Take Me WIth You

by Catherine Ryan Hyde

This is one of those feel good books along the Mitch Albom or Nicholas Sparks line, and if you're a fan of those, you will love this book! August Schroder loses his son in a car accident. In the process of coming to terms with his loss, he decides to take an RV trip to some National Parks and distribute his son's ashes. Along the way, August picks up 2 boys whose father is going to prison. Take Me With You tells about their relationship and August's healing process.

The sweet/sappy isn't my favorite reading, and this story was a bit preachy, but good enough. 

Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century

by Peter Graham

Several years ago (probably more like 20), I began reading a mystery series written by Anne Perry, which was a decent enough series for me to read several of the books. When I read this title, I thought Anne Perry must have written about some infamous murder and was rather taken aback to learn that Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century was actually a story about a horrific murder committed BY Anne Perry! When she was a teenager, Perry, whose given name is Juliet Hulme, together with her close friend Pauline Parker conspired together to brutally murder Pauline's mother. The act was premeditated and vicious and neither Hulme nor Parker at any time were remorseful or regretful about what they had done. The girls were very matter of fact in stating that Mrs. Parker wasn't a very happy person who was interfering with them being together so she needed to be eliminated. In New Zealand, minors committing criminal offenses served terms "at the pleasure of her majesty", which for Hulme and Parker amounted to barely over 5 years in prison. Upon their release, both girls' names were changed, and Anne Perry went on to become a very successful mystery writer.

This was not a very well-written book, there was a lot of unnecessary background information, a disjointed timeline, and much repetition. Plus Graham was very heavy-handed in providing excuses for the girls. However, I was intrigued by the murder and trial details due to the fact I was familiar with Perry's books. If you were interested, I'm sure you could find a better account or there's even a movie. 

Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States

by Dave Barry

Once again I am starting off the new year by signing up for a reading challenge. Last year I just did the Goodreads choose the number of books you'll read, and while that was fine, I kind of enjoy the type that give you some parameters for book selections. The one I've chosen this year (besides the Goodreads #) is called Full House challenge, hosted by Book Date. The thing about these type of challenges for me is I tend to read books I'd not choose otherwise in order to meet the specific criteria and check off the box. And that is how I came to read Dave Barry Slept Here.  The "laugh out loud moments" category. I don't typically read humor, not because I don't like a funny book, but it's just not what I gravitate toward. So I spent a lot of time agonizing over what to read that might really make me laugh out loud (Like Confessions of a Shopaholic, which if you've not read and need a laugh, read it). After all my research, I decided I'd read Confederacy of Dunces, but the library doesn't have it in electronic format and I'm sometimes too cheap to want to actually BUY a book, so I ended up with Dave Barry, who I knew to be funny because I'd read his column before. After finishing it, I discovered we actually have a hard copy of Dunces on our bookshelf, so may read that as well.

Barry provides a rather accurate historical timeline, but by mixing in some pop culture and confusing and combining events, his history of America is pretty hilarious. Did I actually "laugh out loud"? Yes, while I was in the outpatient waiting room where my husband was in for some spinal epidural shots I was almost in tears I was laughing so hard! I had to stop reading for a while because I was embarrassing myself (and some people are in there for serious stuff so laughter may be frowned upon). Another great thing about this book is that it is short and sweet. Barry knows just when to move on so as not to bore or tire you of his nonsense.

Reading List

Yes, I'm still reading, but failing to post, which seems to be the story of my blogging life! So, here is a list of the rest of the books I've read so far. I will spend the last weeks of this year reviewing some of my favorites since there is no way I can get to all of them. If there are any on the list that you would particularly like to hear about let me know.

The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon
The Tenth Gift by Jane Johnson
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson (I liked Hundred-Year-Old Man better)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Woods by Harlan Coben
The Four Ms Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton (not her best)
The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood (too gross and disturbing to finish)
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
After Acts by Brian Litfin
Inside the O'Brien's by Lisa Genova (unlikable characters but interesting information on Huntington's Disease)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (audiobook- previous review)
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Glass Sentence by SE Grove
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Martian by Andy Weir
A Royal Pain  by Rhys Bowen (lost all the fun of the first book)
A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash
The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell (great title, very dry retelling of facts)
The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki (seemed like I'd read this before- story of "Sisi" empress of Austria)
The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde (like Thursday Next series better)
Rose Madder by Stephen King (a reread)
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (oddly similar character in Rose Madder- but you know what I think of SK)
My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni

In January I accepted a challenge to read 50 books this year, I'm at 47 now so I may beat that number.

Dead Wake

by Erik Larson

After having tackled the beginning of WWII in a previous novel, Larson goes further back in time to take on the start of WWI and the sinking of the Lusitania. In 1915, a German U Boat fired a torpedo at the Cunard Cruise ship, sinking it in less than 20 minutes. The bulk of this book introduces readers to the captain, crew and passengers of the Lusitania, as well as taking an inside look at the German officers on board the U-20 submarine that took her out.

For the most part, Larson tried to present an engaging history as he related the thoughts and moods of Lusitania's Captain Turner as well as of the many passengers who boarded the boat and subsequently lost their lives. He also dedicated significant space to the German Captain Schwieger's perspective, and the atmosphere of the US, Britain and Germany at the time of the attack. While this information was perhaps interesting, it was not a new or fresh perspective. Overall, I think he spread his net too wide in trying to mention the names and details of too many people. Then on top of that, he went into great detail with lists and descriptions of passenger baggage and content. Adding in a side story of Woodrow Wilson, the loss of his wife and his subsequent courtship of Edith Bolling completely distracted from the ship story.

This was not Larson at his best, I much prefered The Devil in the White City and In the Garden of Beasts, the other books I've read by him. If you are a history buff, you might enjoy this account, but general interest readers may find it slow paced and resembling more of a history textbook than an historical account. 

Her Royal Spyness

by Rhys Bowen

Mix together one part historical fiction, one part mystery and two parts humor and you get Her Royal Spyness.   I think I stumbled upon this book as a discount on Pixel of Ink at a time when I wasn't sure what to read next and the description seemed like it'd be a quick read so I grabbed it. I am glad I did. Her Royal Spyness is the first book in a series set in 1930's England. That is significant only in that it provides the necessary class system to put Lady Georgiana in the predicament in which she finds herself: twenty-one, unmarried and unable to get a job, being 34th in line to the throne needing to keep up appearances, but without the money to do so.  Living in her brother's town house without any servants, Georgie returns home one evening to find a dead man in her bathtub. Now she has to figure out who he is and how he got there before the police get involved and she becomes a scandal. With the help of her sophisticated, socialite friend Belinda and her grandfather, Georgie manages to keep herself and her brother out of trouble.

This is a fun and funny book. A good read when you want something light. I can see myself reading the next one. 

The Silent Sister

by Diane Chamberlain

When Riley was just two years old, her 17 year old sister Lisa died in a canoe accident, or so she was always told. Twenty years later, as she returns home to clean out her family home after the death of her father, this fact comes into question, and the more she uncovers, the more she is convinced her sister is actually alive! Thus begins her search for her long lost sister.

Jade (Lisa in a past life) snuck away in the night after a terrible encounter with her violin instructor leaves him dead and her holding the gun. She has spent the last years creating a new identity to avoid her certain prison sentence.

That is the story of The Silent Sister in a nutshell. Although there are a couple of plot twists, they are so predictable it doesn't matter. I also didn't find the main characters very believable. Riley is supposed to be a psychologist, but she seems totally baffled by some relatively uncomplicated personal and family issues. Jade is supposed to be incognito, but she is a violinist in a very popular bluegrass band that is always on tour.  Throw in a brother with PTSD, a neighbor who was blackmailing the now deceased father and an overly boisterous girlfriend and there you have it.

This was just an okay read.