Books are expensive here in Japan so I always appreciate suggestions of good novels. I love detective novels, but willingly read almost anything if it's well written. If you have any suggestions for my reading list, please let me know. Also, see Bookcrossing.com for ways to spread books around. I also like Bookmooch for a good way to get and give books.
Created February 11, 2009, Updated December 31, 2009 - Thursday
Got the sequel to the novel I read back in March. It was fun, if a little predictable. I really like the heroine though. Nice to see an older, not thin woman as the main character!
This engrossing novel tells the story of Katherine of Aragon, the first of Henry the Eighth's wives. It begins in her childhood, while she was on campaign with her mother, through her marriages and her triumphs in battle.
I enjoyed this novel and read it in a very short time. I did find the constant switch between Katherine's inner thoughts to the story to be a little distracting, but that could just be me. A good novel for learning about history or how difficult it was for women in that time to be thought of as more than baby making vessels.
This is a short, between the numbers novel featuring Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter Extraordinaire. It's a fun quick read. Taking place just a few days before Christmas, Stephanie wakes up to a strange man in her apartment and a target named Sandy Claws. The usual things happen, but it's all so much fun that nobody minds! This is probably a borrow from a friend or library book as it is rather thin and a very quick read.
Surprisingly, this novel has quite a lot in common with The Last Lecture. This novel tells the story of a family being torn apart, and the letters that they receive that teach the members life lessons. Harry Whitney died, but he left books for his two children and one of his grandchildren. These letters for Emily involve puzzles and set the family on a search for treasure. A very quick read, I got through it in a couple of hours.
This is not the usual sort of thing that I read. I like fantasy, that's why I read mostly non-fiction. However, I did enjoy this book, despite crying through the last few chapters. Basically, a man is dying and he wants to let his family know that he loves them, and the life lessons that he has learned. Some good advice for everyone, and not preachy either.
Odd Thomas was one of the two Dean Koontz characters that I really liked. A young man who can see ghosts and is no stranger to supernatural phenomena, his story has been ongoing for some time. However, enough is enough. Koontz has a way of writing good characters but leaves them swimming in terrible plots. The plots may not be so bad, but they tend to end abruptly. He also has a few things that he rants about with every-single-novel. He used to leave Odd out of his rants, but this time slips in one or two. I liked the story, but feel it is time to retire Odd Thomas before the character becomes overplayed.
I admit it, I'm a sucker for vampire stories, and this one was fun! The title grabbed me and I picked it up for a trip that I was going on. I read most of it in one night.
I liked that the heroine in this novel wasn't young, wasn't thin and wasn't helpless. She was on a tour of Iceland and she became ensnared in a mystery. It was fun. The only thing I didn't like was that there's a part two to the story, and I didn't buy that book too.
