Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Big Read Catch-up Report: February books

Truman Looks On

Books Read in February 2014

Nonfiction

Audubon Nature Encyclopedia, volume 4
This was a "Nightstand Put Myself to Sleep" book -- I actually enjoyed this encyclopedia set quite a lot, but it was a bit dated and some sections could be rather dull.

Bird-watcher's Bible (John Alderfer, editor)

The Book of Barely Imagined Beings (Caspar Henderson)
This was a disappointment -- he purportedly writes about unusual (and real) creatures in the style of a medieval bestiary, and I was hoping for lots of natural history, but instead he mostly went on uninteresting, personal philosophical rambles.

I'll Take You There (Greg Kott)
A fascinating and well-written biography of Mavis Staples and the Staples family singers who came to prominence in the 1960s, intermixed with some Civil Rights movement history (though the focus is strongly on the music).

The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (Ned Sherrin, editor)
A bathroom book.

Winslow Homer (Kate Jennings)
A coffee table book -- slim, basic biography of the artist with lots of good reproductions of the paintings.

Fiction

Busy Bodies (Joan Hess)
Closely Akin to Murder (Joan Hess)
Tickled to Death (Joan Hess)
All are contemporary, humorous mysteries featuring a bookstore owner as the amateur sleuth. Part of a series.

Catalogue of Death (Jo Dereske)
The sleuth is a librarian in a fictional town based on Bellingham, WA, where I spent 10 happy years. It was okay, but the librarian was far too prim and prissy for my tastes.

Whose Body? (Dorothy Sayers)
The first in the famed Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series, considered classics in the genre. Never read any, tried this one, and while faintly entertaining, I did not see the overall appeal. Will not be reading any more Sayers.

Cranford (Mrs. Gaskell)
19th-century classic novel about quiet goings-on in an English village. Mildly entertaining.

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing (Sheila Turnage)
Middle-grade novel, sequel to Three Times Lucky, about Mo LeBeau and her often-comic efforts to solve some tricky mysteries with the help of some truly eccentric and charming friends.









3 comments:

  1. You are so industrious! I read one entire book in February - Wilson by A. Berg. In my defense it was a tome of approximately 800 pages and just about the most boring book on earth, but I was determined to finish it by golly and I did. Sheesh. Truman looks wonderful as usual.

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    1. I don't think I'd ever get through an 800-page biography of anybody. I try to make sure any nonfiction books I get are under 400 pages and the closer they are to 300, the better, especially if there are plenty of photos!

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    2. I'm with you on that - no more tomes for me. I read one about J. Robert Oppenheimer shortly thereafter and it was a breeze compared to Wilson. Geez he was boring. I'm determined to read at least one book about each president so I just decided it was a matter of pride to get through it. Yuck.

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