Review: Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

Another re-read in this series that I love, and another home run. This book was slower than some in the series, and it took me a while longer to get through than I expected, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Gabaldon does a great job of researching the time periods and locations she writes about (at least, *I* can't tell if there are any inaccuracies, but maybe a historian would have a bone to pick. I'd be interested in hearing from someone with a stronger background in history than I have).

In this installment, ***** SPOILER ALERT ***** Claire has returned to the 1700's and the love of her life, Jamie Fraser. She has left her daughter Brianna behind her in Boston, and she and Jamie have crossed the ocean to the Colonies. While they are trying to eke out an existence in the New World, Brianna remains in 1960's Boston, developing her burgeoning relationship with Roger MacKenzie Wakefield. When Brianna discovers some frightening information about her parents' lives in the past, she must make a decision that could change her life, and Roger's, forever.

People often ask me how I can re-read a book. Don't I already know how it ends? What's the point? Well, I first read this series about five years ago, during the end of law school, my summer studying for the Florida Bar, and the first year or so of my new life here in Florida. I honestly have forgotten most of the details of the books, so re-reading them is almost like experiencing the events for the first time. I remember the larger plot points, and sometimes things come back to me as I read, but most of the smaller details are like new to me.

I continue to rave about this series. The second read is as good as the first. I highly recommend this series for anyone who like historical fiction and certainly for romance lovers. Four out of five Whatevers for this one!

2011-10

Review: The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

I bought this copy of
The Beekeeper's Apprentice at our local Barnes & Noble a few years ago. WHY has it taken me so long to get to this series?! I've heard nothing but good things about these books, and this one met or exceeded every accolade I've heard!

The books cover the apprenticeship of Mary Russell, a 15-year-old orphan at the beginning of this book, to the great Sherlock Holmes. Mary stumbles across Holmes on the Sussex Downs and he quickly realizes that, perhaps, he has met his equal in intelligence and observance. He takes the lonely Mary under his wing, teaching her the art of detection, fronting her money to make her comfortable when her stingy aunt won't allow her the money out of her inheritance, and coming to care for her greatly by the end of the novel.

Mary eventually becomes Holmes' second on the various cases he investigates in his "retirement," including the case of an American senator's kidnapped daughter. That case leads into a more complicated one, a new foe who seems to have both Holmes and Russell in his sights.

Watching Russell grow in her ability to reason and solve crimes is amazing. Seeing Holmes recognize that he has met his match is also wonderful. This book was smart, interesting, fun, the whole gamut. Exactly what I look for in a mystery (or any other novel for that matter). I can't wait to read the rest. Five out of five Whatevers. I couldn't read this one fast enough! Recommended for lovers of Holmes, for those who like to read about young women coming into their own, and for those who love a good, old-fashioned mystery.

2011-9

Catching Up

Life has fallen into a kind of rhythm these days. Between reading, working two jobs, couponing (and shopping), TV watching, computer game playing, and hanging out with friends, I feel like I need twice the amount of time in the day. (Notice I didn't say anything about keeping the house clean in there...it's kind of a wreck around here.) I've gone out after work on Friday for the last two weeks...something I haven't done in a long time. But I'm finding that by sticking to my grocery budget, using coupons wherever I can, and moving around some funds, I have the money to do the things I didn't think I could afford before. I got together with two of my good friends and one old friend whom I haven't seen in almost two years to have drinks and dinner at a local Chili's restaurant. (I LOVE Chili's...two for one margaritas, how can you beat that?)

Tonight, we went to the in-laws for dinner to celebrate Father's Day. My brother-in-law grilled us burgers and Ricky and I brought dessert. It was a nice chance to get together with the family. And we came away with some home-grown basil and mangoes from the tree in their backyard.

As far as work goes, it's been slow for a while, but I have a trial set for the week of July 4th. I'm kind of excited about this one, so we shall see how it goes.

Oh! I went back on Weight Watchers at the end of April, and so far I've lost 15 pounds. I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol/triglycerides, which is largely related to my terrible diet, pre-WW. I'm on two different meds right now, and it is absolutely ridiculous that someone my age should have to be on so much medicine, so I'm trying to lose the weight to get off the meds. I want to get healthy AND look good, and I'm doing well so far. The challenge will be staying on the program. I lost somewhere between 50 and 75 pounds a few years ago by doing Weight Watchers, but then I quit following the program and gained it all back (plus some!). Hopefully, this time it will be a true lifestyle change and I will keep it alllll off. I joined the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge to try to help me get in my exercise. We'll see how well I do...

I'm currently reading The Beekeeper's Apprentice. And I LOVE it. I've heard nothing but good things about this series by Laurie R. King, and those comments are proving true. I have the rest of the series on my shelf, too, so now the question is whether to pace myself or to rush through the rest of the series ASAP. I think I'll try to pace myself. Now, with the Outlander series that I'm re-reading, I'm in the midst of two series that I really love. Sigh. Book heaven!

What are you reading these days? What series do you absolutely love?

Review: Fatal Light by Richard Currey

This book was sent to me through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

Well, I'm just going to come out and say it. I didn't care for this book. I went into it hoping for an experience like that when I read
Loon - where I didn't expect to like the book at all, but ended up loving it. However, it was not to be. I don't know if it was the way the book was written or what, but it did not resonate with me.

The book is written in two different styles: one is a regular, everyday story-telling type of writing, but the other is this staccato, choppy, stream-of-consciousness style that I did NOT care for at all. I get that it is supposed to convey the confusion, weariness, and sadness that the nameless protagonist is experiencing during his time in Vietnam, but I couldn't get into it. Maybe that is because I felt like I couldn't relate to the narrator. We never learn his name or much about him, really. He loves a girl, he gets sent off to war, he has a family at home who miss him, he has strange wartime experiences in Vietnam, then he comes home. That's about it.

Maybe I'm burnt out on Vietnam books, having read Loon not too long ago, and then Beach Music, which also had a Vietnam component to it. Maybe, as I suspect, I just don't like books about war. Maybe I don't like books about Vietnam. I just didn't feel like I connected with this book or learned much from it. Had I not known what an LZ was from reading Loon, I certainly wouldn't have found out by reading this book.

Two out of five Whatevers. Recommended for people who like war books or Vietnam-era literature. Just not for me.

2011-8

Review: Beach Music by Pat Conroy

I finished Pat Conroy's Beach Music last Wednesday, on the plane, as we began the first leg of our trip from Florida to Ohio. I haven't had time to post a review, as I've spent the weekend preparing for and attending my best friend's wedding. And my sister's baby shower. But now I've eaten my fill and celebrated to the utmost, and it's time to talk about the book.

The copy I read was Mooched a year or two ago, and I just got around to reading it. I read and loved Conroy's The Prince of Tides a couple of years ago. Sadly, while I enjoyed Beach Music, I didn't love it like I loved the other. This book once again delves into Conroy's love-hate relationship with the South, specifically South Carolina. At the start of the book, Jack McCall has moved with his daughter to Rome, to get away from his family, his late wife's family, and the Southernness of Waterford, South Carolina. His wife took her own life by jumping from a bridge, for which Jack somewhat blames himself. Her family tried to win custody of his only daughter, Leah, but they were unable to paint Jack in an unflattering enough light to be granted custody. Now he lives with her in Rome, trying to forget he has a family...until his brothers call to tell him their mother is dying. Jack returns to South Carolina, for the first time since Shyla took her own life, to reunite with old friends, and the family he was trying to forget. There is a bit of a mystery to the book, based on an old friend's disappearance, and a sort of romance, as well. The book covers stories arising from the Vietnam War, as well as Nazi Germany during World War II, as well as "modern-day" (1980's) Rome and South Carolina.

While I liked the book well enough, that's all I can really say about it. I liked it. While I was reading it, I was interested. When I put it down, I was not in a hurry to pick it back up. And that saddens me, since I loved The Prince of Tides so much. So I have to give Beach Music three and a half out of five Whatevers, since I wasn't aching to return to it when I put it down. Next, I'll be reading Fatal Light, a review book from LibraryThing, which I've put off for far too long.

2011-7

Amazing Library Photo

Check out this picture of the Strahov Monastery in Prague. This is completely amazing! You can zoom in and read the titles on the spines of the books!

Review: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Another re-read on my quest to reach the newest book in this series, Voyager is even better than I remembered it. At the beginning of the book, Claire is back in Scotland with her grown daughter Brianna and friend of the family Roger Wakefield, researching what became of the Scots she knew after the battle of Culloden. (This part picks up where the end of Dragonfly in Amber leaves off.) Claire then has a decision to make: now that she knows Jamie didn't perish at Culloden, should she track him down and attempt to return to him, or should she stay firmly in the present with their daughter?

******SPOILER ALERT********

Honestly, I don't think it's giving TOO much away to say that Claire does decide to go back through the standing stones to her husband. After all, it wouldn't be much of a series if she stayed in the present as a doctor.

Anyhoo, she goes back, finds Jamie, living as a printer under the name Alexander Malcolm, and they begin to have adventures again, right from the get-go. As in, someone burns down Jamie's print shop, they are on the lam from the law YET AGAIN, and we get to follow them from Edinburgh to Lallybroch to the West Indies. I have to say, the portion in the West Indies was quite interesting to me. As much as I love reading about 18th century Scotland, I really enjoyed the new setting, too. They meet some strange new friends (like Mr. Willoughby, a small Chinese man with a foot fetish) and come across some old ones...you'll have to read the book to find out who THAT is.

While I found Dragonfly in Amber to drag a little bit, due to the extensive political intrigue/war portions, Voyager was back to a true adventure story. Five out of five Whatevers. If you were somewhat turned off by the last book, read on! This one returns to the adventure and excitement of the first book!

ETA: I think I must have bought this book used...it was definitely read before I owned it.

2011-6