The Searcher by Tana FrenchMystery464 pages After retiring from a decades-long career on the Chicago police force, Cal Hooper decides to buy a fixer-upper on a plot of land in rural western Ireland. He's tired of solving other people's problems, and wants to get the 'detective itch' out of his system. Moving to Ireland gets … Continue reading Book Review: The Searcher
Books
Book Review: To Be Taught, if Fortunate
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky ChambersScience Fiction138 pages In the not-so-far-away future, four astronauts leave Earth to explore interstellar space. Thanks to the unfathomable distance and the time it takes to travel the distance between stars, they spend the majority of the journey in cryosleep, where they age incredibly slowly compared to the … Continue reading Book Review: To Be Taught, if Fortunate
Sunday Sum-Up: January 17, 2021
On Friday, we had a blizzard. This week, it's supposed to be in the 50s. I suppose it could be worse, weather-wise. We've had weeks (usually in March or May) where we got a foot of snow one day, and had 90°F highs a week later. Nebraska weather is fun. Is anyone else anticipating Biden's … Continue reading Sunday Sum-Up: January 17, 2021
2020 Year in Review and Some Goals for 2021
Last year was.... a year. My reading life was up and down and not at all what I expected it to be, but it was a year we could not have expected, so there's that. I read 155 books last year, which is very slightly down from 2019, when I read 160, but I'm not … Continue reading 2020 Year in Review and Some Goals for 2021
Sunday Sum-Up: January 10, 2020
Nine more days until Biden's inauguration. They can't pass quickly enough. Obligatory Mina Photo: My day off started quietly enough. I slept in a little, ran a couple of errands, and was ironing some laundry when there was a resounding crash from the bathroom. I unplugged the iron, then went to see what had happened. … Continue reading Sunday Sum-Up: January 10, 2020
Most Disappointing Books of 2020
Sadly, I don't enjoy every book I read. In most cases, I would just put them aside and move on with my life but when it comes to ARCs, I am ridiculously stubborn. I don't want my feedback ratio to be adversely affected by a book I don't like, so I suffer through bad prose, … Continue reading Most Disappointing Books of 2020
Best Books of 2020: YA Fantasy
2020 was an up and down year for me and YA fantasy. Some were great, and some were terrible-- nearly enough to turn me off that particular set altogether. But there were enough that I haven't written off YA fantasy. So in no particular order, here are the best YA fantasy novels I read in … Continue reading Best Books of 2020: YA Fantasy
Best Books of 2020: Nonfiction
Though nonfiction is often regarded as dry and dull, the best nonfiction books are as interesting as the best novels. And the cool thing is that the stories are true. According to my StoryGraph information I read thirty-seven nonfiction books in 2020, ranging from a book about how the language use on the internet changes … Continue reading Best Books of 2020: Nonfiction
State of the ARC: December, 2020
State of the ARC is a meme hosted by Avalinah’s Books in which we round up our ARCs and attempt to wrangle them into something approaching order. Sometimes it’s like herding cats. I've had a nice break from reading ARCs lately, and while I found a few more to add to my NetGalley shelf, I … Continue reading State of the ARC: December, 2020
Sunday Sum-Up, December 27, 2020
It's the last Sunday Sum-Up of 2020. Here's to hoping that 2021 is a better year than 2020 was. I had a good Christmas, as far as Zoom Christmases go. We got online together around 9:30 on Christmas morning, and once my parents got their laptop oriented so that they weren't silhouetted by the sun's … Continue reading Sunday Sum-Up, December 27, 2020