What I Read: September 2014

About- A famous author disappears and detective Cormoran Strike is hired to investigate his disappearance.

Why I picked it– It’s the second novel in this series.

Grade B+ I enjoyed this book. I liked The Cuckoo’s Calling and I was looking forward to further character development in this novel. In particular, I wanted to learn more about Robin, Cormoran’s assistant, and I felt that that did happen in this second novel. This mystery involves certain aspects of the publishing industry and since publishing is my day job, I had an extra connection with those bits.

About- Harry’s 5th year at school and his continuous battle to defeat Lord Voldemort.

Why I picked it– I’m reading the series from start to finish.

Grade B It took a little while for me to get into this one, which hasn’t happened for any of the other books in the series. I thought that the first half or so was a bit slow and Harry is just so whiny for most of this book. However, it definitely picks up and the action in the last chunk of the book did not disappoint. I’m glad I decided to slow down on my pace of reading through the series, but now I’ve only got two books left!

About- The “diary” of a teenage girl who becomes a drug addict.

Why I picked it– I was working on a video project for Banned Books Week.

Grade D The main word I’d use to describe this book is bizarre. It claims to be the diary of a young girl, but it later came to light that it was a completely fictionalized account written by a woman named Beatrice Sparks. It appears that it was written to scare kids off drugs, but I can’t imagine that it was very effective. The whole time I was reading it I felt that something was off, and as soon as I finished it, I had to look up some background information. I did not think it was well-written (which I may have been able to excuse if it was actually a diary).

About- An apartment full of antique furniture is discovered in Paris and a Sotheby’s auctioneer named April is sent to evaluate their worth.

Why I picked it– The cover definitely had something to do with it. Plus, after Go Ask Alice I really wanted something light and more straightforward.

Grade C+ The narrative in this book is split between April in the present day and a character named Marthe who lived in Paris during the Belle Epoque. Marthe is the woman who owned the apartment and all of the furniture in it and April discovers Marthe’s journals as she’s sorting through the antiques. I enjoyed Marthe’s story, but I didn’t find April to be a very compelling character. I almost wish the entire book had been about Marthe. Overall, I thought this book was ok, but the fact that it’s set in Paris is definitely a plus.

About- Ten people are invited to vacation on an island and then they all start dying one by one…

Why I picked it– This book is on my list of top 10 classics I want to read or reread.

Grade A I read this book back in junior high and it started me on a huge Agatha Christie kick. I wanted to reread it because I couldn’t quite remember the story, but I do remember that I loved it. I thought maybe it would come back to me as I was reading it and that I’d remember who the murderer is, but nope- it felt like a totally new reading experience. This was a quick read and it was fun to try to figure out the mystery. I think I’ll be reading more Agatha Christie next month because mysteries are very Halloween-appropriate.

Tell me: What’s the best book that you’ve read recently?

(as always, click the titles for links!)