Library Loot: First Trip in September

It's not really the first library trip in September. Just the first one I've taken the time to blog about.

New Loot:

Unnatural Causes by P.D. James
Shroud for a Nightingale by P.D. James
Beneath the Night Tree by Nicole Baart
Perfect Reader by Maggie Pouncey
In a Dark Wood Wandering by Hella S. Haasse
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin
Grave Expectations by Sherri Browning Erwin and Charles Dickens

Leftover Loot:

The Lifted Veil: The Book of Fantastic Literature by Women, 1800-World War II edited by A. Susan Williams
My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Armada by Garrett Mattingly
Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories by M.R. James
The Haunted Doll's House and Other Ghost Stories by M.R. James
The Stories of Ray Bradbury
Lighthouse by Eugenia Price
The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Frankenstein the 1818 text by Mary Shelley
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Claudius the god and his wife Messalina by Robert Graves
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

 Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries. 

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Human.4 (YA)

Human.4 Mike A. Lancaster. 2011. Egmont USA. 240 pages.

When Danny Birnie told us that he had hypnotized his sister we all though he was mad. Or lying. Or both.

Our narrator, Kyle Straker, is living in a strange, strange world where he and three others have suddenly become irrelevant. It started when he volunteered at a local talent show to be hypnotized. It wasn't that he wanted to volunteer, just that in a moment of weakness he had pity on Danny while he was doing his act. His former girlfriend, Lilly, also happened to volunteer just about the same time he did. Two adults, Mrs. O'Donnell and Mr. Peterson, also volunteered. All were hypnotized. All woke up in this strange, strange new reality.

This book is part science fiction, part horror, and part mystery. It was a quick read! I liked it. I wouldn't say I loved it. But for a quick premise-driven read, it was a good choice.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Five Red Herrings

The Five Red Herrings. Dorothy L. Sayers. 1931. HarperCollins. 325 pages.

If one lives in Galloway, one either fishes or paints. "Either" is perhaps misleading, for most of the painters are fishers also in their spare time. To be neither of these things is considered odd and almost eccentric. 

The Five Red Herrings is the seventh mystery starring Lord Peter Wimsey. Lord Peter is a character that I just love and adore. He's just one of my favorite, favorite, favorite characters ever. So I was so happy to read another mystery in this series.

In The Five Red Herrings, Lord Peter Wimsey is on vacation in Scotland. Though he neither paints or fishes, he is accepted--for the most part--by the community. It's hard to not like him, after all! Early in the novel--though I'm not sure if it's early in his holiday--a murder is committed. The "victim" is someone EVERYONE hates; threats against this guy were so common that they were hardly worth taking seriously. I mean Campbell, the victim, was just impossible to get along with. But now that he's dead, it is up to the police (the constables and detectives, etc.) to solve the crime. And since Lord Peter just happens to be very, very good at detecting, he offers to help them out.

There are six suspects--all artists. Hugh Farren, Henry Strachan, Matthew Gowan, Jock Graham, Michael Waters, and Ferguson. All had motive, all had opportunity. All of them are lying, all of them are hiding things from the police. Since there are so many suspects, since they all appear equally capable of committing the crime, it's just a matter of discerning the truth. Which theory--which plausible theory--is the truth? Which is most likely? Which uses all the clues that have been left behind?

Five Red Herrings is set in Scotland. And, for me, it was a delightful mystery.

Lord Peter Wimsey:

I was born looking foolish and every day in every way I am getting foolisher and foolisher. (52)

One of these days I shall write a book in which two men are seen to walk down a cul-de-sac, and there is a shot and one man is found murdered and the other runs away with a gun in his hand, and after twenty chapters stinking with red herrings, it turns out that the man with the gun did it after all. (114)

The essence of detection is secrecy. It has no business to be spectacular. But you can watch me if you like. (218)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Wrapped (YA)

Wrapped. Jennifer Bradbury. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 320 pages.

"Put the book down, darling," my mother said from her chair beside the mirror. 

Wrapped is a great read! I wouldn't say it is a perfect read, but it is so much fun. I wouldn't change a thing. It was just a joy to spend time with this book, with these characters. It's a mystery-romance set in Regency England--1815 to be exact.

Our heroine, Agnes Wilkins, is a delight! I just loved her! I loved almost everything about her. True, I solved the mystery before she did, but I'm not holding that against her. For I think, in many ways, she proves her smarts. She just happened to be a little distracted by her new friend Caedmon.

I definitely loved this one and am happy to recommend it!

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

My Life Undecided (YA)

My Life Undecided. Jessica Brody. 2011. FSG. 320 pages.

The sirens are louder than I anticipated.

I really enjoyed My Life Undecided. It is a fun read, very light, a bit silly, a bit predictable. But there are many satisfying moments in it. And once you've started it, well, it might be difficult to be put down. Not every book has to be oh-so-serious, right?

The heroine of this one, Brooklyn Pierce, struggles with making good decisions. Her life is full of mistakes and regrets. She always thinks she's doing the 'right' thing--like having a party in her mother's model home, while her parents are out of town. But she almost always makes the wrong decision, she chooses what feels good in the moment, and, well, she usually has to face the consequences.

The novel opens with her having to face the consequences...yet again. She's sentenced to community service.

Anyway, she decides early on that since she is horrible at controlling her own life, she'd open up all her decisions to others. She'd start a blog and let readers vote on how she should live her life. Any time she needs to make a decision, she writes a post and creates a poll.


But this decision to blog may not be the best way to live her life after all...

Can Brooklyn grow up and take responsibility for her own life?

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

R.I.P. VI

There are plenty of books I want to read for Carl's R.I.P challenge this year. Not all books will make it to the list--I simply couldn't list them all. And I'm sure there will be a few surprises or 'impulses.' But I do have a vague idea of what I'd like to read this year:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley*
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte**
The Lifted Veil: The Book of Fantastic Literature by Women 1800-World War II edited and introduced by A. Susan Williams.
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
The Francise Affair by Josephine Tey
The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side by Agatha Christie
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Grave Expectations by Sherri Browning Erwin and Charles Dickens
Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories by M.R. James
The Haunted Doll's House and Other Ghost Stories by M.R. James
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Kill Shakespeare, Volume 1

*Could I go a year without reading Frankenstein? Maybe? But why would I want to do something like that?! This is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite books!
**I would LOVE to reread Jane Eyre this year!

The review site for sharing links.

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

I'm signing up for the first peril--which is four books of any length that qualify.

1. A Pocket Full of Rye. Agatha Christie.
2. A Murder on the Links. Agatha Christie.
3. Human.4 Mike A. Lancaster.
4. The Five Red Herrings. Dorothy L. Sayers.
5. Mister Creecher by Chris Priestly
6. This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Katherine

Katherine. Anya Seton. 1954/2004. Chicago Review Press. 512 pages.

In the tender green time of April, Katherine set forth at last upon her journey with the two nuns and the royal messenger.

Katherine is the third Anya Seton novel I've read, and it is probably my favorite so far. It is the 'love story' of Katherine de Roet and John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster). It's definitely a 'love story' with complications!

The book opens with Katherine traveling with several nuns to visit her sister, Philippa, who is in the service of the Queen. Her arrival catches the attention of at least two guys. The most persistent being Hugh Swynford. Her sister just hopes that her sister has enough sense to know that these men are after one thing and only one thing. And Katherine does know that. But she can't protect herself from unseen dangers.

One day, Katherine takes a walk in the garden thinking that she is alone, that she is safe, only to discover that Hugh Swynford is there and he means to get his way. They struggle. And only fate in the form of John Gaunt, the Duke, saves her. He demands to know what is going on and Hugh stammers something about how he really truly means to marry the penniless girl. The Duke takes the poor woman home to his wife, Blanche, who takes pity on the girl and offers her friendship and kindness.

But within days Katherine learns her fate. She will be the wife of Hugh Swynford. For better or worse, she'll be stuck with him. But it's not like she has much of a say in her future. And a good match is a good match.

Katherine is a novel of medieval England. Readers get more than a quick and easy 'love story.' It's a novel about war and politics and social class. The novel follows the lives of Katherine and John through four decades. The 1360s through the 1390s.

There are plenty of characters to love and hate in this one. And it's a pleasant read. Not too dry, not too boring. But not completely romance either. There is history and politics and talk of war and riots, etc. If you're just looking for romance, this may not be the one for you. But if you want substance to your romance, then you should give it a try.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews