Alaska from the Inside Out

Subtitled : The Memories of Suzanne Nuyen Henning
Nonfiction by Sally Mahieu


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This memoir was the book selected by my local reading group this month.

It was pretty much written just as a series of events that happened, which is okay because the subject's life was really interesting. Still, I would have liked it better in more of a story format, and maybe with more details about her personally.

Deal Breaker

Fiction by Harlan Coben.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Okay. So I finally found the first book in the Myron Bolitar series. (See the post on Drop Shot for more on that.) I don't know why that was so difficult.

Anyways, this was a pretty good book with an ending I didn't expect.


I also read by this author: The Woods

The Gift of the Matchmaker

Fiction Novella by Becca Whitham.


https://www.amazon.com

I searched for this book because I just met the author here in Fairbanks! This was a nice straight romance, but it was a little too short for me.

Although, of course, since it was actually labeled a novella, I should have expected that, right?

The Good Dream

Fiction by Donna VanLiere.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a charming story about an unmarried woman in 1950 classified an "old maid" by everyone in her hometown. She finds love, but not in the way I'd expected her to.

The Woods

Fiction by Harlan Coben.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Now THIS was a thriller.

Twenty years ago, the "Summer Slasher" killed Paul Copeland's sister and three other teenagers in the woods outside a summer camp. It happened while he was supposed to be on watch, and Paul has never forgiven himself... until he discovers that his sister might be alive?

Really good book!


I also ready this author: Stay Close

Code to Zero

Fiction by Ken Follett.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

A cool spy thriller set in 1958, this story kept me guessing and really brought the Cold War /Space Race era to life.

I've enjoyed all the audiobooks I've listened to by Ken Follett. He's a rare writer who doesn't make me want to skim certain parts and get to the good stuff; every word in the story is important.


I also read recently by this author: Hornet Flight

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

Fiction by Fredrick Backman.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Now this was an unusual book. It's told from the point of view of a seven-year-old girl, who has a very special relationship with her --um... how shall I put this? oh yeah!-- wacko grandmother. Stories told from a child's point of view can be challenging, but the author did a great job with this one. I loved the characters, and it was really interesting!

Also this novel was originally written in Swedish, and although I don't usually care for translated works, the translation was amazingly good. I actually believed it was a British story.

Really good!

Drop Shot

Fiction by Harlan Coben.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

I've been reading a lot of Harlan Coben recently, since I just discovered this thriller writer who's apparently been around like twenty years.

I wanted to read the first book in the Myron Bolitar series since I loved number eleven so much (see Home). Unfortunately, I messed up and read this one, which is number TWO in the series. I'm very annoyed with myself.

This book, first published in 1996, was pretty good. It was a little slow in the middle, but it had a good ending. Still, compared to Coben's more recent novels it pales. I guess he's been improving his skills. That's how it's supposed to work, right?

In 1996 I also started a novel. (Plus I had my first baby; but I digress.) That story, and many others since, has remained unfinished, although I have actually completed a few. So in the past twenty years, while I was dabbling in writing (and motherhood), our pal Harlan Coben was churning out books at the rate of more than one a year. That's probably why my writing still kind of stinks and his is awesome.

Yeah, I turned this book review into a story about myself. So sue me.

The Whistler

Fiction by John Grisham.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a legal thriller with more legality than thrills. It was still a good book, but it was not as exciting a plot as many of John Grisham's best stories.


I also read recently by this author: Rogue Lawyer