Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  BOOKS I WAS ASSIGNED TO READ IN SCHOOL. Here are ten books I had to read in high school, and a brief thought about each one.

1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.   I liked Hawthorne's writing; and while I thought Pearl was strange, I admired Hester Prynne's quiet strength.

2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles.   So sad! But I've never forgotten Phineas or Gene. 

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.   My favorite of the bunch...mostly because of Scout and Boo Radley.

4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.   This was my introduction to Fitzgerald, whose books I still really like. 

5. The Diary of Anne Frank.   I appreciate this book more now as an adult than I ever did at thirteen. Back then I thought it was a little boring.

6. The Princess Bride by William Goldman.   I got to read this one in my ninth grade English class and totally loved it. Such a fun book! All classics should be this fun.

7.  Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury.   Another favorite. This book epitomizes summer. (I also really liked reading Something Wicked This Way Comes.)

8. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.   Ugh. I did not like anything about this one.

9.  Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.   Another really sad one...but good.

10. The Crucible by Arthur Miller.   Had to read this one then go see the play. Didn't love it, but didn't hate it either.

Happy Reading! 

Hearts of Darkness by Jana Monroe

 

When Jana Monroe was growing up all she wanted to do was right the wrongs of the world. This desire led her to become one of the few female police officers in Long Beach, California. A few years later, she applied for and got accepted into the FBI where she made a mark as one of only a few women in a male-dominated world. She worked cases in New Mexico and Florida before starting training with the FBI's world-renowned Behaviorial Science Unit. With the BSU, she consulted on more than 850 homicide cases, profiling serial killers and helping to catch murderers. She even coached Jodie Foster on her role as Clarice Starling in the movie The Silence of the Lambs.

Her biography, Hearts of Darkness, was my nonfiction read for this month, and it's such a compelling book! Monroe chronicles her time in the FBI with both honesty and humor. And her writing feels very conversational as she relates her most memorable cases and experiences. And she certainly saw the worst of humanity in her job. But she never stopped working to make a difference. Her resilience and intelligence shines through on every page. She's a remarkable woman. And this book is a mix of memoir and true crime that I found very interesting. 4/5 stars.

Happy Reading!

October's Bookish Art...

 

Rose Mead -- Molly Reading, 1920

"...we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we are longing for--adventure, excitement, emotion, connection--we turn to stories that help us find it. Whatever questions we're struggling with--sometimes questions so deep, we don't even really know we're asking them--we look for answers in stories."          --Katherine Center, The Rom-Commers

 

Death From a Top Hat by Clayton Rawson

 

When an occultist is found dead in a locked room, and the only suspects are an escape artist, a ventriloquist, a clairvoyant and her husband, and a professional medium, the police call in the Great Merlini, a master magician himself, to help them figure out who the murderer is. Because it takes a magician to catch one. And Merlini is very skilled in magic and misdirection. And they're going to need all his skills of deduction when a second magician is murdered just like the first.

"Of course, Inspector," Merlini said, "the really difficult crimes to solve, as you know, are the ones in which anyone might have popped in and done it. But when, as in this case, it seems that no one could possibly have murdered either man, it means that, once we find out how they were done, we will know who did them. The impossible situation, by its very uniqueness, ultimately limits the possibilities." 

Clayton Rawson, a talented magician himself, wrote this mystery in 1938. And it is so much fun! I loved Merlini and how he and Ross Harte, the writer/journalist narrating the story, banter with the police and discuss all the possible ways a murderer could escape a locked room, quoting from the best detective novels and crime fiction afficianados. Their discussion of classic magic tricks was also fun. And while I didn't figure out whodunnit, the clues were there. And the Great Merlini was more than happy to explain them all at the end. I've read several Golden Age mysteries this year, and this is one of my favorites.

Happy Reading!

The Gathering by C.J. Tudor

 "Black clouds bristled on the horizon. The white snow undulated like a vast frozen sea. A storm was coming, something foul on the air. .... They were back. It was about to begin again."

Plot summary:  When a teen's throat is ripped out in Deadhart, Alaska, Detective Barbara Atkins, a homicide detective and doctor of forensic vampyr anthropology, is called in to investigate his murder. But she's walking into a powder keg. And no one is happy to see her. Because Deadhart is a town full of secrets. The citizens want to cull the nearby vampyr Colony. The vampyrs are fueling for a fight and very ready to defend themselves. The current murder resembles one from 25 years ago. The town's fanatical preacher has her own agenda. The nights are getting colder...and longer. And if the boy's murderer wasn't a vampyr, Barbara just might have a psychopath on her hands.

My thoughts:  The Gathering is a compelling mix of police investigation and psychological thriller with a touch of supernatural horror. And it reads fast. I really like the way Tudor writes, and this book is no exception. It's atmospheric and suspenseful. And Tudor has created an interesting world where vampyrs are a segregated but protected species, although one very much feared and disliked by humans. I did feel like there were A LOT of characters (and even more secrets!) to keep track of, some going far back into Deadhart's past, which made it feel a little convoluted at times. But everything gets wrapped up in a satisfying way at the end, which I appreciated. Though once again I could have done without the epilogue. All in all, I'd give this one 4 stars. 

Happy Reading!

Other books by C.J. Tudor that I've enjoyed:

The Burning Girls

The Chalk Man

Randomness....

Recently finished reading:  Calamity by Constance Fay.

This space opera is an appealing combination of science fiction, adventure & romance.

It reminded me a lot of Jessie Mihalik's Hunt the Stars and Polaris Rising.  4.5 stars.

My library haul for October:

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

One by One and The Teacher by Frieda McFadden

Death From a Top Hat by Clayton Rawson

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

The Gathering by C.J. Tudor

Always Practice Safe Hex by Juliette Cross

Hearts of Darkness by Jana Monroe

The Devil Came Down the Mountain by Christopher Bond

And my list of glad things that brought me some joy and happiness last month:

• All the beautiful changing fall leaves; I love the autumn colors and the cooler weather! 
• My work schedule changed--which means I have fewer hours, but I now have Fridays off, something I'm really enjoying. Four day work weeks kind of rock.
• I found a new favorite song:  Surviving by Kaz Hawkins. If you like songs with a bluesy sound check her out!
• My favorite college football team, BYU, is 5-0 so far this season. Nice for them to be on a winning streak; here's hoping they can keep it up.
• And I'm loving ABCs new show High Potential. It's so nice to have something new to watch on TV that is both smart and funny. 

The Spirit Girls by Dawn Merriman

 

First line:  I should be afraid, but I'm not.

Plot summary:  Rylan Flynn can talk to ghosts. She and her friend, Mickey, film some of her encounters for their YouTube show Beyond the Dead Investigations. But mostly Rylan tries to help the ghosts crossover. But when the ghost of a young woman leads Rylan to her dead body in the woods near her aunt's house, Rylan finds herself caught up in a murder investigation. Something Detective Ford Pierce is not thrilled about. 

My thoughts:  This is a fast and fun paranormal mystery; it's a little short, and not too scary, and I really liked it. From the ghosts in her home to her penchant for filling her house and garage up with found 'treasures', Rylan is an interesting and likable character. And her longtime crush on Ford hints at the possibility of some romance in future books. It's a very promising start to this new ghostly series. And I look forward to reading more books about Rylan Flynn and the ghosts in her life. 

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Happy Reading!