Book Review: Wonder, by R.J. Palacio

Genre: Children's Contemporary Fiction
Date Published: February 2012
Publisher: Knopf
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 316 pgs/8 hours

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.
August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being a sweet, wonderful story

Book Review: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (Millennium #3), by Stieg Larsson

Genre: Crime Thriller
Date Published: May 2007
Publisher: Knopf
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 563 pages/20 hours 20 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: The stunning third and final novel in Stieg Larsson's internationally best-selling trilogy.
Lisbeth Salander - the heart of Larsson's two previous novels - lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge - against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.
Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being a fantastic feminist read!

Book Review: The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium #2), by Stieg Larsson

Genre: Mystery thriller
Date Published: June 2006
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 503 pages/18 hours 40 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis:
The Expose
Millennium publisher Mikael Blomkvist has made his reputation exposing corrupt establishment figures. So when a young journalist approaches him with an investigation into sex trafficking, Blomkvist cannot resist waging war on the powerful figures who control this lucrative industry.
The Murder
When a young couple are found dead in their Stockholm apartment, it's a straightforward job for Inspector Bublanski and his team. The killer left the weapon at the scene - and the fingerprints on the gun point to only one direction.
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Ex-security analyst Lisbeth Salander is wanted for murder. Her history of unpredictable and vengeful behavior makes her an official danger to society - but no-one can find her. The only way Salander can be reached is by computer. But she can break into almost any network she chooses...

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For still being awesome!

Book Review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1), by Stieg Larsson

Genre: Mystery Suspense
Date Published: August 2005
Publisher: Knopf
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 465 pages/16 hours 19 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story and financial intrigue.
It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.
It’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age—and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it—who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism—and an unexpected connection between themselves.
It’s a contagiously exciting, stunningly intelligent novel about society at its most hidden, and about the intimate lives of a brilliantly realized cast of characters, all of them forced to face the darker aspects of their world and of their own lives.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For having an awesomely strong female character.

Book Review: Eragon (Inheritance #1), by Christopher Paolini

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Date Published: June 2002
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 500 pages/16 hours 20 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders?
When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands. . . .

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being impressive because a teenager wrote it

Book Review: The Goose Girl (Books Of Bayern #1), by Shannon Hale

Genre: Young adult fairy tale retelling
Date Published: August 2003
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 383 pages/10 hours

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: She was born with her eyes closed and a word on her tongue, a word she could not taste. Her name was Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, and she spent the first years of her life listening to her aunt’s stories and learning the language of the birds, especially the swans. And when she was older, she watched as a colt was born, and she heard the first word on his tongue, his name, Falada. But does she fit the quota of Ruling Queen? Her mother seems to think not, and she is sent off on the start of her adventure. But can she trust everyone she travels with? And what will life be for her when she arrives at her destinations?
From the Grimm’s fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become queen, Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original, and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can lead the people she has made her own.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being a wonderful retelling that is 100 times better than the original tale

Book Review: The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2), by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling

Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Date Published: June 2014
Publisher: Mulholland
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 455 pages/17 hours 20 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days—as he has done before—and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.
But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives—meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.
When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For exceeding my expectations on the re-read

Book Review: The Two Towers (Lord Of The Rings #2), by J.R.R. Tolkien

Genre: Classic Fantasy
Date Published: November 1954
Publisher: George Allen & Unwin
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 322 pages/16 hours 40 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: The Two Towers is the second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic saga, The Lord of the Rings.
The Fellowship has been forced to split up. Frodo and Sam must continue alone towards Mount Doom, where the One Ring must be destroyed. Meanwhile, at Helm’s Deep and Isengard, the first great battles of the War of the Ring take shape.
In this splendid, unabridged audio production of Tolkien’s great work, all the inhabitants of a magical universe - hobbits, elves, and wizards - spring to life. Rob Inglis’ narration has been praised as a masterpiece of audio.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For continuing to be a masterpiece in fantasy literature

Book Review: The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike #1), by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling

Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Date Published: April 2013
Publisher: Mulholland Books
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 455 pages/ 16 hours

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: The Cuckoo's Calling is a 2013 crime fiction novel by J. K. Rowling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
A brilliant mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide.
After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.
Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.
You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being a highly enjoyable re-read

The Curse Of The Pharaohs (Amelia Peabody #2), by Elizabeth Peters

Genre: Historical Mystery
Date Published: 1981
Publisher: Dodd, Mead, and Company
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 285 pgs (my edition)/10 hours

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Victorian gentlewoman Amelia Peabody Emerson does not relish the joys of home and hearth. For while she and her husband, the renowned archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson, dutifully go about raising their young son, Ramses, Amelia dreams only of the dust and detritus of ancient civilizations. Providentially, a damsel in distress--coupled with a promising archeological site--demands their immediate presence in Egypt. The damsel is Lady Baskerville, and the site is a tomb in Luxor recently discovered by Sir Henry Baskerville, who promptly died under bizarre circumstances. Amelia and Radcliffe arrive to find the camp in disarray, terrified workers, an eccentric group of guests...and a persistent rumor of a ghost on the grounds. Now the indomitable Amelia must battle evil forces determined to stand between her and her beloved antiquities--and make her foray into the truth a most deadly affair...

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being an excellent and even comical reread!

Book Review: The Clairvoyant Countess (Madame Karitska #1), by Dorothy Gilman

Genre: paranormal mystery
Date Published: 1975
Publisher: Doubleday & Company
# Of Pages: 179 pgs

Goodreads

Synopsis: Another irrepressible heroine by Dorothy Gilman, who has already captivated thousands of readers with the zany adventures of the CIA's sprightly and most unorthodox spy, Mrs. Emily Pollifax.
But Madame Karitska, the "clairvoyand countess", has a style all her own: the unpredictable result of psychic powers, an exotic past, and enough eccentricities to prepare everyone she meets to expect the unexpected.
Madame Karitska has just set up shop reading fortunes in her small apartment when a when a chance encounter with Detective-Lieutenant Pruden of the Police Department embroils her in an exciting swirl of intrigue, mystery, and mayhem. A skeptical lieutenant soon discovers an extraordinary woman.
Murder, robbery, voodoo possession, a witch's curse, a missing person--Madame Karitska can and does handle them all, to the consternation and amazement of everyone concerned.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being a very enjoyable paranormal mystery novel with a memorable protagonist

Book Review: Crocodile On The Sandbank (Amelia Peabody #1), by Elizabeth Peters

Genre: Historical/Romantic Mystery
Date Published: 1975
Publisher: Dodd, Mead, and Company (this edition by Grand Central Publishing)
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 262 pgs/ 10 hours

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Amelia Peabody, that indomitable product of the Victorian age, embarks on her debut Egyptian adventure armed with unshakable self-confidence, a journal to record her thoughts, and, of course, a sturdy umbrella. On her way to Cairo, Amelia rescues young Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who has been abandoned by her scoundrel lover. Together the two women sail up the Nile to an archaeological site run by the Emerson brothers--the irascible but dashing Radcliffe and the amiable Walter. Soon their little party is increased by one--one mummy, that is, and a singularly lively example of the species. Strange visitations, suspicious accidents, and a botched kidnapping convince Amelia that there is a plot afoot to harm Evelyn. Now Amelia finds herself up against an unknown enemy--and perilous forces that threaten to make her first Egyptian trip also her last...

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For continuing to entertain me!

Book Review: The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Genre: Fantasy
Date Published: September 21 1937 (2002 this edition)
Publisher: George Allen & Unwin (Houghton Mifflin this edition)
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 366 pgs/ 11 hours

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: (J.R.R. Tolkien’s own description for the original edition) “If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did)—if you do not already know all about these things—much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period.

“For Mr. Bilbo Baggins visited various notable persons; conversed with the dragon Smaug the Magnificent; and was present, rather unwillingly, at the Battle of the Five Armies. This is all the more remarkable, since he was a hobbit. Hobbits have hitherto been passed over in history and legend, perhaps because they as a rule preferred comfort to excitement. But this account, based on his personal memoirs, of the one exciting year in the otherwise quiet life of Mr. Baggins will give you a fair idea of the estimable people now (it is said) becoming rather rare. They do not like noise.”

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For continuing to be such a wonderful classic!

Book Review: Alloy Of Law (Mistborn #4), by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Epic Fantasy
Date Published: November 2011
Publisher: Tor Books
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 332 pages/10 hours and 51 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history--or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.

One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will.

After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For a great continuation of a fascinating world

Book Review: The Hero Of Ages (Mistborn #3), by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Epic fantasy
Date Published: October 2008
Publisher: Tor
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 760 pages/27 hours 26 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Killing the Lord Ruler to end the Final Empire was obviously the right thing to do, wasn't it? With the return of the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists, increasingly heavy ashfalls, and ever more powerful earthquakes, Vin and Elend are no longer so sure. Long ago, Ruin--one of the primal beings who created the world--was promised the eventual right to destroy all things. Now that Vin has been tricked into releasing him from the Well of Ascension, Ruin apparently intends to collect.

The conclusion of the Mistborn trilogy fulfills all the promise of the first two books. Revelations abound, connections rooted in early chapters of the series click into place, and surprises, as satisfying as they are stunning, blossom like fireworks to dazzle and delight. It all leads up to a finale unmatched for originality and audacity that will leave you rubbing your eyes in wonder, as if awaking from an amazing dream.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For making me cry at the end

Book Review: Heat And Light, by Jennifer Haigh

Genre: Contemporary literature
Date Published: May 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 453 pgs

Goodreads

Synopsis: Acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Haigh returns to the Pennsylvania town at the center of her iconic novel Baker Towers in this ambitious, achingly human story of modern America and the conflicting forces at its heart--a bold, moving drama of hope and desperation, greed and power, big business and small-town families.

Forty years ago, Bakerton coal fueled the country. Then the mines closed, and the town wore away like a bar of soap. Now Bakerton has been granted a surprise third act: it sits squarely atop the Marcellus Shale, a massive deposit of natural gas.To drill or not to drill? Prison guard Rich Devlin leases his mineral rights to finance his dream of farming. He doesn't count on the truck traffic and nonstop noise, his brother's skepticism, or the paranoia of his wife, Shelby, who insists the water smells strange and is poisoning their frail daughter. Meanwhile his neighbors, organic dairy farmers Mack and Rena, hold out against the drilling--until a passionate environmental activist disrupts their lives.

Told through a cast of characters whose lives are increasingly bound by the opposing interests that underpin the national debate, Heat & Light depicts a community blessed and cursed by its natural resources. Soaring and ambitious, it zooms from drill rig to shareholders' meeting to the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor to the ruined landscape of the "strippins," haunting reminders of Pennsylvania's past energy booms. This is a dispatch from a forgotten America--a work of searing moral clarity from one of the finest writers of her generation, a courageous and necessary book.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For having so much to offer

Book Review: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1), by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Epic Fantasy
Date Published: July 2006
Publisher: Tor books
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 541 pages/24 hours and 45 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with color once more?
In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage — Allomancy, a magic of the metals

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being loads of fun!

Book Review: The Emperor's Soul (Elantris Series), by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Fantasy
Date Published: October 2012
Publisher: Tachyon Productions
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 175 pages/3 hours 55 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Also available in Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection.

A heretic thief is the empire’s only hope in this fascinating tale that inhabits the same world as the popular novel, Elantris.

Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor’s scepter, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Though her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead.

Probing deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan’s truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but councilor Gaotona must overcome his prejudices to understand that Shai’s forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.

Brimming with magic and political intrigue, this deftly woven fantasy delves into the essence of a living spirit.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being an excellent novella!

Book Review: Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive #3), by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Epic Fantasy
Date Published: November 2017
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 1243 pages/55 hours

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: The eagerly awaited sequel to the New York Times best-selling Words of Radiance, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson at the top of his game.

In Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times best-selling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost. The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together - and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past - even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being just plain awesome!

It's Monday! Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day folks.

It's going to be a quiet Memorial Day for me.  I'm not in the best physical shape to go out in public.

In other words, I'm covered in poison ivy rashes.

Yup, I've got the dreaded poison ivy.  Last week I took down the vines that were infiltrating my tree and my flowerbeds.  I thought I was being careful with my long-sleeved flannel and my gloves (which I also washed btw, and I took a shower afterwards), but I was wearing shorts and I also got touched behind the ear by some over-hanging vines.

I thought I was in the clear when a rash didn't show up over the next couple of days.  I thought that I either did everything right or I wasn't allergic to it anymore.

.....Guess I was wrong.

This past Thursday night, I started developing what at first looked like itchy bug bites.  The next morning the "bites" got bigger and spread out into an itchy rash, especially behind my ear.  Apparently a rash can indeed break out a week later after contact with poison ivy.  I tried a couple anti-itch creams that sorta-kinda helped, but I figured I was seeing the worst of it.

Nope!

Saturday morning, I woke with some nasty boils on my wrists and legs, surrounded by even bigger rashes, and my left ear and jaw line was swollen.  At that point I decided a visit to a walk-in clinic would be in order.  They didn't believe me when I said the rash developed a week late (I swear that's what happened though), but they gave me steroid and anti-itch medication, along with some good advice on some home remedies that I could try.

So now I'm sitting around covered in calamine lotion and trying not to scratch my arms and legs.  The rash looks blotchy but the boils are down and the itch is feeling a little better.  I think I've perfected the technique for reducing the itch:

1) take an oatmeal bath (I used Aveeno's prepared packets)
2) scrub down with a Fels Naptha soap bar (it's in the laundry aisle at grocery stores)
3) once fully dry, cover the rash(es) with calamine lotion (I used the CVS brand that's in a pink bottle)
4) use a cold compress periodically throughout the day to help out

So, good news is that I destroyed this year's poison ivy invasion in my yard.  Bad news is that I am indeed allergic and I need to use a haz-mat suit next time.  What's funny is that when I tell my dance students that I have poison ivy, they all say "welcome to home-ownership".  Apparently this happens to a lot of homeowners so I'm not alone.  Thank God!

What's also nice is that because I can't move around too much, I've been able to spend some more time reading.  Yay!  I'm making good progress on a couple of books, and I finished an audiobook this past week.  Here it is:

His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire #1), by Naomi Novik

This was a re-read because I was in the mood to read about dragons. It passed the re-read test and is now officially a favorite! I really loved the historical fiction aspect of this fantasy, and I loved how Naomi Novik created this "what-if" situation. The book was both interesting and exciting, and the characters are ones you can fall in love with easily. Plus, there are a few strong female characters, something I really appreciate.

Aaaand here are the books I'm reading now:

Throne Of Jade (Temeraire #2), by Naomi Novik

This is my audiobook read. Figured I'd go through this series again for the fun of it. So far I'm making slow progress because I haven't been driving as much.

Nobody's Fool, by Richard Russo

I really enjoyed his memoir about his mother, and because my book club really praised his work, I decided to try another one of his books. So far, this I'm enjoying it.

Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Yup. Still working on it. It's a difficult read because of the content, but I'm determined to finish it, especially since it's for the family book club. I'm hoping to finish 2 chapters today.

Well, that's enough blogging for me.  I think I'm going to take another bath.  Happy Memorial Day everyone.