Recent Reads {Suspense and Sensibility}

Suspense and Sensibility by Carrie Bebris  - this second installment of Bebris’ Mr & Mrs Darcy Mysteries is as delightful as the first, continuing to develop the characters of Darcy and Elizabeth and introducing a fresh mystery for them to solve. They have agreed to sponsor Elizabeth’s sister Kitty for a London season but the charming and well-to-do young man that proposes to Kitty undergoes an inexplicable character change. As the Darcys try to find out what has happened and mitigate the damage to Kitty’s reputation by the horrid behavior of her fiance, they must deal with another supernatural mystery. Another quick and entertaining read that combines a fantasy-world mystery with Regency romance.

 

Recent Reads {The Warrior}

The Warrior by Francine Rivers - This second in the Sons of Encouragement series focuses on the life of Caleb, who was right-hand man to Joshua.  As did the first book, this fictionalized account really got me thinking about what it would have been like to escape from Egypt and then live in the Hebrew camps in the desert.  Caleb is remembered for his warrior spirit, and his determination to follow God unswervingly, and this story adds very plausible personality, background, and motive to the little we know from the Biblical account.

Recent Reads {Kilimanjaro}

Kilimanjaro - A Photographic Journey to the Roof of Africa by Michel Moushabeck, photography by Hiltrud Schulz - A book I ordered from the library expecting to use it for school turned out to be far more interesting to me than to the kids.  I did flip through so they could see some of the pictures, but they weren't very impressed.  I, on the other hand, was intrigued not only by the lovely scenery, but also the photos included of the people and headed to the introduction to find out a little more about them.  And wound up reading the whole book.  Now THIS is how I like to go mountain-climbing - reading about it and enjoying the spectacular views through the lens of someone else's camera.  I would love to go there myself, would love to be able to stand on the Uhuru Peak and see it all for myself, but I'll be honest - I'm not likely to take up mountain-climbing at this point.  Not even Kilimanjaro, which the author points out is the tallest mountain in the world that can be climbed without technical equipment.   Moushabeck, a publisher, tells how he impulsively asked to accompany a climbing-guide author on her climb of Kilimanjaro; and details the preparations for the trip as well as the eight days the group spent in climbing to the summit.  His descriptions of the people, sights, and sounds are almost poetic; and his own sometimes humourous observations make it a very personal story as well.  His wife, Hildi, is the photographer, and the images she captured are beautiful.  I don't think most people have a mental picture of Kilimanjaro that includes vast glaciers and ice fields - it's in equatorial Africa, after all! - but they are there, and Schulz's photos are stunning.

The Cuckoo Clock

The Cuckoo Clock by Mrs Molesworth - Kennady and I have been reading this book a little at a time at bedtime.  It seems like a really long time we've been working on it, but we've been interrupted by vacations and all kinds of things.  We have just one chapter left now so we will probably finish it tonight or tomorrow.  I found this book when I was a little girl - it was in a bookshelf at my Grandma's house, and I'm not sure where she got it.  It's possible that my Aunt Linda (who loves second-hand bookstores and old books) picked it up at a sale.  In any case, I was about Kennady's age or a bit older when I first read it and it was a favorite of mine.  I read it through every time I visited Grandma until I eventually took it home with me.  A few years ago I found it among my things stored at Mom's and brought it home with me, wondering if maybe Kennady would like it.  We've really enjoyed reading it together and I think it's grown her vocabulary and her ability to read aloud well.

I love the illustrations in the book too:

Recent Reads {Gold Fever - A Klondike Mystery}

Gold Fever - A Klondike Mystery by Vicki Delany - Somehow I missed the fact that this book was a sequel to another until I was several chapters into it.  I wonder if having read the first would have improved my experience with it?  I didn't sense that there were 'missing pieces' to the story that I would have known had I read the first book, Gold Digger, so I continued on.  I did like the characters and sense of atmosphere - the story is set in Dawson during the gold rush - and the identity and motive of the killer are not obvious until near the very end, so in that sense I liked this book very well.  However, I found that I wasn't sure which of the threads of the story were most important - the murder mystery? the potential romances? the son's relationships and ambitions? the mother's relationships and interactions?  All had some appeal and were intertwined in various ways, but I sometimes felt as if I was trying to listen in on too many different conversations at once.  At least the switches from first person narrative (when Fiona tells her story) to third person were obvious so I didn't have to wonder whose account I was reading.  The ending, while it tidies up the murder mystery, remains very open-ended, leading me to suspect a third in the series must be planned.  No news on the author's website as to when that may be coming out, and this book was only released in April 2010, so it may be a little while.  Although I don't give this book a ringing endorsement, I didn't dislike it either, so I may try to read Gold Digger at some point, and I probably will keep an eye out for whatever may follow Gold Fever, just to see what happens to Fiona and the rest of the characters in Dawson next.

Recent Reads {The Mysterious Benedict Society}

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - I doubt I would have ever come across this book on my own, so I'm glad that one of the ladies in my book club stumbled across it and suggested it.  We had decided that maybe a juvenile lit book would be a good pick for September, in honor of back-to-school and also to make our reading load a little lighter during this busy time of year.  The Mysterious Benedict Society got our vote, based on the book jacket and artwork.  Turned out to be a good choice, in my opinion. :-)  Story summary:  A peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, asking "are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?"  Out of the hundreds of children that turn out to take some unusual tests, only four succeed and are invited to join in a potentially dangerous secret mission.  They are called upon to combine their intelligence, creativity and resourcefulness in a strange undercover mission at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened; and become good friends as they face puzzles and threats.  And save the world along the way.  It looks like there is a follow-up or two to this debut children's novel by Stewart.  I'm recommending it to my own 11-year-old, but whether he will accept my suggestion that he read it or not remains to be seen.  Personally, I'm sure he would like it and I'd recommend it to young readers who enjoy a humourous story about spies and mysteries.

Recent Reads {The Red Queen}

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory - This is the follow-up to The White Queen, which I read a couple of months ago, and tells the story of Margaret Beaufort.  Lady Margaret is from the Lancaster branch of England's royal family and her son from her first marriage would be the Lancaster heir to the throne at the beginning of tumultous years of the Wars of the Roses.  It is very difficult to like Lady Margaret -right from the beginning of this fictionalized account, when she is only a child, she is portrayed as vain, self-righteous, self-important, sanctimonious.  Granted, life was undeniably hard for women during the late middle ages, and it seems to me often more so for those of noble families despite the obvious advantages of their wealth and privilege.  Considering that children in important families were often raised by guardians rather than their own mothers; young noblewomen had few recognized rights or property of their own, and generally no say in who or when they would marry; and girls were "wedded and bedded" and had become mothers by the time they were young teens...  perhaps we should consider it remarkable that any of them survived with their reason intact.  Lady Margaret, at any rate, fancies herself the English counterpart to Joan of Arc and models herself after the French saint; desiring to be recognized as God's chosen to lead her country and do God's will.  She is an insufferable hypocrite and considers herself to always be in the right and on the side of God, no matter how cruel and vindictive and deceptive her behavior.  She sees fault in everyone else and despises them all.  And yet, of course I was compelled to continue reading and see how her scheming and plotting turns out, for her son Henry Tudor does come to England's throne eventually (as Lady Margaret had always known was his God-given destiny...) and so begins the storied reign of the House of Tudor.