fiction, mystery, historical, medieval, 12th century, France

Engaging with elements of humor, but it occasionally bogged down for me in places.

fiction, baseball,

Fictionalized account of four days in July 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg. The point of view of the Southern forces is represented by Generals Robert jE. Lee and James Longstreet, while Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and Gerneral John Buford are the focus of the North.

Skilled surgeon and National Book Award Winner Sherwin Nuland writes a heart-wrenchingly painful memoir about growing up in immigrant New York in the 30s and 40s. Russian Jews, struggling to make ends meet in their southwest Bronx neighborhood, Nuland’s Mother, Father and older brother shared close quarters with his maternal Grandma Bubbeh and Aunt Rose. While the women of the family were affectionate with deep ties to their extended family, Sherwin’s father was domineering, angry and distant. Never gaining proficiency in English and plagued with a progressively crippling physical condition, Meyer Nuland often required his youngest son to assist him, a task that never ceased to embarrass Sherwin and that fed his growing anger and resentment toward his father, who remained always an outsider in his adopted homeland.

Not my favorite book if a favorite series. Neither the characters nor the plot seemed convincing.

After accidentally killing the local landowner’s son while resisting his attempted rape, Molly Murphy flees her Irish village in order to avoid certain punishment. Lacking funds to escape, she agrees to accompany two children to New York City in exchange for steerage passage. During the voyage she is witnessed arguing with an obnoxious fellow Irishman who is later found dead on Ellis Island. Molly and a young man she befriended on the trip, Michael, are implicated in the murder. After Michael is charged with the murder, it is left to Molly to prove his innocence.
Molly is a delightfully plucky amateur sleuth. Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy the descriptions of life during turn-of-the-century New York City.

Psychologist Devin Dutton introduces a host of world class persuaders--advertisers, con men, magicians, and psychopaths--and describes the five simple elements they employ to effect instant and effective persuasion. Real world examples are backed up by the solid research in the areas of psychology and brain science to make this both an entertaining and informative read.

mystery, Kate Shugak, filicide, Alaska, women, investigators,

world war II, postmasters, Cape Cod, radio, small town life

Retired Major Ernest Pettigrew, a true English gentleman, has just received news of his younger brother, Bertie’s, death when his doorbell rings. It’s Mrs. Ali, the widowed Pakistani grocery owner who has come to collect for the newspaper bill. Recognizing the Major’s distress, Mrs. Ali stays and prepares tea for the Major. A friendship develops between the two as they discover shared interests but their relationship is challenged by the Major’s narcissistic son, Mrs. Ali’s self-serving in-laws, and the narrow-minded residents of the Edgecomb St. Mary.
Romance, humor and charm permeate this entertaining and witty novel.

Dan Ariely, professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University challenges the notion that people behave in basically rational ways when it comes to making choices. Each chapter in this fascinating read features a clever experiment that addresses issues like "Why We Often Pay Too Much When We Pay Nothing" and "Why a 50-Cent Aspirin Can Do What a Penny Aspirin Can't."
Ariely further suggests that our current economic and educational policies are based on the same flawed notion that people behave in rational ways, and, consequently bears reexamination.
Readers who enjoyed Stephen Levitt’s Freakonomics and Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point should find Predictably Irrational equally entertaining.

Unenlightening.

Man in the Fire is author Reynold Price’s response to a letter he received from a young medical student facing terminal cancer who wants to know the answer to the question put forth in the title of this book.
Price, who freely admits that he is not a theologian or even a regular church goer, draws on his life experiences, including his struggle with a life-threatening spinal cancer, to answer the young man with heartfelt honesty.
Man in the Fire is a thoughtful and intelligent testament Price’s faith.

Swedish journalist Mikael Blomqvist, disgraced by a libel convicton brought by the powerful but corrupt financier Hans-Erik Wennstrom, accepts an offer to investigate the decades old disappearance of Harriet Vanger, the great-neice of retired industrialist , Henrik Vanger. Henrik, who suspects foul play by another family member, promises Blomqvist damaging evidence against Wennstrom in return for a year long committement to the task.

Blomquist's investigation, aided by his young, antisocial computer hacker assistant, Lisbeth Salander, provides readers with an intriguing plot of serial murders, corporate crime and unforgettable characters. The Girl with the Dragon Tatto is the first in Larsson's Millennium Trilogy.

First in the Vish Puri mysteries introducing India's forefront private detective. The characters are entertaining and the dialogue captures the essence of India. A pleasant read for mystery fans.

Couldn't finish it--could barely begin it. Stephanie Bond needs a good editor.

Fans of Stephanie Plum will love Izzy Spellman, the wise cracking female heroine in this tale, who both lives and works out of her parents' home and private investigation service. Izzy's life is complicated by the fact that neither she nor her family knows where to draw the line between investigating for work purposes and investigating for personal purposes.

In this fictionalized account, Ann Eliza Young,19th wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young, relates the events that led to her rebellion against "plural marriage" and her eventual excommunication from the Mormon church.

Paralleling Ann Eliza's tale is the story of Becklyn Scott, a present day19th wife, who lives in a Utah compound with her husband and other members of a radical Mormon sect. Jordan, Becklyn's gay son who was expelled from the sect when he was only fourteen, narrates the details of his father's murder and his mother's arrest for the crime. Both women's stories are compelling and present an equally harsh view of polygamy and the Mormon church. This would make an ideal companion read to Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.

Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air, exams the 1984 murder of a young woman and her baby by her Mormon fundamentalist brothers-in law, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who claim they were acting under the instructions of God. While attempting to explain the actions of the two brothers, Krakauer also explores the history of the Latter Day Saints and the beliefs that are held by the more extreme factions of the church. This is a fascinating tale that should be of interest to those interested in true crime and religious fanatacism.

Not a self-help book, but rather a really helpful book when faced with the necessity of dealing with failure. Rabbi Kushner is the intimate friend we all long for when life deals us a hand that's almost too painful to talk about.

middle-school, dystopias, twelve-year-old boys, totalitarianism, courage, science fiction

Jackson Brodie, retired private investigator, just doesn't seem to have a clue as to why why his personal relationships don't work out. Heartsick over his divorce and separation from his wife and daughter, he takes on his clients problems as if they were his own. In this case as in the previous book, Case Histories, Jackson takes on three seemingly unrelated cold cases only to discover that they are all inextricably interwoven.

This huge saga takes place in post-colonial India and revolves around the efforts of the overly-protective widow, Mrs. Mehra, to find a "suitable" mate for her youngest daughter, Lata. The characters, of which there are many, are likable, the story compelling, and the time and place complex and exotic. Even though this is long read, if you have to take a break, it's as easy as returning to a favorite soap and just as pleasurable.

A must read for anyone comtemplating a career in veterinarian medicine as well as all pet owners who enjoy a good animal story. Dr. Nick Trout takes us on a humorous and poignant 24 hour stint at the Angell Animal Medical Center .

Good contemorary read concerned with self-esteem and self-acceptance issues. A little more sophisticated and serious than The Princess Diaries, but the fifteen-year-old, half Taiwanese heroine is bright and funny and delivers on the snappy dialogue.

Those wanting more of Dismas Hardy will be a little disappointed here because his part of the story is small. Dismas is asked by a local judge to take over the case load of a missing, presumed dead, attorney. Included in the cases is the appeal of Second Lieutenant Evan Scholler for two murders. Evan's is a pitiful case of wrong doing, but Evan is a pretty pitful main character prone to feeling sorry for himself whenever he does what he knows is wrong. Still, the story moves along at a brisk pace and Dismas and his police buddy Abe Glitsky are the real thing.

Not the "007" genre of spy thrillers, but rather the story of everyday people of conscience attempting to deal with the political evil of pre-WW II. Understated and atmospheric, this historical thriller perfectly captures the period just prior to WW II.

An interesting discussion of the the weaknesses inherent in a private pay health care system and some potential remedies.

Recommended for fans of dark, introspective, police procedurals.