REVIEW: Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart c2008

Ghost at Work is the first book in a new series for veteran mystery writer Carolyn Hart.  Now I must confess that this is my first intro to Ms. Hart.  I have heard wonderful things about her popular "Death" series but have yet to get around to trying it.  But back to Ghost...

I like the heavenly concept of this story.  It's nice to think that heaven really sends in ghosts to help people in trouble.  The mystery was pretty solid, I admit I did not guess the murderer's identity until just before it was revealed.  The main character, Bailey Ruth, is very likable. She's heavensent but that doesn't mean she's an angel!  She retains all of her earthly character flaws much to the chagrin of her supervisor but in the end it is those "smarts" that help her the most.

I liked this book.  I think it was a solid start to a new series and I find myself wanting to know more about Bailey Ruth and her story.  To me that is always a sign of a good book!  By itself I wouldn't consider this one a "keeper" book but I will wait until I read the second or even third book before making a final call on that.  The third book was just recently released to hardback and book two just came to paperback so I will be picking that up on my next trip to the bookstore.  Reading this book has made me look forward to the day I finally read Ms. Hart's first "Death" story.

Overall, I will give this book 3 stars.  I liked it!

Happy Reading!

REVIEW: Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich c2008

Let me start by saying I am a huge Stephanie Plum fan.  I love the series!  I have not yet grown tired of the immature antics, silly situations and overall crazy that makes these books so much fun to read.

Plum Spooky is a between the numbers book from the series.  I like the between the numbers books but I don't love them as much as the regular series books.  In Plum Spooky the character of Diesel is back and it was evident that this book was setting us all up for the premiere of the Diesel-centric new series by Evanovich (I have yet to read Wicked Appetite but it's moving towards the top of the pile).  This book had the usual bodily noises jokes, usually at the expense of Lula, flirtatious moments between Stephanie and her men and crazy bounty hunting antics including a car wrecked by monkeys...yes, monkeys.  I did giggle out loud enough to prompt a "what are you reading" from my husband but the book didn't have any memorable laugh out loud moments.  The mystery itself had such a weak ending. (minor spoiler alert here)....Steph caught all her skips as usual and the really bad guy...well let's just say we'll see him again, in the Diesel books of course.

Overall, I would say this is a good quick read in the "summer read" vein of novels.  Doesn't take a lot of brain power, you simply enjoy the ride. 

4 stars if for nothing else then Elmer the fire farter...oh yeah you read that right!  :)

Happy Reading!

Reading Habits

When you read as much and for as long as I have you develop certain habits, quirks some might say, that you tend to stick with.  I like to think of them as totally reasonable, not at all weird or obsessive quirks.  I mean why shouldn't I get angry if someone creases the spine of a paperback; doesn't everyone take the time to hold the book open only far enough to see the words and not crease?!  And is it so hard to use a dang bookmark!  See normal...maybe I should explain a few of my quirky behaviors.

I like a book to look just as new as it did in the store.  I never, ever dog ear a page or god forbid break the spine of the book!  When I go to a used bookstore I have to accept that most of the books will not be in store quality condition of course but I won't buy one that is too creased up or if there are multiple copies available I will look each one over for the best.  Heck I even do that in the new bookstores!  I can't help myself.  To me treating a book well shows respect for the work.

Ok ready for quirk 2?  I have to read a series of books in their proper published order.  And if it's not a series then I look for the author's first published work and start there.  There are few exceptions to this rule for me.  The series ones just make good sense.  The characters are going to change as the series flows, references to previous adventures will be made.  I want to be in the know on all of that.  On the non-series ones, ok I'm a little quirky here, I like to find the first work by the author because I like to watch the author's writing style change and grow over the course of their career.  I have followed some author's through the whole "bell curve".  They start off alright with the first book and continue to get better until they hit a peak where it's like wow they could not top this story and then they get in a groove that eventually peters out to same old same old, John Saul I am looking at you.  Now I will make exceptions to this for older hard to get books where it really doesn't matter if they are read in order.  Agatha Christie is a good example of an exception.  I never know what AC books the book store will have in stock so I kind of have to settle for the next closest one in line.  It doesn't really matter with her because the stories don't really connect at all and very little reference is given to previous books.

Finally, the last little quirk I will fess up to (for now) is the books placement on my bookshelves.  It is important to me to find the best place to store a book while it's waiting to be read.  Each bookcase and shelf have a certain kind of book on them.  Usually they are grouped by type.  Classics go in a certain area, adventures another and mysteries somewhere else and etc., etc., etc.  I also have a  whole system for my to-be-read (TBR) shelves. (that is a whole post discussion in itself though).  Hey, in my defense, when you have as many books as I do you have to be organized! 

So there is some of my "crazy" with regards to books.  So now that I have shared I want to hear some more.  Come on don't be shy let me hear all about your book quirks too!

Happy Reading!

REVIEW: Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh c1935

Enter a Murderer was Ngaio Marsh's second book featuring Inspector Roderick Alleyn.  I liked this book. 

The mystery was simple but still interesting enough to keep me second guessing my theory.  I still don't have a real sense of the Inspector.  He's very Poirot like in that he seems to think very highly of himself however, there is still a likeable quality about him.  Marsh's books seem to have more regional (British) and era related words and sayings than Christie's work which for me is somewhat distracting as I don't always know what she's talking about but it's not enough to ruin anything about the book.

I will continue with this series.  I'd like to see if the character evolves and how Marsh's career compares to Christie. Overall, I will give this book a 3.5 star rating. 

Happy Reading!

REVIEW: The Dark Place by Aaron Elkins c1982

This is the second in the Gideon Oliver series by Aaron Elkins.  I read the first book last year and wasn't really sure how I felt about it so I wanted to give the series a second chance.  Am I glad I did?...ehhh. 

Here are the positives of the book for me.  As a former Anthropology student (my BA is in Anthro) I do enjoy all the anthropological references and I don't even mind that they come in the form of really big words that I have to sometimes stop and think about.  I am a big fan of the Bones TV series, more so then the books they are based on, and this series reminds me of a Bones unplugged.  It's nice to remember a time pre-computers, pre-cell phones and pre-internet however....

...it's also very distracting at times and I find myself frustrated by the lack of those technologies, which I assume says something revealing about me but we won't dive into my psyche just now.  This leads me into the dislikes of the series.  First off I am not connecting with the main character at all.   I don't see much depth to the man and the small glimmers we get just aren't enough to make me want more.  Also, in this book he "falls in love" with the lead female within about ohhh 30 seconds and it really irritated me.  And she went right along with him!  I mean I am all for love at first sight but gimme a break.  One minute he's talking about her chunky physic and comparing her to the love of his life, his deceased wife, and the next he's whispering "I love you" in her ear.  Ugh!  The mystery itself was kind of non-existant.  I figured most of it out half way through the book.  It really read more like one of my action/adventure books minus the action part.

So what am I rating this book.  Well, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it.  I would say it was firmly a 2.5 star book meaning it was just ok.  Will I continue the series?  I think I may give it another try.  I am curious to see if my opinion changes as it gets closer to the 21st century and some technology is applied.  It's not a keeper book for me and it will probably be a few months before I go for the 3rd book but it does deserve at least one more try I suppose.

If you are interested in this series I would recommend starting with book one Fellowship of Fear.  In my opinion it was a much better story all around than this installment.

Happy Reading!

My rating system explained - A guide to my reviews

So as I said I will be doing reviews of the books that I am reading no matter how old or new they may be. Here is an explanation of the way I will rate books.

I will use the following 5 star system:

  1- hated it!

  2- it was ok

  3- liked it

  4- really liked it

  5- loved it!

Quite often I will express my love of a book by proclaiming it a keeper.  Let me explain.  I am a book buyer.  I rarely use the library or borrow books.  I like the books to be mine to do with as I please.  I've had to learn over the years to let go of books because I am not fortunate enough to live in a house big enough for a library, lol.  So, if I really love a book and decide it's one that I could see myself reading again in the future then it's a keeper.

As for new to me authors, I tend to not judge an author by the first read.  Unless I really despise the first read I generally will give someone a second chance to impress me before I discard the author or series all together.  So don't be surprised to see me totally pan a book but proclaim I will be reading a second book in the series.

Hopefully this explains how I grade books and will help you to understand my reviews.  I'm sure I'll change a few things as we go along but for now we'll stick with the simple 5 star method.

Oh and one other thing, don't expect to get a  recap of the story unless it is pertinent to the review.  I hate when I find a review and the whole thing is a retelling of the book, not only spoiling the read for me, but not being at all helpful in the sense of reviewing!

And of course my reviews are strictly a matter of opinion...mine.  They are in no way meant to harm, offend or belittle the work that these authors put into their creations.  I will try to be honest but respectful at all times.

Happy Reading!

Why Blog?

Hello my name is Angela and I am a book addict...and that's a good thing! I'm not sure my hubby would agree but who listens to him anyway.  Of all the vices in this world I am glad books are my only one, okay chocolate is a close second but that's beside the point.  I love to talk about books, read books, read about books, talk about things that relate to books...you get the picture.  Unfortunately, while I have a lot of friends who love reading, I find that they are not quite at the obsessed level that I am and so I feel funny starting a conversation about the virtues of bookmarks with them.  So what's the answer...blogging of course!  This way I get all these book obsessed thoughts out of my head and maybe someone out there will relate and discuss with me!  Hey, I can dream can't I?  

My book obsession isn't the only reason I decided to start blogging.  I found myself becoming frustrated with the lack of reviews on older publications.  I have mentioned how mystery is my preferred genre of choice, however, I took a break of about 15 years away from the mystery genre and have only recently found my way back.  So, needless to say I missed out on the beginnings of a lot of really great series and authors.  Add that to the many authors who came "before my time" and there's a lot of potential back reading to be done!  In an attempt to weed through some of the many mysteries out there I started looking for reviews and recommendations.  The problem I found was that, while there's no shortage of reviews on newer publications, the older books don't get much attention anymore.  Sure you can go to Amazon and read the blurbs on there or occasionally a book group will have a discussion on an old book or author but that's about all I have found.  So one of the things that I will be doing is reviewing all the books I read regardless of how many years they have been around.  Most of my reviews will be about mysteries, as that is the genre I find myself currently ensconced in, but I also enjoy reading the classics, action/adventure, some fantasy/sci-fi, YA and popular fiction.  Who knows, maybe I will even convince some of my reading friends to contribute reviews of the books they are reading as well.

What else will we be discussing here?  The sky's the limit really.   I have discussions planned on my obsession with bookmarks, my fruitless hunt for pretty bookends, my incessant list creating and TBR list organization and anything else that comes to mind. I am open to suggestions for discussion topics.  Let the fun begin!