Victoria's bookshelf: all en-US Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:06:05 -0700 60 Victoria's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Professional (Spenser, #37)]]> 7461990
As matters become more complicated, Spenser's longtime love, Susan, begins offering some input by analyzing Eisenhower's behavior patterns in hopes of opening up a new avenue of investigation. It seems that not all of Gary's women are rich. So if he's not using them for blackmail, then what is his purpose? Spenser switches tactics to focus on the husbands, only to find that innocence and guilt may be two sides of the same coin.

With its eloquently spare prose and some of the best supporting characters to grace the printed page, The Professional is further proof that -[t]here's hardly an author in the crime novel business like Parker- (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).]]> 304 Robert B. Parker 1101148586 Victoria 3 mystery 4.27 2009 The Professional (Spenser, #37)
author: Robert B. Parker
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2010/01/10
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: mystery
review:

]]> On Murder 538887 On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth, and his finest tale of terror, The Avenger, a disturbing exploration of violence, vigilantism, and religious persecution. Ranging from gruesomely vivid reportage and brilliantly funny satiric high jinks to penetrating literary and aesthetic criticism, these essays had a remarkable impact on crime, terror, and detective fiction. They are also a key contribution to the satiric tradition, as well as on the rise of nineteenth-century decadence. The bibliography is the most extensive available on critical responses to De Quincey's essays on murder and violence, and the essays included here have never been annotated so thoroughly before. They reveal, often for the first time, De Quincey's debts, remarkable erudition, and encyclopedic knowledge of contemporary crime.]]> 201 Thomas de Quincey 0192805665 Victoria 0 to-read 3.84 1827 On Murder
author: Thomas de Quincey
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1827
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Magnificent Obsession 870220 314 Lloyd C. Douglas 0048230243 Victoria 0 3.94 Magnificent Obsession
author: Lloyd C. Douglas
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.94
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Victoria 3 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> The Firm 38508 496 John Grisham Victoria 3 3.64 1991 The Firm
author: John Grisham
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/04/25
shelves:
review:

]]> The Joy Luck Club 563002
With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.]]> 332 Amy Tan 0804106304 Victoria 4 3.88 1989 The Joy Luck Club
author: Amy Tan
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> The Weapon Shops of Isher 358902 191 A.E. van Vogt 0671431293 Victoria 0 to-read 3.97 1951 The Weapon Shops of Isher
author: A.E. van Vogt
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1951
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dandelion Wine 76776
The only god living in Green Town, Illinois, that Douglas Spaulding knew of.

The facts about John Huff, aged twelve, are simple and soon stated.

� He could pathfind more trails than any Choctaw or Cherokee since time began.
� Could leap from the sky like a chimpanzee from a vine.
� Could live underwater two minutes and slide fifty yards downstream.
� Could hit baseballs into apple trees, knocking down harvests.
� Could jump six-foot orchard walls.
� Ran laughing.
� Sat easy.
� Was not a bully.
� Was kind.
� Knew the words to all the cowboy songs and would teach you if you asked.
� Knew the names of all the wild flowers and when the moon would rise or set and when the tides came in or out.

He was, in fact, the only god living in the whole of Green Town, Illinois, during the twentieth century that Douglas Spaulding knew of.

“[Ray] Bradbury is an authentic original.”� Time]]> 239 Ray Bradbury 0553277537 Victoria 4 fiction, scifi 4.13 1957 Dandelion Wine
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1957
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/06/14
shelves: fiction, scifi
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Metamorphosis and Other Stories]]> 8596326
This collection of new translations brings together the small proportion of Kafka's works that he thought worthy of publication. It includes "Metamorphosis", his most famous work, an exploration of horrific transformation and alienation; "Meditation", a collection of his earlier studies; "The Judgement", written in a single night of frenzied creativity; "The Stoker", the first chapter of a novel set in America and a fascinating occasional piece, and "The Aeroplanes at Brescia", Kafka's eyewitness account of an air display in 1909. Together, these stories reveal the breadth of Kafka's literary vision and the extraordinary imaginative depth of his thought.]]> 236 Franz Kafka 0141194839 Victoria 4 3.77 1915 Metamorphosis and Other Stories
author: Franz Kafka
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1915
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/07/12
shelves:
review:

]]> The Complete Novels 2153 This ISBN was used on multiple editions, published 1981-1994.

Collected together in one volume, The Complete Novels show the development of Austen as a writer and social commentator. From the early optimism and youthful energy of Northanger Abbey to the quiet and subtle art of Persuasion, this collection reveals the breadth of one of the best loved novelists of all time.]]> 1103 Jane Austen 0517118297 Victoria 4 fiction 4.60 1981 The Complete Novels
author: Jane Austen
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.60
book published: 1981
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/25
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Xenogenesis: Dawn / Adulthood Rites / Imago (Xenogenesis, #1-3)]]> 116253 726 Octavia E. Butler 1568650337 Victoria 4 scifi 4.36 1987 Xenogenesis: Dawn / Adulthood Rites / Imago (Xenogenesis, #1-3)
author: Octavia E. Butler
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2004/01/01
date added: 2021/03/06
shelves: scifi
review:
I read these as one volume, too long ago. Octavia Butler always has a keen eye for how people act toward each other, and it is delightful to read her vision of how people might act as the aboriginal race.
]]> Wuthering Heights 12703

This edition has an introduction by Alice Hoffman.]]> 322 Emily Brontë 0451529251 Victoria 3 fiction 3.66 1847 Wuthering Heights
author: Emily Brontë
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.66
book published: 1847
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/12/08
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Blood Communion 44767235 The Vampire Chronicles continue with a riveting, rich saga--part adventure, part suspense--of Prince Lestat and the story of the Blood Communion as he tells the tale of his coming to rule the vampire world and the eternal struggle to find belonging, a place in the universe for the undead, and how, against his will, he must battle the menacing, seemingly unstoppable force determined to thwart his vision and destroy the entire vampire netherworld.

In this spellbinding novel, Lestat, rebel outlaw, addresses the tribe of vampires, directly, intimately, and passionately, telling the mesmerizing story of the formation of the Blood Communion and how he became prince of the vampire world, the true ruler of this vast realm, and how his vision for all the Children of the Universe to thrive as one came to be.
The story spills from Lestat's heart, as he speaks first of his new existence as reigning monarch--and then of his fierce battle of wits and words with the mysterious Rhoshamandes, proud Child of the Millennia, reviled outcast for his senseless slaughter of the legendary ancient vampire Maharet, avowed enemy of Queen Akasha.
As the tale unfolds, Lestat takes us from the towers and battlements of his ancestral castle in the snow-covered mountains of France to the verdant wilds of lush Louisiana with its lingering fragrances of magnolias and night jasmine; from the far reaches of the Pacific's untouched islands to the 18th-century city of St. Petersburg and the court of the Empress Catherine. Ultimately, Lestat will have to determine how to deal with Rhoshamandes, who refuses to live in harmony at court and threatens all Lestat has dreamt of.]]> 256 Anne Rice 0525433929 Victoria 0 to-read 3.83 2018 Blood Communion
author: Anne Rice
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Hero and the Crown 99441
Aerin could not remember a time when she had not known the story; she had grown up knowing it.

It was the story of her mother, the witchwoman who enspelled the king into marrying her, to get an heir that would rule Damar; and it was told that she turned her face to the wall and died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son.
Aerin was that daughter.

But there was more of the story yet to be told; Aerin’s destiny was greater than even she had dreamed—for she was to be the true hero who would wield the power of the Blue Sword…]]> 292 Robin McKinley 0441013058 Victoria 4 4.10 1984 The Hero and the Crown
author: Robin McKinley
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1984
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/07/12
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review:

]]> Hamlet 1432 This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN13:9780743477123, Hamlet.

Hamlet is the story of the Prince of Denmark who learns of the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. Claudius murders Hamlet's father, his own brother, to take the throne of Denmark and to marry Hamlet's widowed mother. Hamlet is sunk into a state of great despair as a result of discovering the murder of his father and the infidelity of his mother. Hamlet is torn between his great sadness and his desire for the revenge of his father's murder.

Each Folger edition includes:

- Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
- Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
- Scene-by-scene plot summaries
- A key to famous lines and phrases
- An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
- An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
- Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books]]> 342 William Shakespeare Victoria 0 4.05 1601 Hamlet
author: William Shakespeare
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1601
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/14
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]]> <![CDATA[Oliver Twist (Oxford Illustrated Dickens)]]> 171366 415 Charles Dickens 0192545051 Victoria 4 3.79 1838 Oliver Twist (Oxford Illustrated Dickens)
author: Charles Dickens
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1838
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/12/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, #2)]]> 83346 228 Lewis Carroll 0688120490 Victoria 4 4.05 1871 Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, #2)
author: Lewis Carroll
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1871
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/12/01
shelves:
review:

]]> The Old Man and the Sea 61130 99 Ernest Hemingway 0099908409 Victoria 0 3.74 1952 The Old Man and the Sea
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1952
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/12/01
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Girl Who Heard Dragons (Pern, #8.5)]]> 797076
The Girl Who Heard Dragons is a feast for McCaffrey fans and for all readers - a big, satisfying compilation of her fiction never before collected in book form. Best of all, it opens with an original short novel of Pern, "The Girl Who Heard Dragons." In addition, the book contains 24 beautiful black and white drawings by award-winning artist Michael Whelan.

Romance, humor, colorful description and affecting characters are Anne McCaffrey's hallmarks and the fifteen stories herein have these virtues in abundance. No wonder the Chicago Sun-Times described her as a "master of the well-told tale."

"The Girl Who Heard Dragons" is the story of Aramina, a teenage girl of Pern who hears dragons - a skill which does not seem likely to help solve her family's problems. They are "holdless," and must constantly roam the land, trying to hide from bandits. Aramina's mother fears losing her daughter completely to the life of a dragonrider, but McCaffrey has another fate in mind for her young heroine.

The fourteen other stories - all just as good - are:

Velvet Fields
Euterpe on a Fling
Duty Calls
A Sleeping Humpty Dumpty Beauty
The Mandalay Cure
A Flock of Geese
The Greatest Love
A Quiet One
If Madam Likes You...
Zulei, Grace, Nimshi and the Damnyankee
Cinderella Switch
Habit Is an Old Horse
Lady-in-Waiting
The Bones Do Lie
]]> 416 Anne McCaffrey 0812510992 Victoria 2 3.72 1985 The Girl Who Heard Dragons (Pern, #8.5)
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1985
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2018/04/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood Money (Jack Swyteck, #10)]]> 15818232 342 James Grippando 0062109847 Victoria 3 legal-thriller 3.87 2013 Blood Money (Jack Swyteck, #10)
author: James Grippando
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2013/10/11
date added: 2018/03/16
shelves: legal-thriller
review:
Interesting take-off from the Casey Anthony trial.
]]> <![CDATA[If on a Winter's Night a Traveler]]> 60108 If on a Winter's Night is the tale of two bemused readers whose attempts to reach the end of same book - If on a Winter's Night by Italo Calvino - are constantly and comically frustrated. The Arabian Nights of our day.]]> 254 Italo Calvino 1857151380 Victoria 0 4.08 1979 If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
author: Italo Calvino
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1979
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/05/23
shelves:
review:

]]> The Epic of Gilgamesh 617495 Epic of GilgameshĚýis, above all, about mankind’s eternal struggle with the fear of death.

The Babylonian version has been known for over a century, but linguists are still deciphering new fragments in Akkadian and Sumerian.]]> 304 Unknown 0140449191 Victoria 3 3.70 -1200 The Epic of Gilgamesh
author: Unknown
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.70
book published: -1200
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2017/03/26
shelves:
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]]> Cutting for Stone 6930014 Ěý
Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined. --back cover]]> 670 Abraham Verghese Victoria 4 fiction 4.26 2009 Cutting for Stone
author: Abraham Verghese
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2011/03/22
date added: 2017/01/09
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> King Richard II 3352204 Book by Arden Shakespeare 400 William Shakespeare 1903436664 Victoria 0 4.33 1595 King Richard II
author: William Shakespeare
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1595
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/08/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (The Tales of Dunk and Egg, #1-3)]]> 18635622 368 George R.R. Martin 0345533488 Victoria 0 to-read 4.24 2015 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (The Tales of Dunk and Egg, #1-3)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/06/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Divergent (Divergent, #1) 8306857 In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

]]> 487 Veronica Roth 0062024027 Victoria 0 to-read 4.28 2011 Divergent (Divergent, #1)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/05/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Prydain Chronicles (The Chronicles of Prydain #1-5)]]> 7196542 767 Lloyd Alexander Victoria 4 fantasy, ya 4.30 1989 The Prydain Chronicles (The Chronicles of Prydain #1-5)
author: Lloyd Alexander
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/01/22
shelves: fantasy, ya
review:

]]> Pale Fire 499933 315 Vladimir Nabokov 0679723420 Victoria 0 4.21 1962 Pale Fire
author: Vladimir Nabokov
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1962
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/10/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Enter the Zone 857770 328 Barry Sears 2570435260 Victoria 0 3.65 1994 Enter the Zone
author: Barry Sears
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/10/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Life of Pi 170453
The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea.]]> 326 Yann Martel 0156027321 Victoria 4 3.88 2001 Life of Pi
author: Yann Martel
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/06/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Stone Cold (Joe Pickett, #14) 18079649 370 C.J. Box 0399160760 Victoria 4 4.17 2014 Stone Cold (Joe Pickett, #14)
author: C.J. Box
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/02/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Winterkill (Joe Pickett, #3) 244100 352 C.J. Box 0425195953 Victoria 3 4.17 2003 Winterkill (Joe Pickett, #3)
author: C.J. Box
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2015/02/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Force Of Nature (Joe Pickett, #12)]]> 11890811 385 C.J. Box 039915826X Victoria 3 4.28 2012 Force Of Nature (Joe Pickett, #12)
author: C.J. Box
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2015/02/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Earthworks 1118325
Choked, disease-ridden towns, robots and prison gangs tending the bare, poison drenched countryside are all characteristic of Knowle's world; only in Africa is the soil still fertile and the people still relatively vital. On the coast of Africa, near Walvis Bay, Knowle runs his freighter aground; and there he meets Justine and the destructive destiny that purges him of guilt and frees him from hallucination.

Cover Illustration: Karel Thole]]> 128 Brian W. Aldiss Victoria 3 3.08 1965 Earthworks
author: Brian W. Aldiss
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.08
book published: 1965
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2015/02/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Resistant (Dr. Lou Welcome, #3)]]> 18404261
They fight without conscience or remorse. Their only job is to kill.
They are the most ruthless enemy we have ever faced.
And they are one millionth our size.
When Dr. Lou Welcome fills in last minute for his boss at a national conference in Atlanta he brings along his best friend, Cap Duncan. But an accident turns tragic when Cap injures his leg while running. Surgeons manage to save the leg, but the open wound is the perfect breeding ground for a deadly microbial invader committed to eating Cap alive from the inside out.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, a teenaged girl is fighting for her life against the same bacteria. The germ is resistant to any known antibiotic and the government scientist tasked with finding a cure has been kidnapped. Turning to the Centers for Disease Control for help, Lou Welcome uncovers a link to a shadowy group known as One Hundred Neighbors that has infiltrated our society and is using our health institutions as hostages. Like the deadly germs they can unleash, One Hundred Neighbors will stop at nothing to further their agenda. From the hospital corridors where anything you touch can mean your end, to the top corridors of power in this race against time, Lou must stop an epidemic, save his best friend, and face even his own most terrifying demons.

From the New York Times bestselling author comes another heart stopping thriller that will make you look at the world around you in a new and frightening way.

"When you open the pages of a Michael Palmer novel, you know you are in the hands of a pro." -The Huffington Post

]]> 387 Michael Palmer 1250030927 Victoria 3 3.77 2014 Resistant (Dr. Lou Welcome, #3)
author: Michael Palmer
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2015/02/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Restoree 412816
But once she discovered that the planet she had been brought to was Lothar and that the man she was caring for was its regent, Sara knew the restorees had to escape—and fast. And when they did, they became fugitives on a world of multiple evils—bound together on a daring adventure that would either join them for all time . . . or separate them forever.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780552083447]]> 223 Anne McCaffrey Victoria 3 scifi 3.90 1967 Restoree
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1967
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/07/18
shelves: scifi
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies]]> 1839 The Rise of the West has become the central problem in the study of global history. In Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond presents the biologist's answer: geography, demography, and ecological happenstance. Diamond evenhandedly reviews human history on every continent since the Ice Age at a rate that emphasizes only the broadest movements of peoples and ideas. Yet his survey is binocular: one eye has the rather distant vision of the evolutionary biologist, while the other eye--and his heart--belongs to the people of New Guinea, where he has done field work for more than 30 years.]]> 518 Jared Diamond 0393061310 Victoria 4 nonfiction 4.04 1997 Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
author: Jared Diamond
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/06/04
shelves: nonfiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Victoria 4 juvenile, reread, fantasy 4.57 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2011/09/03
date added: 2014/04/29
shelves: juvenile, reread, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms & a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories]]> 8421350 Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and exposition, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester tells the breathtaking saga of the Atlantic Ocean. A gifted storyteller and consummate historian, Winchester sets the great blue sea's epic narrative against the backdrop of mankind's intellectual evolution, telling not only the story of an ocean, but the story of civilization. Fans of Winchester's Krakatoa, The Man Who Loved China, and The Professor and the Madman will love this masterful, penetrating, and resonant tale of humanity finding its way across the ocean of history.]]> 15 Simon Winchester 0061866121 Victoria 3 audio, nonfiction 3.50 2010 Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms & a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories
author: Simon Winchester
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2012/04/06
date added: 2014/03/11
shelves: audio, nonfiction
review:
Very much enjoyed listening to Mr. Winchester reading his work, especially when he chooses to editorialize via wry comments on the state of the world. Amusing that he begins with formation of the ocean. I learned that Scotland has polluted their waters with nuclear wastes (besides the more current methane/gas well mishap), that authorities have changed the way ocean area is computed.
]]> Little Women 341288 Meg, Jo, Amy, and Beth--four "little women" enduring hardships and enjoying adventures in Civil War New England

The charming story of the March sisters, Little Women has been adored for generations. Readers have rooted for Laurie in his pursuit of Jo's hand, cried over little Beth's untimely death, and dreamed of traveling through Europe with old Aunt March and Amy. Aspiring writers have found inspiration in Jo's devotion to her writing. In this simple, enthralling tale, Louisa May Alcott has created four of American literature's most beloved women.

In her enlightening, thoughtful introduction, Elaine Showalter discusses Louisa May Alcott's influences and her aspirations for Little Women, as well as the impact the novel has had on such women writers as Joyce Carol Oates and Cynthia Ozick.

]]> 504 Louisa May Alcott 0140390693 Victoria 5 ya, fiction, reread 4.12 1868 Little Women
author: Louisa May Alcott
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1868
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/12/27
shelves: ya, fiction, reread
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)]]> 7645590
The Journalist: Mikael Blomkvist delves deep into the Vangers' past to uncover the truth behind the unsolved mystery. But someone else wants the past to remain a secret and will go to any lengths to keep it that way.

The girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Lisbeth Salander, the enigmatic, delinquent and dangerous security specialist, assists in the investigation. A genius computer hacker, she tolerates no restrictions placed upon her by individual, society or the law.
(back cover)]]> 538 Stieg Larsson 1849162883 Victoria 3 fiction, translation 4.19 2005 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)
author: Stieg Larsson
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2010/08/05
date added: 2013/11/27
shelves: fiction, translation
review:
Started reading the book but watched the Swedish film after hearing about even other films. Enjoyed the film, violence, a bit tired of hidden family stories of abusers. The book was better, of course, the film having played up the physical and neatened up the story. But I look forward to reading/watching more.
]]> <![CDATA[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]> 140212 189 C.S. Lewis 0061125237 Victoria 5 4.18 1950 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1950
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/11/23
shelves: fantasy, juvenile, favorites, fantasy-series, reread
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Aristotle and Dante, #1)]]> 12000020
But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other—and the power of their friendship—can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.]]> 390 Benjamin Alire Sáenz 1442408928 Victoria 4 ya, fiction, award-winning 4.29 2012 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Aristotle and Dante, #1)
author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/11/19
date added: 2013/11/19
shelves: ya, fiction, award-winning
review:
I picked up this book because I thought it might be fantasy or science fiction, so I am pleasantly surprised at how well it is written for a coming-of-age type of book about two teenaged boys. Mr. Saenz writes with a simplicity, like Madeline L'Engle, that reaches deep into the heart and soul of family and self. Turns out there is a gayness issue, but to me it seems only a part of the story which is about love, anger, goodness. Not a book for jocks on its face, only ones who have feelings and open minds.
]]> Nightfall and Other Stories 70771 350 Isaac Asimov 0345310918 Victoria 4 4.26 1969 Nightfall and Other Stories
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1969
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/11/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Diviners (The Diviners, #1)]]> 7728889 578 Libba Bray Victoria 4 fantasy-series, fiction 3.93 2012 The Diviners (The Diviners, #1)
author: Libba Bray
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/11/05
date added: 2013/11/05
shelves: fantasy-series, fiction
review:
Happy creepy reading, Ms. Bray says. Creepy it is, and divinely roaring twenties chic NYC. I was a little worried that there was too much warnings of storm coming and so forth, and did discover to my regret that it is the first of a series. This book certainly stands alone, with its serial murders and supernatural talents. Evie is a character I cannot relate to but is a joy to watch getting the attention she craves.
]]> The Goddess Chronicle 16129295
In a place like no other, on a mystical island in the shape of tear drop, two sisters are born into a family of oracles. Kamikuu is admired far and wide for her otherworldly beauty; small and headstrong Namima learns to live in her sister’s shadow. On her sixth birthday, Kamikuu is chosen to become the next Oracle, serving the realm of light, while Namima is forced to serve the realm of darkness—destined to spend eternity guiding the spirits of the deceased to the underworld.

As the sisters serve opposite fates, Namima embarks on a journey that takes her from the experience of first love to the aftermath of scalding betrayal. Caught in an elaborate web of treachery, she travels between the land of the living and the Realm of the Dead, seeking vengeance and closure.

At the heart of this exquisitely dark tale, Kirino masterfully reimagines the ancient Japanese creation myth of Izanami and Izanaki. A provocative, fantastical saga, The Goddess Chronicle tells a sumptuous story of sex, murder, gods and goddesses, and bittersweet revenge.]]> 320 Natsuo Kirino 0802121098 Victoria 0 to-read 3.74 2008 The Goddess Chronicle
author: Natsuo Kirino
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Son (The Giver, #4) 13324841
Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver, as well as Gathering Blue and Messenger where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil.]]> 393 Lois Lowry 0547887205 Victoria 3 ya, fantasy-series 3.98 2012 Son (The Giver, #4)
author: Lois Lowry
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2013/10/22
date added: 2013/10/22
shelves: ya, fantasy-series
review:
I didn't think this book advanced the entire world-building, but it stands on its own as a stand-alone. I believe the author states this is the final volume, which is a good thing.
]]> <![CDATA[Last to Die (Rizzoli & Isles, #10)]]> 13272498
Jane spirits Teddy to the exclusive Evensong boarding school, a sanctuary where young victims of violent crime learn the secrets and skills of survival in a dangerous world. But even behind locked gates, and surrounded by acres of sheltering Maine wilderness, Jane fears that Evensong’s mysterious benefactors aren’t the only ones watching. When strange blood-splattered dolls are found dangling from a tree, Jane knows that her instincts are dead on. And when she meets Will Yablonski and Claire Ward, students whose tragic pasts bear a shocking resemblance to Teddy’s, it becomes chillingly clear that a circling predator has more than one victim in mind.

Joining forces with her trusted partner, medical examiner Maura Isles, Jane is determined to keep these orphans safe from harm. But an unspeakable secret dooms the children’s fate—unless Jane and Maura can finally put an end to an obsessed killer’s twisted quest.]]> 338 Tess Gerritsen 0345515633 Victoria 4 mystery 4.11 2012 Last to Die (Rizzoli & Isles, #10)
author: Tess Gerritsen
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/10/14
date added: 2013/10/17
shelves: mystery
review:
Always a pleasure to read Tess Gerritsen.
]]> <![CDATA[The White Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #5)]]> 12326627 Caught between loyalties, the mother of the Tudors must choose between the red rose and the white.

When Henry Tudor picks up the crown of England from the mud of Bosworth field, he knows he must marry the princess of the enemy house—Elizabeth of York—to unify a country divided by war for nearly two decades.

But his bride is still in love with his slain enemy, Richard III—and her mother and half of England dream of a missing heir, sent into the unknown by the White Queen. While the new monarchy can win power, it cannot win hearts in an England that plots for the triumphant return of the House of York.

Henry’s greatest fear is that somewhere a prince is waiting to invade and reclaim the throne. When a young man who would be king leads his army and invades England, Elizabeth has to choose between the new husband she is coming to love and the boy who claims to be her beloved lost brother: the rose of York come home at last.]]> 544 Philippa Gregory Victoria 3 historical-fiction 3.93 2013 The White Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #5)
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2013/09/16
date added: 2013/09/22
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
The story of Elizabeth of York who became the queen of the Henry VII, the first Tudor king. I love the way Philippa Gregory makes these stories come alive, even if I have to google successions .
]]> <![CDATA[A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)]]> 13496
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.]]> 835 George R.R. Martin 0553588486 Victoria 4 4.44 1996 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2011/12/28
date added: 2013/09/11
shelves: fantasy, fantasy-series, reread
review:
A Christmas gift from my son, the first four (boxed set) volumes of this series occupied me for a couple of weeks. Martin may be a gifted creator but he's not exactly a world-class writer. I found myself often having to stop and attempt to determine whom he was speaking of with his unclearly attributed pronouns. The number of characters and permutations of their names rivals War and Peace for complexity, but in all I enjoy the world-building. I watched the HBO series before reading AGoT, and found the film closely following the books. Frankly, I can't see funding the entire set of mini-series nor the interest in relating a tale in which so many heroes die, which is a shame.
]]> <![CDATA[The Gate Thief (Mither Mages, #2)]]> 15793068
Here on Earth, Danny North is still in high school, yet he holds in his heart and mind all the stolen outselves of thirteen centuries of gatemages. The Families still want to kill him if they can't control him…and they can't control him. He is far too powerful.

And on Westil, Wad is now nearly powerless―he lost everything to Danny in their struggle. Even if he can survive the revenge of his enemies, he still must somehow make peace with the Gatemage Daniel North.

For when Danny took that power from Loki, he also took the responsibility for the Great Gates. And when he comes face-to-face with the mages who call themselves Bel and Ishtoreth, he will come to understand just why Loki closed the gates all those centuries ago.

The Mithermages series
The Lost Gate
The Gate Thief
Gatefather]]> 380 Orson Scott Card 0765326582 Victoria 3 fantasy-series 3.75 2013 The Gate Thief (Mither Mages, #2)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2013/08/23
date added: 2013/09/11
shelves: fantasy-series
review:
Very complex compared to #1, but quite engaging.
]]> <![CDATA[MP (semi-autobiographical novel)]]> 17252272 416 Richard Cezar 1481125060 Victoria 0 to-read 4.31 2012 MP (semi-autobiographical novel)
author: Richard Cezar
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/09/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Nocturnal 12099550 Infected and Contagious � rebooted the biotech thriller in Ancestor …now, in his most ambitious, sweeping novel to date, he works his magic on the paranormal thriller, taking us inside a terrifying underworld of subterranean predators that only his twisted mind could invent.

Homicide detective Bryan Clauser is losing his mind. How else to explain the dreams he keeps having—dreams that mirror, with impossible accuracy, the gruesome serial murders taking place all over San Francisco? How else to explain the feelings these dreams provoke in him—not disgust, not horror, but excitement?Ěý

As Bryan and his longtime partner, Lawrence “Pookieâ€� Chang, investigate the murders, they learn that things are even stranger than they at first seem. For the victims are all enemies of a seemingly ordinary young boy—a boy who is gripped by the same dreams that haunt Bryan.Ěý Meanwhile, a shadowy vigilante, seemingly armed with superhuman powers, is out there killing the killers.Ěý And Bryan and Pookie’s superiors—from the mayor on down—seem strangely eager to keep the detectives from discovering the truth.

Doubting his own sanity and stripped of his badge, Bryan begins to suspect that he’s stumbled into the crosshairs of a shadow war that has gripped his city for more than a century—a war waged by a race of killers living in San Francisco’s unknown, underground ruins, emerging at night to feed on those who will not be missed.

And as Bryan learns the truth about his own intimate connections to the killings, he discovers that those who matter most to him are in mortal danger…and that he may be the only man gifted—or cursed—with the power to do battle with the nocturnals.

Featuring a dazzlingly plotted mystery and a terrifying descent into a nightmarish underworld—along with some of the most incredible action scenes ever put to paper, and an explosive, gut-wrenching conclusion you won’t soon forgetâ€�Nocturnal is the most spectacular outing to date from one of the genre’s brightest stars.ĚýĚý]]> 566 Scott Sigler 0307406342 Victoria 3 fiction, horror 4.04 2007 Nocturnal
author: Scott Sigler
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2013/09/11
date added: 2013/09/11
shelves: fiction, horror
review:
Bryan Clausen and Pookie Chang, police inspectors in San Francisco, deal with multiple homicides with an interesting biological, supernatural twist. Characterizations pop out, I laughed, and despite its length read it in one sitting. It's too lengthy and meticulous, perhaps. And 'grizzly' should be 'grisly', which the book is.
]]> Inferno (Robert Langdon, #4) 17212231 â€Seek and ye shall find.â€�

With these words echoing in his head, eminent Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon awakes in a hospital bed with no recollection of where he is or how he got there. Nor can he explain the origin of the macabre object that is found hidden in his belongings.

A threat to his life will propel him and a young doctor, Sienna Brooks, into a breakneck chase across the city of Florence. Only Langdon’s knowledge of hidden passageways and ancient secrets that lie behind its historic facade can save them from the clutches of their unknown pursuers.

With only a few lines from Dante’s dark and epic masterpiece, The Inferno, to guide them, they must decipher a sequence of codes buried deep within some of the most celebrated artefacts of the Renaissance � sculptures, paintings, buildings � to find the answers to a puzzle which may, or may not, help them save the world from a terrifying threat�

Set against an extraordinary landscape inspired by one of history’s most ominous literary classics, Inferno is Dan Brown’s most compelling and thought-provoking novel yet, a breathless race-against-time thriller that will grab you from page one and not let you go until you close the book.]]> 463 Dan Brown 0385537859 Victoria 3 fiction 3.87 2013 Inferno (Robert Langdon, #4)
author: Dan Brown
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2013/09/06
date added: 2013/09/11
shelves: fiction
review:
Well I've stuck with Mr. Brown and Dr. Langdon. The formula keeps me reading until I'm done, even while transparent. Lots of art description this time. But the best part is the treatment of overpopulation, a topic which should be considered far and wide.
]]> <![CDATA[The Capitalism Papers: Fatal Flaws of an Obsolete System]]> 11278124 Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television, nationally recognized social critic Jerry Mander researches, discusses, and exposes the momentous and unsolvable environmental and social problem of capitalism.

Mander argues that capitalism is no longer a viable system: “What may have worked in 1900 is calamitous in 2010.� Capitalism, utterly dependent on never-ending economic growth, is an impossible absurdity on a finite planet with limited resources. Climate change, together with global food, water, and resource shortages, are only the start.

Mander draws attention to capitalism’s obsessive need to dominate and undermine democracy, as well as to diminish social and economic equity. Designed to operate free of “morality,� the system promotes “permanent war� as a key economic strategy. Worst of all, the problems of capitalism are intrinsic to the form. Many organizations are already anticipating the breakdown of the system and are working to define new hierarchies of democratic values that respect the carrying capacities of the planet.]]> 256 Jerry Mander 1582437173 Victoria 0 to-read 4.05 2011 The Capitalism Papers: Fatal Flaws of an Obsolete System
author: Jerry Mander
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/07/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lost Gate (Mither Mages, #1)]]> 9265891

Danny North knew from early childhood that his family was different, and that he was different from them.Ěý While his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that he would never show a talent, never form an outself.

He grew up in the rambling old house, filled with dozens of cousins, and aunts and uncles, all ruled by his father.Ěý Their home was isolated in the mountains of western Virginia, far from town, far from schools, far from other people.

There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow.Ěý ĚýThere is a secret library Ěýwith only a few dozen books, and none of them in English â€� but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books. ĚýWhile Danny’s cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.

Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny Ěýas well. ĚýAnd that will lead to disaster for the North family.

]]> 379 Orson Scott Card 0765326574 Victoria 3 fantasy 3.81 2011 The Lost Gate (Mither Mages, #1)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2012/04/15
date added: 2013/06/26
shelves: fantasy
review:
Certainly Orson Scott Card is always readable, but this book has a fascinating magic system which Card says he's been working on since the 70s. Once explained, the book's ending leaves room for sequels. I enjoyed the thought of mages existing on earth for many centuries cut off from their home world because of Loki's disappearing the gateways there. Before they had had so much power as to name themselves gods, but because they couldn't use gates to presumably Asgard, from whence they could increase their power, magery is weakened. Young Danny North is a sport born with incredible capacity for gates but no one to train him in its use. This book details his growth from his innate tricksomeness to partial mastery of his gift and maturity in his outlook.
]]> <![CDATA[Changeling (Order of Darkness, #1)]]> 12988106
Isolde is a seventeen-year-old girl shut up in a nunnery so she can’t inherit any of her father’s estate. As the nuns walk in their sleep and see strange visions, Isolde is accused of witchcraft—and Luca is sent to investigate her, but finds himself plotting her escape.

Despite their vows, despite themselves, love grows between Luca and Isolde as they travel across Europe with their faithful companions, Freize and Ishraq. The four young people encounter werewolves, alchemists, witches, and death-dancers as they head toward a real-life historical figure who holds the boundaries of Christendom and the secrets of the Order of the Dragon.]]> 256 Philippa Gregory 1442453443 Victoria 3 fantasy-series, ya 3.21 2012 Changeling (Order of Darkness, #1)
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2013/05/26
date added: 2013/06/26
shelves: fantasy-series, ya
review:
Unexpectedly young adult, but entertaining enough.
]]> <![CDATA[For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs]]> 50881 263 Robert A. Heinlein 074325998X Victoria 3 scifi 3.37 2003 For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs
author: Robert A. Heinlein
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2013/05/15
date added: 2013/06/26
shelves: scifi
review:
Posthumous; this book was written back in the 30s, his first that didn't get published. It contains a number of themes and characters which he will write again about. But what was most interesting is the economic system that the protagonist encounters in the future, where all are guaranteed a living, but can have jobs which you enjoy if you wish. Spider Robinson writes a good intro, and there is some explanation about that economic system which I'll have to look at again to remember.
]]> <![CDATA[Under the Surface: Fracking, Fortunes, and the Fate of the Marcellus Shale]]> 13609906
Control over drilling rights is at stake in the heart of Marcellus country northeast Pennsylvania and central New York. The decisions by landowners to work with or against the companies and the resulting environmental and economic consequences are scrutinized by neighbors faced with similar decisions, by residents of cities whose water supply originates in the exploration area, and by those living across state lines with differing attitudes and policies concerning extraction industries. Wilber's evenhanded treatment gives a voice to all constituencies, including farmers and landowners tempted by the prospects of wealth but wary of the consequences, policymakers struggling with divisive issues, and activists coordinating campaigns based on their respective visions of economic salvation and environmental ruin. Wilber describes a landscape in which the battle over the Marcellus ranges from the very local yard signs proclaiming landowners' allegiances for or against shale gas development to often conflicting municipal, state, and federal legislation intended to accelerate, delay, or discourage exploration.

For millions of people with a direct stake in shale gas exploration in the Marcellus or any number of other emerging shale resources in the United States and worldwide, or for those concerned about the global energy outlook, Under the Surface offers a worthwhile and engaging look at the issues.]]> 272 Tom Wilber 0801450160 Victoria 0 to-read 3.73 2012 Under the Surface: Fracking, Fortunes, and the Fate of the Marcellus Shale
author: Tom Wilber
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/06/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating]]> 241073 The stories Smith presents read like a mystery novel. Scientists are offered bribes or threatened; evidence is stolen; data withheld or distorted. Government scientists who complain are stripped of responsibilities or fired. The FDA even withheld information from congress after a GM food supplement killed nearly a hundred people and permanently disabled thousands. While Smith was employed by the laboratory he was not allowed to speak on the health dangers or the cover-up. No longer bound by this agreement, Smith now reveals what he knows in this groundbreaking exposé.
Today, food companies sell GM foods that have not undergone safety studies. FDA scientists opposed this, but White House and industry pressure prevailed and the agency's final policy--co-authored by a former Monsanto attorney--denied the risks. The scientists' concerns were made public only after a lawsuit forced the agency to turn over internal documents.
Dan Glickman, former Secretary of Agriculture, describes the government's pro-biotech "You felt like you were almost an alien, disloyal, by trying to present an open-minded view. . . . So I pretty much spouted the rhetoric. . . . It was written into my speeches."
In Seeds of Deception Smith offers easy-to-understand descriptions of genetic engineering and explains why it can result in serious health problems. This well-documented, pivotal work will show you how to protect yourself and your family.]]> 289 Jeffrey M. Smith 0972966587 Victoria 0 to-read 4.16 2003 Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating
author: Jeffrey M. Smith
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/05/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Stolen Life 11330361
Dugard's memoir is written by the 30-year-old herself and covers the period from the time of her abduction in 1991 up until the present. In her stark, utterly honest and unflinching narrative, Jaycee opens up about what she experienced, including how she feels now, a year after being found. Garrido and his wife Nancy have since pleaded guilty to their crimes.]]> 273 Jaycee Dugard 1451629184 Victoria 0 to-read 3.95 2011 A Stolen Life
author: Jaycee Dugard
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/05/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)]]> 960
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.]]> 736 Dan Brown 1416524797 Victoria 2 3.95 2000 Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)
author: Dan Brown
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at: 2013/04/03
date added: 2013/04/03
shelves: fiction, mystery-thriller, reread
review:
This book showed up in the house so I reread it. I found I had forgotten the true ending (as compared to the film with Tom Hanks), and that it was a little annoyingly crafted to keep the suspense going. It seems unlikely that any Harvard professor, even of art, would not be aware of CERN even before the 'god particle' notoriety. It was interesting plotting, resurrecting the Illuminati and emphasizing the Catholic Church's antipathy for science. I may have found it more interesting in the past because of being unsure about Christianity versus science topics, but I have personally moved beyond this.
]]> Ever After (The Hollows, #11) 13241659
While saving the world is important, it isn't Rachel's only motivation. There's also the small fact that she caused the ley line to rip in the first place, setting off a chain reaction of unfortunate events. That little mistake has made her life forfeit unless she can fix it. It's also made her more than a few enemies, including the most powerful demon in the ever after—a terrifying entity who eats souls and now has an insatiable appetite for her. He's already kidnapped her friend and goddaughter to lure her out, and if Rachel doesn't give herself up soon, they'll die.

But Rachel has more than a few impressive and frightening skills of her own, and she isn't going to hand over her soul and her life without one hell of a fight. She's also got a surprise: elven tycoon Trent Kalamack. With this unlikely ally beside her—a prospect both thrilling and unnerving—she's going to return to the ever after, kick some demon butt, rescue her loved ones... and prevent an apocalypse before it's too late. Or, at least that's the plan...]]> 435 Kim Harrison 0061957917 Victoria 1 fantasy-series 4.45 2013 Ever After (The Hollows, #11)
author: Kim Harrison
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2013
rating: 1
read at: 2013/03/13
date added: 2013/03/14
shelves: fantasy-series
review:
Having encountered the 11th of a series first, I couldn't finish the book because of missing too many elements. Therefore my rating is not one of quality but only personal experience.
]]> The Racketeer 13573236
Judge Raymond Fawcett just became number five.

His body was found in the small basement of a lakeside cabin he had built himself and frequently used on weekends. When he did not show up for a trial on Monday morning, his law clerks panicked, called the FBI, and in due course the agents found the crime scene. There was no forced entry, no struggle, just two dead bodies - Judge Fawcett and his young secretary.

I did not know Judge Fawcett, but I know who killed him, and why.

I am a lawyer, and I am in prison.

It's a long story.

©2012 Belfry Holdings Inc (P)2012 Random House Audio Inc]]> 340 John Grisham 0385535144 Victoria 3 mystery 3.77 2012 The Racketeer
author: John Grisham
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2013/03/02
date added: 2013/03/14
shelves: mystery
review:
I was surprised that Grisham states that the whole thing is made up, because his patently clear attitude toward our prison system and description of one white-collar criminal's treatment seems so real. Then we go into the latter half of the book which is a different kind of tale with a major twist.
]]> A Killer in the Wind 15811125
Now Champion is a small town detective, chasing burglars and juvenile delinquents, hanging out at the local tavern where he is romancing a waitress. The ghosts and hallucinations are finally behind him as he begins to rebuild his life. Then one night Champion is called to examine the body of a woman who has washed ashore. Yet when he looks at her face, he sees that it’s Samantha, the woman he dreamed about long ago...a woman who doesn’t exist.

Suddenly, Champion is haunted again, only this time it’s by a team of expert killers who want to make sure he never finds the the truth about the dead child who wanders through his imagination; the truth about the lover who inhabits his dreams; and the truth about a killer who has been on the run � in the wind � for a lifetime. The ghosts of the dead are all around him, and Champion has to find out who murdered them, fast, or he could become one of them himself.]]> 304 Andrew Klavan 0802120679 Victoria 3 mystery 3.74 2013 A Killer in the Wind
author: Andrew Klavan
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2013/03/06
date added: 2013/03/14
shelves: mystery
review:
Dan Champion, what a name! This is my first Andrew Klavan novel, and I became pleasantly engaged in the emotional range and realism of the psychological suspense. It wasn't humdrum, by any means. Under the influence of a drug, Champion sees a ghost boy named Alexander and Samantha, the only woman whom he could love.
]]> <![CDATA[The Last Victim (Dr. Charlotte Stone, #1)]]> 13114564
A sought-after expert in criminal pathology, Charlie regularly sits face-to-face with madmen. Obsessed with learning what makes human monsters commit terrible crimes, Charlie desires little else from life—no doubt because when she was sixteen, she herself survived a serial killer’s bloodbath: A man butchered the family of Charlie’s best friend, Holly, then left the girl’s body on a seaside boardwalk one week later.

Because of the information Charlie gave police, the Boardwalk Killer went underground. She kept to herself her eerie postmortem visions of Holly and her mother. And even years later, knowing her contact with ghosts might undermine her credibility as a psychological expert, Charlie tells no one about the visits she gets from the spirit world.

Now all-too-handsome FBI agent Tony Bartoli is telling Charlie that a teenage girl is missing, her family slaughtered. Bartoli suspects that after fifteen years, the Boardwalk Killer—or a sick copycat with his M.O.—is back. Time is running short for an innocent, kidnapped girl, and Bartoli pleads for Charlie’s help.

This is the one case Charlie shouldn’t go near. But she also knows that she may be the one person in the world who can stop this vicious killer. For Charlie—whose good looks disguise a world of hurt, vulnerability, and potent psychic gifts—a frantic hunt for a madman soon becomes a complex test of cunning, passions, and secrets. Aiding Dr. Stone on her quest to catch a madman is a ghostly presence with bad intentions: the fiery spirit of seductive bad boy Michael Garland who refuses to be ignored, though in his cat and mouse game they may both lose their hearts.

Dr. Charlotte Stone sees what others do not. And she sees the Boardwalk Killer coming for her.]]> 336 Karen Robards 0345535405 Victoria 2 mystery
On the other hand the story is well crafted and keeps one reading.]]> 3.83 2012 The Last Victim (Dr. Charlotte Stone, #1)
author: Karen Robards
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2013/03/14
date added: 2013/03/14
shelves: mystery
review:
The book blurb describes K. Robards as a premier combination romance/mystery writer. I hate romance and sex scenes, so I didn't like these aspects; didn't enjoy the extremist subject crime of serial killing (more serial killer books written than is representative of most killings); and found unbelievable yet another beautiful crime researcher, and her ignorance of what is commonly known about psychic phenomenon. I've got to stop reading such women writers.

On the other hand the story is well crafted and keeps one reading.
]]> <![CDATA[Ghost of Spirit Bear (Spirit Bear, #2)]]> 2737487
But now their time in exile is over, and Cole and Peter are heading back to the one place they're not sure they can handle: high school. Gangs and violence haunt the hallways, and Peter's limp and speech impediment make him a natural target. In a school where hate and tension are getting close to the boiling point, the monster of rage hibernating inside Cole begins to stir.

Ben Mikaelsen's riveting saga of survival and self-awareness continues in the sequel to his gripping Touching Spirit Bear. This time he weaves a tale of urban survival where every day is a struggle to stay sane. As the problems in his school grow worse, Cole realizes that it's not enough just to change himself. He has to change his world.]]> 160 Ben Mikaelsen 0060090081 Victoria 3 ya 3.81 2008 Ghost of Spirit Bear (Spirit Bear, #2)
author: Ben Mikaelsen
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2013/03/01
date added: 2013/03/09
shelves: ya
review:
Second in a series of which I had not read the first. After a change takes place in two teenagers on a wilderness quest, the boys are tested when they return to their high school. I found the writing a bit awkward but heartfelt, and couldn't put it down despite not have been inspired by the first, wilderness book. I came away with the wish that there were such programs available to some of our youths who might benefit--and wondering what happened to those programs like Outward Bound I'd read about in past years.
]]> <![CDATA[Wild Fire (A John Corey Novel, 4)]]> 21648
Welcome to the Custer Hill Club--an informal men's club set in a luxurious Adirondack hunting lodge whose members include some of America's most powerful business leaders, military men, and government officials. Ostensibly, the club is a place to gather with old friends, hunt, eat, drink, and talk off-the-record about war, life, death, sex and politics. But one Fall weekend, the Executive Board of the Custer Hill Club gathers to talk about the tragedy of 9/11 and what America must do to retaliate. Their plan is finalized and set into motion.

That same weekend, a member of the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force is reported missing. His body is soon discovered in the woods near the Custer Hill Club's game reserve. The death appears to be a hunting accident, and that's how the local police first report it, but Detective John Corey has his doubts. As he digs deeper, he begins to unravel a plot involving the Custer Hill Club, a top-secret plan known only by its code Wild Fire. Racing against the clock, Detective Corey and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, find they are the only people in a position to stop the button from being pushed and chaos from being unleashed.]]> 15 Nelson DeMille 1594836108 Victoria 3 mystery-thriller, audio 3.77 2006 Wild Fire (A John Corey Novel, 4)
author: Nelson DeMille
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2013/02/18
date added: 2013/02/19
shelves: mystery-thriller, audio
review:
New concepts, ELF (extra-long frequency) or something like that. New characters-to-me Det. John Corey and his wife FBI agent Kate Mayfield. An investigative procedural well read on audio CD, with an interview with the author. Sounds real, which is scary for mutually assured destruction with nukes.
]]> <![CDATA[Danse Macabre (Daniel Jacobus Mystery, #2)]]> 8611614 ĚýJust after his Carnegie Hall swansong and before his imminent departure for retirement in France, beloved violinist and humanitarian Rene Allard is brutally murdered with a mysterious weapon. His young African American rival, crossover artist BTower, is spotted at the scene of the crime hovering over the contorted body of Allard with blood on his hands. In short order the aloof and arrogant BTower is convicted and sentenced to death, in part the result of the testimony of blind and curmudgeonly violin pedagogue Daniel Jacobus, like millions of others, an ardent admirer of Allard. Justice has been served…or has it? Jacobus is dragged back into the case kicking and screaming, and reluctantly follows a trail of broken violins and broken lives as it leads inexorably to the truth, and to his own mortal peril.]]> 288 Gerald Elias 0312541899 Victoria 3 mystery 3.70 2010 Danse Macabre (Daniel Jacobus Mystery, #2)
author: Gerald Elias
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2013/02/16
date added: 2013/02/16
shelves: mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Inquisitor's Key (Body Farm #7)]]> 11769020 353 Jefferson Bass 006180679X Victoria 3 mystery 3.72 2012 The Inquisitor's Key (Body Farm #7)
author: Jefferson Bass
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2012/10/01
date added: 2013/02/04
shelves: mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Return of Captain John Emmett]]> 9856011
This book features a teaser chapter from The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton, the sequel to Elizabeth Speller’s thrilling debut novel.]]> 436 Elizabeth Speller 0547511698 Victoria 4 mystery, historical-fiction 3.68 2010 The Return of Captain John Emmett
author: Elizabeth Speller
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2013/02/04
date added: 2013/02/04
shelves: mystery, historical-fiction
review:
Another damn fine first book! What pleased me was how the writing and vocabulary evoked the early 20th century and its milieu, the upper class in Britain after the 1st world war. Also pleasing was that I was surprised to realize after I'd finished that a woman had written it--too often women cannot keep their own gender sensibilities out of a male protagonist's views.
]]> <![CDATA[The Long Earth (The Long Earth, #1)]]> 13147230
2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive - some said mad, others dangerous - scientist when she finds a curious gadget - a box containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a... potato. It is the prototype of an invention that will change the way Mankind views his world forever.

And that is an understatement if ever there was one...]]> 336 Terry Pratchett 0062067753 Victoria 4 scifi, alternate-universe 3.77 2012 The Long Earth (The Long Earth, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/01/30
date added: 2013/01/31
shelves: scifi, alternate-universe
review:
Enjoyed this tremendously, this exploration of alternate earths in a sudden access to multiverse by 'stepping'.
]]> <![CDATA[In the Shadow of Gotham (Simon Ziele, #1)]]> 6316381
Detective Simon Ziele lost his fiancée in the General Slocum ferry disaster—a thousand perished on that summer day in 1904 when an onboard fire burned the boat down in the waters of the East River. Still reeling from the tragedy, Ziele transferred to a police department north of New York, to escape the city and all the memories it conjured.

But only a few months into his new life in a quiet country town, he’s faced with the most shocking homicide of his career to date:ĚýYoung Sarah Wingate has been brutally murdered in her own bedroom in the middle of an otherwise calm and quiet winter afternoon. After just one day of investigation, Simon’s contacted by Columbia University’s noted criminologist Alistair Sinclair, who offers a startling claim about one of his patients, Michael Fromley—that the facts of the murder bear an uncanny resemblance to Fromley’s deranged mutterings.

But what would have led Fromley, with his history of violent behavior and brutal fantasies, to seek out Sarah, a notable mathematics student and a proper young lady who has little in common with his previous targets?ĚýIs Fromley really a murderer, or is someone mimicking him?

This is what Simon Ziele must find out, with the help of the brilliant but self-interested Alistair Sinclair—before the killer strikes again.

With this taut, atmospheric, and original story of a haunted man who must search for a killer while on the run from his own demons, Stefanie Pintoff’s In the Shadow of Gotham marks the debut of an outstanding new talent, the inaugural winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel Competition.]]> 400 Stefanie Pintoff 0312544901 Victoria 3 mystery, award-winning 3.51 2009 In the Shadow of Gotham (Simon Ziele, #1)
author: Stefanie Pintoff
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2013/01/31
date added: 2013/01/31
shelves: mystery, award-winning
review:
Not bad for a first book, although some anachronisms grate. Good plot, characters need a little more fleshing out, and the environment is interesting: 1905 in New York and its Northern environs. Read in one morning.
]]> <![CDATA[Constitution Café: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution]]> 10414795 321 Christopher Phillips 0393064808 Victoria 3 politics, nonfiction 3.06 2011 Constitution Café: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution
author: Christopher Phillips
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.06
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2013/01/31
date added: 2013/01/31
shelves: politics, nonfiction
review:
An interesting exercise in small group contemplation of parts of the Constitution, what people generally believe, what is actual, and stories about how these sections came about in Jefferson's time.
]]> Crime and Punishment 7136 434 Fyodor Dostoevsky Victoria 4 fiction, translation 4.12 1866 Crime and Punishment
author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1866
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/01/05
shelves: fiction, translation
review:

]]> Raylan (Raylan Givens, #3) 12037108 —New York Times Book Review

With more than forty novels to his credit and still going strong, the legendary Elmore Leonard has well earned the title, “America’s greatest crime writer� (Newsweek). And U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole) is one of Leonard’s most popular creations, thanks in part to the phenomenal success of the hit TV series “Justified.� Leonard’s Raylan shines a spotlight once again on the dedicated, if somewhat trigger-happy lawman, this time in his familiar but not particularly cozy milieu of Harlan County, Kentucky, where the drug dealing Crowe brothers are branching out into the human body parts business. Suspenseful, darkly wry and riveting, and crackling with Leonard’s trademark electric dialogue, Raylan is prime Grand Master Leonard as you have always loved him and always will.]]> 263 Elmore Leonard 006211946X Victoria 4 mystery, fiction 3.61 2012 Raylan (Raylan Givens, #3)
author: Elmore Leonard
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/27
date added: 2012/12/27
shelves: mystery, fiction
review:
I actually had read this one before, or maybe I didn't finish it (why wasn't it on my list already?). What I like reading about Raylan, in addition to enjoying the Justified TV series, is the spare, first-person-light, genuine Kentucky voice Mr. Leonard achieves. Otherwise, all the usual compliments apply, interesting women, lots of good shooting, here-and-now atmosphere he creates.
]]> <![CDATA[The Jewels of Aptor/Second Ending]]> 2972908 256 Samuel R. Delany Victoria 0 3.73 The Jewels of Aptor/Second Ending
author: Samuel R. Delany
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.73
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)]]> 9460487 9781594744761

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.]]> 352 Ransom Riggs 1594744769 Victoria 4 3.92 2011 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)
author: Ransom Riggs
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/14
date added: 2012/12/14
shelves: fiction, fantasy, fantasy-series
review:
not fantasy in the traditional sense, this unique first novel takes handfuls of unusual saved photographs and links them into a wonderful tale of Jacob and his adventures in the 'loop' in Wales. Oh my, I see it's a series after all!
]]> <![CDATA[The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)]]> 186074
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.]]> 662 Patrick Rothfuss 075640407X Victoria 0 to-read 4.52 2007 The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Shining (The Shining, #1) 11588 497 Stephen King 0450040186 Victoria 4 4.28 1977 The Shining (The Shining, #1)
author: Stephen King
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1977
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, #1)]]> 1857440 STOP. You should not have touched this flyer with your bare hands. NO, don't put it down. It's too late. They're watching you. My name is David Wong. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours. You may not want to know about the things you'll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it's too late. You touched the book. You're in the game. You're under the eye. The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me.

The important thing is this: The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do. I'm sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault. ]]> 362 David Wong 0978970764 Victoria 0 to-read 3.89 2007 John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, #1)
author: David Wong
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Speed of Dark 96063
Lou Arrendale is a member of that lost generation, born at the wrong time to reap the awards of medical science. Part of a small group of high-functioning autistic adults, he has a steady job with a pharmaceutical company, a car, friends, and a passion for fencing. Aside from his annual visits to his counselor, he lives a low-key, independent life. He has learned to shake hands and make eye contact. He has taught himself to use “please� and “thank you� and other conventions of conversation because he knows it makes others comfortable. He does his best to be as normal as possible and not to draw attention to himself.

But then his quiet life comes under attack. It starts with an experimental treatment that will reverse the effects of autism in adults. With this treatment Lou would think and act and be just like everyone else. But if he was suddenly free of autism, would he still be himself? Would he still love the same classical music–with its complications and resolutions? Would he still see the same colors and patterns in the world–shades and hues that others cannot see? Most importantly, would he still love Marjory, a woman who may never be able to reciprocate his feelings? Would it be easier for her to return the love of a “normal�?

There are intense pressures coming from the world around him–including an angry supervisor who wants to cut costs by sacrificing the supports necessary to employ autistic workers. Perhaps even more disturbing are the barrage of questions within himself. For Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery that might completely change the way he views the world . . . and the very essence of who he is.

Thoughtful, provocative, poignant, unforgettable, The Speed of Dark is a gripping exploration into the mind of an autistic person as he struggles with profound questions of humanity and matters of the heart.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 369 Elizabeth Moon 0345481399 Victoria 0 to-read 3.99 2002 The Speed of Dark
author: Elizabeth Moon
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beggars in Spain (Sleepless, #1)]]> 68333
The Sleepless gradually outgrow their welcome on Earth, and their children escape to an orbiting space station to set up their own society. But Leisha and a few others remain behind, preaching acceptance for all humans, Sleepless and Sleeper alike. With the conspiracy and revenge that unwinds, the world needs a little preaching on tolerance.]]> 400 Nancy Kress 0060733489 Victoria 0 to-read 3.93 1993 Beggars in Spain (Sleepless, #1)
author: Nancy Kress
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity]]> 13260505 In this “compulsively readable exploration of the tangled world of Christian origins� (Publishers Weekly), religious historian James Tabor illuminates the earliest years of Jesus� teachings before Paul shaped them into the religion we know today.This fascinating examination of the earliest years of Christianity reveals how the man we call St. Paul shaped Christianity as we know it today. Historians know almost nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have—the letters of Paul—as well as other early Chris­tian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity. Tabor shows how Paul separated himself from Peter and James to introduce his own version of Christianity, which would continue to develop independently of the message that Jesus, James, and Peter preached. Paul and Jesus illuminates the fascinating period of history when Christianity was born out of Judaism.]]> 320 James D. Tabor 1439134987 Victoria 4 religion 3.96 2012 Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity
author: James D. Tabor
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/09
date added: 2012/12/11
shelves: religion
review:
I always appreciate readable books on Christianity or other religions for that matter, and James Tabor has delivered. Forty-five years of research and teaching give him some authority. He displays a Paul I haven't seen before, a man whose conversion beginning on the road to Damascus lasted at least 3 years of revelations, whose Gospel is proprietary and superior to those of Peter and James to the Jews. I've always disliked Paul because of his attitudes toward women, and now I see that I can blame him for all the aspects of Christianity which I have left behind.
]]> <![CDATA[A Crossing or the Drop`s History]]> 13724253 Anatoliy Obraztsov 1476037973 Victoria 0 to-read 4.00 2012 A Crossing or the Drop`s History
author: Anatoliy Obraztsov
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Fear Index 12264624 Ěý
Dr. Alex Hoffmann’s name is carefully guarded from the general public, but within the secretive inner circles of the ultrarich he is a legend. He has developed a revolutionary form of artificial intelligence that predicts movements in the financial markets with uncanny accuracy. His hedge fund, based in Geneva, makes billions. But one morning before dawn, a sinister intruder breaches the elaborate security of his lakeside mansion, and so begins a waking nightmare of paranoia and violence as Hoffmann attempts, with increasing desperation, to discover who is trying to destroy him.
Ěý
Fiendishly smart and suspenseful, The Fear Index gives us a searing glimpse into an all-too-recognizable world of greed and panic. It is a novel that forces us to confront the question of what it means to be human—and it is Robert Harris’s most spellbinding and audacious novel to date.]]> 286 Robert Harris 0307957934 Victoria 4 fiction 3.38 2011 The Fear Index
author: Robert Harris
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2012/11/24
date added: 2012/11/24
shelves: fiction
review:
I really liked the book because it deals with a subject I know little about and explains it well. Why do we mostly write about AI as being problematic? ie HAL. The fear index is added to other financial metrics creating a very successful hedge fund trader. Harris picks up the esoteric in trading and crafts a chilling and paranoia-producing thriller.
]]> <![CDATA[World Made by Hand (World Made by Hand #1)]]> 1689657
A captivating, utterly realistic novel, World Made by Hand takes speculative fiction beyond the apocalypse and shows what happens when life gets extremely local.]]> 317 James Howard Kunstler 0871139782 Victoria 0 to-read 3.65 2007 World Made by Hand (World Made by Hand #1)
author: James Howard Kunstler
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/11/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Scorpio Races 10626594
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition � the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.]]> 409 Maggie Stiefvater 054522490X Victoria 4 fantasy, fiction 4.09 2011 The Scorpio Races
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2012/10/22
date added: 2012/11/02
shelves: fantasy, fiction
review:

]]> Elizabeth I 8534413
One of today's premier historical novelists, Margaret George dazzles here as she tackles her most difficult subject the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, queen of enigma-the Virgin Queen who had many suitors, the victor of the Armada who hated war; the gorgeously attired, jewel- bedecked woman who pinched pennies. England's greatest monarch has baffled and intrigued the world for centuries. But what was she really like?

In this novel, her flame-haired, lookalike cousin, Lettice Knollys, thinks she knows all too well. Elizabeth's rival for the love of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and mother to the Earl of Essex, the mercurial nobleman who challenged Elizabeth's throne, Lettice had been intertwined with Elizabeth since childhood. This is a story of two women of fierce intellect and desire, one trying to protect her country, and throne, the other trying to regain power and position for her family and each vying to convince the reader of her own private vision of the truth about Elizabeth's character. Their gripping drama is acted out at the height of the flowering of the Elizabethan age. Shakespeare, Marlowe, Dudley, Raleigh, Drake-all of them swirl through these pages as they swirled through the court and on the high seas.

This is a magnificent, stay-up-all-night page-turner that is George's finest and most compelling novel and one that is sure to please readers of Alison Weir, Philippa Gregory, and Hilary Mantel.]]> 671 Margaret George 0670022535 Victoria 4 historical-fiction 3.95 2011 Elizabeth I
author: Margaret George
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2012/11/01
date added: 2012/11/02
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> Eon (The Way, #1) 840278
For the Stone was from space--but perhaps not our space; it came from the future-but perhaps not our future; and within the hollowed asteroid was Thistledown. The remains of a vanished civilization. A human--English, Russian, and Chinese-speaking--civilization. Seven vast chambers containing forests, lakes, rivers, hanging cities...

And museums describing the Death; the catastrophic war that was about to occur; the horror and the long winter that would follow. But while scientists and politicians bickered about how to use the information to stop the Death, the Stone yielded a secret that made even Earth's survival pale into insignificance.]]> 504 Greg Bear 0812520475 Victoria 3 3.89 1985 Eon (The Way, #1)
author: Greg Bear
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1985
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/10/19
shelves:
review:

]]> Time and Again 876499 'One of those complex and enormously inventive stories... based on some real, honest, practical ethical thinking. It is an idea book.'
- Groff Conklin in Galaxy Science Fiction

Asher Sutton has been lost in deepest space for twenty years. Suddenly arrives a warning from the future, that he will return- and that he must be killed. He is destined to write a book whose message may lead to the death of millions in centuries to come. For this reason Sutton is hounded by the sinister warring factions of the future who wish to influence or prevent the writing of this book he has not yet begun to write.
Yet already a copy has been found in the burnt-out wreckage of a space-craft on Aldebaran XII.]]> 303 Clifford D. Simak 0441810039 Victoria 0 to-read 3.92 1951 Time and Again
author: Clifford D. Simak
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1951
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/10/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Heal The Sick, Raise The Dead 16057737 262 Jacob Prytherch Victoria 0 to-read 4.15 2012 Heal The Sick, Raise The Dead
author: Jacob Prytherch
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Doreen Ladoux: Patron Saint of the End of the World]]> 16008503
Doreen Ladoux, a young, analytical French-American woman, and JM, her carefree Cajun husband, adopt two dogs. Like any married couple, Doreen and JM differ in many ways. She believes the dogs should be raised according to the rules because she craves clarity and reason. However JM readily embraces life’s uncertainty, and his style is decidedly more relaxed. Doreen’s passion for logical explanations is challenged by more than trying to raise her dogs when a terrifying, mysterious rabies-like virus sweeps the country.

The story focuses on the small moments of Doreen’s quest to protect her husband and her dogs under the specter of an apocalypse. As they make their way from Wisconsin to the wilderness of northern Quebec, they encounter strangers, some friendly, some dangerous, all of them struggling to adapt to this new, perilous landscape. As Doreen’s story takes unexpected twists and turns, her journey ultimately leads her to a small band of Québécois and Inuit survivors. The story chronicles her transformation from a suburban schoolteacher into a woman the Québécois call la Guérisseuse, the Healer, and whom the Inuits call Amarok, the Wolf.]]> 271 D.A. Dentinger Victoria 0 to-read 4.67 2012 Doreen Ladoux: Patron Saint of the End of the World
author: D.A. Dentinger
name: Victoria
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/10/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kill Order (The Maze Runner, #0.4)]]> 13089710
Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.

Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive.]]> 327 James Dashner 0385742886 Victoria 0 to-read 3.72 2012 The Kill Order (The Maze Runner, #0.4)
author: James Dashner
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner, #2)]]> 7631105 Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.
Ěý
Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.
Ěý
There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.
Ěý
The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Ěý
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.
Ěý
There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers� destruction—and they’re determined to survive.]]> 362 James Dashner 0385738757 Victoria 0 to-read 3.90 2010 The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner, #2)
author: James Dashner
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Death Cure (The Maze Runner, #3)]]> 7864437 It’s the end of the line.

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.

Will anyone survive?

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

The truth will be terrifying.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.

The time for lies is over.]]> 325 James Dashner 0385738773 Victoria 0 to-read 3.78 2011 The Death Cure (The Maze Runner, #3)
author: James Dashner
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Thomas’s First Memory of the Flare (The Maze Runner, #2.5)]]> 12878132 4 James Dashner Victoria 0 to-read 3.94 2011 Thomas’s First Memory of the Flare (The Maze Runner, #2.5)
author: James Dashner
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Slow Apocalypse 13542400
In Los Angeles, screenwriter Dave Marshall heard this scenario from a retired US marine and government insider who acted as a consultant on Dave’s last film. It sounded as implausible as many of his scripts, but the reality is much more frightening than anything he could have envisioned.

An ordinary guy armed with extraordinary information, Dave hopes his survivor’s instinct will kick in so he can protect his wife and daughter from the coming apocalypse that will alter the future of Earth—and humanity…]]> 438 John Varley 0441017576 Victoria 0 to-read 3.45 2012 Slow Apocalypse
author: John Varley
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Tomorrow Code 3744615 “The end of the world started quietly enough for Tane Williams and Rebecca Richards. . . .�

Tane and Rebecca aren’t sure what to make of it—a sequence of 1s and 0s, the message looks like nothing more than a random collection of alternating digits. Working to decode it, however, they discover that the message contains lottery numbers . . . lottery numbers that win the next random draw! More messages follow, and slowly it becomes clear—the messages are being sent from Tane and Rebecca’s future. Something there has gone horribly wrong, and it’s up to them to prevent it from happening. The very survival of the human race may be at stake!]]> 350 Brian Falkner 0375843655 Victoria 3 ya, fantasy-series 3.67 2008 The Tomorrow Code
author: Brian Falkner
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2012/10/05
date added: 2012/10/07
shelves: ya, fantasy-series
review:
Pretty fun, Tane has a good 'voice', disappointed to find it yet another series...
]]> <![CDATA[The End of Your Life Book Club]]> 13414676
Mary Anne Schwalbe is waiting for her chemotherapy treatments when Will casually asks her what she's reading. The conversation they have grows into tradition: soon they are reading the same books so they can have something to talk about in the hospital waiting room. The ones they choose range from classic to popular, from fantastic to spiritual, and we hear their passion for reading and their love for each other in their intimate and searching discussions.

A profoundly moving testament to the power of love between a child and parent, and the power of reading in our lives.]]> 336 Will Schwalbe 0307594033 Victoria 0 to-read 3.80 2012 The End of Your Life Book Club
author: Will Schwalbe
name: Victoria
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/10/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>