Agatha Christie Challenge

Agatha Christie Challenge

When: 2009
What: Read at least two books by or about Agatha Christie

My list:

Agatha Christie. The Murder at Hazelmoor -- finished 11/11/2009
Agatha Christie. Murder in Retrospect -- finished 12/24/2009
Agatha Christie. A Murder is Announced -- finished 12/29/2009

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie

First sentence:

"Between 7.30 and 8.30 every morning except Sundays, Johnnie Butt made the round of the village of Chipping Cleghorn on his bicycle, whistling vociferously between his teeth, and alighting at each house or cottage to shove through the letterbox such morning papers had been ordered by the occupants of the house in question from Mr Totman, stationer, of the High Street."

Description:

"A murder is announced, and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30 pm. . .

The ad in the local paper is a joke, of course. In bad taste, of course.

But none of Miss Blacklock's friends can resist calling on her at the appointed hour. Certainly not Miss Marple. . .

At 6:30 precisely, the lights go out. . ." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a good mystery with lots of twists. I liked how Miss Marple and the Detective Inspector Craddock gradually put together the truth surrounding the murder announcement.

Date read: 12/29/2009
Book #: 65
Challenge: Agatha Christie Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0006165281
ISBN-13: 9780006165286
Publisher: Fontana
Year: 1990 (original: 1950)
# of pages: 237
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Murder in Retrospect by Agatha Christie

First sentence:

"Hercule Poirot looked with interest and appreciation at the young woman who was being ushered into the room."

Description:

"Amyas Crale had been famous as a painter...and infamous as a lover. His fiery wife, Caroline, had been jealous as she was devoted. So naturally it was she who was tried and convicted for his murder. Now their daughter, Carla, presents the brilliant Hercules Poirot with the greatest challenge of his career - to clear her mother's name by finding the fatal flaw in what, after sixteen years, appears to be the perfect crime!" -- from the backcover

My thoughts:

Not only can Poirot solve a recent crime, but he can solve one sixteen years later! I liked how he knew how to behave with each person, making him or her feel comfortable enough to share what they saw and believed.

Date read: 12/24/2009
Book #: 64
Challenge: Agatha Christie Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0425093255
ISBN-13: 9780425093252
Publisher: Berkley
Year: 1985 (original: 1941)
# of pages: 216
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

First sentence:

"I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon."

Description:

"Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn’t been able to dredge up any kind of work—magical or mundane.

But just when it looks like he can’t afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.

A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses—and the first two don’t count…" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

Although it's been a while since I've read a Dresden Files book, I had no problems getting back in the magical world of Harry Dresden. I enjoyed all the twists and surprises, and I liked Harry learning about different types of shape shifting. I look forward to reading the next Dresden Files book, Grave Peril.

Date read: 12/24/2009
Book #: 63
Series: Dresden Files, #2
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Urban Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0451458125
ISBN-13: 9780451458124
Publisher: ROC
Year: 2001
# of pages: 342
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Support Your Local Library Challenge

Support Your Local Library Challenge

When: 2009
What: Read either 12, 25 or 50 books from the library.

I will read 12 books from the library this year. I'll post the authors and titles after I read them.

1. Charles Stross. The Merchants' War -- finished 1/13/2009
2. Michael Dirda. Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life -- finished 1/29/2009

3. Bob Edgar. Middle Church -- finished 3/30/2009
4. Margalit Fox. Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind -- finished 5/28/2009

5. China Miéville. Un Lun Dun -- finished 9/13/2009
6. David Maine. Fallen -- finished 10/13/2009
7. Travis Holland. The Archivist's Story -- finished 10/26/2009
8. Nancy Atherton. Aunt Dimity: Snowbound -- finished 11/18/2009
9. John Burdett. Bangkok Haunts -- finished 12/2/2009
10. John Twelve Hawks. The Traveler -- finished 12/22/2009

The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks

First sentence:

"Maya reached out and took her father's hand as they walked from the Underground to the light"

Description:

A world that exists in the shadows of our own.

A conflict we will never see.

One woman stands between those determined to control history and those who will risk their lives for freedom.

Maya is hiding in plain sight in London. The twenty-six-year-old has abandoned the dangerous obligations pressed upon her by her father, and chosen instead to live a normal life. But Maya comes from a long line of people who call themselves Harlequins—a fierce group of warriors willing to sacrifice their lives to protect a select few known as Travelers.

Gabriel and Michael Corrigan are brothers living in Los Angeles. Since childhood, the young men have been shaped by stories that their late father was a Traveler, one of a small band of prophets who have vastly influenced the course of history. Travelers are able to attain pure enlightenment, and have for centuries ushered change into the world. Gabriel and Michael, who may have inherited their father’s gifts, have always protected themselves by living “off the Grid”—that is, invisible to the real-life surveillance networks that monitor people in our modern society.

Summoned by her ailing father, Maya is told of the existence of the brothers. The Corrigans are in severe danger, stalked by powerful men known as the Tabula—ruthless mercenaries who have hunted Travelers for generations. This group is determined to inflict order on the world by controlling it, and they view Travelers as an intolerable threat. As Maya races to California to protect the brothers, she is reluctantly pulled back into the cold and solitary Harlequin existence. A colossal battle looms—one that will reveal not only the identities of Gabriel and Michael Corrigan but also a secret history of our time.

Moving from the back alleys of Prague to the heart of Los Angeles, from the high deserts of Arizona to a guarded research facility in New York, The Traveler explores a parallel world that exists alongside our own. John Twelve Hawks’s stunningly suspenseful debut is an international publishing sensation that marks the arrival of a major new talent.

My thoughts:

As the first book in a trilogy, this book sets up the characters and the overall situation very well. Twelve Hawks does a good job of bringing the reader into this world, and I liked how everybody, including the antagonists (Brethren/Tabula), believed that they were doing the right thing. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Dark River.

Date read: 12/21/2009
Book #: 62
Challenge: Support Your Local Library Challenge
Series: The Fourth Realm, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Urban Fantasy

ISBN-10: 038551428X
ISBN-13: 9780385514286
Publisher: Doubleday
Year: 2005
# of pages: 456
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page

999 Challenge

999 Challenge

When: 2009
What: Read 9 books each in 9 categories. Up to 9 books can overlap. If you're really ambitious, finish by September 9, 2009.

Here's my list:

I. Fiction:

1. Chuck Palahniuk. Invisible Monsters -- finished 2/17/2009
   
2. Jim Crace. The Gift of Stones -- finished 3/19/2009
3. Lalita Tademy. Cane River
4. Michael Koepf. Fisherman's Son
5. Melissa Bank. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing
6. Bea Gonzales. The Mapmaker's Opera
7. Roger Hubank. North
8. Ana Castillo. Peel My Love Like an Onion
9. Jincy Willett. Winner of the National Book Award

II. Fantasy:

1. Alexander Irvine. The Narrows -- finished 1/16/2009
2. Alice Hoffman. Practical Magic -- finished 3/1/2009
3. Robin McKinley. Spindle's End -- finished 4/11/2009
4. Kristen Britain. Green Rider -- finished 9/7/2009
5. Graham Joyce. Dreamside -- finished 11/6/2009
6. Will Shetterly. Elsewhere
7. Esther Friesner. Here Be Demons
8. John M. Ford. The Last Hot Time
9. Robert C. Fleet. Last Mountain
   

III. Science Fiction:

1. Sheri Tepper. Six Moon Dance -- finished 3/23/2009
2. Robert A. Metzger. Picoverse -- finished 8/9/2009
3. Robert Heinlein. Have Space Suit - Will Travel -- finished 8/20/2009
4. Charles Stross. Accelerando
5. Jack McDevitt. Engines of God
6. Iain Banks. Excession
   
7. Kate Mosse. Labyrinth
8. Michael Kurland. Psi Hunt
9. Edmund Cooper. Seahorse in the Sky
   

IV. Mystery:

1. Jefferson Bass. Carved in Bone -- finished 4/2/2009
2. Keith Ablow. Denial -- finished 9/4/2009
3. Carol O'Connell. Find Me -- finished 11/4/2009
4. Agatha Christie. Murder at Hazelmoor -- finished 11/11/2009
5. Javier Sierra. The Secret Supper
   
6. Robert Tine. Desperate Measures
7. Boris Akunin. The Winter Queen
8. Robert Goldsborough. Murder in E Minor
9. Trish Skillman. Someone to Watch Over

V. Thriller:

1. Charles Atkins. The Cadaver's Ball -- finished 2/10/2009
2. Mark Nykanen. Hush -- finished 2/20/2009
   
3. Chris Mooney. Deviant Ways -- finished 3/11/2009
4. Jennifer Lee Carrell. Interred With Their Bones -- finished 4/12/2009
   
5. Stan Pottinger. Final Procedure
6. Greg Iles. Footprints of God
7. Sophie Hannah. Hurting Distance
8. Ron Cutler. Ice Man
9. Mo Hayder. Pig Island

VI. Nonfiction

1. Diane Ackerman. A Natural History of the Senses -- finished 2/11/2009
2. Howard Norman. In Fond Remembrance of Me: A Memoir of Myth and Uncommon Friendship in the Arctic -- finished 2/14/2009
   
3. Ann Rule. The Stranger Beside Me -- finished 5/10/2009
4. Sir Francis Chichester. Gipsy Moth Circles the World -- finished 7/7/ 2009
5. Jack Olsen. The Climb Up to Hell -- finished 7/10/2009
6. Fred Rosen. Body Dump -- finished 9/19/2009
7. Jon Krakauer. Into the Wild -- finished 10/1/2009
8. Gary Kinder. Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea
9. Glyn Williams. Voyages of Delusion

VII. Anthologies:

1. James Alan Gardner. Gravity Wells -- finished 2/2/2009
2. The Transition of H.P. Lovecraft:The Road to Madness -- finished 12/19/2009
3. Stephen King. Everything's Eventual
4. Robert Heinlein. Green Hills of Earth
5. Holidays are Hell
6. Matilda at the Speed of Light
7. Museum of Horrors
8. No Rest for the Witches

VIII. First in a Series:

1. Jonathan Stroud. The Amulet of Samarkand -- finished 1/30/2009
   
2. Jefferson Bass. Carved in Bone -- finished 4/2/2009
   
3. Anne McCaffrey. Acorna: The Unicorn Girl -- finished 5/9/2009
   
4. Keith Ablow. Denial -- finished 9/4/2009
5. Glenn Cook. The Black Company
6. Matthew Cook. Blood Magic
7. J. Calvin Pierce. The Door to Ambermere
8. Robert Jordan. Eye of the World
9. C.J. Cherryh. Foreigner

IX. Not First in a Series:

1. Raymond Feist. The King's Buccaneer -- finished 1/20/2009
   
2. Eoin Colfer. Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident -- finished 6/5/2009
3. Carol O'Connell. Find Me -- finished 11/4/2009
4. Mark Anthony. Blood of Mystery
5. C.J. Cherryh. Brothers of Earth
6. Simon R. Green. Deathstalker War
7. Sara Paretsky. Hard Time
8. Fredrik Pohl. Heechee Rendezvous
9. Pamela Dean. The Hidden Land

999 Challenge - VII. Anthologies

To see my complete 999 Challenge list, go here.

1. James Alan Gardner. Gravity Wells -- finished 2/2/2009
2. The Transition of H.P. Lovecraft:The Road to Madness -- finished 12/19/2009
3. Stephen King. Everything's Eventual
4. Robert Heinlein. Green Hills of Earth
5. Holidays are Hell
6. Matilda at the Speed of Light
7. Museum of Horrors
8. No Rest for the Witches

The Transition of H.P. Lovecraft: The Road to Madness

First sentence:

"The horrible conclusion which had been gradually obtruding itself upon my confused and reluctant mind was now an awful certainty."

Description:

One of the most influential practitioners of American horror, H.P. Lovecraft inspired the work of Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker. As he perfected his mastery of the macabre, his works developed from seminal fragments into acknowledged masterpieces of terror. This volume traces his chilling career and includes:

IMPRISONED WITH THE PHARAOHS--Houdini seeks to reveal the demons that inhabit the Egyptian night.
AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS--An unsuspecting expedition uncovers a city of untold terror, buried beneath an Antarctic wasteland.

Plus, for the first time in any Del Rey edition:

HERBERT WEST: REANIMATOR--Mad experiments yield hideous results in this, the inspiration for the cult film Re-Animator.
COOL AIR--An icy apartment hides secrets no man dares unlock.
THE TERRIBLE OLD MAN--The intruders seek a fortune but find only death!
AND TWENTY-FOUR MORE BLOOD-CHILLING TALES -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this collection of short stories and novellas by H.P. Lovecraft. My favorites included "Herbert West--Renanimator," "Imprisoned with the Pharoahs," and "At the Mountains of Madness." The first one I liked because of the way the narrator told the story - first a little bit, and then it repeats with more and more detail. I liked the second story because it was told from the point of view of Harry Houdini. And finally, I liked the third story because it was a good mix of discovery, adventure, and horror. Plus, it takes place in one of my favorite literary settings, Antarctica.

Date read: 12/19/2009
Book #: 61
Challenge: 999 Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0345384229
ISBN-13: 9780345384225
Publisher: Del Rey
Year: 1996
# of pages: 379
LibraryThing page

Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett

First sentence:

"Few crimes makes us fear for the evolution of our species."

Description:

"Sonai Jitpleecheep -- the devout Buddhist Royal Thai Police detective who led us through the best sellers Bangkok 8 and Bangkok Tattoo -- returns in this blistering new novel.

Sonjai has seen virtually everything on his beat in Bangkok's District 8, but nothing like the video he's just been sent anonymously: "Few crimes make us fear for the evolution of our species. I am watching one right now."

He's watching a snuff film. And the person dying before his disbelieving eyes is Damrong -- a woman he once loved obsessively and, now it becomes clear, endlessly. And there is something more: something at the end of the film that leaves Sonjai both figuratively and literally haunted.

While his investigation will lead him through the office of the ever-scheming police captain, Vikorn ('Don't spoil a great case with too much perfectionism,' he advises Sonjai); in and out of the influence of a perhaps psychotic wandering monk; and eventually into the gilded rooms of the most exclusive men's club in Bangkok (whose members will do anything to protect their identities, and to explore their most secret fantasies), it also leads him to his own simple bedroom where he sleeps next to his pregnant wife while his dreams deliver him up to Damrong. . .

Ferociously smart and funny, furiously fast-paced, and laced through with an erotic ghost story that gives a new dark twist to the life of our hero, Bangkok Haunts does exactly that from the first page to last." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I liked this installment in the Bangkok series featuring detective Sonjai Jitpleecheep. I especially liked how Burdett, through Sonjai's narration, brings the reader into different worlds and cultures. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Godfather of Kathmandu.

Date read: 12/2/2009
Book #: 60
Challenge: Support Your Local Library Challenge
Series: Bangkok #3
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0307263185
ISBN-13: 9780307263186
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Year: 2007
# of pages: 290
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page

2041: Twelve Short Stories About the Future By Top Science Fiction Writers edited by Jane Yolen

First sentence:

"'I did it, Becky,' Portria shouted at me from the forty yard line. 'I talked her into it!'"

Description:

Where will you be in the year 2041?

The Drapery Defense League objects to Hamlet because Polonius is stabbed while he's hiding behind a curtain, rock 'n' roll gangs roam the streets, a scrumptious free confecton called swoodies has been devised to make people gain weight--then pay to lose it, and people attach an extra ear to their own to amplify noise....

Leading science fiction writer Jane Yolen presents twelve humorous to horrific, entertaining and intriguing stories about the future by top writers, including Bruce Coville, Joe Haldeman, Anne McCaffrey, Patricia A. McKillip and Connie Willis.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this collection of short stories about possible future. Connie Willis' Much Ado About [Censored] made me both think about censorship and chuckle at the absurdity of various groups banning lines from Hamlet until there was practically nothing left. On the opposite spectrum, stories such as Carol Farley's Lose Now, Pay Later and Bruce Coville's Old Glory made me think about not taking responsibility and rights for granted.

Date read: 11/28/2009
Book #: 59
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0440218985
ISBN-13: 9780440218982
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Year: 1994
# of Pages: 218
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Aunt Dimity: Snowbound

First sentence:

"The holidays nearly killed me."

Description:

"When Lori Shepherd decides to treat herself to a relaxing day hiking through the serene English countryside, she has no idea that the blizzard of the century is about to hit. The storm comes quickly and furiously, but fortunately Lori is able to find refuge in nearby Ladythorne Abby, the fabulous home of the late Lucasta DeClerke. Soon she's safe and dry, along with two other stranded backpackers. But has she escaped one danger only to fall right into the middle of another? In the abbey's cloisters and passages still lingers the haunting presence of Lucasta, a mysterious madwoman who spent the last years of her life locked up alone in the abbey. And Lori must also deal with the threat of an unstable caretaker, who lurks around every corner.

Even her fellow abbey guests turn out to be suspicious. Lori thinks she's learned of their plot to steal a priceless DeClerke family heirloom -- a dazzling peacock panure hidden away at the abbey. Soon she discovers the intended theft is only one piece in a complicated puzzle of ominous secrets and traitorous deeds surrounding the fate of the priceless jewel. As Aunt Dimity says, 'Old sins cast long shadows' and the treacherous events in Ladythorne Abbey's history have continued to plague generations. Can Lori stay out of harm's way long enough to sort out the truth? Only Aunt Dimity's indispensable wisdom can help Lori wade through the deceit and banish the hatred and guilt that shroud Ladythorne Abbey in a blanket considerably thicker than the accumulating snow." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this cozy, wintry mystery set in Ladythorne Abbey. I liked how Lori discovered the truth and, with help, made things right again. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin.

Date read: 11/18/2009
Book #: 58
Challenge: Support Your Local Library Challenge
Series: Aunt Dimity, #9
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0670032786
ISBN-13: 9780670032785
Publisher: Penguin Books
Year: 2004
# of Pages: 226
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

First sentence:

"Only three people were left under the red and white awning of the grease joint: Grady, me, and the fry cook."

Description:

"Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out — orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act — in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival." -- from the publisher

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book about circus life during the Great Depression. I especially like the way the author skillfully wove in historic facts such as an elephant not understanding English and the problem "jake leg" which was caused by tainted Jamaica ginger.

Date read: 11/18/2009
Book #: 57
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0739474979
ISBN-13: 9780739474976
Publisher: Algonquin
Year: 2006
# of Pages: 331
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

999 Challenge - IV. Mystery

To see my complete 999 Challenge list, go here.

1. Jefferson Bass. Carved in Bone -- finished 4/2/2009
   
2. Keith Ablow. Denial -- finished 9/4/2009
3. Carol O'Connell. Find Me -- finished 11/4/2009
4. Agatha Christie. Murder at Hazelmoor -- finished 11/11/2009
5. Robert Goldsborough. Murder in E Minor
6. Trish Skillman. Someone to Watch Over
7. Javier Sierra. The Secret Supper
   
8. Robert Tine. Desperate Measures
9. Boris Akunin. The Winter Queen

The Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie

First sentence:

"Major Burnaby drew on his gum boots, buttoned his overcoat collar round his neck, took from a shelf near the door a hurricane lantern, and cautiously opened the front door of his little bungalow and peered out."

Description:

"T-R-E-V D-E-A-D M-U-R-D-E-R

It was only a parlor game intended to while away the hours on a bitter winter night. But when the psychic table turning pronounced Captain Trevelyan 'dead,' the guests at Sittaford House became nervous. And when, a few hours later, Major Burnaby discovers the body, the game becomes an eerie and baffling murder case. Inspector Narracott for the police and Miss Emily Trefusis, hoping to clear her fiancé, delve deep into the spirit world -- to find a very human murderer." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this wintertime mystery. I especially liked how Emily figured out the truth behind Trevelyan's murder.

Date read: 11/11/2009
Book #: 56
Challenges: 999 Challenge, Agatha Christie Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0425104060
ISBN-13: 9780425104064
Publisher: Berkley
Year: 1984 (original: 1931)
# of Pages: 228
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

999 Challenge - II. Fantasy

For my complete 999 Challenge list, go here.

II. Fantasy

1. Alexander C. Irvine. The Narrows -- finished 1/16/2009
2. Alice Hoffman. Practical Magic -- finished 3/1/2009
   
3. Robin McKinley. Spindle's End -- finished 4/11/2009
4. Kristen Britain. Green Rider -- finished 9/7/2009
5. Graham Joyce. Dreamside -- finished 11/6/2009
6. Will Shetterly. Elsewhere
7. Esther Friesner. Here Be Demons
8. John M. Ford. The Last Hot Time
9. Robert C. Fleet. Last Mountain
   

Dewey Decimal Challenge

Dewey Decimal Challenge
When: January 1 - December 31, 2009
What: Read one book per month from each Dewey Century (000-999)




My list:

000 (Generalities):
Michael Dirda. Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life (028.9 22) -- finished 1/29/2009

100 (Philosophy and Psychology):
Diane Ackerman. A Natural History of the Senses (152.1) -- finished 2/11/2009

200 (Religion):
Bob Edgar. Middle Church (277.3083) -- finished 3/30/2009

300 (Social Sciences):
Ann Rule. The Stranger Beside Me (364.1) -- finished 5/10/2009

400 (Language):
Margalit Fox. Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind (419) -- finished 5/28/2009

500 (Natural Sciences and Math):
Bill Bryson. A Short History of Nearly Everything (500) -- finished 8/24/2009

600 (Technology):
Linda Greenlaw. The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island (639) -- finished 8/18/2009

700 (The Arts):
Michael J. Fox. Lucky Man (790) -- finished 1/21/2009

800 (Literature and Rhetoric):
???

900 (Geography and History):
John Berendt. City of Falling Angels (945.31)

Dreamside by Graham Joyce

First sentence:

"Lee was having trouble sleeping."

Description:

"It began as an experiment in college -- a seemingly harmless investigation in to 'lucid dreaming,' the ability to control one's dreams. Ella and Lee, Honora and Brad: four students linked by youthful longings, all four of them game for something new.

But the dreams turned more and more real -- and when the four of them learned how to meet one another on Dreamside, the experiment began to engulf their waking lives. Then, in a spasm of violence, they flew apart, fleeing from Dreamside and from each other.

Now, ten years later, the dreams have returned to upend their adult lives -- and, most frightening, to drag the four of them back into one another's company. Worse, they each need the others' help.

The dreams of youth fade, if you're lucky. If not, they can consume you -- and they will." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

This book was an interesting look at lucid dreams and what happens when dreams invade reality. I like the interactions between the characters as they struggle to understand what happened years ago.

Date read: 11/6/2009
Book #: 55
Challenges: 999 Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 031286633X
ISBN-13: 9780312866334
Publisher: TOR Books
Year: 1991
# of Pages: 254
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page

999 Challenge - IX. Not First in a Series

To see my complete 999 Challenge list, go here.

IX. Not First in a Series:

1. Raymond Feist. King's Buccaneer -- finished 1/20/2009
2. Eoin Colfer. Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident -- finished 6/5/2009
3. Carol O'Connell. Find Me -- finished 11/4/2009
4. Mark Anthony. Blood of Mystery
5. C.J. Cherryh. Brothers of Earth
6. Simon R. Green. Deathstalker War
7. Sara Paretsky. Hard Time
8. Fredrik Pohl. Heechee Rendezvous
9. Pamela Dean. The Hidden Land
   

Find Me by Carol O'Connell

First sentence:

"The haunt of Grand Central Station was a small girl with matted hair and dirty clothes."

Description:

"The arm of a dead body points down Chicago's Adams Street, also known as Route 66. Along this road of many names, a silent caravan of cars drives. They are parents of missing children, all brought together by word that children's grave sites are being discovered along the road. And they are being shepherded by Detective Kathy Mallory of the NYPD. But the child Mallory seeks is not like the others. It is herself -- the feral child adopted off the streets, her father a blank, her mother dead and full of mysteries.

During the next few extraordinary days, Mallory will find herself hunting down a killer like non she has ever known -- and will discover more about herself than ever before . . ." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

While O'Connell could have focused on either the hunt for a serial killer or Mallory's journeys following both Route 66 and her father's letters, she nicely balanced both stories. I liked Mallory's interactions with the people she meets along the way and I liked how Butler and Riker supported her in their own way.

Date read: 11/3/2009
Book #: 53
Series: Kathy Mallory, #9
Challenge: 999 Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0425217876
ISBN-13: 978-0425217870
Publisher: Berkley Books
Year: 2006
# of pages: 507
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

A Wolverine is Eating My Leg by Tim Cahill

First sentence:

"There is something a bit humid about the picture, something moist and mysterious, something vaguely erotic and tangled and malarial."

Description:

"Tim Cahill brings 'em back alive. Not only has he survived fantastic journeys through the Himalayan rapids, the Grand Terror of Montana, and Dian Fossey's forbidden zone, he writes about them, too. All with the same excitement and crazed humor his readers have relished for years in the pages of Outside and Rolling Stone. Fearless and hell-bent on destroying all obstacles in his path, Cahill takes us to places rarely seen and barely endured. All admonitions and warnings be damned: Tim Cahill dares us to follow him wherever danger and craziness lurk. And to laugh as he prevails." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This book was a fascinating compilation of Cahill's articles featuring adventures in places including deep caves, high mountains, jungles, and Death Valley. Besides learning about deep cave exploration and how Death Valley is like a convection oven, I also learned about the events leading up to the Jonestown massacre and the efforts to save the mountain gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda.

Date read: 10/29/2009
Book #: 53
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Travel/Adventure

ISBN-10: 067972026X
ISBN-13: 9780679720263
Publisher: Vintage Departures
Year: 1989
# of Pages: 302
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing page

The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland

First sentence:

"It is a small matter that brings them together."

Description:

"Moscow, 1939. In the recesses of the infamous Lubyanka prison, a young archivist is sent to authenticate an unsigned story confiscated from one of the many political prisoners there. The writer is Isaac Babel. The great author of Red Calvary is sepnding his last days forbidden to write, his final manuscripts consigned to the archivist, Pavel Dubrov, who will ultimately be charged with destroying them. The emotional jolt of meeting Babel face-to-face leads to a reckless decision: he will save the last stories of the authorhe reveres, whatever the cost.

From the margin of history, Travis Holland has woven a tale of the greatest power. Pavel's private act of courage in the face of a vast bureaucracy of evil invigorates a life that had lost its meaning, even as it guarantees his almost certain undoing. A story of suspense, courage, and unexpected avenues of grace, The Archivist's Story is ultimately an enduring tribute to the written word." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

Though low-key in action, this was a powerful story about personal courage and how one person can quietly make a difference even when it means putting his own life in danger.

Date read: 10/26/2009
Book #: 52
Challenge: Support Your Local Library Challenge
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 038533995X
ISBN-13: 9780385339957
Publisher: Dial Press
Year: 2007
# of pages: 239
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page

Chunkster Challenge 2009

Chunkster Challenge 2009

When: Whenever you want to start - November 15, 2009
What: Read books of 450+ pages. There are different options to choose from. See complete rules at the link above.

I will be doing the Chubby Chunkster which is two books:

Raymond E. Feist. The King's Buccaneer (523 pp.) -- finished 1/20/2009
Kate Mosse. Labyrinth (694 pp.) -- finished 10/13/2009

Celebrate the Author Challenge 2009

Once again, I'm celebrating authors in 2009 by participating in the Celebrate the Author Challenge.

Here's my list (alternative authors in parentheses):

January:

James Alan Gardner. Gravity Wells -- finished 2/2/2009

February:

Chuck Palahniuk. Invisible Monsters -- finished 2/17/2009

March:

Jim Crace. The Gift of Stones -- finished 3/19/2009

April:

Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball. Acorna: The Unicorn Girl -- finished 5/9/2009

May:

Eoin Colfer. Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident -- finished 6/5/2009

June:

Jack Olsen. The Climb Up to Hell -- finished 7/10/2009

July:

Robert A. Heinlein. Have Space Suit - Will Travel -- finished 8/20/2009

August:

H.P. Lovecraft

September:

C.J. Cherryh. Foreigner -- finished 10/7/2009

October:

Kate Mosse. Labyrinth -- finished 10/13/2009

November:

Robin McKinley
(Keith Ablow)

December:

Brian Lumley
(Philip K. Dick)

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

First sentence:

"A single line of blood trickles down the pale underside of her arm, a red seam on a white sleeve."

Description:

"July 1209: in Carcassonne a seventeen-year-old girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. Although Alais cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in keeping the secret of the labyrinth safe. . .

July 2005: Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons in a forgotten cave in the French Pyrenees. Puzzled by the labyrinth symbol carved into the rock, she realises she's disturbed something that was meant to remain hidden. Somehow a link to a horrific past - her past - has been disturbed." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a good fictional account of the 13th century Albigensian Crusade (also known as the Cathar Crusade) in which the French Catholics in the northern part of France attacked the Cathars, a Christian sect, in the Languedoc in the south. I liked how these events were portrayed in the lives of Alais, her sister Orianne, her husband Guilhelm, and her father, Bertrand.

The 21st century scenes were not as good as the 13th century ones. I wanted to know more about how various characters were counterparts to the 13th century ones and many characters had similar names which added to the confusion. Still, I liked how Alice discovers the truth about her ancestor, Alais.

Date read: 10/13/2009
Book #: 51
Challenges: Celebrate the Author Challenge 2009, Chunkster Challenge 2009
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0752877321
ISBN-13: 978075287327
Publisher: Orion Books
Year: 2005
# of pages: 694
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Fallen by David Maine

First sentence:

"The mark burns upon him all the time now."

Description:

"Once expelled from the Garden, Eve and Adam have to find their way past recriminations and bitterness to construct a new life together in a harsh land. But the challenges are many for the world's first family. Among their children are Abel and Cain, and soon the adults must discover how to be parents to one son who is everything they could hope for and another who is sullen, difficult, and rife with insecurities and jealousies. In the background, always, is the incomprehensibility of God's motives as He watches over their faltering attempts to build a life. In Fallen, David Maine has drawn a convincing, wryly observant, and enthralling portrait of a family -- one driven (and riven) by passions, jealousies, irrationality, and love. The result is an intimate, in-depth story of brothers, a husband, anda wife -- people whose struggles are both completely familiar and yet utterly original." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

This was a compelling story about Cain, Abel, Adam, Eve and the rest of the family. I liked how the story went backwards in time starting with Cain's imminent death and ending with Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden. I also liked how David Maine stretched out the story line so that Cain's offering being rejected isn't followed immediately by his murdering Abel.

Date read: 10/12/2009
Book #: 50
Challenge: Support Your Local Library Challenge
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0312328494
ISBN-13: 0780312828498
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Year: 2005
# of pages: 244
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page

Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh

First sentence:

"It was the deep dark, unexplored except for robotic visitors."

Description:

"It had been nearly five centuries since the starship Phoenix, lost in space and desperately searching for the nearest G5 star, had encountered the planet of the atevi. On this alien world, law was kept by the use of registed assassination, alliances were defined by individual loyalties not geographical borders, and war became inevitable once humans and one faction of atevi established a working relationship. It was a war that humans had no chance of winning on this planet so many light-years from home.

Now, nearly two hundred years after that conflict, humanity has traded its advanced technology for peace and an island refuge that no atevi will ever visit. Then the sole human the treaty allows into atevi society is marked for an assassin's bullet. The work of an isolated lunatic?. . .The interests of a particular faction?. . .Or the consequence of one human's fondness for a species which has fourteen words for betrayal and not a ingle word for love?

My thoughts:

This was a very good science fiction novel about different cultures interacting. I liked how Bren Cameron has to figure out what's going on without inadvertently offending his atevi hosts. I look forward to learning what happens next in the second book in the series, Invader.

Date read: 10/7/2009
Book #: 49
Challenges: Celebrate the Author Challenge 2009
Series: Foreigner, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0886776376
ISBN-13: 97806776374
Publisher: DAW Books
Year: 1994
# of Pages: 423
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Non-Fiction Five Challenge 2009!

Once again, it's time for the Non-Fiction Five Challenge!


When: May - September 2009
What: Read five non-fiction books

My list:

1. Sir Francis Chichester. Gipsy Moth Circles the World -- finished 7/7/2009
2. Jack Olsen. The Climb Up to Hell -- finished 7/10/2009
3. Bill Bryson. A Short History of Nearly Everything -- finished 8/24/2009
   
4. Fred Rosen. Body Dump -- finished 9/19/2009
5. Jon Krakauer. Into the Wild -- finished 10/1/2009

While I didn't finish this challenge in time, I did enjoy reading the above books. I traveled with Chichester on the Gipsy Moth, froze on Mt. Eiger in The Climb Up to Hell, and learned about the cosmos in A Short History of Nearly Everything. I look forward to the Non-Fiction Five Challenge of 2010, and hopefully, I will finish that one in time!

999 Challenge - VI. Nonfiction

To see my complete 999 Challenge list, go here.

1. Diane Ackerman. A Natural History of the Senses -- finished 2/11/2009
2. Howard Norman. In Fond Remembrance of Me: A Memoir of Myth and Uncommon Friendship in the Arctic -- finished 2/14/2009
   
3. Ann Rule. The Stranger Beside Me -- finished 5/10/2009
4. Sir Francis Chichester. Gipsy Moth Circles the World -- finished 7/7/ 2009
5. Jack Olsen. The Climb Up to Hell -- finished 7/10/2009
6. Fred Rosen. Body Dump -- finished 9/19/2009
7. Jon Krakauer. Into the Wild -- finished 10/1/2009
8. Gary Kinder. Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea
9. Glyn Williams. Voyages of Delusion

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

First sentence:

"Jim Gallien had driven four miles out of Fairbanks when he spotted the hitchhiker standing in the snow beside the road, thumb raised high, shivering in the gray Alaska dawn."

Description:

"'God, he was a smart kid...' So why did Christopher McCandless trade a bright future--a college education, material comfort, uncommon ability and charm--for death by starvation in an abandoned bus in the woods of Alaska? This is the question that Jon Krakauer's book tries to answer. While it doesn't—cannot—answer the question with certainty, Into the Wild does shed considerable light along the way. Not only about McCandless's "Alaskan odyssey," but also the forces that drive people to drop out of society and test themselves in other ways. Krakauer quotes Wallace Stegner's writing on a young man who similarly disappeared in the Utah desert in the 1930s: 'At 18, in a dream, he saw himself ... wandering through the romantic waste places of the world. No man with any of the juices of boyhood in him has forgotten those dreams.' Into the Wild shows that McCandless, while extreme, was hardly unique; the author makes the hermit into one of us, something McCandless himself could never pull off. By book's end, McCandless isn't merely a newspaper clipping, but a sympathetic, oddly magnetic personality. Whether he was "a courageous idealist, or a reckless idiot," you won't soon forget Christopher McCandless."

My thoughts:

This was an interesting book about not only Chris McCandless's tragic and unnecessary death, but about how someone's romantic view of nature can blind them to its harsh reality.

Date read: 10/1/2009
Challenge: 999 Challenge, Non-Fiction Five Challenge 2009
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Nonfiction

ISBN-10: 0385486804
ISBN-13: 9780385486804
Publisher: Anchor Books
Year: 1996
# of Pages: 203
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing page

Body Dump by Fred Rosen

First sentence:

"Eight women were missing."

Description:

"In October 1996, women began vanishing off the streets of Poughkeepsie, New York. All were young, pretty and petite. Most were hustlers and crackheads. By August 1998, as the toll reached eight, a victim's mother said bitterly, 'When they find one they will find them all.' She didn't know how horrifyingly right she was.

At the height of the manhunt, prostitute Christine Sala, hysterical, told police she had barely escaped being strangled by Kendall Francois, 27, a 6'4", 300-lb middle school hall monitor whose slovenly personal hygiene had earned him the nickname 'Stinky.' When caught, Francois said that he'd killed the women because they hadn't given him all the sex he claimed he'd paid for.

Investigators in white bio-hazard suits entered the house where Francois lived and found eight female corpses, almost all decomposed. Some were placed in plastic bags together in the attic. Others lay in shallow graves in the crawl space under the house. It was such a tangle of rotting flesh and bones, even the investigators couldn't tell how many bodies there were. Now, sentenced to life in prison without parole, the man whom others dismissed a smelly oaf had finally been unmasked as one of the most bizarre serial sex-killers of modern times." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was an interesting book about the efforts of the local Poughkeepsie city and town police to catch the serial killer, Kendall Francois.

Date read: 9/19/2009
Book #: 47
Challenges: 999 Challenge, Non-Fiction Five Challenge 2009
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Nonfiction

ISBN-10: 0786011335
ISBN-13: 9789786011339
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Year: 2002
# of Pages: 289
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Mailbox Monday - September 21

Every Monday on The Printed Page, people list the books that arrived the previous week. Here's what arrived at my doorstep:

Max Brooks. World War Z (via BookObsessed exchange group)
John Crowley. Little, Big (via BookObsessed swap)
Joanne Harris. Five Quarters of the Orange (via BookObsessed swap)

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville

First sentence:

"In an unremarkable room, in a nondescript building, a man sat working on very non-nondescript theories."

Description:

What is Un Lun Dun?

It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.

When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.

My thoughts:

This was a wonderful book filled with quirky and interesting characters. I liked how Mieville played with descriptions and turned London into UnLondon. I especially admired Deeba's courage and her insistence that sometimes prophecies may not come true exactly as written.

Date read: 9/13/2009
Book #: 46
Challenge: Support Your Local Library Challenge
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genres: YA/Urban Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0345495160
ISBN-13: 9780345495167
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year: 2007
# of pages: 429
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page

Green Rider by Kristen Britain

First sentence:

"The granite was cold and rough against the gray-cloaked man's palms."

Description:

"On her long journey home from school after a fight which will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G'ladheon ponders her future as she trudges through the immense forest called Green Cloak. But her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves as a galloping horse bursts from the woods, the rider slumped over his mount's neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan that he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king, and that he bears a "life and death" message for King Zachary. He begs Karigan to carry his message, warning her not to read it, and when she reluctantly agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission "for love of country." As he bestows upon her the golden winged-horse brooch which is the symbol of his office, he whispers on his dying breath, "Beware the shadow man..."

Karigan's promise changes her life forever. Pursued by unknown assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, and accompanied by the silent specter of the original messenger, she herself becomes a legendary Green Rider. Caught up in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book. I liked how Karigan gradually learned about her role in the fight for the kingdom of Sacordia between Zachary and his brother Amilton. I also liked the interactions between the characters Karigan and the friends she makes. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, First Rider's Call.

Date read: 9/7/2009
Book #: 45
Series: Green Rider, #1
Challenge: 999 Challenge
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0886778581
ISBN-13: 9780886778583
Publisher: DAW
Year: 2000
# of Pages: 471
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

999 Challenge - VIII. First in a Series

To see my complete 999 Challenge list, go here.

1. Jonathan Stroud. The Amulet of Samarkand -- finished 1/30/2009
   
2. Jefferson Bass. Carved in Bone -- finished 4/2/2009
3. Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball. Acorna: The Unicorn Girl -- finished 5/9/2009
4. Keith Ablow. Denial -- finished 9/4/2009
5. Glenn Cook. The Black Company
6. Matthew Cook. Blood Magic
7. J. Calvin Pierce. The Door to Ambermere
8. Robert Jordan. Eye of the World
9. C.J. Cherryh. Foreigner

Denial by Keith Ablow

First sentence:

"I shot up, sweat dripping down my face."

Description:

"He's in deep.

A series of grisly murders has forensic psychiatrist Frank Clevenger on the case of a lifetime and the fight of his life against a brutal killer with a horrific trademark and his own howling demons of sexual compulsion, self-destruction, and. . . denial." -- from the back cover


My thoughts:

At first I wasn't sure if I would like the book as the main character, Frank Clevenger, was not the most likable person. But as the story progresses and Frank has to both solve the crimes and face the reason he tends to self-destruct, I got more interested in how the story would end. I look forward to reading more about Frank and his friends and enemies in the next book, Projection.

Date read: 9/4/2009
Book #: 44
Challenge: 999 Challenge
Series: Frank Clevenger, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0312965966
ISBN-13: 9780312965969
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Year: 1997
# of Pages: 358
LibraryThing page

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

First sentence:

"Welcome."

Description:

"One of the world's most beloved writers takes his most challenging trip yet, through some of the toughest questions that scientists of all kinds have been trying to answer for years - sometimes for centuries.

On this intellectual odyssey, Bill Bryson puts his insatiable curiosity to use as he apprentices himself to the great scientific minds of today, and of history. In the course of this entertainingand revealing question, Bryson asks not only "what" and "how," but more importantly,"why." Are the oceans getting saltier over time, or less salty? How do earthquakes happen? What is a black hole? And how on earth did we ever figure these things out?

Here's science like you never learned it in school - lucid, relevant, entertaining, and often very, very funny." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I think this will be the book that I will go back to again and again. There were so many interesting facts to learn, and I enjoyed reading about how various scientists discovered new information that often surprised them. I liked reading about William Herschel's discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781 and how he wanted to name it after King George III (Georgium Sidus). I also liked learning about prehistoric guinea pigs the size of cows.

Date read: 8/24/2009
Book #: 43
Challenges: Dewey Decimal Challenge, Non-Fiction Five Challenge 2009
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Nonfiction

ISBN-10: 0385660049
ISBN-13: 9780385660044
Publisher: Anchor Canada
Year: 2003
# of Pages: 478
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing page