Janet's bookshelf: read en-US Sat, 08 Mar 2025 17:20:12 -0800 60 Janet's bookshelf: read 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The House on the Borderland 220937
Soon his more earthly home is no less terrible than his bizarre vision, as swine-like creatures boil from a cavern beneath the ground and besiege it. But a still greater horror will face the recluse - more inexorable, merciless and awful than any creature that can be fought or killed.

A classic of the first water - H. P. Lovecraft]]> 152 William Hope Hodgson 1426438281 Janet 4 3.63 1908 The House on the Borderland
author: William Hope Hodgson
name: Janet
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1908
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/08
date added: 2025/03/08
shelves: fantasy, weird-in-a-good-way, horror
review:
I don't know how good it is, but it is certainly wildly creative. It is hard to write truly original fantasy, but this definitely is unique. I had never heard of this author, but wikipedia informs me that he was an influence for Lovecraft and other fantasy/horror greats.
]]> Polostan (Bomb Light, #1) 199793426 Polostan follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is raised in Leningrad after the Russian Revolution by her Russian father, a party line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora. She spends her early years in Russia but then grows up as a teenager in Montana, before being drawn into gunrunning and revolution in the streets of Washington, D.C., during the depths of the Great Depression. When a surprising revelation about her past puts her in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities, Dawn returns to Russia, where she is groomed as a spy by the organization that later becomes the KGB.]]> 303 Neal Stephenson 0062334492 Janet 3 3.70 2024 Polostan (Bomb Light, #1)
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Janet
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/26
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves:
review:
Neal Stephenson's novels always make me think and want to find stuff out, and this was no exception. I am now really curious about the Wobblies, extremism in 1920s U.S., and life in the early days of the USSR.
]]> <![CDATA[The Blonde Identity (Blonde Identity, #1)]]> 63310912
It's the middle of the night in the middle of Paris and a woman just woke up with no memory.

She only knows three things for certain:

1. She has a splitting headache.

2. The hottest guy she has (probably) ever seen is standing over her, telling her to run.

And oh yeah...

3. People keep trying to kill her.

She doesn't know who. Or why. But when she sees footage of herself fighting off a dozen men there's only one explanation: obviously. . . she's a spy!

Except, according to Mr. Hot Guy, she's not. She's a spy's identical twin sister.

Too bad the only person who knows she's not the woman they're looking for is this very grouchy, very sexy, very secret agent who (reluctantly) agrees to help her disappear.

That's easier said than done when a criminal organization wants you dead and every intelligence service in the world wants you caught. Luckily, no one is looking for a pair of lovesick newlyweds on their honeymoon. And soon they're lying their way across Europe--dodging bullets and faking kisses as they race to unravel a deadly conspiracy and clear her sister's name.

But with every secret they uncover, the truth shifts, until she no longer knows who to trust: the twin she can't remember or the mysterious man she can't let herself forget...]]> 304 Ally Carter 006327664X Janet 3 Fun light read. 3.73 2023 The Blonde Identity (Blonde Identity, #1)
author: Ally Carter
name: Janet
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves:
review:
Fun light read.
]]> <![CDATA[Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club]]> 61653268 From the New York Times bestselling author J. Ryan Stradal, a story of a couple from two very different restaurant families in rustic Minnesota, and the legacy of love and tragedy, of hardship and hope, that unites and divides them

Mariel Prager needs a break. Her husband Ned is having an identity crisis, her spunky, beloved restaurant is bleeding money by the day, and her mother Florence is stubbornly refusing to leave the church where she’s been holed up for more than a week. The Lakeside Supper Club has been in her family for decades, and while Mariel’s grandmother embraced the business, seeing it as a saving grace, Florence never took to it. When Mariel inherited the restaurant, skipping Florence, it created a rift between mother and daughter that never quite healed.

Ned is also an heir—to a chain of home-style diners—and while he doesn't have a head for business, he knows his family's chain could provide a better future than his wife's fading restaurant. In the aftermath of a devastating tragedy, Ned and Mariel lose almost everything they hold dear, and the hard-won victories of each family hang in the balance. With their dreams dashed, can one fractured family find a way to rebuild despite their losses, and will the Lakeside Supper Club be their salvation?

In this colorful, vanishing world of relish trays and brandy Old Fashioneds, J. Ryan Stradal has once again given us a story full of his signature honest, lovable yet fallible Midwestern characters as they grapple with love, loss, and marriage; what we hold onto and what we leave behind; and what our legacy will be when we are gone.]]> 340 J. Ryan Stradal 1984881078 Janet 3 3.58 2023 Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club
author: J. Ryan Stradal
name: Janet
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/12
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Masquerade in Lodi (Penric and Desdemona, #9)]]> 55681881 This novella falls between “Penric’s Fox� and “Penric’s Mission� in the internal chronology of the Penric & Desdemona tales.]]> 102 Lois McMaster Bujold Janet 3 fantasy 4.29 2020 Masquerade in Lodi (Penric and Desdemona, #9)
author: Lois McMaster Bujold
name: Janet
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> Wool - Holston (Wool, #1) 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]> 56 Hugh Howey Janet 3 4.14 2012 Wool - Holston (Wool, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Janet
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:

]]> The Road to Roswell 58775691 A delightful novel about alien invasions, conspiracies, and the incredibly silly things people are willing to believe—some of which may actually be true—from the Nebula and Hugo award-winning author of Blackout and All Clear

When level-headed Francie arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate’s UFO-themed wedding—complete with a true-believer bridegroom—she can’t help but roll her eyes at all the wide-eyed talk of aliens, which obviously don’t exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she is abducted by one.

Odder still, her abductor is far from what the popular media have led her to expect, with a body like a tumbleweed and a mass of lightning-fast tentacles. Nor is Francie the only victim of the alien’s abduction spree. Before long, he has acquired a charming con man named Wade, a sweet little old lady with a casino addiction, a retiree with a huge RV and a love for old Westerns, and a UFO-chasing nutjob who is thoroughly convinced the alien intends to probe them and/or take over the planet.

But the more Francie gets to know the alien, the more convinced she becomes that he’s not an invader. That he’s in trouble and she has to help him. Only she doesn’t know how—or even what the trouble is.

Part alien-abduction adventure, part road trip saga, part romantic comedy, The Road to Roswell is packed full of Men in Black, Elvis impersonators, tourist traps, rattlesnakes, chemtrails, and Close Encounters of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth kind. Can Francie, stuck in a neon green bridesmaid’s dress, save the world—and still make it back for the wedding?]]> 399 Connie Willis 0593499859 Janet 3 humor, science-fiction 3.64 2023 The Road to Roswell
author: Connie Willis
name: Janet
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: humor, science-fiction
review:
It going to be tough for our main character to make it to her best friend's wedding after being abducted by what looks like a tumbleweed but turns out to be a genuine alien. They careen around New Mexico in a nutty road trip , picking up abductees as they go, always hoping to get to the wedding on time. This was a lot of fun. I especially like the misunderstandings and bafflement that occur when two species that have no frame of reference for each other try to communicate.
]]> <![CDATA[The Last Party (DC Morgan, #1)]]> 60305071 At midnight, one of them is dead.
By morning, all of them are suspects.

It's a party to end all parties, but not everyone is here to celebrate.

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors.

But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year’s Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family—and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead…but who finally killed him.

In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning. ]]> 432 Clare Mackintosh 172825096X Janet 3 mystery
Good mystery and intersting setting. Mackintosh does a great job giving us the feel of the cold lake, the resentful village, the pretentious new resort, and the conflicted detectives trying to figure it all out.]]> 3.70 2022 The Last Party (DC Morgan, #1)
author: Clare Mackintosh
name: Janet
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/01
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: mystery
review:
A singer/actor with a declining career is found dead in a lake after a New Year's Eve party. Was it murder? Accident? Was it one of the wealthy newcomers or a resentful local?

Good mystery and intersting setting. Mackintosh does a great job giving us the feel of the cold lake, the resentful village, the pretentious new resort, and the conflicted detectives trying to figure it all out.
]]> <![CDATA[Master of the Revels (D.O.D.O., #2)]]> 53441123 In this brilliant sequel to The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.—an enthralling, history-bending adventure traversing time and space, fact and fiction, magic and science co-written with #1 New York Times bestselling author Neal Stephenson—a daring young time traveler must return to Jacobean England to save the modern world.

This fast-paced sequel to the New York Times bestselling near-future adventure The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. picks up where the original left off, as Tristan Lyons, Mel Stokes, and their fellow outcasts from the Department of Diachronic Operations (D.O.D.O.) fight to stop the powerful Irish witch Gráinne from using time travel to reverse the evolution of all modern technology.Ěý

Chief amongst Gráinne’s plots: to encrypt cataclysmic spells into Shakespeare’s “cursed� play, Macbeth. When her fellow rogue agents fall victim to Gráinne’s schemes, Melisande Stokes is forced to send Tristan’s untested, wayward sister Robin back in time to 1606 London, where Edmund Tilney, the king’s Master of Revels, controls all staged performances in London.

And now Gráinne controls Tilney.Ěý

While Robin poses as an apprentice in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Mel travels to the ancient Roman Empire and, with the help of double-agent Chira in Renaissance Florence, untangles the knotted threads of history while the diabolical Gráinne jumps from timeline to timeline, always staying frustratingly one stop ahead—or is it behind?

Historical objects disappear, cities literally rise and fall, and nothing less than the fate of humanity is at stake. As Gráinne sows chaos across time and space, the ragtag team of ex-D.O.D.O. agents must fix the past—in order to save the future.

Critically acclaimed author Nicole Galland brings her deep knowledge of history and signature wit to this gripping romantic adventure.]]> 560 Nicole Galland 0062844873 Janet 3 science-fiction 3.65 2021 Master of the Revels (D.O.D.O., #2)
author: Nicole Galland
name: Janet
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: science-fiction
review:
Fun, I enjoyed it. Time travel books aren't my favorite (I always end up in the weeds thinking about why it would or wouldn't work) but Galland did a good job with this sequel and I was entertained. I also like learning what everyday life for a wealthy Roman family must have been like.
]]> <![CDATA[Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook: All the Best (and Most Surprising) Things People Have Put Between Slices of Bread]]> 209456012 160 Barry W. Enderwick 0760392102 Janet 4 food, non-fiction
Did I enjoy the book? Absolutely! I had a great time reading the background of each and Enderwick's writing style is similar to his persona on his Sandwiches of History videos. Check those out if you haven't seen them. Relaxed, informative, and fun.

I feel any review of this book should have a sandwich recipe. So here's one I came up with a while ago.

Peanut butter, sunflower seed, honey, and raspberry sandwich

Spread natural unsweetened peanut butter on a slice of your favorite sandwich bread. Take about a tablespoon of honey and smooth it out over the peanut butter. Now sprinkle on a generous amount of roasted sunflower seeds (salted or unsalted both work). Put on enough so that they cover the entire sandwich, a single layer stuck to the peanut butter and honey. Now take about 8 fresh raspberries and place them strategically on top so that each bite will get some raspberry. Take a second slice of bread and put on top. Press down enough to mush but not completely annihilate the raspberries. Eat. Delicious You can substitute sliced bananas if you don't have raspberries, but really, the raspberries are outstanding in this.
]]> 3.97 2024 Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook: All the Best (and Most Surprising) Things People Have Put Between Slices of Bread
author: Barry W. Enderwick
name: Janet
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: food, non-fiction
review:
Will I make most of these sandwiches? No. I don't actually eat a lot of sandwiches. Many of them sounded delicious though. And some sounded bizarre. I'm pretty curious about Enderwick's pop rocks sandwich. I may break down and try it.

Did I enjoy the book? Absolutely! I had a great time reading the background of each and Enderwick's writing style is similar to his persona on his Sandwiches of History videos. Check those out if you haven't seen them. Relaxed, informative, and fun.

I feel any review of this book should have a sandwich recipe. So here's one I came up with a while ago.

Peanut butter, sunflower seed, honey, and raspberry sandwich

Spread natural unsweetened peanut butter on a slice of your favorite sandwich bread. Take about a tablespoon of honey and smooth it out over the peanut butter. Now sprinkle on a generous amount of roasted sunflower seeds (salted or unsalted both work). Put on enough so that they cover the entire sandwich, a single layer stuck to the peanut butter and honey. Now take about 8 fresh raspberries and place them strategically on top so that each bite will get some raspberry. Take a second slice of bread and put on top. Press down enough to mush but not completely annihilate the raspberries. Eat. Delicious You can substitute sliced bananas if you don't have raspberries, but really, the raspberries are outstanding in this.

]]> A Man Called Ove 18774964
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.]]> 337 Fredrik Backman 1476738017 Janet 5 book-club
After reading the book I learned some things:
1. Heart warming is an accurate description.
2. It is okay if a book is heart warming if it is also funny. You can trust it more. This book is very funny.
3. I am a lot more like Ove than I want to admit to myself. I'm not good at fixing things though.]]> 4.35 2012 A Man Called Ove
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Janet
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/08
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: book-club
review:
I resisted reading this for years, due to people calling it "heart-warming." I distrust heart-warming books on principle. But since my book club is reading it, I read it. Even though I am out of town and missing the book club (I let them know well in advance) I read it anyway. If you are in a book club you read the books. That's just the way it is. It's an obligation that many people don't understand.

After reading the book I learned some things:
1. Heart warming is an accurate description.
2. It is okay if a book is heart warming if it is also funny. You can trust it more. This book is very funny.
3. I am a lot more like Ove than I want to admit to myself. I'm not good at fixing things though.
]]> Whalefall 62919162 327 Daniel Kraus 1665918160 Janet 4 weird-in-a-good-way
I also connected with the more emotional and at times mystical elements, as our trapped hero thinks about his difficult relationship with his diver father and forms a strange connection with the whale itself.]]> 3.66 2023 Whalefall
author: Daniel Kraus
name: Janet
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: weird-in-a-good-way
review:
I like books with unusual settings, and the belly of a whale certainly fits that category. I read this as a random pick based on the cover. I didn't expect much, but ended up really enjoying it. Whalefall is written as a survival story. Not being a cetacean or scuba expert, I can't tell you if this is realistic. I've got some doubts, but I managed to suspend my disbelief. I love a good struggle to survive against impossible odds theme.

I also connected with the more emotional and at times mystical elements, as our trapped hero thinks about his difficult relationship with his diver father and forms a strange connection with the whale itself.
]]> <![CDATA[The House at Pooh Corner (Winnie-the-Pooh, #2)]]> 776407 180 A.A. Milne 0525444440 Janet 5 4.37 1928 The House at Pooh Corner (Winnie-the-Pooh, #2)
author: A.A. Milne
name: Janet
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1928
rating: 5
read at: 1967/01/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: 1-000-books-before-you-die, animal-story, childrens-fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America]]> 57340678 260 Will Sommer 0063114488 Janet 4 4.06 2023 Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America
author: Will Sommer
name: Janet
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Black Cake 57926137 We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?

In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.

Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right�? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.]]> 385 Charmaine Wilkerson Janet 3 book-club 4.06 2022 Black Cake
author: Charmaine Wilkerson
name: Janet
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: book-club
review:
I enjoyed it. The author did a good job in giving us strong characters and a decent plot. I wish it had been more grounded in place - Covie's story would have been much richer and more engaging if I had more of a feel for the places and cultures that shaped her. I was also very sad to not get a recipe for Black Cake, although I am told that some editions had one.
]]> Life Among the Savages 131191 "The Lottery", was known for her terse, haunting prose. But the writer possessed another side, one which is delightfully exposed in this hilariously charming memoir of her family's life in rural Vermont. Fans of Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Cheaper by the Dozen, and anything Erma Bombeck ever wrote will find much to recognize in Shirley Jackson's home and neighborhood: children who won't behave, cars that won't start, furnaces that break down, a pugnacious corner bully, household help that never stays, and a patient, capable husband who remains lovingly oblivious to the many thousands of things mothers and wives accomplish every single day.

"Our house," writes Jackson, "is old, noisy, and full. When we moved into it we had two children and about five thousand books; I expect that when we finally overflow and move out again we will have perhaps twenty children and easily half a million books." Jackson's literary talents are in evidence everywhere, as is her trenchant, unsentimental wit. Yet there is no mistaking the happiness and love in these pages, which are crowded with the raucous voices of an extraordinary family living a wonderfully ordinary life.]]> 256 Shirley Jackson 0140267670 Janet 4 3.97 1953 Life Among the Savages
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Janet
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1953
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves:
review:
It's really funny but the humor feels forced to me, a bit desperate. I feel an undercurrent of anger in these light hearted stories; maybe it is because I have read her darker works. I am thinking of Jackson's most famous fiction: We have always lived in the castle; The Haunting of Hill House: The Lottery. All of them have a theme of a woman being trapped in a role by tradition, societal norms and family bonds. This role puts her at risk, and sometimes destroys her. Life Among the Savages has the same theme. When she goes to the hospital to give birth she is asked her profession when registering. "Writer," she says. The person fills in "Housewife" instead. Jackson is joking that even when she asserts herself as an individual, no one even notices, because they cannot see her outside of a traditional role.
]]> <![CDATA[2666, Part 1: The Part About The Critics]]> 16481836 160 Roberto Bolaño Janet 0 to-read 4.18 2666, Part 1: The Part About The Critics
author: Roberto Bolaño
name: Janet
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook]]> 124028429
“The book I wish someone had handed me when I began my own journey as a cook.”—from the Foreword by Samin Nosrat, New York Times bestselling author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

"A book to return to again and again and again.â€� —Yotam Ottolenghi, New York Times bestselling author of Plenty and Ottolenghi SimpleĚýĚýĚý

A practical, information-packed, and transformative guide to becoming a better cook and conquering the kitchen, Start Here is a must-have master class in leveling up your cooking.

Across a dozen technique-themed chapters—fromĚý“Temperature Management 101”ĚýandĚý“Break it Down & Get Saucyâ€� to “Go to Brown Town,â€� “All About Butter,”Ěýand “Getting to Know Dough”—Sohla El-Waylly explains the hows and whys of cooking, introducing the fundamental skills that you need to become a more intuitive, inventive cook.

A one-stop resource, regardless of what you’re hungry for, Start Here gives equal weight to savory and sweet dishes, with more than two hundred mouthwatering recipes,Ěý


Packed with practical advice and scientific background, and an almost endless assortment of recipe variations, along with tips, guidance, and how-tos, Start Here is culinary school—without the student loans.]]> 656 Sohla El-Waylly 0593320468 Janet 4 food, non-fiction 4.48 2023 Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook
author: Sohla El-Waylly
name: Janet
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: food, non-fiction
review:
I have a new project: relearning how to cook, starting with the basics. Start Here is organized around skills and approaches that are valuable in the kitchen, and I am getting a lot out of it. Sohla says that it's like a cooking school without the student loans. Perfect for me! I am trying to follow the recipes exactly, although I have to make some changes due to food allergies. The beginning section on salads is remarkably useful, and my green salads are greatly improved. I always assumed that a salad spinner was a little silly, but it turns out to be both useful and extremely fun to spin. I'm enjoying working my way through the book, and learning as I go.
]]> <![CDATA[The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science]]> 24861842
As Serious Eats's culinary nerd-in-residence, J. Kenji López-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don’t work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new—but simple—techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.]]> 958 J. Kenji López-Alt 0393081087 Janet 4 food, non-fiction
I'm really glad I bought it. I was especially happy with his exploration of eggs. After reading it, I made the best scrambled eggs I have ever had, based on his advice. That breakfast made buying the book worth it.]]> 4.31 2015 The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science
author: J. Kenji LĂłpez-Alt
name: Janet
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: food, non-fiction
review:
In depth explorations of cooking techniques, using the scientific method. Perhaps the only cookbook to ever discuss surfactants and their use in salad dressing. It does have recipes, but what is more valuable is the explanation of the reasoning behind them. I would have given it 5 stars, but he doesn't cover some cooking topics that I want to learn about.

I'm really glad I bought it. I was especially happy with his exploration of eggs. After reading it, I made the best scrambled eggs I have ever had, based on his advice. That breakfast made buying the book worth it.
]]> Sometimes I Lie 32326398 1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie

Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?]]> 387 Alice Feeney 0008225354 Janet 3 mystery, thriller 3.73 2017 Sometimes I Lie
author: Alice Feeney
name: Janet
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: mystery, thriller
review:
It leaned heavily on the tension created by an unreliable narrator. I was kept guessing: what is real, what is not? Who is lying? That worked well. I wanted more, though. It felt like the unreliable narrator approach was the whole book. Still, a decent thriller.
]]> Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Janet 3 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Janet
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 3
read at: 1977/01/01
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: 1-000-books-before-you-die, romance
review:

]]> Daisy Darker 59808050 The New York Times bestselling Queen of Twists returns…with a family reunion that leads to murder.

After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.

The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows�

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.

With a wicked wink to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Daisy Darker’s unforgettable twists will leave readers reeling.]]> 352 Alice Feeney 1250843936 Janet 4 mystery, sneaky-tricksy-plot 3.75 2022 Daisy Darker
author: Alice Feeney
name: Janet
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/03
date added: 2024/11/03
shelves: mystery, sneaky-tricksy-plot
review:
I love the classic whodunnit, and Daisy Darker delivers. If you've read Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None, you'll have a good idea of the plot, but as in all good whodunnits, there are some unexpected twists.
]]> Jonathan Unleashed 27774717 National Book Award finalist and bestselling author Meg Rosoff's charming, hilarious new novelĚýabout a young New Yorker’s search for happiness and the two dogs who help him find it—the perfect summer readĚý
Ěý
Jonathan Trefoil’s boss is unhinged, his relationship baffling, and his apartment just the wrong side of legal. His girlfriend wants to marry someone just like him—only richer and with a different sense of humor. He doesn’t remember life being this confusing, back before everyone expected him to act like a grown-up.
Ěý
When his brother asks him to look after his dogs, Jonathan's world view begins to shift. Could a border collie and a cocker spaniel hold the key to life, the universe, and everything? Their sly maneuvering on daily walks and visits to the alluring vet suggest that human emotional intelligence may not be top dog after all.
Ěý
A funny, wise romantic comedy set in Manhattan, Jonathan Unleashed is a story of tangled relationships, friendships, and dogs. Rosoff’s novel is for anyone wondering what to be when they grow up, and how on earth to get there.]]> 288 Meg Rosoff 1101980907 Janet 4
I love Meg Rosoff's books. She combines a funny easy style of writing, memorable characters, and belief that no matter how screwed up we are, there is hope of something good and meaningful in our lives.]]> 3.33 2016 Jonathan Unleashed
author: Meg Rosoff
name: Janet
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/01
date added: 2024/11/01
shelves:
review:
A young man works in a soul sucking job and clings onto a relationship with someone who is completely wrong for him. Can his two dogs help him stumble into some kind of decent future?

I love Meg Rosoff's books. She combines a funny easy style of writing, memorable characters, and belief that no matter how screwed up we are, there is hope of something good and meaningful in our lives.
]]> <![CDATA[At Bertram's Hotel (Miss Marple, #10)]]> 16333
When Miss Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she's looking for at Bertram's: traditional décor and impeccable service. But she senses an unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly polished veneer. Not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion when an eccentric hotel guest makes his way to the airport one day late!

Librarian's note: this entry is for the novel, "At Bertram's Hotel." Collections and other Miss Marple stories are located elsewhere on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ. The series includes 12 novels and 20 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."]]> 223 Agatha Christie Janet 3 3.72 1965 At Bertram's Hotel (Miss Marple, #10)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Janet
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1965
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Allan Quatermain (Allan Quatermain, #2)]]> 722035 204 H. Rider Haggard 1576468216 Janet 3
To Haggard's credit, he does sort of reject colonialism at the end. And this time here are no scenes of herds of animals getting slaughtered for sport, thank goodness. There are, however, a lot of scenes of humans getting strangled/axed/killed in hand to hand combat/falling into fiery pits/other creative death scenes. So, not a book for the squeamish.]]> 3.88 1887 Allan Quatermain (Allan Quatermain, #2)
author: H. Rider Haggard
name: Janet
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1887
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/20
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves:
review:
Pretty good adventure, although not as good as King Solomon's Mines. Haggard was good at description and action packed plots. Like King Solomon's Mines, it has some pretty big racism and sexism issues. Haggard seems to have had a complicated love/hate attitude toward women. In K.S.M, there were almost no women. This book actually has strong women as major characters, but Haggard doesn't seem like he liked them much. He seems to find them annoying.

To Haggard's credit, he does sort of reject colonialism at the end. And this time here are no scenes of herds of animals getting slaughtered for sport, thank goodness. There are, however, a lot of scenes of humans getting strangled/axed/killed in hand to hand combat/falling into fiery pits/other creative death scenes. So, not a book for the squeamish.
]]> The Lively Lady 1274756 286 Kenneth Roberts 0892724250 Janet 3 historical
And then I got to the portrayal of King Dick, an African American prisoner in Dartmoor Prison. He was a real and fascinating person: see

I wish Roberts had made King Dick the main character. There's a great book there. Instead Roberts chose to portray him as admirable but comical, using pretty much every racist stereotype you can imagine. And Roberts was particularly tone deaf when he wrote the conversation King Dick has about going back to the U.S. and the country of freedom and liberty, delivered with no acknowledgement that there wasn't a whole lot of liberty in the U.S. for a black man in 1812.


]]> 4.10 1931 The Lively Lady
author: Kenneth Roberts
name: Janet
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1931
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/17
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: historical
review:
Continuing a read of my grandfather's book collection. The Lively Lady is a fun historical novel set during the War of 1812. Kenneth Roberts was known for doing extensive research, and it shows in the level of detail here. It's also good entertainment, and has a well done romance as part of the plot.

And then I got to the portrayal of King Dick, an African American prisoner in Dartmoor Prison. He was a real and fascinating person: see

I wish Roberts had made King Dick the main character. There's a great book there. Instead Roberts chose to portray him as admirable but comical, using pretty much every racist stereotype you can imagine. And Roberts was particularly tone deaf when he wrote the conversation King Dick has about going back to the U.S. and the country of freedom and liberty, delivered with no acknowledgement that there wasn't a whole lot of liberty in the U.S. for a black man in 1812.



]]> <![CDATA[King Solomon's Mines (Allan Quatermain, #1)]]> 23814 264 H. Rider Haggard 0812966295 Janet 3 thriller
Haggard also reflected his culture with an acceptance of colonialism, racism, and sexism, and the othering of Africans as exotic savages. He presents Africans as sophisticated, brave, honorable, and often superior to Europeans, while at the same time accepting that they are inherently inferior savages and can never mix with whites as equals. Its an odd dichotomy, as if Haggard accepted the racism of his time without question, and never noticed that he didn't always agree with it.

As for the sexism, he seemed to be all for it.

Also, there is a horrific elephant hunt that Haggard put in as exciting and fun local color. Yikes.]]> 3.80 1885 King Solomon's Mines (Allan Quatermain, #1)
author: H. Rider Haggard
name: Janet
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1885
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/09
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: thriller
review:
It's tough to rate this one. I was surprised by how much fun I had reading it. Haggard knew how to pace an exciting adventure, and he avoided the florid language that was common in popular novels of that period. There was also a fair amount of humor. Allan Quatermain is a great character and narrator.

Haggard also reflected his culture with an acceptance of colonialism, racism, and sexism, and the othering of Africans as exotic savages. He presents Africans as sophisticated, brave, honorable, and often superior to Europeans, while at the same time accepting that they are inherently inferior savages and can never mix with whites as equals. Its an odd dichotomy, as if Haggard accepted the racism of his time without question, and never noticed that he didn't always agree with it.

As for the sexism, he seemed to be all for it.

Also, there is a horrific elephant hunt that Haggard put in as exciting and fun local color. Yikes.
]]> <![CDATA[City of Golden Shadow (Otherland, #1)]]> 28695 780 Tad Williams 0886777631 Janet 4 science-fiction 3.93 1996 City of Golden Shadow (Otherland, #1)
author: Tad Williams
name: Janet
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/25
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: science-fiction
review:

]]> The Once and Future Witches 49504061
But when the Eastwood sisters--James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna--join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.]]> 517 Alix E. Harrow 0316422045 Janet 2 fantasy 4.01 2020 The Once and Future Witches
author: Alix E. Harrow
name: Janet
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/07
date added: 2024/09/08
shelves: fantasy
review:
I think many fantasy fans will love this book, but it didn't really work for me. The premise was interesting and I was engaged enough to finish it. There were some great exciting scenes, but in between things dragged, especially the repeated descriptions of how the magic worked. I also was a bit irritated by the vague geography and concept of New Salem. It seems to be a major city of vague locale with no neighbors or county or state government. That's not going to be a problem for most readers, but I prefer more detail in world building.
]]> A Thousand Steps into Night 55948826 New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist, Traci Chee, comes a Japanese-influenced fantasy brimming with demons, adventure, and plans gone awry.

In the realm of Awara, where gods, monsters, and humans exist side by side, Miuko is an ordinary girl resigned to a safe, if uneventful, existence as an innkeeper’s daughter. But when Miuko is cursed and begins to transform into a demon with a deadly touch, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life. Aided by a thieving magpie spirit and continuously thwarted by a demon prince, Miuko must outfox tricksters, escape demon hunters, and negotiate with feral gods if she wants to make it home again. But with her transformation comes power and freedom she never even dreamed of, and she’ll have to decide if saving her soul is worth trying to cram herself back into an ordinary life that no longer fits her� and perhaps never did.]]> 400 Traci Chee Janet 3 fantasy, yanovels 3.78 2022 A Thousand Steps into Night
author: Traci Chee
name: Janet
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/30
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: fantasy, yanovels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)]]> 40916679
Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.]]> 433 Holly Jackson 1405293187 Janet 3 yanovels, mystery 4.29 2019 A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Janet
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/15
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: yanovels, mystery
review:

]]> 9 From the Nine Worlds 38463343 176 Rick Riordan 1368024041 Janet 3 3.95 2018 9 From the Nine Worlds
author: Rick Riordan
name: Janet
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/15
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: fantasy, short-fiction, childrens-fantasy
review:
Goofy fun in this linked set of nine stories, great for fans on Riordan's Magnus Chase series.
]]> Puzzleheart 179031785 Get ready to solve the mystery at the heart of this middle grade adventure about family—and a house with a mind of its own.

Twelve-year-old Perigee has never met a problem they couldn’t solve. So when their Dad’s spirits need raising, Perigee formulates the perfect road trip to Dad’s childhood home to reunite him with his estranged mother. There's something in it for Perigee, too, as they will finally get to visit “Eklunds' Puzzle House,� the mysterious bed & breakfast their grandparents built but never opened. They arrive ahead of a massive storm and the House immediately puts Perigee’s logical, science-loving mind to the test. Corridors shift. Strange paintings lurk in the shadows. Encoded messages abound. Despite Perigee’s best efforts, neither the House nor Grandma will give up their secrets. And worse, prickly Grandma has outlawed games and riddles of any kind. Even the greatest of plans can crumble, and as new arguments fill the air, the House becomes truly dangerous. Deadly puzzles pop up at every turn, knives spin in the hallways, and staircases disappear. The answer lies at the heart of the House, but in order to find it, Perigee and their new friend Lily will need to solve a long-lost, decades-old riddle� if the House itself doesn’t stop them first.]]> 269 Jenn Reese 1250783461 Janet 3 childrens-fantasy 3.77 2024 Puzzleheart
author: Jenn Reese
name: Janet
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: childrens-fantasy
review:
Lots of fun, as kids try to solve the mystery of a sentient puzzle house, and save the family at the same time. I would have loved this when I was about 12.
]]> A Game of Noctis 176530098 A thrilling middle grade fantasy about a girl who must participate in a deadly game with a ragtag team of players to save her grandfather from a terrible fate—perfect for fans of James Riley and Shannon Messenger!In the opulent, sinking city of Dantessa, the Great Game rules all. Pia Paro believes that so long as you follow the rules, you always have a chance at winning. But after her beloved Gramps is sentenced to a life of servitude, Pia accepts a dangerous offer and joins a team of players seeking to win the most perilous game of Noctis. The Seafoxes—Pia’s new teammates—are unlike anyone she’s ever met. There’s brash, bold Carlo; macabre Serafina; kindhearted Pasquale; and their dashing ringleader, Vittoria. Each has their own reason for playing, and soon, Pia begins to question all her long-held beliefs. Maybe the rules Pia once trusted to lift her up have only been keeping her—and thousands of others like her—down. As she struggles with these revelations, Pia must survive a gauntlet of clockwork soldiers, perilous underwater adventures, and even a game against Death herself. But with Pia’s grandfather’s life at stake, Pia must finally decide whether she’s brave enough to not just break the rules, but to change the very nature of the Game.]]> 317 Deva Fagan 1665930217 Janet 3 childrens-fantasy 4.03 2024 A Game of Noctis
author: Deva Fagan
name: Janet
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: childrens-fantasy
review:
Reminded me of Iain Banks' novel, A Player of Games, but for kids. The premise of a society structured by one's prowess at games really worked well.
]]> <![CDATA[An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural]]> 662282 336 James Randi 0312151195 Janet 4 non-fiction 3.97 1995 An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
author: James Randi
name: Janet
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/24
date added: 2024/08/25
shelves: non-fiction
review:
It's a slightly dated short encyclopedia, but I ended up reading it straight through, mostly because of Randi's dry humor.
]]> <![CDATA[River of Blue Fire (Otherland, #2)]]> 10084
Otherland. In many ways it is humankind's most stunning a private, multidimensional universe built over two generations by the greatest minds of the twenty-first century. But this most exclusive of places is also one of the world's best kept secrets, created and controlled by an organization made up of the world's most powerful and ruthless individuals, a private cartel known—to those who know of their existence at all—as The Grail Brotherhood.

Though their purpose in creating Otherland is still a mystery, it may not remain so for long. For they have exacted a terrible price from humanity in the process, and even their highly organized global conspiracy cannot hide the nature of their crimes forever. And now a small band of adventurers has penetrated the veil of secrecy that prevents the uninitiated from entering Otherland. But having broken into the amazing worlds within worlds that make up this universe, they are trapped, unable to escape back to their own flesh-and-blood bodies in the real world.

And as dangers and circumstances split their party into small, widely scattered groups, their only hope of reuniting lies in returning again and again to the River that flows—in one form or another—through all the worlds. But the odds seem to be completely against them as they—and the one outsider with whom they might join forces—become hopelessly lost in realms where an Ice Age tribe's fears can only be quenched in blood...where insects are as large and deadly as dinosaurs...where they are caught in the war between a man made of straw and one made of tin...where cartoon ads take on a life of their own...where humans strive to survive in the aftermath of an alien invasion...and where one among their party is actually The Grail Brotherhood's most terrifying weapon—a sociopathic killer who has never failed and whose current mission is to make certain that not even one member of this little invasion force lives long enough to reveal the truth about Otherland to the people of Earth...]]> 675 Tad Williams 0886778441 Janet 3 4.03 1998 River of Blue Fire (Otherland, #2)
author: Tad Williams
name: Janet
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/08/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sea of Silver Light (Otherland, #4)]]> 10092 688 Tad Williams 0641645473 Janet 4 science-fiction 4.15 2001 Sea of Silver Light (Otherland, #4)
author: Tad Williams
name: Janet
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/20
date added: 2024/08/25
shelves: science-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mountain of Black Glass (Otherland, #3)]]> 10090
This proclamation from the mysterious Mr. Sellars confirmed what Renie Sulaweyo had feared to be true when she first broke into the Otherland network in a desperate search for the cause of her brother Stephen's deathlike coma.

Now Renie, the Bushman !Xabbu, and their companions find themselves navigating a treacherous and ever-changing course―from a strangely unfinished land, ro a seemingly endless labyrinthine House―pursuing a sociopathic killer who has stolen one of their group.

To Renie's despair she is no closer to uncovering the secrets which could help save Stephen's life, and now it appears that something may be very wrong with the Otherland network itself.

As Paul Jonas, Orlando, Renie and the rest strive to reach Priam's Walls, in the heart of Troy, they know that their quest is running perilously short of time. For the Grail Brotherhood has finally set the date for the Ceremony when they will make their bid for the immortality, and thereby seal the fate of Earth's children forever.

But before Renie and her allies can hope to stop the Brotherhood, they must first solve the mysteries of Otherland itself, and confront its darkest secret―an enitity known only at the Other.]]> 749 Tad Williams 0886779065 Janet 0 science-fiction 4.07 1999 Mountain of Black Glass (Otherland, #3)
author: Tad Williams
name: Janet
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/08/25
shelves: science-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Beasts of Tarzan (Tarzan, #3)]]> 330110 240 Edgar Rice Burroughs 0809599848 Janet 3 3.75 1914 The Beasts of Tarzan (Tarzan, #3)
author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
name: Janet
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1914
rating: 3
read at: 2008/10/01
date added: 2024/08/13
shelves:
review:
Oh no! Jane and Tarzan junior get kidnapped! Again! Jane continues in her brave but dim-witted role. Tarzan gets lots of sidekicks, including Sheeta the murderous leopard.
]]> <![CDATA[A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches]]> 26893754 192 Tyler Kord 0804186413 Janet 3 food, non-fiction 4.22 2016 A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches
author: Tyler Kord
name: Janet
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/19
date added: 2024/06/30
shelves: food, non-fiction
review:
A quirky book that is at least as much about the author's personality as it is about sandwiches. Not sure how much I like the author, but the veggie burger recipe was excellent. (Broccoli and seitan are the main ingredients. I had serious doubts, but it turned out to taste great and hold together.)
]]> <![CDATA[The Night in Question (The Agathas #2)]]> 62361548 How do you solve a murder? Follow the lessons of the master—Agatha Christie! Iris and Alice find themselves in the middle of another Castle Cove mystery in the sequel to New York Times bestseller The Agathas, by powerhouse authors Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson.

Alice Ogilvie and Iris Adams became the talk of Castle Cove when they cracked the biggest case of the fall: the death of Brooke Donovan. Together, the Agathas put Brooke's killer away for good, and since then things around town have been almost back to normal. Quiet, even.

But if Alice and Iris know anything, it's that sometimes quiet is just the calm before the storm. The truth is, Brooke's disappearance wasn't the first mystery to rock Castle Cove, and it won't be the last. So when their school dance at the infamous Levy Castle—the site of film starlet Mona Moody's unsolved death back in the 1940s—is interrupted by a violent assault, Iris and Alice pull out their murder boards and get back to work.

To understand the present, sometimes you need to look into the past. And if the Agathas want a chance at solving their new case, that's exactly where they'll need to start digging. Only, what they uncover might very well kill them.]]> 416 Kathleen Glasgow 0593645839 Janet 3 mystery, yanovels 3.88 2023 The Night in Question (The Agathas #2)
author: Kathleen Glasgow
name: Janet
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/30
date added: 2024/06/30
shelves: mystery, yanovels
review:

]]> Not Quite a Ghost 134221625 277 Anne Ursu 0062275151 Janet 4
I'm not sure how this will go over with kids, but I was completely engaged, and as soon as I recognized that creepy wallpaper, I knew I was in for quite a read. This is a layered read with a lot going on.
]]> 4.04 2024 Not Quite a Ghost
author: Anne Ursu
name: Janet
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/20
date added: 2024/06/20
shelves: childrens-fantasy, childrensnovels, horror, psychic-trauma
review:
"The Yellow Wallpaper," a classic novella by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, lurks in the background of this story, like the figure trapped in the wallpaper of Violet's room. It is a strange choice to adapt for young readers. Is Violet going mad like the woman in the original story? What is truly causing her strange exhaustion? Just the challenges of middle school, or is something more sinister happening to her body and in her room?

I'm not sure how this will go over with kids, but I was completely engaged, and as soon as I recognized that creepy wallpaper, I knew I was in for quite a read. This is a layered read with a lot going on.

]]> <![CDATA[The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures, #1)]]> 63035432
Unfortunately, the gods aren’t quite done with him yet. Poseidon breaks the bad news that if Percy expects to get into New Rome University, he will have to fulfill three quests in order to earn the necessary three letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus.

The first task is to help Ganymede, Zeus’s cupbearer, retrieve his golden goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. You see, one sip from it can turn a mortal into a god, and Zeus would not be pleased with that result. Can Percy and his friends Grover and Annabeth find the precious cup in time? And if they do, will they be able to resist its special power?

Readers new to Percy Jackson universe and fans who have been awaiting this reunion for more than a decade will delight equally in this latest hilarious take on Greek mythology by the "storyteller of the gods."]]> 288 Rick Riordan 1368098177 Janet 3 4.27 2023 The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Senior Year Adventures, #1)
author: Rick Riordan
name: Janet
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/19
date added: 2024/06/20
shelves:
review:
It was fun to have another adventure with Percy, and I liked that the stakes were lower - instead of saving the world (again) its about getting recommendation letters to college. You definitely wouldn't want to start reading the series here, but for Percy Jackson fans, its a good read.
]]> The Agathas (The Agathas #1) 58985554
Enter Iris Adams, Alice's tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn't have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke's grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter's whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn't so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory.

In order to get the reward and prove Steve's innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need--the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there's anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it's the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they're about to walk into.]]> 405 Kathleen Glasgow 0593431111 Janet 3 mystery, yanovels 3.91 2022 The Agathas (The Agathas #1)
author: Kathleen Glasgow
name: Janet
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/19
date added: 2024/06/20
shelves: mystery, yanovels
review:
Pretty good mystery and two appealing main characters who form an unlikely friendship. I enjoyed all the Agatha Christie referenences.
]]> Homer Price 766917 The comic genius of Robert McCloskey and his wry look at small-town America has kept readers in stitches for generations!

]]> 149 Robert McCloskey 0140309276 Janet 4 childrensnovels 4.09 1943 Homer Price
author: Robert McCloskey
name: Janet
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1943
rating: 4
read at: 2019/03/07
date added: 2024/06/15
shelves: childrensnovels
review:
I needed some comfort food while recovering from the flu. Homer is a great character, and these stories feel as wholesome as a good bowl of soup, or perhaps a doughnut. But it is the sly social commentary that makes them great. McCloskey's illustrations are, of course, terrific.
]]> Zero Days 62919765 Ruth Ware returns with this adrenaline-fueled thriller about a woman in a race against time to clear her name and find her husband’s murderer.

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.

Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer.]]> 356 Ruth Ware 1982155299 Janet 3 to-read, thriller 3.59 2023 Zero Days
author: Ruth Ware
name: Janet
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/08
date added: 2024/06/08
shelves: to-read, thriller
review:
Okay read. I figured out the big reveal of the bad guy's identity way before I was supposed to. That's the problem of not having a lot of characters. Also, a lot of the tension was generated by Jack being injured, and I got tired of hearing about it. It kept me going though, in true thriller fashion.
]]> Odin's Family 717132 124 Neil Philip 0531095312 Janet 3 children-s-non-fiction 4.03 1996 Odin's Family
author: Neil Philip
name: Janet
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/08
date added: 2024/06/08
shelves: children-s-non-fiction
review:
Good take on the Norse myths for kids.
]]> <![CDATA[The Dirty Streets of Heaven (Bobby Dollar, #1)]]> 13542846
But his problems aren't all his fault. Bobby can't entirely trust his heavenly superiors, and he's not too sure about any of his fellow earthbound angels either, especially the new kid that Heaven has dropped into their midst, a trainee angel who asks too many questions. And he sure as hell doesn't trust the achingly gorgeous Countess of Cold Hands, a mysterious she-demon who seems to be the only one willing to tell him the truth.

When the souls of the recently departed start disappearing, catching both Heaven and Hell by surprise, things get bad very quickly for Bobby D. "End-of-the-world" bad. "Beast of Revelations" bad. Caught between the angry forces of Hell, the dangerous strategies of his own side, and a monstrous undead avenger that wants to rip his head off and suck out his soul, Bobby's going to need all the friends he can get--in Heaven, on Earth, or anywhere else he can find them.

You've never met an angel like Bobby Dollar. And you've never read anything like The Dirty Streets of Heaven. Brace yourself -- the afterlife is weirder than you ever believed.]]> 406 Tad Williams 0756407680 Janet 3 fantasy 3.73 2012 The Dirty Streets of Heaven (Bobby Dollar, #1)
author: Tad Williams
name: Janet
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/06/04
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> The Guncle (The Guncle, #1) 54508798
So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules� ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting—even if temporary—isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.]]> 326 Steven Rowley 0525542280 Janet 3 4.09 2021 The Guncle (The Guncle, #1)
author: Steven Rowley
name: Janet
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/31
date added: 2024/05/31
shelves:
review:
Great feel good book. Cheered me up when I was in a slump, and that's worth a lot.
]]> <![CDATA[The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the People Who Raised Them]]> 3170683 240 Amy Dickinson 1401322859 Janet 4 biography 3.63 2008 The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the People Who Raised Them
author: Amy Dickinson
name: Janet
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/18
date added: 2024/05/31
shelves: biography
review:
I picked up this older book while weeding at the library and instead of getting rid of it I ended up reading it. I am addicted to advice columns, and Ask Amy is one of my favorites. It turns out that Amy Dickinson tells a good story, has an interesting life, and is someone I'd love to have lunch with. I just read that she is retiring soon. Maybe she'll have time to write a sequel memoir.
]]> Circe 35959740
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.]]> 393 Madeline Miller 0316556343 Janet 3 fantasy 4.22 2018 Circe
author: Madeline Miller
name: Janet
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/20
date added: 2024/05/31
shelves: fantasy
review:
Great retelling of Greek myths from a woman's point of view. I felt like a few were shoehorned in a bit. I kind of wanted them to be less human, more a personification of natural forces, but that would have been a different book.
]]> <![CDATA[One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich]]> 17125 The only English translation authorized by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

First published in the Soviet journal Novy Mir in 1962, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich stands as a classic of contemporary literature. The story of labor-camp inmate Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, it graphically describes his struggle to maintain his dignity in the face of communist oppression. An unforgettable portrait of the entire world of Stalin's forced work camps, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is one of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union and confirms Solzhenitsyn's stature as "a literary genius whose talent matches that of Dosotevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy"--Harrison Salisbury

This unexpurgated 1991 translation by H. T. Willetts is the only authorized edition available, and fully captures the power and beauty of the original Russian.]]> 182 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Janet 5 1-000-books-before-you-die 3.98 1962 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
author: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
name: Janet
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at: 1983/01/01
date added: 2024/03/15
shelves: 1-000-books-before-you-die
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue]]> 50623864
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.]]> 448 Victoria E. Schwab 0765387565 Janet 2 fantasy 4.16 2020 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Janet
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2024/03/11
date added: 2024/03/12
shelves: fantasy
review:
Not the book for me. I was hoping for more historical content, and the middle dragged badly. I can see how others would like it better though.
]]> <![CDATA[Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor (Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor, #1)]]> 51809429
Now that April knows Gabriel Winterborne is alive, she must turn to the other orphans to keep him that way. As a looming new danger threatens to take Gabriel down once and for all, they must use their individual talents to find a way to make sure this home for misfits isn't lost to them for ever.

Because at the Winterborne Home, nothing is what it seems, no one is who they say they are and nowhere is safe. And now a ragtag group of orphans must unravel the riddle of a missing heir, a supposed phantom and a secret key, all without alerting the adults of Winterborne House that trouble is afoot.]]> 336 Ally Carter Janet 4 childrensnovels 4.17 2020 Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor (Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor, #1)
author: Ally Carter
name: Janet
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/26
date added: 2024/01/29
shelves: childrensnovels
review:
Lots of fun, as orpans try to discover the mystery of their new home. Good characters, great plot. I am a fan of all of Ally Carter's books, and this one didn't let me down. I am looking forward to reading the sequel.
]]> Survivor Girl 40796206
12-year-old AliĚýadores her reality-show celebrity father, Survivor Guy, and hopes to follow in his footsteps. But when heĚýinvites her on location, AliĚýis sure she won’t survive one episode Ěý. . .Ěý until she learns the The show isn't just her dad and a camera. It’s a huge crew and set, withĚýstunt doubles! When a wildfire strikesĚýand Ali and two other kids missĚýthe last rescue helicopter,Ěýsuddenly, the fight for survival is real. Will she find the self-confidence she needs so they can work together andĚýget out of the wildernessĚýalive?

STEM themes and plot strandsĚýabout body imageĚýand divorce are subtly woven into this page-turning tale.]]> 336 Erin Teagan 054463621X Janet 3 childrensnovels 3.81 2019 Survivor Girl
author: Erin Teagan
name: Janet
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/26
date added: 2024/01/29
shelves: childrensnovels
review:
A lot of fun, as a girl finds out that her dad's popular survival show ("one man, one camera") is more Bear Grylls and less Les Stroud. It ends with a scary adventure in which she must put her true survival skills to the test.
]]> <![CDATA[The Girl with the Louding Voice]]> 50214741 All you have are your words.

Adunni is a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl who knows what she wants: an education.

As the only daughter of a broke father, she is a valuable commodity. Removed from school and sold as a third wife to an old man, Adunni's life amounts to this: four goats, two bags of rice, some chickens and a new TV. When unspeakable tragedy swiftly strikes in her new home, she is secretly sold as a domestic servant to a household in the wealthy enclaves of Lagos, where no one will talk about the strange disappearance of her predecessor, Rebecca. No one but Adunni...

As a yielding daughter, a subservient wife, and a powerless servant, fourteen-year-old Adunni is repeatedly told that she is nothing. But Adunni won't be silenced. She is determined to find her voice - in a whisper, in song, in broken English - until she can speak for herself, for the girls like Rebecca who came before, and for all the girls who will follow.

]]> 371 Abi Daré 1524746029 Janet 0 did-not-finish, book-club 4.40 2020 The Girl with the Louding Voice
author: Abi Daré
name: Janet
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2024/01/22
date added: 2024/01/29
shelves: did-not-finish, book-club
review:
Well written, but too dark for me to cope with. I gave myself permission to abandon this one.
]]> Scar Island 29847473
Jonathan Grisby is the newest arrival at the Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys -- an ancient, crumbling fortress of gray stone rising up from the ocean. It is dark, damp, and dismal. And it is just the place Jonathan figures he deserves.

Because Jonathan has done something terrible. And he's willing to accept whatever punishment he has coming.

Just as he's getting used to his new situation, however, a freak accident leaves the troubled boys of Slabhenge without any adult supervision. Suddenly the kids are free, with an entire island to themselves. But freedom brings unexpected danger. And if Jonathan can't come to terms with the sins of his past and lead his new friends to safety . . . then every boy on the island is doomed.

Dan Gemeinhart's most gripping novel yet, this is a tale of misfits and outcasts at odds and in peril, and a redemption story that shines a light on dark truths to reveal that the strongest prisons of all are the ones we build for ourselves.]]> 256 Dan Gemeinhart 1338053868 Janet 3 childrensnovels 3.97 2017 Scar Island
author: Dan Gemeinhart
name: Janet
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/28
date added: 2024/01/29
shelves: childrensnovels
review:
A modern Lord of the Flies. Great setting makes up for a plot that didn't do much for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology]]> 7099779 384 Marc Headley 0982502206 Janet 3 non-fiction, biography 3.87 2009 Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology
author: Marc Headley
name: Janet
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/06
date added: 2024/01/07
shelves: non-fiction, biography
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland]]> 25088574 88 Eric Shanower 1631403222 Janet 4 4.00 2015 Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland
author: Eric Shanower
name: Janet
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/01/01
shelves: childrens-fantasy, fantasy, graphicnovels
review:

]]> The Lager Queen of Minnesota 42203363
Two sisters, one farm. A family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living. So she can't help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself.

With the proceeds from the farm, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country, and makes their company motto ubiquitous: "Drink lots. It's Blotz." Where Edith has a heart as big as Minnesota, Helen's is as rigid as a steel keg. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, and she could find a potential savior close to home. . . if it's not too late.

Meanwhile, Edith's granddaughter, Diana, grows up knowing that the real world requires a tougher constitution than her grandmother possesses. She earns a shot at learning the IPA business from the ground up--will that change their fortunes forever, and perhaps reunite her splintered family?

Here we meet a cast of lovable, funny, quintessentially American characters eager to make their mark in a world that's often stacked against them. In this deeply affecting family saga, resolution can take generations, but when it finally comes, we're surprised, moved, and delighted.]]> 349 J. Ryan Stradal 0399563059 Janet 3 book-club 3.99 2019 The Lager Queen of Minnesota
author: J. Ryan Stradal
name: Janet
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/01/01
shelves: book-club
review:
An enjoyable read featuring two estranged sisters, a large supporting cast, and lots of beer. I was handicapped by the reality that I hate the taste of beer and I kept losing track of the many characters. However, I did enjoy this quite a bit, especially the complex personalities of Edith and Helen. A feel good book with depth.
]]> The Librarianist 62645180 From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes the story of Bob Comet, a man who has lived his life through and for literature, unaware that his own experience is a poignant and affecting narrative in itself.

Bob Comet is a retired librarian passing his solitary days surrounded by books and small comforts in a mint-colored house in Portland, Oregon. One morning on his daily walk he encounters a confused elderly woman lost in a market and returns her to the senior center that is her home. Hoping to fill the void he's known since retiring, he begins volunteering at the center. Here, as a community of strange peers gathers around Bob, and following a happenstance brush with a painful complication from his past, the events of his life and the details of his character are revealed.

Behind Bob Comet's straight-man facade is the story of an unhappy child's runaway adventure during the last days of the Second World War, of true love won and stolen away, of the purpose and pride found in the librarian's vocation, and of the pleasures of a life lived to the side of the masses. Bob's experiences are imbued with melancholy but also a bright, sustained comedy; he has a talent for locating bizarre and outsize players to welcome onto the stage of his life.

With his inimitable verve, skewed humor, and compassion for the outcast, Patrick deWitt has written a wide-ranging and ambitious document of the introvert's condition. The Librarianist celebrates the extraordinary in the so-called ordinary life, and depicts beautifully the turbulence that sometimes exists beneath a surface of serenity.]]> 352 Patrick deWitt 0063085127 Janet 5 3.37 2023 The Librarianist
author: Patrick deWitt
name: Janet
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/28
date added: 2023/12/28
shelves:
review:
A retired librarian moves from isolation to community. I loved this. Like all of DeWitt's books, it focuses on unusual people that don't know how unusual they are. I notice that many goodreads reviewers didn't like the section about Bob's childhood, when he runs away and joins up with a peculiar crew. That was my favorite part. I loved the fantastical feel of it all, and the way that lonely Bob finds and abruptly loses these friendships broke my heart a little. An often funny, always entertaining examination of an introvert's life and his journey from solitude to connectedness.
]]> <![CDATA[The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires]]> 44074800 Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the '90s about a women's book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.

Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.]]> 410 Grady Hendrix Janet 3 horror, book-club 3.78 2020 The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Janet
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/26
date added: 2023/12/26
shelves: horror, book-club
review:

]]> The Dakota Winters 38358883 An evocative and wildly absorbing novel about the Winters, a family living in New York City’s famed Dakota apartment building in the year leading up to John Lennon’s assassination

It’s the fall of 1979 in New York City when twenty-three-year-old Anton Winter, back from the Peace Corps and on the mend from a nasty bout of malaria, returns to his childhood home in the Dakota. Anton’s father, the famous late-night host Buddy Winter, is there to greet him, himself recovering from a breakdown. Before long, Anton is swept up in an effort to reignite Buddy’s stalled career, a mission that takes him from the gritty streets of New York, to the slopes of the Lake Placid Olympics, to the Hollywood Hills, to the blue waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and brings him into close quarters with the likes of Johnny Carson, Ted and Joan Kennedy, and a seagoing John Lennon.

But the more Anton finds himself enmeshed in his father’s professional and spiritual reinvention, the more he questions his own path, and fissures in the Winter family begin to threaten their close bond. By turns hilarious and poignant, The Dakota Winters is a family saga, a page-turning social novel, and a tale of a critical moment in the history of New York City and the country at large.]]> 324 Tom Barbash 0062258192 Janet 1 book-club 3.44 2018 The Dakota Winters
author: Tom Barbash
name: Janet
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2023/12/26
shelves: book-club
review:
Not sure what went wrong here. The author clearly knows how to write, but seemed to purposely leave out anything that would enable me to connect with any of the characters. Also, the constant name dropping of famous people got annoying.
]]> <![CDATA[The Kind Worth Killing (Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner, #1)]]> 21936809 The Girl on the Train will love this modern reimagining of Patricia Highsmith’s classic Strangers on a Train from the author of the acclaimed The Girl with a Clock for a Heart—which the Washington Post said “should be a contender for crime fiction’s best first novel of 2014.�

On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start—he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.

But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.� After all, some people are the kind worth killing, like a lying, stinking, cheating spouse. . . .

Back in Boston, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they begin to plot Miranda's demise. But there are a few things about Lily’s past that she hasn’t shared with Ted, namely her experience in the art and craft of murder, a journey that began in her very precocious youth.

Suddenly these co-conspirators are embroiled in a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, one they both cannot survive . . . with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail.]]> 320 Peter Swanson 0062267523 Janet 4 mystery, thriller Yikes, creepy. 3.98 2015 The Kind Worth Killing (Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner, #1)
author: Peter Swanson
name: Janet
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/26
date added: 2023/12/26
shelves: mystery, thriller
review:
Yikes, creepy.
]]> Translation State 62873999
Qven was created to be a Presger translator. The pride of their Clade, they always had a clear path before them: learn human ways, and eventually, make a match and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presger and the human worlds. The realization that they might want something else isn't "optimal behavior". I's the type of behavior that results in elimination.

But Qven rebels. And in doing so, their path collides with those of two others. Enae, a reluctant diplomat whose dead grandmaman has left hir an impossible task as an inheritance: hunting down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. And Reet, an adopted mechanic who is increasingly desperate to learn about his genetic roots--or anything that might explain why he operates so differently from those around him.

As a Conclave of the various species approaches--and the long-standing treaty between the humans and the Presger is on the line--the decisions of all three will have ripple effects across the stars.

Masterfully merging space adventure and mystery, and a poignant exploration about relationships and belonging, Translation State is a standalone story set in Leckie's celebrated Imperial Radch universe.]]> 422 Ann Leckie 031628971X Janet 5 science-fiction 3.96 2023 Translation State
author: Ann Leckie
name: Janet
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/15
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves: science-fiction
review:
Ann Leckie continues her exploration of personhood, along with arranged marriages, deeply alien cultures, snacks, red tape, murder, self-actualization, and strange physics. I was rooting for the main characters from the beginning (even the somewhat murdery ones).
]]> Starter Villain 61885029
Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.]]> 264 John Scalzi 0765389223 Janet 3 4.09 2023 Starter Villain
author: John Scalzi
name: Janet
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/16
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves:
review:
Fun and silly adventure about a humble guy who inherits his uncle's supervillain empire. The cover gets the tone exactly right.
]]> <![CDATA[Moonflower Murders (Susan Ryeland, #2)]]> 57007380 Featuring his famous literary detective Atticus Pund and Susan Ryeland, hero of the worldwide bestseller Magpie Murders, a brilliantly complex literary thriller with echoes of Agatha Christie from New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz.

Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend Andreas. It should be everything she's always wanted. But is it? She's exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does, and truth be told she's beginning to miss London.

And then the Trehearnes come to stay. The strange and mysterious story they tell, about an unfortunate murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter was married—a picturesque inn on the Suffolk coast named Farlingaye Halle—fascinates Susan and piques her editor’s instincts.Ěý

One of her former writers, the late Alan Conway, author of the fictional Magpie Murders, knew the murder victim—an advertising executive named Frank Parris—and once visited Farlingaye Hall. Conway based the third book in his detective series, Atticus Pund Takes the Case, on that very crime.Ěý

The Trehearne’s, daughter, Cecily, read Conway’s mystery and believed the book proves that the man convicted of Parris’s murder—a Romanian immigrant who was the hotel’s handyman—is innocent. When the Trehearnes reveal that Cecily is now missing, Susan knows that she must return to England and find out what really happened.

Brilliantly clever, relentlessly suspenseful, full of twists that will keep readers guessing with each revelation and clue, Moonflower Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction from one of its greatest masterminds, Anthony Horowitz.ĚýĚý]]> 608 Anthony Horowitz 0062955462 Janet 4 4.02 2020 Moonflower Murders (Susan Ryeland, #2)
author: Anthony Horowitz
name: Janet
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/20
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves:
review:
Another excellent whodunnit, with two intertwined mysteries. I thought one of them dragged a bit in the middle.
]]> <![CDATA[Magpie Murders (Susan Ryeland, #1)]]> 32075854
When Susan receives Alan's latest manuscript, in which Atticus Pünd investigates a murder at Pye Hall, an English manor house, she has no reason to think it will be any different from the others. There will be dead bodies, a cast of intriguing suspects, and plenty of red herrings and clues. But the more Susan reads, the more she realizes that there's another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript—one of ambition, jealousy, and greed—and that soon it will lead to murder.

Masterful, clever, and ruthlessly suspenseful, Magpie Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage crime fiction.]]> 477 Anthony Horowitz 0062645226 Janet 4 mystery 3.93 2016 Magpie Murders (Susan Ryeland, #1)
author: Anthony Horowitz
name: Janet
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/01
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves: mystery
review:
Clever, a mystery inside a mystery. Great whodunnit.
]]> <![CDATA[The Christmas Bookshop (The Christmas Bookshop, #1)]]> 56922701
Sofia har ærlig talt heller ikke lyst til at byde Carmen velkommen. Hendes søster har altid været sarkastisk og umedgørlig. Men Sofia venter sig igen, boghandlen mangler hænder, og deres mors største ønske er, at de to søstre kommer bedre ud af det med hinanden. Måske skulle hun give Carmen en chance?

På Sofias foranledning hvirvles Carmen snart ind i den gamle boghandels daglige trummerum. Det viser sig dog, at det vil kræve et sandt julemirakel at få den på rette kurs igen. Kan Carmen mon overraske dem alle denne jul? Og kan hun klinke skårene med de vigtigste mennesker i hendes liv: sin familie?]]> 310 Jenny Colgan 0063141671 Janet 2 book-club, romance 3.61 2021 The Christmas Bookshop (The Christmas Bookshop, #1)
author: Jenny Colgan
name: Janet
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2023/12/06
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves: book-club, romance
review:
A bookclub member said that this was like reading a Hallmark movie. Yup.
]]> <![CDATA[The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)]]> 58957615
Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill or be killed. Suddenly the cold case has become red hot.

While Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim chase down the clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?

From an upmarket spa to a prison cell complete with espresso machine to a luxury penthouse high in the sky, this third adventure of the Thursday Murder Club is full of the cleverness, intrigue, and irresistible charm that readers have come to expect from Richard Osman's bestselling series.]]> 413 Richard Osman 0241512425 Janet 4 mystery 4.32 2022 The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)
author: Richard Osman
name: Janet
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/23
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves: mystery
review:
This series never lets me down. Fun light mystery/thriller, great characters.
]]> The Clementine Complex 101145713 Bob Mortimer, beloved comedian and #1 Sunday Times (London) bestselling author of the memoir And Away�, returns with a delightfully quirky mystery in the vein of Richard Osman and Nita Prose.

Unremarkable legal assistant Gary Thorn goes for a pint with his coworker Brendan, unaware his life is about to change. There, Gary meets a beautiful woman, but she leaves before he catches her name. All he has to remember her by is the title of the book she was reading: The Clementine Complex. And when Brendan goes missing, too, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Clementine to get some answers.

And so begins Gary’s quest, through the estates and pie shops of South London, to find some answers and hopefully, some love and excitement in this page-turning, witty, and oddly sweet story with a cast of unforgettable characters.]]> 320 Bob Mortimer 1668024160 Janet 3 romance, humor, mystery 3.31 2022 The Clementine Complex
author: Bob Mortimer
name: Janet
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves: romance, humor, mystery
review:

]]> A Slow Fire Burning 56213354
Look what you started.]]> 307 Paula Hawkins 073521123X Janet 4 mystery 3.45 2021 A Slow Fire Burning
author: Paula Hawkins
name: Janet
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/23
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves: mystery
review:
Good sneaky plot. Great characters.
]]> <![CDATA[Lovecraft Country (Lovecraft Country, #1)]]> 25109947 400 Matt Ruff Janet 4 3.99 2016 Lovecraft Country (Lovecraft Country, #1)
author: Matt Ruff
name: Janet
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/23
date added: 2023/12/23
shelves: horror, fantasy, weird-in-a-good-way
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Killers of a Certain Age (Killers of a Certain Age, #1)]]> 60149532 Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon.

They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman--and a killer--of a certain age.]]> 368 Deanna Raybourn Janet 3 book-club 3.82 2022 Killers of a Certain Age (Killers of a Certain Age, #1)
author: Deanna Raybourn
name: Janet
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/11/14
date added: 2023/11/14
shelves: book-club
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Parable of the Talents (Earthseed, #2)]]> 60932 Parable of the Sower continues the story of Lauren Olamina in socially and economically depressed California in the 2030s. Convinced that her community should colonize the stars, Lauren and her followers make preparations. But the collapse of society and rise of fanatics result in Lauren's followers being enslaved, and her daughter stolen from her. Now, Lauren must fight back to save the new world order.]]> 448 Octavia E. Butler 0446610380 Janet 4 science-fiction 4.31 1998 Parable of the Talents (Earthseed, #2)
author: Octavia E. Butler
name: Janet
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/04
date added: 2023/09/06
shelves: science-fiction
review:
Butler does an amazing job showing us the complexities of her characters and their relationships. Don't read this book if you are looking for a light cheerful read. Butler understands people well, and we aren't great.
]]> <![CDATA[Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)]]> 52397
Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.

When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.]]> 345 Octavia E. Butler 0446675504 Janet 5 science-fiction 4.21 1993 Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)
author: Octavia E. Butler
name: Janet
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/31
date added: 2023/08/31
shelves: science-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (The Vanderbeekers, #1)]]> 33413919 297 Karina Yan Glaser 0544876393 Janet 4 childrensnovels 4.09 2017 The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (The Vanderbeekers, #1)
author: Karina Yan Glaser
name: Janet
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/14
date added: 2023/08/14
shelves: childrensnovels
review:
Warm hearted and fun story about a big loving family squeezed into an apartment in a Harlem brownstone. I felt like I was reading a modern Eleanor Estes novel.
]]> The Spare Man 55077658 368 Mary Robinette Kowal 1250829151 Janet 3 mystery, science-fiction The Thin Man, but on a space cruiser. A lot of fun. The main character is solving a mystery, saving her husband from a murder charge, enjoying cocktails (we get recipes!) and coping with a disability. I really liked the way the disability was handled - it affects her life, and sometimes interrupts it, but does not define her.]]> 3.63 2022 The Spare Man
author: Mary Robinette Kowal
name: Janet
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/11
date added: 2023/08/14
shelves: mystery, science-fiction
review:
Clearly an homage to The Thin Man, but on a space cruiser. A lot of fun. The main character is solving a mystery, saving her husband from a murder charge, enjoying cocktails (we get recipes!) and coping with a disability. I really liked the way the disability was handled - it affects her life, and sometimes interrupts it, but does not define her.
]]> The Bookshop of Yesterdays 36477572
Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric Uncle Billy’s bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda’s twelfth birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda’s life. She doesn’t hear from him again until sixteen years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy—and one final scavenger hunt.]]> 397 Amy Meyerson Janet 2 book-club 3.65 2018 The Bookshop of Yesterdays
author: Amy Meyerson
name: Janet
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2023/08/12
date added: 2023/08/14
shelves: book-club
review:
I enjoyed most of the characters and the description of Los Angeles freeways, but I actively disliked the main character and her mother. Since most of the book is focused on them, that's a problem. Just not the book for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)]]> 23437156 Alternate cover of ISBN 9781627792127

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.]]> 480 Leigh Bardugo 1627792120 Janet 3 fantasy, yanovels 4.47 2015 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Janet
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/09
date added: 2023/08/14
shelves: fantasy, yanovels
review:
Decent heist book. I think it would have worked better not as a young adult. Most of the gang members seemed like adults, despite being teens. The ending irritated me - I don't like cliff hangers that try to bully me into getting the sequel.
]]> <![CDATA[Wait Till Helen Comes: A Graphic Novel]]> 60017792 In this graphic novel adaptation of master horror storyteller Mary Downing Hahn's spookiest and most popular tale, two siblings must save their stepsister from the clutches of a vengeful ghost.

When their mom remarries, Molly and her brother, Michael, try to make friends with their new stepsister, Heather. But Heather only wants to make trouble for them. She lies and tattles and misbehaves, and somehow they always get the blame. They know she's trying to drive a wedge between her father and their mother so she can have her father all to herself--and it seems to be working.

Then, Heather starts playing in the graveyard behind their new house. She claims she can talk to a ghost named Helen, and her behavior gets even stranger. Michael doesn't believe in ghosts and thinks their new little sister is just looking for more attention. But Molly isn't so certain, especially when Heather threatens that Helen is going to come for them and make them sorry.

It seems as though things can't get any worse--but they do.

When Helen comes.]]> 160 Scott Peterson 0358536898 Janet 3 3.84 2022 Wait Till Helen Comes: A Graphic Novel
author: Scott Peterson
name: Janet
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/07
date added: 2023/08/14
shelves: childrens-fantasy, childrensnovels, horror, graphicnovels
review:
Pretty good kids horror. I liked the way the broken family dynamics were resolved. It worked well as a graphic novel.
]]> <![CDATA[Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)]]> 61242426
The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success � not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.]]> 296 Travis Baldree Janet 3 4.04 2022 Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)
author: Travis Baldree
name: Janet
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/10
date added: 2023/08/10
shelves:
review:
If you like orcs and have dreamed of opening a little cafe, this book is for you.
]]> <![CDATA[Night at the Vulcan (Roderick Alleyn, #16)]]> 835701
From the leading lady's liaison to the harassment of an aging juvenile lead-there's never a dull moment, darling, at the Vulcan Theatre. But vanity and hysterics, suspicion and superstition, brandy and jealousy, are upstaged by a death on opening night. Was it really suicide? Or a macabre encore to a long-ago murder in the same backstage room? Scotland Yard's cast of suspects for the final curtain.
]]> 256 Ngaio Marsh 0312966687 Janet 3 mystery 4.07 1951 Night at the Vulcan (Roderick Alleyn, #16)
author: Ngaio Marsh
name: Janet
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1951
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/31
date added: 2023/07/31
shelves: mystery
review:
Okay mystery, great depiction of what it's like to be backstage in a low budget play.
]]> <![CDATA[Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story]]> 22130667 184 Mary Downing Hahn 0545103657 Janet 4 4.12 1986 Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story
author: Mary Downing Hahn
name: Janet
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/07/31
shelves: childrens-fantasy, childrensnovels, graphicnovels, horror
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Adventures of a Dwergish Girl (Neddie & Friends, #5)]]> 51620345
Molly isn't interested in cooking and weaving, as Dwergish girls are expected to be. So she sets off to see the world for herself. Which means a new job, a trip to New York City, prowling gangsters, an adorable king, a city witch, and many historical ghosts. More importantly, it means excellent pizza, new friends, and very quick thinking.

Someone is looking for the Dwergs and their gold. Can Molly O'Malley save the day?]]> 192 Daniel Pinkwater 1616963360 Janet 4 3.77 2020 Adventures of a Dwergish Girl (Neddie & Friends, #5)
author: Daniel Pinkwater
name: Janet
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/30
date added: 2023/07/30
shelves: childrens-fantasy, childrensnovels, fantasy, weird-in-a-good-way
review:
There are lots of good things to say about Daniel Pinkwater books - they are funny, kind, insightful without being preachy, and entertaining. They always have great descriptions of food. The most important element for me is that they make me happy.
]]> <![CDATA[Eight Perfect Murders (Malcolm Kershaw, #1)]]> 51148300 From the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.

Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack—which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders”—chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin’s Death Trap, A. A. Milne's Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox's Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain's Double Indemnity, John D. Macdonald's The Drowner, and Donna Tartt's A Secret History.

But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She’s looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. There is killer is out there, watching his every move—a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife.

To protect himself, Mal begins looking into possible suspects . . . and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn’t count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly, a series of shocking twists leaves more victims dead—and the noose around Mal’s neck grows so tight he might never escape.]]> 384 Peter Swanson 0062978934 Janet 5 mystery 3.52 2020 Eight Perfect Murders (Malcolm Kershaw, #1)
author: Peter Swanson
name: Janet
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/29
date added: 2023/07/29
shelves: mystery
review:
A murder mystery perfect for anyone who loves the genre. I'm excited to read more of Swanson's books.
]]> Angel in My Pocket 8616416
Suddenly, Bette is able to face some big losses—her mother’s recent death; her sister’s departure for college—and move forward. And once the angel coin falls into the hands of three other kids in Bette’s class, their lives change, too. Soon, these two girls and two boys will be connected in ways that open them up to unlikely friendships and new ways to believe in themselves. Here is an entirely new twist on the angel trend.]]> 288 Ilene Cooper 0312370148 Janet 3 yanovels 3.51 2011 Angel in My Pocket
author: Ilene Cooper
name: Janet
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/07/24
shelves: yanovels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pearls Before Swine (Albert Campion Mystery, #12)]]> 76645
All the books from Albert Campion series are standalone titles and can be read in any order.]]> 224 Margery Allingham 0553245481 Janet 3 mystery 3.97 1945 Pearls Before Swine (Albert Campion Mystery, #12)
author: Margery Allingham
name: Janet
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1945
rating: 3
read at: 2019/01/01
date added: 2023/07/22
shelves: mystery
review:
A classic who done it, which actually didn't interest me much - I quickly lost track of all the twists and turns. It was the setting and the mood that kept me reading - London, as WWII came to a close. Campion is home on leave, and finds London changed - damaged, grim, and cynical. Londoners no longer believe in heroes. As one character points out, they have all been at war, whether they are soldiers or not.
]]> <![CDATA[Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery, #1)]]> 54351235 The first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishes—one that might just be killer....

When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She's tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case.

With the cops treating her like she's the one and only suspect, and the shady landlord looking to finally kick the Macapagal family out and resell the storefront, Lila's left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. Armed with the nosy auntie network, her barista best bud, and her trusted Dachshund, Longanisa, Lila takes on this tasty, twisted case and soon finds her own neck on the chopping block�
]]> 336 Mia P. Manansala 059320168X Janet 2 mystery 3.54 2021 Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery, #1)
author: Mia P. Manansala
name: Janet
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2023/07/07
shelves: mystery
review:

]]> Across the Desert 57007702 One girl sets out on a journey across the treacherous Arizona desert to rescue a young pilot stranded after a plane crash.

Twelve-year-old Jolene spends every day she can at the library watching her favorite livestream: The Desert Aviator, where twelve-year-old “Addie Earhart”Ěýshares her adventures flying an ultralight plane over the desert. While watching this daring girl fly through the sky, Jolene can dream of what it would be like to fly with her, far away from her own troubled home life where her mother struggles with a narcotic addiction. And Addie, who is grieving the loss of her father, finds solace in her online conversations with Jolene, her biggest—and only—fan.

Then, one day, it all goes wrong: Addie's engine abruptly stops, and Jolene watches in helpless horror as the ultralight plummets to the ground and the video goes dark. Jolene knows that Addie won’t survive long in the extreme summer desert heat. With no one to turn to for help and armed with only a hand-drawn map and a stolen cell phone, it's up to Jolene to find a way to save the Desert Aviator.]]> 320 Dusti Bowling 0316494747 Janet 3 childrensnovels 4.22 2021 Across the Desert
author: Dusti Bowling
name: Janet
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/06
date added: 2023/07/07
shelves: childrensnovels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[This Is How You Lose the Time War]]> 43352954 Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.]]> 209 Amal El-Mohtar Janet 4 3.86 2019 This Is How You Lose the Time War
author: Amal El-Mohtar
name: Janet
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/03
date added: 2023/07/03
shelves: alternate-history, science-fiction, romance, weird-in-a-good-way
review:
I usually give books one or two tags. This got four; it does not slot neatly into categories. At its heart, it's a romance.
]]> <![CDATA[Maker Comics: Survive in the Outdoors!]]> 54017844
Sophia and Alonso have been packed off to their grandpa’s for a fishing trip, and they’re dreading spending a whole day in the woods without any cell service. But Grandpa opens their eyes to the wonders of the outdoors, and its dangers―from tick bites to hypothermia. And when a sprained ankle delays their return to civilization, the kids have to learn not only how to perform forest-friendly first aid, but how to safely spend the night in the woods when you don’t have a tent!

Prepare yourself before you set off on your next adventure! Whether you’re hiking in the wilderness or camping in your own backyard, Survive in the Outdoors! will equip you with the know-how you need. In this book, you'll find step-by-step instructions on how to build a campfire, catch and clean a fish, make a shelter, and more!]]> 128 Mike Lawrence 125062066X Janet 4 4.10 Maker Comics: Survive in the Outdoors!
author: Mike Lawrence
name: Janet
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/25
date added: 2023/07/01
shelves: children-s-non-fiction, graphicnovels
review:
I really enjoyed this book of outdoor survival tips for kids. A wise abuelo takes his two grandchildren on a fishing trip. When he gets injured, they have to put all his survival advice into action. The graphic novel format worked well; visual instruction of things like knots and firebuilding become part of the story. (Although the square knot shown doesn't look like any square knot that I've ever seen.) I liked the overall message: the wilderness is a great place, as long as you take it seriously and are prepared with the right skills and equipment.
]]> <![CDATA[An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed (Elderly Lady, #2)]]> 57534442
Eighty-eight-year-old Maud is never looking for trouble, but it always seems to find her. First, a woman in her building met an untimely end: tragic. Then, just recently, a dead body mysteriously appeared in her very own apartment, prompting an investigation by the local Gothenburg authorities. Such a strange coincidence. When it seems suspicion has fallen on her, little old lady that she is, Maud decides to skip town and splurges on a trip to South Africa for herself.

In these six interlocking stories, memories of unfortunate incidents from Maud’s past keep bubbling to the surface, each triggered by something in the present: an image, a word, even a taste. When she lands in Johannesburg at last, eager to move on from the bloody ordeal last summer, she finds certain problems seem to be following her. Luckily, Maud is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands . . . even if it means she has to get a little blood on them in the process.

Don’t let her age fool you. Maud may be nearly ninety, but this elderly lady still has a few tricks before she’s ready to call it quits.

*Includes cookie recipes*]]> 261 Helene Tursten 1641291672 Janet 4 3.84 2020 An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed (Elderly Lady, #2)
author: Helene Tursten
name: Janet
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/15
date added: 2023/07/01
shelves:
review:
Basically a collection of stories, as Maud thinks about her past adventures, dealing with bullies in her own ruthless but practical way.
]]> Girlfriend on Mars 62585953
An audaciously original debut from an "immensely talented writer" (Emily St. John Mandel),ĚýGirlfriend on Mars is at once a satirical indictment of our pursuit of fame and wealth amidst environmental crisis, and an exploration of humanity's deepest longing, greatest quest, and most enduring clichĂ©: love.]]> 368 Deborah Willis 039328591X Janet 3 3.39 2023 Girlfriend on Mars
author: Deborah Willis
name: Janet
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/01
date added: 2023/07/01
shelves: science-fiction, not-weird-enough
review:
The cover and title made this sound like a fun read, and at times it was. I wanted more about the reality show absurdity and more about living on Mars, but that's clearly not what interested the author. I related to Kevin, the boyfriend, but his depression and nihilism got extreme, making it hard to spend time seeing the world from his POV.
]]> Solaris 95558
When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he finds a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the living physical likeness of a long-dead lover. Others examining the planet, Kelvin learns, are plagued with their own repressed and newly corporeal memories. The Solaris ocean may be a massive brain that creates these incarnate memories, though its purpose in doing so is unknown, forcing the scientists to shift the focus of their quest and wonder if they can truly understand the universe without first understanding what lies within their hearts.]]> 204 Stanisław Lem Janet 4
Philosophical and insightful, this book without a resolution makes you think about the nature of perception. I admit that I skimmed a bit here and there - Lem spends a lot of time describing the alien ocean. Interesting, but it can get a bit repetitive. Slanislav Lem is a terrific writer and if you want a read that will make you think, this is worth a try.]]> 4.00 1961 Solaris
author: Stanisław Lem
name: Janet
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1961
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/24
date added: 2023/06/24
shelves: science-fiction, weird-in-a-good-way
review:
Action fans, give this one a pass. Solaris is a meditation on what contact means, how we always interpret others through our own lenses, which makes definitive understanding impossible. What would it be like to meet a truly alien being? So alien that you can't tell if it is actually alive; if it has a consciousness; if it has motivations. How do you make friends with a living ocean?

Philosophical and insightful, this book without a resolution makes you think about the nature of perception. I admit that I skimmed a bit here and there - Lem spends a lot of time describing the alien ocean. Interesting, but it can get a bit repetitive. Slanislav Lem is a terrific writer and if you want a read that will make you think, this is worth a try.
]]> <![CDATA[Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism]]> 55338982
What makes “cults� so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has . . .

Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing.� But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day.

Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,� revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish� everywhere.]]> 309 Amanda Montell 0062993151 Janet 3 3.82 2021 Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
author: Amanda Montell
name: Janet
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2022/04/18
date added: 2023/04/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Shuna's Journey 60384799
Shuna, the prince of a poor land, watches in despair as his people work themselves to death harvesting the little grain that grows there. And so, when a traveler presents him with a sample of seeds from a mysterious western land, he sets out to find the source of the golden grain, dreaming of a better life for his subjects.

It is not long before he meets a proud girl named Thea. After freeing her from captivity, he is pursued by her enemies, and while Thea escapes north, Shuna continues toward the west, finally reaching the Land of the God-Folk.

Will Shuna ever see Thea again? And will he make it back home from his quest for the golden grain?]]> 160 Hayao Miyazaki 1250846528 Janet 4 graphicnovels, fantasy, fable 4.35 1983 Shuna's Journey
author: Hayao Miyazaki
name: Janet
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/19
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: graphicnovels, fantasy, fable
review:
Beautiful art, fairy tale like story. It's typical of Miyazaki: there is fear and sadness, but you are ultimately left feeling that life is basically good and the world is full of wonder.
]]> The Guest List 52656911
The bride � The plus one � The best man � The wedding planner � The bridesmaid � The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?]]> 319 Lucy Foley Janet 3 3.81 2020 The Guest List
author: Lucy Foley
name: Janet
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/03/14
shelves:
review:
Pretty good mystery, but I had just read Foley's previous book, The Hunting Party, and it was impossible not to notice that they had really similar premise and structure. And boy, do these people drink A LOT. I don't understand why they aren't all dead of alcohol poisoning.
]]> <![CDATA[Dial A for Aunties (Aunties, #1)]]> 53310061 What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family?

You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue!

When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It's the biggest job yet for the family wedding business�"Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!"—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie's perfect buttercream flowers.

But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?]]> 299 Jesse Q. Sutanto 0593336739 Janet 3 3.67 2021 Dial A for Aunties (Aunties, #1)
author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Janet
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2022/03/14
date added: 2023/03/14
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches]]> 60018635 A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family--and a new love--changes the course of her life.

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don't mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and...Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he's concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn't know she was looking for....
]]> 318 Sangu Mandanna 059343935X Janet 3 fantasy 4.04 2022 The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
author: Sangu Mandanna
name: Janet
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/13
date added: 2023/03/13
shelves: fantasy
review:
It was fine, an easy feel good read. Had a good enough time reading it, the author has some things to say, but I probably won't remember having read it after six months or so.
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