2019 - Down the River Unto the Sea, Walter Mosley, 336 pages
Former NYPD cop wrongly accused of a crime investigates a murder ten years later as a private investigator.
2019 - Down the River Unto the Sea, Walter Mosley, 336 pages
Former NYPD cop wrongly accused of a crime investigates a murder ten years later as a private investigator.
2019 - Down the River Unto the Sea, Walter Mosley, 336 pages
Former NYPD cop wrongly accused of a crime investigates a murder ten years later as a private investigator.
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2020 bookshelf journeys buddy reads
My sister Donna and I select a book or two per month to read together and discuss. We'd love you to join us and join the conversation when we post our reviews. Here's the plan so far. A title in bold indicates we've read the book and if it's blue, it's a link to our review.
DECEMBER 2020
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
Donna's pick: magical creatures, a mysterious young witch, a bit of a love story, all set in the medieval world of Eld where there's a royal battle for power - which faction will win the support of the witch, Sybel?
Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis
Terrie's pick: A collection of eight feel-good holiday-ish stories, just right for the season
NOVEMBER 2020
A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier
Terrie's pick: After a young woman loses her fiance' in WWI, circumstances take her to Winchester where she joins a community of women who embroider kneelers for the church and as a new war approaches she must find a way to put down roots.
The Drake House by Kelly Moran
Donna's pick: A woman's childhood nightmares return made worse by the neighboring Drake House. A new deputy in town tries to help her figure out a deep secret and they find that some nightmares are real.
OCTOBER 2020
Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi, published 2019, 288 pages
Terrie's pick: a culinary coming-of-age memoir by a man who competed on Top Chef, cooked for the White House, and opened a restaurant, all by the time he was 27.
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, published 2013, 392 pages
Donna's pick: set on the Seine in Paris, a little bookshop's owner specializes in finding just the right book for each customer until he finds some letters from an old love and heads off on a quest.
SEPTEMBER 2020
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center, published 2019, 320 pages
Terrie's pick: A female firefighter in Texas returns to Boston to care for her estranged mom. As she tries to fit into the new fire station, she finds herself attracted to a rookie, but she can't let herself fall in love. Can she?
The Man Who Came Uptown by George Pelecanos, published 2018, 263 pages
Donna's pick: A man in jail discovers a love for reading and upon his release from jail tries to find his way and stay on the straight and narrow.
AUGUST 2020
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, published 1890, 248 pages
The classic of a young man trades his soul for eternal youth and beauty.
This was a DNF for both of us. The language and story were not for us. I made it about 30 pages. The intro was interesting in that it explained that this is the only novel Wilde wrote and how it was received when he wrote it, how he changed it, and a bit of the challenges and troubles of his life. The story, not so much.
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, published 1986, 321 pages
A girl is under an evil spell that turns her to an old woman and to reverse it she has to get to Howl Castle, make a deal with a fire demon, fight a witch and win over an unusual wizard.
JULY 2020
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, published 1938, 431 pages
National Book winner, the classic of a young 'woman's companion' accepts a marriage proposal from a wealthy man but upon arriving at his bleak home, finds his dead wife, Rebecca, ever present in his memory and that of the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers.
JULY - Libraries have reopened in Seattle !!! Hooray - we've reselected books and will be kickstarting our Buddy Reads again. Donna read Rebecca before the libraries closed, but I just got my copy so will be playing a bit of catch up.
MARCH
Libraries have been closed due to the Shelter-at-Home edict, so our selections have been delayed.
FEBRUARY 2020
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, published 1985, 945 pages
Pulitzer winner, historical fiction, this epic frontier story of love and adventure is peopled with heroes and outlaws, ladies and whores, and all the action takes place in the dusty Texas town of Lonesome Dove. Only one book this month since it is a monster!
JANUARY 2020
The Twentieth Wife #1 of trilogy by Indu Sundaresan, published 2002, 380 pages
Historical fiction set in the 17th century; an epic debut novel of grand passion and adventure following the heroine from childhood into adulthood, marriage and motherhood.
I Let You Go by Clare MacKintosh, published 2014, 371 pages
Set in the UK, a thriller that keeps you guessing about a little boy killed in a hit and run accident and the cops try to find the driver.