Notes from a bibliophile

I know this is a departure and kind of flies in the face of my "bibliophile" moniker, but I am a -phile of many things, and after books, movies are probably my next great love. When I first saw this trailer I was thrilled. Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt in space?!? It looked so stylish too. Just take my money already. Then came the reviews. If you want to see the film, you may want to stop reading because I'm going to go into some detail. The main reason for most of the negativity is the main plot point. Here comes the spoiler: Chris Pratt's character Jim is the only one that is awoken by the malfunction. Not both characters, just one. He has no idea why, and no idea how to get back into his pod. He finds manuals and tools and tries, almost trapping himself in the pod at one point. He tries to break into the crew quarters. I mean he TRIES!  You may only see a few moments, but as the camera pans out, you see all the tools, all the panels he's removed, all th

I started out the year so full of literary promise, and that train derailed quickly. I started binging The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, and I was forcing myself to read books that I wasn't truly into, and the impetus with which the year began soon faded. I know months went by without me cracking a book, and that made me sad because I identify myself as a book lover. It is who I am as much as the color of my eyes. What's a book lover to do when they just aren't loving books? Relationships can grow stagnant without some variety. Interpersonal relationships can get tricky - people can resort to infidelity, friendships can wither and die. But, thankfully, a relationship with books is easily reinvigorated. All it took for me was a little shift in format. In total I read 64 books, by far the most of any other year that I've been keeping track. So here is my list of what I read this year, ranked by the number of stars I gave it on Goodreads: 5 STARS Wayward volumes 1-

I love listening to classical music. Not exclusively. I'm kind of a music slut. Outside of a few performers that I am loyal to, I kind of get around - U2, Weird Al, Adele, Kid Rock, Bruno Mars, Carrie Underwood, DNCE. But as for classical music, Bach is by far my favorite composer. I find Baroque music intricate and beautiful. This Great Courses audiobook is a really great introduction to the period and to Bach specifically. Here's the listing of the different lectures in the course: Introduction Christmas 1722 Introduction to the Baroque Aesthetic Fugue Historical Overview from Constantine through the Great Thinkers of the Baroque Style Features of High Baroque Music Part I - A Musical Glossary Style Features of High Baroque Music Part II - A Musical Glossary Style Features of High Baroque Music Part III - A Musical Glossary Bach's Inheritance Part I - The Protestant Reformation and the Rise of Lutheranism Lutheranism, the Chorale, and the Chorale Prelude Bach

Yay, mythology! I'm not sure where I got the recommendation for this graphic novel series. There was some article I read about the 25 best comics this year, so it could have been there. Goodreads may have recommended it. Who cares, it happened and it's AWESOME! We begin with Rori Lane. She's a teen like any other. Her mom and dad have been divorced and she no longer gets along well with Pops in Ireland, so she's going to live with her mom in Japan. As she wanders the streets in the days before school begins, she gets accosted by some street thugs. But these are no ordinary street thugs. These are yokai, Japanese fairytale creatures, specifically kappa. Rori has no idea how to defend herself until a girl named Ayane leaps out and begins to kick kappa ass. It's here that Rori's veneer of sameness falls aside and she finds she can see patterns, glowing red lines that lead her where she needs to go to accomplish what she needs to accomplish. She can also manipul

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom.     I have always loved books . I can't remember ever not loving books. Like Ross and Rachel, we may go on a break every now and then, but we always find our way back to each other.  I sometimes have very passionate feelings for these inanimate companions  and I want to put these thoughts somewhere. Let's start from where I am now. The book I've been reading the longest right now is The Wizard of Oz series. Good Lord, is this long! When I worked for Borders they had some bargain books of the entire collection of L. Frank Baum's books - it's 3 volumes. I have been trying to make it through the first volume since July and there's always something better that I'd much rather be reading, even if that's a  product label on the back of my Snickers. The first - and most familiar story,  thanks to the film - was pretty easy, but Dorothy just seems t

I told someone just a few weeks ago that I could count on one hand the number of books I read in high school that I actually enjoyed. The Lottery was one of those. It's such a simple story with such an amazing twist that I didn't see coming. At least I didn't see it coming in my teens. Now that I'm a cynical adult, who knows? It's one of those things that if you don't read them at the right time, you miss the beauty of it. This is the authorized graphic novel version, illustrated by the grandson of Shirley Jackson herself. The artwork kind of has that American Gothic feel to it, which helps give it the Anytown, USA atmosphere. It pares the story down to just a few bubbles of description and a few more of dialogue. It is truly a bare bones version. I think that takes away a great part of the appeal of the original story. Jackson creates such an ominous feel to the story. You know something is up, although you aren't sure what, and you certainly don't

I've written about this series before here, and it's one of my favorites, but I'm not sure this one stands up to the rest of the novels. Lady Emily and her hunky husband Colin Hargreaves go to Santorini with their friends Margaret and Jeremy in order to distract Jeremy from his near murder at the hands of his fiancee, which was the subject of the previous novel, The Adventuress. While there, she runs into her previous husband, who died in the very first book while on safari in Africa. The guilt and confusion that erupts from his sudden appearance, very much alive, is the undercurrent of the novel. Oh, the lives of wealthy Victorians. I don't think we can even imagine what people went through. The veneer of modesty and politeness that covered the seamy underbelly of the vast majority of society, fragile as the sugar crust of a creme brulee. It's like reading the tabloids, if they had class. Where Alexander really shines is in her descriptions of the different l

So they are making a film of this with Idris Elba as Roland Deschain & Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black. I have to admit I could already hear McConaughey's voice while I was reading, so I guess that's good casting, even though I'm ready to kick my TV in every time one of his Lincoln commercials comes on. I have a weird relationship with Stephen King's works. I love watching the movies they make of his novels, but actually reading his novels I find to be kind of a chore. I think I managed to get through The Green Mile, and I read a great short story from Night Shift called Gray Matter during my high school psychology class - not assigned, you understand (that after-lunch class was always a toughie to get through). I also loved reading his editorial in the back of Entertainment Weekly, which is where I found one of my all-time favorite novels, Shadow of the Wind. But I do like reading the book before the movie comes out, so I tried this one. Well, at least

This is a very interesting overview of world mythology, including some from parts of the world that aren't usually covered in classes or are widely known. It starts in the most familiar of territories, Western Europe. Here's the course list with the professor who narrates each. Myths of Western Europe narrated by Dr. Kathryn McClymond The Titans in Greek Mythology Complex Goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite, Hera Gods & Humanity in Greek Thought Herakles & the Greek Hero Odysseus, Master of Schemes The Golden Fleece & the Hero's Return Romulus, Remus & Rome's Origins Roman Heroes & Traitors The Mother Goddess in Rome & Beyond The Dagda's Harp & Other Other Celtic Myths Norse Tales of Odin & Thor Hammers, Rings & Other Norse Magic Myths of the Middle East & South Asia narrated by Dr. Kathryn McClymond  The World's Oldest Myth: Gilgamesh The Babylonian Creation Story Chaos & Order in Egypt Horus, Osiris &a

I've never read Margaret Atwood until now. However, she's one of those authors that anyone who considers themselves well-read should probably read. Most people start with probably her best-known novel, The Handmaid's Tale, and to be honest, that's where I planned to start, whenever I got around to it. But then I saw that Netflix was making this novel into a miniseries and that it was about a true crime. Sold! Set in the 1800's, Alias Grace covers a lot of ground. Grace Marks and her family emigrate from Ireland because her father is a drunken reprobate who's worn out his welcome on his wife's relatives. They buy the entire (huge) family passage to Canada to start over. During the trip, Grace's poor, long-suffering mother dies. Grace has just become the woman of the household, and must take care of her younger siblings and evade her father's wrath, and she's not even in her teens. After reaching Canada, her father settles into his old ways, even

If ever there was a tale that required graphic novel treatment, it's this one, and the art is incredibly well done. The story of the 47 Ronin is apparently an ancient tale, almost folklore, in that there are apparently various tellings throughout Japan. Back when Japan was a shogunate, Lord Asano was wrongly (at least in this telling of the story) accused of dishonoring a court official and was sentenced to commit seppuku. Because he was given a death sentence, all his land, his home, his belongings, and his retainers were to be handed over to the emperor. This did not sit well with his retainers, especially his head counselor Oishi, who had warned him about holding his temper. They know they must depart from the house and become ronin, leaderless samurai, but they refuse to allow this affront to their master stand. Of all his hundreds of retainers, 47 of them stand with Oishi and vow to get revenge, no matter how long it takes. And it takes a long time. During the years they w

It had to happen. I had to run across something I didn't like. Well, here you go. I'm not sure what I'm missing. This got a lot of 5 star reviews on Goodreads, but I don't see why. It's supposed to be influenced by fairy tales. I have probably mentioned here before that I love mythology and folklore. There's no reason I shouldn't like this. Except I don't. Here's why. I have been spoiled, perhaps, by the slicker art of the other series I've read. This is very sparse. It's all sepia-tones and some whole pages go by without dialogue. It seems to operate on two levels, one with what is currently happening and one with either the traveler remembering what happened with Delphine or imagining what will happen. I feel that the Goodreads plot summary is really deceptive. They describe it as a retelling of Snow White from Prince Charming's perspective. Well, there is a point where Delphine is sleeping. God knows, if a girl is asleep it must

This is a new comic (first published in 2014 and in [so far] 3 collected volumes beginning in 2015) by the writer of The Walking Dead series, and it's on Cinemax if you have pay cable (I don't). It follows Kyle who apparently is being stalked by demons. Several of those near him have been possessed. A few have referred to him as the Outcast, although what exactly that entails is unclear at this point. It appears that his blood has a very painful effect on the demons, causing them to leave their host if Kyle is given enough time to maintain contact. Again, what the hell is up with that is just not clear yet. SO MANY QUESTIONS!!! It's as bloody as The Walking Dead, so if you like that series, you'll like this one. I have already checked the next volume out from the library. I just really need to know more.

I have an odd love for Neil Gaiman. It all stems from just one book: Good Omens. I ran across this wonderful little gem, I think, either right after I'd finished reading Hitchhiker's Guide or right after Douglas Adams died. However, something has kept me from enjoying other stuff of his. I was almost afraid to pick up Sandman, but I'm glad I overcame that. It wasn't the easiest read. Sometimes I have trouble following the panels, not just on Sandman, but on the other graphic novels/comics I've read. If this comes as a result of being a newbie to the medium or just that my brain is hardwired to linear reading, I'm not sure. But considering that the setting is dreams and the realm of Morpheus the god of Dreamland, I came to realize that a little confusion is probably the point. I have some stupid-ass dreams; I don't know about you. The most vivid and the most recurring are where I get chased by things. One was a falling skyscraper, another was tornadoes. T

I haven't read a play in forever! Some people apparently have never read a play because there was a little bit of weirdness going on when this came out as "not a novel." Honestly, at this point Rowling could publish a list of her favorite breakfast cereals and I would read it with relish. But I can see people's point. Theatre is a visual medium; the setting and atmosphere is created by the lighting director, the sound director, and the scene designer. The inner workings of the character are revealed through the nuanced vocal and facial changes of a talented actor. Much of the work of the reader is taken care of by others. As such, a play is relatively sparse, leaving little work for the reader to do, and isn't that where the fun is? With all the descriptions removed, the reader is hard pressed to imagine the atmosphere of the play. Or maybe the reader just has to work harder? I'm not sure. I know that I was unable to visualize a setting and concentrate on the

The novel is one of my all time favorite books. I don't know if I'm crazy or weird (or if I care if I'm either), but there are a handful of books that I've spent all night/day reading and I can remember the circumstances as if it were yesterday. This is one of those books. It's not a terribly inspiring story, but here it is. I was in high school and staying over at a friend's house (whose name I can no longer remember so we were really close obviously). She had a dachshund with what she described as "a humping problem." For some reason we slept on the floor. I had visions of waking up inadvertently in a compromising position with this dog, so I had to find something to distract myself. I happened upon this book and read it all night non-stop. Despite the ridiculous circumstances, it blew my mind. Fast forward blahblahblah years and I happened upon this graphic novelization (is that a term? It is now). I remember the basics from the novel and the fi

So this is the newest series by the creator of Y: The Last Man, which I really loved, Brian K Vaughan. It's kind of Romeo & Juliet in space, if Friar Lawrence's letter hadn't gone astray. It opens with a birth. The mother is from the planet Landfall and the father is from the planet's moon, Wreath. The two worlds have been warring since anyone can remember, but have "outsourced" their war to other planets, one of which is Cleave, where the baby, who is the narrator of the comic, is born. This volume ends with them escaping the groups who are searching for them from both their families, with the help of a ghost that only manifests from the midriff up and has ghostly guts hanging below, which I thought was kinda cool for some reason. The ghost is bound to the baby and is basically the nanny, at least during the night. I think it's an interesting concept, combining Shakespeare with what promises to be an intriguing space opera. The characters, even at t

This has been on a lot of must-read lists that I've seen. Although it isn't really the kind of genre I typically read, I thought it sounded interesting. I tried reading it, by it just wasn't something I was getting in to. Instead I gave it a second chance on audiobook, and it was much much better. The story is about Melanie who, along with many other young people, are woken from their cells each morning by people who strap them into wheelchairs and move them into the classroom. Once a week they are given a chemical shower and fed a bowl of grubs. Occasionally a few of them go missing. They haven't seen the light of day or the outside since they were moved to the facility when they were little. It's a while before the reason for all the precaution and mystery is revealed, and even then it's revealed slowly. Spoiler-ish: If you like Walking Dead, you might find this one interesting.

I'm watching the TV series, and man, every now and then, they throw an absolute humdinger at you. Cassidy's fight in the airplane, Tulip's fight in a moving vehicle - and that was just the first episode. There's been some crazy-ass shit going down in this show, and I thought, OK, time to see what the graphic novel has to offer. It's still some crazy-ass shit, but it's a whole new level of bonkers. Seth Rogan said on the Talking Preacher episode that aired right after the finale that up to this point the TV show has basically been prologue. We're introduced to preacher Jesse Custer, who's not the best preacher on the planet. He's a hard-drinking roughneck kinda guy with a sordid past that has somehow become the recipient of a heavenly entity called Genesis that compels people to do exactly as he says. Then there's Tulip, his ex-girlfriend and Cassidy, an Irish vampire. It's kind of hard to talk about the novel without spoiling the TV show, s

Douglas Adams is one of the best writers in the history of ever. His works are so smart, so funny; you feel better about yourself just for getting it. I don't know how popular the Dirk Gently novels are, certainly not to the level of Hitchhiker's Guide, but they should be. Even his non-fiction is brilliant and funny. I'm telling you, the man was a genius whose equal we may never see again. This graphic novel has little to do with the novel, except for the main character. Dirk Gently comes to San Diego and tries to find a place to set up shop. Meanwhile, a museum exhibit is going up in town displaying ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies. But the mummies aren't totally mummified. They end up coming back to life and draining the life force of those around them and growing super strong. Oh and there's a couple on vacation trying to emulate their favorite serial killers. There's a lot going on. It's a little gonzo, but not laugh out loud funny. It doesn

I was waiting for the last collection of Y The Last Man to come in, and the guy at the comics store suggested this. It's post-apocalyptic, that's for sure. I'm not sure the two titles have much else in common. The four horsemen of the apocalypse have returned to start Armageddon. Well, three of them have at least. Each time they make an appearance on Earth, they begin as children. So these three kids are wandering around, trying to find Death so they can get on with their business. They have been summoned by The Chosen, believers in The Message, a three-pronged prophesy of the end of times. The US has been divided into 7 nations when the Civil War fails to end. The Chosen are believers chosen (natch) from these 7 nations. So what's up with Death? Why did he not make the scene? Well Death fell in love with one of the daughters of the leader of the Chinese Nation, the PRA. They have a child together. Mother and child are kidnapped, and she thinks the child is dead. Ap

I loved Ready Player One and I can't wait for the movie (plus, Simon Pegg!). So I was really excited about Armada. But was it worth it? Armada follows Zack Lightman, a boy with some anger issues thanks to a dad who died very young when Zack was just a baby. He grew up idolizing his father, a video game nerd, and following in his gamer footsteps. But, as he reads his father's old journals, he starts to wonder if perhaps Pops wasn't a little off his rocker. He began writing about conspiracies involving a couple of video games that don't appear to actually exist. One day at school, when Zack notices a space ship from one of his favorite games, Armada, zooming around outside, he begins to wonder if maybe the crazy apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. One of the more fascinating elements of this novel is the (clearly) well researched history of the video game industry. We know how technology has changed; we watch it change practically everyday (virtual reality,

I remember a time when I wasn't into audiobooks. That's gone. Audiobooks are totally awesome. I remember a time when I wasn't into graphic novels. Yep. That's gone too. But while finding a new, exciting audiobook isn't that hard, finding a graphic novel is proving a bit more difficult. This graphic novel is so beautiful. The art is fantastic and occasionally surreal without getting too far out there. The story leaves a little to be desired. It's the story of a boy growing into a man. It shows him fighting with his brother, a relationship that falters as they get older. It shows him exploring the faith he's grown up in, another relationship that falters as he gets older. More importantly, it shows him falling in love, and this, it seems to me is the point to the whole book. This first love changes him in ways he didn't expect, as it always does. But, true to form, this relationship falters as he gets older. Is this something new? Well, no. I think

In this latest foray into the demigod world, we find Apollo thrust off of Olympus after having pissed off Zeus over something he can't quite recall. He is, of course, a zitty teenager, because that's what's most humiliating to a god, not to mention you want your readers to identify with the hero. Apollo on Olympus is like that quarterback from your high school team who landed all the hot chicks and all the teachers seemed to fawn over and never seemed to notice the nerdy girl in glasses and braces peeking over her book as he strolled by looking all charming...or so I've heard...ahem...back to the review. Apollo away from Olympus retains all the memories of his godliness. He knows he's the god of archery, poetry, music, divination, et cetera, but all the powers have left him. So he recalls being great, but can't quite deliver when the time comes. He meets a young girl who has some powers of her own, but there's something about those powers that seem a littl

Creativity confounds me. I wish I could be creative and sometimes I trick myself into believing I am, only to get bitch-slapped by reality soon after attempting anything. So this graphic novel is truly confounding to me. I chose it because it is currently a musical on Broadway, and considering I will probably never get to see a show on Broadway, I thought this might be a way to experience it vicariously. First off, I can't imagine how anyone could possibly turn this into a musical. That right there is a creative leap I could never even dream of. But this is a graphic novel/autobiography of an incredibly creative woman and her family, so translating it to the stage is just the most recent creative leap in a long line. Obviously I'm out of my league here. It's the story of Bechdel's childhood through her young adulthood. Her father is an English teacher and her mother an actress. Creativity permeates the entire family and, like a magnet, both binds and repulses Bechde

Since I've been watching TV more than reading lately, I thought graphic novels might be a bridge to getting me back into reading mode. There will be a lot of graphic novels on here soon. This is the first one that's created just as a stand-alone graphic novel, as opposed to a serialized comic that's had several issues combined into graphic novel-ish format. Scott McCloud wrote the book on comics. Literally. Two books, actually, Understanding Comics and Making Comics . I think I read the former many years ago, but I'm not sure I understand comics any better. Or maybe I forgot what I understood. Anyway, since he is an admired student of the art of the comic, I thought this really needs to be one for the list. Here's the synopsis: David Smith is a New York City artist who's down on his luck. Like really down. When we meet him, he's just lost his job, he's recently lost his patron, he's close to getting evicted, and he's getting absolutely slos

This was recommended to me by my friend Dario Suarez many, many years ago. Something about the story of the last man on earth and, more specifically, his monkey gave me pause. A monkey? Riiight. I'll get right on that one. But the recommendation has stuck with me. Since I was going to delve into comics/graphic novels anyway, I thought I'd give it a try. The first thing I saw was the blurb right on the cover: "The best graphic novel I've ever read." - Stephen King. Well, damn! Way to bury the lede, Dario! I would have read this a whole lot soon if I'd known that. So for those of you unfamiliar with the story and perhaps as reluctant as I was to give this a try, here's the gist: Some as-yet-unknown event has caused every male on the planet to die. That's people, cows, giraffes, everything with a Y chromosome. We are given two relatively unlikely causal factors - a woman giving birth to a clone, and the removal of an amulet from Jordan. The only two m

I've written on here before about having lulls in my reading habits. I'm having a doozy right now. I honestly can't remember the last book I read. So instead I'm going to write about what I have been doing. I love Netflix. It's just the most amazing thing. So many TV shows and movies just at my fingertips. If I could have chocolate or pizza constantly at the ready in the same way, I would be a happy girl. It's getting to the network's summer hiatus, so I'll be re-joining the DVD side of Netflix for a few months to get EVEN MORE movies coming to me. So awesome. So I just recently got drawn into The Walking Dead. I'm kind of reluctant to jump onto pop cultural bandwagons, and, having worked at Borders, I felt like zombies were just another bandwagon that people were clamoring to willy-nilly. That and vampires. And werewolves. I didn't even start reading Harry Potter until Prisoner of Azkaban was released. So I thought, "Great. More zombies

I love this man. Robert Greenberg just loves music - well, classical music. Don't ask him about popular music, but he will tell you some fascinating stuff about Bach, Beethoven, and other composers. It's hard not to get enthused about this type of music when you listen to his lectures, and if you are already a bit of a classical music enthusiast, it's just so much the better. He is really informative and funny. This was a free offering from Audible at Christmas. There was never a truer title of any book. I think the whole thing is 45 minutes long. And while he mentions in passing Jingle Bells and Mariah Carey (among others) he doesn't talk about them in the lecture. He does point out that popular music isn't his thing, but his idea of holiday music is not my idea of holiday music. The closest he gets is talking about the Hallelujah Chorus (and oddly enough, doesn't play the well-known part of) and the Nutcracker Suite (which is the first major work to use an i

Audible will occasionally offer its members free books. I love free books with every fiber of my being, so I will always give these a try. I've met some real sucky stuff this way, but I've run across some good ones too, ones I never would have thought to try if it wasn't free. This was one of those free books that Audible gave away over Christmas. Honestly, I was mostly attracted by having Thorin Oakenshield read me a story, but I'm not averse to a Dickens novel either, so it seemed like a win-win. But imagine taking all the pathos from Dickens' Little Dorrit and cramming it into 4 chapters. This has got to be the single most depressing story I've ever read. This is why we have Prozac, people. It starts like most Dickens novels. The rich folk are telling the poor folk that they have no right to be born or marry or be happy, or they are telling them that they just need to leave everything up to their "father" or protector - in other words, the rich

My boss has started a book club and will pay us to read several business and self improvement books this year. HAHAHAHA! So this year you will see a lot of books that I would never normally read, but hey, I'm not one to turn my nose up at some extra moolah. So my first entree into this book club is Who Moved My Cheese? One reason I picked it is because I knew it was mercifully short. It was also the only one I could find at the library. It is a very easy read. I find it kind of odd that they actually had to make a kids version of this. The language is very simple, and it doesn't take a Mensa candidate to get the concepts the book presents. But while it's simplistic, or perhaps because of its simplicity, it is easy to apply to your life. I can actually see all the characters in the book in my last job at the now-defunct bookstore. I can see myself in how I react to change (generally badly, at first, at least). The simplistic sayings the character writes on the wall of th

Elizabeth Gaskell is one of those Victorian novelists that most people don't read. They look at the "archaic" language of her novels, as well as those of Dickens, the Brontes, and Thackeray, and run in fright. Anyone who just looks at the surface of these novels and doesn't give them a chance is missing so much. They aren't necessarily stuffy. I mean they aren't 50 Shades of Grey, but thank God for that, really. They reflect the values of the era, the humor of the era, and the social issues of the era, essentially becoming eyewitness accounts of the time, even though they are fictions. My Lady Ludlow is the epitome of old school. She looks down on the education of the lower orders, strictly adheres to the social strata, and does not approve of any religion other than the Church of England. All of these issues come up in the novel, and Lady Ludlow's opinions are steadfast. Until they aren't. People aren't sure how to take her. This is how people t

So here's everything I read this year, in order of most to least liked: 5 STAR BOOKS The Martian by Andy Weir The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins The Adventuress by Tasha Alexander The Empty Throne by Bernard Cornwell How to Listen to and Understand Great Music by Robert Greenberg William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan Girl in the Dark by Anna Lyndsey I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Rashomon & Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa History's Greatest Mysteries by Bill Price The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland Mystery Inc by Joyce Carol Oates The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson Customs of the World by David Livermore 36 Books that Changed the World by The Great Courses 4 STAR BOOKS Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper Thunderball by Ian Fleming The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore

I hope everyone had a happy holiday season. I'd like to say that the reason I haven't posted anything in so long is because I was so consumed with spending time with family, but that isn't completely true. It was just one of those times when I just wasn't up to reading. I don't know what brings it on or what makes it end, but around the first I snapped out of it and finally finished this novel. This is the first Cormoran Strike novel I've actually read. The other two were audio books, but I really enjoyed them. This one took a really long time to grab me. I'm not sure whether to place the blame on the book or my reading malaise, though. I'm going to assume you've read the other two novels or at least a summary of them. To sum this one all up, Cormoran and Robin are sent a woman's dismembered leg. All of Strike's clients split. They were hard up before, so that makes it even worse. Robin's fiance Matthew gets more sullen and manipulati