Reviews of the books I've read
A list of all the books I've read this year. For these reviews, this is my book review scale:
| burn | Burn any copy you find of this book, it is horrific. |
| mock | This book is awful. Don't read this book and mock anyone you see reading this book. |
| don't | Don't read this book. |
| desert | If you're on a desert island and are bored out of your mind, this book is okay to read. |
| fan | If you're a fan of this author / genre, this book is worth reading. |
| worth | This book is interesting, fun, entertaining, and thus worth reading. I would hand this book to a friend who asked for a _____ type book. |
| strongly | I strongly recommend this book |
| amazing | OMG, this book is amazing and/or life-changing, let me buy you a copy. |
Post date:
As The Crow Flies
Book Notes Written with a loving hand by kitt some time around 19:26 on 23 March 2015
Okay, book eight of the Longmire series. While I thought I might be growing tired of reading these straight through, I was mistaken. The books are entertaining reads. The wit is great, though less of it in this one. The plot was clever in that the original murder was, then wasn't, then maybe was, a murder.
And gosh golly a crap tonne of people die in this series. Upside, at least this wasn't actually IN Longmire's county. That's the only upside.
This book has the introduction of another strong female lead, which is amusing in some sense, not so amusing in another. That "another" being the case where, well, in future books there are sure to be annoying tug-o-wars over Longmire, full of discomfort.
This book also reminds us of previous foreshadowing of not-so-great-things happening to Cady, also in future books.
Fortunately, those are in future books. This one was totally entertaining, and, for once, Walt didn't freeze something off or collect another crazy injury. Yay!
Recommended.
Unrelated to the book, HEY! Look! I'm in the second half of my goal of reading 52 books this year, and it's only week 13th, still the first quarter of the year. Yay!
Echo Park
Book Notes Yeah, kitt finished writing this at 20:23 on 18 March 2015
I rather took a break from the Bosch books, and nose-dived into non-fiction books, work reading, and, well, the Silo books, leaving this one dangling in my started-and-not-finished in progress list. I came back to it today and finished it.
I can summarize it as "Classic Bosch."
Which is to say, "Murder Solved!" and "Tunnels!" and "Bad cop!" The elements that Connelly puts into every Bosch book, it seems.
This one was a little different, however, in that it had a couple twists that were unexpected (which is a great delight), as well as HARRY BEING WRONG. That's one of the better aspects of this book. Too many times in previous books, he just creates a theory and boom, it's the right one, mystery solved. In this one, he was wrong, and it makes him more believable as a character. I'm not sure just how many of these "unsolved cases that Harry just couldn't let go" Harry is supposed to have, but he's bound to run out at some point, right?
Yeah, so, if you're a Bosch fan, keep reading. This one was classic Bosch style, which, if you enjoy it, makes this a good read.
Madame Bovary
Book Notes Written with a loving hand by kitt some time around 13:29 on 17 March 2015
Okay, this is a book that you can find plot summaries, historical references, and literary commentary all over the internet. Some kids were required to read it in school, some into minute detail (looking at you, Wardog). Its social significance and public reception are well documented. Here, have a Wikipedia page on the book.
Madame Bovary has been seen as a commentary on the folly of aspirations which can be never be realised, or a belief in the validity of a self-satisfied, deluded personal culture, termed 'bourgeois' and associated with Flaubert's period. For Vargas Llosa, 'Emma's drama is the gap between illusion and reality, the distance between desire and its fulfillment' and as such shows 'the first signs of alienation that a century later will take hold of men and women in industrial societies'.[12] However, the novel is not simply about a woman's dreamy romanticism. While it is true that Emma is lost in delusions, Charles is also unable to grasp reality or to understand Emma's needs and desires.
As for reviewing the book's contents, I related to the book more than I was expecting to relate to it. I found Emma to be annoying and melodramatic in a large number of her actions, but the motivations, ugh, I understood too much. I rather wish I had read the book years ago. The translation I read was by Geoffrey Wall. I read a few parts by another translator, and kept coming back to Wall's translation. It worked well for me. It was engaging enough for me to be able to focus on it for more than 30 minutes on the treadmill without noticing the time go by, which seems to be my new measure of "good" in books.
I recommend reading this book.
That all said, what I do not recommend is the crap binding of the copy I read. I love books. This has been well established. I love physical books. The heft of them, the smell of them, the entire experience of them. I buy hardback books if I have the opportunity, because the experience of them is superior to trade paperback books, which is superior to paperback books. As a result, I bought a copy of Madame Bovary, or the "Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition" edition of the book.
Penguin Books and Random House should be completely embarrassed at publishing this binding. It was CRAP. Hardcover books should be stitched and open flat. This binding was a glued binding, a trade paperback with a hard cover. It is complete and total shit. It doesn't open well, doesn't stay open. The spine cracked. The printing appears to be from a laser printer. All of it was a disappointing experience.
This particular binding of this book, and all "of Penguin’s beautiful hardcover Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design" books should be removed from the shelves and burned in a great bonfire. They are crap.
I'm hoping to find a good hardback binding of Wall's translation. Something worth keeping on the shelf. My current copy is not.
I do not recommend the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition edition of this book.
Wool
Book Notes kitt decided around 13:59 on 12 March 2015 to publish this:
Recommended by Luke.
Okay, wow. When Luke recommended Wool, I had four other books going, and wanted to finish those before getting too far into Wool. I kinda wish I hadn't delayed. This book is great. Read the basic plot on the Amazon page, if you'd like. The back reads something like:
In a ruined and toxic future, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside.
His fateful decision unleashes a drastic series of events. An unlikely candidate is appointed to replace him: Juliette, a mechanic with no training in law, whose special knack is fixing machines. Now Juliette is about to be entrusted with fixing her silo, and she will soon learn just how badly her world is broken. The silo is about to confront what its history has only hinted about and its inhabitants have never dared to whisper. Uprising.
The thing about Hugh Howey's writing is that it's isn't eye-rolling absurd. Given the basic premise (societies living in underground silos), the characters are believable, the dialogue reasonable and the actions plausible. I really enjoyed that about the book, being able to be lost in the dystopian world for hours.
Luke says the following two books in the series, Shift and Dust, are great, too. And now quickly added to my to-read reading list.
Recommended.
Hell is Empty
Book Notes Posted by kitt at 09:33 on 4 March 2015
Of surprise to no one, including me, I enjoyed this book. I am very much enjoying Johnson's writing style, complete with historical references, literary quotes, and quick-witted responses.
This book was a bit different, in that the bad guys, well, were all bad guys. The actual deaths in this book were, well, righteous deaths, in self defense and by someone with intent to kill. There's one very major plot device that was entertainingly obvious, but acceptable, in the book. When I became aware of it early on, watching for the device to repeat itself made its appearance that more entertaining.
In this book, Walt nearly freezes to death. Again. You'd think that after nearly freezing to death saving the Cheyenne Nation the year before, he'd be less likely to put himself in the situation to do so again. But that's the thing about fictional characters: they can be larger than life, and survive.
And sometimes, you need someone larger than life to inspire you to do better in yours.
This, as all of the Longmire books, is highly recommended.
Related, at the end of the book is a list of character inspired books to read. I am uncertain if I'll read them all, but it's an interesting list:
- From Walt: The Grapes of Wrath, Les Miserables, To Kill A Mockinbird, Moby-Dick, The Ox-Bow Incident, A Tale of Two Cities, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Three Musketeers, Don Quixote, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, anything by Anton Chekhov.
- From Henry: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Cheyenne Autumn, War and Peace, The Things They Carried, Catch-22, The Sun Also Rises, The Blessing Way, Beyond Good and Evil, The Teachings of Don Juan, Heart of Darkness, The Human Comedy, The Art of War
- From Vic: Justine, Concrete Charlie, Medea, The Kama Sutra, Henry and June, The Onion Field, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Zorba the Greek, Madame Bovary, Richie Ashburn's Phillies Trivia
- From Ruby: The Holy Bible (The New Testament), The Pilgrim's Progress, Inferno, Paradise Lost, My Antonia,
The Scarlet Letter, Walden, Poems of Emily Dickinson, My Friend Flicka, Our Town - From Dorothy: The Gastronomical Me, The French Chef Cookbook, Last Suppers: Famous Final Meals From Death Row, The Bonfire of Vanities, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Something Fresh, The Sound and The Fury, The Maltese Falcon, Pride and Prejudice, Brideshead Revisited.
- From Lucian: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Band of Brothers, All Quiet On The Western Front, The Virginian, The Basque History of the World, Hondo, Sackett, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Bobby Fisher: My 60 Memorable Games, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Quartered Safe Out Here
- From Ferg: Riders of the Purple Sage, Kiss Me Deadly, Lonesome Dove, White Fang, A River Runs Through It, Kip Carey's Official Wyoming Fishing Guide
One reader additionally added: "I really like the postscript listing of these books, and I decided to try my hand at this game, looking for something to do with mountains, outdoors and great prose. And for titles not already mentioned by Johnson. Here's what I came up with: The Ice Palace (Tarjei Vesaas), The Book of Ebenezer le Page (G B Edwards), Butcher's Crossing (John Edward Williams), Trustee From the Toolroom (Nevil Shute), The Prince of Tides (Pat Conroy), High Fidelity (Nick Hornby), The Shipping News (Annie Proulx) (and "meh"), Far Far The Mountain Peak (John Masters), Himalaya Tigers (Fritz Rudolph), an Ansel Adams photo album"
Interviewing Users
Book Notes kitt decided around 22:30 on 1 March 2015 to publish this:
THIS is a fantastic book to read to learn about how to interview someone for research, whether it's market research, user research or design research. If you're starting out in the area of interviewing users, or need to understand how to structure interviews, read this book, by Steve Portigal, published by Rosenfeld Media.
The book gives an overview of the interviewing process, including a warning about being sure you're looking for what the client really wants, which may actually just be validation for something already done (the "gaining insights" versus "persuading the company" dichotomy), as well as a very specific roadmap on how to prepare and conduct user interviews. I love the reference to satisficing, a term given to "good enough" solutions where yes, the pain point exists, but the pain is less annoying than the effort to fix it. How many products are there that solve satisficing (satisfying + suffice) problems? I'd say TONNES and WAY TOO MANY. And likely, "not a product to build a company around."
The book has helpful information on building a rapport with an interviewee, documenting the interview, asking question and optimizing the interview. There are parts on how to ask questions, how to prepare for an interview, and what to do when adjusting the interview with the not-quite-perfect-fit interviewee.
The book's only lack is in the "how to analyze the interview data," yet even that isn't bad. There's an overview on how to start analyzing provided, along with references for other books to read. The analysis of interview data a whole other book, so I'm unsurprised the topic wasn't fully covered here, and nor would I have expected it to be.
Interviewing Users is a great book. If I had to start interviewing people for gaining product or market insights, I would happily reread this book and use it as a guide.
The Closers
Book Notes kitt decided around 18:43 on 28 February 2015 to publish this:
Okay, so this book should likely be the end of the Bosch series. He is back from retirement, because, as Connelly comments, no private detective ever solves a murder case, and Connelly wanted to keep writing this character. Of course he did, he already killed off MaCaleb, who sucked anyway (as a written character, I'm sure he was a lovely person in real life). Bosch makes Connelly money, of course Connelly wanted to keep the story line going.
Right, so, back from retirement, and working a cold case from 17 years prior. I'll give the ending away: IT WASN'T A BAD COP. I know, shock, right?
What this book did have, as a complete turn around from the usual Bosch books, was a leadership that supported him and closure. I suspect this book is a turning point in the Bosch series.
I enjoyed this book, even if I had identified the bad guy when he was first introduced to the plot. Recommended if you are a Bosch fan (yes, keep reading if you're already on the way).
Two books left until I have read all the Bosch books up to the one I bought in error.
Junkyard Dogs
Book Notes Instead of being asleep at 21:09 on 25 February 2015, kitt created this:
This is one of the shorter Walt Longmire books so far. It was also different, in that the BIG CRIME (yes, still a murder) doesn't happen at the beginning of the book. The introduction by Johnson gave away some of the plot, which was a little disappointing, but the book was still a fun read.
One of the things I like about Johnson's writing is that he doesn't make Longmire out to be some super human who can take four bullets to the chest then stand up and beat the crap out of the bad guy. The injuries Longmire has sustained over the previous 5 books are a factor, and he keeps being beat up. Of course, Longmire still finds the bad guy, but he's moving far more slowly than before.
I also like how Johnson makes references to history in a passing way, like to the 6000 torches from Rome to Capua. The casual references amuse me, often having me off to figure out what they refer to. I'm enjoying it.
This book, and the series, is recommended.
The Narrows
Book Notes Instead of being asleep at 21:34 on 21 February 2015, kitt created this:
I listened to this book instead of reading it. Surprises no one. What surprised me about this audio book was the production of it. In particular, the MF annoying sound "enhancements" in it. The producers of this book should not be allowed to produce another book if their style includes adding annoying music to a book.
In reading this book, though it was book 10 of the Harry Bosch series, I feel like I've missed some book between 9 and 10. There were references to previous events that I know I hadn't read, and I've been reading the Bosch series straight through.
As mentioned in my In Progress notes, Connelly, the author, thought mixing the first person (Bosch's) view point with the third person omniscient (everyone else's) was a good thing. I think it was a cop out. Was a half-hearted literary attempt at cleverness that failed.
If you're a Bosch fan, keep reading. If you're not, start with the first book to see if you like them.
In Progress notes
Okay, book 10 in the Harry Bosch series. This one has some FBI agent in it, according to the first chapter. It's also written in 3rd person omniscient, where we hear the thoughts of all of the characters. Which is weird, because the Harry parts are in the first person. The dichotomy is annoying. As annoying as the literary cheating is, nothing compares to the tear-my-hair-out run-around-screaming annoying musical "enhancements" the audiobook producers have added to the beginning and ending of each chapter. HF, annoying.
This might become book one of the two bad books in a row that would cause me to stop reading a series. Gah.
Lost Light
Book Notes Posted by kitt at 22:23 on 19 February 2015Okay, I liked this Bosch book. While there was ANOTHER BAD COP (because, really, what's a Bosch book without bad cops?), the plot mystery wasn't obvious. There were a couple plot twists, which were good. I think at some point I should be annoyed that Harry ALWAYS GETS THE KILLER, but suspension of disbelief is part of reading these books. That, and, well, maybe we're supposed to be following only Bosch's successes and not the likely hundreds of failures in the previous 28 years of being a cop.
The story is the first of Bosch not as a cop, but as a private investigator. He's still able to get information through his connections, and there's a 9/11 twist to the story. I also might find it annoying at some point that all of Bosch's theories are correct. Maybe we're supposed to believe he's that good? Is anyone really that good?
For this book, if you're already a Bosch fan, this one is worth reading. If you're not a Bosch fan, eh, yeah, you could read this one if you like the Los Angeles Detective Crime Drama Law & Order type of story.
In Progress summary:
Okay, Bosch, book nine. He's left the LAPD, Hollywood Homicide Division, that's fine. The book has shifted to first person, though. Not _really_ sure how I feel about that.
Reading, though. Maybe we'll see ANOTHER BAD COP. Or not.
The Dark Horse
Book Notes Posted by kitt at 09:48 on 19 February 2015
You must enjoy the book THIS MUCH to continue reading. Fortunately for this one, not a problem. The mystery is good. There was one part that took a little more suspension of disbelief than normal, but, hey, let's go for it. I have to say, I'm a bit delighted that the bad guy is not a bad cop.
Recommended.
Another Man's Moccasins
Book Notes kitt decided around 15:15 on 17 February 2015 to publish this:
Yep, still enjoying the Longmire books. Would be rather hard not to enjoy them, with the wit of the characters. In this one, the dead body comes from OUTSIDE of Wyoming, so whoo! not another person dying in the county. Who would have thought so many people could die in such a small place anyway?
The format of this one is a little different, in that it has a number of flashbacks to Vietnam (the reference of which is coincidental to Bosch, who was also in Vietnam, but with a much different experience), and an intertwined storyline. Two mysteries for the price of one!
The ending was satisfying. I'll keep reading this series and recommending it.
Kindness Goes Unpunished
Book Notes Posted by kitt at 21:36 on 13 February 2015
Completely unsurprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Given the number of deaths in the last two books, I was seriously concerned where Johnson was going to go with this book. There are only so many murders that can happen in a small population space before people begin fleeing, moving out, going to safer places. The previous two books had six murders in total. If this book had had another one, well, okay, I'd still suspend disbelief, but I'd become very frustrated with the triteness of it.
Fortunately, not the case. Unfortunately, Walt's daughter is injured when he and Henry are visiting in Philadelphia. And what do you know, MORE PEOPLE DIE. Kinda the point, though.
I'm finding these books addicting. I've been reading them as I walk and run on the treadmill, which means I've been walking a lot more than I had last month. Between Longmire and Bosch, I am having a delightful time reading through the series.
This book is, as expected, recommended. As of this writing, I am, of course reading the next one.
Death Without Company
Book Notes Instead of being asleep at 17:40 on 9 February 2015, kitt created this:
Okay, book two of the Walk Longmire series, and it was as delightfully entertaining as the first one. I am thoroughly enjoying these books. In this book, there were three murders. Coupled with the three deaths in the previous book, you would totally expect anyone in the area to hightail it out of there for safer grounds. And a joke is even made about Longmire retiring and fast, before there are any more. The characters are fun to read about, the banter witty and the Gavriel-Kay style of not telling the reader everything going on, but letting said reader read between the lines to understand, all totally enchant me with these books.
You can read about the plot elsewhere, or just pick it up and start reading it. I liked these first two books enough to keep reading, and maybe seek them out in hardcover, if they've been published in that form.
I may have also actively stayed up until after midnight finishing this book, which I haven't done since Harry Dresden or Harry Potter. So...
Recommended.
City of Bones (Bosch)
Book Notes Posted by kitt at 12:32 on 8 February 2015This would be the second "City of Bones" book I've read. No, I did not reread the Clarisse something or other YA book again.
I'd been eagerly reading through the various Bosch books to get to this one, so that I could watch the pilot of the Amazon/Netflix/I-don't-remember-where tv show, Bosch, which is a combination of this book and Concrete Blonde. Unsurprisingly, I will continue reading the Bosch series, as I enjoyed this one. The last book would have been book 1 of the "two sucky books and I'm done" requirement to stop reading a series, but this book redeemed the series.
This book did not have a bad cop as the bad guy. Well, sorta. There's still a couple bad-cop incidents but HEY, LET'S HAND WAVE OVER THAT PART, because really, any group in an us-vs-them and in power is going to have bad seeds in the ranks. The book included the classic Bosch elements of the dame, Los Angeles (though post my era), the distrust from other cops, mystery and tragedy. There was a twist, and FINALLY Bosch doesn't get it right the first time. I didn't get it right the first time I guessed the twist, either, which was great.
The ending is a bit of a cliff-hanger, so I'll be starting up the next one, just after I finish a couple more of my already started books.
The Cold Dish
Book Notes Posted by kitt at 14:22 on 2 February 2015
I think that Book Riot might be the death of me. I have to admit that "death by books" wouldn't necessarily be the worst way to go, though perhaps being pummeled to death by books might be. In this particular case, the article Five Female Characters Who Are Way More Awesome in Books started off with Katee Sackhoff as Victoria Moretti in Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series. Katee Sackhoff. Starbuck. Sackhoff. In another tough-as-nails role? Yeah, sign me up.
And, holy moly, this book is fun. I came for the character and stayed for the wit. Johnson's writing style is as fun as Butcher's style in the Dresden series. Johnson also has the writing style of showing, not telling. I am a huge fan of this style, and consider it a sign of a better writer. The book is written in first person, and done well. We aren't privy to thoughts of the other characters, but are shown small details, sometimes in odd places, just as we all do in real life.
The book is set in Small Town, Wyoming. I haven't looked up the town or county to see if they actually exist. An unpleasant young-ish man is murdered. While the sheriff (who we follow in the first person) is solving his murder, one of the victim's fellow miscreants is also murdered. The sheriff is now taxed with protecting the victims' other fellow miscreants, while now solving two murders, which are linked. We learn of the sheriff's history in this book, the first of a currently-11 book series, which isn't unusual for a first book.
The supporting characters are entertaining, and yes, Vic is great. I'm looking forward to watching the series. More importantly, I'm excited to read the other 10 books in the series. I've already started book, two.
How to Make Sense of Any Mess
Book Notes kitt decided around 22:19 on 28 January 2015 to publish this:
I had Abby Covert's book, How to Make Sense of Any Mess, open in one of my tabs since it was published. I thought about reading it, lingered on buying it, and finally just purchased it last week. It arrived, and I read it quickly.
Abby describes the book as "a book about information architecture for everybody." I would argue the title is more accurate about making sense of any mess than her description is. The steps of "Identify, State, Face, Choose, Measure, Play, Prepare" she has are accurate in fixing any mess, if you adjust them slightly. Consider:
- Identify the mess
- Determine what you really want from this mess
- Face reality
- Choose a direction that takes you to your goal
- Track how far you've come
- Reflect on what you really want, if this goal is still worth the effort
- Adjust (actually adjust) the way you're going (not just prepare to adjust)
More words, same idea. I like how Abby presents the ideas and provides a roadmap. I COMPLETELY disagree with her definition of hypertext, and wonder if her ideas of the hyper* come from a non-technical, didn't-start-with-the-web-from-its-infancy perspective, such that it may be more accurate to younger/non-technical people than I think it should be.
I recommend this book as a guidebook for groups. I can see this being a starting point for teams beginning a clean-up project, and plan on using the suggestions Abby provides for cleaning up this site (yay! a group of one!).
A Darkness More than Night
Book Notes Posted by kitt at 18:01 on 25 January 2015I finished A Darkness More than Night, book seven in the Harry Bosch series, tonight. To call this book a Harry Bosch book is a bit disengenous, since it really was book two of Connelly's Terry McCaleb series. I didn't bother reading the first McCaleb book, Blood Work, choosing to watch the move which starred Clint Eastwood, and to read the summary on Wikipedia instead. A big *shrug* on that one.
The book, in and of itself, is classic Connelly, with the surprising twist that THE BAD GUY IS NOT A COP. Can you believe it? No, I can't either. The plot alluded to a number of other incidents and cases in Bosch's past, with Bosch being set up for a murder he didn't commit, but didn't prevent either. Given the murder was of a man who was also a murderer and had walked on a technicality, we are presented with a moral dilemma that no one would ever want to face.
Okay, so, the bad guy isn't a cop, but you know what? BOSCH IS STILL A SUSPECT, STILL HAS THE FBI AND IA ON HIM and, good lord, after nearly 30 f------ years of living with that, only a fictional character could survive. 30 years of a hostile work environment where EVERYONE you work with thinks you're dirty, even though the beloved reader would NEVER THINK SO? It has to be extremely wearing.
Yeah, so, book seven of the Bosch series. Good enough I'll read another one. Might have been okay to skip, given that it's a essentially a McCaleb story.
Fear Street 9: Stepsister
Book Notes Instead of being asleep at 10:47 on 20 January 2015, kitt created this:This book came up as a Book Riot book, just as I started reading Book Riot posts. I promptly bought a number of the books from that first list, but this book has been moving from to-do list (yellow card) to to-do list (another yellow card) to to-do list (give it to the PA to buy for me). In a fit of insomnia last night, I opened up my ebook copy and started reading. I had read R.L. Stine years ago when reading his books were age appropriate, though found them inferior to Christopher Pike's works (and learned JUST TODAY, that Christopher Pike is a pseudonym for Kevin Christopher McFadden, who used the Star Trek captain's name - always wondered about that one). Given the recommendation that Fear Street #9: Stepsister was the best of the Fear Street series, I read it. The "you'll read it in 35 minutes" was fairly accurate, though it took me more like an hour, reading on the jostling bus on a small screen.
THAT ALL SAID, it was okay. The style of writing was very, um, juvenile? The sentence structure was monotonous, the plot predictable and the twist anticipated. I found all of the characters unlovable, uninteresting, and, well, to be honest, unbelievable. The mom who doesn't want anything bad said about anyone or anything, to the point of disbelieving her daughter who's been almost killed twice? The stepdad who is such a wet noodle that we have no idea why the mom is even interested in him? The omniscient main character who is so determined to blame her stepsister for everything wrong that she is unable to function even slightly rationally? There were enough clues to understand where the author was going with the plot, fortunately.
If I were 10, I might have enjoyed this book. Related: I'm not 10. It was an okay book for the bus ride to work this morning. I'll move back to reading Madame Bovary for the ride home.
9 books in 20 days, with the four I've started and haven't finished yet.
Angel's Flight
Book Notes Written with a loving hand by kitt some time around 21:57 on 12 January 2015Oh, look! Another bad cop! In this case, however, we don't know which cop is the bad one. It's this one, no it's this one, no, no, no, it's that one. In reality, this is one of Connelly's better books, in that the bad guy isn't obvious. Well, that, and we didn't have to sit through a boring trial. While the end had a slightly meh part to it, Angel's Flight had enough twists, mystery and action to make it enjoyable. I'd recommend this Bosch book for readers of Connelly's work or crime mystery fiction.
Unrelated to the book, ooooooof, eight books in 12 days. That's a lot, even for me. I'd guess something is going on with me and my life, since that much reading usually indicates I'm avoiding something or I'm doing a lot of physical labor that allows time for my mind to wander or, as is this case, listen to an audiobook.