This was one of those weeks that flew by….some short day hikes, library programs, running errands, whew!  I was bad and went to my favorite thrift store to check out their weekly Buy One Get One Free book sale and of course I found some!

With all the activity, I didn’t have much reading time, but I was able to finish a couple:

Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker — 4 out of 5 stars!!

I wasn’t sure what to expect but after a bit of a slow start I was hooked!  This gothic horror offers slow-burn suspense and some memorable scary moments.  If you like classic horror like Frankenstein and Dracula, make sure to check this one out!

Facing the Wave:  A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami by Gretel Ehrlich — 3 out of 5 stars

Mixed feelings on this one.  The survivors’ stories were horrific and heart-breaking.  However, the approach to this was not my cup of tea.  The author’s writing style was just too flowery and melodramatic and took away from the true stories she was relating.

———————–

Even though it’s not August yet, I’m starting to put together my Halloween reading wish list, which I usually start tackling in September.  If you have any favorite scary stories, feel free to share!

Short and sweet this week, so until next time, Happy Reading!

My son and I went on a mini adventure today, going to a local state park that has some great walking trails and plenty of shade from old growth forest to keep the heat at bay.

We love this place.  It’s always quiet, even in the middle of summer, with plenty of walking trails to keep us busy for a few hours.  Around 620 acres of land that includes the last of the old growth forests to be found in Western Washington.  One of my favorite places, and added bonus of being less than an hour drive from our house.  And I am going to be selfish and not divulge the name of the park (however, if you know me on facebook, you will find out where it’s at).

And on to the next summer adventure…..  🙂

 

 

Well, I tried for #027 to be on time, but due to server problems and having to switch to another server, then the down time waiting for everything to transfer, well……

here we are for week #028!

After some false starts, I think summer is finally here!  The rain was great for keeping things green but we’re more than ready for some warm weather!!  My lavender, mint, and chamomile plants are going berserk, and I harvested my first lemon cucumbers on Saturday (and from the looks of it I will have a ton of them on my hands in the next week or so).

Perhaps it was a good thing that the server was down, as the books I had finished for #027 were duds, to say the least.  But I bounced back from them this past week with some great books.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey — 5 stars!!

Another one of the classics that I can’t believe I haven’t read before!!  A mix of humor and pathos, I found myself laughing then reaching for the kleenex.  A great story, one I can say is in my top 5 favorite classics.

Hope Farm by Peggy Frew — 4 out of 5 stars!

I finished this late last night, one of the better “coming-of-age while living in a hippie commune with unstable parent(s)” stories I’ve read.  A huge thank you to Scribe Publications for an ARC and introducing me to another great Australian author.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer — 4 out of 5 stars!

This was a pleasant surprise.  I picked this out to fulfill part of a summer reading challenge I’m doing, and really didn’t know what to expect.  A retelling of Cinderella with a sci-fi cyborg twist!  There were a few slow parts and I thought a couple of the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, but overall pretty darn good.

The Lance and the Shield by Robert M. Utley — 4 out of 5 stars!

I had this on my to-read list for 2019 non-fiction.  A very readable, engaging biography and look at the historical struggles of the Native American.  Full review hopefully for August.

Blood on Snow by Jo Nesbo — 4 out of 5 stars!!

I love Jo Nesbo, and this 200 page story was a great afternoon read.  This was not part of Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, rather a stand-alone novella about a hitman with a heart of gold.

The Girls by Emma Cline — 3 out of 5 stars

I was expecting more from this one, but overall it wasn’t bad.  Another coming-of-age story (I seem to be reading a lot of these lately!!), weaving a fictionalized version of Charles Manson and his followers with a teen girl’s need for acceptance and belonging.

Will Haunt You by Brian Kirk — 2 out of 5 stars

This started out pretty strong, with the promise of a potentially interesting horror story.  But about half-way through, the gears seemed to change, almost like the author didn’t know what genre he wanted to write.  There’s hints of sci-fi and even religious awakening….in other words, it turned into a hot mess pretty quickly.  Too bad, it had potential.

The Woven Path by Robin James — 2 out of 5 stars

My goodreads review:

This was almost a 1 star for me, but the intriguing start to the story kept it at 2.  I read this to see if my son would like it, and I can honestly say I would NEVER recommend this to anyone’s kid.  I was fine with the dark and sinister world of the museum, I thought that was great!!  But when you had little punk ass kids torturing a dog to near death (and then the death that followed), well, I started hating this book.  I don’t like animal torture in adult horror books, so finding this in a book aimed at “middle grade” readers really upset me…and made me glad I read it before handing if off to my kid!!  But it wasn’t just this.  The story started out strong, kind of like The Librarian meets A Night at the Museum, with a bit more horror thrown in (and I love a good horror story!!!).  But it fell flat pretty quickly.  I really didn’t care about any of the characters and the evil entity was pretty cliche.  Even when I take away the parts I hated, I still found this “meh” at best.

Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye — ?!?!?

I’ve been thinking about this one and really have no idea how to rate it.  It didn’t completely suck but it wasn’t great, better than a 2 but kind of strangely meh for a 3.  It’s twisted and weird, but not in a good way that I would recommend.

---

This week looks to be pretty busy, with a library program and some planned trips to the beach, as well as  some light hiking.  So I best be off for now, and until next time…..Happy Reading!!

 

Fresh off a loooong holiday weekend….and feeling no different than before it began!  😀  Thursday the 4th was our Independence Day, which is also the unofficial start of giant motor homes driven by idiots who have never driven anything bigger than a Prius clogging up the roads for the next two months.

And yes, I’m getting crankier in my old age, ha!!

We stayed at home, far from the crowds, and enjoyed a quiet weekend.  A neighbor set off a few fireworks for the 4th, and we also watched the Seattle fireworks show on tv.  Ah, life in the middle of nowhere!

I’ve read some great books the past couple of weeks, check them out—-

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones — 4 out of 5 stars!

The most unique werewolf story ever!!  Well, at least the most unique one that I’ve ever read!!  I would say this is part coming-of-age and part horror.  I’ll admit it started a bit slow for me, but damn, I didn’t want to put it down!  If you like horror be sure to check this one out.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas — 4 out of 5 stars!

I think this should be a must-read for everyone.  While I didn’t think the ending did justice to the rest of the story (a little too convenient and too fairytale happy ending), I found this to be a powerful and compelling read.  Highly recommend.

Sudden Sea by R. A. Scotti — 4 out of 5 stars!

Full review coming soon!

Rust and Stardust by T. Greenwood — 4 out of 5 stars!

We are probably all familiar with Nabokov’s infamous Lolita, but few know about the true kidnapping behind the story.  Greenwood takes the story of Sally Horner, the real kidnapping and rape victim, and creates a novel that not only dramatizes her story but imagines the points of views from family, friends, and neighbors.  Greenwood does treat the rapes and physical abuse with kid gloves, and I think it would have added more bite to the story if she had included a few chapters from criminal Frank LaSalles POV, but overall a really good read.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman — 3 out of 5 stars

I was spoiled by reading Backman’s A Man Called Ove first since it set a high standard that, sadly, his other books just haven’t measured up to in my opinion.  This one had some good, some bad, and a lot of just plain confusing and/or boring (the confusing, boring parts came with the whole fantasy land created by the grandmother.  Yes, I understood it’s significance but after a while it started to grate on my nerves).

My Sister’s Bones by Cathi Hanauer — 2.5 out of 5 stars

This isn’t really a story about anorexia, more a story about a girl going through her teenage years who happens to have a sister with anorexia.  Maybe if I had read this when it came out in 1996 I would have liked it more (this would have been edgy back then).  There were a few bits that stood out but overall I found it to be boring and almost glorifying in it’s approach to anorexia.

Retribution by Richard Anderson — ??? stars???

I’m still deciding on this one, I will be posting a review shortly.  A huge thanks to Scribe Publications for sending me a copy!

_____________

And another week begins!  I know my son and I will be heading to another of the local library’s summer programs, and I have several library books checked out that I have to get a move on!  So until next week, Happy Reading!!

July already?  The year half over?!

Well, that went by fast!!

This week I decided to do something different and offer a quick mid-year reading update.  At the beginning of 2019, I joined the goodreads yearly challenge and decided to read 150 books this year.  As of yesterday, I had finished 112!!  Hmm, I may need to rethink my goal!

There have been a lot of ups and downs so far, but great books have been in the majority.  Off the top of my head, these are just a few of the ones that really stood out for me:

Scythe and Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman — I am often disappointed by popular bestsellers, those ones that everyone raves on about,  feeling more often than not like Elaine Benes at The English Patient—

But damn, Shusterman delivers with this series!  I haven’t looked forward to the conclusion of a series this much in a very long time!

The Nameless Dark by T.E. Grau — A collection of weird and warped short horror stories.  Definitely up there as my top short story collection of the year.

New Iberia Blues by James Lee Burke — The latest in my favorite series featuring Dave Robicheaux.  And you don’t have to read the entire series to enjoy it!

Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy — By far one of my favorites this year.  Dark, disturbing, depressing, but also offers glimmers of hope and redemption.

Which leads me to…….

There have been a few authors that have really stood out for me,  leading to some compulsive purchasing and online stalking (well, maybe not the stalking….not yet anyways).  David Joy makes that list, as well as horror authors Chad Lutzke and Keanan Patrick Burke.  And after just finishing Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones, I may be adding his name to the list as well.

I’ve read a few blah and just plain bad books this year as well, but since I plan on avoiding any more of them I’ll wait until my end of year wrap-up to share those “gems.”

I may have given up on my other New Year resolutions, but I will definitely be making my reading goals by the end of the year!

Have a great week, and as always, Happy Reading!!