Reading In/Out
I'm a reading machine!!!! I've got three books to tell you about that I finished in the last week.
OUT
The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs - I read this to mark a spot off my bingo board to read a book published the year I was born. I don't generally love middle grade, but by imagining Jack Black as Uncle Jonathan I got through it. Lewis' parents died unexpectedly and he was sent to live with Uncle Jonathan who he has never met before. He turns out to be nice, if a little quirky. Trying to impress a friend, Lewis accidentally raises a supremely powerful warlock from the dead. Oops. Now we have to not only send the ghost woman back to the grave, we also have to stop the clock in the walls before it brings about the end of the world. No sweat. It was cute. I enjoyed it. Probably would have scared the pants off me if I read it in elementary school.
Abandoned in Death by J.D. Robb - This one was really different. Usually, the story is told from the perspective of Lieutenant Dallas with a few asides from the perspective of the killer. This time, we got Dallas' perspective, but also the perspective of one of the kidnap victims, AND the perspective of the killer's mother 60 years before. It was an interesting twist.
Beastly Things by Donna Leon - This was also a different addition to the series. There were 30 pages left, and I didn't feel like Brunetti was all that close to figuring out who the murderer was. It all came together in the end, of course. It was a solidly 4-star read until the last chapter. Holy moly. The victim was a veterinarian. All his patients came to the funeral. The description of this funeral was absolutely phenomenal. 5 stars.
IN
The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan - I'm officially halfway through this one, now. I still can only keep a few of the names straight. It's talked about how the mail was censored and how there were spies and "creeps" everywhere waiting for someone to talk about something they shouldn't. It's mostly about the daily lives of these women. One of them convinced a worker on the railroad to turn some scrap iron into biscuit pans and she makes biscuits and cornbread for the workers.
Forgotten in Death by J.D. Robb - In this one we have two dead bodies a block apart. One of them was freshly murdered last night; the other one was shot 40 years ago and walled up in a building. Dallas is trying to figure them both out.
Your Magical Life by Amanda Lovelace - I am reading this one for a committee at work. I have not started it, yet, but I will today. The author is a poet, so we'll see what this is like.
Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer - I'm going to re-read this one so I can carry on with the series. It's been at least 5 years. I really liked it, but I don't remember anything at all. I got this copy from the library, so I better get on it.
That's a lot of books, honestly. I'm okay with that.