Manga Shakespeare: As You Like It / Richard Appignanesi / 208 pgs

Manga Shakespeare: As You Like It is a really well-done adaptation of Shakespeare's original play. I've enjoyed all of Appignanesi's adaptations that I've read, and this one had the added bonus of improving the original for me. He makes Touchstone, the clown, more likeable, Orlando actually earns his admirers, and Jaques is still hilarious. It's all about interpretation!

Siege and Storm / Leigh Bardugo / 435 pgs / Audiobook

"Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her—or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm."

This is the second book in Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse Series, which is a fresh take on Russian fairytales and mythology! This book continues Alina's fight against The Darkling to save Ravka and the rest of the world. I enjoyed this book just slightly less than I did the first one. Actual star rating is 3.5. Sometimes second books in trilogies have a tendency to drag on without adding much to the overall plot of the series. This one did have some slow parts, but I loved the addition of the new characters, which made up for it. I'm curious to finish this series!

The Punishment She Deserves/ Elizabeth George/ 692 pgs

I've read George's Inspector Lynley series from the beginning. I'm not even sure what book # this is. This series has always been more than just a police procedural/mystery, though it is definitely that. As you can tell by the page count, George likes to dive into her characters. Each of them, and there are many, gets a POV and we are immersed into their lives and thoughts. The story here is that a deacon of a local church is accused of pedophilia. When he's brought into police custody, he commits suicide. Or does he? Inspector Lynley and his partner, Sergeant Havers are sent to investigate when it appears the first local investigation might not have been as thorough as possible. The mystery, however, takes a backseat here to an examination of motherhood from the perspective of three different women. The story was insightful and more of a saga than some of her other stories but I liked it all the same.

The Stranger in the Woods / Michael Finkel / 203 pgs / Audiobook

"In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food."

The subtitle for this book is The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, which the author actually contradicts in the last part of the book, so I don't know how I feel about that. The difference between two and three stars on this one was, for me, personal preference. Let me start with what I liked about the book. 1) Christopher Knight has lived an unusual life, and his experiences are intriguing. 2) There is a bit of pondering on the psychological reasons for Knight's choices and actions. And 3) I didn't mind the parts about Finkel's developing "friendship" with his interviewee. (Although it did seem a little strange and obsessive, as others have pointed out, I didn't find it dishonest or creepy.) Now for my issues with The Stranger in the Woods: 1) Christopher Knight's story isn't that long. He doesn't give enough detail about his experiences in the woods to fill a book like this, and it should have either been shorter or filled out with more extras than it was. 2) The filling that there was felt sparse and out-of-context to me. For example, when Finkel is talking about Asperger's, he gives examples of some people who are retroactively suspected to have had it. One of these people is Virginia Woolf, and Finkel implies that she committed suicide as a result, not even taking into account her sexual abuse at a young age or many other psychological disturbances throughout her life. This seems to be putting a harsh stamp on the future of those with Asperger's without even doing justice to Woolf's legacy. 3) Although I don't mind the author inserting himself into the book, I would have liked it if he hadn't written the factual parts through a haze of his own opinions. An example of an author who separates her own story from facts well is Mary Roach. She writes about a situation in a completely objective way and then writes about her own experiences with it in subjective language. I can see the facts in this book, but I have to sift through Finkel's (maybe unintentional) hero worship wording and Knight's own prideful descriptions. Having to separate it all myself made the experience less enjoyable. I ended up rating the book two stars. Overall, I found the subject interesting but would have preferred it in a different writing style or possibly a shorter format.

Between Shades of Gray / Ruta Sepetys / 338 pgs / Audiobook / Historical Fiction

"Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously - and at great risk - documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but [with] incredible strength, love, and hope..."

Wow. I have trouble gathering all of my thoughts on this book, because it's very powerful. There's so much about Stalin's rule that I never learned--that I think a lot of Americans have never learned--and this story is an example of that. I'm grateful to the author for writing about the Lithuanian people and their treatment at the hands of the Soviets. This is the story of her ancestors, and she chose to share it in a way that adults and young adults alike could read. Beautifully written and utterly tragic. I enjoyed the incorporation of Russian words into book and the meaning behind them. This is a book about mistreatment and survival, as well as love and grace in the face of starvation and death. It is about history, friends, family, pity, and respect. It is about so many things that I can't communicate. Let me just say that I cried and I felt as though my heart was being torn up, but it was worth it. Read this book.

Damsels in Distress / Joan Hess / 336 pgs / Audiobook

What I like about cozy mysteries is that you get the fun of solving a puzzle without the danger and fear of a truly frightening (or realistic) situation. A friend recommended this to me when I needed a light-hearted read, and since cozy mysteries lift me right up, I took her advice. To be honest, I wasn't fond of any of the characters. Claire Malloy has very strong opinions without much justification; men seem to fawn over her constantly; and her teenage daughter does nothing but complain. However, I like Renaissance Fairs, and Hess's mystery was intricate and well-developed. This did the trick of giving me a break. I probably won't be reading another Claire Malloy mystery, but I will recommend this one and try another book or series by Joan Hess!

As You Like It / William Shakespeare / 263 pgs / Audiobook / Movie Adaptations

I'm in the process of reading all of Shakespeare's works, roughly one a month so far, and I just finished As You Like It. I like reading them in print and then listening to an audio version. This is a great Shakespeare production in performance, but I was underwhelmed reading it. The circumstances give the Bard quite a few opportunities to comment on gender, especially when Rosalind is dressed as Ganymede. She has many more freedoms as a man and knows she’ll be giving up a lot when she goes back and again when she marries. There’s also some muted commentary on race and station which I didn’t catch until reading background information. Celia and her friendship with Rosalind is my favorite part about this play. As one of my friends pointed out to me, this is “beach read Shakespeare” and best experienced in visual or audio form!

Look for Me/Lisa Gardner/391 pgs.

In the early morning, a family is murdered--all except one: 16 year old Roxanna "Roxy" Baez. She's missing, plus the family's two elderly dogs. When she doesn't return, speculation abounds: was Roxy in on the murder of her family, and if not, why doesn't she go to the police? Enter Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren, and unofficially, Flora Dane--a survivor turned vigilante. They join forces to find Roxy, and to unravel the mystery of her family's deaths. Riveting! Highly recommended.

On a side note: this will be my last post since I am retiring from the library district. I have enjoyed the SCCCLD Book Challenge, and hope that other SCCCLD staff will take up the challenge!

Seeing Red/Sandra Brown/421 pgs.

Major Franklin Trapper became an instant hero when, 25 years ago, he rescued several innocent bystanders in a bombing in Dallas. Kerra Bailey, an up and coming TV journalist, has landed the interview of the century--with Major Trapper, who had become somewhat of a recluse in the last decade. She wins the interview by contacting John Trapper--the Major's estranged son. Sparks fly between Kerra and John--but can she trust him, especially when it becomes apparent that her life is in danger. This is one of Sandra Brown's better novels. Highly recommended!

Unicorn Crossing / Dana Simpson / 178 pgs

Unicorn Crossing is the fifth book in the Heavenly Nostrils series by Dana Simpson, perhaps better known by the title of the first book, Phoebe and Her Unicorn. I love this comic strip series! If I could remember the first time I read Calvin and Hobbes, I think it probably felt like this. Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils remind me a lot of Calvin and Hobbes, actually, except that Phoebe isn't quite as devious and the focus of their adventures are more magic than adventure-based. The illustrations are fun, the unicorn is adorably self-involved, and some crazy shenanigans ensue. In this book, Phoebe and Marigold read a book together and try to balance the shine of novelty with their longstanding friendship. We also see them remembering how they met and realizing how much they mean to each other. It's very sweet, and there's something for everyone hidden in these books! A fun read for the whole family!

The Prince Who Loved Me / Karen Hawkins / 355 pgs / Historical Fiction

"Prince Alexsey Romanovin enjoys his carefree life, flirting—and more—with every lovely lady who crosses his path. But when the interfering Grand Duchess Natasha decides it's time for her grandson to wed, Alexsey finds himself in Scotland, determined to foil her plans. Brainy, bookish, and bespectacled, Bronwyn Murdoch seems the perfect answer—she isn't at all to the duchess' taste.

Living at the beck and call of her ambitious stepmother and social butterfly stepsisters, Bronwyn has little time for a handsome flirt—no matter how intoxicating his kisses are. After all, no spoiled, arrogant prince would be seriously interested in a firm-minded female like herself. So . . . wouldn't it be fun to turn his "game" upside down and prove that an ordinary woman can bring a prince to his knees?"

I got this sweet, little romance in a swap, and I needed a break from serious reads and thoughts. The best short description of this I can give is Cinderella meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days plus your usual romance sexy times and set in Scotland. There were a few times I wanted to slap the prince (as you do), and I always need some suspension of disbelief because romances aren’t really realistic, but overall it was fun!

Let Me Lie/ Clare Mackintosh/ 386 pgs

Let Me Lie is the third book I've read by Clare Mackintosh. She writes unconnected suspense novels set in England, usually with one perspective from the victim and the other from the police. I like her writing but there seems to be an instance in each book where I think "That course of action does not make logical sense." It happens again here, but I still enjoyed the book. Anna is a new mother. It's just before Christmas and also the one year anniversary of her mother's suicide, which followed seven months after her father's suicide. Things have been rough for her, to say the least. She receives a card questioning whether her mother committed suicide and goes to the police, asking that they investigate again to determine whether her parents might have been murdered. The police in this instance is Murray, a semi-retired detective with a wife who suffers from bipolar disorder. The mystery surrounding Anna's parents kept me guessing almost until the end. Even more well-done, however, was the subplot of Murray and his wife. Well-done, but heartbreaking.

You Know When the Men Are Gone / Siobhan Fallon / 226 pgs / Audiobook

There are many reasons for why we choose the books we read. Mine are often to learn something new, to marvel in the miracle of language, to better understand other people, to escape to a new (and often fantastical) place, or just to enjoy myself and laugh for a little while. I read You Know When the Men Are Gone because I understand it. Let me clarify first that I didn't have the experiences of Fallon's characters from these stories. But I was a military spouse, and there are certain "truths" (in quotes because these are things you are told and expect even if they are not true for you) that members of the military and their families learn quickly: Your significant other will cheat on you, likely at your most vulnerable or public moment. Other spouses and families are here for you, but you should also be able to take care of yourself and your family. Rank matters in every situation, professional or personal. There are more of these little lessons, but I can't think of them right now. The point is, Fallon's stories are not unusual (except perhaps "Leave," which is possible but not as likely as the others), and I know a lot of people who lived these experiences. There are lots of books about war from various angles, but it's rare to find a book (even though it's fiction) that accurately conveys the situations and emotions of United States Military family life. If someone asked me what it was like to be a member of a military family or how to better understand the mindset of the military spouse, this would be the first book I'd hand them.

The Fix / Lisa Wells / 70 pages

The Fix is a collection of poetry from Lisa Wells, which won the 2017 Iowa Poetry Prize. I have a mixed relationship with poetry. I love to read it out loud and savor the rhythms and patterns of words, and I subscribe to the theory that poetry can have a thousand different meanings depending primarily on the reader. This also means that I sometimes miss the "real meaning" of a poem without the background context. However, I've been trying to read more of it this year and to explore some new-to-me authors.

Unrelated to my relationship to poetry, Wells's word choice throughout her poems is casual, but her style is abstract. This makes understanding her poems a bit difficult, and I sometimes had trouble following a train of thought from one stanza to another. Overall, her poetry left me with a raw enjoyment of the art but a loss on conclusions about each poem and what she might be trying to convey.

Watch Me/Jody Gehrman/308pgs/College Setting

If you love the stalker movies that the Lifetime channel used to show, then put the kettle on because this is your cup of tea!  Kate Youngblood is a creative writing professor and recent divorcee in a small Ohio town.  After the small success of her debut novel and a painful awareness of her oncoming middle age, Kate has hit a slump in her life.  Feeling unwanted and unnoticed, she throws herself into work in the hopes of gaining tenure.  Through all of her frustrations, a pair of watchful eyes follows her life on campus.  With a pair of "intense" and "piercing" blue eyes that would make any YA author swoon, student Sam Grist purposely inserts himself into Kate's life at every turn in the hopes of one day claiming her as his own.  Unaware of his predatory plan, Kate finds a writing prodigy in her student and takes Sam under her wing, all the while ignoring that small burst of attraction she feels for him in return.

The narrative jumps back and forth each chapter between Kate and Sam's perspectives, allowing the reader to understand the competing motivations for the two leads.  Neither of the characters are incredibly likeable, but the story is entertaining and follows a quick pace.  I think the author could have stood to push the envelope further with the main relationship, but I recognize I have a penchant for the lurid, so in all the novel could be considered "complete."  Watch Me is a worthwhile read for those seeking out a thriller of sorts.

I Have the Right To: a High School Survivor's story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope/Chessy Prout/404 pgs.

Chessy Prout was looking forward to her freshman year at St. Paul's School, a prestigious, co-ed boarding school in New Hampshire, for high school students. Chessy's father was an alum, and her older sister, Lucy, would be a senior; it should have been an ideal situation. It wasn't brought to the public's attention that St. Paul's was hiding, and abetting, a culture conducive to rape. Chessy courageously blew the whistle on them when she became a victim of the practice known as the "Senior Salute." She brought charges against Owen Labrie, a senior at the time, and a fair haired boy of St. Paul's. The school closed ranks, and tried to make it all go away. It's a difficult read, and sadly, a story that is all too common these days. Recommended.

Perish/ Lisa Black/ 320 pgs/ audiobook

Another first for me--I listened to this audiobook from Hoopla on a long weekend drive. I'm not very fond of being read to. I think that might be because I'm a fast reader as well as a visual learner. Anyway, this narration wasn't the best but I got through it. This is the third novel in the Maggie Gardner/Jack Renner series. It's set in Cleveland. Maggie is a crime scene tech and Jack is a detective. A detective who also happens to be a vigilante killer because he feels it's okay to get rid of the baddest of the bad guys. (Again, this is not a spoiler--it's in the cover copy of the first book.) Maggie figured out Jack's secret but now he has something on her: she killed the abusive woman Jack's been tracking for years. It's interesting and different to read about anti-heroes in an otherwise ordinary suspense. The case here is that three women, all of whom work at a mortgage company, are brutally murdered. While I did enjoy the surprise ending, there is far too much information about the mortgage business and the housing crisis of 2008. It gets rather bogged down but if you can stick it out, the ending has a nice twist.

Bend, Not Break: A Life in Two Worlds/ Ping Fu/ 276 pp.

At the age of eight during China’s Cultural Revolution, Ping Fu was separated from her
family and began caring for her four year old sister in dormitories ruled over by the
Red Guard. She made her way to the US when she was 25 and supported herself as
she learned English and earned a college degree. Ping was inspired by a story her
father shared with her about the three friends of winter -- one of which is the bamboo that bends but does not break.

This story of a woman who had all kinds of strikes against her but perseveres to become happy and successful is very inspiring.  If you enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, you will enjoy this story of courage and strength.

Hidden Figures/MargoLee Shetterly/346 pgs.

The subtitle of this book gives a very good description of its contents: the American dream and the untold story of the black women mathematicians who helped win the space race. Having seen the movie by the same title, I was looking forward to reading this book. It gives a more in depth picture of the trials and tribulations of the women who were such an integral part of the successful United States space program. The book can be pretty technical in parts, but it tells such a little known aspect  of United States history, that it is well worth the read. Highly recommended!

The Woman in the Window/A.J. Finn/427 pgs.

Similar to The Girl on the Train, and Gone Girl, The Woman in the Window has the reader questioning what is real and what isn't. Anna Fox, an agoraphobic, hasn't left her house for months. She spends her days spying on her neighbors, mixing her medications with wine, and is a total mess. Then she sees the unimaginable--or did she? I went into reading this book somewhat jaded--I thought it was going to be too much like the above mentioned titles. I was wrong--I read it in two days. Highly recommended!

The Address/ Fiona Davis/ 354 pgs

The Address is a mystery that's a mix of fact and fiction as well as past and present. The title refers to The Dakota, a well-known apartment building in New York City. The story jumps back and forth between 1884 and 1985. In 1884 the building was just being completed. The fictional Sara Smythe has arrived from England and secures the job of "managerette" for the new building. She develops an illicit relationship with one of the architects and tenants of the apartment, Theo Camden, another fictional character. In 1985, Bailey Camden, who may or may not be related to Theo, is doing interior design work on one of the Dakota's apartments. She soon learns of the murder of Theo and discovers some clues during her work. This is a fun read, though I found the historical chapters much more fascinating than the '80s ones. The mystery is a decent one, though things wrap up almost too neatly at the end.

Hate to Want You/ Alisha Rai/ 371 pgs

This is the first book in a trilogy by an author I've not read before. Livvy and Nicholas are the grandchildren of the founders of a local grocery store chain. They grew up together as the two families were extremely close. They started dating in their late teens but then tragedy struck. Livvy's dad and Nicholas's mom were killed in a car accident together. This is the overarching storyline behind this trilogy--what actually happened to cause that accident and the fallout from it. Nicholas broke up with Livvy soon after the accident and they've been estranged ever since. Now Livvy's back in town to help her mother after surgery. This was a well-written story with lots of drama and emotion. I liked both characters and loved their romance but wished they had spent more time together talking. I'm looking forward to reading the other two stories in the series.

The Ritual/Adam Nevill/418 pages/Movie Adaptation

I stumbled upon this book quite by accident and was incredibly happy to hear that Netflix had recently released a film adaptation.  The Ritual is a horror romp through the woods with a distinct Blair Witch feel.  Four former classmates, Hutch, Dom, Phil, and Luke, reunite for a hiking holiday among the Arctic Circle forests in Sweden.  When Dom twists his knee in a fall, their leader Hutch makes a last minute decision to cut through a swath of virgin forest.  Upon entering the woods, the hikers are greeted with a gruesome spectacle, as the remains of an animal are hung up like a welcome banner in the trees.  Undeterred, the men shuffle past and into a nightmare, where a creature, seemingly out of some dark fairytale, relentlessly stalks the small band.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite some major flaws.  For one, the story is told in the third person and for the first chapter or so, you are lead to believe that Hutch is the main character, but then there is an abrupt shift to focus on Luke, which continues throughout the duration of the narrative.  There is a tension between Luke, who is perceived as a freespirit, and the rest of the group, who have all led more traditional lives.  It's one-dimensional at best, but does fuel Luke's development into a pure lone wolf character and his determination to survive.  The reader is also stuck with Luke, every step of the way.  Confession time:  I am used to the break-neck pace of young adult novels, where no one stops to dwell for more than a sentence or two on internal monologue or setting description.  Nevill will make you experience the creeping fear, mounting tension, and physical discomfort right along with the main characters and it never lets up for a moment.  Ultimately, this is the story's saving grace as you are never left to ponder Luke's motivations or thrown any cheap devices to reveal more information than is necessary.

Well worth the read for the horror genre.  Now excuse me, while I go scare myself senseless and watch the Netflix adaptation.

Modern Death: how medicine changed the end of life/Haider Warraich/324 pgs.

Awhile ago, I read Dr. Atul Gawande's Being mortal : medicine and what matters in the end. Dr. Warraich's Modern Death complements Dr. Gawande's book. Both books describe how advances in modern medicine make it difficult at times to provide the patient with a "peaceful" death. Dr. Warraich discusses what has been defined as "death" throughout time, in addition to the moral and ethical issues involved in dealing with terminal illness patients. He provides the reader with patient cases he and his colleagues have struggled with, plus court cases that have tried to define when treatment goes beyond the patient's wishes. It's an intriguing read about an issue most of us will face at some time in our lives. Highly recommended!

Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give/Ada Calhoun/192 pgs.

Evidently this book was inspired by the author's "Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give" essay published in the New York Times. It is a down to earth depiction of the ups and downs of married life. There is humor, but also a seriousness to the discussion of why some marriages last and others don't. It provides some very thought provoking insights into the state of marriage. Recommended!