Book: The Dark Mirror

 Book: The Dark Mirro

Author: Samantha Shannon

Pages: 576

This is my 50th read for the year

What Amazon says:

Everything is about to change.  Paige Mahoney is outside the Republic of Scion for the first time in more than a decade-but she has no idea how she got to the free world.  Half a year has been wiped from her memory.  Her journey back to the revolution soon takes her to Venice, where the Domino Programme has uncovered evidence of a secret Scion plan. Before Paige can return to London, she must help the network unravel the sinister Operation Ventriloquist, which threatens to bring Europe to its knees in weeks.  And it soon becomes clear that the one person who could recover her memories-Arcturus Mesarthim- might also hold the key to thwarting Scion, allowing the revolution to strike an unprecedented blow.

This is my most anticipated book for this year.  I am a Samantha Shannon fan - first reading the Priory of the Orange Tree series, and then going back and starting The Bone Season series - which now has 5 books.  There has been a long lull between book 4 and 5, but I was not aware of it until I read the author's note because I just started reading her books about 2 years ago.  Hopefully that is the end of the lull because this book's end showed that it is not a finished series and there are more to come.   Anyway!  The book was good.  The story flows well, and there is good character devleopment.  Paige and Arcturus further their relationshop and - side note - what I like about Shannon is that she doesn't make their relationship the center of her stories.  This would not fit well in a Romantasy category and I am glad and probably why I like her fantasy novels.  The story is pushed a long nicely making strides to what we readers believe is the ultimate goal.  What knocked this book for me one star was that I still feel that Paige is written a little too weak.  She is supposed to be the Underqueen of the whole criminal underworld, and yet she constantly need a nap.  It just seemed to be a little overdone.  Not enough for me to not want to keep reading the storyline.

Stars: 4

Book: Born on a Blue Day

 Book: Born On A Blue Day

Author: Daniel Tammet

Pages: 258

This is my 49th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Daniel Tammet is virtually unique among people who have severe autistic disorders in that he is capable of living a fully independent life and able to explain what is happening inside his head.  He sees numbers as shapes, colors, and textures, and he can perform extraordinary calculations in his head.  He can learn to speak new languages fluently, from scratch, in a week.  In 2004, he memorized and recited more than 22,000 digits of pi, setting a record.  HE has savant syndrome, an extremely rare condition that gives him the most unimaginable mental powers, much like those portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the film Rain Man.  This book explores what it's like to be special and gives us an insight into what makes us all human - our minds.

This book was okay. It has been on my shelf forever - I inherited it from a friend's book haul years ago.  I liked a lot of parts of it - when Daniel really delve into his life story.  But a large part of this book is just factual information which distracted from the overall picture you try to form of what it is like for people like Daniel.  It was like he was trying to tell two different stories and it just didn't flow well.  

Stars: 3

Book: The Night Watch

 Book: Night Watch

Author: Jayne Anne Phillips

Pages: 304

This is my 48th book for the year

What Amazon says:

In 1874, in the wake of the War,erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways.  Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn't spoken in more than a year.  They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital's entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world.  There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.  The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their story: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee's father, who left for the War and never returned.  Meanwhile, in the asylum, they begin to find a new path.  ConaLee pretends to be her mother's maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment.  They get swept up in the life of the facility - the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.  

This was an okay book.  I had picked it up after I saw it in A West Virginia University bookstore while visting family.  I was intrigued by this Pulitzer Prize winner, but was disappointed with the story in the end.  The writing is good - but the story didn't pull me in.  It was almost too unbelievable.  A lot of questions remain unanswered.  The ending was satisfactory, but in this type of story, a "happily ever after" didn't seem to fit. The story of Papa is deeply disturbing and if I had know it ahead of time, I would not have picked this book up.

Stars: 3

Book: Preventable

 Book: Preventable

Author: Andy Slavitt

Pages: 336

This is my 47th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

From former Biden Senior Advisro Andy Slavitt, Prevenable is the definitive inside account of the United States' failed response to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Slavitt chronicles what he saw and how much could have been prevented - an unflinching investigation of the cultural, political, and economic drivers that led to unnecessary loss of life.  With unparalleled access to the key players throughout the government on both sides of the aisle, the principal public figures, as well as the people working on the frontline involved in fighting the virus, Slavitt brings you into the room as fateful decisions are made and focuses on the people at the center of the political system, health care system, patients, and caregivers.  The story that emerges is one of a country in whice - despite the heroics of many - bad leadership, political and cultural fractures, and an unwillingness to sustain sacrifice light a fuse that is difficult to extinguish.  This book addresses the uncomfortable realities that brought America to this place.  And, he puts forth te solutions that will prevent us from being here again, ensuring a better, strong country for everyone.

This was a great book - as great as you can rate a book that is about a very tough subject.  It was hard to relive what it was like for Americans during the height of the Coronavirus, and the consequences of so many things that we wish had gone differently.  I was lucky that I road a large chunk of the beginning of the virus out in Switzerland where we were living at the time.  The response there was vastly different and my kids actually got to go back to school about 8 weeks after the virus hit.  Everything reopened.  Citizens took care of each other. Followed rules that were not only good for them, but for everyone around them.  This book gave me even more information because Slavitt was an insider.  He was part of the day to day decisions - bridging the gap between the outside world and a White House that was less than cooperative.  I only knocked it a star because no one is perfect.  Everyone had a part in the blame, and I think Slevitt should made that more clear.

Stars: 4

Book: Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time

 Book: Olivia Strauss is Running Out of Time

Author: Angela Brown

Pages: 325

This is my 46th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Olivia Strauss is turning 39.  No major milestone.  She still considers herself young.  At least young enough to assume she has decasdes (emphasis on the plural) to check the unchecked boxes of her life's to-do list.  Ballerina?  Too late.  But not too late for poet.  Or for reigniting the romantic spark in her marriage, spending more quality time with her son, switching careers, learing to cook, or even dyeing her hair a bright bohemian pink. She'll get to that one.  There's time - until Olivia's best friend, Marian, gives her a birthday present she could have lived without.  It's a visit to a trendy wellness clinicl with a state-of-the-art genetic test that can predict the exact date of one's death.  It's just what Olivia's always wanted: an expiration date.  As for her aspirations, who knew they were limited-time offers?  One thing's for sure.  Olivia's got a lot of living to do.  At this point, what could go wrong?

This book wasn't that great.  I got it as a Prime First Reads - liking the idea of a clinic that could guess your time of death and seeing where it was going.  But what I got was a self absorbed main character that could not be more out of touch with the people around her.  Lots of me, me, me.  It is overly flowery, and it didn't flow well - very choppy.  I had a hard time keeping track of all the side characters.  I would pass on this one.

Stars: 2

Book: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

 Book: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Author: Agatha Christie

Pages: 226

This is my 45th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Poirot retires to a village near the home of a friend, Roger Ackroyd, to pursue a project to perfect vegetable marrows.  Soon after, Ackroyd is murdered and Poirot must come out of retirement to solve the case.  The novel was well-received and was voted by the British Crime Writers' Association as the best crime novel ever.  Its innovative twist endinghad a significant impact on the genre.  

This was a good book.  I listened to it and it is very short, but I found this a good way to take this book on.  I like Poirot the character.  He does come in later than normal in the story, and for awhile I was worried I had picked up a non-Poirot book.  There is good suspense and good mystery, and the ending wraps up nicely.

Stars: 4

Book: Ushers

 Book: Ushers

Author: Joe Hill

Pages: 29

This is my 44th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Martin Lorensen is a 23 year old counselor for disturbed teenagers.  He's bright, compassionate, attractive, and outgoing.  He's also - and this is the most interesting thing - not dead.  Martin has improbably survived not one but two deadly disasters that claimed dozens of lives.  The kid is riding one heck of a lucky streak.  Two federal agents thing there is something darker at play.  Now that they've arranged to interview Martin, they want answers.  Martin is ready to share everything he knows.  One thing is for certain: when it comes to escaping death, luck doesn't figure into it at all.

This was a great short story.  I got it from a Prime First Reads and was excited to see Joe Hill listed among the choices.  It is a packed story even for its size, and I read it quickly enjoying every page.  Would I have liked more?  Of course.  But I know short stories are hard to pull off, and they are not my favorite, but this was a good one.  Good character developement, interesting plot, and a satisfactory ending.

Stars: 4.5