thornton37814's Retro TV 2013 Category Challenge - Thread 4
Discussions2013 Category Challenge
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1thornton37814
My theme for the 2013 Category Challenge TV is Retro TV. All my categories will be named for old television programs. In many cases, I'm using a rather broad definition or using more than one aspect of a program to give me more options to fit books into challenges.
Category 1: Starsky & Hutch - Police procedurals (or true crime, if I happen to read one).
Category 2: Murder, She Wrote - Amateur sleuths.
Category 3: M*A*S*H - Military/war or medical. Because most of the Holocaust occurred during World War II, I will likely place any Holocaust books in this category.
Category 4: I Love Lucy - If this show isn't the queen of re-runs, I don't know what is. This category is for re-reads.
Category 5: The Waltons - Families or books I'm reading in support of my family history research. (There may be some odd things in here like books on farming, quilting, or whatever.)
Category 6: Captain Kangaroo - Children's books. (I had a hard time choosing between the Captain and The Flintstones.)
Category 7: Newhart - Who doesn't love a Vermont Inn? This category is for "Comfort Reads." (I suspect the Lumby Series will end up here as well as books by Debbie Macomber, Dorothea Benton Frank, Anne Rivers Siddons, Mary Alice Monroe, etc.)
Category 8: Welcome Back, Kotter - Books about education or books "assigned" to be read. I haven't worked out all the details here on the "assigned" books, but I suspect that I'm going to be asking a few of you to choose a book from a list of a few books related to a school topic, such as literature, social studies, science, etc. that are on my TBR list and asking you to assign one of them to me to read.
Category 9: The Galloping Gourmet - Fiction and non-fiction about food and drink.
Category 10: The Flying Nun - Books involving religion -- fiction and non-fiction.
Category 11: St. Elsewhere - Books set in other countries. I'm capitalizing on the "Elsewhere." I'll define other as other than the U.S. or U.K.
Category 12: Match Game - Shared reads. This can be group reads or TIOLI shared reads from my 75 book group or CAT reads from this group.
Category 13: Tonight Show - Whatever I want to read tonight. (Yes. There has to be a catch-all category, and Johnny Carson seemed like the way to go.)
By the way, I have no maximums per category. I will set a minimum of 5 per category.
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1. Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves - completed 26 Jan 2013
2. Orchestrated Murder by Rick Blechta - completed 2 Feb 2013
3. In a Dark House by Deborah Crombie - completed 5 Mar 2013
4. The Likeness by Tana French - completed 21 Mar 2013
5. Back of Beyond by C. J. Box - completed 25 May 2013
6. Murder on Waverly Place by Victoria Thompson - completed 8 Sept 2013
7. Game, Set and Murder by Elizabeth Flynn - completed 12 Sept 2013
8. How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny - completed 19 Sept 2013
9. Dead Creek by Victoria Houston - completed 4 Oct 2013
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1. Hearse and Buggy by Laura Bradford - completed 15 Feb 2013
2. Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen - completed 26 Feb 2013
3. Brush with Death by Karen MacInerney - completed 12 Mar 2013
4. The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez - completed 17 Mar 2013
5. English Tea Murder by Leslie Meier - completed 18 Mar 2013
6. Dead Men Don't Crochet by Betty Hechtman - completed 28 Mar 2013
7. The Christie Caper by Carolyn G. Hart - completed 29 Mar 2013
8. The Corpse of St. James's by Jeanne M. Dams - completed 5 April 2013
9. Bagpipes, Brides, and Homicides by Kaitlyn Dunnett - completed 11 Apr 2013
10. The Diva Digs Up the Dirt by Krista Davis - completed 17 Apr 2013
11. Murder in the Queen's Armes by Aaron Elkins - completed 10 May 2013
12. The Black Dudley Murder by Margery Allingham - completed 22 May 2013
13. Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay - completed 27 May 2013
14. Buried in a Book by Lucy Arlington - completed 28 May 2013
15. And Then You Dye by Monica Ferris - completed 3 June 2013
16. Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn - completed 8 June 2013
17. A Timely Vision by Joyce Lavene and Jim Lavene - completed 6 July 2013
18. Death Threads by Elizabeth Lynn Casey - completed 1 Aug 2013
19. Rotten to the Core by Sheila Connolly - completed 24 Aug 2013
20. Murder at the Castle by Jeanne M. Dams - completed 31 Oct 2013
21. Shadows of Death by Jeanne M. Dams - completed 8 Nov 2013
22. The Shortest Day: Murder at the Revels by Jane Langton - completed 7 Dec 2013
23. Deck the Halls with Murder by Valerie Wolzien - completed 12 Dec 2013
24. Manhattans and Murder by Donald Bain - completed 16 Dec 2013
25. Ringing in Murder by Kate Kingsbury - completed 18 Dec 2013
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1. Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas - completed 22 Jan 2013
2. Lotions, Potions, and Deadly Elixirs: Frontier Medicine in the American West by Wayne Bethard - completed 13 Mar 2013
3. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake - completed 23 Mar 2013
4. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott - completed 27 Sep 2013
5. The King's Grave by Philippa Langley and Michael K. Jones - completed 11 Oct 2013
6. Eastern Europe! by Tomek Jankowski - completed 24 Oct 2013
7. Bosnia's Million Bones by Christian Jennings - completed 19 Nov 2013
8. In the Dark Streets Shineth: A 1941 Christmas Eve Story by David McCullough - completed 4 Dec 2013
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1. Village School by Miss Read - completed 25 Jan 2013
2. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - completed 29 Jan 2013
3. Curious George's Opposites by H. A. Rey - completed 8 May 2013
4. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier - completed 14 May 2013
5. Village Diary by Miss Read - completed 6 Dec 2013
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1. The Famine Plot: England's Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy by Tim Pat Coogan - completed 7 Jan 2013
2. Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA by Richard Hill - completed 13 Jan 2013
3. Reunion: A Search for Ancestors by Ryan Littrell - completed 23 Feb 2013
4. Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart - completed 27 Feb 2013
5. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields - completed 17 May 2013
6. Angel Gabriel: The Elusive English Galleon by Warren C. Riess - completed 3 June 2013
7. In the Blood by Fay Sampson - completed 17 July 2013
8. Tempest's Course by Lynette Sowell - completed 19 July 2013
9. Relatively Dead by Sheila Connolly - completed 29 July 2013
10. Six Women of Salem by Marilynne K. Roach - completed 5 Aug 2013
11. Hidden Heritage by Charlotte Hinger - completed 14 Aug 2013
12. Testimonies and Secrets: The Story of a Nova Scotia Family, 1844-1977 by Robert Mennel - completed 5 Sept 2013
13. Great Expectations: The Sons and Daughters of Charles Dickens by Robert Gottlieb - completed 24 Nov 2013
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1. The General Store by Bobbie Kalman - completed 30 Jan 2013
2. Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson - completed 30 Jan 2013
3. Sod Houses on the Great Plains by Glen Rounds - completed 30 Jan 2013
4. Civil War Cooking: The Confederacy by Susan Dosier - completed 30 Jan 2013
5. Civil War Cooking: The Union by Susan Dosier - completed 30 Jan 2013
6. The Log Cabin Church by Ellen Howard - completed 31 Jan 2013
7. The Miller by Christine Petersen - completed 31 Jan 2013
8. The Doctor by Katie Marsico - completed 31 Jan 2013
9. Pioneer Farm Cooking by Mary Gunderson - completed 31 Jan 2013
10. The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street by Ann Redisch Stampler - completed 26 Feb 2013
11. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene - completed 18 June 2013
12. The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden - completed 4 Dec 2013
13. Candy Floss by Rumer Godden - completed 5 Dec 2013
14. Impunity Jane by Rumer Godden - completed 5 Dec 2013
15. The Fairy Doll by Rumer Godden - completed 5 Dec 2013
16. Jesus by Anselm Grun - completed 8 Dec 2013
17. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schultz - completed 30 Dec 2013
18. The Mouse and the Christmas Cake by Unknown author - completed 30 Dec 2013
19. Squidge: Little Elf, Big Trouble by Andrew Thomas - completed 30 Dec 2013
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1. The Sugar Camp Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini - completed 26 Mar 2013
2. Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson - completed 21 Apr 2013
3. Porch Lights by Dorothea Benton Frank - completed 23 Jun 2013
4. Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons - completed 28 Jun 2013
5. Rose Harbor in Bloom by Debbie Macomber - completed 8 Jul 2013
6. Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani - completed 24 July 2013
7. A Nantucket Christmas by Nancy Thayer - completed 25 July 2013
8. Starry Night by Debbie Macomber - completed 22 Nov 2013
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1. Murder at Teatime: Mysteries in the Classic Cozy Tradition edited by Cynthia Manson - completed 12 Jan 2013
2. A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper by John Allen Paulos - completed 7 Feb 2013
3. King Richard III by William Shakespeare - completed 23 Apr 2013
4. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather - completed 16 May 2013
5. Winter Chill by Joanne Fluke - completed 3 Nov 2013
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1. The Seasons on Henry's Farm: A Year of Food and Life on a Sustainable Farm by Terra Brockman - completed 21 Feb 2013
2. Cast Iron Cooking with Sisters on the Fly by Irene Rawlings - completed 22 Feb 2013
3. Cooking with Herbs: 50 Simple Recipes for Fresh Flavor by Lynn Alley - completed 23 Feb 2013
4. Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke - completed 22 Mar 2013
5. The Amish Canning Cookbook: Plain and Simple Living at Its Homemade Best by Georgia Varozza - completed 5 Apr 2013
6. Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten - completed 12 Apr 2013
7. Sweet Tea Revenge by Laura Childs - completed 13 Apr 2013
8. The Perfect Peach: Recipes and Stories from the Masumoto Family Farm by David Mas Masumoto, Marcy Masumoto, and Nikika Masumoto - completed 13 Apr 2013
9. An Olive Oil Tour of France by Alice Alech - completed 8 May 2013
10. Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food by Wendell Berry - completed 8 June 2013
11. Blueberry Blues by Karen MacInerney - completed 5 Aug 2013
12. Fancy a Cuppa by the Cathedral? by Simon Duffin - completed 17 Aug 2013
13. Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck - completed 27 Aug 2013
14. Bran New Death by Victoria Hamilton - completed 18 Oct 2013
15. Brooklyn, NY 2-Day Foodie Tour by Kelley Gudahl - completed 14 Nov 2013
16. The Monastery Garden Cookbook: Farm-Fresh Recipes for the Home Cook by Victor-Antoine D'Avila-Latourrette - completed 23 Nov 2013
Not a completion technically since I didn't read every word, but fits the category:
1. Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe compiled by the National Geographic Society - completed 5 Apr 2013
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1. Unfinished Desires by Gail Godwin - completed 2 Jan 2013
2. A Hermit's Cookbook: Monks, Food and Fasting in the Middle Ages by Andrew Jotischky - completed 23 Feb 2013
3. Is Jesus in the Old Testament? by Iain M. Duguid - completed 23 Feb 2013
4. The Church in an Age of Crisis by James Emery White - completed 2 Mar 2013
5. The Eagle Catcher by Margaret Coel - completed 28 Mar 2013
6. How Then Shall We Worship?: Biblical Principles to Guide Us Today by R. C. Sproul - completed 6 Apr 2013
7. God's Favorite Place on Earth by Frank Viola - completed 7 Apr 2013
8. Psalms: The Sunrise of Hope by Bob Saffrin - completed 13 Apr 2013
9. An Unholy Communion by Donna Fletcher Crow - completed 8 May 2013
10. The Juvenilization of American Christianity by Thomas E. Bergler - completed 17 May 2013
11. The Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer - completed 30 May 2013
12. Broken English by P. L. Gaus - completed 23 Jun 2013
13. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose - completed 24 Jun 2013
14. Your Grown-Up Faith: Blending the Three Elements of Belief by Kenneth L. Parker - completed 11 July 2013
15. Incarnational Humanism: A Philosophy of Culture for the Church in the World by Jens Zimmermann - completed 23 July 2013
16. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth - Gordon D. Fee and Douglas K. Stuart - completed 6 Aug 2013
17. The Vicar's Wife by Katharine Swartz - completed 8 Aug 2013
18. The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament by Edmund P. Clowney - completed 10 Aug 2013
19. I Never Thought I'd See the Day!: Culture at the Crossroads by David Jeremiah - completed 11 Aug 2013
20 . The Jew Named Jesus by Rebekah Simon-Peter - completed 1 Sept 2013
21. The Intolerance of Tolerance by D. A. Carson - completed 28 Sept 2013
22. The Advent of Murder by Martha Ockley - completed 26 Oct 2013
23. The Vanishing Evangelical: Saving the Church From Its Own Success by Restoring What Really Matters by Calvin Miller - completed 26 Oct 2013
24. How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels by N. T. Wright - completed 23 Nov 2013
25. Living Into Focus: Choosing What Matters in an Age of Distraction by Arthur Boers - completed 6 Dec 2013
26. The Little Amish Matchmaker: A Christmas Romance by Linda Byler - completed 9 Dec 2013
27. The ABC's of Christmas by Ray Pritchard - completed 30 Dec 2013
28. A Christmas Gift for Rose by Tricia Goyer - completed 31 Dec 2013
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1. A Woman in Jerusalem by A. B. Yehoshua - completed 20 Jan 2013
2. The Beach at Galle Road: Stories of Sri Lanka by Joanna Luloff - completed 4 Feb 2013
3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - completed 9 Feb 2013
4. The Terra-Cotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri - completed 9 Mar 2013
5. The Golden Egg by Donna Leon - completed 9 Mar 2013
6. Yokohama Yankee: My Family's Five Generations as Outsiders in Japan by Leslie Helm - completed 12 Mar 2013
7. The Family Mansion by Anthony C. Winkler - completed 4 May 2013
8. My Venice and Other Essays by Donna Leon - completed 11 May 2013
9. The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau - completed 1 June 2013
10. Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri - completed 6 June 2013
11. Buried in a Bog by Sheila Connolly - completed 16 June 2013
12. Grave Gourmet by Alexander Campion - completed 21 Aug 2013
13. Daughter of the God-King by Anne Cleeland - completed 28 Oct 2013
14. Best of Prague: Three-Day Itinerary by Monica Hogan - completed 14 Nov 2013
15. Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo - completed 27 Dec 2013
16. The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat - completed 30 Dec 2013
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1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - completed 12 Jan 2013
2. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain - completed 8 Mar 2013
3. Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - completed 11 May 2013
4. Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope - completed 8 June 2013
5. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver - completed 11 June 2013
6. The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough - completed 19 Oct 2013
7. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey - completed 11 Nov 2013
8. A Christmas Journey by Anne Perry - completed 6 Dec 2013
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1. A Spoonful of Poison by M. C. Beaton - completed 2 January 2013
2. The Most Beautiful Country Towns of England by Hugh Palmer - completed 31 Jan 2013
3. The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland by Christopher Fitz-Simon - completed 31 Jan 2013
4. The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout - completed 19 Feb 2013
5. Colonial Days: Discover the Past With Fun Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes by David C. King - completed 21 Feb 2013
6. Cotswold Landscapes by Rob Talbot and Robin Whiteman - completed 21 Feb 2013
7. Sorry I Barfed On Your Bed: (And Other Heartwarming Letters from Kitty) by Jeremy Greenberg - completed 22 Feb 2013
8. A Murder in Passing by Mark De Castrique - completed 4 April 2013
9. Live Free or Die by Jessie Crockett - completed 21 Apr 2013
10. Harbor Ice by K. D. Mason - completed 25 Apr 2013
11. Daughter of the Loom by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller - completed 30 Apr 2013
12. An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear - completed 3 May 2013
13. How Not to RV by Jennifer Flower - completed 7 May 2013
14. Death at Glamis Castle by Robin Paige - completed 21 May 2013
15. The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman - completed 26 May 2013
16. North Sea Requiem by A. D. Scott - completed 29 May 2013
17. The Angola Horror by Charity Vogel - completed 29 May 2013
18. Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - completed 30 Jun 2013
19. The Accidental Law Librarian by Anthony Aycock - completed 11 Aug 2013
20. Something Borrowed, Someone Dead by M. C. Beaton - completed 31 Aug 2013
21. The Maine Coon Cat by Liza Gardner Walsh - completed 20 Sept 2013
22. Katie Gale: A Coastal Salish Woman's Life on Oyster Bay by Llyn De DaNaan (touchstone won't work) - completed 5 Nov 2013
23. New Orleans 3-Day Itinerary by Hwayen Lin - completed 14 Nov 2013
24. Not a Creature Was Stirring by Jane Haddam - completed 17 Nov 2013
25. A Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow - completed 20 Nov 2013
26. Sovereign by C. J. Sansom - completed 3 Dec 2013
27. Mad as the Dickens by Toni L. P. Kelner - completed 23 Dec 2013
28. Holmes for the Holidays edited by Martin Harry Greenberg - completed 24 Dec 2013
29. English Experiences by Susan Briggs - completed 26 Dec 2013
30. A Lonely Dog on Christmas by Patrick Yearly - completed 30 Dec 2013
42. A Very Holly Christmas by Sheila Roberts - completed 31 Dec 2013
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1. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
2. Pigs in Clover by Simon Dawson
3. Miracle Road by Emily March - abandoned 25 Oct 2013
4. This Book Is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson - abandoned 24 Nov 2013
5. Murder for Christmas edited by Thomas Godfrey - abandoned about 20 Dec 2013
6. The Merchant of Menace by Jill Churchill - abandoned 26 Dec 2013
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Something Borrowed, Someone Dead by M. C. Beaton
Category: Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Agatha Raisin has been hired to look into the murder of Gloria French in the village of Piddlebury. She and some of her team go there to investigate and learned that the victim was someone who did not get along that well with other villagers. One of her biggest flaws was that she stole items from other people's homes and then claimed they were her own. This is a pretty typical Agatha Raisin mystery. Agatha is annoying as usual and rubs those whom she encounters the wrong way. She takes breaks from the case. However, the plot is laced with humor that arises from the situations in which Agatha finds herself. While this will never be my favorite series, it is tolerable. I only wish that I'd been able to listen to the audio version as I usually find those more enjoyable than reading them myself. This review is based on a publisher-provided advance e-galley through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.
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18lkernagh
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Lori> I really should have abandoned another one recently, but I stuck with it to the bitter end. I may try Case Histories again later, but it just didn't work for me at the time. I just couldn't get into it at all.
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Here's the Apple Barn:
Here's the fried apple pie of which you can see that I took a bite before photographing.
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Rabbitprincess> There are several orchards with varying degrees of whether you can pick or just get what they pick on Highway 321 in Sevier and Cocke Counties. My favorite place to get the real apples is Carver's Orchard. That one does offer the option to pick your own.
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The Jew Named Jesus by Rebekah Simon-Peter
Category: The Flying Nun
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 2 stars
Review: This book is not what I was expecting from the title. I thought that the book would go into more detail about how Jesus observed Jewish customs. It did show these, but it was superficial and really didn't address the culture behind them or give Christians significant insights into the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Instead, I felt that I was reading more of a spiritual memoir about the author's journey since converting to Christianity from Judaism. I also felt this book was part of her crusade against "replacement theology" which is taught in some churches. However, from reading this book, you would think that only a handful of churches did not teach the view that the church replaces Israel. She really did not need to convince me that God is not finished with Israel. I can read in my Bible that God's covenant with Israel is everlasting. I really feel that my pastor does a better job of addressing the subject covered by the title of the book than the author did. Perhaps the author should have first written her spiritual memoir and then written something on the topic of the book so that she would not be tempted to deviate from the subject. I did, however, enjoy reading of her faith struggles as she came to terms with her new faith. I am glad that she was able to discover the man and his message for herself and only wish she had done a better job articulating it for her readers in such a manner that they too could understand Him from the Jewish perspective. This review is based on an advance e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
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28-Eva-
"the author's journey since converting"
That's not at all what I got from the title. Like you said, she probably should have written two different books. :)
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Testimonies and Secrets: The Story of a Nova Scotia Family, 1844-1977 by Robert Mennel
Category: The Waltons
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 2 stars
Review: This is the story of the of the Crouse and Eikle families of Lunenberg, Nova Scotia over more than a century as revealed through family documents and other records. The author did a great deal of research on the families, and it is well-documented for the most part. I was excited about the genealogical story, but the direction that the author took in telling the story of one family member left me wishing that I had not read this title. Furthermore, I found this book difficult to read because of the formatting problems with the e-galley which I received from the publisher through NetGalley. I find it difficult to believe that an academic press accepted the work of an author who failed to capitalize proper nouns, words beginning sentences, etc. I'm not sure why those things were not present in this work. There were other formatting issues in the book as well. It made me distrust the quotes I was reading simply because I didn't know if the finished product would properly transcribe direct wording and the like. The genealogical charts that were supposed to be near the end of the book were also missing from the e-galley. As mentioned, this was received as an advance e-galley by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.
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Murder on Waverly Place by Victoria Thompson
Category: Starsky & Hutch
CAT Challenge: AlphaCAT - V
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Sarah's mother (Mrs. Decker) talks Sarah into accompanying her to a seance to try to talk to Sarah's deceased sister. Her mother returns for a second one which ends up with one of the attendees being murdered. She insists on calling Detective Frank Malloy to the scene because she knows he will find the truth. Malloy calls Sarah to try to get her mother out without being seen. They end up taking "Madame Serafina" to Sarah's house to prevent her being taken to the Tombs while the murder is investigated. All the participants at the seance were holding one another's wrists, yet someone in that room had to have committed the act of murder. It was an interesting puzzle. I'm a bit uncomfortable with seances and other occultic practices in books, but this one at least showed that it was fraudulent.
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Game, Set and Murder by Elizabeth Flynn
Category: Starsky & Hutch
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 4 stars
Review: In this promising debut, Detective Inspector Angela Costello investigates the death of star tennis player Petar Belic whose corpse is found on court 19 at Wimbledon just before the event begins. There are plenty of suspects to go around with varying motives. Having been a tennis fan for years, I loved the setting. I liked our newly minted Detective Inspector and the ease with which she assumed her new role in her first investigation. I loved the ending which I thought was quite a change from many mysteries and actually follows a conclusion that would probably happen from time to time in real police procedurals. I'm looking forward to additional installments in this series. This review is based on an advance e-galley received by the publisher through NetGalley.
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34-Eva-
That doesn't look too painful. :)
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36-Eva-
I'm suffering with you. :)
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It's been a long week. Mondays are always crazy since it is my night to work. Yesterday morning I woke up with a horrendous headache. It took 3 rounds of headache medicine before it was completely gone. Today I had to drive to a meeting 4 hours away (and back) in the same day. I'm exhausted! My eyes are pretty glazed over from driving so I think reading is out of the question tonight. If I don't finish the new Louise Penny tomorrow night, I will finish it Friday since I have the day off.
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How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
Category: Starsky & Hutch
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 5 stars
Review: Chief Inspector Gamache is called to Three Pines when Myrna's expected guest does not arrive for Christmas. When he and Inspector LaCoste arrive at the person's home in Montreal they find her murdered. It's out of his jurisdiction but the Montreal investigator hands the investigation over to Gamache since it's Christmas, and they are short-handed. He discovers that she is the last of a famed set of quintuplets born in the 1930s. Meanwhile, Jean-Guy Beauvoir has been brainwashed by Surete head Francoeur, who is really only using him to get at Gamache for a long-standing grudge. Francoeur and his men have basically rendered Gamache's homicide division useless by transferring out most of Gamache's team. It's a race against time for Gamache to conclude his investigation into Francoeur's wrong-doings and avert a disaster before Francoeur achieves the ultimate victory over Gamache.. I've always disliked the police politics and corruption issues in the previous installments of this series, but this particular book kept me on the edge of my seat. I really can't say a lot about the plot for fear of giving away spoilers, but I will say that Penny has managed to carefully weave in things that have happened from the beginning of this series to this installment to achieve one of her finest works to date. If you have not read the first eight in this series, I encourage you to go back and start with the first, working your way forward to this one so that you don't miss any nuance.
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The Maine Coon Cat by Liza Gardner Walsh
Category: Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Walsh has compiled a book about the Maine Coon cat breed that is somewhat repetitive in places. The book could use slightly better organization, but it's certain to be a hit with those who love this popular breed. It's a quick read, full of photographs. The book would work well for readers as young as middle school. This book was received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program with the expectation that a review would be written.
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Jean> Glad to know.
Hailelib> I guess I do have some lurkers. I know I get busy sometimes and am swamped even trying to keep up with reading threads.
Rabbitprincess> You'll love it.
Max> I think I still like Bury Your Dead best, but this one is great too. They were both 5 star reads for me.
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Judy> I don't think you have to be embarrassed, but you are missing out on some great reads by not getting to them!
Beth> You definitely need to give Penny a try. Just remember that the series gets better than it starts. Penny is probably my favorite author at the moment.
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Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Category: M*A*S*H
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: In this novel we see warriors returning from the Crusades, a love story, and the trial of a young Jewess for witchcraft. This book's dated wording does not make it a particularly fun read for 21st century readers. Lady Rowena is supposed to be the leading lady of the book, but Rebecca, the Jewess, is a far more interesting character. Richard the Lionhearted plays a role in the book as well. I wanted to abandon this lengthy tome in many places, but I forced myself to keep plugging along.
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The Intolerance of Tolerance by D. A. Carson
Category: The Flying Nun
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Carson has tackled the topic of tolerance and how its definition has changed over the years. Whereas many Christians would not be accused of intolerance under the older definition, they are being called intolerant because of their strict adherence to their religious beliefs under the new definition. Carson also shows inconsistencies in the application of the new definition of tolerance. There were a few grammatical issues in the opening chapter with mixing of tenses and with beginning sentences with words like "And" or "But." These issues seem to not be present in the later chapters, making one wonder why the first chapter was not polished as the remainder of the book. The sentence structure is more geared toward an academic audience with fairly lengthy and complex sentences, rather than shorter, less-complex sentences found in books designed for popular audiences. The book itself is a book that is going to lend itself well to discussions in many religiously-affiliated colleges and universities, but possibly also in many other publicly and privately funded universities. The book will also be embraced by other readers with an interest in the topic, particularly well-educated Christian leaders.
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I did, however, manage to enjoy a little bagpipe music in an open area.
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Eva> They did have haggis available. I skipped it. I went with fish & chips. It wasn't very good though. I think they also had bangers & mash at one booth and for the Irish side, they had corned beef & cabbage.
Lori> Fortunately the clouds did not produce rain -- at least while I was there.
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65electrice
Game, Set and Murder is going on the 2013 BB list.
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Electrice> I am not sure how the East Tennessee version compares to the Scottish version. I am not that fond of liver though so I was afraid that I wouldn't like it. I just didn't want to pay for something I might not eat and have to buy something else. Hope you enjoy Game, Set, and Murder. Tennis has always been one of my favorite sports so this was one I had to try!
PawsforThought> No vinegar on the chips so those were at least okay--just not that fresh. I've never heard of pölsa, but I think I'll avoid eating it too.
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Dead Creek by Victoria Houston
Category: Starsky & Hutch
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Retired dentist Paul Osborne finds four bodies in a frozen cage in a northern lake. With Chief Lew out of town, he calls the dispatcher to get her temporary replacement Sloan out to gather evidence until Lew can get back. He and Ray Pradt are deputized by both Sloan and Lew to assist with the investigation. One of the bodies has a piece of dental work that Osborne is certain he performed himself, but he's equally certain that it was a visitor to the area instead of a resident. He has to search his dental records to locate the identity of the victim. It's an interesting read, but it's also one that you can put down. Most of the recurring characters are likeable to a certain extent. Fishing enthusiasts will probably love that aspect of this series.
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The King's Grave by :Philippa Langley and Michael K. Jones
Category: M*A*S*H
CAT Challenge: AlphaCAT - J
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Philippa Langley was behind the discovery of King Richard III's body under the car park in England. This book gives an account of Richard's life, showing differences in the real Richard III and the Tudor version of Richard III, as well as the account of the discovery of his resting place. The authors alternated between the two portions of the story, and that particular arrangement did not work well for me. I was far more interested in the events leading up to the discovery and the archaeological dig and testing done to determine this was indeed Richard than in a reconstruction of his life which has been the subject of numerous other histories. I felt that more details of the dig itself and of the testing and results could have been presented if the authors had left parts of the story of Richard which had no bearings on the forensics presented in the volume to other histories. I was quite interested in the DNA analysis and was disappointed that there was not more on that presented in the book and that there was no appendix presenting detailed findings of the mitochondrial match. Although I was disappointed in some aspects of the book, it was interesting to read about the discovery and understand a little more of what drove the team and of the cooperation they had from others to make the discovery. This review is based on an advance e-galley received from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review be written.
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Rabbitprincess> It was still interesting. It just didn't quite achieve its full potential.
Lori> I was completely fascinated by the discovery. I knew that the person discovering it was supposed to have a book out, and when I saw it offered on NetGalley, I just had to request it. I know that she she was trying to correct what she saw as misinterpretations of Richard III due to what the Tudors wanted people to think of him, but it just didn't really belong in the book.
Eva> It was a great find! I know that I tried to find every article I could at the time. I was really looking forward to this book.
Betty> I'm not sure who else would have had access to all the forensic data and details of the dig except Ms. Langley. At least her publishers will see my review since I posted it to NetGalley. I hope they also check LibraryThing for reviews and comments. I guess we'll see if they come out with a second book!
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Bran New Death by Victoria Hamilton
Category: The Galloping Gourmet
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Merry Wynter has inherited a castle in upstate from New York and is leaving New York City after a bad experience. When she arrives in Autumn Vale, she finds a town full of quirky characters, and at least one person who believes her uncle was murdered. She had only come to take a look at the property and try to fix it up after it had not sold on the market. She discovers that someone has been digging giant holes on the property. Another man has gone missing as well; she finds irregularities regarding her uncle's business adventures with this man. In the midst of this her best friend from the city (Shilo) comes out to lend a hand and falls in love with the local realtor. This initial installment is a bit light on the mystery as characters are being introduced and such, but it's very readable. This is also not one where everything is wrapped up neatly at the end. The reader still has questions about what will happen, motivating the reading of additional books in the series. I felt there were a couple of questions that probably could have been answered for the reader without ruining the rest of the series that left me with an "incomplete" feeling at the end. I just kind of kept looking for the additional couple of paragraphs that would answer those little things. This review is based on an electronic galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.
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The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough
Category: Match Game
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 4.5 stars
Review: McCullough has written an outstanding account of the creation the Panama Canal, starting with initial discussions as to whether the canal would be located in Panama or Nicaragua, proceeding to the France's failed attempt to build it, America's discussion on its location and subsequent resumption of the French efforts, its construction and the headaches and triumphs that came with it. He's managed to make his narrative quite readable and withstand the test of time. There are a lot of things that I find interesting in the narrative. I found the parts detailing Gorgas' fight against tropical diseases fascinating. I also particularly enjoyed the glimpses into the cultural and social life of canal workers fascinating. He paints fascinating pictures of both Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. A very readable history of a remarkable feat in engineering!
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It is strange because a very well loved and respected artist in our area died last week. He took his dog for a walk one night. They often walk in a nearby cemetery. The dog got loose and ran off and the man ran after the dog to catch him and either fell into a hole, or tripped and fell. He died of extensive internal injuries and a broken neck.
I am going to count your incident as "the third thing" because a couple of weeks ago another artist in our area died. She was to exhibit in our library gallery (we have a different artist each month and the library gets 25% of the sale if a painting sells.) She put up the show on a Thursday and was fine. That night she died in her sleep.
Not wanting to call myself superstitious I have been just a tad on edge waiting for the "third". I am really sorry about your hip, but very happy that it wasn't worse.
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It appears that I dislocated it, but it is back in the right spot now. Still hurts some, but that's just bruising -- and not nearly the pain from last night.
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Eastern Europe! by Tomek Jankowski
Category: M*A*S*H
CAT Challenge: AlphaCat - J
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: This is a highly readable history of Eastern Europe from medieval times to near the present-day. The author has done an incredible amount of research and provides the reader a look of the region as a whole and by country within that region for several periods of history. I read an e-galley version of this book on my Kindle, and there were formatting issues present in the book. Severalsentenceswereruntogetherlikethis -- often for 1.5 lines or so, making it difficult to read. There was text that was in languages other than English, but it was always translated later. One of my biggest issues with reading non-fiction in electronic book format is that end notes are not very accessible. Such was the case here. I have sometimes seen publishers who provide hyperlinks in the text to the end notes, but this one, at least in its e-galley format, did not do so. The author did insert humor into his narrative from time to time. I found his comment regarding bibliographies (with the bibliography) entertaining. The book is well-indexed. Of course, it is almost impossible to use that index in the electronic version of the book without additional formatting which was not present in the e-galley. This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.
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Miracle Road by Emily March
My thoughts: I abandoned this book at about the 50% mark. I really wanted to abandon it earlier, but I kept hoping it would improve. The publisher's blurb compared it to the work of Debbie Macomber, but the characters are not as developed as Macomber's and the writing is not the same quality as Macomber's. I just couldn't continue. This review is based on an advance e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
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The Advent of Murder by Martha Ockley
Category: The Flying None
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 4 stars
Review: It's almost Christmas in Little Worthy, and Faith Morgan, the local vicar, has it busy just trying to keep the Christmas pageant together. In fact, that's what she's doing as she happens upon her former colleague Ben Shorter and his investigation team on the property of a parishioner. It seems a body has been found on his property under suspicious circumstances. Faith finds herself helping the police with the investigation, asking questions as she goes about her business and just being observant. Some persons who still don't know that she is the local vicar mistake her for a cop because she still has that "aura" about her person. This is a great follow-up to the previous installment in the series but would work well as a stand-alone for those who have not read the previous installment. The writing and characters are stronger than in the earlier installment as well. While this is technically a work of Christian fiction, Faith is not "preachy." Her caring acts for parishioners and for those who are in need speak for themselves. Although the setting of this story is around Christmas, it can be enjoyed any time of the year. This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
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The Vanishing Evangelical: Saving the Church From Its Own Success by Restoring What Really Matters by Calvin Miller
Category: The Flying Nun
CAT Challenge: AlphaCAT - W
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Calvin Miller, a well-known author, takes a look at the decline in membership in Evangelical churches and recommends an increase in intellectualism and the arts to restore its vitality in the 21st century. Miller seems to treat the subject fairly. I am impressed by the amount and variety of popular works of the day as well as literary works such as those by Jane Austen that he uses to make his points. He encourages his audience to read the Bible regularly and in an organized plan such as those that emphasize reading the Bible through in a year. He encourages reading a Psalm and a hymn each day. He encourages his readers to study the lives of martyrs and great heroes of the faith rather than spending their time reading the latest materials available in their local Christian bookstore. Miller did a very good job pointing out how Christianity was in the early 20th century, drawing examples from the reaction against liberalism and from the religious debates that were quite popular and well-attended that pointed out denominational differences. While he is not necessarily encouraging a return to the way things were done in that era, he is encouraging a return to the intellectualism that accompanied the era. This should be a popular book with those in Evangelical churches, particularly lay leaders and clergy. This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
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Daughter of the God-King by Anne Cleeland
Category: St. Elsewhere
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 2.5 stars
Review: Hattie Blackhouse has never been close to her parents. She receives word that they have disappeared from their excavation in Egypt. She needs to travel there to make estate arrangements and to try to locate her parents or their bodies. She is uncertain whom she can trust. The timing of the novel is shortly after Napoleon has been exiled to Elba, and the novel's plot involves the governments of France, Britain, Egypt, and a few other countries. I believe that the author is trying to mimic prose of the regency era although she is not very successful in her efforts. It just kind of reads like a cheap imitation of it and does not flow well. The plot of the novel seems similar to something I read probably 30 years ago or more, although I can't put my finger on the novel or the author. It's not a bad read, but it's not a particularly good one either. This review is based on an advance galley received by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.
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Murder at the Castle by Jeanne M. Dams
Category: Murder, She Wrote
CAT Challenge: AlphaCat - J
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review:Dorothy and Alan are attending a music festival at a castle in Wales in which their friend Nigel is performing. Ten years before, the conductor had been in a boat incident in which his first wife was believed to have been drowned. One of the performers goes overboard in a boating incident on this ship. It isn't long until a second accident claims the life of a diva no one liked. Although both have been ruled accidental, Dorothy and Alan can't help but suspect foul play. With the conductor's blessing, they set out to investigate. There are plenty of red herrings to keep a person second-guessing their theory. It keeps things interesting for the reader. I really wish that the castle's atmosphere had come through stronger than it did in this installment. Still, it was a fun read in an enjoyable series.
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Winter Chill by Joanne Fluke
Category: Welcome Back, Kotter
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Readers of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson mysteries have come to expect a cozy atmosphere with lots of baked goodies sprinkled throughout the narrative. This work is completely different. The atmosphere is dark. Readers feel a combination of sympathy and outrage at the two main characters, the parents of a girl killed in a snowmobile accident. The father was actually paralyzed in that same accident. The mother has somewhat lost touch with reality, finding notes left for her by her deceased daughter. It's not long until there are more accidents in the small community. Are they accidents, or is there a serial killer on the loose? Readers who enjoy psychological suspense will love this book. Although I won't give it away, the ending of this book was fitting. It reminded me of other works I'd read in the past, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it until I saw another review that likened the ending to an Alfred Hitchcock ending. That described it perfectly. Technically I received this book from NetGalley, but somehow the book was archived by the publisher between the time I hit the send to Kindle button and the next time I was connected to wifi and could receive it. I ended up waiting until my library got a copy, and I used their copy.
Note about category fit: Both main characters are teachers, and a significant portion of the action takes place at the school or in things related to the school.
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Katie Gale: A Coastal Salish Woman's Life on Oyster Bay by Llyn De DaNaan (touchstone won't work) - completed 5 Nov 2013
Category: Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: AlphaCat - K
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: This is a look at the story of a Native American woman, Katie Gale, who married a white man and lived a very hard life in the Puget Sound (which has recently been renamed the Salish Sea by the USGS Board on Geographic Names according to the author). It takes a look at her family history and adds some social history to make the narrative come to life. I found the organization of this work to be a bit awkward at times. I felt that the author tried to personalize the book too much by placing too much of the current landscape into the narrative when a straightforward historical narrative would have served better. As a genealogist, I felt the author did not document every statement or remark that should have been. When I look at the bibliography, many of the items are there in terms of a general group of records, but the specific details of the record used to support the statement are not in the end notes, making it difficult for persons to locate the specific item. I do, however, believe this is an important work on Native American life for women in that region and time period. The book, however, does not live up to the qualitative standard of other recently published microhistories such as The Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle.
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Salish Sea: 5,500 square miles; extends from the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca eastward and northward to include Puget Sound and Georgia Strait, and their associated bays, coves, and inlets.
Puget Sound: Bay, with numerous channels and branches, extends 144 km (90 mi) S from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Olympia; the N boundary is formed, at its main entrance, by a line between Point Wilson on the Olympic Peninsula and Partridge on Whidbey Island; at a second entrance, between West Point on Whidbey Island, Deception Island, and Rosario Head on Fidalgo Island; at a third entrance, the S end of Swinomish Channel between Fidalgo Island and McGlinn Island
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Shadows of Death by Jeanne M. Dams
Category: Murder, She Wrote
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Dorothy & Alan are once again vacationing. This time it is on the Orkney Islands. The benefactor of an archaeological dig on a remote island is found dead at the site. Alan is asked to assist in the investigation as the local constabulary are tied up with a terrorist threat. It's a small pool of suspects. Alan and Dorothy realize that someone is planting red herrings to try to deter them from the investigation. One key person goes missing. No one knows for sure if he's dead or alive. They also get assistance from the vicar's wife. While the mystery is pretty good, it didn't quite work for me on the plausibility level. I would love for the author to let Dorothy and Alan stay at home in Sherebury for the next installment in this series. It's beginning to seem like they never stay at home, and I do miss the locals there. This review is based on an electronic copy received through the publisher from NetGalley with the expectation of a review.
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Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
Category: Match Game
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 1 star
Review: Jane Withersteen is a Mormon woman who has inherited her father's ranch. She dares to defy the church and faces opposition in more ways than one from church leaders. The book has the elements one would expect in a typical Western novel. I just don't really enjoy the genre, and I never really enjoyed Westerns on television. My inability to get into this book and enjoy it is probably more of a reflection of my dislike of the genre than of the quality of writing. If you enjoy Westerns, give it a try in spite of my dislike. I made a comment to a friend of mine as I was reading the book that the negative comments one heard about Mormons during the Romney presidential campaign paled in comparison to the contempt for Mormons in the novel. I really only stuck with the book because of the group read.
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New Orleans 3-Day Itinerary by Hwayen Lin
Category: Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 2 stars
Review: The biggest problem with this guide is that it presupposes what people might want to do and gives very few options of other things to do in the area. Instead of offering a variety of options for three days in the city, the reader is pretty much stuck to what the author of the book has found to do or might like to do. Being quite familiar with this city, I would have thought the author remiss if she had not included Cafe du Monde as a breakfast stop and Central Grocery as a lunch stop for their muffalettas. She did include those, but on one of the days all of her dining choices were quite pricy. She also failed to mention places such as Mulates which offers Cajun cuisine and entertainment. Very few things to do outside the Quarter and Riverwalk areas were included. Pass on this one and get your guide from AAA instead.
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Brooklyn, NY 2-Day Foodie Tour by Kelley Gudahl
Category: The Galloping Gourmet
CAT Challenge: AlphaCAT - K
Rating: 2 stars
Review: While the author did offer a few options, this guide was not very detailed and really didn't provide the variety or the details to help a person make informed decisions about their 2-day food tour. I suspect that most people can find better information by Googling or using a AAA guide.
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Best of Prague: Three-Day Itinerary by Monica Hogan
Category: St. Elsewhere
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 2 stars
Review: I knew almost nothing about what Prague has to offer tourists, but after reading this guide, I still know almost nothing. The traveler is limited to the sights that the author has chosen to include here. Prague is a city that I hope to one day visit, but I think I would do better to rely on my American friends living in the city for advice than to rely on this guide. I'm also certain that there are better travel guides offered from companies such as AAA and Fodor's that can offer more insight than this one did. While the author did acknowledge that some people might want to spend more time in some places and adjust the timing accordingly, the tourist has limited knowledge of other options that he might prefer to what the author chose to include.
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As you can see, Brumley couldn't wait until I got the tree up to start playing in it!
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Not a Creature Was Stirring by Jane Haddam
Category: Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Gregor Demarkian is ex-FBI. He lives somewhere in the Philadelphia area. His priest asks him to attend a dinner at the large country estate of a wealthy man. The priest has been promised a large donation if he can get Mr. Demarkian to attend. When he arrives, the estate is a crime scene, and Demarkian encounters an investigating officer that is not his favorite. However, the police need his help on this one, and as the death toll mounts, his ability to make sense of things becomes invaluable. Although this book has a Christmas setting, it is one which could be read any time of the year as Christmas is very marginal to the plot. It's a pleasant way to spend a few hours. I found the plot seemed to drag in a place or two, but overall I continued to care about the outcome and kept plugging away. As far as the family members are concerned, the only one that was likeable in any manner was the sister who wrote novels. It was a nice start to a series. I have the second one already on hand to read next year.
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Bosnia's Million Bones: Solving the World's Greatest Forensic Puzzle by Christian Jennings
Category: M*A*S*H
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Journalist Christian Jennings has documented the Yugoslav War from 1991-1995 and the acts of genocide committed by Serbian leaders and their troops toward the conclusion of that war. They attempted to hide the bodies in mass graves, often burying individuals in more than one. A group of forensic scientists came up with a method using DNA testing to identify the bodies and get them back to their families for proper burial. They had a high degree of success which has since been used in disasters and other mass grave situations throughout the world, especially by the International Commission on Missing Persons which was established, in part, as a result of this Bosnian genocide. It's a very interesting story of how DNA is being used for identification on a wide-scale basis. This review is based on an advance reader's edition provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program with the expectation that a review would be written.
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A Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow
Category: Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: Challenge #6: None
Rating: 2.5 stars
Review: There's a mass murder in the Alaskan park area where Kate Shugak lives. She, with the help of Mutt, captures the suspect. When ballistics gets back the report, it is discovered that one of the shots that killed was fired from a different rifle. Kate helps investigate. She knows who the person who did it was almost from the beginning and most readers will also suspect that person from the beginning. The author, however, does a good job in describing the area. Not exactly the best in the series. It is a short and quick read. I enjoyed the earlier installment entitled A Cold Day so I'll probably give the next one a chance based on the strength of the first.
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Starry Night by Debbie Macomber
Category: Newhart
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: When her editor tells her she can cover any story she wishes if she can get an interview with a sensational Alaskan reclusive author, Carrie heads off to Alaska to try to find him. She finds a friend of the author, Finn Dalton, who flies her to his cabin. What happens under the stars is magical. Finn urges her not to publish her story. Will she give up her dream job or her man? This is a nice Christmas story that includes some reconciliation. It may not be my favorite Christmas story by Macomber, but I did love the Alaskan setting.
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The Monastery Garden Cookbook: Farm-Fresh Recipes for the Home Cook by Victor-Antoine D'Avila-Latourrette
Category: The Galloping Gourmet
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: While browsing the new book shelf at our public library, I stumbled across this cookbook. The introduction told about monastery gardens and specified that the book showed the use of vegetables (and fruits) and did not include meats. The way a statement was worded in the introduction, I thought the meat ban extended to meats, but since a couple of recipes included tuna, it must not have. The star vegetable ingredient is arranged alphabetically from artichokes to zucchini. Each vegetable (or vegetable grouping) has an introductory text which discusses the history and use of the vegetable. Some recipes have further explanations such as a description of the Saint for whom the dish was written. Some vegetables are grouped together. For example, cabbages, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower are all grouped under cabbages because they are members of the same family, but I doubt that most persons would not think to look under cabbages for them. Fortunately, they all follow beets alphabetically so the placement would be the same. Most of the recipes are characterized by a simplicity that one would expect from a monastery, but they definitely would give taste to the dishes. The use of various cheeses such as parmesan or stilton enhances the flavor of many dishes. I found very few recipes that I would actually want to try that were not similar to dishes that are already in my cooking repertoire. I would have appreciated photographs of prepared dishes although I did enjoy the line drawings which often had almost nothing to do with the recipe at hand. This book will probably be most appreciated by those who primarily eat vegetables and fruits.
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How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels by N. T. Wright
Category: The Flying Nun
CAT Challenge: AlphaCAT - K
Rating: 3 stars
Review: N. T. Wright takes a look at Jesus' purpose on earth by taking into account the Old Testament as well as what Christ revealed of His own purpose in the Gospels. It reveals truths about the Kingdom of God. He emphasizes the need to look at all of the Gospels. Somehow much of what the author was trying to stress was lost to me as I cringed every time there was a sentence fragment, a sentence beginning with a conjunction, or other poor grammatical constructions. The book needed much additional editing, not only because of the grammatical errors, but also because the author repeated points or rambled unnecessarily in places.
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This Book Is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
Comments: As a librarian, I expected to like this one. It's been on my to be read list for awhile, and I finally picked it up at the public library. Unfortunately, I really never could get into the book. I think it was partly due to a writing style that did not work for me and partly because the sketches themselves did not really appeal to me. I took advantage of librarian Nancy Pearl's advice and abandoned it after about 50 pages.
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Great Expectations: The Sons and Daughters of Charles Dickens by Robert Gottlieb
Category: The Waltons
CAT Challenge: RandomCAT - Author or character shares name with a Pilgrim
Rating: 3 stars
Review: The author takes a look at the children of author Charles Dickens. It depicts Dickens as a father who enjoyed was a good father during their early years when they were playing but as one who was eager to get them out of the house and self-sufficient too. It also shows that he was a bad husband, with a marriage resulting in separation. The author divides the look at each child into two sections -- their life before Dickens' death in 1870 and their life after (if they survived to that point). Unfortunately this made for some awkwardness in the flow of the novel. It would have been better to have treated each child as a separate chapter individually, both before and after Dickens' demise. Several of his children died young. Others lived to middle age. Only one or two made it to an expected age of death. Some of his children took positions in India; some in Australia; one in Canada. One was an artist. Another was an attorney who became a judge. While the book is interesting in places, it bogs down in others. I would have preferred better citation of materials used in the form of footnotes or endnotes instead of as a general word about the sources. I think the book's usefulness in academic circles is somewhat limited because of the lack of proper citation.
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Sovereign by C. J. Sansom
Category: 3 Dec 2013
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Barak are sent by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to see to it that a prisoner in York who is destined for the Tower in London and eventually will face hanging will be treated well. It is at a time when King Henry VIII's Progress is visiting the area with the anticipation of a visit by the Scottish king. A man is killed who is in possession of a box of important papers needed by those who wish to dethrone Henry VIII. It is stolen from Shardlake's hands. Soon attempts are made on his life. There are plenty of officials. Which ones are corrupt and which are not? How do certain events fit together? Which are important in the puzzle and which are not? These are all questions the reader ponders. With that said, I had figured out the solutions to both the murderer and thief aspects of the novel fairly early on. I still enjoyed the historical context and Sansom's writing tremendously. I suspect about 50 pages could have been trimmed in all from this novel (which would have still made it long in comparison to many) by tightening the action and getting rid of some of the slow action that had little bearing on the outcome. It's still an excellent read in a great series.
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In the Dark Streets Shineth: A 1941 Christmas Eve Story by David McCullough
Category: M*A*S*H
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This short book documents the visit of Winston Churchill to the United States in Christmas 1941. It contains photographs from that era as well as the speeches that Roosevelt and Churchill made at the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on Christmas eve. It also contains the stories of two Christmas carols, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas." I enjoyed this glimpse into a Christmas past. I was struck by the words of Roosevelt's speech which expressed faith in God, something that many in the 21st century would certainly criticize if included in a speech of today. It's a very quick read, but definitely worthwhile. The book is accompanied by a DVD of McCullough's performance at the annual Christmas Concert of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City. They sing the two carols.
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The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden
Category: Captain Kangaroo
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 5 stars
Review: Delightful Christmas story of an orphan (Ivy) who is not adopted and a doll (Holly) left behind on the shelf at the toy store after all the Christmas has been done. They find each other, and Ivy finds her "grandmother". This is an oldie, but goodie.
A big thank you to Ivy (Ivyd) who read this last year and put it on my radar!
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Candy Floss by Rumer Godden
Category: Captain Kangaroo
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review This book by Rumer Godden has not held up quite as well over time as some of her other stories. This is the story of a doll who is the good luck charm for the boy who runs the ball throwing event at various fairs. I find it interesting that the doll's owner was a boy yet he made clothes for her so she could twirl around, attracting customers to his venue.
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Impunity Jane by Rumer Godden
Category: Captain Kangaroo
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Rumer Godden has an ability to make dolls have feelings in her story. This is the story of a doll who wished very much to be a pocket doll rather than one which sat in a doll house. Unfortunately she was purchased by someone for a dollhouse. She kept wishing for a home in a pocket, but every time she changed owners, she ended up back in the same dollhouse. One day she finally gets her wish. Will it last? I'll let you read it to see how the story turns out.
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The Fairy Doll by Rumer Godden
Category: Captain Kangaroo
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: A fairy doll tops a tree for a family where the youngest girl is struggling in her achievement. When great-grandmother declares that Elizabeth needs her own fairy, the doll becomes hers. With the power of the fairy doll, the girl is able to achieve. What happens when the fairy doll goes missing? You'll have to read to find out, because I'm not telling! There are some aspects to this story that are dated, such as lighting candles on the tree and having a cedar chest. It's probably not a story that modern children would enjoy, but I found it enjoyable.
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Betty> LOL. I think there may still be a few people who have them, but the majority of teen girls and girls in their twenties today probably have no idea about them. I will probably be bringing Mom's to my house unless one of my nieces or grandnieces really wants it. I absolutely love the smell of the cedar chest when you open it. Mom kept a lot of family heirlooms in hers (after it's original purpose which, of course, was her "hope chest."
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Living Into Focus: Choosing What Matters in an Age of Distraction by Arthur Boers - completed 6 Dec 2013
Category: The Flying Nun
CAT Challenge: AlphaCAT - L
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Arthur Boers is a college professor who in this volume challenges Christians to spend a little less time with technology. Although in some places he does mention that doing so provides more time for prayer and Bible study, he hasn't really developed that thought as fully as he could have. He does, however, develop the additional time to spend with family, mainly through discussions of Amish life. Here again, in a book published by a Christian publisher, I would have expected more Biblical references in making his point. I agree with much of what the author has to say about the way that technology has caused us to lose our focus on the things that matter and has made us spend far too much time in our jobs and in communicating in non-face-to-face situations; however, nothing he has really said in the book is really unique. It is mainly a rehash of the research of others. Since the book is not preachy, I think the book is a good fit for any person who is interested in simplifying their life, but it is likely to appeal mostly to an Evangelical lay audience interested in reducing stress in their lives caused by technology.
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Village Diary by Miss Read
Category: I Love Lucy
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: This installment takes look at a year in Fairacre through the eyes of the head teacher from January to December at a time when many schools were being consolidated. It's also a glimpse of village life, and especially, of the poverty of some village residents. It's a delightful re-read from days gone by.
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A Christmas Journey by Anne Perry
Category: Match Game
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 2 stars
Review: After a cruel remark is made by Isobel which drives Gwendolyn to commit suicide, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould accompanies Isobel on a Medieval style redemptive journey to deliver the last letter written by the girl to the girl's mother and to accompany the mother back to London. The story was a bit boring as there was really no mystery involved in it. They journeyed several places to eventually reach the mother, but even the locations really did not make up for the lack of plot.
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The Shortest Day: Murder at the Revels by Jane Langton
Category: Murder, She Wrote
CAT Challenge: AlphaCAT - L
Rating: 2 stars
Review: In this installment of the Homer Kelly series, there is no doubt of the identity of the murder/serial killer from the beginning. What is strange is that he isn't caught before he commits so many murders. It begins with an actor from the play at the Revels being run over. Then slowly, others from the play are killed or harmed. In the meantime there is a homeless encampment at Harvard University which is drawing attention. This is definitely not Langton's finest work, and besides being on the set of the play from time to time, Homer really plays a very minor role in the mystery. It just resolves itself, although Homer does play a slight role in the resolution. Perhaps the author is trying to make this more of a psychological portrayal of a killer, but if so, she is not as successful as other authors such as Ruth Rendell. The thing that I probably enjoyed most were the quotes from poems and plays that preceded each chapter.
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Jesus by Anselm Grun
Category: Captain Kangaroo
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 2.5 stars
Review: The author of this volume tried to take on too large of a story to tell in a short picture book. He tries to cover Jesus' life from birth until the resurrection. There are just so many stories that he could not tell them all, and his choices of which stories to include and which to neglect seem a little off. There are some words that seem a little difficult for young children. We don't tell children a woman is "pregnant"; we tell them she is going to have a baby. While children who go to church may be familiar with some of the Christian "jargon," other children are not going to know some of the terms, and some of them were not explained well enough for children. I'm also not sure why the story stopped at the resurrection. Why wasn't the ascension and the promise that Jesus would return included? The illustrations are the bright place in the book. They are very appealing and well-done. If a parent or teacher practiced and came up with work-arounds for the problems with the vocabulary of the text, this book might be useful. I think most would prefer to use other books that deal with one story in the life of Jesus and treat that story well than to use this overview that has quite a few problems.
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The Little Amish Matchmaker: A Christmas Romance by Linda Byler
Category: The Flying Nun
CAT Challenge: AlphaCAT - L
Rating: 1.5 stars
Review: This story, written by an Amish woman, tells the story of the schoolteacher through the eyes of Isaac, the younger brother of Simon, who has a crush on her. Readers are given a rather choppy narrative, written at a very low reading level. This book was in the adult section of our library, but the narrative is written more at a third or fourth grade level with a smattering of Pennsylvania Dutch words which makes it a bit more advanced. If the book had not been so short, I would have abandoned it.
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Our Living Christmas Tree performances are this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (December 13-15) at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time each night. It will also be streaming live each evening at http://www.fbcmtn.com.
Besides what's going on in the tree, there is drama, dancing, etc. on the stage.
Of course, it could change, but I'm in the fourth row just to the left side of the center (stage right, I guess). I've got the first head of dark hair!
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Lori> They always do a nice job decorating. We have usually had the tinsel garland streamed on the tree, but this year they changed it and the bows up. The old bows needed to be replaced so they just replaced the garland with that draping material (whatever you call it). It's hard to see either with the lights all on, but they are there and also lining the balcony of the church.
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Deck the Halls with Murder by Valerie Wolzien
Category: Murder, She Wrote
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Josie Pigeon owns a construction company on an island. All of her employees are female. She's hired a couple of new employees for a project where they are fitting a home for a quadriplegic man. One of those employees dies on the worksite of poisoning, and another of her employees is arrested by the incompetent island police officer. Josie and her boyfriend/attorney Sam must investigate since she's certain that her friend and employee didn't commit the deed. This one started a bit slow for me, but it may be because I have not read the earlier installments in the series. Once the employee died and the investigation commenced, it was not such a chore to read. A pleasant holiday read!
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Eva> My feet are enjoying being propped up this morning with no shoes on my feet--just those nice fuzzy house socks! I'm glad I'm off for a few days. I do have to run to do the monthly service at the retirement village this afternoon. After I get back from that, I'm baking two cheesecakes for our youth music/drama team's party tomorrow which will follow their caroling event. Fortunately I only have to be on my feet for relatively short times during both of those!
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Manhattans and Murder by Donald Bain
Category: Murder, She Wrote
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: It's always fun to visit with an old friend, and Jessica Fletcher seems like one of those because of the Murder, She Wrote television series. This particular installment in the book series was an episode or a movie because I could completely visualize most of the plot as it was taking place, including the building. Jessica has gone to New York before Christmas to promote her latest book when she happens upon a Santa who looks a lot like a person from Cabot Cove who had entered the witness protection program. He asks her to meet him the next day, but when she does, she witnesses a shooting. Almost immediately officers and a narcotics detective are on the scene. Suddenly she's getting more publicity than she wants. Even though this one is set in New York, it features appearances by Dr. Seth Hazlitt and Sheriff Mort Metzger of Cabot Cove. It wasn't my favorite episode when it aired, and it's not my favorite book in the series either, but it is a comfort read and enjoyable when you want something a little lighter for the holidays.
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Ringing in Murder by Kate Kingsbury
Category: Murder, She Wrote
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Christmas at the Pennyfoot Hotel means one thing -- murder. As Cecily and Baxter are preparing for Madeline's New Year's Eve wedding, a member of Parliament and his wife are killed in an explosion in the hotel. Was it a gas leak or murder? The local constable rules it accidental before heading off on his vacation. Cecily, however, uncovers other evidence which seems to point in another direction and takes up the investigation. Meanwhile, Gertie and another maid Pansy keep spotting a walking and moving snowman. Gertie is convinced that the snowman is after her children. While this will never be my favorite series, I do think this one was a bit better than some of the others I have read. I am, however, at the end of my stash of these from a used booksale and probably will not go looking for others in the series.
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First, the bad: When I went to the library this morning to get The Secret River by Kate Grenville, it was nowhere to be found although it was supposed to be on the shelf. I looked through all of the G's hoping to find it misshelved. I pulled out books and looked behind them. I looked in the new book section. I looked in the large print section. I couldn't find it. Then the clerk at the desk went and did most of the same searching I'd done. She had no better luck than I did.
Now, the good news: The library director was standing there. I had told her that I was really hoping we'd find it because it was at the top of my wish list and that I'd seen two five star reviews by different people in the last week on LibraryThing. She is ordering another copy (and maybe even two) which will hopefully be here when I return after the first of the year.
I did check out five others:
Roseanna by Maj Sjowall
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat
The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley
The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh
English Experiences by by Susan Briggs
The last one was an impulse checkout from the new book shelf. It's a fairly short travel book and looked like it might have some interesting narrative in it about the British culture.
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Judy> I really had my heart set on reading it, but I guess a couple of weeks won't be too bad. Since it will be a copy 2, it shouldn't take as long to process once it arrives.
mamzel> I'm usually the one at our library that can find misshelved books. I learned years ago the mistakes dyslexic shelvers make. I used just about every one I could think of -- and so did the staff there. I guess I could go volunteer at the library to shelf read. I might find lots of books for them then! Of course, there would probably be newly misshelved books the next day.
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Judy> I will indeed have plenty to keep me busy. I'm trying to finish my Christmas books before I start those. I'm trying to read 2 short stories a day so I will finish Holmes for the Holidays before Christmas. I have two other books -- one is in progress and is not that long. I should be able to read all of those before the holidays and perhaps even get started on one of the others! (I do have a Christmas book that I downloaded to my Kindle when it was free recently, but I'm probably going to save it for next year.)
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Mad as the Dickens by Toni L. P. Kelner
Category: The Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: AlphaCAT - L
Rating: 2.5 stars
Review: Laura and her husband Richard have traveled from their home in Boston to Byerly, North Carolina so can Richard can direct a production of "A Christmas Carol" for Vasti, one of Laura's relations. When Scrooge turns up dead, Laura and the local police chief, a woman named "Junior," know that it is murder, but since Junior is on vacation, she turns the investigation over to her deputy after securing the scene. Someone is playing practical jokes on the play as well, but after the murder investigation is underway, the mischief seems to intensify. I might have enjoyed the characters in a different story, but this one just had some issues with the plausibility of the plot. Add that with what for me was a pretty obvious resolution to the case, and it's a pretty mediocre read. I probably won't be picking up others in the series anytime soon although I am somewhat curious as to whether the author does a better job with her stories in non-Christmas installments of the series.
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Betty> Thanks!
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MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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Holmes for the Holidays edited by Martin Harry Greenberg
Category: The Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This is a collection of short stories written by contemporary authors featuring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed detective Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson. This is a much more enjoyable short story collection than many are, particularly than those in the mystery genre.
"The Watch Night Ball" by Anne Perry - A woman begs Holmes to prevent her sister from killing their father at Christmas. I guessed the ending of this one, but it was still a fun read.
"The Sleuth of Christmas Past" by Barbara Paul - A local chemist fears someone is robbing the charitable Christmas Fund. A young woman is suspicious of her fiance's recent actions. She calls upon Holmes for assistance. I enjoyed this story by what was a new-to-me author. I'll be looking for her other books.
"A Scandal in Winter" by Gillian Linscott - This story is told from the voice of a young girl who witnessed an accident the previous year at the Edelweiss. Those present the previous year have returned. Holmes & Watson are there too to investigate what occurred and to perhaps clear the deceased's wife of the popular belief that she was responsible for his death. This was the only story in the collection that was not narrated by Watson, and it really would have worked better from his voice.
"The Adventure in Border Country" by Gwen Moffat - A many from Cumberland hires Holmes to locate his neighbor's missing husband. An interesting puzzle with some psychological problems.
"The Adventure of the Three Ghosts" by Loren D. Estleman - Sherlock Holmes & Watson in a remade version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
'The Adventure of the Canine Ventriloquist" by Jon L. Breen - A writer is tormented by a picture and a dog.
"The Adventure of the Man Who Never Laughed" by John H. Watson, M.D. - A woman wants her brother found. This one deals with mental health issues.
"The Yuletide Affair" by John Stoessel - Watson solves a case of his own involving a stabbing.
"The Adventure of the Christmas Tree" by William L. DeAndrea - A Scottish Duke's forester tells Holmes and Watson about a marked tree's disappearance and reappearance. He seeks their helping in explaining it.
"The Adventure of the Christmas Ghost" by Bill Crider - Ebenezer Scrooge's nephew sees ghosts. Holmes resolves the reason behind the sightings for Ebenezer and for his nephew.
"The Thief of the Twelfth Night" by Carole Nelson Douglas - An emerald went missing some years ago. Holmes makes Watson guess what happened.
"The Italian Sherlock Holmes" by Reginald Hill - Holmes listens to an Italian man deduce the guilt of a man.
"The Christmas Client" by Edward D. Hoch - Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll) is being blackmailed and seeks Holmes' assistance. I enjoyed this one.
"The Adventure of the Angel's Trumpet" by Carolyn Wheat - Holmes helps an opponent defend a woman accused of murdering her grandfather.
I think that my favorite is probably "The Sleuth of Christmas Past."
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Murder for Christmas edited by Thomas Godfrey - abandoned about 20 Dec 2013
I decided to just resume this one next year. Most of the stories I'd read just weren't cutting it for me. Maybe they'll start improving at the point I pick it up next year. I've got notes on the ones I did read. It was a library book.
The Merchant of Menace by Jill Churchill - abandoned 26 Dec 2013
After 58 pages, I abandoned this book that wasn't working for me. I was almost 20% into the book. No murder had been committed. I failed to connect with any characters.
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English Experiences by Susan Briggs
Category: The Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: I saw this on our library's new book shelf and thought that the prospect of finding about places that are known to locals seemed like an interesting premise for a travel book. While the author provided some insights, ultimately this book just didn't really deliver fully on its premise. Part of that is due to the fact that it's too short to do the job properly; part of it is because the narrative just isn't that engaging. I'd rather find a guide that tells more about some of the places that I'm going to visit so that I can fully appreciate them when. It's not a bad guide, but if you are using it, I'd recommend finding a more thorough guide as a supplement.
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Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Category: St. Elsewhere
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Martin Beck leads an investigation of the murder of a woman found in a lake. She had been a passenger on a cruise. There appears to be evidence of a possible sexual assault as well. This book was written in the 1960s, and the police techniques definitely correspond to that era rather than the present-day era when the Internet and digital photography would have radically altered some of the things in the investigation. I really enjoyed this mystery and will probably look for others in this series. It is not as dark as much of the present-day Scandi-crime.
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Holmes for the Holidays sounds like it would be a fun read for a Sherlock Holmes fan (like myself)!
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The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat
Category: St. Elsewhere
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 4.5 stars
Review: Amabelle is a Haitian woman living in the Dominican Republic at the time of the conflict between the two countries in 1937. She was orphaned when her parents were swallowed by the river separating the two countries. She was taken in by a wealthy Dominican family, but it is no longer safe. She and her fiancee Sebastien are separated by the war. Yves helps see her back to safety in Haiti. Over the years, she clings to the hope of a reunion. I won't say more for fear of giving away the plot. This is a well-written novel that is touching. The author does a wonderful job building characters and in description. A very touching story.
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Without further ado, here are my top 5 for 2013:
#1 - How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
#2 - Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
#3 - Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
#4 - The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat
#5 - The Path Between the Seas by David G. McCullough
To round out the top 10:
#6 - An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear
#7 - The Angola Horror by Charity Ann Vogel
#8 - A Murder in Passing by Mark de Castrique
#9 - In a Dark House by Deborah Crombie
#10 - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
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A Lonely Dog on Christmas by Patrick Yearly
Category: The Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 1 star
Review: A dog takes a look at the holidays from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas. Bad prose and boring for the most part although there was an occasional line or two that made you smile.
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The ABC's of Christmas by Ray Pritchard
Category: The Flying Nun
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3 stars
Review: This is a nice set of daily devotionals for December 1 through December 26 for those interested in devotional insights related to the Christmas story. Unfortunately not all of the devotions correspond to the Advent Calendar used by most churches because of the alphabetical arrangement of the letters. The author often uses a lesser known word related to the story than a better known one. For example, sign is used instead of shepherds for the letter s. Still it accomplishes its purpose as an Advent devotional.
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A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schultz
Category: Captain Kangaroo
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 5 stars
Review: It's a classic! Charlie Brown hates the commercialization of Christmas. Linus tells Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas.
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The Mouse and the Christmas Cake by Unknown author
Category: Captain Kangaroo
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: What happens when you find a mouse in a Christmas cake? Read it and see. It's a cute children's book with illustrations reminiscent of a bygone era.
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Squidge: Little Elf, Big Trouble by Andrew Thomas
Category: Captain Kangaroo
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 2 stars
Review: An elf who breaks a machine decides to ride along on a Santa's journey to deliver toys by hiding in Santa's sack. It does teach responsibility. The illustrations are flat as is the story in most places.
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Describe yourself: Daughter of the Loom
Describe how you feel: Rotten to the Core
Describe where you currently live: The Family Mansion
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Most Beautiful Country Towns of England
Your favorite form of transportation: Hearse and Buggy
Your best friend is: The Postmistress
You and your friends are: Mad as the Dickens
What’s the weather like: Winter Chill
You fear: Lotions, Potions, and Deadly Elixirs
What is the best advice you have to give: Books Can Be Deceiving
Thought for the day: Dead Men Don't Crochet
How I would like to die: Buried in a Book
My soul’s present condition: Silent in the Sanctuary
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Happy New Year!
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Rabbitprincess> Winter Chill worked much better than my runner-up for that answer which was Starry Night. It would have had to work if I'd not had a weather-related answer to use. I forgot about it, but I guess I could have chosen Thunderhead too, but my pick fit the current weather better.
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A Christmas Gift for Rose by Tricia Goyer
Category: The Flying Nun
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Rose has grown up in the Amish community of Holmes County, Ohio. She was upset when her beloved Jonathan enlisted in World War II to serve as a medic. How could she forgive him for participating in a war, even if he never fired a shot? She discovers that she was born English and that the Yoders adopted her when her parents, struggling in the Great Depression, could not support all their children and moved to California to be near other family members. They left her with the Yoders, knowing she would have a better life. How can Jonathan accept her? This is a touching story which should appeal to fans of Amish fiction. Although this is marketed as a Christmas book, it can be enjoyed any time of year. I received an advance electronic galley of this from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.
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A Very Holly Christmas by Sheila Roberts
Category: The Tonight Show
CAT Challenge: None
Rating: 2 stars
Review: Ambrose the Cat is in the process of using his 8th of 9 lives when the story begins. It seems he's been driven up a tree by a dog. When a man comes by and rescues him by chasing the dog off, he decides to follow him since he's lost his last home and needs one. There is an odd transition in the middle of the story. This one is mercifully short since the story isn't likely to appeal even to cat lovers (like me).
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For the fear, I would have gone with Tallgrass - who knows what's hiding in it? Ticks! Lyme disease! Ack! ;-)