Wednesday, January 31, 2018

John Ball's In the Heat of the Night

Title: John Ball's In the Heat of the Night
Author: Matt Pelfrey
Publisher: LA Theatre Works
ISBN: 9781580819725
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: LA Theatre Works always does a great job with their radio plays.  There were a few spots, though, where I could not figure out how Tibbs's deductions led to the denouement.

Rating: 4/5

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Stacking the Shelves: 1/25-1/27

First Reads from Goodreads:
An Engineered Injustice by  William L. Myers, Jr.
The Searcher by Ray Dacolias
Bayou Myth by Mary Ann Loesch
Sow the Wind by Gary W. Ritter
Bad Analysis by Colin Knight
Foster's Sandman Shop by z119z
Born Again by Miroslav Halas
Gilchrist by Christian Galacar
Wings of Hope by Pippa DaCosta

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Courage Has No Color

Title: Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers
Author: Tanya Lee Stone
Publisher: Candlewick
ISBN: 9781480530690
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Very informative and inspirational.  I learned a lot about WWII that I did not know before, and thoroughly enjoyed it

Rating: 5/5

Sunday, January 21, 2018

The Last Arakad

Title: The Last Arakad
Author: Guillaume Wolf
Publisher: self
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: There were some very intense spots in this horror-fantasy, but I think it would have been stronger with third person limited narration.

Rating: 3/5

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Title: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Author: Grace Lin
Publisher: Listening Library
ISBN: 9780307746047
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: This story follows a typical children's fantasy journey format, but the interconnecting stories learned along the way add a new depth.

Rating: 3/5

Stacking the Shelves: 1/14-1/20

For possible review (on Bookloons):
Layover by Amy Andelson & Emily Meyer
Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

First Reads from Goodreads:
#Starstruck by Sariah Wilson

LibraryThing Early Review:
The Torn by LaDonna Cole

Thursday, January 11, 2018

March

Title: March
Author: Geraldine Brooks
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: I had the hardest time paying attention to this one.  Also, a lot of Mr. March's character did not really make sense with what I read in Little Woman, but the afterwards does help explain the author's choices.

Rating: 2/5

Year's Best Fantasy 6

Title: Year's Best Fantasy 6
Editor: David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer
Publisher: Tachyon
ISBN: 9780822235217
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Great anthology of fantasy stories.  Some standouts were "Sunbird" by Neil Gaiman, "Walpurgis Afternoon" by Delia Sherman, "The Imago Sequence" by Laird Barron, "Read It in the Headlines!" by Garth Nix, and "Inside Job" by Connie Willis.

Rating: 4/5

Monday, January 8, 2018

Ironbound

Title: Ironbound
Author: Martyna Majok
Publisher: Dramatists
ISBN: 9780822235217
Why Read?: Scriptd

Thoughts: I had a very hard time following this with the dialect and the timeline jumping.

Rating: 1/5

Saturday, January 6, 2018

We're Going to Need More Wine

Title: We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories
Author: Gabrielle Union
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 9780316043067
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: I can't say I always agreed with what she wrote, or that I even always liked her, but this memior is open, honest, and highly readable.

Rating: 4/5

Stacking the Shelves: 12/31-1/6

For possible review (on Bookloons):
S.T.A.G.S. by M. A. Bennett

Received in December's Scriptd:
Holly Down in Heaven by Kara Lee Corthron
Peerless by Jiehae Park

Bought from Usborne Books & More (link is to my consultant site):
The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine

Friday, January 5, 2018

Ninth Ward

Title: Ninth Ward
Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 9780316043067

Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: A heart-tugging look at life for a young girl in NOLA's Ninth Ward in the days leading up to Katrina.

Rating: 4/5