The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Pride, Prejudice And Other Flavors – Sonali Dev – 2.5**
This retelling reverses the roles of Elizabeth and Darcy. Set in modern-day San Francisco it features neurosurgeon Trisha Raje (in the Darcy role), and master chef DJ Caine (in the Elizabeth Bennet role). I did like DJ, but Trisha is just a hot mess. In general, I think the author was trying too hard. Perhaps if she had just focused on the Bollywood-movie style romance without trying to force the elements of Austen’s classic into her story this might have worked better.
My full review HERE

Finished The Virgin's Lover and starting Magic's Price

Curretently reading:

Age of Empyre
November's Fury: The Deadly Great Lakes Hurricane of 1913
The Desert Spear
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

Finished: - 3*

This book was written in the late 1980s. As such, it is a bit dated in that historical events of Wall Street after that date are not included. I was surprised and dismayed to learn of the attitudes that were prevalent in the financial banking industry and especially at Salomon Brothers.

Overall, the business genre is not one I enjoy. I am glad that I read this, but never again, if you know what I mean.

Finished: - 4*

Currently Reading:
Ten Women - Kindle
Ahab's Wife: Or, the Star-Gazer - Library
Harvest - Own
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - Library

Work Song – Ivan Doig – 4****
What a charming and engaging story! Morrie Morgan has arrived in Butte, Montana just after the end of World War I. The pace is somewhat slow. As events unfold we learn about the residents of Butte. I liked Morrie’s slow, deliberate way of judging a situation. The bookworm in me loved all his literary references, but he’s no milquetoast librarian; Morrie can, and does, take care of himself. Grace is a marvelous strong woman. Doig’s skill at character building shows in the way her actions reveal her inner struggles. I need to read of this author’s works.
My full review HERE

Finished Magic's Priceand starting Club Dead

Something Fresh – P G Wodehouse – 3***
Book One in the Blandings Castle series, featuring the elderly Lord Emsworth, his son Hon. Freddie Threepwood, and his trusty secretary, Baxter. This was a delightful romp and crime caper/comedy. Wodehouse excels are writing ridiculously plotted societal comedies that poke fun at the aristocracy and just about everyone else as well. There are unlikely disguises, attempts at hiding identities, and a variety of funny missteps along the way. Just great fun to read.
My full review HERE

Finished: - 4* and - 4*

I have been in the mood for quick reads. As a result, I have knocked out a couple of my Kindle free books. Both were fun, light, and quick.

Booked For Trouble – Eva Gates – 3***
Book two in the Lighthouse Library mystery series focuses on Lucy Richardson’s socialite mother, Suzanne. She may be intent on getting Lucy back in Boston, but Lucy loves her library job and has two potential suitors on Bodie Island. This cozy is full of literary references and peopled by an interesting array of secondary characters, including the cat, Charles (Dickens). An enjoyable read, and I’ll continue the series.
My full review HERE

Finished Club Dead and reading Dead to the World

Finished: - 4*, - 4*, - 4*

Currently Reading:
Ten Women - Kindle
Death at Victoria Dock - Library

Moved back to Wishlist since never started:
Harvest - Own

Finished: - 4*

Started:
Good Girl, Bad Girl
Final Round

Finally...I started Harvest and am 40+ pages into it.

Finished Dead to the Worldand starting Dead as a Doornail

Finished: - 4*, - 4*, - 4*

Currently Reading:
Ten Women - Kindle
Good Girl, Bad Girl - Library
Harvest - Own

Death Of a Winter Shaker – Deborah Woodworth – 3.5***
Book # 1 in the Sister Rose Callahan cozy mystery series, set in a Shaker community in 1930’s Kentucky. I really enjoyed this mystery. Woodworth has given the reader some very interesting and complex characters. Rose is determined, clear-thinking, intelligent and tenacious. And I learned a little about the Shakers.
My full review HERE

Finished: - 4*, - 4*, - 4*, - 4*, - 4*

Currently Reading:
Ten Women - Kindle
Bones Never Lie - Library
Flower Net - Own
The Mirror & the Light - Library
Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead - Kindle

finished Dead as a Doornail and starting Definitely Dead

Finished: - 4*

Just finished Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland-absolutely brilliant!

Finished: - 3*, - 4*

I am reading
then i am starting
then

i finished but never added them to goodreads

Finished: - 3*, - 4*

Currently Reading:
The Mirror & the Light - Library
Coffee and Ghosts: The Complete First Season - Kindle
The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War - Library
The Man in Lower Ten - Library ebook

Finished: - 4*, - 4*, -4*

DNF: The Mirror & the Light

Currently Reading:
The Man in Lower Ten - Library ebook
Deadly Gamble - Kindle
The Question of Red - Kindle
The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War - Library
Sun Storm - Library

Finished Definitely Dead and starting Mary, Mary

Be Frank With Me – Julia Claiborne Johnson – 4****
This is a delightful, engaging novel. The characters are complex and the author deftly handles the difficulties of dealing with such an unusual situation. While no specific diagnosis is ever given, it’s clear that Frank is on the autism spectrum. He is the catalyst for the book’s most hilarious … and heartbreaking … moments. I love a book that leaves me wanting more, and this definitely did that. I can hardly wait to read what Johnson writes next.
My full review HERE

The Red Address Book – Sofia Lundberg – 2.5**
I am so over the dual time-line device in historical fiction! Just tell the story. This seemed very disjointed, what with the drama occurring in present day – both Doris and Jenny have some serious problems – and the drama of her great lost love in the past, I just never felt connected to these characters or to the story.
My full review HERE

Finished: - 4*, - 3.5*, - 4*


Currently Reading:
The Haunted Bookshop - Library ebook
The Question of Red - Kindle
The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War - Library

Starting soon:
Rafferty's Rules: A Rafferty P.I. Mystery - Kindle
The Burglar in the Rye

Finished All Together Dead

Finished: - 5*

A book that I will not soon forget.

Brown Girl Dreaming – Jacqueline Woodson – 5***** and a ❤
Jacqueline Woodson is an award-winning author and poet. This memoir of her childhood, growing up in the turbulent 1960s is written entirely in free verse. The language is appropriate and accessible for the target middle-school audience, but eloquent and complex enough to engage and interest adults.
My full review HERE

Currently Reading:
The Haunted Bookshop - Library ebook
The Question of Red - Kindle
The Burglar in the Rye - Library

Starting soon:
Rafferty's Rules: A Rafferty P.I. Mystery - Kindle
A Court of Mist and Fury - Library

Olive Again – Elizabeth Strout – 4****
The book is character-driven and Strout excels at revealing these characters by their actions and conversations with one another. I just love Olive, even if I don’t much “like” her. I can’t really say she’s mellowed much as she ages, but there is something so real, so vulnerable, so recognizable in her. I think there’s definitely some of me in her (or some of Olive in me).
My full review HERE

Currently reading

The Novice, The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, Tigana

Finished: - 3*, - 4*

Currently Reading:
The Haunted Bookshop - Library ebook
The Question of Red - Kindle
A Court of Mist and Fury - Library
The Wedding Shop - Kindle

Finished Mary, Mary

Finished: - 4*

Finished: - 4*

Currently Reading:
The Question of Red - Kindle
A Court of Mist and Fury - Library
The Wedding Shop - Kindle
Death and Judgment - Library

Go See the Principal – Gerry Brooks – 2.5**
Gerry Brooks is an elementary school principal in Lexington, Kentucky. Apparently, he’s also a YouTube celebrity of sorts. I don’t have any children. I’m not a teacher. It’s been a long time since I’ve personally been in school of any kind, let alone elementary school. I would probably have found this funnier if it was closer to home and I could relate. As it was, I thought it was more “instructional” than entertaining.
My full review HERE

Finished: - 4*, - 4*

Currently Reading:
The Question of Red - Kindle
Bailey's Cafe - Library ebook
The Wedding Shop - Kindle
The Prague Cemetery - Library

Long Road To Mercy – David Baldacci – 4****
This is a fast-paced mystery / suspense / thriller with a kick-a** female heroine – or two. I really liked FBI agent Atlee Pine, who is physically and mentally strong, intelligent, determined and well able to take care of herself, and others. But I loved her assistant, Carol, who rises to the occasion and shows that she’s more than up to the task of besting the bad guys. This is a team to watch!
My full review HERE

Long Road To Mercy – David Baldacci – 4****
This is a fast-paced mystery / suspense / thriller with a kick-a** female heroine – or two. I really liked FBI agent Atlee Pine, who is physically and mentally strong, intelligent, determined and well able to take care of herself, and others. But I loved her assistant, Carol, who rises to the occasion and shows that she’s more than up to the task of besting the bad guys. This is a team to watch!
My full review HERE

Finished Tigana

Currently Reading Elizabeth Street

Reading Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters

A Short History Of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson – 3.5***
Well, the title pretty much gives you a synopsis of what this nonfiction work is all about – “nearly” everything. Bryson allowed his curiosity about scientific discoveries to lead wherever it might take him, and he organized his findings in a somewhat chronological order (hence the “history”). It is information, if dry, at times. It’s also entertaining, even funny, in places.
My full review HERE

Finished: - 4*

Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter – Loretta Lynn & George Vecsey – 3.5***
This autobiography takes the reader from Loretta’s birth to stardom. Originally published in 1976, the 30th-anniversary edition includes a forward with some additional information. I found this very interesting. She tells her story in a forthright and honest manner, relating both the good and the bad.
My full review HERE

The Cat Who Could Read Backwards – Lilian Jackson Braun – 3***
Book # 1 in a cozy mystery series featuring James Qwilleran, a newspaper reporter in an unnamed Midwestern city, and an extraordinary Siamese cat, Koko. I love cozy mysteries, and this is a great series. Qwilleran is a good amateur detective. As a reporter he is appropriately curious and has a great excuse for gathering information. No talking cats, here, still I like the way that Braun uses Koko to help Qwilleran. A totally satisfying cozy mystery read.
My full review HERE

Finished:

Currently Reading:
The Question of Red - Kindle
Bailey's Cafe - Library ebook
Dead Eye - Kindle
The Prague Cemetery - Library
Blood Brothers - Library
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War - Library