True Grit by Charles Portis

TITLE:  True Grit

AUTHOR:  Portis, Charles
GENRE:  Classic/Wester

DATES READ:  10/18/2017 - 10/26/2017

MY RATING:  4/5

Read for regular Book Club. Downloaded the audiobook.

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Mattie Ross (14 years old) loses her father when the corward, Tom Chaney, shoots him, steals his horse and all his money. She avenges her father's death by hunting down Rooster Cogburn, a US Marshal. They pursue Tom Chaney together into the Indian Territory with the desire for vengeance.

I'm so happy that I listened to this audiobook!

I loved Mattie Ross and Rooster. Our book club had such a great time and my mom and I made corn dodgers for a treat! This book is a classic western with plain and simple speech and plenty of action. There's wonderful comic relief in Mattie's seriousness and stubborn attitude.

She really was the only one with "true grit". Would recommend to any and all ages. Just a classic!

Will read and write soon!

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Pet Sematary by Stephen King

TITLE:  Pet Sematary

AUTHOR:  King, Stephen
GENRE:  Horror

DATES READ:  9/25/2017 - 10/21/2017

MY RATING:  4/5

October Stephen King Book Club choice for Halloween-time. I've heard it's really scary!!!

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When the Creed Family move into their beautiful new home, they have no idea what secrets the wood hold. A mysterious cemetery. And the neighbors don't really want to talk about it... for good reason... something dead IS better...

Oh my goodness... this has to be one of the scariest books I've ever read! How horrifying.

I went into it knowing the premise already but it was still such a harrowing read. I can't imagine reading it when it first came out and having no idea. My first exposure to Pet Sematary was actually the movie Pet Sematary 2. I remember watching it alone at night during the summer when I was much younger, and not being able to sleep well for long time. Thinking back, I think that was my first exposure to Stephen King.

This was such a harrowing read. I felt no sympathy for the main character, Louis, throughout all of it. I did feel for his grief, but overall I feel he reaped what he sowed.

The idea of things brought back to life being "unnatural", moving differently, and the overall vibe was so eerie. It sent chills down my spine. I stayed up late to finish it and then had to turn all of my lights on!!!

Not to mention, my family has cats, and now they give me the creeps a little bit. Not a book for the faint of heart. Perfect Halloween read!

Will read and write soon!

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

TITLE:  The Haunting of Hill House

AUTHOR:  Jackson, Shirley
GENRE:  Classic/Gothic

DATES READ:  10/9/2017 - 10/20/2017

MY RATING:  4/5

October regular Book Club choice for Halloween-time. I've always wanted to read it after watching The Haunting.

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Four seekers travel to Hill House looking for evidence of a "haunting". Dr. Montague, Theodora, Eleanor and Luke. What starts as odd happenings feeling becomes deeper and darker. Perhaps Hill House wants one of them for its own...

This book is so creepy! And in such an old school way. No wonder Shirley Jackson is so renowned for her writing. She's inspired so many tales of hauntings.

Her language is fabulous and it's very different from the movie I watched. It was a pleasant surprise.

Such a different take on a haunting too. It was much more a mental attack and was an original unreliable-ish narrator. Was the house really haunted? That remains for the reader to decide. In a way, that makes the ghost story so much creepier.

The film took so many liberties and lost the original integrity of this classic. But I guess, any excuse to get Catherine Zeta Jones, Owen Wilson and Liam Neeson on screen together is a good one!

Will read and write soon!

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The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

TITLE:  The Girl in the Blue Coat

AUTHOR:  Hesse, Monica
GENRE:  Historical Fiction

DATES READ:  10/10/2017 - 10/17/2017

MY RATING:  3/5

One of our book club member chose this for our November read. I finished over a month early, so hopefully I'll still remember all of my talking points.

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Amsterdam, 1943. A girl named Hanneke deals in black market goods during the German invasion. One of her clients asks her to help find someone who's missing, and Hanneke's investigation will unravel a tangle of mysteries and open her eyes to the resistance.

This is tough to review because as a standalone pleasure reading novel it is a moving, fabulous and touching book. But it's tough to review as a novel for a book discussion.

I enjoy reading historical fiction about World War II, and the heroes that emerged from the wood work. It could be something as simple as hiding a piece of bread or as extreme as harboring Jewish people in an attic.

My only issue with our hero, Hanneke, is that she seems a little unrealistic. I guess I wanted more non-fiction in my fiction. I understand that she ran errands and traded on the black market and hid it from her family. But it all came across as a little too unique - that trope of being a unique "snowflake" in the literary genre.

Other than that gripe, I appreciate it when I can learn anything new about World War II history. In Amsterdam, there was the Underground Camera, and the rescue of babies from the detention center. I love learning about history! Something truth is stranger than fiction.

Definitely worth reading. Leans a little toward YA, but is very moving.

Will read and write soon!

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Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz

TITLE:  Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe

AUTHOR:  de la Cruz, Melissa
GENRE: Chick-lit

DATES READ:  10/7/2017 - 10/9/2017

MY RATING:  2/5

This was another giveaway that I won from GR.

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In this gender swap, Darcy Fitzwilliam plays the uptight successful businesswoman who must return when her mother falls ill to good old Pemberley, Ohio. At their family's Christmas party, she runs into Luke Bennet, a carpenter content with the simple life. But when a kiss under the mistletoe turns into a one night stand, hi-jinks ensue...

I need to preface this review by saying that Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is one of my favorite novels of all time. It will never drop below my top 10 and will have a place of pride on my bookshelf at all times. So, unfortunately, I did go into reading this adaptation in a bristly and judgmental manner. I couldn't help it!

I wish I had better things to say about this novel! There was the unnecessary gender swap and it is still told from the females POV. Only now, the female is the prig. She's a powerful CEO, who also happens to be a sniveling, whiny, rude, self-centered character.

Mr. Darcy may have been rude, but he had class. He fell for Lizzy because of her wit, intelligence, and stubborn demeaner. Not just because of a hot drunken kiss under the mistletoe!!! Chick-lit needs to strive to be better than this.

Will read and write soon!

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The Quiche and the Dead by Kirsten Weiss

TITLE:  The Quiche and the Dead (Pie Town Mystery #1)

AUTHOR:  Weiss, Kirsten
GENRE:  Mystery

DATES READ:  10/2/2017 - 10/9/2017

MY RATING:  3/5

I won this book as another giveaway from GR. It's one of those mass market cozy paperbacks!

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Valentine Harris moves to coastal California to start a new life with her fiance but ends up with a broken engagement. At least she realized the dream of opening her own pie shop. But one morning, a customer croaks while eating her quiche and the police discover he'd been poisoned. Not it's up to Val and her pie crust sidekick Charlene to discover the truth...

Overall, this was a cute, cozy and quick read. The characters were quirky. The pie crust maker, Charlene, was a little too quirky and over-the-top for my taste, and it almost became annoying.

But for anyone looking for a little pie-themed murder mystery to breeze through, look not further! I was happy to read it and give it an early review.

Maybe I'll give it away to some and pay it forward. This one's a good one for a rainy day!

Will read and write soon!

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A Game of Thones by George R.R. Martin

TITLE:  A Game of Thones

AUTHOR:  Martin, George R.R.
GENRE:  Fantasy

DATES READ:  8/17/2017 - 10/5/2017

MY RATING:  5/5!!!

I finally decided to take another stab at it because I want to watch the series. I'm going to ping pong between audio versions and the hard copy because I think that will keep more motivated this time around.

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In the game of thrones, you either win or you die. This unending battle for the Iron Throne is vast and treacherous. The first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire.

I LOVE this book!!! And I liked it overall more than I thought I would after the first go. There are so many character and so much detail. I think it was overwhelming the first time I picked it up. This time I was ready for it. I enjoyed the drama, the settings, and the fact that I now have an amazing show to start!!!

This (and all the rest, for that matter), are for detail-oriented readers. If you're not interested in learning a new land and reading about every little bit of intrigue (whether or not it's intriguing), you should probably steer clear. Martin goes into absolutely EVERYTHING!

A great fantasy canon to lose yourself in.

Will read and write soon!

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