Vanishing Acts

by Jodi Picoult

I'm slowly discovering things about myself. 

I like novels with enough gray zones to drive a truck through, where no one is truly evil, or good, or smart, or aware. 

It's more like real life. 

This book is about a women who discovers that her life is built on a pyramid of lies, hidden truths that she only uncovers well into her adulthood. She peels away the layers of of the secrets slowly and finds that she actually knew some of them, if only she allowed herself to see. 

It is a book about lies we tell ourselves and others, about things we feel we must know for our lives to be complete, and things we discover we wish we never had. 

For all those reasons it is a good book. It started off a bit clunky, and I thought I might not like it. In a few places it seemed too obvious, too ordinary, but it picked up speed as it went along. Unfortunately the ending had a twist that took away from the overall genuineness of the plot and characters and really muddied the waters. 

Like many of my recent reads, it was worth the time but probably not a re-read. 

Ask Again Later (audio)

by Jill Davis

The heroine of this book is in a fog of self-delusion for most of the novel and that's my favorite thing about her. 

I can relate. 

She does and says things contrary to the reality of what's going on around her and you can see it and she can't. 

Boy, good thing that never happens to me. 

Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination but worth the time

The Broken Shore

For some reason I'm entirely sure of, mystery novels seem to be big in audio books. 

For that reason, not so much because I like them (at least not the serial ones) I listen to a lot on audio. 

The Broken Shore didn't seem very different. It was written by an Australian author Peter Temple and was obviously meant for audiences Down Under -- the accents, the slang, the cultural references were all hard to grasp at first. 

Then there was his writing style, shocking in its sparse use of adjectives or even transitional words or phrases. Its all nouns and verbs and constrained use of those as well. I found it jarring at first, then almost poetic. It suits the main character, a reserved cop undergoing emotional and physical pain, and the storyline. I can't help but wonder if it would have captivated me so much if I read a hard copy of the book. The audio version made the most of the writer's style- so terse every  word was a jewel. 

Think I may look him up again. 

Death of a Bore-audio

by M.C. Beaton

I avoid series and formula novels as a rule but mysteries, at least some of them, are the exception. 

This book is set in Scotland (always a plus for me), and about a village police chief who has a murder and has to solve it, blah, blah, blah. 

The characters were interesting, at least the main ones, and the plot decently good. Being set in modern Scotland was a plus for me, since most of what I've read for that part of the world has been more historical. 

Overall worth the time but not enough to recommend to friends or read again. 

Wolves Eat Dogs

by Martin Cruz Smith

published 2004

This is my 8th Smith book. I started with "Gypsy in Amber" and moved into the rest. As suspense-thriller type authors go he is one the best. 

"Wolves Eat Dogs" is his third or fourth Arkady book, featuring a Russian detective. "Polar Star" was my favorite so far but this one is right up there. This book is set in the new capitalistic Russia, suffering from fallout from the change in economy and Chernobyl. 

Characters of Smith's creation aren't my favorite thing about his writing. He sets a create 'sense of place' and plots and twists that are riveting but not so complex you get frustrated. The peek into modern Russia and Ukraine was fascinating (and hopefully accurate). 

lph

the year of the books

I'm pretty sure the book that started my addiction to the written word was the one about the Martians. Up until that time, third or fourth grade, I enjoyed books -- read to me or read by me -- about the same as an average kid. I had some favorites and liked it but only about the same as I liked playing with my Barbies or riding my bike. 

The Martian book changed all that. After the cover closed on that modest chapter book nothing was the same. Reading became my most treasured pastime, a reason to get up every morning and tuck into bed early. 

Oddly, I can't even recall the title or what exactly it was about. I remember it was a 'hot' book that year, and all of the kids in class were clamoring to borrow it next from the school library. This was also the year that I read the "Little House" series. It was the year we were studying the Oregon trail in school and I ordered a book called "Plain Girl" from the Scholastic catalog, thinking I'd get another great book about pioneers. 

Imagine my surprise when it arrived and turned out to be a book about an Amish girl in Pennsylvania. I had never heard of the Amish or even much about New England. I was hooked. I now had a window into worlds I never knew existed -- a magic key that unlocked many doors.