It has been a busy spring, so I haven't posted in here in a while. Here's what I've read or listened to lately:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsing. I'm glad I listened to this instead of reading it, I would have been tempted to skip ahead since I was more interested in the cross country trip than the Buddhist lessons. I struggled with how the main character treated his son throughout the book, but still enjoyed the trip.
The Lewis Man by Peter May, second in the Lewis trilogy. Well written and moody, with the setting (Scottish islands) again stealing the show, but the characterization wasn't quite as strong as in The Blackhouse. I'm still looking forward to reading the last of this set.
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones was enthusiastically recommended to me by my husband, but I found it a bit obvious and silly, fantasy just isn't my thing.
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. I really enjoyed the storytelling, especially the first part, set in Malaya during WWII, and I read the whole thing in one day. It was a bookclub selection, more
here.
Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith was started and abandoned as an audiobook. I didn't like the narrator or the characters and nothing happened for the first couple of hours of the book.
Cop Hater by Ed McBain, first in the 87th Precinct series. I've been reading one of these a month or so, since buying what I could for 99¢ last January, but didn't have this first one until it went on sale a few months ago. The series is strong right from the beginning, great fast read.
Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey was another audiobook my husband enjoyed and this time I agree with him, very well crafted scifi stories with terrific characters in a dystopian setting.
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie. Hastings is back in tow for this one and Poirot does a fair bit of traveling to find out what happened to a spinster who cut her relatives out of the will.
Faithful Place by Tana French. Interesting peek into a dysfunctional family shaped by the time and place and their roles in the disappearance of a young woman. It had a similar feel to The Blackhouse by Peter May, the setting (Ireland this time) played a large role, and I'll be looking for more thrillers to read by Tana French.
A Study in Scarlett by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I'm not a fan of Sherlock Holmes books and found this story dull. Give me the modern PBS Sherlock miniseries instead, thanks.
The Informationist by Taylor Stevens had a lot of potential, but never seemed to get there for me. It felt a bit contrived and unrealistic.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, introducing an 11 year old detective named Flavia de Luce. I'd have enjoyed this tremendously when I was that age, reading it as an adult I'd consider it an above average cozy mystery.
The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb was non-fiction about how large unpreditable events affect us. I found it overly long and the author's ego was off-putting.
4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie, the seventh Miss Marple mystery. Here is a way above average cozy mystery. This plot was very clever and I couldn't guess whodidit. Miss Marple even had a sidekick in this one, jilll-of-all-trades Lucy Eyelesbarrow.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was heart warming and heart wrenching at the same time and you'll fall in love with the characters.