Bruno, Chief of Police

by Martin Walker

Libby audiobook 8 hours

read by Robert Ian MacKenzie

Published: 2008

Genre: Detective, murder mystery

This was interesting. Set in rural France, it was unlike other murder mysteries I've read. The themes of racial violence and history actually paired incredibly well with the book club book I just finished. 

I liked the descriptions of food and wine. I liked Bruno's somewhat unethical approach to life and policing . . . but it totally fit the small town vibe. I don't know that I liked it enough to read other books in the series (at least right now), but it was significantly better than the pseudo-mystery romance garbage that I got on my previous two tries of mystery audiobooks!

I should probably stick with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie for a while. . .

Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh

by Sally M. Walker, illustrated by Jonathan D. Voss
Hennepin County Library hardcover unpaged
genre: non-fiction children's book

This was so sweet! I was vaguely familiar with the story, but enjoyed Walker's text, Voss's paintings, and the photographs on the endpapers. Wonderful way to introduce kids to non-fiction stories!

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley

by Sally M. Walker
Hennepin County Library audiobook 3 discs
read by J.R. Horne
genre: YA NF history

I listened to this a few weeks ago, but I really enjoyed it. It is impressive that people continued to go down in this submarine in the 1860s even after it sank three times! After being on the ocean floor for over 100 years, it was an historic and scientific find. The author's research and the narrator's vocal work brought the story of the Hunley to life very effectively. I found the first section on the Civil War work to make and use a submarine to be more compelling than the scientists' efforts to uncover what happened to it almost 150 years later . . . but it was all very interesting. I am no history buff, but I recognize the importance of finding and researching this machine and the men who developed it and went to war in it.

As a side note, I think of the developments in naval technology from the Civil War to WWI (and what I read in the Lusitania book) . . . absolutely amazing!

Code Name Johnny Walker: the Extraordinary Story of the Iraqi Who Risked Everything to Fight with the U.S. Navy SEALs

by Johnny Walker (alias) and Jim DeFelice
Hennepin County Library hardcover 277 pages
genre: non-fiction memoir, war stories

This was definitely not my kind of book. The war, killing, machismo, etc. just turns me off. The cultural differences between what he described about living in Iraq as a child (not to mention later during the war) and what is familiar to me are stunningly different. My notion of honor and the Iraqi notion of honor are radically different. Reading about Chris Kyle (and the recent Jesse Ventura lawsuit) makes me more curious about this man and his American Sniper book . . . though I still don't like war books.

Soheila and their kids coming to America - it would be interesting to hear their perspective on the difference between life in Iraq during war and life here. This book was very, very positive toward the SEALs. There were lots of different missions and it all seemed to blur together - both for the audience of this book and for the protagonist himself. DeFelice's author note at the end talked about this difficulty of remembered how things happened.

Iraq seems to be a very messed-up country. The destruction and corruption are so devastating! How can people have hope to see better days when there are so many factors conspiring against them? The Shia and Sunni . . . even though he explained them pretty carefully, it still doesn't make much sense to me. Why are these people so busy hating one another and trying to exterminate the others? When he talked about informants giving bad "intel" to cause their neighbors / enemies pain and distress, all I could think of was how messed up that is. So if I get mad at one of my neighbors, I can call the police, lie and say they are terrorists, and watch as their house gets torn up and they are terrified by men storming their home with guns? Not okay.

The author's emphasis was continually on building up instead of tearing down, but I don't think anyone in Iraq is listening to him.

House of Odd

written by Landry Q Walker and Dean Koontz
illustrated by Queenie Chan
Hennepin County Library paperback unpaged
genre: graphic novel paranormal mystery

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others. Ozzie's friend from Hollywood, Nedra, has bought a mansion near Pico Mundo. It seems to be haunted, so Ozzie sends Odd (and Stormy) to check it out. Nedra has called in a group of "ghostbusters" who do a tv show on hauntings. The three-person team (plus a cat) have interesting personality dynamics. Odd doesn't get his usual psychic magnetism "vibes" and Elvis can't seem to approach the house. Turns out there's a portal to hell and the demons are playing. Weird, but not one I'll re-read. (I usually kind of like weird stories.)