Books I've Read
Books Listed by Author
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z All
What Cabrillo Found
A biographical story of Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo who "discovered" California. A very 1958ish book for children.
Read:
3/2021
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone
In 1903 England, Petronella's uncle starts eating bugs, and she becomes embroiled in the kidnapping of Dame Carruthers and Generalissimo Reyes-Cardoza of Panama.
Read:
1/2010
Anastasia Again!
Anastasia Krupnik moves from her cherished Cambridge to the 'burbs.
Read:
8/2008
Anastasia At This Address
She corresponds with a "Singles" advertiser, goes to a wedding and buys a sloop. Brings tear of laughter to my eyes!
Read:
10/2000
Anastasia Has The Answers
Her aunt in California passes away, and she has trouble climbing the rope in gym class. Charming story.
Read:
8/2000
Anastasia's Chosen Career
She goes to modeling class and investigates becoming a book store owner. Wonderful stories.
Read:
8/2000
Gathering Blue
Crippled Kira is lucky she has a valuable skill, else she would have been tossed on the trash heap, as it were, when her mother dies. Good story of a cruel world.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Cott (pg.2) -- Short for cottage, a dwelling.
Read:
5/2008
Messenger
Village is changing, Forest is turning bad, Matty goes to fetch Kira. Moving, but seems incomplete.
Read:
5/2008
The Giver
Jonas is nearly Twelve, and he is going to find out assigned vocation. I like how the story builds, but I was disappointed by the ending.
Read:
5/2008
The Silent Boy
An old woman tell about the events of a year when she was a young girl and the tragedy that ensued. Very good story. I like it when a charactor is a reader and the books she likes are mentioned, I become interested in reading those books too.
Read:
6/2003
The Willoughbys
A parody of all those too-sweet orphan books. A splendidly useful glossary of words such as odious, obsequious, glutinous, and lugubrious is included, along with summaries of novels about "pitious but appealing orphans."
Quote:
"They are dolts indeed," Nanny said. She stared at the postcard and murmured, "I myself am Presbyterian."Read:
5/2008
Lengend
Book one in the Legend series. As I got nearer and nearer to the end I realized, yes, this was gonna be a series. Well, I liked it anyway.
Read:
6/2014
The battle of the red hot pepper weenies
Yes, and other warped and creepy tales! Very nice, my favorite, of course, is Book Banning.
Read:
11/2009
Hideout
Alice Vega #3. Alice is hired to find a football player who disappeared some thirty years ago. Once again I must say I admire the relationship of Cap and his daughter Nell.
Quote:
"Still," said Ameyo, shrugging a muscular shoulder, "that's a touch creepy."...
"I'm somewhat creepy," said Vega, not at all trying to be cute.
Read:
10/2023
The Janes
Alice Vega #2, I believe. Alice calls Cap to partner up on an investigation into two unidentified bodies in the Salton Sea area of California. OK story, I'm reading #1 now.
Quote:
Don't look at the saw on the table, Cap told himself.Quote:
And there they were: twenty-four-inch, steel-jawed bolt cutters. -- Steel-jawed, that's the best kind!Read:
10/2023
Two Girls Down
I can never remember all the amazing things I was going to mention... This is Alice Vega #1. She comes out from California all the way to Pennsylvania, I think, to find two missing/kidnapped young girls. Pretty good story, some very disturbing images, some very funny lines.
Quote:
Machs nixQuote:
"Ah hell, Lyssie, looks like I peed," he said, shifting around. -- We are all getting older.Quote:
"Hey--" started McKie.
"Don't speak unless you're spoken to, please. You're a moron, and it grates on me," said the Fed, getting angrier.
Quote:
"You remind me of my late wife," he said thoughtfully. -- Funniest line in the book!Read:
10/2023
Service: A Navy SEAL At War
Lots of action in Iraq, mostly.
Read:
12/2014
Curse Of The Spellmans
Second book in the series. Lots of footnotes! Izzy investigates a suspiciously-acting new neighbor, among other things.
Words I Had To Look Up:
I defenestrated myself (pg. 250) -- The act of throwing someone or something out of a window. Still.
My sister's hyperbolic response...(pg. 332) -- Seems not the curve, but using hyperbole, that is, overstatement.
Read:
7/2011
Revenge Of The Spellmans
Book three finds Isabel in court-ordered therapy, someone is blackmailing her, her parked car keeps moving around, and Rai is accused of cheating on the PSAT.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Erased de Kooning Drawing (pg. 284) -- Those wacky artist types!
Read:
7/2011
The Last Word
Spellman Document #6. I laughed and I cried, then laughed some more. This one was better than #5. But it might be the last! Be sure to read them in order.
On page 263 I might have caught an spellcheck error. The character says "Once I coded a logarithm that made your computer run at the pace of the J train." I think that should have been "...coded an algorithm that made..."
Read:
8/2014
20 books displayed
[Abadzis - Aiken] [Aiken - Allinghamc] [Alvarez - Angelou] [Anthony - Atkins] [Atkinson - Backman] [Backman - Balliett] [Balliett - Barnard] [Barnard - Barnes] [Barnhill - Barr] [Barr - Beanton] [Bear - Beaton] [Beaton - Beaton] [Beaton - Berendt] [Berger - Block] [Block - Block] [Block - Bonham] [Bonham - Box] [Boyle - Brown] [Bruchac - Bujold] [Bujold - Bujold] [Bujold - Canales] [Cannell - Card] [Card - Caunitz] [Caunitz - Charles] [Charles - Clancy] [Clancy - Coben] [Coben - Cole] [Coleman - Collins] [Collins - Connelly] [Connelly - Connelly] [Connelly - Cook] [Cook - Corin] [Cornish - Crais] [Crais - Creech] [Crew - Crusie] [Crusie - Cussler] [Cussler - Davidson] [Davidson - Dickinson] [Dickinson - Dorsey] [Dorsey - Dorsey] [Dorsey - Draper] [Duane - Elkins] [Elkins - Eszterhas] [Evanovich - Fairstein] [Fairstein - Fenner] [Ferber - Flanagan] [Flanagan - Flint] [Flint - Foster] [Foster - Francis] [Francis - Francis] [Francis - Frazier] [Freedman - Gaiman] [Gaiman - Gash] [Gash - Going] [Gold - Grafton] [Grafton - Grant] [Grant - Greenwald] [Greer - Grimes] [Grimes - Haddix] [Haddix - Hale] [Hale - Hallinan] [Hallinan - Harland] [Harper - Hebden] [Heinlein - Heinlein] [Heinlein - Henry] [Henry - Herriot] [Hershon - Hiaasen] [Hiaasen - Hillerman] [Hillerman - Hobbs] [Hobbs - Horowitz] [Horowitz - Hyland] [Hyman - Jemisin] [Jenkins - Joyce] [Kaaberbøl - Kaminsky] [Kaminsky - Kerasote] [Key - King] [King-Smith - Koch] [Kollin - Kraus] [Krueger - Larson] [Larson - Leblanc] [Leblanc - Lefcourt] [LeGuin - Lescroart] [Lescroart - Linsdau] [Linville - Lovelace] [Lovelace - Lutz] [Lutz - MacPherson] [MacPherson - Marcinko] [Marcinko - Martini] [Marusek - Mazer] [McAlister - McCammon] [McCarthy - McCullough] [McDevitt - Meyer] [Meyer - Monninger] [Montgomery - Moon] [Moore - Moulton] [Mowat - Neville] [Ng - Northcutt] [Norton - O'Brian] [O'Brian - O'Brien] [O'Brien - Osman] [Osman - Paretsky] [Paretsky - Parker] [Parker - Parker] [Parker - Patrick] [Patron - Paulsen] [Paulsen - Pelletier] [Pelletier - Philbrick] [Philbrick - Powell] [Poyer - Poyer] [Poyer - Pratchett] [Pratchett - Pronzini] [Pronzini - Pullman] [Pullman - Quinn] [Quinn - Reeve] [Reeves - Ringo] [Ringo - Rodman] [Rohmer - Rowling] [Rubens - Ryan] [Ryan - Scalzi] [Scalzi - Schmidt] [Schmidt - Scottoline] [Scottoline - Setterfield] [Shaffer - Shusterman] [Shute - Smith] [Smith - Sparks] [Specht - Stark] [Stark - Stephenson] [Stephenson - Stroke] [Stroke - Strunk] [Sturgeon - Taylor] [Taylor - Townsend] [Tracy - Updale] [Urban - Van Name] [van Vogt - Walsh] [Walsh - Weber] [Weber - Wells] [Wells - Westlake] [Westlake - Westlake] [Westlake - Willis] [Willis - Wodehouse] [Wodehouse - Yep] [Yep - Zusak]