Sep 10, 2017

Sunday Salon: TV or a Book?

It's not as if I don't have any books to read. I have too many. But I went to have coffee in the bookstore and came out with two novels I couldn't resist.
The Leavers by Lisa Ko, May 2, 2017, Algonquin Books
Genre: literary fiction
I have started this and am fascinated by the young boy born in New York but raised till age six in China by his grandfather, whom he misses when he finally joins his mother in New York. His mother later leaves him suddenly and unexpectedly with friends in the city. How he grows up with the experiences of being left behind, and how he perhaps or perhaps not seeks out his mother again is the overriding question.
Lie To Me by J.T. Ellison, Septemer 5, 2017, Mira Books
Genre: psychological suspense
I couldn't resist another psychological thriller. There seems to be so many being published recently and is now a popular genre for many readers. This one involves someone who disappears from a testy relationship.

Other books that landed on my desk:

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa, translated from the Japanese, November 14, 2017, courtesy of OneWorld Publication
Genre: novel in translation
I saw the movie based on this book on Netflix and really liked the story of a down-and-out older woman given a job making pancakes filled with bean paste. She helps the owner of the failing shop to attract buyers, with her delicious cooking. But she hides a secret that will be a huge problem as time goes by.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Pulished September 12, 2017, courtesy of Penguin Press
Genre: literary fiction
I loved the author's first book, Everything I Never Told You , and am looking forward to this new one. She presents complex situations involving Chinese-Americans in American environments.

A Taste of Paris: A History of the Parisian Love Affair with Food by David Downie, courtesy of St. Martin's Press
Genre: travel, food, nonfiction
Described as "a culinary history" of Paris, this book is one of several books on Paris and France by David Downie, an informative, entertaining, and well researched writer. 

The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap by Gish Jen, courtesy of Knopf Publishers
Genre: nonfiction, social science
I'm looking forward to the author's ideas in this study of the differences between East and West in perceptions of the "self and society" and how these differences affect education, art, geopolitics, and business.  

I finished reading The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George after reading her The Little French Bistro and The Widows of Malabar Hill, a new historical mystery series set in India, by Sujata Massey. Reviews later in the month. 

I have been taking a break from watching Irma on TV and wishing the best for friends and family in Florida and Georgia. Luckily, the people I know live on the Florida east coast, where Irma seems to be having a slightly less of an impact, fingers crossed.

What are you reading or have you been glued to the TV?
Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date Also visit Mailbox Monday.

Sep 8, 2017

Book Review: Winter's Child by Margaret Coel

Winter's Child: A Wind River Mystery by Margaret Coel, September 6, 2016,  courtesy of Berkley
Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley discover a centuries-old mystery tied to a modern day crime on the Wind River Reservation.

Plot: An Arapaho couple hire an attorney, Clint Hopkins, to help them adopt a child they had been caring for over five years. The child had been left as an infant on their doorstep and the couple had taken her in. But while working on the adoption case, the attorney is killed in a suspicious hit-and-run, and Vicky Holden steps in to solve a crime involving the past and the mystery of the child.

My comments: The book has an intriguing and suspenseful plot. It appears to be a straightforward request from the lawyer, Clint Hopkins, to Vicky, asking her to be a cocounsel in the adoption of a five-year-old girl by an Arapaho couple. But the case quickly involves murder, and Vicky is left on her own to solve the mystery. The ending, which I won't give away, is not a clear cut solution, but realistic.

My rating: 5/5

Book beginning:

Snow had fallen all day, dense cotton fluff that cocooned the brick bungalow in a white world and obscured the small sign: Vicky Holden, Attorney at Law. Now the snow dissolved into a white dusk as Vicky drove through the side streets of Lander, tires bumping over ruts and ridges. The heater kicked into gear, and warm air streamed into the frosty cold that gripped the Ford. She hunched over the steering wheel. She was late.

Page 56:

 "Come on, Uncle John." She stopped in her tracks and was looking up at him. "No one in my generation believes in fairy tales. Ever after just doesn't happen. It never did, really. Your generation was the last to cling to that belief...."

Memes: The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Post it, and add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

Aug 27, 2017

Sunday Salon: Crime Novels, and Education; Short Reviews

Three lovely books this week:
Glass Houses: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #13
by Louise Penny
Publication: August 29, 2017, courtesy of Minotaur
Genre: mystery, crime novel
The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
Publication September 5, 2017, courtesy of Harper
Genre: suspense, investigation
Publication September 19, 2017, courtesy of Harper
Genre: nonfiction, education

Mini reviews: I finished and enjoyed

The Little French Bistro by Nina George, June 13, 2017, Crown.
Contemporary novel, women's fiction.
This is the story of a woman escaping an abusive marriage and re-inventing herself in a small town in Brittany, France.  Her plans to commit suicide are waylaid by the kindness of the people in the town where she finds herself, by the ocean, and the bistro where she finds employment. 
I got involved with the various personalities in the novel, young and older, and with the descriptions of a seaside village on the Brittany coast, as well as with Breton customs, superstitions, and folklore. I gave this 5 stars for a pleasant read. 

Livia Lone #1 by Barry Eisler, October 25, 2016, Thomas and Mercer.
Thriller, crime novel.

I have enjoyed the John Rain thrillers by Eisler and was interested to see he has started a new series, featuring a judo expert and Seattle cop, Livia Lone. Livia was kidnapped as a child from a hilltribe village in Thailand, brought to the U.S., and adopted by a senator. This is her story of escape from horrific abuse, becoming a judo expert, and later joining law enforcement in order to stop human trafficking.

A revealing and intriguing story, but be prepared for some graphic violence.

I rated this 4.5 stars.
Whispers of Warning: A Change of Fortune Mystery #2 by Jessica Estevao
Publication September 19, 2017, courtesy of Berkley
I will be doing a book tour for the publisher mid September. Watch for a review then.

Our weather has changed a bit and the temps are down. I am missing the warmer sunny days already, but I feel so sorry for those living on the Texas coast.

Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date Also visit Mailbox Monday.

Aug 23, 2017

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered or spotlight words you love. Visit BermudaOnion's Weblog to join in.

These words came from The Resurrector by Layton Green
1. fynbos - "...fynbos-draped valleys and mythical rock formations..."
  1. noun -a distinctive type of vegetation found only on the southern tip of Africa. It includes a wide range of plant species, particularly small heatherlike trees and shrubs.


2. phenomenology -  "... a renowned professor of religious phenomenology."
noun-
the philosophical study of observed unusual people or events as they appear without any further study or explanation. An example of phenomenology is studying the green flash that sometimes happens just after sunset or just before sunrise. (www.yourdictionary.com/phenomenology)

3. tetrodotoxins - "...tetrodotoxins derived from the puffer fish to sedate their victims."
noun - a potent poison that affects the nervous system. .
Found any unusual words in your reading?

Aug 19, 2017

Sunday Salon: End of Summer Reading

Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date. Also visit Mailbox Monday. 

A nice selection of books arrived on my desk last week. I'm getting ready for historical fiction, literary fiction, plus a psychological thriller.


Whispers of Warning by 

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine, October 17, 2017, HarperLuxe
Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss, September 12, 2017, Harper
What have you been reading this summer?

Aug 18, 2017

Book Beginning: On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen

On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen, August 1, 2017, Berkley Books
Genre: Royal Spyness mystery #11
Description: Royal sleuth, Lady Georgiana Rannoch, juggles secret missions from the Queen, Darcy, and her mother. Set in the Italian lake country. 

Book beginning:
Monday April 8, 1935
Kilhenny Castle 

Darcy has gone. Not sure what to do next.

I should have known it was too good to last. 
I had spent the last two months a Kilhenny Castle, Darcy's ancestral home. I had experienced the merriest Christmas I had ever known, with Darcy, his family, and the eccentric Polish princess Zou Zou Zamanska. ...

Page 56:
I must have drifted into sleep because I was awakened by the smallest of sounds. The click of a door latch. It can't be my door, I thought. I remember locking it....

About the book: An Italian villa, a pregnant friend, the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Simpson, and other intrigues. 

Memes: The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Post it, and add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

Aug 14, 2017

It's Monday: Here's What I'm Reading

Visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date. Also visit Mailbox Monday. 


The Resurrector, author Layton Green
Published June 29, 2017
Genre: thriller, fantasy
A Dominic Gray novel, #6
A modern day Dr. Frankenstein, a secret society spawned by the greatest evil the world has ever known, two men racing against the clock to stop the spread of a horrific virus. 


Written in Blood, ARC, author Layton Green
Publication: November 7, 2017, Seventh Street Books
Genre: police procedural, crime fiction
Detective Joe -Preach- Everson, a prison chaplain turned police officer, tracks a literate killer of a bookstore owner in North Carolina. 
A tale of two kitties by Sofie Kelly
Publication: September 5, 2017, Berkley
Genre: cozy mystery in a series
Two magical cats have powers of detection that prove indispensable to librarian Kathleen Paulson…

I am still reading Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz, 
                            Skeleton God by Eliot Pattison
                            Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
and a borrow from NetGalley, 
                            Walking With Peetey: The Dog Who Saved My Life by Eric O'Grey

What are you reading this week?

Sunday Salon: Letting Go of September by Sandra J. Jackson

  Books reviewed Letting Go of September by Sandra J. Jackson, July 31, 2024; BooksGoSocial Genre: thriller , family drama Themes: reflectiv...