September Reflections

I read 44 books this month. Twice as many as in August. Of course, that's because I read so many picture books. The last week of the month, I know, and I decided to try to read twenty picture books to bring my totals up for the year.
 
Picture books: 21; Middle Grade: 2; Young Adult: 5; Adult: 8; Christian Fiction: 7; Graphic Novels: 1.

Review copies: 27; Library Books: 15; Books I Bought: 2.

My top five six:

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (#1 Heroes of Olympus)
The Five Red Herrings. Dorothy L. Sayers.
Mister Creecher. Chris Priestly.
A Murder on the Links. Agatha Christie.
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb. Melanie Benjamin.
Home to Harmony. Philip Gulley.

Reviews at Becky's Book Reviews

Torn. Margaret Peterson Haddix. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 352 pages.
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (#1 Heroes of Olympus) 2010. Hyperion. 576 pages.
My Life Undecided. Jessica Brody. 2011. FSG. 320 pages.
Wrapped. Jennifer Bradbury. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 320 pages.
Human.4 Mike A. Lancaster. 2011. Egmont USA. 240 pages.
Mister Creecher. Chris Priestly. 2011. Bloomsbury. 390 pages.
This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein. Kenneth Oppel. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 304 pages.
Katherine. Anya Seton. 1954/2004. Chicago Review Press. 512 pages.
The Five Red Herrings. Dorothy L. Sayers. 1931. HarperCollins. 325 pages.
A Murder on the Links. Agatha Christie. 1923.  272 pages.
A Pocket Full of Rye. Agatha Christie. 1953. 256 pages.
Home to Harmony. Philip Gulley. 2002. HarperCollins. 225 pages. 
I, Claudius. Robert Graves. 1934. 480 pages.
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb. Melanie Benjamin. 2011. Random House. 425 pages.
Just Shy of Harmony. Philip Gulley. 2002. HarperCollins. 272 pages.

Reviews at Young Readers

Binky Under Pressure. Ashley Spires. 2011. Kids Can. 64 pages.
11 Experiments That Failed by Jenny Offill. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.
Charlie the Ranch Dog. Ree Drummond. Illustrated by Diane Degroat. 2011. HarperCollins. 40 pages.
All The Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel. Dan Yaccarino. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.
Be Quiet, Mike! Leslie Patricelli. 2011. Candlewick. 40 pages.
The Best Birthday Party Ever. Jennifer LaRue Huget. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.
Shoe-La-La. Karen Beaumont. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. 2011. Scholastic. 40 pages.
Edwin Speaks Up. April Stevens. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.
Reaching. Judy Ann Sadler. Illustrated by Susan Mitchell. 2011. Kids Can Press. 32 pages. 
ZooZical by Judy Sierra. Illustrated by Marc Brown. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.
The Princess and the Pig. Jonathan Emmett. Illustrated by Poly Bernatene. 2011. Walker. 32 pages. 
The Yellow House. Blake Morrison. Illustrated by Helen Craig. 1987/2011. Candlewick Press. 32 pages.
The Hungry Ghost of Rue Orleans. Mary Quattlebaum. Illustrated by Patricia Castelao. 2011. Random House. 32 pages.
Naamah and the Ark at Night. Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Illustrated by Holly Meade. 2011. Candlewick. 32 pages.
Welcome to the World by Valerie Wyatt. Photographs by Lennette Newell. 2011. Kids Can Press. 24 pages.
The Call of the Cowboy. David Bruins. Illustrated by Hilary Leung. 2011. Kids Can Press.  32 pages.
The Busy Beaver. Nicholas Oldland. 2011. Kids Can Press. 32 pages.  
The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye. Jane Yolen. Illustrated by Jim LaMarche. 2011. Random House. 32 pages.
Pretty Princess Pig. Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple. Illustrated by Sam Williams. 2011. Simon & Schuster. (Little Simon). 24 pages.
My Name is Elizabeth! Annika Dunklee. Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe. 2011. Kids Can Press. 24 pages.
Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters. Jane Yolen. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. 2011. Candlewick Press. 32 pages.
17 Things I'm Not Allowed To Do Anymore. Jenny Offill. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. 2007. Random House. 32 pages.

Reviews at Operation Actually Read Bible

Wings of a Dream. Anne Mateer. 2011. Bethany House. 319 pages.
The Doctor's Lady. Jody Hedlund. 2011. Bethany House. 384 pages.
A Heart Revealed (Winds of Change Series #2) Julie Lessman. 2011. Revell. 500 pages.
Deeply Devoted. Maggie Brendan. 2011. Revell. 335 pages.
Beneath the Night Tree by Nicole Baart. 2011. Tyndale. 400 pages.
Still More Stories from Grandma's Attic. Arleta Richardson. 1980/2011. David C. Cook. 160 pages.
Treasures from Grandma's Attic. Arleta Richardson. 1984/2011. David C. Cook. 160 pages.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Library Loot: Fourth Trip in September

New loot:

Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis
17 Things I'm Not Allowed To Do Anymore by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
The Victory Club by Robin Lee Hatcher
Do I Know God? Finding Certainty in Life's Most Important Relationship by Tullian Tchividjian
Who Stole My Church? by Gordon MacDonald
The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond
A Lady of Hidden Intent by Tracie Peterson
Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina by Robert Graves
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
Look to the East by Maureen Lang

Leftover loot:

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters
Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Unnatural Causes by P.D. James
Shroud for a Nightingale by P.D. James
In a Dark Wood Wandering by Hella S. Haasse
Grave Expectations by Sherri Browning Erwin and Charles Dickens
The Lifted Veil: The Book of Fantastic Literature by Women, 1800-World War II edited by A. Susan Williams
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Great Expectations by 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
Frankenstein the 1818 text by Mary Shelley
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
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

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

Just Shy of Harmony

Just Shy of Harmony. Philip Gulley. 2002. HarperCollins. 272 pages.

Sam Gardner sat on the porch the Monday after Easter. 

Home to Harmony delighted me. It was a story collection with heart. There were stories that made me laugh, smile, and almost cry. Just Shy of Harmony is not a collection of stories; it is a novel set in Harmony. Readers follow this small town from Easter to Easter--the course of one year. There are essentially three or four stories:

The pastor Sam Gardner is having a crisis of faith: he no longer believes in the God he's supposed to preach about. He's realized that he has at least eight of ten signs of depression, and he finds the church much too overwhelming. And those feelings keep him from being able to pray. When he confesses to the elders of the church, they decide to take turns preaching each week. Which is good--the first few weeks--but Sam learns that not everyone has more than one (or two) good sermons in them. Will stepping back from the chaos of the church--the endless meetings, etc.--help him believe in God's goodness again?

Asa and Jessie Peacock won the lottery in Home to Harmony, but they refused to accept the money. In this novel, they struggle with their decision when EVERYTHING goes wrong all at once. If they accept the money, can they use it wisely?

Wayne Fleming has started dating Deena Morrison. But that relationship is threatened by the return of Wayne's wife, Sally. Sally thought she had a very very good reason for leaving Wayne and their kids last year. She wanted to spare them the pain of watching her die. But now she's having second thoughts about that decision, now she wants her family back. The community thinks they know everything about Sally, but what they don't know about her health, well, it surprises almost everyone. Can this community come together to help this family in need?

Dale Hinshaw feels "led" to start a Scripture egg ministry. By feeding chickens small pieces of paper with Bible verses on them, he hopes that the eggs they lay will minister to people, to shock them perhaps, into the faith. But this ministry is just a little too weird for the town to get behind and support.

While I didn't love this book--at least not as much as Home to Harmony--it was a nice read.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Lost Hero (MG)

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (#1 Heroes of Olympus) 2010. Hyperion. 576 pages.


Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day.

I had my doubts. Even though it's Rick Riordan, I had my doubts. How could The Lost Hero hope to compete with The Lightning Thief. It could be good, it could even be really good. But how could it really compare with such a great book?! For me, that was THE best book, the one that was the best of them all. Yes, the series as a whole was a good adventure, but the first one? Well it was OH-SO-MAGICAL!

I was surprised by how much I loved this one. I thought it was a great read. Compelling, exciting, and magical!!! It has multiple narrators. Now practically every book with multiple narrators has me sharing with you how much I really don't like that element in books, but with this one it WORKED and worked well. It didn't feel awkward or silly like it does in Rick Riordan's other series--The Kane Chronicles, The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire.

Our narrators, our heroes and heroines, are Jason, Piper, and Leo. Two have been under the protection of Coach Hedge, the third appears out of nowhere on a school field trip. The mist effecting everyone's memories--even Piper and Leo. (Piper just KNOWS that Jason has been her boyfriend for weeks. She can almost remember every moment they've ever shared.) But trouble is coming and the three will have to fight to survive long enough to reach the safety of Camp Half-blood. To complicate matters, Jason has NO MEMORY at all of who he is or where he came from.

So the book does feature a quest, and it is EXCITING. I won't go into the details of this one. Chances are if you're familiar with Percy Jackson and his series, then you'll want to read this new series anyway. And if you haven't read Percy Jackson yet, if you've yet to discover the joys of The Lightning Thief, then this is NOT the place to start your journey with Rick Riordan.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

What's On My Nightstand (September)

What's On Your Nightstand is hosted at 5 Minutes for Books. Here's what I'm reading currently:

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I am just LOVING this book! This isn't my first attempt to read it. But the first attempt I didn't get past the first fifty pages, just the wrong time, I suppose. But this time, it has become almost impossible to put down! I am just LOVING it!!! I love how it's told from so many perspectives!

The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman. I may not be making much progress in this one--it is close to a thousand pages. But I am still trying to make progress! I have NOT given up on it. I'm actually about 300 to 350 pages away from the end. So I hope to finish it soon.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I have not been given this one my full attention--or I would have finished it by now. I only have a hundred pages to go after all. This is for the Classics Circuit book tour in late October.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Torn (MG)

Torn. Margaret Peterson Haddix. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 352 pages.

"We didn't know what we were doing," a voice whispered near Jonah's ear. 

I really loved this fourth novel in the Missing series. I can't say that I've loved each of the novels equally. Though each has had its moments. But I can say that I've really enjoyed the series--or the idea behind the series. I love the time travel element. I love how each novel--or to be more precise, the second, third, and fourth novels--have focused on one time in particular. In the fourth novel, Jonah and his sister have been sent to 1611. They arrive on board Henry Hudson's ship just hours before a mutiny occurs. Jonah is posing as Hudson's son, and, well there is a lot depending on him. For the two have been told--and they have every reason to believe it--that time is falling apart and that they are the only two in position to repair the damage.

I would say that this is definitely a series you need to read in order. I'm not sure that Torn would be such a great read if you weren't familiar with the previous books.

If you enjoy action, adventure, history, mystery, and science fiction, then this series is definitely worth trying.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Sunday Salon: Week In Review #38

What I Reviewed at Becky's Book Reviews

Mister Creecher. Chris Priestly. 2011. Bloomsbury. 390 pages.
This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein. Kenneth Oppel. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 304 pages.
I, Claudius. Robert Graves. 1934. 480 pages.
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb. Melanie Benjamin. 2011. Random House. 425 pages.
 Beneath the Night Tree by Nicole Baart. 2011. Tyndale. 400 pages.

What I Reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible

Deeply Devoted. Maggie Brendan. 2011. Revell. 335 pages.




© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews