Books #35-36
Book #35 was "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World" by Vicki Myron. I got this book used and for free and I wasn't sure if I would like it because it seemed really sentimental. However, the subject matter was hard to resist, since I like cats -- especially orange boy cats since I have one of my own! -- and libraries. The book IS sentimental but it's not just cutesy stories about a cat but rather a portrait of a Middle America town that's going through tough times, and a library director who is going through her own tough times when someone drops a kitten through the book return chute at the library. The cat, Dewey, goes on to be a big part of the library and the the entire town, eventually garnering fans from all over the world and being included in a documentary made in Japan. There's a photo of Dewey at the start of each chapter, getting into some kind of mischief or sleeping somewhere inappropriate, usually. I enjoyed the book a lot more than I expected to and recommend it to cat lovers, especially.
Book #36 was "Blood Work: An Original Hollows Graphic Novel" by Kim Harrison (author), Pedro Maia, and Gemma Magno (illustrators). My husband and I have been working our way through Harrison's "Hollows" series, usually listening to them while we're on road trips. He recently checked out a couple of the original Hollows graphic novels, and I decided to read this one, since it's a "prequel" that tells the story of how witch Rachel Morgan partners with vampire Ivy Tamwood, as they work as "runners" for Inderland Security. The two women butt heads at first, but soon learn to appreciate each others' strengths and learn to watch each others backs as they take on case involving conspiracy and black magic. I think anyone who tries to draw characters from a popular novel that readers have been imagining for years is going to run into some criticisms, and several characters weren't portrayed as I imagined them, but overall, I really liked the book. I especially liked that you got more of Ivy's back story from Ivy's viewpoint, since the novels are told from Rachel's viewpoint. Recommended to anyone who has enjoyed the Hollows series.
1. Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection Paperback [fiction/graphic short story collection]- Matt Dembicki -Ed.
2. Light Music [fiction]- Kathleen Ann Goonan
3. The Indian Clerk [fiction]- David Leavitt
4. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly [non-fiction/memoir]- Jean-Dominique Bauby
5. Clarence Darrow: American Iconoclast [non-fiction]- Andrew E. Kersten
6. Blue Champagne [fiction/short stories]- John Varley
7. A Person of Interest [fiction]- Susan Choi
8. Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country [non-fiction]- Louise Erdrich
9. Nobody Nowhere [non-fiction]- Donna Williams
10. The Three Musketeers [fiction]- Alexandre Dumas (unabridged audiobook)
11. The Narrative of John Tanner [non-fiction/biography]- as told by John Tanner, edited by Edwin James
12. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell [fiction]- Susanna Clarke
13. I Sold My Soul on eBay: Viewing Faith through an Atheist's Eyes [non-fiction]- Hemant Mehta
14. Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer's Craft [non-fiction]- Natalie Goldberg
15. No Name in the Streets [non-fiction/essay]- James Baldwin
16. The Hunger Games [fiction]- Suzanne Collins (unabridged audiobook)
17. Permanence [fiction]- Karl Schroeder
18. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf [poetry]- Ntozake Shange
19. An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President [non-fiction]- Randall Robinson
20. The Delikon [fiction]- by H.M. Hoover
21. Catching Fire (#2 in the Hunger Games trilogy) [fiction]- Suzanne Collins (unabridged audiobook)
22. Codex Born (#2 in the Magic Ex Libris series) [fiction]- Jim Hines
23. The Hum and the Shiver [fiction]- Alex Bledsoe (unabridged audiobook)
24. Skinny Legs and All [fiction]- Tom Robbins
25. Artemis Fowl [fiction]- Eoin Colfer (unabridged audiobook)
26. The Best of All Possible Worlds [fiction]- Karen Lord
27. The Green Flash and Other Tales of Horror, Suspense, and Fantasy [fiction/short stories]- Joan Aiken
28. Use What You Have Decorating [non-fiction]- Lauri Ward
29. Erasure [fiction]- Percival Everett
30. Homer & Langley [fiction]- E.L. Doctorow (unabridged audiobook)
31. The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam [non-fiction]- Karen Armstrong
32. The Beekeeper's Apprentice [fiction]- Laurie R. King
33. Wisp of a Thing [fiction]- Alex Bledsoe (unabridged audiobook)
34. The Talented Mr. Ripley [fiction]- Patricia Highsmith
Book #36 was "Blood Work: An Original Hollows Graphic Novel" by Kim Harrison (author), Pedro Maia, and Gemma Magno (illustrators). My husband and I have been working our way through Harrison's "Hollows" series, usually listening to them while we're on road trips. He recently checked out a couple of the original Hollows graphic novels, and I decided to read this one, since it's a "prequel" that tells the story of how witch Rachel Morgan partners with vampire Ivy Tamwood, as they work as "runners" for Inderland Security. The two women butt heads at first, but soon learn to appreciate each others' strengths and learn to watch each others backs as they take on case involving conspiracy and black magic. I think anyone who tries to draw characters from a popular novel that readers have been imagining for years is going to run into some criticisms, and several characters weren't portrayed as I imagined them, but overall, I really liked the book. I especially liked that you got more of Ivy's back story from Ivy's viewpoint, since the novels are told from Rachel's viewpoint. Recommended to anyone who has enjoyed the Hollows series.
1. Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection Paperback [fiction/graphic short story collection]- Matt Dembicki -Ed.
2. Light Music [fiction]- Kathleen Ann Goonan
3. The Indian Clerk [fiction]- David Leavitt
4. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly [non-fiction/memoir]- Jean-Dominique Bauby
5. Clarence Darrow: American Iconoclast [non-fiction]- Andrew E. Kersten
6. Blue Champagne [fiction/short stories]- John Varley
7. A Person of Interest [fiction]- Susan Choi
8. Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country [non-fiction]- Louise Erdrich
9. Nobody Nowhere [non-fiction]- Donna Williams
10. The Three Musketeers [fiction]- Alexandre Dumas (unabridged audiobook)
11. The Narrative of John Tanner [non-fiction/biography]- as told by John Tanner, edited by Edwin James
12. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell [fiction]- Susanna Clarke
13. I Sold My Soul on eBay: Viewing Faith through an Atheist's Eyes [non-fiction]- Hemant Mehta
14. Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer's Craft [non-fiction]- Natalie Goldberg
15. No Name in the Streets [non-fiction/essay]- James Baldwin
16. The Hunger Games [fiction]- Suzanne Collins (unabridged audiobook)
17. Permanence [fiction]- Karl Schroeder
18. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf [poetry]- Ntozake Shange
19. An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President [non-fiction]- Randall Robinson
20. The Delikon [fiction]- by H.M. Hoover
21. Catching Fire (#2 in the Hunger Games trilogy) [fiction]- Suzanne Collins (unabridged audiobook)
22. Codex Born (#2 in the Magic Ex Libris series) [fiction]- Jim Hines
23. The Hum and the Shiver [fiction]- Alex Bledsoe (unabridged audiobook)
24. Skinny Legs and All [fiction]- Tom Robbins
25. Artemis Fowl [fiction]- Eoin Colfer (unabridged audiobook)
26. The Best of All Possible Worlds [fiction]- Karen Lord
27. The Green Flash and Other Tales of Horror, Suspense, and Fantasy [fiction/short stories]- Joan Aiken
28. Use What You Have Decorating [non-fiction]- Lauri Ward
29. Erasure [fiction]- Percival Everett
30. Homer & Langley [fiction]- E.L. Doctorow (unabridged audiobook)
31. The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam [non-fiction]- Karen Armstrong
32. The Beekeeper's Apprentice [fiction]- Laurie R. King
33. Wisp of a Thing [fiction]- Alex Bledsoe (unabridged audiobook)
34. The Talented Mr. Ripley [fiction]- Patricia Highsmith