Friday, February 28, 2020

Books I’ve Read 2017



Adventures with Dean until March 5th.
Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson. Not my favorite writing style. I’m not a fan of silly asides and this has plenty of them.
The Last Midwife by Sandra Dallas – Gracey Brooken is accused of killing a baby. But she is the only midwife in the area. So she goes about her job as the trial moves forward. Midwives keep lots of secrets. Absolutely wonderful book. Sandra Dallas is one of my favorites.
Hobby, Hawk, Merlin by Jane Yolen – The youth of Merlin Trilogy. I love anything to do with the Arthurian legend. I wanted these books and they did not disappoint. Three quick studies of Merlin’s youth.
Age of Myth by Michael Sullivan – Raithe inadvertently becomes the god killer when he slays a fallen elf. His adventures with escaped slave Malcolm send him to a village where trouble follows. I only gave it 3 out of 5 stars.
Castle Barebane by Joan Aiken – Val Montgomery set for a society wedding she feels completely out of place for welcomes an opportunity to flee the social inequality she is destined for to care for her niece and nephew in England. A perilous journey that takes them to a Castle in Scotland.
The God Who Weeps by Terry and Fiona Givens – Sister Leah Beggs mentioned that she reads this book every year along with The Miracle of Forgiveness and the Book of Mormon. The Givens give a beautiful lyrical account of the Mormon beliefs in God. From our premortal experience with him, his hopes for our mortal trial and his plan to redeem us. It is beautiful and well worth reading again and again.
The Stranger by Albert Camas (Nobel Peace Prize for Literature 1957) – To me this was a study in apathy. The main character was only interested in satisfying his immediate appetites. Commits a heinous act because he is hot, the sun is bright and the flash of the sun on a knife blade. Then displays no emotion during his trial.
Agatha Raisin: The Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton (Marion Chesney) – This is the first of Agatha’s Murder Mysteries. She is retiring into the English countryside and cheats to win a quiche contest and get into the good graces with the locals. It goes terribly wrong when her quiche kills the judge. Fun, more modern Agatha Christie type mystery.
Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C Wrede – Fairytale retelling set in the 1580’s using John Dee and Edward Kelly as the dwarfs. A time when England was steeped in the mystical and occult. John Dee was the Queen’s Astrologer at this time and studied ways to summon and commune with angels.
The Killing Floor by Lee Child – This is the first Jack Reacher novel. Jack is rambling and ends up in a small town in Georgia where co-incidentally his brother’s body id found, murdered. Something deadly is going on in this strange little town. I like the Jack Reacher Movies. The book was a little more violent than I can handle anymore.
I am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Well (LDS Author) – John Wayne Cleaver works at his mom’s mortuary. He is fascinated by the dead and is constantly reining in his urges to become a seriel killer. He is fascinated by serial killers and lives by a very rigid set of rules to keep hi urges in check. That is working until a body is brought in that John can see what the police may have missed that points to this being the work of a serial killer. His first novel. I enjoyed the story but the subject matter…I won’t read the follow up books.
The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher – Rhea a miller’s daughter receives a marriage proposal from a nobleman.  This is a retelling of Blackbeard. Nicely done.
Byrony and Roses by T. Kingfisher – Byrony gets caught in a snow (freakish) storm on her way home from the market. Retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Jackalope Wives and Other Stories by T. Kingfisher – Darkly humorous, quirky short stories and poems
How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn – I loved listening to this with someone reading who had that beautiful Welsh brogue and could pronounce those names that looked like alphabet soup. This is the book I gave out for Christmas this past year. Beautiful story of young Huw Morgan growing up in a coal mining town. Richard Llewellyn’s gift of description is unparalleled. The language is beautiful and the story made me laugh, cheer and cry. Excellent it was.
The Wedding Bargain by Agnes Sligh Turnbill – A lovely old book I found at a garage sale. Liz Harding is the Private secretary to Daniel Morgan. She goes into resign after eight years of service because she is hopelessly in love with her boss. Without knowing her feelings or intentions he proposes a Marriage Bargain. She agrees in hopes that he will eventually fall in love with her. But his heart has been hardened by a previous trauma. When his past comes up to threaten their small happiness and his life, she must stand by him. Darling romance/mystery. A delightful find.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill – The witch of the woods requires an infant sacrifice each year. But the witch can’t understand why the village keeps leaving babies out in the woods. She rescues them each year and takes them to families in other towns who desperately want babies. Along the way if she runs out of milk, she feeds them on star light. One year she makes a mistake and feed the baby lots of moonlight. Delightful story.
The Innkeeper’s Song by Peter Beagle – A search for a lost lover brought back to life and three sorceresses trying to save the world’s most powerful wizard.
All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry – Judith has had a horrifying experience but survived but she came back mutilated. She lives on the edge of society and writes in her diary to boy who doesn’t know she has always loved him. A story of cruelty and redemption.
100 Little Malicious Mysteries Anthology – Short mysteries by some famous authors and some unknowns. It was a bathroom book.
Atlantia by Ally Condie – From the author that gave us the Matched Trilogy. They live in a city under the ocean because the world above has died. But their city is also falling apart.
Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate) by Gail Carringer – Alexia Tarrabotti is a spinster in Victoria England. She also doesn’t have a soul.  A vampire attack ends with the vampire ending up dead. Now vampires are going missing and Alexia is being blamed. Enter Lord Maccon, big burley handsome werewolf detective.
The Magician’s Apprentice by Kate Banks and Peter Sis – A boy’s journey from a cruel master to a kind master. He learns to view the world in a whole way as they travel.

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