Friday, February 28, 2020

Camp Red Moon

Audible Original
Fiction by RL Stine

https://www.audible.com

Now I liked RL Stine's Goosebumps books when my older daughter read them years ago, so I got this Audible Original to listen to with my kids on a road trip.

Unfortunately, no one liked it.


I also listened recently to in Audible Originals: Midnight Son

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Daisy Jones and the Six

Fiction by Taylor Jenkins Reid

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/

This book took me a little time to get into; it's pretending to be about real people being interviewed about past events, so I kind of had to get over that. Once I got interested in the characters I couldn't put it down.

The idea is that "Daisy Jones and the Six" are a late-seventies rock band who broke up despite their popularity, and the author is doing a documentary-type-thing to uncover the reasons why.

That the answer is infighting and drug addiction will surprise no one who has ever seen an episode of "Behind the Music." Still, to paraphrase Tolstoy, all unhappy rock bands are unique, and the story got very interesting near the end. It's more honest than any REAL rock-band-expose could ever be.



Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Midnight Son

Audible Original
Nonfiction by James Dommek Jr

https://www.audible.com

This is kind of a documentary piece in which the author investigates a true crime story in Alaska. It was really very interesting. This is one of the (free with my subscription) Audible Originals that I liked a lot.

I also listened to recently from Audible Originals: My Lost Family

Monday, February 24, 2020

Unseen

Fiction by Karin Slaughter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com


As the title does not suggest, this was a police story. I'm not sure about the reason for the mysterious quality of the title unless the author is referring to undercover work, which does feature prominently.

The story opens with Lena and Jared, a pair of married police officers who are ambushed in their home. As Lena fights off the assailants, she recognizes one of the men who is present but not participating in the attack. He gets away, but oddly, but she doesn't tell anyone she saw him there.

Who the man is and why Lena covers for him is only part of the story. This was an exciting thriller.

Unfortunately, it is apparently part of a series that I didn't know about. ARGH! It's number 7!!! Labels, people! Why can't you LABEL these things?


I also read recently by this author: Cop Town

Sunday, February 23, 2020

My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward

Nonfiction by Mark Lukach

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was an interesting memoir about a young married couple. Mark, the husband who is writing, is shocked when his wife Julia experiences a psychotic break for no apparent reason at age 27. She has no history of mental illness in her family, and the whole things seems to come out of nowhere. It was, of course, quite terrifying for Mark, and for Julia's parents, who rush to the couple's side immediately.

The story is about how Mark copes with this, and I think he really tries to give an honest account. The natural tendency of anyone in this kind of situation would be to portray themselves as the suffering saint in the relationship, and although he does do that somewhat, he mostly tries to give a balanced account. He gives some credence to Julia's own feelings and point of view, and he acknowledges mistakes.

The whole thing was very interesting, and scary, in that "it-could-happen-to-anyone-even-YOU" kind of way. I will say that it certainly reminds us of the importance of sleep; it's pretty clear to me that un-remedied sleeplessness was what initially sent poor Julia over the edge, whether or not that was the primary cause of the incident.


Friday, February 21, 2020

Unwritten

Fiction by Charles Martin.


https://m.barnesandnoble.com/

At the beginning of this story a rich and famous actress confesses to her priest that she can’t go in much longer in the life she’s been living. Desperate to save her, he enlists the help of a reclusive man who is hiding secrets of his own. Can they save this beautiful heroine?

This was a nice romance with some interesting characters.


I also read by this author: The Mountain Between Us

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Hindsight

Subtitled: Coming of Age on the Streets of Hollywood
Nonfiction by Sheryl Recinos


https://barnesandnoble.com

This is a memoir written by a California doctor who used to be a homeless teen. It was a good story and held my attention.


Saturday, February 15, 2020

Cop Town

Fiction by Karin Slaughter.


https://m.barnesandnoble.com/

This was an exciting thriller about Atlanta female police officers in the seventies. There were great characters and an interesting mystery.


I also read recently by this author: The Good Daughter 

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Mrs. Everything

Fiction by Jennifer Weiner

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story of a pair of sisters, called Jo and Bethie, growing up in the fifties and sixties was like an exploration of feminist history. (I found their names suggestive, but Little Women isn’t mentioned, and there is no Amy or Meg.) Jo is attracted to other women and thinks she is unnatural, and Bethie seems quite conventional, but both girls seem destined to disappoint their traditional Jewish mother.

I’ve read many books by this author and loved them. This one I’d say I liked but did not love. The characters were great but I there was something depressing about this book. Maybe it was the feeling that after all the progress feminism has made over the past several decades, women’s lives are not that different after all. Jo and Bethie spend a lot of energy trying to NOT be their mother, but I don't think they really succeed.


I also read recently by this author: Who Do You Love

Monday, February 10, 2020

Evil Under the Sun

Fiction by Agatha Christie

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Hercule Poirot goes to a seaside resort for a vacation, and someone is murdered. Unsurprisingly...

This guy can't seem to take anormal vacation, can he?


I also read recently by this author: N or M?

Friday, February 7, 2020

The Mother in Law

Fiction by Sally Hepworth

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Lucy doesn't get along with her husband's mother Diana and never really has. But when Diana is found dead of apparent suicide, Lucy is surprised by her feeling of loss. And when the police begin to suspect that Diana's death was not a suicide at all, Lucy and her husband's family are all under suspicion.

This was an interesting and exciting story.


I also read by this author: The Mother's Promise

Sunday, February 2, 2020

My Lost Family

Audible Original
Nonfiction by Danny Ben-Moshe.

https://www.audible.com

This is another Audible Original I liked, as I'd enjoyed Find Another Dream. This book was sort of an oral  documentary, in which the author researched a strange story from his own family history. It was very interesting.



Saturday, February 1, 2020

N or M?

Fiction by Agatha Christie

https://www.barnesandnoble.com
This was a fun little story, about a middle-aged couple who helps uncover a spy ring during World War II.


I also read recently by this author: Sad Cypress