January Wrap Up

Books read:

Giant's Bread by Mary Westmacott  5/5 stars (my review here)

Bobbie, General Manager by Olive Higgins Prouty 4/5 stars (my review here)

The Fifth Wheel by Olive Higgins Prouty 3/5 stars (my review here)

She and Allan by H. Rider Haggard 3/5 stars (my review here)

The Girl from His Town by Marie Van Vorst 3/5 stars (my review here)

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner 4/5 stars (my review here)

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut 5/5 stars (my discussion here)

Circles by James Burke 5/5 stars (my review here)

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 4/5 stars (my review here)

Audiobooks completed:

A Body in the Bath House by Lindsey Davis  4/5 stars
Another delightful Falco mystery, this time in Britain, as he attempts to trace two murders, protect his sister from a jealous lover, keep his two brothers-in-law in check, and audit the expendatures of a Togidumnus' palace.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells  (my discussion here)

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness  3/5 stars (my review here)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (my discussion here)

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander 4/5 stars
This is a mystery set in Victorian England by a current author.  I knew the solutions to the strange behaviors of both gentlemen very early on, but still enjoyed the character of Lady Emily.  I will certainly read the next in the series.

Death of an Outsider by M.C. Beaton  3/5 stars
The third in the Hamish MacBeth mystery series.  The mystery was solved by Hamish with information that the reader did not have, a situation I dislike.  Other than that, it was cute and Hamish is likable.  I'll most likely continue the series.

A Christmas Beginning by Anne Perry 3/5 stars (my review here)

There's Trouble Brewing by Nicholas Blake 3/5 stars
This mystery was a bit far-fetched, but entertaining.  I especially like the bizarre characters Blake creates so well.

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie 5/5 stars
Thoroughly enjoyable, with engaging characters, a compelling plot, and many twists and turns.

Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler 4/5 stars  (my review here)

Did Not Finish:

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
I read this multiple times as a young teen, and thought it was time for a reread.  As an adult, I found Scarlet completely unappealing and Mitchell's writing to be amateurish.  I listened to a chapter, and gave it up.

The Golden Bowl by Henry James
I'm no stranger to James, and have enjoyed the three or four of his novels I've read.  I thought this one, however, was simply terrible!  Here is an example of a sentence in this book:
 "He watched her, accordingly, in her favourite element, very much as he had sometimes watched, at the Aquarium, the celebrated lady who, in a slight, though tight, bathing-suit, turned somersaults and did tricks in the tank of water which looked so cold and uncomfortable to the non-amphibious."
And another:
He “did” himself as well as his friends mostly knew, yet remained hungrily thin, with facial, with abdominal cavities quite grim in their effect, and with a consequent looseness of apparel that, combined with a choice of queer light shades and of strange straw-like textures, of the aspect of Chinese mats, provocative of wonder at his sources of supply, suggested the habit of tropic islands, a continual cane-bottomed chair, a governorship exercised on wide verandahs. 
I tried daily readings for a week, but it just didn't get any better for me.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Due to the great critic reviews, I've been on the waiting list since July to read this one.  I finally got it on audio book, and two hours in just was not impressed.  The protagonist, Lo, is always drunk or drinking, and when she isn't (okay, sometimes when she is) she's crying or whining.  The idea of the murder is exactly like 4:50 from Paddington.  The writing is not strong enough nor the plot interesting enough to make me sit through 8 more hours of Lo complaining.  Frankly, the thought of going back and finishing this is totally unappealing.

Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimstone by G. S. Denning
This is an alternate reality Holmes, in which he is a Warlock, Lestrade is a vampire, and Watson--still a doctor--is the sane one doing the detecting.  It was cute and funny, but it got to be too cute and funny.  I've not nixed it entirely, and may try reading it again later.

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
I had heard nothing but praise for this book and for Hoover in general, so despite it not being my preferred genre, I decided to give it a try.  Hoover is a good enough writer that I was compelled to read long past my point of appeal.  In the end, I gave up, not because it wasn't well-written, but because I just was not interested or involved in the plot.  On the strength of what I read, I can certainly see why she has a devoted fan base.

January Book Haul