It's Monday! What are you reading? 7/23/2018

Hosted by: Book Date

Another week has passed.  My sister and BIL (who have been staying with us) finally signed for their new house...next door.  Now they just need to wait for the tenants to leave and get some basic reno/remodeling done and they will be moving out - with the 3 kiddos, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 guinea pigs, 2 birds, and 1 bearded dragon.  I love them, but I can't wait!  So close! I suspect this next month or two before things settle may be the hardest for me.

Earlier this summer I won a free helicopter ride over my hometown.  I plan to use it this week, so I'm super psyched!

On the reading side, most of what I read was short, but at least it feels like I've accomplished something...

This week I finished reading:

The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny (Nightside, Bk 10) by Simon R. Green - [My post / re-read] I've already started book 11, A Hard Day's Knight.

Mary Flora Bell: The Horrific True Story Behind an Innocent Girl Serial Killer by Nancy A. Veysey and Ryan Becker - [My post]

White Sand Blues (Ashley Grant, Bk 1) by Vicki Delany - [My post] The first book I've read for the 12th annual Canadian Book Challenge!

Dog Dish of Doom (Agent to the Paws, Bk 1) by E. J. Copperman - [My post] I look forward to reading book 2, Bird, Bath, and Beyond (I have a review copy).

Saving Fiona: The Story of the World's Most Famous Baby Hippo by Thane Maynard - [Goodreads] This children's story tells the story of premature hippo Fiona who was born at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in early 2017.  A cute feel-good story.  The end includes facts about hippos.

I'm currently reading:

In audio (on CD), I've been listening to Moby Dick by Herman Melville (read by Paul Boehmer).  This week I heard an entire lecture on the ways whaling is a good, beneficial industry (sorry not buying it), heard a description of the ship and its set off for the upcoming 3 year journey, and been introduced to the ship officers.  The last part was particularly difficult for me to focus on, unfortunately.  I found my mind wandering throughout.

A Hard Day's Knight (Nightside, Bk 11) by Simon R. Green (library OverDrive ebook)

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke (Edelweiss+ review copy ebook)

Eye of the Shoal : a Fish-watcher's Guide to Life, the Ocean and Everything by Helen Scales (library hardcover)

Coyote Tales by Thomas King (library Hoopla ebook) - American/Canadian author

The Story: Chapter 1 "Creation: The Beginning of Life as We Know It" - (library Hoopla eAudio) - I saw a later chapter on another blog on a previous Monday - I can't remember who/where - and decided to try it.

Up next:

 

I have returned yet more library books unread.  Some of the library books I still have out include (my apologies for the low-quality pic above):

The Saturday Morning Murder (Michael Ohayon, Bk 1) by Batya Gur
The Silk Train Murder (Kondike Era Mystery, Bk 1) by Sharon Rowse
Who Moved My Goat Cheese? (Farm-to-Fork Mystery, Bk 1) by Lynn Cahoon
Murder at the Mansion (Victorian Village Mystery, Bk 1) by Sheila Connolly
Bannerless (Bannerless, Bk 1) by Carrie Vaughn
Cat About Town (Cat Cafe Mystery, Bk 1) by Cate Conte
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (book discussion book)
The Door to the Lost by Jaleigh Johnson
The Scroll of Kings (Lost Books, Bk 1) by Sarah Prineas
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi; Translated by Jonathan Wright
Tricks for Free (InCryptid, Bk 7) by Seanan McGuire
Happy Cactus: Cacti, Succulents, and More

Mary Flora Bell: The Horrific True Story Behind an Innocent Girl Serial Killer

Title: Mary Flora Bell: The Horrific True Story Behind an Innocent Girl Serial Killer

Author:  Nancy A. Veysey and Ryan Becker

Publisher: Sea Vision Publishing

Series: Real Crime by Real Killers, Volume 5

ISBN: 9781987467888

Length: 92 pages + "Preview of True Crime Stories: 12 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases, Vol 3"

Obtained: Library copy (from another library system, but not ILL)

Comments:

The grammar, particularly the punctuation, needs work.  The story itself is somewhat scattered and could use being reorganized.  It is also much to conversational, rather than what I would expect from a book.

I'd never heard of Mary Flora Bell or the murders she committed.  Something about an 11-year-old girl murdering children caught my attention.  I've actually been to Newcastle upon Tyne in England where Mary lived, so the location was of interest as well.  The book is brief, moving from Mary's youth and abuse, to the murders, to her trial and on to her sentencing and the remainder of her life.  The authors provide quite a bit of commentary on Mary, her circumstances, her actions, and the consequences she faces.  I tend to feel this is something better left to the reader.  However, these also provide some of the authors' more amusing remarks.  No references or resources are provided, though, so statements are made as fact with nothing noted to back them up.

The last 40ish pages of the book are the preview for another title.  I went on to read this preview, and it sounds both interesting and more evenly written.

It's Monday! What are you reading? 7/16/2018

Hosted by: Book Date

It's been a week.  Dog training classes (2), book club, crafting night, volunteering (at a local cat rescue), worship, work, and some family things.  All in the life.

One of the dogs is on a mole hunt in the backyard.  She has dug several large holes along the fence-line trying to catch this mole.  Last year it took her the bulk of the summer to catch the mole plaguing us, and in the meantime we ended up with holes across the entire yard.  You can tell where it/they move(s) by watching the dog (as well as the tunnels that pop up, of course). Her head cocks as she listens, she sniffs around, and next thing you know dirt is flying.  Once she has decided the mole is out of reach she comes back with a dirty brown nose, dirty white sock paws, and an innocent "didn't I do good?" look.

Oh, and I almost forgot! I finally have my desktop set up!  (Many thanks to my father who spent hours running virus protection on my old, tired Vista and then more transferring all my files to a portable external hard drive.)  I've been a year+ just borrowing other computers.  This should definitely help my blogging.

This week I finished reading:

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig - [My post] An emotional and intense read.


From the Charred Remains (Lucy Campion Mystery, Bk 2) by Susanna Calkins - [My post] I look forward to beginning book three in this series.

I'm currently reading:

In audio (on CD), I've been listening to Moby Dick by Herman Melville (read by Paul Boehmer).  I haven't gotten much further in this story because I had some (Celtic) music CDs come in.  Ishmael has secured his place on the whaling vessel of his choice and will be introducing Queequeg.


Mary Flora Bell : The Horrific True Story Behind an Innocent Girl Serial Killer by Nancy A. Veysey and Ryan Becker - This book needed a lot more editing.  The punctuation is horrible, and the actual writing is too casual and scattered.  But the story and content is interesting (if horrifying and tragic).

The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny (Nightside, Bk 10) by Simon R. Green - A new coworker's question about if I've been reading anything good lately brought the revelation that I haven't been reading enough fantasy lately.  So I decided to finish up the Nightside series.  I thought I was picking up where I left off, but as I've been reading the story began to feel vaguely familiar.  That would be because I've read it before... [My original post]  I'm going to finish it out without reading my post, and I guess this can still be a springboard to the end of the series.

Up next:

I have too many library books at once, and had to return some unread.  I hope to get back to them some other time.  Some of the library books I still have out include:

Eye of the Shoal : a Fish-watcher's Guide to Life, the Ocean and Everything by Helen Scales
The Scroll of Kings (Lost Books, Bk 1) by Sarah Prineas
White Sand Blues (Ashley Grant Mystery, Bk 1) by Vicki Delany (Canadian Author)
Almost Adulting: All You Need to Know to Get It Together (Sort Of) by Arden Rose