June Reads

43. A Friend of the Family (Grodstein) ~ 3.5/5

The Reservoir (Thompson) ~ DNF

44. Faithful Place (French) ~ 3.75/5

A Visit From the Goon Squad (Egan) ~ DNF

45. Among the Missing (Joss) ~ 3.5/5

46. Yummy (Neri) ~ 4/5

47. The Hunting Wind (Hamilton) ~ 3.75/5

48. The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes (Sakey) ~ 4.5/5

Unreasonable Doubt (Collins) ~ 3.5/5

Death's Brother (Crider) ~ 4/5

Poisoned (Gallagher) ~ 4.5/5

49. Murder Makes Waves (George) ~ 3/5

Remaindered (Goldberg) ~ 3.5/5

Fire in the Sky (Goldman) ~ 3.5/5

The Baby Store (Gorman) ~ 4.25/5

The Jade Elephant (Hellman) ~ 3/5

The Big O (Hendricks) ~ 3/5

The Chirashi Covenant (Hirahara) ~ 3/5

El Valiente En El Infierno (Levine) ~ 3/5

50. Blue Heaven (Box) ~ 4/5

A Handful of Dust (Shannon) ~ 4.25/5

The Canary (Zeltserman) ~ 3.5/5

The Chase (12 Authors) ~ 2/5

51. Top Suspense (Edited By:  Zeltserman) ~ 3.75/5

52. Breaking Silence (Castillo) ~ 4.5/5

53. Deeper Than the Dead (Hoag) ~ 4/5

54. The Long Journey Home (Robison) ~ 3.5/5   

Short Story (not counted)

Bold titles made Best Reads of 2011 list

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

MONTHLY  -  YEARLY STATS:
TOTAL:  12 - 54

Audiobooks:    6 - 32

Best Reads:    2 - 6

Books:    4 - 12

DNF:    2 - 4

eBooks:    2 - 10

New-to-Me Authors:    14 - 36

Off My Shelf:   6 - 18

Published in 2011:  5 - 15

Short Stories:    13 - 28

YA:    1 - 8

Ratings

Monthly - Yearly Stats:

5.00 =   0 - 1

4.75 =   0 - 0

4.50 =   2 - 5

4.25 =   0 - 2

4.00 =   3 - 10

3.75 =   3 - 9

3.50 =    3 - 13

3.25 =   0 - 2

3.00 =   1 - 5

2.75 =   0 - 1

2.50 =   0 - 2

2.25 =   0 - 1

2.00 =   0 - 3

1.75 =   0 - 0

1.50 =   0 - 0

1.25 =   0 - 0

1.00 =   0 - 0

__________

average =  3.81  -  3.57    

THE LONG JOURNEY HOME

Author: Margaret Robison

Genre: Memoir, Standalone

Published: 2011

Personal Rating: 3.5/5 (good)

Format: Book

Yearly Count:  54

From the back of the ARC:

Beginning with Margaret Robison's childhood in southern Georgia, with its facade of 1950s propriety masking all sorts of demons--alcoholism, s*xual repression, misogyny, and suicide--then taking us through her mental breakdown and, more recently, her recovery from a massive stroke, The Long Journey Home is Robison's attempt to make sense of a complicated, often tortured, complex American life.  She writes movingly and honestly about her shortcomings as a parent, her difficult marriage, and her two now-famous children.  An accomplished poet and artist, Robison tells the painful but ultimately uplifting story of a woman trapped by social convention in a time when escaping cultural expectations was harder than most of us can remember.  Hers is a beautiful, heartfelt, enduring story.

The most prevalent feeling I am left with after closing this book is gloominess. Yet, I also feel a little sympathy towards Margaret, and part of me wants to applaud her because she didn't stoop to a lower level and lash out at her son's (Augusten Burrough) memories in his many published books (one of which I read). She expressed her disappointment and spoke the truth as she saw it in response, but still loves her son unconditionally. That speaks volumes to me.

While the writing was somewhat disjointed or scattered at times, for the most part it maintained my attention. I admit that I did try to correlate my knowledge from Augusten's book with what Margaret was sharing and came away with bits and pieces that I imagined fit. However, I was well aware that this was Margaret's memoir, and this was her perception of her life experiences. I appreciated that she stated, more than once, when she had forgotten something or that to the best of her recollection this happened or that happened. She does not try to persuade the reader in any way.

Ultimately, a bit of a blah read, but she did and continues to persevere. I wish her success with this book, health and happiness.

My thanks go to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for sending me this ARC.

Margaret Robison's TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Wednesday, June 1st:  Well Read Wife

Thursday, June 2nd:  The Girl from the Ghetto

Monday, June 6th:  Books Like Breathing

Tuesday, June 7th:  Life in Review

Thursday, June 9th:  Silver and Grace

Monday, June 13th:  Reviews by Lola

Monday, June 20th:  Sara’s Organized Chaos

Friday, June 24th:  Chaotic Compendiums

Monday, June 27th:  The Book Lady’s Blog – guest post

Thursday, June 30th:  Rundpinne

Thursday, July 7th:  SMS Book Reviews

Friday, July 8th:  Colloquium

Friday, July 15th:  Thoughts of Joy

DEEPER THAN THE DEAD

Author:  Tami Hoag

Genre:  Thriller, Oak Knoll Series #1

Published:  2009

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)

Format:  Audiobook

Yearly Count:  53

Set in Oak Knoll, California, a bully is chasing his classmates into the woods, and they stumble over a dead woman.  The manner of death indicates the work of a serial killer.  Anne, the teacher of the children and Vince, the FBI profiler, join forces with the local police to catch the killer before he strikes again.  

It's often necessary to suspend disbelief in thrillers, and I needed to exercise that practice a couple of times with this one.  I prefer not to have to do that, because it takes away from my enjoyment, but I did like trying to figure out who the killer was within the plentiful suspects.   

BREAKING SILENCE

Author: Linda Castillo

Genre: Thriller, Kate Burkholder Series #3

Published: 2011

Personal Rating: 4.5/5 (excellent)

Format:  Book
Yearly Count: 52

From the inside of the ARC:

When the Slabaugh family is found dead in their barn, it appears to be a gruesome accident: methane gas asphyxiation caused by a poorly ventilated cesspit. But it's soon revealed to be murder, possibly tied to a series of hate crimes against the Amish.


Alongside state agent John Tomasetti, Kate Burkholder searches for the link between the crimes--and uncovers a dark secret a work beneath the placid surface of this idyllic Amish community.

This book hit the spot! It kept me engaged from beginning to end, and I was disappointed when it came to an end.  (And that was after purposefully stretching it out a bit.)  I think I have come to really like Kate and enjoyed her deepening relationship with John.

The plot was filled with twists and an interesting cast of characters, as well as a terrific Amish community setting.  All together it was an exciting read, and I can't wait for the next Kate and John case.

My thanks go to Kay from My Random Acts of Reading for sending me her ARC. What a pal! :)

TOP SUSPENSE

Edited By:  Dave Zeltserman

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Top Suspense:

13 Classic Stories, 2011

Personal Rating: 3.75/5 (good +)

Format: eBook - iPad

Yearly Count:  51

This collection contained all, but one, new-to-me authors.  I have a book by another author or two, but haven't read them yet.  Overall, my average rating is a 3.5, but as I leave this book my memory and feeling about it is a little bit better than good.  Therefore, my rating was adjusted.  I really liked it and looked forward to each and every story.

  

1.  Unreasonable Doubt (Collins)

2.  Death's Brother (Crider)

3.  Poisoned (Gallagher)

4.  Remaindered (Goldberg)

5.  Fire in the Sky (Goldman)

6.  The Baby Store (Gorman)

7.  The Jade Elephant (Hellman)

8.  The Big O (Hendricks)

9.  The Chirashi Covenant (Hirahara)

10.  El Valiente En El Infierno (Levine)

11.  A Handful of Dust (Shannon) 

12.  The Canary (Zeltserman) 

13.  The Chase (All 12 Authors)

THE CHASE (13 of 13)

Author:  12 Collection Contributors   

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Top Suspense:

13 Classic Stories, 2011

Personal Rating: 2/5 (not enjoyable)

Format: eBook - iPad

(ss) Yearly Count: 28

This story is a collaborative effort of the 12 authors who contributed individually to the collection. In a round-robin fashion, they each took a turn adding 250 words, then passing it around until everybody wrote twice. There was no editing of any kind allowed.

I don't even know how to describe the story.  A bad woman, a bad man, and another bad man arrive at the same destination.

The general concept of a joint story is intriguing, and I thought the text had a nice flow to it. However, it struck me as a bit crude. I didn't appreciate that. Ultimately - loved the idea, but the plot soured.

THE CANARY (12 of 13)

Author: Dave Zeltserman

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Top Suspense:

13 Classic Stories, 2011

Personal Rating: 3.5/5 (good)

Format: eBook - iPad

(ss) Yearly Count: 27

A hidden key, an auction and a canary make up the gist of this story.

It was a good story, but I didn't like how the details were divulged.  It was just too easy, making it not that exciting to read.

A HANDFUL OF DUST (11 of 13)

Author: Harry Shannon

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Top Suspense:

13 Classic Stories, 2011

Personal Rating: 4.25/5 (very good +)

Format: eBook - iPad

(ss) Yearly Count: 26

Pike's meeting with a new client in a remote area is twisted.

I was never sure what was going to happen in this story, so I was intrigued the whole way through.    

BLUE HEAVEN

Author: C.J. Box

Genre: Suspense, Standalone

Published: 2008

Personal Rating: 4/5 (very good)

Format: Audiobook

Yearly Count: 50

Right before their eyes, Annie, 12, and her brother William, 10, stumble upon somebody being murdered. After being seen by the murderers, they quickly run for safety, but don't know who to trust.  When they are reported missing, retired cops join in the hunt and another retired cop, who was there to tie up loose ends of an old case, converge.

Finally.  I've been wanting to read a book by C.J. Box for a long, long time.  I chose a standalone, but it's my understanding that his Joe Pickett series is very good.  I'm very content with my choice as I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more written by him.

In the beginning of this book, there were a lot of characters within different settings, and I had to be attentive as to how they all fit together. I liked some of them and didn't like others - just like I was supposed to. They were all well-defined and helped to create a deeper story line. Both suspense and characterization were executed very well.   I'm really happy that I finally read this author.

EL VALIENTE EN EL INFIERNO (10 of 13)

Author: Paul Levine

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Top Suspense:

13 Classic Stories, 2011

Personal Rating: 3/5 (just okay)

Format: eBook - iPad

(ss) Yearly Count: 25

Illegally, a group of Mexicans try to make it across the US border, but not without trouble.

There was some suspense in this story. I suppose it did what it intended, but nothing memorable.

THE CHIRASHI COVENANT (9 of 13)

Author: Naomi Hirahara

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Top Suspense, 2011

Personal Rating: 3/5 (just okay)

Format: eBook - iPad

(ss) Yearly Count:  24

A realtor meets his greatest challenge.

I pretty much knew where this one was going.

THE BIG O (8 of 13)

Author: Vicki Hendricks

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Top Suspense, 2011

Personal Rating: 3/5 (just okay)

Format: eBook - iPad

(ss) Yearly Count:  23

An abused mother takes matters into her own hands.

I was interested in what was going to happen, but I just didn't care for the main character.

THE JADE ELEPHANT (7 of 13)

Author: Libby Fischer Hellman

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Top Suspense:

13 Classic Stories, 2011

Personal Rating: 3/5 (just okay)

Format: eBook - iPad

(ss) Yearly Count: 22

The holiday spirit touches a "bad guy."

I just didn't find anything special about this story. Nothing grabbed me.

THE BABY STORE (6 of 13)

Author: Ed Gorman

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Top Suspense:

13 Classic Stories, 2011

Personal Rating: 4.25/5 (very good +)

Format: eBook - iPad

(ss) Yearly Count: 21

Designer babies are the upper class thing to do and bragging rights are vital to being a parent. So, one must be very careful when choosing the traits of one's child.

This was a very intriguing story. I had no clue where it was going and was surprised by the ending.

*I feel so silly sometimes when I don't see what's coming, but being that this was a short story, I'll give myself a break because there just wasn't enough time to sort out my thoughts. :)