Monday Musings

 

My week: It was an ok week here... because of stuff going on at Jarrod's work, I hardly saw him at all this week (and he worked all weekend til late in the evening); this week will be more of the same. Wednesday was my first time helping out with the 4th and 5th grade kids' book club the library offers (we read "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech) and that went well enough. On Sunday I met up with my co-workers at a hibachi grill restaurant for a going-away luncheon for a co-worker (who is also a friend and I'm so sad she's leaving, but such is military life). I was bummed that Jarrod couldn't come since it's a place we've been wanting to try -- not to mention I hate driving in downtown Honolulu!

Reading: I spent the first part of the week reading "Three Times Lucky" by Shelia Turnage, the book for next week's 4th and 5th grade book club meeting (there are two different groups who each read one book a month), and it was pretty cute. It reminded me a bit of a kids' version of Janet Evanovich, with a crime to solve, an intrepid -- if a bit goofy -- protagonist and her sidekick, and a wacky band of supporting characters.

I spent the second part of the week floundering around trying to find the right thing to read. I'm not usually a "mood reader" -- I typically just pick up the book that's due back at the library soonest. But this week nothing struck my fancy. I tried "First Grave on the Right" by Darynda Jones and the writing style totally turned me off. Then I tried "O Jerusalem," the fifth book in Laurie R. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series and the story started off so slow and kept -- literally -- putting me to sleep. (Though I will get back to both of those books soon.) I thought about picking up Bill Bryson's "One Summer: America, 1927" and even read the first few pages, but I wasn't feeling non-fiction either.

Finally I got to the very last library book I have checked out -- "Just One Damned Thing After Another" by Jodi Taylor (first in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series, which features time-traveling historians) and it stuck! The writing is not perfect but it's an easy read and the story is intriguing enough to hold my apparently fickle interest. Plus, it started off going in one direction (reminding me a lot of the Invisible Library books by Genevieve Cogman) and then took a surprising turn, which saved it from feeling like something I've read before. While I'm chugging along with it, it's still not what I really feel like reading -- and I'm not sure what on earth that is! I sure hope I'm not headed for the dreaded reading slump...

Watching: "Grantchester," "World of Dance," "Deadliest Catch." I also watched the first couple episodes of the new Masterpiece show "My Mother and Other Strangers," which is set in Ireland during WWII. Movie-wise, I watched "Fifty Shades Darker" the other night and thought it was surprisingly good.

Listening to: "Whatever It Takes" by Imagine Dragons.

Baking: Maple walnut blondies. It was actually my first time ever eating a blondie, and it was passable (I mean, it's hard for me to dislike something maple-flavored!) but I don't think I'll be giving up chocolate brownies anytime soon. Plus, (and I'm slightly ashamed to say this) I think I would've liked them better if they'd been made with maple flavoring instead of real maple syrup -- it made them so sickly sweet, like guzzling straight out of the syrup bottle!

Craving: A thunderstorm (not likely -- we very seldom get storms in Hawaii). Any rain at all would be appreciated. I've seen so many thundercloud and rain pictures posted by friends this week and I'm jealous!

Buying: Another bookish t-shirt. I couldn't resist when I spotted it in an e-mail from Groopdealz! It basically sums up my life philosophy. ;) Can't wait for it to arrive!

Blogging:
Monday Musings
Book Review: Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn (4.5 stars)
I Judge Books By Their Covers: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Looking forward to: Same as last week -- August!

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I Judge Books By Their Covers: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Hi, my name is Lindsay, and I judge books by their covers.

I haven't read the newish release "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" yet, but it sounds intriguing and I've got it on my to-read list. I had only seen the U.S. cover until the other day, and when I happened upon the U.K. version I knew it was time for a cover battle!

Here's a quick synopsis of the book in case you haven't heard of it:

"Smart, warm, uplifting, the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes the only way to survive is to open her heart."

U.K and Canada hardcover // Canada paperback

U.S. hardback

Ok, so I haven't read the book yet and I have no idea which cover relates best to the book -- quite possibly not the cover I like best -- but this is a hands-down easy-peasy winner for me: I like the cover with the leopard (cheetah?) and the flamingo, duh! (As best I can tell, this cover is the Canadian paperback, but I'm not 100% sure on that.) It fits my cover-preference bill exactly: pretty colors, artsy rather than realistic, with an eye-catching pop.

The other two covers are fine -- I slightly prefer the U.K. over the U.S.; I like the simplicity of the white, the creativity of the matchsticks, and that awesome font. I'm a bit surprised that one takes second place since I usually gravitate toward illustrated covers over realistic ones. The U.S. cover is just a little less appealing with its kinda-boring writing and dehydrated-pee yellow and poo-brown color scheme (though I do like the blue and the fact that it looks like a painting).

So to sum up, it's the blue cover adorned with pretty writing and animals all the way for me! Which cover do you like best?

Book Review: Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

"Silent in the Grave" by Deanna Raybourn
Lady Julia Grey #1
First published in 2007
509 pages
My rating: 4.5 out of 5

I love Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell series, and recently reading the second installment inspired me to finally pick up "Silent in the Grave," the first book in Raybourn's other historical mystery series. And I have to say, despite its length -- over 500 pages! -- I blew through the first Lady Julia Grey book in just over two days. I simply could not put this book down!

Set in 1886 London, the central puzzle is the suspicious death of Julia's young husband, who collapses in the middle of a party and perishes shortly after. Julia quietly enlists the help of private investigator Nicholas Brisbane -- mysterious, temperamental and darkly handsome.

A lot of time was spent bringing to life the setting and the characters -- a somewhat quirky cast -- and less on the actual sleuthing than I expected, but I found that I actually really enjoyed that. I never once found myself saying, "Gosh, just get me back to the mystery already!" In fact, I was utterly engrossed in the story: the detecting, the hint of romantic tension, the intelligent protagonist. I really liked Lady Julia, flaws and all.

The writing itself was good, and the story obviously kept me flying through the pages, but there were just a few things that held me back from awarding the book 5 stars. For one thing, Brisbane was a little too Holmesian for me -- nothing against Sherlock whatsover, but his character felt slightly derivative. And when the answer to the mystery was finally revealed, it just felt a bit gimmicky to me. That is not to say I didn't love this book -- I devoured it! And it's been a while since I've been this excited to pick up the next book in a series; lucky for me, there are four other books and a few novellas just waiting for me to get my hands on them!

Monday Musings

My week(s): It's been a rough couple of weeks around here. My grandma passed away just over a week ago, only a few days after she was diagnosed with stage IV bladder cancer. We were pretty close -- we e-mailed each other every single day (well, I may have missed a few but she never did) -- and it was very tough being so far away that week. She lived in Indiana, and I'm so very grateful for the three years we spent in Ohio when she was just a two-hour drive away. I'm also thankful that the entire rest of my family was there at the end, and that I was able to say goodbye via Facetime. Oh, but I do miss her!

In addition to all that, Alohi was spayed a little over a week ago (which is kind of a major procedure!) and our "bouncy" puppy (the vet's kind way of describing our insane little Energizer Bunny) was almost completely immune to the sedatives we were given. Keeping her quiet and still for 10 days proved a total impossibility. And while we were struggling with that, she managed to get a bee sting in her mouth and her face swelled up horribly.

Too, I had some frustrating, hectic days at work, Jarrod has been working absolutely insane 12 to 13+-hour days for the past few weeks, and he had to work at least part of every day over the holiday weekend. And the 4th was bittersweet this year, because it would've been my grandma's 80th birthday.

Things will not get better anytime soon because Jarrod's work is about to start another exercise, and he'll be working 12-hour days for 14 straight days (including the next two weekends). We are all looking forward to August in my house!

On the plus side, we did take Alohi to an old baseball field to run to her heart's content on Saturday, and we spent a few hours at the beach on Sunday.

Reading: It took me several attempts to read more than a handful of pages of "News of the World" at a time, but when I finally got into it, this charming little Western flew by (it's readable in a day if you don't dilly-dally with it like I did). I also finally finished "Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-Extinction," which was a fascinating, quick non-fiction book and I have no excuse for the insane amount of time it too me to read it. Next I read "Vision in Silver," the third book in The Others urban fantasy series. I was craving something light and fluffy, and it fit the bill! I just finished "Silent in the Grave," the first in Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey historical mystery series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's just over 500 pages, but I blew through it in just over two days! I'm looking forward to reading book 2 soon, though my track record with continuing series is not so good...

I also read "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech, and I'm currently reading "Three Times Lucky" by Sheila Turnage, for the 4th and 5th grade book club I'll be helping out with at work. I have to come up with discussion questions and brainstorm an appropriate craft for two books each month. I have to say, coming up with the crafts is harder than I thought it would be!

Watching: "Grantchester," "The White Queen," "World of Dance," "Deadliest Catch," "Turn." Movie-wise, we watched "Hell or High Water," which for some reason I thought was a Western but was actually a movie about two brothers who rob a string of banks in West Texas. Not bad, but not fabulous either. "Patriots Day," about the Boston Marathon bombing, was better than I expected, and we FINALLY got to watch "Beauty and the Beast"! It was cute, though a little more musical-y than I thought it would be.

Listening to: "Attention" by Charlie Puth.

Blogging:
Monday Musings
The Best Books I've Read So Far in 2017
10 Intriguing July 2017 Book Releases
My July 2017 Reading List
5 Mini Reviews: My Last Continent, The Queen of Blood, The Likeness, News of the World, and Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-Extinction
This or That Book Tag

Looking forward to: "Game of Thrones" starting back! And, as mentioned, August!

I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This or That Book Tag

A couple weeks ago Grace at Rebel Mommy Book Blog did this fun book tag and I couldn't resist participating! I do so love a good questionnaire. The tag was originally created by Ayunda at Tea and Paperbacks.

Reading on the couch or in bed?

If I'm home by myself then the couch. I love snuggling up under a blanket (even here in Hawaii) with a snack next to me. If hubs is home, then I'm happy when the time of night rolls around to go up and read in bed because it's nice and quiet (he's a TV-on-for-background-noise person).

Male or female main character?

I mostly read books with female main characters, but I really do enjoy male protagonists. What I don't like, though, is when a male author has a female main character or a female author has a male main character.

Sweet snacks or salty snacks while reading?

Can I just say yes to snacks in general!? ;) I guess it depends on what I'm drinking. If I'm drinking coffee or hot tea, I'll usually want a sweet snack. If I'm drinking water, iced tea, juice or anything like that, it's salty all the way.

Trilogies or quartets?

Trilogies, though that's not saying much since the only quartet I can think of off the top of my head is Twilight while a ton of trilogies come to mind. A better question might be series or standalones, to which I would have to say standalones. I love getting into a series and the opportunity for depth of world, plot and characters, but I have SUCH a hard time keeping up with them!

First person POV or third person POV?

It's not a huge deal to me, but I slightly prefer third person.

Books that make you laugh or books that make you cry?

Definitely books that make me laugh! I'm not much of a crier and I'm not a big fan of books that set out to "wreck me."

Reading at night or in the morning?

Afternoon and night for sure. A bookish friend of mine wakes up early so she can read before work every day but that is not something I could ever do. I'm much more likely to stay up too late reading.

Libraries or bookstores?

Well, seeing as I work in one, libraries! I'm utterly baffled by people who buy every single book they want to read. Libraries are free! If you don't like a book, you're not out a cent. I do have a few bookshelves filled with books -- mostly secondhand -- but clutter makes me stressed and I can't imagine owning 1,000+ books like some of my friends (both in real life and on social media) do.

Character-driven or plot-driven stories?

A couple years ago I would've said plot-driven for sure, but after my falling-out with the thriller genre I've reconsidered. My problem with those books is that they're usually 100% plot-driven and often lack any character development. But sometimes character-driven novels can feel slow and pointless, so I really like a nice combination. I guess I'd go with plot-driven with a healthy dose of characterization and atmosphere.

Black covers or white covers?

White (or cream) for sure, especially with a little pop of color.

5 Mini Reviews: My Last Continent, The Queen of Blood, The Likeness, News of the World & Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-Extinction

June was a topsy-turvy month and I didn't get a whole lot of reading done, much less get around to writing up reviews. I read a slew of 4-star books and I wanted to make sure they got mentioned here on the blog, so I decided to combine them into a mini-review post. The books below run the gamut of genres from fiction to mystery to fantasy to non-fiction, and they're all ones I'd recommend.

My Last Continent by Midge Raymond
First published in 2016
306 pages
My rating: 4 out of 5

Penguins, icebergs and complicated love story, oh my!

I've got a major soft spot for books that take place in cold, rugged places, so a novel set in Antarctica -- with a penguin researcher as the protagonist -- was a must-read for me.

This is definitely a character- and setting-driven novel, and I enjoyed getting to know naturalist Deb and learn more about research in Antarctica. (There are plenty of penguins in this book, by the way.) But there is some action in the form of a shipwreck, which we know is coming from the very first chapter, and the anticipation will keep readers turning pages.

"My Last Continent" is an intriguing story of a woman who escapes to the ends of the earth for several months of the year, and it'll satiate all your cold-book-setting cravings!

The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
Queens of Renthia #1
First published in 2016
350 pages
My rating: 4 out of 5

"The Queen of Blood" is a solid start to a new adult fantasy series that would appeal to fans of Naomi Novki's fantastic novel, "Uprooted."

As in "Uprooted," there's a strong tie to nature, the protagaonist (in this case, Daleina) is sent off to learn to use her powers, and there's an epic battle brewing that'll pit the spirits of the natural world against humankind.

For the most part I liked Daleina, and I really enjoyed Durst's worldbuilding. I'm excited to continue the adventure and learn more about the world of Renthia in book 2, which was just released.

The Likeness by Tana French
Dublin Murder Squad #2
First published in 2008
466 pages
My rating: 4 out of 5

If you enjoyed the first book in Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series, "In the Woods," you'll be happy to learn that Cassie, the secondary character from that book, is the star of "The Likeness."

Cassie draws on her skills as a former undercover officer after the dead body of her doppelganger -- who also happens to be using the alias Cassie had while undercover -- is discovered in the Irish countryside. Lexie lived in a grand old mansion with four other university graduate students and it's quite possible one of them might be her murderer. Up against a severe lack of leads, Cassie's old boss convinces her to go in undercover as Lexie in hopes of getting one of the (most peculiar) group of housemates to spill. Cassie resists at first, but once she's inside it doesn't take long for her to grow all too comfortable with her alter ego and her newfound BFFs.

It seems to be almost unanimous that "The Likeness" is the best book of the series, but I don't think I liked it quite as well as "Into the Woods," which really kept me on the edge of my seat. I felt the set-up of "The Likeness" took too long -- it was 100 pages before Cassie even went into the house as Lexie. Things picked up for a while, but then I actually ended up skimming the last bit. And French's writing can be rambly and choppy at times, which I noticed moreso in book 2. Still, it was overall a good read and I'll definitely continue the series. 

"News of the World" by Paulette Jiles
First published in 2016
209 pages
My rating: 4 out of 5

This charming little Western is going to be made into a movie starring Tom Hanks, and I think it'll be a fabulous film. The book is a slim 200 pages, but it'll be stunning visually and viewers -- and readers, of course! -- are sure to fall in love with kind, wise and slightly cantankerous 71-year-old Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd and his charge, bold, stubborn 10-year-old Johanna.

Just after the Civil War, Johanna's family was slaughtered by Kiowa Indians and she was taken captive. Four years later, she found herself ripped away from her Indian parents and thrust into the hands of Captain Kidd, who was persuaded to take on the task of returning her from North Texas to her aunt and uncle in San Antonio.

The journey turns into quite the adventure, the characters are impossible to dislike and the setting is richly described. Plus, you can read the book in just a day or two!

Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-Extinction by Helen Pilcher
First published in 2016
280 pages plus sources
My rating: 4 out of 5

"Bring Back the King" is one of those rare gems that's both a fun read and a non-fiction fount of information. You'll chuckle, and you'll learn an awful lot about DNA, cloning and extinct animals ranging from the t-rex to the fascinating gastric-brooding frog (which actually nurtures tadpoles inside it's own belly, then belches them out). And did you know a company in South Korea will actually clone your pet for you?!

This was a readable, fascinating, quick book that taught me quite a bit and it's a good choice for those craving interesting non-fiction.

My July 2017 Reading List

It's July! Below are 10 books I hope to read this month -- most of which I'm super excited about, especially after a lackluster June. Have you read any of the books on my list? What are you planning to read this July?

1. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers #1): By all accounts a charming sci-fi series, and one I've been dying to start this year! I don't buy books very often but my local library doesn't have this book, so I ordered the British version (with that gorgeous cover) from Book Depository.

2. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn (Lady Julia Grey #1): Another series I've been wanting to start for a while. This book has been on my Goodreads to-read list since 2014, and it moved up in the priority queue after I discovered Raybourn's fantastic new Veronica Speedwell historical mystery series.

3. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech: I'm going to start co-facilitating the library's 4th and 5th grade book club, and this is the first book I'll be doing. I've got to read it and then come up with an appropriate craft. I started it yesterday and it's cute so far.

4. One Summer by Bill Bryson: This non-fiction book focuses on the very busy summer of 1927, and I've been meaning to read it for ages. I figured it would be fitting if I finally got around to it in the summer 90 years later. I really like Bill Bryson, so I'm hoping this will continue the trend of his readable, fun non-fiction.

5. First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #1): Yet another series I've been meaning to dive into for years! The Top Ten Tuesday post I put together a couple weeks ago about series I want to start inspired me to actually start some of them!

6. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage: The other July book for the kids' book club at work. I don't know anything at all about it, but the cover's cute!

7. Dangerous Minds by Janet Evanovich (Knight & Moon #2): I've got this on hold at the library and it should come in for me during July. It'll be a quick, fluffy read to stick in between more serious stuff (like the Bill Bryson book).

8. This is What a Librarian Looks Like: A Celebration of Libraries, Communities, and Access to Information by Kyle Cassidy: I picked this up off the new books shelf at work and I'm enjoying flipping through it it! It's a mixture of portraits of librarians from all across the country with a short blurb, essays by authors, and couple-page stories about libraries through the ages.

9. O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #5): I'm sloooooowly making my way through this series and it's time for the next installment! I'd love to finally be caught up one day! (Fat chance -- there are currently 14 books!)

10. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor (The Chronicles of St. Mary's #1): Another book that was on my list of series I want to start. I'm excited to dive into this time travel story!