Hickory Dickory Dock

Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Traditional Agatha Christie with lots of twists and turns. It's a bit hard to keep everyone straight because of she introduces so many characters to the story, but she was the master of surprising me. No one is innocent, but only one person is truly guilty, and every time I thought I had figured things out, she introduced another clue that proved me wrong.

Special bonus for a little bit more look at the infallible Miss Lemon, and small subtraction for limited Poirot--I like the eggheaded, arrogant little man.

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The Testing (The Testing #1)

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Standard dystopian fare, but enjoyable. The world is recovering from war, destruction, and Mother Earth fighting back. There are parallels to the Hunger Games, Divergent and Legend, but with unique twists. Corrupt government? Check. Earth in chaos? Check. Plucky female lead? Check. Budding teen romance? Check. It's all here.

In the United Commonwealth of the former United States, high school graduates can be selected for the Testing for entrance to University. The Testing consists of 5 trials. If you survive these five trials, they interview you and determine if you are worthy to enter University and be a part of rebuilding the country. Cia is a bit of a Mary Sue, but I think she'll bloom in the next book. We'll see. Truth be told, I really want to find out more about her father, so I'm hoping he plays a bigger part in book 2. Or just write me a prequel, Joelle.

Fans of young adult dystopian should check it out. Three stars.

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A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1)

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Second read-through of the book. *Disclaimer: I like my book relationships to be very different from my real-life marriage. If my husband tried controlling me like Matthew does with Diana, I'd punch him in the face, then walk away. But since it's a fantasy, I'll allow it.

This book has a lot going on. Vampires, witches, magical manuscripts, time-travel, haunted houses, and daemons. Not my usual fare, to be sure. I rarely, if ever, read paranormal romance. But I love historical fiction and I like the way Harkness weaves in historical facts to her story about Matthew and Diana. Diana is a scholar who stumbles upon an enchanted manuscript during her research. She's also a very reluctant witch, daughter of two very powerful witches, who avoids using her powers at all costs. Matthew is a brooding millionaire vampire scientist, who spends his time researching blood and DNA with his vampire assistants in his lab. He also does yoga and has a castle. In France. With horses and a library. Hey, if he offered me a free trip to his castle, I might let him boss me around for a while, too. As long as I got time to read by the fire and ride his horses. But I digress.

Diana unknowingly triggers many magical creatures when she has the manuscript called from the stacks. She's in danger and Matthew's hero complex goes into complete overdrive to protect her. And possibly eat her, because she smells good. But not right now. He's a good vampire! Very self-controlled. While I rate it a solid three stars, what kept it from being rated higher was Diana. She desperately needs to grow some confidence. She's supposed to be an intelligent, Yale-educated woman at Oxford, for crying out loud. Make good choices and stand on your own two feet! She's my biggest nitpick with the story. It's a little like Twilight for adults, but not in a bad way. It's smarter and more complex. I liked it, flaws and all.

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When You Are Engulfed in Flames

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

More adventures of David and Hugh! Hugh is my favorite--the man must be a saint. I find myself waffling between love and hate for David. He is a terrible person, but then he says something that hits so close to home that I find myself laughing out loud because it's so relatable.

Lots of funny vignettes in this one. I think my favorites were the airplane lady, his parents' art collection, and his landlady, Helen, but they all gave me a chuckle. Typical Sedaris fare--give it a read.

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Reading University: Time to declare our majors (and minors)

We've made it through the first seven weeks of our Reading University Challenge, and it's time to declare our majors and minors.

Zach

Major:  History

Minor:  Social Sciences

Maddie

Major:  Science

Minor:  Social Sciences

Michelle

Major: History

Minor: Science

It will be interesting to hear about the selections over the next six weeks.  Here we go!

Physical Education Week

Physical Education

This week we each read an arts book from one of the subtopics we laid out for Reading University.  Our subtopics needed to fit one of the following criteria:

Baseball - fiction or non-fiction book about baseball or a baseball player
General Sports - fiction or non-fiction book about any sport other than baseball
Olympics - fiction or non-fiction book about the Olympics, an Olympian, or any Olympic sport
Sports History - fiction or non-fiction historical book involving any sport

Books Selected:

Zach (Sports History - Mountain Climbing)

Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine by Jochen Hemmleb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The story of the expedition to find Mallory and Irvine who lost their lives attempting to first summit Everest in 1924.  This book is full of cool facts and pictures, and has a lot of climbing history.

There is also a picture of Mallory's frozen body, so NSFW.  It was pretty chill to see a corpse.  Get it, chill?  hahaha




Michelle (Sports History - Mountain Climbing)

The Mountain: My Time on Everest by Ed Viesturs with David Roberts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you are Ed Viesturs's mom, look away now. You may not want to read this...

I love reading travel and adventure memoirs. Reading about places that I may never get to visit, dangers I may never get to experience, and people I may never get to meet makes me feel a little more well-rounded. I have armchair traveled to Everest several times and thought I would enjoy this book, so I bought it without reading anything about it.

Ed Viesturs comes across as strangely unlikeable and a bit of an ass. He was featured in the Everest IMAX documentary and he didn't seem that way in the movie, so I have to attribute it to the weird combination of using a co-writer whose voice differed so greatly from the voice in Viestur's climbing diaries. The entire book reads as one huge humblebrag. He sprinkles stories of climbing history, his attempts on Everest and other 8000s, and adventures of other climbers he has known and worked with throughout the book. His diary entries made me think, "I'll bet this guy is insufferable at parties. He thinks he's amazing." I get it; you are brave and have successfully reached the summit several times--no small feat. I would never, ever attempt such insanity, as I hate to be cold and am a bit afraid of heights. He seemed critical of some of his peers and a bit smug about the decisions he would have made in those situations, as if his superior judgment is why he is alive today while so many others have perished. But Ed, mountain climbing is an inherently dangerous sport. If you have not had an unfortunate accident, I believe it is a matter of luck, not skill. Mother Nature can and will take you out at anytime, so count your blessings.

I did enjoy all of the stories about various summit attempts on Everest, and would still recommend to people who love adventure and climbing. But Viesturs's writing definitely annoyed me. I have a copy of another one of his books, "No Shortcuts to the Top," and I will give it a try. Hopefully it is less of a humblebrag and more of a collection of entertaining climbing vignettes. One more chance, Ed, one more chance. Don't let me down!


Maddie (General Sports - Mountain Climbing)

Following Atticus by Tom Ryan

The Mountain: My Time on Everest

The Mountain: My Time on Everest by Ed Viesturs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you are Ed Viesturs's mom, look away now. You may not want to read this...

I love reading travel and adventure memoirs. Reading about places that I may never get to visit, dangers I may never get to experience, and people I may never get to meet makes me feel a little more well-rounded. I have armchair traveled to Everest several times and thought I would enjoy this book, so I bought it without reading anything about it.

Ed Viesturs comes across as strangely unlikeable and a bit of an ass. He was featured in the Everest IMAX documentary and he didn't seem that way in the movie, so I have to attribute it to the weird combination of using a co-writer whose voice differed so greatly from the voice in Viestur's climbing diaries. The entire book reads as one huge humblebrag. He sprinkles stories of climbing history, his attempts on Everest and other 8000s, and adventures of other climbers he has known and worked with throughout the book. His diary entries made me think, "I'll bet this guy is insufferable at parties. He thinks he's amazing." I get it; you are brave and have successfully reached the summit several times--no small feat. I would never, ever attempt such insanity, as I hate to be cold and am a bit afraid of heights. He seemed critical of some of his peers and a bit smug about the decisions he would have made in those situations, as if his superior judgment is why he is alive today while so many others have perished. But Ed, mountain climbing is an inherently dangerous sport. If you have not had an unfortunate accident, I believe it is a matter of luck, not skill. Mother Nature can and will take you out at anytime, so count your blessings.

I did enjoy all of the stories about various summit attempts on Everest, and would still recommend to people who love adventure and climbing. But Viesturs's writing definitely annoyed me. I have a copy of another one of his books, "No Shortcuts to the Top," and I will give it a try. Hopefully it is less of a humblebrag and more of a collection of entertaining climbing vignettes. One more chance, Ed, one more chance. Don't let me down!


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Mathematics Week

Mathematics

This week we each read a mathematics book from one of the subtopics we laid out for Reading University.  Our subtopics needed to fit one of the following criteria:

Math - fiction or non-fiction book involving mathematics or numbers, or a math teacher or mathematician as a main character
Probability and Statistics - fiction or non-fiction book about odds, gambling, or a gambler. May also include books about chess or a chess player
Computers and Cryptography - fiction or non-fiction book about computers, computer science, or cryptography
Finance - fiction or non-fiction book about money, the stock market, or a book where the main character is a millionaire or on a quest for riches

Books Selected:

Zach (Probability and Statistics - Gambling)

Banker by Dick Francis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Banker starts off with a bang.  Tim's boss has a meltdown and soaks himself in the fountain outside of work.  While he is recovering, Tim takes over his duties at the merchant banking house and uncovers a horse racing mystery that nearly costs him his life.

I was surprised at how much I liked this book.  I thought it would be boring, but it kept my interest.


Michelle (Finance - Money)

 Banker by Dick Francis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dick Francis was the master of writing the everyman hero: ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations. It's part of the appeal for me. He always found a way to combine an interesting topic with characters you could root for, and worked them seamlessly into the world of horse racing. This time, we step into the world of finance with merchant banker Tim Ekaterin. As Tim takes on more responsibility at his family's banking house to cover for a sick colleague, he takes a chance on financing a prize-winning race horse. What follows takes on twists and turns, with some surprising revelations.

The good: I liked Tim. Like most Francis protagonists, he was a good guy, and you want everything to work out for him. The mystery kept me guessing. Just when I thought, "Oh, I totally know what's going on," another piece of the puzzle dropped and made me rethink my suppositions. The unique topic was banking, and it was an interesting look into the world of finance and how some of the decisions are made. And the racing! I love horse racing, and his books make me wish I was an English trainer, or jockey, or horse owner.

The bad-ish: The ending was abrupt, and I felt like this book was begging for an epilogue. Minor nitpick, but still a bit disappointing. Subtracting a half-star for that.  Otherwise, it was an enjoyable read for me, as always.



Maddie (Probability and Statistics - Chess)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first book in the epic series, we join Harry as he begins his life as a young wizard.

Banker

Banker by Dick Francis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dick Francis was the master of writing the everyman hero: ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations. It's part of the appeal for me. He always found a way to combine an interesting topic with characters you could root for, and worked them seamlessly into the world of horse racing. This time, we step into the world of finance with merchant banker Tim Ekaterin. As Tim takes on more responsibility at his family's banking house to cover for a sick colleague, he takes a chance on financing a prize-winning race horse. What follows takes on twists and turns, with some surprising revelations.

The good: I liked Tim. Like most Francis protagonists, he was a good guy, and you want everything to work out for him. The mystery kept me guessing. Just when I thought, "Oh, I totally know what's going on," another piece of the puzzle dropped and made me rethink my suppositions. The unique topic was banking, and it was an interesting look into the world of finance and how some of the decisions are made. And the racing! I love horse racing, and his books make me wish I was an English trainer, or jockey, or horse owner.

The bad: The ending was abrupt, and I felt like this book was begging for an epilogue. Minor nitpick, but still a bit disappointing. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable read for me, as always.

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The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

*Part of my "Reviewing Children's Classics" series.

Every so often it is nice to revisit old childhood favorites to see how they stand the test of time, or to read ones that you somehow missed. I had never read "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" when I was growing up. My daughter read it for our family book club a few summers ago and she made it sound so interesting that I finally picked it up to read. She was right; I really enjoyed it.

Set prior to the Revolutionary War, Kit travels from Barbados to her family in Connecticut after her grandfather dies, leaving her homeless and penniless. She grew up in a life of wealth and privilege, so adjusting to the Puritan life of colonial America was a bit of an adjustment. She befriends an old Quaker woman who is shunned for her beliefs, and eventually matures and better understands the world.

If you haven't read this little gem, you should, especially if you like historical fiction. It's a fast, enjoyable read.

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