May was a pretty good reading month for me, with a few different genres read
and mostly enjoyable reads.
Hatchet--Gary Paulsen
A class I subbed in was reading this, and since the teacher had a lot of
seatwork assigned for the kids for the day, I was able to knock this out at
work. This is the story of a boy, traveling by small plane to visit his
father, who ends up alone in the wilderness with only a hatchet to help him
survive after the pilot has a heart attack and crashes the plane. My friend
whose class it was told me the kids had been finding the book rather boring. I
started reading with them at Chapter Five, finished the book, then went back to
the beginning. I could see why these kids had trouble with it, but I'm pretty
sure that by Chapter Six, it would have piqued their interest at least to some
degree. I picked up the third sequel, but would like to read the other two
first.
The Veil of Night--Lydia Joyce
This is a romance novel, the author's first published work. I really
liked it a lot, but the author did something which really bugs me, which is to
have a character say something incorrectly based on how it would look written
out (dis-ha-bee-lay) when in actuality, the character would most likely not
have encountered this word in print and would only know it from having heard
someone else say it. I apologize to those of you who have heard this gripe
from me previously, but it truly does bother me. Other than that, a successful
debut, kind of a Beauty and the Beast story.
The DaVinci Code--Dan Brown
Finally got around to this one, and after all the build-up, I'm kind of
wondering what the fuss was all about. Maybe growing up Catholic and having
read Marjorie Holmes and others of the big religious guys (Lew Wallace, Lloyd
C. Douglas, etc.) had already opened my mind to other possibilities, but I
didn't find this as shocking or disturbing as I'd been led to expect. I
started Angels and Demons but haven't really settled into it yet.
The Devil Wears Prada--Lauren Weisberger
Very clever title, but the book seemed sort of like a 21st century St.
Elmo's Fire in print. I liked it, but I doubt I'd read it again.
What Do You Say to a Naked Elf?--Cheryl Sterling
Okay, this was a fast, funny read, but the title really didn't have a
whole lot to do with the book, and I actually had a squirmy moment when my
ten-year-old son asked me what the book was about. These titles are going way
too far over the top, IMO.
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead--Kim Harrison
The premise of this series is that the heroine is a witch who works as
sort of a bounty hunter. The human population was decimated by a virus spread
through tomatoes, and the non-human species (witches, vampires, etc.) realized
they had equal leverage, so now the two groups are living in an uneasy detente.
This is the second book, and I've enjoyed both quite a bit. My favorite
character continues to be Jenks the pixy, and I'm looking forward to volume
three later this year. I think Harrison has used a lot of imagination and a
fair chunk of humor to get her premise across, and so far, it works really well.
Wild Horses--Bethany Campbell
This is a Harlequin, I think, and I was sucked in by the cover, a gorgeous
blue with a horse face on the cover. This is one of those I would recommend to
people who think Harlequins are all the same--the romance was almost incidental
to the story of a man who inherits a ranch that was promised to the half-sister
he didn't know he had. Even though he wants to turn down his legacy, he has an
excellent reason not to. Complex plot and engaging characters made this a very
three-dimensional read.
Halos--Kristen Heitzmann
Even I'm surprised sometimes by how much I love Christian fiction. This
one had me a little weepy--the heroine was raised reluctantly by her aunt and
uncle, who presented her with a convertible on her 18th birthday as a way to
encourage her to shake the dust of their home off her feet and make her way in
the world. When she sees a halo (the glowy light you sometimes see around the
sun--I think she means what my husband calls sun dogs), she pulls off the
highway into a small town where she winds up stranded when her car is stolen
from the gas station where she stopped to fill up. Everyone is adamant that
her car couldn't have been stolen, but when she begins to see the car at night
and is presented with lame excuses, she starts to realize that this town is
hiding a HUGE secret.
Special of the Day--Elaine Fox
One of those Avon romances with the cartoony covers, this was another fun
read. The heroine, a former SI swimsuit model, takes her nest egg and turns a
local bar into a fancy French restaurant. The bartender is too cute and hunky
for words, and of course the heroine doesn't know that there's more to him than
a pretty face. Add a mystery about a "fair copy" of the Declaration of
Independence, and you've got a frisky, fast read that zips along harmlessly.
Total Rush--Deirdre Martin
I kept thinking this was a sports book, but it's actually about a
firefighter who falls for a witch, but is embarrassed about her chosen
profession. I actually found the whole witch thing rather tedious, which
surprised me, as I usually enjoy it. Okay book, but I probably won't need to
read it again.
Hidden--Tara Taylor Quinn
I read this for review.
Journeys: A Reading and Literature Program--Richard J. Smith and Max F. Schulz
This is actually a textbook for middle grades, but I enjoyed reading it
and thinking about the questions and activities for each selection. I
especially liked reading the story that was the basis for the movie A Man
Called Horse, and Rod Serling's teleplay for Requiem for a Heavyweight. I
loved school, and textbooks still cross my path from time to time, so I read
them.
Almost a Bride--Jane Feather
This is a historical romance, but I kept thinking, "Would anyone actually
call a duke Duke rather than My Lord in conversation?" There were a couple of
other things that seemed anachronistic to me, but not enough to completely
spoil my enjoyment of this book. The hero has a grudge against the heroine's
brother, and once he's won the brother's entire estate, he forces the heroine
to marry him, but she won't play the part he's mentally assigned to her. Fun
romp, problems in the execution.
Shadowheart--Laura Kinsale
I will have to read this again someday to get the full wealth of Kinsale's
meticulous writing, which tends to be dense and detailed. This is the story of
Allegretto, the assassin from "For My Lady's Heart." I was a little too
distracted to enjoy this fully.
Fate Is Remarkable--Betty Neels
The end of my reading month involved a few oldies but goodies from the
original Harlequin line, as I've promised them to other readers and wanted to
say goodbye with a few rereads. This remains probably my favorite of Neels's
books, and yes, she had formula down to an art, but if you like her formula,
you see why she remains one of the most collectible of the original Mills &
Boon stable of writers.
Yet Love Remains--Mary Burchell
Another of my favorites, because her books usually involve the world of
music or the arts. This one had a Collin Raye song stuck in my head for days
(damn, there it goes again!), but I enjoyed re-reading it. Burchell
occasionally wrote these alpha-beta sort of heroes, and Charles Lane is one of
her best.
The Frog Princess--E. D. Baker
I will have to get the sequels to this funny story of what happens when a
princess agrees to kiss a frog and, instead of him turning to a handsome
prince, turns herself into a frog alongside him. Lots of little jokes and
wordplay made this a very appealing read.
One Last Time--John Edward
Okay, I'm fascinated by accounts of the afterlife and was a huge Crossing
Over fan, and the fact that JE is Catholic just adds to his appeal, but I
enjoyed this autobiographical account of how he developed his gift and the
people and spirits he encountered along the way.
Except My Love--Mary Burchell
Another quick reread of an old favorite bound for a new home. In this
one, the secretary falls for her boss, another of those alpha-beta guys, who
happens to be emotionally scarred because his beautiful girlfriend was
disgusted with his deformed hand, mangled in factory machinery. A nice little
weepie like those old forties movies.
My reading for the year is up to 78 books and 25,589 pages--same number of
books and about 500 more pages than the end of June last year, so I'm slightly
ahead of myself.
Mellanie
CROWTHER QUOTES:
Mellanie: Evan, did you pack underwear for the trip?
Evan (age 10): Mom, I am not in the habit of going commando!
Hillary (14): He knows commando?!
Here's what the Crowthers are reading:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/magpye29
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