, paperback, 399 pages
genre: SciFi, mystery, humor

Loved it! Another clever Thursday Next story in which Landen is eradicated, Thursday joins jurisfiction, and Miss Havisham drives like a lunatic.

Deuteronomy

Contemporary English Version
narrated by Jonathan Davis
Hennepin County Library, audioCD
genre: Holy Scripture

I got behind on my reading schedule and decided to use an audio version to "catch up" on some of the Old Testament. I like this translation and the narrator's voice is fantastic. As I drove and listened, though, I found myself wanting to open my Bible and read the text. I hit "reverse" a lot so I could re-listen to passages. If I could afford to, I'd love to have the entire Bible on audio in contemporary English. Then I could spend more time listening to Scripture!

The Burning Bridge

book two in The Ranger's Apprentice series
by John Flanagan
PRMS, hardcover, 262 pages

Loved this! I missed the wonderful reader's voice and accents from listening to book one, but the story is filled with adventure and a bit of mystery. Morgarath attacks, the rangers are amazing, and the king's daughter Cassandra is in danger. The ending surprised me, since it's a cliffhanger. Now I have to read book three!

 

<Above published on 8.22.10. Below added 5.16.23.>

 

Libby ebook

While in Costa Rica, I read book one in/on Libby and immediately checked out book two!

 

I only bookmarked one passage, but had forgotten that this was a cliffhanger so I hurriedly got book three . . . 

 

Chapter 14: "'Then don't!' Gilan said forcefully. 'Self-doubt is a disease. And if it gets out of control, it becomes self-fulfilling. You have to learn from what happened . . . Use the experience to make you stronger.'"

 

Gilan is older than Will and was also trained by Halt. Will needs to build his confidence, and Gilan's advice is sound. In this story, Will and Evanlyn are taken by the Skandian raiders who had been mercenaries for Morgarath. Horace has an amazing battle.

 

These books are so addicting! I went immediately to book three.

Here Burns My Candle

by Lynn Curtis Higgs
Kim C's copy, 454 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction

I don't mind that I missed the book club discussion on this book. I didn't like it. Set in Scotland during the 1745 rebellion, this book is based on the story of Ruth from Scripture. Infidelity, poor communication, unhealthy relationships, etc. This just didn't do it for me. I think everyone else really liked it, but it was the same with Higgs' retelling of Jacob & Esau. This author's style just doesn't inspire me.

Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul

by various authors
paperback from ?, heading to the donation bag, 328 pages
genre: short stories, inspiration

None of the Chicken Soup books are especially grand, but this one was especially drab. I have a few up at the lake (pet lovers, etc.) and sometimes it's nice to read a short story to wind down to sleeping (not that I get wound up at the lake). Sometimes I even tear up at an especially touching story. But this collection was dull, vapid, . . . there may have been a few stories that engaged me as a reader, but it wasn't worth the mind-numbing pablum that the collection represents. Yuk.

The Hundred Secret Senses

by Amy Tan
Mary Verbick's copy, hardcover, 358 pages
genre: relationships, mysticism, Chinese culture

Mary lent this to me quite a while ago, after we had talked at school book club about how depressing so many Chinese stories are. This was when we talked about Shanghai Girls. Though Tan's book is more upbeat, it still made me feel sad. Olivia's frustrations with her mother, Kwan, and Simon were all portrayed very realistically. The writing is beautiful and I found myself drawn in, especially by Kwan's stories of her previous life as Miss Moo. The ending felt unresolved, but hopeful. Kwan was an amazing character, albeit bizarre. I'm glad I read it.

Dear Enemy

by Jack Cavanaugh
Hennepin County Library, paperback, 283 pages
genre: historical fiction, Christian inspiration

Wow! What a page-turner. I started this last night and couldn't put it down! This is our church book club title (for next week's discussion). Set in France during WWII (and in California afterward), it tells of nurse Annie Mitchell, her brief marriage with childhood friend Keith, her friendship with Marcy (aka "Mouse"), and her unusual relationship with a German soldier named Karl.

This was well-written. I don't think I've read any of Cavanaugh's books before . . . I need to track down some of his other titles. The only thing that didn't work for me was the lack of explanation for why Karl knew English so well and why he didn't use it for the first day he and Annie were together in the woods. The whole putting-off-the-marriage to Stan part was a bit odd, too, but I liked this story a lot!

I can hardly wait for the discussion. I've missed the last three or four months of it!

Independence Hall and The White House

by Roland Smith
I.Q. #1 & #2
1 - Caver County Library, paperback, 293 pages
2 - Ben B's copy, hardcover, 256 pages
genre: YA spy fiction

Cliffhanger! Book 2 ends with Malak just having kidnapped the president's daughter, Bethany. The plot is strange, but the storytelling is delightful. Q (short for Quest) is the son of singer Blaze (and an absent guitar player father). When Blaze marries Roger, another musician and songwriter, Q gains an odd stepsister in Angela Tucker. Book one takes place in the week after the wedding. Book two takes place in one day.

Think James Bond or Jason Bourne written for young adolescents. Enjoyable.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams
Carver County Library audioCDs, 6 hours
read by Stephen Fry
genre: SciFi humor

Thanks to Mason, I "re-read" this book that I haven't touched in almost thirty years. Not sure why I enjoyed it enough back then to read the rest (Restaurant at the End of the Universe, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, and Life the Universe and Everything). It is as stupid as I expected (or stupider? grin). Now I'm really glad I convinced Mason that this wouldn't be a good choice for our eighth grade book club. It's very inane, only occasionally funny, and the ridiculous names just beg the question "Why?"

Zaphod Beeblebrox
Bartislartfast
etc.
Doesn't do it for me. I'm getting rid of all four paperbacks in the next donation box.

The reader, however, was fantastic! Inflection, character voices, etc. were all fantastic.

The Ruins of Gorlan

by John Flanagan
Carver County Library, audioCDs, 7.75 hours
performed by John Keating
genre: YA historical fiction / adventure

Louie and I enjoyed this story of Will, Horace, and the other orphans in book one of The Ranger's Apprentice series. Although Will has always wanted to become a knight / warrior, he is taken in by the ranger Halt (pronounced "Holt" by Keating). Morgarath is the Great Enemy, but he doesn't figure into this story too much. My favorite scene was the reconciliation between Will and Horace. Halt is a wonderful character! Enjoyable story and I got book two from PRMS today.

 

<Above entered on 8.19.10. Below added 5.16.23.>

 

Libby ebook

I was looking for a quick read on my phone for a trip to Costa Rica and I grabbed this story. I knew it was a quick, enjoyable book but had forgotten how addicting these are!  

Since this was an ebook, I was able to bookmark passages! (As opposed to listening to it . . . )

Chapter 1: "In fact, it was this tendency that often led to trouble between them: Will was yet to learn that having the last word was not always a good idea."

The conflicts between Horace and Will were exacerbated by Will's quick wit and quick tongue. This reminded me of my sister Louise as a teenager. She got into so much trouble with her sassy mouth!

Chapter 4: "Willpower, he thought abstractedly, recognizing the play on the boy's name."

I love that Baron Arald recognized how hard it was for Will to stand before the craftmasters and other orphans and be discussed. Holding back tears when you are upset is hard indeed!

Chapter 16: "Like most cooks, once she had prepared a meal, she had little interest in eating it. Her real pleasure lay in watching others enjoy the results of her work - and listening to their praise."

When one prepares food as an act of love, this is so true! Poor Jenny didn't know why Horace was in a foul mood.

Chapter 22: "But it had his shoulder and body weight and months of suffering and loneliness behind it - the loneliness that only a victim of bullying can know."

Vindication! I love that Horace and Will became friends, but I'm sorry that Horace had to experience some of the cruelty he had dished out to Will when they were children. Horace getting to punch out the chief of his bullies is sweet. Halt made this all work out well.

King of the Mild Frontier: An ill-advised Autobiography

by Chris Crutcher
Hennepin County Library, audioCDs 4:54
read by the author

What an amazing writer! Crutcher's childhood and youth formed him into the therapist and writer he is now. His candor and humor are engaging. I found myself wanting to write him a letter, thanking him for using his talent to touch people's lives. I've always been a bit gun-shy about having his books in a middle school library (because of the swearing and intense content), but I had students go through Whale Talk enthusiastically. Some of my readers are ready for this. His autobiography will be another easy book-talk for me. Incredible.

5/23/13
Did a re-listen in the car with Louie, Morgan, and Nick on our way back from Alex's wedding. I thought the boys would appreciate some of the "guy" humor and I was right. I don't care for his theology, but he is a wonderful storyteller with an interesting take on life. I can see why he has been successful in his work as a therapist working with people who have anger issues.

The Monk Downstairs

by Tim Farrington
Hennepin County libraries

I also read this one quite a while ago. I'm not sure if we did it for book club at school or if someone just recommended it to me. It was weird - both enjoyable & frustrating. The author's back story has some strong parallels to the characters in the book. I liked the romance, but not all the flaky, New Age-y stuff, especially with the female character's mom.

Talking to the Dead

by Bonnie Grove (?)
EP library (I think)
genre: Christian fiction

I read this quite a while ago. It was a Spirit of Life book club title. The main character has just lost her husband and is doing some heavy-duty grieving. As she moves (or doesn't move) through life without him, different people bring different things to her. I liked the crazy older gal the best. Her sister's story bothered me the most. As the truth about her relationship with her husband unravels, we got a clearer picture of the reality of her situation. She sees him and talks with him throughout the book - hence the title.

The Mountain Between Us

by Charles Martin
Hennepin County Library audioCDs, 10 hours
read by George Newbern
genre: "Women's Fiction" - chicklit?

Dr. Ben Payne & reporter Ashley Knox end up taking a charter flight together to avoid a storm that will snow them into Salt Lake City. The pilot has a heart attack and the two passengers are stranded in the mountains with severe injuries. As they fight for their lives, Ben's relationship with his wife Rachel is unfolded in a series of tape recordings that he makes for her.

This was disappointing to me since I really love Martin's other books that I've read. It comes to close to Nicholas Sparks' style and his stuff is way too maudlin for me. I liked Grover (the pilot) and some of the survival stuff. But on a relationship level, I thought this book was a big disappointment.

The Eyre Affair

by Jasper Fforde
my copy paperback 374 pages
genre: British mystery with lots of humor and clever wordplay

Yes! I had first listened to a Fforde story a few years ago and was torn between "this is too bizarre" and "I love this!" When I saw this book in a library book sale, I snatched it up. This is book number one in the series about Thursday Next and Spec-Ops. Guess what's on my reading list now??? These stories are very, very odd, with people going into and coming out of books. There's time travel and a host of other strange stuff happening but they are super-clever and fun to read!

Journey to the Center of the Earth

by Jules Verne
audioCDs read by Simon Prebble

Nick and I listened to this on our road trip to see the U of MN solar car team. It was fun, but not my favorite Verne story. Nick and I both laughed at some of the scientific info in it . . . fun theories (and how do we really know what's in the earth's interior???)

Fearless Fourteen

by Janet Evanovich
AudioCDs read by Lorelei King
genre: humorous detective story

Listened to this with Louise in June when we went to the quilt show. Laugh-out-loud funny writing. A bit crude, but an enjoyable story. Lula and grandma were the funniest. Zeke is a teenager whose mom needs to be bonded out after she robs a liquor store. While the bonding is on hold, our detective takes responsibility for the gamer and a host of other odd characters.

The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence

by Henry A. Giroux
PRMS hardcover 173 pages
genre: social analysis

I picked this up from school in the spring shortly after I had read the other book on Walt Disney. It took me 'til last month to start reading this. I ended up just doing a skim-read because it was so dry. It seemed more like a research paper than compelling non-fiction. His premise is that Disney is the "world's most influential" corporation in terms of cultural practices. He argues that in the guise of promoting innocent fun for kids, Disney has actually created children-as-consumers. This just didn't do it for me. And it definitely isn't going to work for my middle school readers. I have a "delete & donate" sticky on it for back-to-school time.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation

by M.T. Anderson
subtitled: Volume One - The Pox Party
Carver County Library, AudioCDs 8:19
read by Peter Francis James

This is one of those books that I "had" to read. I've read so many positive reviews of it that I just couldn't ignore it. It's an amazing book that I absolutely hated. James' voice is fantastic and he brought the story to life vividly. Unfortunately, it's a story of evil and hypocrisy. The members of the "Novanglian College of Lucidity" are testing a hypothesis about the inferiority of blacks in Revolutionary America. Octavian is their subject. He and his mother are treated royally in some regards, but the evils of racism and intellectual arrogance shine through. Ultimately, this is an incredible, haunting story that made me think. But I didn't enjoy the story.