Book: Bag of Bones

 Book: Bag of Bones

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 544

This is my 92nd read for the year

This is the story of Mike Noonan.  A best selling author whose wife just died.  He develops writer's block after her death, and decides to escape to their cabin called Sara Laughs to try and begin again.  While he is there, strange things start to happen.  HE also meets a woman named Mattie and her little girl, Kyra, and gets involved in trying to help them escape Mattie's father in law who wants to take custody of Kyra.  As he falls in love with both of them, things take a tragic turn, and Mike is left to try and figure out how to stop the ghostly visions he keeps having.

This was a pretty good book.  It is well written and the story flowed a long nicely.  It, of course, is quite long and the ending was okay.  I appreciated the Epilogue, but would have liked to have seen it a bit more into the future than it was.

Stars: 4

Book: Duma Key

 Book: Duma Key

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 640

This is my 91st read for the year

This is the story of Edgar Freemantle.  He loses his right arm in a terrible construction accident, and it takes him months to recover.  As he recovers, his mind starts playing tricks on him and he attacks his wife.  His wife - unable to take how unstable Edgar has become - divorces him and Edgar decides he needs to get away to recover so he moves to Duma Key.  He rents a house owned by a woman named Elizabeth Eastlake and befriends some of the locals.  As he heals, he begins to paint, and local artist discover that he is really good.  His pictures, though, start to become a portal to ghost of Elizabeth's past, and as bad things start to happen around Edgar, he and his friends have to figure out how to stop it.

This was an okay book.  It took me a long time to finish because it is a very slow burn, and started to become a bit of a slog.  I am a fan of King, but sometimes I wish he would stop with the verbal diahrrea and get to the point.  This book could have been half the size and still wrapped up the point nicely.  I really liked Edgar's friend, Wireman, and Edgar wasn't a bad character either.  It just wasn't much of a "thriller" and lacked the depth I was hoping for in a King novel.

Stars: 3

Book: Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions

 Book: Who Gets In And Why - A Year Inside College Admissions

Author: Jeff Selingo

Pages: 320

This is my 90th read for the year

This is the author's story of following several students and several colleges admission process throughout one year.  Jeffrey Selingo visits a selective private university, an elite liberal arts college, and a flagship public college to get some insight on how admissions officers are choosing students to attend their institutions.  He also follows several students who have big dreams that change over the course of the year as they apply to schools.  He delves into how getting in is more than good grades and SAT scores - especially in a world now that schools are becoming test optional.  He shows that colleges do have an agenda - and meeting that agenda, and often their bottom line - is more important than the student.

This was a great book.  I have two high school juniors who are starting to make a college list.  The author follows these students in 2019, but he has updated the book with information as it relates to post-pandemic admissions and even the 2023 students who were enrolling.  He talks deeply about how getting into college has changes with a large uptick in students applying and school going test optional and how prooving that you are a well rounded but serious student is the name of the game.  It went from giving me great information also to giving me the cold hard reality that getting into college - especially the ones that kids dream about - is a shot in the dark. The author shares many stories of sitting in the admissions offices and listening to how students are picked (or not).  I also enjoyed following along with the students whose dreams of very elite colleges got a hard dose of reality come spring when their acceptance letters came.

For me it gave me some good ideas to help my kids narrow their search and ultimately help them find a place where they will be happy.  College is what you make it is the theme of this book and a good message.

Stars: 4.5

Book: The Dark Half

 Book: The Dark Half

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 431

This is my 89th read for the year

This is the story of Thad Beaumont.  He is a writer that once he started writing under the name "George Stark" became a best selling author.  Now that he is more succesful, and a married father of two, he wants to write as himself again.  So he does an article for People magazine burying George Stark.

However - George Stark will not be going quietly.  Thad is accused of murder of people who are closest to him in his literary world, and when his alibi checks out, he - along with the police - start to discover who is really behind the murders.  Thad knows that somehow he is responsible and only he can bring the murderer down.

This was a pretty good book.  I was interested to see where it was going right from the beginning.  It isn't terribly long - which is a rareity in the Stephen King world.  The story keeps moving, and has a decent ending.  The Epilogue was lacking - I would have liked more of what was happening with Thad in the future.  Overall - a good read.

Stars: 4

Book: Chasm

 Book: Chasm

Author: Stacey McEwan

Pages: 384

This is my 88th read for the year

This is the second installment of the Glacian Trilogy.  Dawsyn has been captured by the Queens and is await execution.  Ryon - the hybrid Glacian is dead.  As she is metting her fate, she is rescued by her new friends in the village.  As she recovers from her imprisonment, the captain of the Queens guard decides to leave with Dawsyn to help her find the mage, Baltisse.  They know they will need her help if they are going to defeat the Queens and defeat the Glacians who continue to take people from the ledge.  What Dawsyn discovers about herself, though, will threaten to kill her before she can rescue a single person.

This was a pretty good second book.  I read the first one and thought it was good enough to see where it was going.  Stacey McEwan is a good writer - I like her character development and the wittyness of her characters that she weaves in a very serious story.  The love story between Dawsyn and Ryon remains tame enough not to distract from the real reason for the book, which I appreciate.  This one, of course, is left on a cliff hanger, so I eagerly await the third to see how it will all come together.

Stars: 4

Book: The Other Passenger

 Book: The Other Passenger

Author: Louise Candlish

Pages: 400

This is my 87th read for the year

This is a story about Jamie.  He and his partner, Claire, live a quiet, child free life in England.  Jamie lost his job due to an incident a few years ago, and ever since has been working as a barista at a local coffee shop.  Claire has a good job and her parents bought her a wonderful house for them to live in.  Life is good until Jamie and Claire meet Kit and Melia - a younger couple who are envious of what Jamie and Claire have.  Kit and Jamie start riding a ferry to work each day with a few other friends and spending time together outside of work.  One day - Melia reports Kit missing, and Jamie becomes a suspect because he is the last person who saw Kit.  As the police try to unravel the mystery, Jamie tries hard to hold a secret he is keeping from just about everyone - including his wife Claire.  As he tries to prove his innocence, his life starts to unravel.  Soon he finds himself in a situation that might ruin his life.

This was an okay book. I was interested to see where it was going and how the mystery was going to unfold.  I didn't really like the characters Jamie, Kit or Melia.  Claire was a sweet character.  The set up to the final reveal was probably a bit too long - this book probably could have been about 50-75 pages less and we would have gotten the whole point.  There were some twists that were surprising, but the "who done it" really was easy to figure out.  But not a bad little mystery book.

Stars: 3

Book: Good Bad Girl

 Book: Good Bad Girl

Author: Alice Feeney

Pages: 310

This is my 86th read for the year

This is the story of 4 women - Patience, Frankie, Clio, and Edith.  Their lives are about to enterwine in a way they never expected.  20 years ago - Clio's baby was stolen from her pram from a grocery store and never found.  Edith - Clio's mother, now in a personal care home, tries to get Patience (whom she calls Ladybug) to spring her and take her home.  Patience ran away from home and her mom, Frankie, when Frankie refused to tell her who her father was.  Frankie, who has so many secrets from her daughter, never gives up looking for her.  When the manager of the care home ends up dead and Edith missing, Patience, Frankie, and Clio all become suspects.  As their lives intertwine all their secrets come to life leaving them all realing.

This wasn't a good book.  I listened to it and should have quit.  But I didn't.  It was bad from the start.  One of my pet peeves - too many secrets and too much keeping the reading in the dark.  It was overdone.  I hated all the characters.  None of them had redeeming qualities.  The writing wasn't great - AND the author stole a line from "The Starless Sea" and Erin Morgenstern - and doesn't give her credit.  (Quote: We are all stardust and stories). The ending was subpar.

Don't bother with this one

Stars: 1