An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
I picked this up at the airport in Montreal on my way to Paris last week. I had no idea that Lapena had another book coming out, so I knew I had to pick this one up. Some would say these aren't the best-written thrillers out there, and maybe they are right, but I enjoy them.
The premise is fairly simple: several people go to a hotel for a weekend away. People start dying, and the guests at the hotel aren't sure if the killer is one of them or someone on the outside.
In many ways, this is like Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. The reader gets to be in the mind of each of the killers, and, honestly, you don't know who did it until the end. In that way, it's well done. Most of the time when I read thrillers or mysteries, and figure out the guilty party before I hit the halfway point. With this one, I had no clue who it could be.
This would've been a faster read for me under normal circumstances, but lately, I just haven't felt like reading.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Murders at Sea
Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
Took longer for me to get into than it should have, but I think that was me and not the book in this case. I just haven't felt like reading much lately. Once I had some time to just sit and read, like on my flight to Paris, I was engrossed.
Picking up right after the second book in the series, this one sees Audrey Rose and Thomas onboard a ship bound for America. Also on board is a traveling circus, of which Harry Houdini is a part. Everyone is enthralled with the circus at the start, but then a young lady is killed right next to Audrey Rose. Her death was spectacular, but not in a good way, and seemed to reflect a tarot card. Every night of the cruise, someone is killed, and it is up to Audrey Rose to figure out who the killer is.
To top things off, Liza, Audrey Rose's cousin, has gone missing. She later turns up on the ship, under the thrall of Houdini. And the circus master wants Audrey Rose to himself, which makes her question what, or rather who, she wants.
In order to solve the crime, Audrey Rose has to learn from the circus master, Mephistopheles, how to do tricks so that she can infiltrate the performers to find clues. It's not until the killer takes Thomas that she finally figures out who the murderer is.
As with the predecessors in this series, there are a lot of twists and turns. My only complaint is that Houdini plays such a small part in a book that bears his name.
Took longer for me to get into than it should have, but I think that was me and not the book in this case. I just haven't felt like reading much lately. Once I had some time to just sit and read, like on my flight to Paris, I was engrossed.
Picking up right after the second book in the series, this one sees Audrey Rose and Thomas onboard a ship bound for America. Also on board is a traveling circus, of which Harry Houdini is a part. Everyone is enthralled with the circus at the start, but then a young lady is killed right next to Audrey Rose. Her death was spectacular, but not in a good way, and seemed to reflect a tarot card. Every night of the cruise, someone is killed, and it is up to Audrey Rose to figure out who the killer is.
To top things off, Liza, Audrey Rose's cousin, has gone missing. She later turns up on the ship, under the thrall of Houdini. And the circus master wants Audrey Rose to himself, which makes her question what, or rather who, she wants.
In order to solve the crime, Audrey Rose has to learn from the circus master, Mephistopheles, how to do tricks so that she can infiltrate the performers to find clues. It's not until the killer takes Thomas that she finally figures out who the murderer is.
As with the predecessors in this series, there are a lot of twists and turns. My only complaint is that Houdini plays such a small part in a book that bears his name.
Saturday, October 27, 2018
More Poetry
yesterday, i was the moon by Noor Unnahar
Honestly, I bought this book of poetry because of the poet's first name. I have a brilliant former student who is also a gifted writer and poet, and these poems, to a certain degree, reminded me of her.
As it turns out, I am a big fan of this non-traditional poetry. The kind that ignores capitalization and punctuation rules, that has an easy to understand surface meaning, so even if you suck at deeper meanings of poems, you can get something from them. Every book of poetry that I have read in the past year, save one, fit this criteria.
Honestly, I bought this book of poetry because of the poet's first name. I have a brilliant former student who is also a gifted writer and poet, and these poems, to a certain degree, reminded me of her.
As it turns out, I am a big fan of this non-traditional poetry. The kind that ignores capitalization and punctuation rules, that has an easy to understand surface meaning, so even if you suck at deeper meanings of poems, you can get something from them. Every book of poetry that I have read in the past year, save one, fit this criteria.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
One of my Favorite Topics
Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer
This is a National Geographic book, so it is well done. It's not terribly long, only 135 pages, but it doesn't bore like some books about the witch trials. I am pretty well versed on the topic, if I do say so myself, and even I learned a thing or two from this book. This is well researched, and accessible to darn near everyone.
This has pictures, well, drawings, really, that reflect some of the images in other books about Salem I have read. This one also gives a mini bio about the major players of the witch trials, as well as the outcome for the major players who survived. The accounts of the trials themselves are accurate but not so weighted down with language that you don't want to read this. I feel fairly confident that I will be adding this to my witchy collection.
This is a National Geographic book, so it is well done. It's not terribly long, only 135 pages, but it doesn't bore like some books about the witch trials. I am pretty well versed on the topic, if I do say so myself, and even I learned a thing or two from this book. This is well researched, and accessible to darn near everyone.
This has pictures, well, drawings, really, that reflect some of the images in other books about Salem I have read. This one also gives a mini bio about the major players of the witch trials, as well as the outcome for the major players who survived. The accounts of the trials themselves are accurate but not so weighted down with language that you don't want to read this. I feel fairly confident that I will be adding this to my witchy collection.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Just Like the Movie
Mean Girls by Micol Ostow
When I say this is just like the movie, this is just like the movie. Verbatim.
That said, I loved it. It was fun to me to get to read a movie that I love so much. I enjoyed being able to see the thoughts of the characters behind what we see on the screen.
If nothing else, when I put this on the shelves in my classroom, I will be able to get someone to read who normally wouldn't.
When I say this is just like the movie, this is just like the movie. Verbatim.
That said, I loved it. It was fun to me to get to read a movie that I love so much. I enjoyed being able to see the thoughts of the characters behind what we see on the screen.
If nothing else, when I put this on the shelves in my classroom, I will be able to get someone to read who normally wouldn't.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Better Than the Second, But Not as Good as the First
Someday by David Levithan
I can't believe it took me three weeks to read a book that should've taken three days, tops. I just haven't really wanted to read. I think it has to do with all the stress of having to do more with less at work, including having more students than everyone on my team and more behavioral issues too. I am hoping this will change soon, so my desire to read will come back with it.
Anyway, this is the third installment of the series that started with Everyday a few years ago. This one is told by A, Rhiannon, Nathan, and X. Of course, A and Rhiannon were who narrated the first two books, but Nathan was one of the people that A inhabited, the one who thought he was possessed by the devil. X is someone new entirely, and he is someone like A, who inhabits different bodies. There are a few chapters narrated by others, but the book is primarily the four I mentioned.
This is a few months after the events in Everyday. A is in Colorado, doing his own thing. Rhiannon and Nathan are in Maryland, having become friends, and wishing they could contact A. Part of the reason they want to contact A is because they miss him, but the other part is because X has been contacting Nathan, trying to find A.
One thing I liked about this is that the reader gets to see that there are more people like A, even if they aren't as awesome as A. As much as I like this series though, I hope this is the last one. I'd rather see Levithan work on more books about Dash and Lily.
I can't believe it took me three weeks to read a book that should've taken three days, tops. I just haven't really wanted to read. I think it has to do with all the stress of having to do more with less at work, including having more students than everyone on my team and more behavioral issues too. I am hoping this will change soon, so my desire to read will come back with it.
Anyway, this is the third installment of the series that started with Everyday a few years ago. This one is told by A, Rhiannon, Nathan, and X. Of course, A and Rhiannon were who narrated the first two books, but Nathan was one of the people that A inhabited, the one who thought he was possessed by the devil. X is someone new entirely, and he is someone like A, who inhabits different bodies. There are a few chapters narrated by others, but the book is primarily the four I mentioned.
This is a few months after the events in Everyday. A is in Colorado, doing his own thing. Rhiannon and Nathan are in Maryland, having become friends, and wishing they could contact A. Part of the reason they want to contact A is because they miss him, but the other part is because X has been contacting Nathan, trying to find A.
One thing I liked about this is that the reader gets to see that there are more people like A, even if they aren't as awesome as A. As much as I like this series though, I hope this is the last one. I'd rather see Levithan work on more books about Dash and Lily.
Monday, October 1, 2018
Afghani Life After the Taliban
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
This is a work of nonfiction, written by a Norwegian author. They spent four months staying in Afghanistan with an Afghani family after the Taliban fell. What I got from this book is that even though they live in the 21st century, Afghan people are still living in the dark ages, essentially.
I guess being a woman in the western world, reading about what these women deal with--not being able to go in public, find jobs, find a husband, everything really--just pissed me off. It aggravated me that women were dependent on men for everything. The book starts out with a guy wanting a second wife because his first wife was too old.
Sultan, the head of the family in this book, is just an asshole. When the carpenter is caught stealing, Sultan does whatever necessary to make sure that the carpenter is punished. The thing is, the carpenter gave back what was stolen and endured beatings and humiliation, but Sultan made things worse than they had to be. He didn't even treat his children--his sons-- well.
All that said, this was a well-written book. If the subject matter hadn't been so bleak and disturbing, this would have been a more riveting read. This should not have taken the two weeks it took for me to read.
This is a work of nonfiction, written by a Norwegian author. They spent four months staying in Afghanistan with an Afghani family after the Taliban fell. What I got from this book is that even though they live in the 21st century, Afghan people are still living in the dark ages, essentially.
I guess being a woman in the western world, reading about what these women deal with--not being able to go in public, find jobs, find a husband, everything really--just pissed me off. It aggravated me that women were dependent on men for everything. The book starts out with a guy wanting a second wife because his first wife was too old.
Sultan, the head of the family in this book, is just an asshole. When the carpenter is caught stealing, Sultan does whatever necessary to make sure that the carpenter is punished. The thing is, the carpenter gave back what was stolen and endured beatings and humiliation, but Sultan made things worse than they had to be. He didn't even treat his children--his sons-- well.
All that said, this was a well-written book. If the subject matter hadn't been so bleak and disturbing, this would have been a more riveting read. This should not have taken the two weeks it took for me to read.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)