True Grit

By Charles Portis

Fourteen year old Mattie Ross, is after Tom Chaney,  an outlaw who shot her unarmed father in Fort Smith, Arkansas.  Chaney stole her fathers' life, his horse, $150 in cash, and two gold pieces hidden in his waistband.  Mattie hires U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn to help her track the coward down.

I really liked this book.  Mattie is tough and resourceful, and Rooster is an original "hero with a dark past".  His type is what we think of as a true cowboy in the Old West, complete with an eye patch and a wandering spirit.  The story reminds me yet again that I wouldn't last long as a homesteader --- I don't have the guts or the smarts.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

By Ransom Riggs

Sixteen year old Jacob adores his grandfather, but long ago stopped believing the "fairy tales" about his grandfather's childhood during World War Two.  When his grandfather is brutally attacked, he tells Jacob to travel to "the island", where he will be safe.  Jacob convinces his father to travel with him to his grandfather's small Welsh island to find the Home For Peculiar Children.

I was hoping this would be more of a thriller than science fiction.  I liked the old photographs that the story was wrapped around, and thought they were sufficiently creepy to amp up the storyline.  Overall, I wanted a more serious, scary story.

You've Got Murder

By Donna Andrews

Turing Hopper, an artificially intelligent computer program, notices that her workaholic designer, Zack, is missing.  She checks everywhere for his electronic footprint, with no luck, then decides to enlist the help of two human friends to do some actual legwork.  It seems Zack is nowhere to be found, and some other apparently dangerous people are looking for Zack too.

I liked this far more than I thought I would, mostly because I liked Turing.  I imagine her as the "good" AI character, as opposed to the typical "evil" AI trying to destroy humankind.  Turing liked people, and wanted to be more like them.  Slightly more serious than Andrew's previous books but still fun.

Daddy Long-Legs

By Jean Webster

Originally published in 1912, this is the story of an orphan who gets the chance at a "real" life. Jerusha Abbott escapes the boredom and overwork of the John Grier Home when a mysterious benefactor supports her dream of attending college.  The only stipulation is that she write and update him with her progress, but never expect him to reply or interact with her.

Jerusha is a free spirited, intelligent girl, and it is fun to read her letters.  She enjoys her new life, but still is grateful  and doesn't take advantage of her sponsor, even though everyone around her is wealthy.  I think that makes her appreciate her life more.

Withering Heights

By Dorothy Cannell

Ellie and Ben Haskell travel to Yorkshire to return Ben's runaway 13 year old niece, Ariel.  Ariel begs them to investigate what is really behind all the strange accidents at their newly purchased gothic manor.  Ariel's stepmother, Betty, is convinced that the manor is haunted by the missing husband of the previous owner.  Meanwhile, Ellie's oddball housekeeper, Mrs. Mallory, tags along to reunite with her long lost sister, who also lives in Yorkshire.  And if that isn't enough, Ben's old childhood friend appears and obviously wants to be more than friends.  Ellie just wants to quickly solve the mystery and get her husband home.

This is a cute series, but as is apparent from the above synopsis, there's a little too much going on.  I like the silly characters, and everything seems to fit together towards the end, but it's rough going keeping up with all the characters & plot lines.

The Secret Life of Cee Cee Wilkes

By Diane Chamberlain

In 1977, the governor's wife, pregnant Genevieve Russell, was kidnapped and then disappeared.  Twenty years later, her body is discovered, and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder.  However, her unborn child is not with Russell's remains.  What happened to her baby?

Cee Cee Wilkes knows what happened that night, because she was there, and she knows Gleason is innocent of murder.  Will she tell the truth & destroy her family, or allow Gleason to die?

Because of the initial storyline, I thought this would be a great book.  Boy, was I wrong!  There isn't a single main character that makes an intelligent decision.  For example, I know Cee Cee was a young teen when the kidnapping happened, but she was smart enough to take care of herself despite being in foster homes.  But from then on out she just gets stupider & stupider (if that is a real word).  You would think being in foster care would make her a little more cautious. Plus, she lies and messes over everyone she cares about... she really needed massive amounts of therapy.

The Sinister Pig

By Tony Hillerman

Sergeant Jim Chee can't help but be curious about the nameless corpse that was discovered by an Apache oil field.  The FBI has taken over the case, and declared it a hunting accident, but Chee thinks it is murder.  At the same time, retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is called on to investigate whether Washington politicians are stealing from the Navajo nation.  Chee and Leaphorn's trails lead them to help their friend, former policewoman Bernadette Manuelito, who is nervous about some happenings with her new job as a Border Patrol agent.

I like Bernadette the best of Chee's love interests.  Here's a girl who is smart, tough, and proud of her Native American heritage... finally someone who is a good match for Chee!  This is the last of the series that I needed to read, and I'm glad that I ended with characters that were great for each other.

Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

By Chip Heath and Dan Heath

What makes us believe some theories and trust some people?  Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus health scares have just enough truth and believability to live forever.  The Heaths explain why interesting, simple ideas have far more "stickiness" in our minds.

The Heaths believe in six key principles to make an idea unforgettable: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories.  These ideas are helpful to teachers, speakers, and anyone else who wants their ideas to not only be heard but remembered.

A is For Alibi

By Sue Grafton

Former cop turned private investigator Kinsey Millhone promises newly paroled Nikki Fife to investigate the murder of Nikki's husband.  Nikki was convicted of his murder and served her jail time, but now wants Kinsey to reopen the case.  Then another corpse shows up, and Kinsey is left with too many other suspects and not enough clues.

I thought I would like this book more than I did, considering Grafton has made it through most of the alphabet with Kinsey.  But Millhone is so clueless, and stumbles from place to place without processing anything.  Maybe she gets smarter in later stories, but I'll never know... I refuse to read another one.

Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book But Never Learned

By Kenneth C. Davis

A long, tedious, unfunny "investigation" into why everything in the Bible is wrong.  I kept waiting to actually learn something new, but all I learned is that Davis doesn't believe in the Bible, pushes his liberal views, and states over & over again that the Bible can't possibly be true because archaeological findings don't match up.  I've read other books by Davis and enjoyed them, so this was a letdown.  The background of the Dead Sea Scrolls was interesting, along with the Jewish vs Christian ordering of the Old Testament books.  Otherwise, UGH

The Red Tent: A Novel

By Anita Diamant

The story of Dinah, the sister of the male "Twelve Tribes" mentioned in the Old Testament, and daughter to Jacob.  It dramatizes the short yet violent Bible verses concerning Dinah's life, using a loose knowledge of life in ancient times.

I know several people that loved this book, but to be honest, I skipped the middle & read the end.  The writing style bothered me, the plot bothered me, and the characters bothered me.  Some reviewers said this wasn't a feminist book, but there were no sympathetic, moral, male characters... they were weak, violent, and petty.  Sorry to say, the whole story was pretty ridiculous.

The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House On the Prairie

By Wendy McClure

The author is a HUGE fan of the Little House books, and documents her adult journey of her juvenile obsession.  McClure tries her hand at churning butter, wades by the banks of Plum Creek, and visits the annual summer pageant in Laura's hometown, among other down-home, pioneer experiences. 

Not being a true Little House fan myself, I read this book like an adult indulging a small child.  It was interesting, but I couldn't connect with the over-the-top mania.  That being said, I liked her willingness to explore.  McClure is a city girl, so her reaction to being trapped in a "covered wagon" during an intense hail and lightning storm in South Dakota is great... I loved it.