Clue Reads The Stars In 2019

2019 CATEGORY TOTALS

FICTION

1. The Vanishing Man by Charles Finch
2. Winding Stair by Douglas C. Jones
3. The Glovemaker by Ann Weisgarber
4. When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
5. Love and Ruin by Paula McLain
6. A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
7. A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
8. The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason
9. Peony in Love by Lisa See DNF
10. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
11. Mademoiselle Chanel by C. W. Gortner
12. O Pioneers by Willa Cather
13. Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly
14. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
15. The Martian by Andy Weir
16. Old Herbaceous by Richard Arkell
17. Star Tales: North American Indian Stories About the Stars by Gretchen Will Mayo
18. The Gown by Jennifer Robson
19. When the English Fall by David Williams
20. Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
21. Celine by Peter Heller
22. The Secrets of Clouds by Alyson Richman
23. Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss
24. Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
25. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen Reread
26. All the Ever Afters by Danelle Teller
27. Willful Behavior by Donna Leon
28. The Flight Attendant by Chris Bojalian
29. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
30. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
31. The Editor by Steven Rowley
32. The Library Book by Stephen Rowley
33. The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard

MYSTERIES AND THRILLERS

1. Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
2. Nerve by Dick Francis
3. Murder in the Paperback Parlor by Ellery Adams
4. Willful Behavior by Donna Leon
5. Aunt Bessie Assumes by Diana Xarissa
6. Forfeit by Dick Francis
7. Murder in the Secret Garden by Ellery Adams
8. When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson
9. Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon
10. Reflex by Dick Francis
11. The Skeleton Garden by Marty Wingate
12. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson
13. The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
14. The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
15. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
16. Chocolate Chip Murder by Joanne Fluke
17. Rat Race by Dick Francis
18. The Silver Needle Murder by Laura Childs
19. Murder in Greenwich Village by Liz Freeland
20. Watery Grave by Bruce Alexander
21. A Better Man by Louise Penny
22. The Bluebonnet Betrayal by Marty Wingate
23. The Dry by Jane Harper
24. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
25. The Last Passenger by Charles Finch
26. The Blue Bonnet Betrayal by Marty Wingate

BIOGRAPHIES AND MEMOIRS

1. Call the Nurse: True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle by Mary J. MacLeod
2. Figures in a Landscape: People and Places by Paul Theroux
3. Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
4. Second Wind by Nathaniel Philbrick
5. Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichel

NONFICTION

1. I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel
2. A Guide to Birding by Joseph Michael Forshaw Steve Howell Terrance Lindsay Rich Stallcup
3. War In Val D'Orcia by Iris Origo
4. Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection by Matt Dembicki
5. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
6. An Introduction to this Sunny Land by Tom Wing
7. Two-Buck Chuck & the Marlboro Man by Frank Bergon
8. Santa's North Pole Cookbook by Jeff Guinn

I started a new page quite by accident...but thats a story I'll save you from. I'll only be posting December here. I can't believe it but I'm actually starting December early. Although it was a part of the November reading plan I didn't expect to happen...

DECEMBER



Origin - Shelf
Bingo - No
CAT - Random CAT, Alpha E and R, Reading Through Time
TBR - Yes
LT Rating 4.0
My Rating 4.0

THE EDITOR by Rowley

When James Smale finally sells his first book his immediate thought is that maybe it wasn't the best idea to write an autobiographical novel. He's pretty sure his mother, with whom he has developed a rocky relationship, will very likely think the same. When the first meeting with his editor at Doubleday takes place he gets an even greater shock. Sitting in a meeting room waiting, he sees Jackie Kennedy Onassis walk through the door. Overtaken with alarm he begins to stutter so badly she can't understand him. But it's Jackie, the Jackie who has grown accustomed to this sort of behavior. As he begins to tell her he thinks writing a book about his mother was a big mistake, Jackie tries to reassure him by saying she chose to edit his book because she likes the mother so much.

I liked being able to eavesdrop on the conversations between James and Jackie as they begin work on improving what has been written and on creating an ending which James hasn't written yet. That ending proves to be harder for James than all that came before it. There is a particularly rough spot when he learns of a family secret that comes close to making him lose himself. But his partner and Jackie see him through and the book is finally completed to both his satisfaction and to his editor's.

I loved the Jackie in this book and hope the actual Jackie was as kind and helpful to her authors as the character was to James. In acknowledgements, the author writes he doesn't intend the book to be a portrait of Jackie but rather his interpretation of a woman at the height of her career. He suggests a few books about Jackie's life as an editor for those interested and Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books is one of them. It's been on my shelf for several years and now I really look forward to reading it!

Origin - Library
Bingo - No
CAT - No. Book Club
TBR - No
LT Rating 4.0
My Rating 4.0

The Library Book by Susan Orleans

Orleans begins the history of the Los Angeles library system with a 1986 fire that almost destroyed the library's main location in downtown L.A. The fire, which may have been arson, destroyed 400,000 books and damaged another 700,000. Although the investigation of the fire uncovered a suspect, no one was charged with setting the fire.

While her writing is always good, Orleans is particularly articulate when writing about the crucial role libraries have and their continued evolution. Although I think the book is far more detailed than necessary, it's interesting and Orleans an enjoyable companion for those who love books.

Origin - Shelf
Bingo - No
CAT - Series (new series)
TBR - Yes
LT Rating 4.0
My Rating 4.0

The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

A local Sicilian politician is found dead in his car in an area where prostitutes are sure to be plying their trade. As he is found in a compromising position and apparently suffered a heart attack, the powers that be want a quick solution to the investigation. Inspector Salvo Montalbano on the other hand senses a setup. Montalbano, working for a government where nothing works and corruption a surety, skillfully proceeds to a different and undeniable ending to the politician's demise.

This is the first in the Montalbono series and I'm glad the next in the series is on my shelf.

Origin - Library
Bingo - No
CAT - Calendar CAT (Christmas)
TBR - No
LT Rating 4.0
My Rating 3.5

Santa's North Pole Cookbook by Jeff Guinn

This is a cookbook for the Christmas season with 70 traditional recipes from around the world. Each recipe is accompanied by comments that may include history, customs, remarks about ingredients, etc. If you are a recipe reader as I am, it's an interesting book that can be picked up and put down at intervals, I spent about two weeks just wandering through it from time to time. I didn't find a recipe I wanted to try but I found several I would be glad to sample if someone else wanted to make them! The comments are provided by Santa Claus or his chef Lars which I didn't particularly care for but most reviewers seem to like.

Origin - NetGalley
Bingo - No
CAT - No
TBR - No
LT Rating 4.5
My Rating 4.0

The Last Passenger by Charles Finch

The new Charles Lennox mystery is another prequel to the series, but I think it's the last of the prequels. It begins in 1855 in an amusing way, it seems his mother has decided the 27 year-old should be married and has called upon all of her many friends to introduce appropriate young women to her son and help push him into marriage.

The mystery begins with the vicious murder of a young man on a train. Charles learns the dead man is American, a Congressman, and an abolitionist. Before the book ends Charles must wade through the sordid business of slavery and tracks down both Americans and Englishmen involved in a slavery venture. A new character, an American detective, is introduced and I think we'll be seeing him in future installments. He's a very likeable character and promises to give Charles some professional training. Does this mean a trip to America is in Charles' future?

It's always gratifying to read a series that gets better with each issue, and I think that's the case here. The Last Passenger wrestles with a more serious topic but our favorite characters are still involved, though maybe not to the same extent. I'm only disappointed I have to wait a whole year to see where we go from here.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review The Last Passenger, to be released in February.

>6 clue: - I can't wait until February!!

Origin - Library
Bingo - No
CAT - No
TBR - No
LT Rating 4.5
My Rating 4.0

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

In Krueger's second stand-alone novel four children attempt an escape from a school for Native American children in the tumultuous year of 1932. Only one of the four is a Native American, the others are white and orphaned. Two of the boys, Odie and Albert, are brothers. The third, their friend Mose, is of Sioux heritage. Emmy is the youngest. Her only parent, one of the few sympathetic teachers at the school recently died in a storm.

As an old man, Odie tells the story of that summer. A magnet for trouble, it is inevitable that he will be punished severely, possibly to death, by the sadistic school Director if they don't get away. Stealing a canoe, they plan to drift down a nearby river to the far away Mississippi. During those months on the run they encounter many who are trying to escape from somewhere or somebody. Among those they come to know include a family that left a Dust Bowl farm and have run out of food and money and a faith healer who wants nothing more than to sustain the down and out.

Krueger does a fine job developing the characters of this little family of children. Emmy speaks in a voice too mature for her age but that's a small complaint. At the end of the book, Odie tells us what happened to each of the characters in their adult lives giving the "children's story" a feeling of permanence and poignancy. A good story for those who like a saga and for me a good one to end my 2019 Challenge.

>8 clue: - I just read this also and liked it a lot. One of my top reads of the year.