Kill the Farm Boy (The Tales of Pell #1)

 Kill the Farm Boy (The Tales of Pell # 1)
by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson
Pages: 364
Rating: 4 out of 5

This tale appears that is your normal fairy tale but it is not. It's a fun send up of fairy tales, and many science fiction and fantasy characters and novels and even a quest by players in Dungeons and Dragons. It's a fun and irreverent story with a bard, an assassin, a fighter, a witch, a talking goat and other fun characters. 

Missouri's Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine

Missouri's Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine
by Victoria Cosnor
Pages: 144
Rating: 4 out of 5

Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell of St. Louis was known as many things: a brilliant surgeon and teacher, a grave robber and and husband and father. Some people say he was an amazing man while others wanted to kill him. His experiments and anatomy classes led to advances in medical science but at what cost? Was he really a mad scientist and did he really experiment on his family's corpses? You'll have to read this book to find out.

Hell House by Richard Matheson

Four people go into the Belesco House (commonly known as Hell House) to investigate the supposed haunting, but will they all come out alive? If the previous investigations are anything to go by...they won't.

This book has been on my horror to-read list for years and I finally got to it. You can definitely tell that it was written in the 70s, but it's effectively tense and creepy and kept me guessing on what would happen next. A must read if you are into the paranormal horror genre.

Rating 3.8/5
Pages: 301

The Scarlet Ruse: A Travis McGee Novel by John MacDonald

Travis McGee is perfectly happy enjoying his retirement when his good friend Meyer talks him into helping an old man who is a stamp collector. A book of valuable stamps he invested in for a client has been swapped for a book of worthless low-value imitations.

What follows are the usual McGee hijinks; murder most foul, boat wrecks, etc. But in the end, McGee finds the good stamps and retrieves them for the little old man.


338 pages

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

Trudy Schlemmer is a professor of German history in Minnesota. She is taking oral histories of World War II survivors. Her mother, Anna, is German, also, but has never talked about her past. Trudy knows she was three when her mother married an American soldier after the war.

The story moves back and forth from the present, starting with the funeral of Anna's husband, to Anna's story in Germany during the war. It is a story of family secrets; of the horrors of the holocaust, and a sobering portrait of life in a country at war.

Trudy has always had a million questions about her mother's past; about who her father was; about the war, and her mother's part in it. But her mother refuses to answer any questions. This is a heartbreaking story of shame and guilt that forever impacts the relationship between a mother and daughter.


496 pages

Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk by John Doe and Tom DeSavia

336 pages

A collective history made up of first-hand accounts from several key players involved in the early Los Angeles punk scene from 1977-82. I had no idea that the Go Go’s had punk roots!

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

336 pages

In my opinion, this is a very well done young adult LGBTQ title about Rukhsana coming out (or rather being discovered) by her Muslim Bengali parents and the challenges of balancing two cultures that are both dear. 

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

416 pages

The story of a couple from Cameroon living in New York around the 2008 recession.  The story weaves together several characters as it explores class, status, success, and dreams.

Coming to My Senses: the Making of a Counterculture Cook by Alice Waters

320 pages

Seductive, rambling, circuitous….these are all words that would describe this sensuous memoir by Alice Waters that chronicles her upbringing and life that led her to open Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1971 and become a legendary chef. 

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

304 pages

This is by far my favorite read of this month.  This smart, nostalgic memoir combines personal and family history mixed with the commentary on the larger social context.  To me, its reminiscent of Hillbilly Elegy with more insightful conclusions.

Small Fry by Lisa Brennan Jobs

416 pages

Growing up the daughter of Steve Jobs was not necessarily the easiest of paths nor was it the hardest.  Lisa pens a very readable book describing the often rocky road of her childhood and adolescence and her quest for love and acceptance.

Knucklehead by Adam Smyer

340 pages

Knucklehead chronicles the life of a young black lawyer in the early 90’s struggling to deal with subtle and overt racism and his accompanying rage.

Carsick by John Waters

336 pages

I’m a fan of the King of Filth, but this title was not my favorite.  The premise is great—John Waters embarks on a hitchhiking trip from Baltimore to San Francisco.  However, I could have gladly eliminated the first two thirds of the novel as John describes his ideal fantasy hitchhiking adventure and then the nightmare version. My interest picked up as he described his actual rides and experience even though it was much less dramatic than his imagination.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

448 pages

Sequel to Beartown, this title picks up right where the first book ended describing how the small community deals and heals in the aftermath of scandalous events.  The emphasis is on the characters and their complex nuances—no one is painted as all good or all bad.

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Born to a survivalist family in the Idaho mountains, Tara had never set foot in a normal classroom or been to a doctor. The family spent their time preparing for the End of Days by working in their father's junkyard or stewing herbs with their mother, a midwife and healer. When an older brother decides to go to college, Tara can't help but become curious about the outside world. She taught herself enough to get the score necessary to gain a scholarship to BYU. Once in college, she begins to question her family's way of life, eventually questioning the meaning of family itself.

While I normally avoid mentioning my personal feelings toward a book in a post so that people can reach their own conclusions about whether or not they want to read the book, I cannot recommend this book enough. Tara's struggle to understand her family and her quest for self-invention is astonishing and beyond admirable. I've had many fiction books take me on an emotional journey, but I've never found a nonfiction book that resonates quite like this one.

352 pages.

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophia Kinsella

 As a mini-shopaholic this story really spoke to me (and made me feel a lot better about myself as I've never dug myself into the hole that the protagonist had). It's a funny, witty, and before I knew it the book was done! I almost just went in to start the second book right after, but held back as it was already midnight. I can't wait to continue the story.

Rating: 4/5

Pages: 368

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Diana Bishop, an American historian, plans to spend most of her spare time throughout the summer and fall in Oxford's Bodleian Library, perusing alchemical manuscripts. When she recalls Ashmole 782 from the stacks, she discovers it is bewitched and hastily sends it back. Though Diana is a witch who refuses to use her powers since the deaths of her parents, she knows enough to recognize when something--or someone--is bewitched. Diana's ability to recall the manuscript, supposedly lost for centuries, causes the underworld of witches, vampires, and daemons to descend upon Oxford. Their sudden appearance sets Diana on a course that will irrevocably change her life.

Book 1 in the All Souls Trilogy. 579 pages.       

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

Summary: "Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand for herself? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?"

I just love Sophie Kinsella! This one wasn't as laugh out loud funny as some of her other novels, but I found it still interesting and heartwarming.

435 pages

MOBIUS | goodreads

--Laura

A Hopeless Romantic by Harriett Evans

A Hopeless Romantic by Harriett Evans

Laura Foster is very much a head in the clouds, daydreamer type. Her friends have always found it in parts amusing and exasperating; it was simply how Laura was. But when Laura lets her dreams carry her too far from reality, resulting in a broken heart and a probationary period at her beloved job, she decides a complete personality overhaul is in order. That, and a trip to the seaside with her parents and grandmother. At Chartley Hall, Laura meets Nick, the decidedly good-looking, funny estate manager. But with Nick, what one sees is not what one gets. Did Laura totally misread the situation--and the guy--again?

531 pages. 

Dune Drive by Mariah Stewart

Dune Drive by Mariah Stewart
This story reaches its crescendo like a storm coming onto the sea, a slow build and a dramatic climax followed by immediate calm. Ship-salvaging and cooking provide an interesting backdrop to this pleasant read.

337 pages

The Millionaire and the Mummies by John M. Adams

The Millionaire and the Mummies by John M. Adams

With his rags to riches background, Theodore Davis was perhaps the most famous archaeologist of the early 20th century. His discovery of many of the tombs within Egypt's Valley of the Kings ensured him a place in history. However, when Howard Carter found the tomb of Tutankhamun, Davis would fade into obscurity, though his findings remain as important to understanding the history of Egypt and its pharaohs as ever.

363 pages.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I love this story! I watched the BBC series first and wanted to delve into the book right after and, as always, the book has so much more detail that makes the world even better.

Two magicians in England try to bring back English magic (which has been dormant for many years) and learn that you should never mess with fairies. Resurrections, war, betrayals, and enchantments this book has everything that a fantasy fan could want. Though if you do not like having to read footnotes, beware because there are a lot of them that help describe the alternate history of and England with magic.

Rating: 4.5/5
Pages: 1006