CHANCES R.....: October 2016

Monday, October 31, 2016

October Book List

Thirteen books pictured this month, but only twelve read. We'll get to that later...

Alan Bradley is one of my adopted authors at Gibson Memorial Library. I've loved his Flavia de Luce series from the beginning. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'D is #8. His titles are as much fun as the books. Flavia is growing up and her world is changing rapidly, not always for the best. Rated 4.5

When my daughter went away to college her world expanded and she enriched my reading world by introducing me to Louise Erdrich. I have been enthralled by her story telling ever since. LaRose is her newest - a modern tale of tragedy with roots in Native American culture. Rated 4.5

Lauren Belfer went on my 'must read' authors' list with her very first novel so when I saw her latest offering, After The Fire, on the New Books shelf at the Corning Public Library, I grabbed it. I didn't even read the blurb for subject matter - which turned out to be WWII, present time and Johann Sebastian Bach. Her historical novels are splendid. Rated 4.5

Linda Howard is a new to me author. Cover Of Night is a typical action, romance, suspense novel which was alright but not great. I probably won't add her to my must read list. Rated 2.5

As previously mentioned I am reading my way through Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series. Vanish (#5) and The Keepsake (#7), I've rated 3.5's. The Mephisto Club (#6) and Ice Cold (#8) I've rated 4.0's. Her writing is always good and the stories always suspenseful. The only reason I can ascribe to the differences in ratings is by how much I liked the settings.

.....it's later - time for that book pictured, but unread. When I saw the new Elizabeth Adler book, The Charmers, I was happy. In the past I have read and enjoyed all her books. But this one was so bad I could not finish it - something I seldom do. It was too much drivel and not enough substance. Very disappointing. Rated 1.0

The Trespasser is book #6 in Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series. I cannot overstate how much I adore this author and series! 5.0!!

It is hard to believe, but Revenge In A Cold River is #22 in Anne Perry's William Monk series. I will keep reading these as long as she keeps writing them even though they have lost a bit of their 'edge' for me. I still like the characters. 4.0

Sue Miller is another long-time enjoyed author. I found her 2005 book, Lost In The Forest, while perusing the stacks at the Corning Library. I liked the setting, Napa Valley, and the examination of a dysfunctional family. (Is their any other kind?) Rated 3.5

For my final October read, a young adult Newbery Award Winner in 1959, The Witch of Blackbird Pond. I wish I would have read this in 1959-60 when I was a 16-year-old young adult. I would have loved it. Even then historical fiction was a favorite. Set in late 17th Century New England among the Puritans of Connecticut, a young, free spirited girl from Barbados finds it hard to fit into the strict confines of family and community. Very enjoyable read. Rated 4.5

Saturday, October 29, 2016

October Tenth

I have long admired the prose and poetry of Wendell Berry. When I read his poem October 10 on that date, I thought how perfectly it described my feelings about this time of the year.

October 10 by Wendell Berry from Selected Poems

Now constantly there is the sound,
quieter than rain,
of the leaves falling.

Under their loosening bright
gold, the sycamore limbs
bleach whiter.