Category Archives: books

Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin 1835 / about 200 pages – Kindle (reread) Rating – 9.5 I read this for a group and because I was never able to locate my Penguin edition, I had to use a Gutenberg download. … Continue reading →

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan 2006 / 340 pages Rating – 8 The first time I read this book,  back in July of 2011,  I focused on the experiences of the people who lived through the Dust Bowl … Continue reading →

The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble 2004 / 354 pages tentative rating – 8.5 (originality and fun) This is a fictionalized account of the life of Lady Hyegyeong, Crown Princess of Korea as wife of Crown Prince Sado who lived … Continue reading →

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths 2009 / read by Ruth Galloway 8h 26m rating C- “When she’s not digging up bones or other ancient objects, Ruth Galloway lectures at the University of North Norfolk. ” Sounds good so far … Continue reading →

Sins and Needles by Monica Ferris 2006 / 314 pages read by Connie Crawford 9h 52m rating: B (as usual for Ferris) When adoptee Lucille Jones comes to town researching her roots, Betsy Devonshire notices that she bears a remarkable … Continue reading →

Embroidered Truths by Monica Ferris 2005 / 288 pgs read by Melissa Hughes 7h 36m rating B After her good friend Godwin has a nasty quarrel with John, his significant other, full-time needlework shop owner and part-time sleuth Betsy Devonshire … Continue reading →

Well I have been reading (or listening) and other things but what has really happened is that I’ve embarked on a weight-loss program which is pretty intense but very necessary and it takes up some time what with the gym … Continue reading →

Cards On the Table by Agatha Christie 1936 / 224 pages read by Hugh Fraser / 6h rating 7 I’d never read this one – at least not that I remember and one would think I’d remember a book where … Continue reading →

The Racketeer by John Grisham 2012 / 352 pages read by J.D. Jackson – 12h 45m rating – A- I think Grisham is having fun again.  The Racketeer is the very imaginative story of a black lawyer,  Malcolm Bannister, who … Continue reading →

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry 2011 / Kindle / 306 pages Rating –  8 (very good / fun) Well I’m not sure what I was expecting but this wasn’t it.  I only read this because a reading group was … Continue reading →

Hanging By a Thread by Monica Ferris  (6th in the Needlecraft series) 2003 / 272 pages read by Susan Boyce / 6h 19m A- (if you like cozies) Oddly enough this came up for me at Halloween and there is … Continue reading →

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel 2009 / 256 pgs read by Alyssa Bresnahan ~ 8h 19m rating – 7.5  (very high for crime novels) A divorcing father has kidnapped 7-year old  daughter Lilia as he leaves … Continue reading →

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving 1820 – short story I know I read this in high school but I think I thought it was pretty stupid.  This time I really enjoyed it but it was from more … Continue reading →

New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani 2000/2011 (Eng.) – 196 pgs Rating – 9 Wow!  This book is about memory and identity and language all mixed together.   During WWII a man is found near the exploded wreck of a … Continue reading →

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands 2000 / 784 pages Read by Nelson Runger 36h 38m Rating:  8.5 Whew –  I finished!  This is a really long book but listening to Nelson Runger … Continue reading →

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol 1836 / short story Rating – 9 This is a VERY peculiar short story about a barber who finds a nose in his bread and the man who has lost his nose.  The nose gets some … Continue reading →

A Murderous Yarn by Monica Ferris 2002 / 256 pages Read by Susan Boyce – 6h 52m Rating – B This is number 5 in the Needlecraft series –  I do NOT know why I like them – they’re kind … Continue reading →