Antiques Swap by Barbara Allen Kensington Books, New York 2016 [Challenge # 48: A mystery] I never was much of a mystery reader. I did enjoy a good Nancy Drew back in the day, but post-grade school, I’ve been pretty meh on the genre. I’m not sure why. My mother was an avid fan, particularly …
City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas by Roger Crowley Random House Trade Paperbacks, New York 2013 [Challenge # 3: A book taking place mostly or all on the water] I was a little concerned that City of Fortune, which was a history of the city of Venice between the 11th and 16th centuries, …
The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison Ballantine Books, New York, 1967 [Challenge # 48: A high fantasy] The Worm Ouroboros is one of the great granddaddies of fantasy, sandwiched between Lord Dunsany, who was an influence, and J.R.R. Tolkien, who received its influence. As such, it’s a kind of a bridge, but one that …
The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milán Tor Fantasy, New York, 2016 I bought this book for my cousin, thinking it was grimdark fantasy by the cover, perhaps set in some He-man barbarian milieu like Robert Adams’s Horseclans novels, but with dinos as the mounts. Before I sent to her, I thought I’d read it first. …
The One Gold Slave (Atlaind Book 1) by Christian Kennedy Waitingstar Publishing, New York, 2011 [Challenge # 5: A Free book] Ah, my first finished read of 2018, by which things are starting smashingly well. First up: A Freebie, in this case, an Amazon giveaway by the author. I knew full well what kind of …
It’s January again, so it’s time for another reading challenge courtesy of Authors Water Cooler. The Challenge consists of a list of 50 categories/subjects for a book, 12 of which we can choose with the option of extra credit if we finish early. Some categories are new, some were carried over from last year. Last …
Who I Am by Peter Townsend Harper Collins Publishers, Kindle edition, 2012 [For extra credit: A biography or autobiography about someone still alive.] I had planned to finish up my 2017 Reading Challenge with Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America’s Race to the Moon, by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton, but it was stolen, along …
The King of the Fields by Isaac Bashevis Singer Broadway Paperbacks, New York, 2010 [Challenge # 5: A translation.] This is my next-to-last Challenge read for the year, and I want to reiterate, it’s been fun. Many of the books I’ve read are from the stash I collected over the years, and each has an …
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued his Empire by Jack Weatherford Broadway Paperbacks, New York, 2010 [Challenge # 9: A book about a person you know little about.] Winding up my book challenges for 2017. Am looking forward to next years’ reading. Who knows where it will …
A Wrinkle in Time by Madelene L’Engle Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2010 (Originally published in 1962) [Challenge # 3: A book you loved as a child.] Like many children of a certain generation, I read Madeleine L’Engle’s classic SF novel A Wrinkle in Time in fifth or sixth grade and fell in love with it. …