A few non-reviews...

Do you ever have days where you just don't feel like reviewing the last book you read? Even when it was good? Because some days I'm really tired and I don't feel like trying to figure out how to summarize a story, or find the right words to describe what I liked or didn't like about a book. Some days I just want to post a picture of the cover and say, "I read this one; it was good" and call it a day. So that's what I'm going to do with these three recent reads. (And I'll try and get my reviewing mojo back by my next post.)

Tahoe Deathfall is the first book in Borg's series about private investigator Owen McKenna. It's a fun mystery set in Tahoe that I really enjoyed. I will be reading more books in this series. 

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander is a cute story set in a quaint English village; it reminded me a lot of Rosamunde Pilcher's books, though not as good. I wanted there to be more when it came to Jess and Aidan's friendship/romance.

Yes & I Love You is another captivating and swoony (and very steamy!) romance by Roni Loren. I LOVED Hollyn and Jasper and their humorous and sweet 'improv dating'!

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

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

This week's meme is Books with Geographical Terms in the Title. For the books on my list, I went with some favorite reads. Here they are:

1. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

2. The White Forest by Adam McOmber

3. The Reef by Edith Wharton

4. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

5. Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas

6. On the Island by Tracy Garvis Graves

7. Small Country by Gael Faye

8. Cold Heart Creek by Lisa Regan

9. The Precipice by Paul Doiron

10. In the Woods by Tana French

Happy Reading!

 

Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

 "The dog hunts rabbits. Hercule Poirot hunts murderers. We have here a murderer--a murderer whose crime failed, yes, perhaps, but nevertheless a murderer. And I, my friend, am going into the burrow after him--or her as the case may be."

 

Emily Arundell's nieces and nephew want her money. After a suspicious fall down her stairs, she begins to suspect that one of them is willing to kill her for it. So, she writes a letter to Hercule Poirot requesting his help. Only he doesn't get the letter until 2 months later, and by that time, Emily is dead. Her doctor claims it was from natural causes, but Poirot and his friend, Capt. Hastings, head to Market Basing to investigate her death for themselves. 

I've been reading my way through Agatha Christie's mysteries these past few years, but this is the first one that I've read in 2022. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. But then I'm always entertained by how Hercule Poirot digs into a murder investigation. He's such a fun character! I do have to say, however, that my favorite character in this particular book was Bob, Emily Arundell's wirehaired terrier. The way he likes to play ball from the top of the stairs made me smile. Capt. Hastings is a good foil for Poirot as well. And the mystery itself kept me guessing as Poirot's suspicions moved from one character to another. Any one of them could have done it. I enjoyed seeing how Poirot figured out the truth at the end. If you like Agatha Christie, this mystery is an engaging one.

Happy Reading!

New favorite quote:

I saw this quote the other day on a sign in someone's front yard, and I loved it so much I looked it up online and found this version of it:

Says it all, doesn't it? 

September's Bookish Art...

 

Albert Anker 

"No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting."

--Mary Wortley Montagu

Some science fiction fun...

Title & Author:  Wreckers by George Ellis

First line:  "I might not be the smartest guy in the galaxy, but I do know my way around the place. I also know my way around every kind of space ship in it."

Main character:  Denver Boyd is 19 and the captain of his own souped-up spaceship (which used to belong to his uncle); his 'crew' consists of a one-eyed cat named Pirate and Gary, the ship's annoying AI navigator. He's a talented mechanic, awful with a gun but good with his fists, likes beer and junk food, and is clever, sarcastic and funny.  

My thoughts:  This character-driven novel is a very entertaining and humorous science fiction adventure. Ellis's writing and voice is so good. And all the pop culture references in it made me laugh. Denver Boyd is a great character; I liked him immediately. As a wrecker, he mostly repairs and tows other spaceships for money, until he tangles first with the Federation and then with the Tracers' piratical leader. Now he's on the hunt for his missing brother while half the galaxy is hunting for him. I loved the action and humor in this book, as well as the other quirky characters Denver meets along the way. At just 287 pages, this one reads fast. It's very fun, and I really hope the author writes a sequel to it soon. 

Happy Reading!

 

Randomness...

In bookish 'news:' I recently won a copy of Charlaine Harris's An Easy Death from Goodreads. It looks like a fun read:

It's hard to believe it's September! Especially because we're experiencing record-setting temperatures here in Utah this week. Five days above 101, with more to come. I'm so sick of the heat. I'd really like some cool fall temperatures right about now. 

My 2022 Reading Challenges update:  I'm doing really well on this year's Back to the Classics Challenge; I've already finished nine of the twelve categories and only have three more to go. But I'm totally tanking the Backlist Reader Challenge. Originally, my goal was to read 20 books from off my own shelves, but so far I've only read seven...and I've only blogged about three. I meant to focus on my own books in July, but then I checked out a bunch of library books I wanted to read more instead. So I'm thinking I probably won't reach my goal in this reading challenge this year. Which isn't surprising. I usually lose steam on reading challenges about halfway through the year. In the future I need to remember that one reading challenge per year is my limit.  

Really enjoyed this DVD (she's invisible, but he can see her):

Books recently checked out of the library:

City Folk & Country Folk by Sofia Khvoshchinskaya

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay 

The Wedding Plot by Paula Munier

Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry

Burning Bright by Melissa McShane

How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior

Tahoe Deathfall by Todd Borg

Belle: An Amish Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Sarah Price

Love this quote and this magnet! 

(Which I bought while on vacation in Montana back in June.)

Happy Reading!