Thursday Thirteen 431: Recently Read

Yes, it’s that time again — below are the most recent books I've delved into this year. This selection of books crosses multiple genres — mystery, romance, classics, young adult, and even a couple banned books. As always, click on any link or cover for more information. 
















ABOUT THE BOOKS:


ROW 1: I thought I had read the Irish Born trilogy by Nora Roberts years ago, when it was originally published, but apparently not. This series follows the lives of Irish sisters Maggie, a glass blower, and Brianna, owner of a B&B, and their previously unknown to them American half-sister, Shannon, an artist.

ROW 2: The Cozy Mysteries Featured Author Row . . . Juliet Blackwell was the CFA in July, and I managed to read two books by here, each from a different series. First up was Secondhand Spirits, first book in her Witchcraft series, about witches in San Francisco (no, not the Charmed ones). This book was okay, with two notable exceptions. First, there are no mountains in Wisconsin, as the author falsely stated within the first sixty pages. That sentence nearly had me throwing the book across the room. The second issue was her “just then-itus,” which I’m sure you all know by now annoys me to no end. I did enjoy Dead Bolt, the second book in her Haunted Home Renovation series. I immensely enjoyed Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower, the Aug FCA. This is the first in her Magical Bookshop series, and I look forward to book two out later this year. Absolutely love the crow, Faulkner!

ROW 3: I was hoping to like Criminal Confections equally as much, but no. You’d think one couldn’t go wrong with a book about chocolate, but you would be wrong. There were numerous aspects of this book that annoyed me. Musseled Out (third in series) and Supernatural Born Killers (ninth of series) were much more to my liking.

ROW 4: Third Girl was the August book for the Agatha Christie group at Goodreads. While I had seen a movie version a few years back, I had not read the book before. It was interesting to note some of the changes made for the movie script, and which occasionally led to some confusion while reading the book. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was the August group classics read. While I was familiar with some of the main points of the story — I remember a movie version when we were kids, and later in middle school, saw a scene of it enacted — I had never actually read the book, which is frequently challenged for language, violence, and age-inappropriateness. Neither had I previously read the September classic, The Call of the Wild. Good, but again one that is frequently challenged due to violence and age-inappropriateness.

ROW 5: Four years ago, I stumbled onto a YA series by Ally Carter about an all-girls school for spies, The Gallagher Girls. I managed to find all but the last one, United We Spy (which came out around the time I found book one of six) over the next few years, but this one eluded me. Then this past summer I stopped in at the library’s monthly used book sale and not only did I finally find a copy, it was in like-new condition. That, added to two recent releases found for a steal, totally made my day. The book was worth waiting for, though I had a bit of an “oops” totally Ally Carter's fault.

I always read on the bus to and from work, but am always aware of where we are . . . what major streets or familiar landmarks we are passing along the route. Except for one night. I was so into the action scene that I missed my stop, had even somehow completely blocked out the audio announcement of key stops. I suddenly looked up and felt a moment of panic when I didn’t instantly recognize where we were — and breathed a sigh of relief when I then heard the audio announce a certain street. Thankfully, I only had to walk back about six blocks — which would have been more of a relief had it not been after dark and the street better lighted.


Your turn: What have you been reading lately? Have you ever been so engrossed in a book that you forgot where you were, or missed a bus/train stop?



LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen