What We're Reading Wednesday: September 21, 2016

 

I'm reading The Chicago Way for the Tackle Your TBR Read-a-Thon. I don't normally read a lot of noir, but this is a really good book that was recommended by my dad, and it's set in Chicago, which is always a bonus.

I went to the library yesterday, and The Art of the Con was one of the books I picked up. I'm fascinated by cons and forgeries, and so far, it's an interesting before-bed read.

 

These are my three e-reads. I love the Flavia de Luce series, and am almost done with Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd. I'm hoping to finish it today.

I'm interspersing The Big Book of Jack the Ripper with my other reads simply because it is such a long book. I'm fascinated by Jack the Ripper, and love that this book is really a pretty definitive collection of both non-fiction and fiction surrounding the infamous true crime figure.

The Couple Next Door is my read while I walk my dog, Sherlock, and it is a gripping suspenseful story. I'm really curious to see where the author is going with it.

What are you reading this week? Anything you'd recommend?

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Podcasts You Should Try

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful The Broke and The Bookish.

This week is a top ten audio freebie, and I decided to go with Ten Podcasts You Should Try. These are ten podcasts I absolutely love.

1) The Black Tapes

This is a fictional podcast portrayed as a real-life broadcast. Alex Reagan is the host, working closely with Dr. Richard Strand, a skeptic dedicated to disproving the paranormal. At the beginning of the show, the focus is on Dr. Strand's "Black Tapes", with each episode centered around a mysterious occurrence that could not be explained. Now the focus has spread to include some far-reaching conspiracies and theories.

2) Tanis

This is a spinoff of The Black Tapes Podcast, with Alex's co-producer, Nic, taking the lead. Nic is taking on the topic of Tanis, a far-reaching mystery shrouded in secrecy.

3) Limetown

This is another fabulously creepy and mysterious fictionalized story being portrayed as a real-life podcast. Lia Haddock is the narrator, a reporter attempting to find the answers about a town and research center, where everyone vanished without a trace.

4) The Message

This continues my trend of loving fictionalized dramas being portrayed as true stories. This podcast features a narrator embedded with a group of cryptographers who are attempting to decode mysterious alien transmissions. The ending features an absolutely brilliant twist that left me completely shocked, and has me wanting to go back and listen all over again.

5) Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories

This podcast features two hosts discussing unsolved murders, interspersed with voice actors depicting parts of the story as old-time radio drama. Each murder is explored for between two to three episodes, with the hosts giving their opinion as to the solution.

6) 48 Hours

This is the audio from every recent 48 Hours episode broadcast, which means lots of true crime reporting to listen to.

7) Stuff They Don't Want You to Know

I'm fascinated by cults, conspiracies, urban legends, true crime, and unsolved mysteries, and this podcast covers all that and more.

8) Wait Wait Don't Tell Me

This show teaches you about the week's news while being absolutely hysterically funny. If you get a chance to go to a live taping, definitely do--I did, and it was such a great experience!

9) Welcome to Night Vale

You'll have noticed a trend by this point--I love fictionalized dramas acting as real-life podcasts. Night Vale is a very strange, mysterious town, and Cecil is bringing us all the weekly news.

10) Lore

Each episode, Lore examines a scary story from history, and how this plays into what we fear today. 

Special mention goes to Serial--I couldn't really get into the second season, but the first season was incredible.

What podcasts would you recommend?



Review: A Drop of Night

Title: A Drop of Night
Author: Stefan Bachmann
Publication Date: March 15, 2016
Genre: This is one of those books where it's super impossible to give all the genres without spoiling anything. So I'm going to go with Young Adult/Suspense/Horror/Thriller, but know that there is definitely another genre I would put in there (you'll know what I mean if you read the book).
Recommended If You Like: books that are really far out there and take huge risks, something unlike anything you've read before, scary scenes, very creepy villains, flashbacks containing historical fiction with twists, strong female protagonists

The Book:

A group of teenagers have been flown to France, told they have been selected to be among the first to see and help unearth a massive underground palace.

But their true purpose has yet to be revealed, and they find themselves caught up in terrifying circumstances seemingly beyond their control.

What I Liked:

This is a gripping read. I had trouble putting it down when it was time to get off the bus or go to sleep. Bachmann is really good at building tension and suspense.

I loved that the strongest characters were female, both in the flashbacks and during the modern day scenes.

Anything I Didn't Like?

This book is really far out there in terms of the big reveal of what is truly going on. It's not what I had expected, and for me, it was too strange. But that is entirely a personal opinion, and, browsing on other blogs and review sites, this does seem to be a book that splits readers.

So...?

I really appreciate that Bachmann has gone for something really new and different here, and fully committed to it. For me, it was just too much, but others have loved it.

The Cradle (Tackle Your TBR Read-a-Thon #2) and The Poisonwood Bible

This is a very well-written book, deceptively simple but filled with layers. It ostensibly tells two stories: that of Matt, sent on a seemingly-impossible quest by his pregnant wife Marissa, to find the cradle her mother stole when she abandoned her family; and that of Renee, a popular children's book author who is trying to write poetry as she worries about her soldier son.

But there are complex stories that spring out from these two tales. Somerville is telling the story of families and how they are made, of connections known and unknown, of secrets and choices. He is exploring what it means to be selfish and what it means to sacrifice, and how we decide every day just which path we are going to take, and who we are going to walk along that path with.

This may be one of the most beautifully-written books out there.

 Kingsolver has composed a truly epic tale, the story of Nathan Price, an evangelical preacher, and the wife and four daughters he takes with him on a missionary trip to Africa in the late 1950's. Price and his family think they know what to bring with them, and what to expect, but they could not be more wrong. Kingsolver follows the family through three decades of change, tragedy, revelations, and choices, and readers are right there for the journey.

Kingsolver is an author who not only writes so beautifully, but does her research as well. This is a book that will not leave you, even when you turn that final page and close the cover.

Review: The Perfect Girl

Title: The Perfect Girl
Author: Gilly Macmillan
Publication Date: September 6, 2016
Genre: Psychological Suspense/Thriller
Recommended If You Like: What She Knew, twists and turns, secrets from the past, psychology, multiple narrators, flashbacks and flashforwards

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The Book:

Zoe is a piano prodigy with a tragic secret from her past. She and her mother, Maria, are on their "Second Chance Family", attempting to put their lives back together by denying who they used to be. But after a disastrous music recital, Maria is found murdered, and multiple characters attempt to put the pieces together to figure out what really happened.

What I Liked:

This is a book that flies by. I got so into it I didn't even realize how close I was to the end until the first of the big reveals happened.

There is so much suspense and tension, and so many layers of mystery to unfold. I didn't see any of the big reveals coming, and it made for a great read to be that surprised.

Anything I Didn't Like?

I felt like there were one too many subplots that kind of took away from the main story line. It felt like Macmillan was exploring what makes and breaks a marriage, and what secrets a husband and wife can hide from the world and each other--and this was really interesting in itself, but it was distracting (especially the subplot with the lawyer).

I also felt like we heard from a few too many characters. Sometimes a narrator would get a really short part before the point of view switched again, and it became hard to keep track of everyone and who was sharing when.

So...?

If you are looking for a gripping, twisty psychological thriller, I would definitely recommend this book. The twists, turns, and big reveals more than make up for any minor shortcomings.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (Tackle Your TBR Read-a-thon Book #1)

The Penderwicks is the story of the Penderwick sisters and their adventures one summer. Their father has rented their family a cottage for their summer vacation, and they have found a new friend, Jeffrey, the son of the estate owner.

But with four sisters, one friend, two rabbits, and a dog, trouble is bound to happen. It's guaranteed to be a summer full of adventure.

This book is the definition of a fun, comforting, delightful cozy read. It reminds me so much of the books my parents would read me before bed, and the books I would seek out as a child once I learned to read. It only makes sense that this is a book my dad lent me.

The Penderwicks is a read that will make you feel happy, just like when you were a child, curled up under a warm blanket, lost in a world of adventures.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Paranormal Reads I Love

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful The Broke and The Bookish.

This week is Top Ten Books in X Genre. I decided to go for my Top Ten Paranormal Reads. I'm sure there are more I could add to this list, but these are the first ten that came to my mind, with the criteria that some sort of paranormal aspect must play a major role in the story.