Originally published in 2002.
Audiobook performed by Lisette Lecat.
This fourth installment in the adventures of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - which I enjoyed listening to early in 2009, after Morality for Beautiful Girls - could have been called Morality for Handsome Men.
I've read or listened to six books in this series to date. Perhaps I'll resume in 2010.
2009.16
Published in 2009. 509 pages.
It took me longer to read The Lost Symbol than it did to read The Da Vinci Code (which, as I recall, I read in bed one long Saturday). But the third book in the Robert Langdon series, The Lost Symbol was a compelling read. I'm sure that if I hadn't been so busy and tired over the past few weeks, I'd have read it more quickly.
The action of the book, which takes place in about a day, was fast-paced and filled with puzzles. Like with The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, I was definitely willing to go along for the ride!
The one thing I really struggled with was the idea that a video of Masonic rituals would be considered a national security issue. Maybe strange. Certainly misunderstood. But a national security issue?
2009.76
Published in 2009. 306 pages.
Execution Dock is the sixteenth novel in Anne Perry's historical mystery series featuring William Monk and Hester Latterly. I am a big fan of this series, and this episode did not disappoint.
One of the things I like about Perry's work is her use of words. Here are two passages from Execution Dock that I particularly liked:
He must never let Tremayne see any weakness. Tremayne might look like a dandy, a poet and dreamer caught by chance in the wrong place, but it was an illusion. His mind was keen as a razor, and he would scent weakness as a shark scents blood in the water. [page 35]
All the love in the world did not blind Scuff to the reality that they could fail again. He was a child with hope, optimism, and a lifetime's knowledge of failure behind him. The difference between surviving and not was wafer-thin. [page 296]
Published in 2009. 308 pages.
This latest adventure of Stephanie Plum was complete silliness. Just what I needed the week in July that I read it!
2009.47
Published in 2003. 373 pages.
This third in the Thursday Next series was different from the previous two installments - but it was just as creative and fun. I'm amazed and impressed by the way Fforde's mind works!
2009.50
Published in 2002. 399 pages.
The second installment of the Thursday Next series, I liked this one even better than The Eyre Affair. I'm definitely hooked on this quirky series!
2009.41
Published in 2009. 368 pages.
This recent Kellerman novel focuses on two characters introduced in Bones - half-brothers Moses Reed and Aaron Fox. The mystery was good, and I found the ending very satisfying.
2009.39
Originally published in 2004.
Audio book read by Lisette Lecat.
This sixth installment in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is my least favorite so far. While some significant overall plot developments occur, I found the novel itself to be quite uneven. At times I was riveted but at other times I was bored. Perhaps I need a break from this series for a little while. But I know I'll get back to it eventually.
2009.35
Published in 2008. 353 pages.
I think it says a lot that I found this twenty-third installment in the Alex Delaware series to be just as enjoyable as I did the first!
2009.33
Originally published in 2003.
Audio book performed by Lisette Lecat.
Saga Award for Wit in 2003 (given to the wittiest British book of the year).
I found this fifth book of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series delightful. There were a number of laugh-out-loud moments. In one of my favorites, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's apprentice makes a comment about how a letter addressed to "Mr. Handsome" couldn't be directed at Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni because he's in his 40s. When confronted with the idea that a 40-year-old man can be considered handsome, the apprentice responds, "Only to another 40-year-old!"
2009.28
Published in 2008. 406 pages.
I'm a big fan of the Alex Cross series. For some reason I didn't find this one as quick and compelling a read as usual - but Alex Cross is still my hero:
I needed to do this, to help in some way if I could. I knew this about myself: it was my nature. [page 225]
Originally published in 2001.
Audio book read by Lisette Lecat.
This is the third in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. I listened to it on CD while driving to and from the office last month. After having read the first two volumes of the series, it was fun hearing the proper pronunciation of names and places.
I really liked how McCall Smith wove a variety of story lines together, several of which touched on the "morality for beautiful girls" theme. I also like the thought-provoking nature of this set of questions from Reading Group Guides:
One reviewer observed that "for all their apparent simplicity, the Precious Ramotswe books are highly sophisticated" [The Spectator]. In what ways do these books appear simple? What accounts for their underlying sophistication? What do they teach us about ourselves?
Published in 2008. 388 pages.
Compulsion is the twenty-second book in the Alex Delaware series. I continue to enjoy this long-running series, and I'm eager to read the most recent volume, Bones.
2009.11
Twice before I have set goals for Kathrin's Series Challenge - and twice before I have failed to reach those goals. I still am interested in the many series that I have started reading over the years, though, so I am going to attempt the challenge for a third time.
The rules of Series Challenge Season 3 are somewhat different than before. This time participants have to read at least four books, with the idea of getting up-to-date on one or more of the series they are reading. The challenge runs December 1 through November 30.
I keep track of the series I read on this blog. Among those I'd like to catch up on this year - or at least make some progress in - are Anna Pigeon, Thursday Next, and Inspector Alan Banks.
Published in 2008. 756 pages.
I finished it late last night! From what I've heard, some people were disappointed with Breaking Dawn - but I think many of those weren't huge fans of the previous books either. It seems to me that there are people who just like picking on Stephenie Meyer for some reason. So what if the Twilight Saga isn't great literature?! It was fun, and my daughters and I enjoyed it!
I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say the following:
In December 2007, I committed to catch up on five of the series I read by reading six books by May 31. I ended up only catching up on three series (by reading three books):
Published in 2006. 308 pages.
Dark Assassin is the fifteenth book in Perry's William Monk series, which is set in Victorian London.
I read my first Anne Perry novel in about 1995 on the recommendation of my mom. It was one of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt books, which are also set in Victorian London. I was immediately taken by that series and went back to the beginning to read them all in sequence.
For the same reason that I frequently avoid reading a second book by an author who wrote a book I absolutely love - that is, for fear of disappointment - it took me a little while to decide to also read the William Monk books. I think I like Monk even better than Pitt, though - although it's pretty close to a tie.
I bought Dark Assassin when I had a chance to meet Anne Perry, so I'd have something for her to autograph.
Having read Dark Assassin, I'm up-to-date with this series! Now I need to read Buckingham Palace Gardens to get up-to-date with the Pitt series.
First sentence: Waterloo Bridge loomed in the distance as William Monk settled himself more comfortably in the bow of the police boat.
Last sentence: He had never meant anything more in his life.
2008.36
Published in 2008. 397 pages.
The latest in the Alan Gregory series, Dead Time is another compelling thriller from clinical psychologist Stephen White. In this one, Alan's former wife, Merideth, asks for his help, dragging him into a complicated mystery that reaches back years.
I have been a fan of this series for many years. I love that Alan Gregory is not only a hero but also a flawed man with complicated relationships and issues. I also love that although all the novels in the series have the commonality of the Alan Gregory character, each is unique in its set up, its voice, its perspective. In sixteen books to date, the series has not gotten the least bit stale.
I found a fun Q&A with Stephen White about Dead Time on his website here.
2008.35
Published in 2007. 389 pages.
This is the latest in James Patterson's Alex Cross Series, the thirteen novel about widower, devoted grandson, loving father of three, police psychologist-slash-detective Alex Cross. I love this character and enjoyed this latest episode in his life. While not my favorite of the thirteen, it was still everything I look for in an Alex Cross novel: easy to read with lots of action and dialogue, compelling and suspenseful.
2008.17
