2017 November Books

[hestergray]

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley 4/5

Henry's family owns a used bookstore that includes a section they call the Letter Library.  The Letter Library is filled with books that are not for sale.  People can write in them, underline their favorite parts, and leave letters for other people to find.  Henry has on-and-off relationship with Amy, but his best friend is Rachel.  When they were 15, Rachel left a letter for Henry, confessing her love for him, in the Letter Library.  He never responded to the letter, and she moved away for three years.  Now, Rachel is back in town and working at the bookstore.  She is reluctant to tell anyone what happened during the three years she was gone, but she and Henry pick their friendship back up.  And they both start to realize there could be romance there too.

 

Beaudry's Ghost by Carolan Ivey 3/5

Carolan Ivey is the pen name of a woman I know from my old church.  (Her real name is Carol Goodman.)  I knew she had a couple of paranormal romance novels published, but I'd never read one until now.  The writing was impressive, and the characters were interesting.  The storyline was a little hard to follow, and I noticed things in the plot that didn't make sense.  But paranormal romance isn't something I usually read anyway, so maybe I'm just not clued in.

 

The story is about Jared Beaudry, a Union soldier who was killed in the Civil War.  He's a ghost who wants revenge on the man who killed him in an undignified manner.  Taylor Brannon is a present-day Civil War reenactor who has a "psychometric ability" to get in touch with ghosts.  Jared takes over the body of another reenactor, hoping that if he can live through a reenactment of the battle in which he died, his soul will be satisfied and he will move on to the afterlife.  But then, a bunch of other spirits from the original battle, including the man who killed Jared, take over the bodies of reenactors and they don't know it's a reenactment.  And that's where it started getting confusing.  I just went along with it, and tried not to think too much about the things that didn't make sense.

 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 5/5

Eleanor is 30 years old.  She doesn't have any friends, and misses many social cues.  She works as an accountant and sticks to her routines.  Weekends consist of frozen pizza and enough vodka to get her through until Monday.  She accidentally starts a friendship with Raymond, the new IT guy at her office.  The two of them witness an old man, Sammy, falling on the sidewalk, and help him by calling an ambulance.  Sammy is very grateful and now Eleanor has two friends.  However, Eleanor is actually not completely fine, as she suffers from depression, brought on by her tragic past and upbringing in the foster system.  With Raymond's help, and the help of a therapist, Eleanor probably will be fine, eventually.

 

Why was the Partridge in the Pear Tree?: The History of Christmas Carols by Reverend Mark Lawson-Jones 2/5

This wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be.  I don't know if that's because the histories aren't that interesting or because the author didn't tell them interestingly.  I think the history of Good King Wenceslas was the most interesting.  I was starting to think that it would make a good book or movie, until I found out what happened afterward.  I don't remember the details, but it wasn't a happy ending.

Comments

[moredetails]

That first one sounds good, but you didn't say! Well, you said 4/5...I'm assuming you liked it. :)

That's cool that you know an author and even semi-enjoyed her book. I guess with her name it makes it easier to google, but wow on the spelling!

[hestergray]

Yes, I did like the first one! And it was set in Australia, which made for audiobook readers with interesting accents. :)

Yeah, she's a good writer, but the book isn't one I would have ever picked up if I didn't know her. In general, I'm not interested in Civil War stuff or ghosts.

[sk8eeyore]

I've been curious to read Eleanor Oliphant, so I'm glad to hear that you liked it.

[hestergray]

Yes, I thought the author painted such a good picture of the characters and the story. My sister almost stopped reading it because she was having a hard time rooting for Eleanor at the beginning. But she was glad she stuck it out. (To give you another perspective.)