Category Archives: books

The Book of Evidence by John Banville 1989 / 219 pages Rating – 8.5 Freddie Montgomery, a 38-year-old scientist, seems to bumble through life and now he’s out of luck and out of money and seriously wanted by some really … Continue reading →

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed 2012 / 336 pages read by Bernadette Dunne/13h 6m rating – 7.5 I doubt I would ever have read this if it hadn’t been chosen as a reading … Continue reading →

The End Of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe 2012 / 352 pages read by Jeff Harding 9h 40m Rating – 8.5 This is basically a book-lover’s memoir of a wonderful woman who read a lot of books and … Continue reading →

Walden by Henry David Thoreau 1852 / 160 pages Rating – 9.5   IN 1845 Henry David Thoreau, a bachelor from Concord Massachusetts,  went to live as independently as he could in a self-built shelter by a pond with some … Continue reading →

And Then You Dye by Monica Ferris 2012 / 304 pages read by Susan Boyle 7h.  31m. Ferris’ 16th novel and I’m all caught up.  In this rather traditional “who-done-it”  the amateur sleuth Betsy Davenport is doing some investigation into … Continue reading →

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1962 / 148 pages rating – 9 I was spoiled by In the First Circle, also about life in the camps but a specialized scientific camp for that one.  That’s … Continue reading →

The Black Box by Michael Connelly 2012/416 pages read by Michael McConnohie 10h. 29m. rating – B I don’t know why I read Heronymous Bosch series –  I’m used to it,  I guess.   Bosch is a crank – he’s out … Continue reading →

Whew!  I caught up on the Monica Ferris series.  Now what? I read 15 books this month (pretty usual in spite of adding the gym to my schedule).   Of those 15,  10 were by women authors (Ferris mostly),   … Continue reading →

Buttons and Bones by Monica Ferris 2011 / 272 pages read by Susan Boyce / 6h. 39m. Rating – B Jill and her husband find a skeleton under their new lake home and Betsy has to get involved to solve a … Continue reading →

Knitting Bones by Monica Ferris 2008 / 304 pages read by Connie Crawford 7h. 24m. rating B The Embroiderer’s Guild raised a lot of money for a charity but the man who picked it up has gone missing – and … Continue reading →

Holy War: How Vasco da Gama’s Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-Old Clash of Civilizations by Nigel Cliff 2011 / 560 pgs Rating – 8.5 When Vasco da Gama managed to steer his little fleet around the Cape … Continue reading →

Threadbare by Monica Ferris 15th in Needlework Series 2011/ 7h. 4m. read by Susan Boyce Rating B+ Best of the lot so far – (I think – it’s a close call with some).   Ferris continues to journey further into … Continue reading →

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan 2012/K. – 323 pages Rating 7 Okay,  I read McEwan to see what he’s up to.  I loved his early work which was fine story-telling in the suspense genre –  Black Dogs was the best, … Continue reading →

A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell 2005/ 464 pages Rating 8 Been meaning to read this for ages because I really loved The Sparrow and although Children of God was an obvious sequel with nowhere near the impact … Continue reading →

Blackwork by Monica Ferris 2009/256 pages read by Susan Boyce 6h 28m Rating B This Halloween, Betsy Devonshire, owner of the Crewel World needlework shop and part-time sleuth, is haunted by murder. After one too many pints, a local blames … Continue reading →

Thai Dye by Monica Ferris 2008 / 297 pages read by Connie Crawford 7h 36m Rating – B Series: Needlecraft Mysteries, Book 12 I love Ferris’ titles –  from Crewel World to And Then You Dye – they’re quite clever (to a … Continue reading →

Kalevala Finnish National Epic (from tales) compiled and written by Elias Lönnrot published in 1835 / 600+ pages Rating – 10 I started this long ago,  but restarted in late October 2012.   Going well –  basic mythology with a good … Continue reading →