Lord of the Flies. Finished 12-21-15, rating 3/5, fiction, 208 pages, pub. 1954

William Golding’s compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first, it seems as though it’s all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious & life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic & death. As ordinary standards of behavior collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them—the world of cricket & homework & adventure stories—& another world is revealed beneath, primitive & terrible. Lord of the Flies remains as provocative today as when it was 1st published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication. Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought & literature. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies has established itself as a classic.   From Goodreads

I tried to listen to this one earlier in the year and the audio was unfortunately read by the author.  I gave up fairly quickly and fared better with the print version.  This won’t be making any of my favorite lists but I am glad I read it just because of its cultural impact and the influence it continues to have over 60 years later.

Think TV show Lost meets reality TV Survivor and you have an idea of where this slim classic is going to take you.  Boys, aged 6-12, stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash struggle to join forces to survive.  Ralph, leader, keeper of the conch shell and the voice of order, and Jack, wanna be leader of the island but starts with leader of the hunters, start off on the same side but as time goes by and boys struggle to do what needs to be done these two boys become enemies.

I loved the concept and, even with the sometimes stilted or dated writing, it was easy to read. I liked their struggles with how to make order out of nothing, but did find the descent into the surreal not as engaging.  I wanted more reality I think.  And as much as I hate to say this, I wonder if I was less engaged because it was an island full of boys?

I think this is one that would have benefitted from reading in class or with a group. I know I missed a lot of the symbolism and nuance.  I’m glad I read it but it was just okay for me with the plusses and minuses being equal.

My 8th read for The Classics Club! I have 5 more years to finish my list of 50 classics 🙂

Gathering Prey. Finished 12-8-15, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2015

Unabridged audio read by Richard Ferrone. 11 hours.

Lucas Davenport series #25

They call them Travelers. They move from city to city, panhandling, committing no crimes—they just like to stay on the move. And now somebody is killing them.

Lucas Davenport’s adopted daughter, Letty, is home from college when she gets a phone call from a woman Traveler she’d befriended in San Francisco. The woman thinks somebody’s killing her friends, she’s afraid she knows who it is, and now her male companion has gone missing. She’s hiding out in North Dakota, and she doesn’t know what to do.

Letty tells Lucas she’s going to get her, and, though he suspects Letty’s getting played, he volunteers to go with her. When he hears the woman’s story, though, he begins to think there’s something in it. Little does he know. In the days to come, he will embark upon an odyssey through a subculture unlike any he has ever seen, a trip that will not only put the two of them in danger—but just may change the course of his life.   from Goodreads

Lucas is tracking some Charles Manson-like group around the Midwest as they torture and kill homeless for no reason but pleasure.  When it gets personal Lucas is willing to leave his Minnesota jurisdiction and track crazies.  It was fun to see him leave the state and spend some time in the Michigan Upper Peninsula

In this 25th book of the series, there is a shift of sorts that signals changes are afoot and it’s been this progression of Lucas that has made this a standout, must read series for me.  As he turns 50 and the winds of local politics change direction it’s clear that Lucas has some decisions to make.  This case involves his adopted daughter, Letty, and I love that she has had larger roles in the last few books.

I continue to love this series!

Goodnight June. Finished audio 11-20-15, rating 4.25/5, fiction, pub. 2014

Unabridged audio read by Katherine Kellgren. 8.5 hours.

Goodnight Moon is an adored childhood classic, but its real origins are lost to history. In Goodnight June, Sarah Jio offers a suspenseful and heartfelt take on how the “great green room” might have come to be.

June Andersen is professionally successful, but her personal life is marred by unhappiness. Unexpectedly, she is called to settle her great-aunt Ruby’s estate and determine the fate of Bluebird Books, the children’s bookstore Ruby founded in the 1940s. Amidst the store’s papers, June stumbles upon letters between her great-aunt and the late Margaret Wise Brown—and steps into the pages of American literature.

This was a sweet, charming story of second chances. Jane, a NYC banker, has all of the professional success she could ever want and yet when her aunt’s bookstore comes into her possession she realizes that so much has been missing.  She goes home to Seattle to confront the life she ran away from and little by little her resistance fades.

Most of us love bookstores (why would you be reading this otherwise?) so this story is one easy to fall in love with since it full of books, dreams and history.  I would love to inherit a children’s bookstore like Bluebird Books!  And this isn’t just any bookstore, it has hosted many an author and wealthy patron.  Jane finds that her Aunt Ruby has left her a scavenger hunt to find the answers to things that she hadn’t even thought to ask.  How did her Aunt Ruby know Margaret Wise Brown and did her aunt really contribute to Goodnight Moon?

There was so much to like about this book, even if you aren’t a fan of the children’s classic Goodnight Moon (one of the beloved classics I’ve never cared for (gasp!!)).  There were so many strong, flawed, independent women and I was rooting for them all.

I did feel that it was too simplistic in a few places, but I still really liked it.

The Splendour Falls. Finished 11-24-15, rating 4.25/5. 380 pages, pub. 1995

Chinon-chateau of legend, steeped in the history of France and England. It is to Chinon that Emily goes on a long-awaited holiday, to meet her charming but unreliable cousin, Harry. Harry wanted to explore the old town and the castle, where Queen Isabelle, child bride of King John, had withstood the siege of Chinon many centuries ago, and where, according to legend, she hid her casket of jewels. But when Emily arrives at her hotel she finds that Harry has disappeared, and as she tries to find him she becomes involved with some of the other guests and learns of a mystery dating from the German occupation during the Second World War. Another Isabelle, a chambermaid at the hotel, fell in love with a German soldier, with tragic results.

Emily becomes increasingly aware of strange tensions, old enmities and new loves; as she explores the city, with its labyrinthine dungeons and tunnels and its ancient secrets, she comes ever closer to the mystery of what happened to both the Isabelles of Chinon’s history. from Goodreads

Kearsley has officially become a comfort read for me.  This was my third read from her and each of them has left me satisfied and happy.  There is always a back story that takes place in another time that connects with the current story in some way.  This book had less of the back story, which I think it suffered for, but the mystery, romance, and yes, evil all combined to make this a fun read.  I didn’t think it was as good as the other two, but this is an earlier work of hers and it’s still good.

The essence of the setting is always so easily felt and her writing is so accessible that once I get started I find it hard to put down.  There were so many potential bad guys in this one that I didn’t really have and handle on it until late in the game, but those smarter than I probably figured it out much sooner.

If you love historical intrigue with a dash of modern day romance I highly recommend Kearsley.

Last Night’s Reading. Finished 11-27-15, rating 5/5, graphic non-fiction, 160 pages, pub. 2015

Why do we go to book readings? For a chance to see the authors we love come to life off the page, answering our questions and proving to be the brilliant, witty people we catch glimpses of through their work. Illustrator Kate Gavino captures the wonder of this experience firsthand. At every reading she attends, Kate hand-letters the event’s most memorable quote alongside a charming portrait of the author. In Last Night’s Reading, Kate takes us on her journey through the literary world, sharing illustrated insight from more than one hundred of today’s greatest writers—including Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz, Lev Grossman, Elizabeth Gilbert, and many more—on topics ranging from friendship and humor to creativity and identity. A celebration of authors, reading, and bookstores, this delightful collection is an advice book like no other and a love letter to the joy of seeing your favorite author up close and personal.  from Goodreads

What a delightful little book!  This was just released at the end of October so when I picked it up at the bookstore I hadn’t heard anything about it. The author loves to attend author events in the New York City area, draw the authors and make notes on what they say. She drew this charming book and included her story interspersed with quotes and sketches of the authors she met.

It’s beautifully made and a smaller size making it a perfect gift, either for yourself or a friend.  It’s inspiring and will make you want to attend every author signing you can.  In case you can’t tell, I love it!

You can check out her tumblr or instagram for some of her work.

http://lastnightsreading.tumblr.com/archive

https://www.instagram.com/lastnightsreading/?hl=en

Shatter. Finished 11-10-15, rating 4.25/5, thriller, 433 pages, pub. 2008

Book 3 of the Jospeh O’Laughlin series

Joe O’Loughlin is in familiar territory–standing on a bridge high above a flooded gorge, trying to stop a distraught woman from jumping. “You don’t understand,” she whispers, and lets go. Joe is haunted by his failure to save the woman, until her teenage daughter finds him and reveals that her mother would never have committed suicide–not like that. She was terrified of heights.

What could have driven her to commit such a desperate act? Whose voice? What evil?

Having devoted his career to repairing damaged minds, Joe must now confront an adversary who tears them apart. With pitch-perfect dialogue, believable characters, and astonishingly unpredictable plot twists, Shatter is guaranteed to keep even the most avid thriller readers riveted long into the night.

I haven’t read the first 2 books of this series, but I had no problem jumping in and not only liking the action but also the layered family history.  I liked it enough to add the next in the series to my reading list.

What set this apart from other series, especially thrillers, is that the hero is struggling with a debilitating disease, Parkinson’s.  Because of that and stress from earlier cases he and his family are living in Somerset, outside of London, and he is teaching part-time at a nearby university.  As a clinical psychologist, when the police come to the school looking for someone to talk down a potential jumper on a bridge, he is the obvious choice. Joe is devastated when he can’t save the troubled woman and decides to look into it a little more after talking to the woman’s daughter. What he finds has him leaning on the police to find the boogeyman who is making women kill themselves without even lifting a finger.

This was good, with lots of twists and plenty of family drama. The fact that these women were killing themselves just by listening to someone on a phone was something new and because of it, it felt fresh and different.  The way the daughters acted afterward felt off to me, but that was my only complaint.  I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Joe next!