Welcome to my library! You know those super annoying people who, when asked what they like to read, respond with "Oh, you know, I like to read everything," but what it really means is that they haven't read a book since Of Mice and Men in ninth grade English class, unless you count the People magazine they read in line at the grocery store yesterday?
Yeah, I'm NOT one of those people.
I've read books from pretty much every genre, time frame, and country. And if I haven't read it, I've probably at least heard of it. Seventeen years in the book business will do that to a gal. My current (like this month) tastes are running toward popular fiction of the psychological thriller/cop/lawyer/mystery type, but that could very well change tomorrow.
Anyway, if you have a book related question, or need a suggestion for something good to read, feel free to contact me at maryjo@154hiddencourt.com. I used to get paid to do this. Now I just do it for fun.
Yeah, I'm NOT one of those people.
I've read books from pretty much every genre, time frame, and country. And if I haven't read it, I've probably at least heard of it. Seventeen years in the book business will do that to a gal. My current (like this month) tastes are running toward popular fiction of the psychological thriller/cop/lawyer/mystery type, but that could very well change tomorrow.
Anyway, if you have a book related question, or need a suggestion for something good to read, feel free to contact me at maryjo@154hiddencourt.com. I used to get paid to do this. Now I just do it for fun.
;
Terrified by Kevin O'Brien - Megan ran away from an abusive husband years ago, and pregnant and alone, started a new life with a new name in a new city. Fast forward 15 years, and her husband is after her again. I typically like Kevin O'Brien's books, but I found myself skimming through most of the middle. Megan wasn't a terribly sympathetic character, and the plot took a few too many weird twists for my tastes.
Second Son by Lee Child - This novella gives us a glimpse into Jack Reacher's history, and tells us of the first crime he solved - at age 13. Farfetched? Sure. A good, quick read? Definitely.
Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots - Lorca is a teenaged girl with an indifferent mother, an absent father, and a terrible self image. She spends her days trying to please her un-pleasable chef mother by cooking dishes that will wow her. Her quest for a certain recipe takes leads her to a couple people who begin to teach her that family can sometimes be what and who you make it. Although the final chapter felt rushed and too tidy, the rest of the story was so, so lovely.
Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris - I'm almost too heartbroken to even put this on my list. See, here's the thing. I LOVE David Sedaris. LOVE. I'd put his Me Talk Pretty One Day on my top 10 books of all time list, if I had such a list. But this one, it just WASN'T. It wasn't charming. It wasn't funny. It wasn't David Sedaris. I didn't even finish it, and I can barely even talk about it. So, so sad, I am.
Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs - I'll admit, I love a good werewolf/shapeshifter/fairy/vampire story, and this seventh in the Mercy Thompson series is no exception. After her husband's werewolf pack is taken hostage, Mercy finds herself enlisting the help of fae, vampire, werewolf and other assorted supernatural creatures. The book is fast paced and interesting, and Mercy is one of my favorite supernatural heroines, just because she is so darn down to earth.
Don't Go by Lisa Scottoline - So this guy gets deployed to Afghanistan, his wife dies in a freak household accident, he finds out she was a) an alcoholic and b) pregnant with someone else's kid, his unit gets bombed, his daughter rejects him, his sister-in-law tries to get permanent custody of his daughter, his arm gets shot off... and that's just in the first third of the book. I really couldn't put it down, not because I particularly loved it, I just couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to this guy next.
Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris - Oh Sookie, how I will miss you! This final chapter in the Sookie Stackhouse series had all the usual bad guys, surprises and humor that you'd expect, and Sookie finally ends up with... You'll have to read it to find out ;-)
The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter - I love a good serial killer story. When this guy apparently resurfaces, it seems impossible, because the Crucifix Killer had supposedly been caught, convicted, and executed two years ago. Oops. This book is all the things I like in a good serial killer book with one main exception - the writing. It fell flat, it fell short, and even though I WANTED to know what happened, I couldn't really be bothered to finish it.
Zero Day by David Baldacci - This book has been hanging out on my nook FOREVER. I'm not sure why I decided now was the time to read it, but so far, that seems to have been a good decision. John Puller is an Army man from a long line of Army men, and as a member of the Criminal Investigative Devision, he is sent out to investigate the murder of a family on rural West Virginia. So far, the characters are interesting and the plot is moving along nicely. I can see this title appealing to fans of the Jack Reacher series, or even to Tom Clancy fans. Update: Finished it, really liked it, if not the outcome.
Six Years by Harlan Coben - Finally! Harlan Coben is back! I rate Tell No One and Gone For Good as two of my favorite mysteries ever, but in my humble opinion, Mr. Coben has been struggling to write anything nearly as good, well, since The Woods, anyway. But I thoroughly enjoyed Six Years. It's about a college professor who falls in love, only to be unceremoniously dumped by the woman he believed to be the love of his life. He stays out of her life for six years... then, well, I'm not going to give too much away, but you should read it to find out for yourself what happens.
Fireproof by Alex Kava - I really like the Maggie O'Dell character, and in this latest book by Alex Kava, she's even more damaged than usual, which is saying quite a bit. Fires are being started, bodies are being found, and Maggie is right in the middle of it. I'm not sure I love all these open-ended endings I've been finding lately, though. I understand the need to draw the reader back for a sequel, but some closure would be nice, too.
The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman - Twenty years ago there are five unlikely friends. They are children, then teenagers, and they are friends mainly due to proximity and circumstance. They roam the woods near their homes, and befriend a homeless man who lives in the woods there. One night, something happens that tears them apart. Twenty years later, the apparent suicide of one of the friends brings them back together, and they start to put the pieces in place about what really happened when they were kids. Overall, I liked it, but I didn't LOVE it, and I felt like the ending was just kind of an afterthought. I hate it when that happens.
I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman - Eliza is only 15 when she is abducted. Over the course of the next 40 days, she is held captive and possibly, just possibly assists in committing other crimes. Now she is a grown woman, married with children, and Walter, her captor is about to finally be executed, but he wants to meet with Eliza just one last time.
And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman - This stand-alone book of Laura Lippman's surprised me. The characters were interesting, the plot was interesting... I really liked it. Helen/Heloise is a former plain girl with a nothing face who has made it big as a high-class madam. She manages to keep her life a secret from her son, but that all threatens to come falling down when someone figures out who she is. Although it's not totally believable, it's still a really good read.
Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster - Jen Lancaster is funny. Funny. This lighthearted (sort of, I guess) take on hew weight loss journey is funny as well. But... why are we all obsessed with our weight to begin with? Why? Oh, I guess that's a topic for another day, isn't it? Anyway, the book was interesting and a really quick read. So there's that.
Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman - I've been a fan of Laura Lippman for years, but this decade plus stand alone mystery was a new-to-me read. Alice and Ronnie are just 11 years old when they are convicted of taking a baby from outside a neighborhood house. The baby died while in their "care." Alice and Ronnie both maintain a variety of different versions of the story of how it happened. The book picks up seven years later, when they turn 18 and are released from the separate juvenile facilities that have been housing them. When another little girl goes missing, they are considered prime suspects. I enjoyed the mystery of what happened in the past and how it related to what was happening in the present, and the plot twists were interesting... but I felt like the last couple chapters were added on in a re-write or something, because they changed the entire book, introduced new characters, and took the plot twists into a whole new realm of "what the hell just happened here?" Overall, it was a fairly good mystery, but nothing I would probably recommend.
Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder - These were favorites of mine when I was a kid. It was way past time for a re-read, and I'm enjoying them as much today as I did when I was seven. But seriously, can't those poor people get a break?!?!?
One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf - I almost didn't read this book when I realized it was about a gunman in an elementary school. That subject just isn't for read-for-fun fiction, I think. But I didn't have anything else lined up to read so I gave it a go, and it was... pretty good. And it wasn't really about school shootings, like I had first feared. The main characters were vaguely interesting, and the savior of the story was a spunky girl named Augie who would not, absolutely and under no circumstances, leave the school without her little brother.
A Wanted Man by Lee Child - Oh Jack Reacher, my love for you is inexplicable and intense. In this installment of Reacher's Fascinating Life, while hitchhiking he finds himself in a car with two thugs and an abducted cocktail waitress... or so he thinks. Of course, no one is who he or she seems to be, and Reacher figures it out long before anyone else, then does something about it. Although I've suspected it before, it's pretty apparent in this book that Reacher is some sort or high functioning autistic savant, what with all the random facts and counting and numbers and such that are constantly running through his brain. It just makes me love him even more.
Hounded: The Iron Druids Series by Kevin Hearne - I had heard this author compared many, many times to Jim Butcher, so it was worth a go. The main character, Atticus, is one of the last of the Druids, and he is living peacefully in small town America. Well, until some Celtic gods show up to try to kill him, anyway. This was a story I should have liked, but I couldn't finish the book. I think it may have had something to do with all the weird, unpronounceable Celtic and Gaelic names. I always struggle with those. I haven't totally given up, though. I may try this one again another time. I really WANT to like it, you know?
Cold Days by Jim Butcher - I anxiously awaited the latest Dresden book just like every other geeky fangirl in the world, and I inhaled it in a day or so. It had everything you would expect from a Dresden book - humor, fight scenes, fairies and assorted other bad guys, a ragtag group who fight the good fight. It was broad and sweeping and epic... and I really kind of miss the days when Harry Dresden was just a professional wizard trying to make a living, don't you. Sigh...
Reading and books and books and reading have always been important to me. It's just part of who I am.
Also, I think that books make the best gifts:
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