June 2018 Reads

source

June	42	Even Dogs In the Wild	Ian Rankin
	43	Ohio	Stephen Markley
	44	Rainsong	Sue Hubbard
	45	The Martin Chronicles	John Fried
	46	American Journal	Tracy K. Smith editor
	47	Still Life With Two Dead
		Peacocks and a Girl	Diane Seuss
	48	Annie Freeman's Fabulous
		Traveling Funeral	Kris Radish

Even Dogs In the Wild is a  Scottish police procedural. I really enjoyed this, Rankin kept me guessing.

I think Ohio by debut author Stephen Markley is going to be an instant best-seller.  The book will be published in August, and you don't want to miss it.  "Markley’s novel is alternately disturbing and gorgeous, providing a broad view of the anxieties of a post-9/11 Middle America and the complexities of the humans who navigate them." ~ Publisher's Weekly.

I picked Rainsong to read because the title reminded me of Plainsong, one of my favorite books.  The story starts slow, but I really liked it.  It will be published in September.  Here's the blurb from the BN site, "It unfolds as a compelling tale of grief, art, and the fragile, quiet ways in which time and place can offer a measure of redemption."

And, I picked up The Martin Chronicles, because of Martian Chronicles!  Sometimes these things work out.  This is a moving debut that perfectly captures the intense emotion, humor, and earnestness of young adulthood as Marty navigates a series of life-changing firsts: first kiss, first enemy, first loss, and ultimately, his first awareness that the world is not as simple or safe a place as he had once imagined.  The book will be published in January 2019.

Don't you just love this title, Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral?  I'm not big on "chick-lit", but this story was great, and it does Thelma and Louise, one better. “Radish sings the praises of sisterhood by creating an enticing world of women helping women to become the empowered individuals they were meant to be.” —Booklist

What are you reading?

May 2018 Reads

or books.

May	33	Before We Were Yours	Lisa Wingate
	34	American Fire	Monica Hess
	35	The Rising	Heather Graham/Jon Land
	36	Midnight War of Mateo Martinez	Robin Yardu
	37	Mean Streets	Jim Butcher
	38	Before I Let Go	Marieke Nijkamp
	39	Woman In The Window	A. J. Finn
	40	County Line	Bill Cameron
	41	Anatomy of a Scandal	Sarah Vaughan

Mays' reading started out with a bang.  Before We Were Yours, is good historical, well researched, fiction about a shameful chapter in American adoption. My heart broke a couple of times.

American Fire is in-depth reporting of an American crime. Arson is hard for me to understand and because the lead perpetrator wouldn't grant interviews, I still have questions. Hesse interviewed everyone she could, including the volunteer firefighters and crime scene investigators, plus victims and other affected residents. Very worth the read.

The Rising is a Terminator-like suspense story that has everything you would want in a science fiction fantasy…action, mystery, thrills and a storyline that will spur your imagination and give you hours of reading pleasure.  Jon Land was one of my husband's favorite authors, this is the reason I gave this book a try, and I'm so glad I did.  It's YA, but I'm an adult and loved it.

Midnight War of Mateo Martinez is a children's book, geared toward 7-10-year-olds. It's well written, a lot of fun, and involves best friends, little sisters, and talking skunks!

Woman in The Window has been on the bestseller list for months. I packed it for a 3-week trip, hoping that it'd be good. (Sometimes bestsellers are stinkers.) This is suspenseful and well written, I couldn't put it down. A great debut. I really recommend that you read it.

Contemporary sharp-edged noir doesn't get much better than County Line. This was a suspenseful read; another one that was hard to put down. I recommend it.

What are you reading?

April 2018 Reads

Apr	24	Rust & Stardust	T. Greenwood
	25	Agent in Place	Mark Greaney
	26	Rocket Men	Robert Kurson
	27	Ascension of Larks	Rachel Linden
	28	Lean on Pete	Willy Vlautin
	29	After Ana	Lisa Scottoline
	30	Buttermilk Graffiti	Edward Lee
	31	How To Walk Away	Katherine Center
	32	The Graybar Hotel	Curtis Dawkins

These later posts are testing my memory!  There are the books I recommend from April.

Rust & Stardust is the brilliant novelization of the true crime story that inspired Nabokov’s Lolita. Shatteringly original, eloquently written and hard to put down.

Agent in Place is the 7th installment of the Gray Man series.  Usually, I get tired of a series at about this time, not this series.  Mark Greaney keeps the series fresh, and I can't wait for the next installment.

Kurson is a great nonfiction writer and he didn't disappoint with Rocket Men, the story of Apollo 8. I felt very connected to the Apollo program because my husband built the command modules that went to the moon, for the program. (Before he went on the LAPD.)

The truth is, I read Lean on Pete because it's going to be a movie and I was curious.  It was a good read. Willy Vlautin reveals the lives and choices of American youth like Charley Thompson who were failed by those meant to protect them and who were never allowed the chance to just be a kid.

OK, I fell in love in April while reading Buttermilk Graffiti.  It's a cooking memoir and brilliant.  I don't watch TV, so I didn't know anything about Edward Lee.  Read it, you'll fall in love, too.

How To Walk Away, was a great Trans-Atlantic read, for me, and it'd be a wonderful Beach Read for anyone!

What are you reading?