Interlude in Death by J.D. Robb

Interlude in Death by J.D. Robb, 88 pages

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has several problems: she has been ordered to give a seminar at a police conference and the conference is not only off-world but also hosted by Mount Olympus, her husband's newest resort. Once at the conference, her list of problems only grow when she encounters a legendary commander who is determined to take Roarke--and Eve herself--down. 

 

Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog by Kitty Burns Florey

Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences by Kitty Burns Florey, 176 pages

In fifth grade, I learned how to diagram sentences and I fell in love. Combining two of my favorite things - reading and drawing - it made my schoolwork considerably less dull and helped me understand language in a way I hadn't before.  Kitty Burns Florey had a similar experience, which she outlines in Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog. 

Maybe it's the grammar pedant in me, but this book isn't a dry history of a grammatical fad. It's an engaging essay, an ode to a lost skill, waxing philosophical and poetical in turns.  I really enjoyed it. 

 

Every One is Watching

 

Every One is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf  320 pages

Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect, and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated.

When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality show—someone is out for blood. And the game can’t end until the world knows who the contestants really are…

Entertaining and the ending was satisfying.

IDENTITY UNKNOWN by PATRICIA CORNWELL

 

IDENTITY UNKNOWN by PATRICIA CORNWELL (PGS 496)

Autopsies can reveal the secrets of the dead.

And this victim is sending Scarpetta a message…

Summoned to an unnerving, abandoned theme park to retrieve a body, Dr Kay Scarpetta is devastated to learn that the victim is a man she once loved. While teaching in Rome during the early days of her career, Scarpetta had an intense love affair with Sal Giordano that led to a lifelong friendship.

The murder scene is bizarre, with a crop circle of petals around the body, and Giordano’s skin is strangely red. Scarpetta’s niece Lucy believes he was dropped from an unidentified flying craft. Scarpetta knows an autopsy can reveal the dead’s secrets, but she is shocked to find her friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue.

As the investigators are torn between suspicions of otherworldly forces, and of Giordano himself, Scarpetta detects an explanation closer to home that, in her mind, is far more evil . . .

I always enjoy reading this series.

How to Build a Story...Or, the Big What If by Frances O'Roark Dowell

 How to Build a Story...Or, the Big What If by Frances O'Roark Dowell - 128 pages, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A middle-grade introduction to writing stories, from brainstorming ideas to publication.

Although this is a middle-grade title, I would recommend it for writers and aspiring writers of all ages.  Frances O'Roark Dowell does an excellent job breaking down each piece of the writing process into small chunks that are easy-to-understand for kids and not as overwhelming for adults as many other writing advice books can be.  I really liked her framing of a story's plot as a combination of big problems, sticks and stones (smaller problems), and the monster (the biggest obstacle yet).  It's a slightly different way of thinking about plot that makes more sense to me than something like a beat sheet or a traditional outline.  A very helpful book.  

The Life of Thomas More by Peter Ackroyd

 The Life of Thomas More by Peter Ackroyd - 480 pages, ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

A highly-detailed biography of Thomas More, the Lord Chancellor of England who was imprisoned in the Tower of London and ultimately beheaded for his refusal to accept King Henry VIII's claim of supremacy over the Pope and the King's marriage to Anne Boleyn.

I watched A Man for All Seasons (1966; dir. Fred Zinnemann) back in March, and was unexpectedly charmed by the witty dialogue and the intense conviction with which Paul Scofield portrays Thomas More.  As the film is a fictionalized adaptation of historical events, I was curious how accurate it is, so I picked up The Life of Thomas More by Peter Ackroyd.  Although I enjoyed reading the book, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for the casually curious.

I got the book in May, and finally finished it a whole seven months later.  It's a bit of a brick -- although the copy I read was only 405 pages, with 75 pages of appendices, the book still seemed much longer than it was.  That is in no way a condemnation of Peter Ackroyd's writing; his prose is clear and engaging, and he makes a lot of interesting observations and connections (there is an entire chapter comparing Martin Luther and Thomas More, for example, and Ackroyd finds a lot of similarities between the two, despite their very heated disagreement in regards to religion).  Ackroyd, however, has a tendency to go into almost superfluous amounts of detail -- I didn't get to where A Man for All Seasons starts until late October.  Granted, The Life of Thomas More tells More's entire life story, while A Man for All Seasons focuses only on his final six years or thereabouts.  Even so, I thought Ackroyd spent a few too many chapters discussing More's childhood and young adulthood.  The high level of detail Ackroyd gives to More's career as a lawyer makes sense, as it informs so much of More's behavior, writing, arguments, and his character as a whole.  There are far fewer connections made between More's childhood and adulthood, which makes the length and amount of chapters focusing on More's childhood seem excessive.  

The other issue I have with the book, which I hesitate to even call an issue, is Ackroyd's penchant for direct quotes.  He frequently quotes primary sources verbatim, complete with untranslated Latin and Early Modern English spellings.  One of the final chapters is just the transcript of Thomas More's trial in its entirety, without any commentary whatsoever.  While having so many direct quotes from primary sources is nice, it does make the book less readable.  I've read my share of Shakespeare and Latin texts, but it was still difficult to constantly switch back and forth between Ackroyd's commentary in present-day English and the primary sources in Latin and Early Modern English.  It might be a good idea to keep Wiktionary handy to help translate the Latin, or the Google Translate app if you just want a rough translation quickly.  

Despite my complaints, I did find the book interesting enough to finish.  I particularly liked how balanced Ackroyd's perspective on More is.  He discusses More's surprisingly-progressive views on the importance of education for women, as well as his clever satire in Utopia and his other writings.  He talks about More's love for bawdy jokes, and the many probably-apocryphal stories of his witty remarks to defendants at trial.  Most of all, though, Ackroyd portrays More as a person who was deeply frightened by the changing world around him, so much so that he was willing to give up his life for what he believed.  In short, Ackroyd writes about More the man rather than More the martyr.  He picks apart the stories and rumors that have been passed down through generations of biographers, and notes whether there is any evidence of truth behind the legend.  While I do see some of the real Thomas More in Paul Scofield's portrayal from A Man for All Seasons, his More is a bit too heroic, too perfect.  Ackroyd emphasizes that, despite More's cleverness and celebrated conscience, he was still just a flawed human being like the rest of us.  

You could say The Life of Thomas More is a book for all seasons, considering how long it took me to finish it.  I realize I keep harping on that, but I want to emphasize that this is not a book most people would pick up for a casual read.  It's a bit of a slog, really, but it's a fascinating slog.  Hardcore fans of Tudor history, people with a lot of time on their hands and a solid working knowledge of Latin and Early Modern English, and incredibly-persistent people who want to know everything about Thomas More for some reason may want to give it a try.  For everyone else, though, the Wikipedia page and/or A Man for All Seasons would probably suffice.

Mischief Night Massacre: Ten Tales of Halloween by Jason Parent

 

Mischief Night Massacre: Ten Tales of Halloween by Jason Parent - 267 pages

Halloween. For the costumed child skipping along a safe, well-lit street, pillow case chock full of candy, it is a night of magic and mischief, delightful frights met with sugar-toothed grins. But for the would-be revelers in these tales, Halloween is a horrifying ordeal the likes of which many will not survive. And those who do make it to November may wish they hadn’t.

In this collection, Jason Parent gathers ten tales that embody the holiday in ways surely to surprise and delight the most avid horror reader. From traditional settings like amusement parks, Halloween parties, and haunted houses to more obscure locales where you might think terror couldn’t possibly find you, each story will have you breathing a little faster, startling at every bump in the night.

I know we're past Halloween but I gave this one a try anyway.  A great book when you're in the mood for scary short stories.  All were pretty good!