Mary’s Comments (group member since Jan 07, 2012)

Mary’s comments from the The 104 Book Challenge - 2012 group.

Does anybody know how to set up a group? I think we have enough to make a new 2013 group. I would be willing to put one together if someone can give me a pointer to how it works.

Yeah, Silver on the Tree was sort of a let down as an ending. I think The Dark is Rising was always my favorite.

I definitely want to again, too!

..And the last two I finished yesterday, getting me through all the 1940's Christies:

97. The Witness for the Prosecution Another collection of short stories. The titular one is fairly famous, since she made it into a play and it turned into a movie. Known for its twist ending. I didn't really enjoy the other stories - especially since the last one was a re-working of Dead Man's Mirror.

98. Crooked House Whereas this was a breeze to read as it's one of my favorites. Strong ending, no "name" detective. Interesting characters, too. Also, my copy is a 1960 edition from my dad, and the book cost $.35. If only that were still true!

I adore the Susan Cooper series! Are you reading all of them?

91. (YA 20) The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee Third in the series - again probably best for 4th-6th grade. The kid characters are fun and relatable (though probably a little bit too mature and knowledgeable)and it sets the stage for the fourth book.

92. Death Comes As the End Another Christie, this time set in Ancient Egypt. Pretty good, and a fun (time) period place.

93. The Hollow Second book that I didn't remember the title but remembered the entire plot as soon as I started reading. Interesting characters, good plot. There are a few overt slurs - such as calling a character a "jewess" (as a pejorative term) and a dessert is called a "nigger in his shirt". Very jarring, though probably not to a 40's audience. (I have also recently read some speculation that Christie was rather antisemitic. *sigh* unfortunate if true.)

94. The Labours Of Hercules Christie collection of short stories - with the conceit that Hercules Poroit is trying to do a modern series of ten labours - connected to those in antiquity (ie, rumors are the many-headed hydra, etc..) A little bit of a stretch, but all solid short stories.

95. Vision Impossible Another in the psychic series. Abby gets caught up in a spy operation with her CIA fiance. Not a particularly challenging mystery, but it was entertaining and I'm looking forward to the next one.

96.Taken at the Flood Christie has now made it to the end of WWII and this deals with a woman returning to her little village and what's happening with her extended family. I remember this one for some odd characterization at the end - but the mystery is fairly good.

Augh! So close!! At least I got further than last year....

Well, I've been chugging away at the 1940's Christies:

84. The Body in the LibraryMiss Marple, and a "locked door" cozy of a mystery. It's pretty well handled and a "comfort food" read.

85. Five Little Pigs This one's pretty cool - Hercules Poirot gets to figure out a murder from 16 years ago. Has to gather five witness reports (hence the title) and the cross-referencing solves the crime.

86. The Moving FingerI always think of this as the first Miss Marple (it's the third) - maybe because she only shows up in the last third for like ten pages. However, I still really like this one; narrated by a male and set during the war, but no plot points hinge on it.

87. Towards Zero I had blanked on this title, but I remembered the plot as soon as I started reading it. This is a really good mystery. The conceit is that mysteries start with a murder when so much story has gone before it. Therefore, this story builds up to the time the murder takes place.

88. Sparkling Cyanide I remember liking this one better than I did re-reading it. Wasn't bad, but it didn't seem to have as much depth as others. The other title is Remembered Death - a young girl is discovering things about her sister's suicide from the previous year.

89. (YA 19) Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King Older child got this series for Christmas. This is the first, and deals with how the Guardians of Childhood come into being (so this is the second epic battle with Pitch - the movie is set in modern day with the third epic battle against Pitch). I liked this very much, but it's not perfect - some things are a little too cute or too wink-wink - like the protective spirit with the wand being called Nightlight. Still highly recommend this book, and my daughter wants me to read the other two which is usually a good sign.

90. Elemental Magic: All-New Tales of the Elemental Masters Collection of short stories - none bad, a few really good. Increase in enjoyment the further in the collection I read. All set in Lackey's universe of elemental magic, but not all in Edwardian England. Overall okay, but I wish I'd bought it for the kindle.

And pressing forward with the 40s Christies...

80. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe A Hercules Poirot, and not bad. A little more political, and very good handling of red herrings.

81. N or M? The return of Tommy and Tuppence, who I love. Now parents with adult children, they get re-involved in war espinoge (sp?). Very interesting to contrast the tone - the first, set in WWI is very fizzy and flip. This one is more thoughtful and urgent, thought the characters retain their humor and fun.

82. Evil Under the Sun I remembered liking this book when first read it (admittedly, that was like 30 years ago). I still admired this - she takes many seemingly unimportant facts and arranges them to make sense - but it's very close to one of the short stories I just recently read, so it wasn't very surprising. There's an interesting teenage character in this one, though.

I've now found that the next mystery (A Miss Marple, thankfully) was in an anthology I apparently gave away - so I'll have to run to the bookstore between parent conferences and cooking the turkey this week. Darn! I have to go to the bookstore!

83. The World Needs Your Kid: Raising Children Who Care And Contribute It takes me forever to read non-fiction. I tend to leave them in a room and read only a page or two at a time when I happen to be in that room with a spare minute. This was very interesting and had short chapters that lent itself to my read two pages and wander away. It is meant to support and promote the authors' charity Me to We, whose goal seems to be to start world change by making sure children are involved globally. Some very heavy topics, but also very moving.

I'm in awe of how many you're piling up (also jealous!) I love your list for some of the ideas, and for reinforcing some books I have waiting for me. I've got Ruby Red sitting at school.

Mr. Penumbra sounds interesting. I'm dying to get Ready Player One, too, so maybe I'll try this first.

Hope everyone on the east coast weathered the storm ok.

75. Dead Man's Mirror Three novellas - all the "locked door" style mysteries. All three pretty good - the first, Dead Man's Mirror, is the most dated - it's almost like watching a 1930s play. The second, Murder in the Mews is a very well-crafted, clever, mystery with an interesting motive. Many versions of this collection carry this one as the title. The third story is an interesting character study, but didn't stick with me.

76. The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories Last of the short stories for the 1930s. Variety of detectives - Miss Marple, Hercules, Poirot, and Parker Pyne. Enjoyed them, but nothing really stood out.

77. The Seventh Sinner Back to an Elizabeth Peters. This one is very dated (too much depends on hair styles and clothing fashions) to the early 70s. Also features Jacqueline Kirby, who is my least favorite Peters sleuth. At least as this is her first appearance (and she's not the POV character) she's not as annoying as I remember her later being. I feel like this is one of Peters' more obtuse mysteries. I enjoyed it, but it's not one of my favorites.

78. Sad Cypress As opposed to this book, which is one of my favorites and the whole reason I started my Agatha Christie kick this year. I must've read this book at least five times, and I still loved it. I forget that it's actually a Hercules Poirot mystery. I just adore the main character and the philosophical musing on relationships throughout this book. She probably wouldn't hit the same chord so strongly with everyone, but it's also a great mystery. This is my favorite Christie, and probably in the top five of her best mysteries in my opinion.

79. Changes Eh. As stated before, I really, really, like early Mercedes Lackey. I didn't dislike this, but it seemed... looonnng..... When compared to Arrows of the Queen, Lackey's first Valdemar novel, the plot is so slow to develop. Plus, the characters dither and stew and finally get around to action, and the main plot of the series advances about five pages. Did she outgrow her editor? Did she decide she can indulge her philosophical and social-economic ideas? I don't mind some exploration of society and government, but it starts to get a bit didactic and a tad anachronistic (such as the introduction to the Valdemar "CSI" team). But what the heck, it's her world, and it's still fun to read stories placed in it.

Hey, thanks! I enjoy hearing what everyone thinks of their books, too.

70. Pay Me in Flesh Got this in a monthly kindle sale. Wasn't bad, but I can see why it was included. Main character is a zombie (plus), but then there's enough plot / conspiracy theory / bad stuff happening crammed into one book that it gets jumbled and rushed. Would've been better stretched out to a couple of books. Enjoyed the character enough that I'd read another.

71. Raven Calls I almost stopped reading this series three books ago (Thunderbird Falls because the main character was so annoying. Turns out, it was just setting the stage for character growth and development. The main character is (finally) maturing and it fits into the world and plot line well. This ends on a cliffhanger, so I was glad I had the next one cued up and ready to go.

72. Spirit Dances This follows Joann to Ireland, and it was a nice change of pace. Further character development, further plot development, good handling of time loops, and enjoyed the book even with my favorite (Michael) being mostly MIA. Looking forward to the next book.

73. Wicked Circle And here's an example of how to rush character development. I understand that due to plot the characters need to change and develop, but this seemed rushed and unrealistic (which is saying something when dealing with werewolves, witches, and vampires). One of my favorite things about this series was it was avoiding the eternal, never-ending, romantic triangle of woman-werewolf-vampire. And then this book plunges itself straight back into it. *sigh* I'll probably read the next one, but my expectations are severely lowered.

74. Hidden , Chaotic, Darkest Powers Bonus Pack three novellas all by Kelley Armstrong (hey Kelley - when's the next Nadia book coming out??) First (my favorite) is a novella set with Elena, Clay, and the kids. and is a nice stand alone story. The second is one from an anthology which fills in back story for Karl (werewolf) and girlfriend, and the third is backstory for the YA Darkest Powers trilogy - and would probably make much more sense if I had read that first. Liked them all, though.

65. The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits Moving on with Elizabeth Peters. This one is a little more dated with the drug references, but it's a fun read and includes some nice details of Mexico City's archaeology.

66. Skein of the Crime Definitely a cozy mystery. I find the mysteries are getting slighter, easier to figure out, and the characters' actions seem forced to provide future plot points. Of course, having said that, I actually cared about the characters when I finished reading, so I'll probably at least read the next one.

67. Home for a Spell Still enjoying this series. Plot advanced for the characters, but is more encapsulated for the book and less for the overarching "big bad thing approaching" plot.

68. Wild Wild Death Still liking this series - mainly because Pepper gets to keep growing as a character. This one takes place in Southwest (hence the title) and it's a decent mystery. Advances the characters, and I'm glad to see there's another after this one. Better to read this series in order.

69. Carved in Bone Liked this one an awful lot. It's the first, and held up well. Characters showed local flavor without feeling like stereotypes, and the mystery held up. Lots of forensic science, which I like, and they moved the main character along far enough that his hang-ups (which were starting to get annoying) shouldn't interfere in future novels. Will definitely try more in this series.

oops. can't count.

64. And Then There Were None This finishes out the novels of the 30s for Christie. Whew! Again, deservedly a classic. I imagine everyone knows this story now, but if you've only seen the movie, know it's a different ending (and better, I think).

58.(YA 13) Pish Posh Read this one, and I didn't dislike it, but can't really endorse it. I think the author wanted to span genres (realistic fiction / fantasy / snark) and instead it was just kind of confusing and odd. The little girl main character is interesting, but the story doesn't ring true. Upper Elementary.

59. (YA 14) Heist Society Whereas this one is firmly placed in the fantastical realistic fiction (real world rules but characters that wouldn't really happen). Main character is a third-generation thief wrestling with conscience vs. family. Characters are well-drawn, willing suspension of disbelief makes it enjoyable. Liked it enough I got the sequel.

60.Uncommon Criminals Liked this one, too. Took the characters further on in their development, and set the stage for the third one. Which I will get when it's out in paperback.

61-64. (YA 16-18) The House with a Clock in Its WallsThe Figure in the ShadowsThe Letter, the Witch and the Ring The original John Bellairs trilogy. I remember loving this for the spookiness when I was eight - true spooky occult, not like the Goosebumps stuff. A friend's 12 year old was reading them, so I had to re-read. Still spooky and very cool. Good for 8-13 depending on their tolerance for creepy. Set in the 50s, but the main characters are still easy to relate to, and all three plots go well. My favorite is the first, the creepiest (in my opinion) is the third.

Elizabeth wrote: "67) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins"

Lots of classics here! Love the Scarlet Pimpernel, and I really like The Woman in White. Did you enjoy it? The Moonstone is also a classic by Collins - and often viewed as the first detective novel. I haven't read Old-Fashioned Girl, but my mom just finished reading Eight Cousins/Rose in Bloom to my daughter, and we all enjoyed those.

56. (YA 12) Cindy Ella Screening this for older child (she likes fairy tale mash ups such as Fairest of All), but it's more an 8th-9th grade audience. Nothing wrong with it, but a little more sophisticated (ie, dating) than stuff I normally hand her. I had completely forgotten that I had read this, which is probably the most telling comment I could make about it.

57. Madam, Will You Talk? I love the fiction/suspense/modern gothic genre as written by Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels) so I wanted to try another author. It's a little dated (written in 1955) and a tad sexist (written in 1955) but not so much to keep me from enjoying it - plus a little amusement at some conventions that have changed such as how much the main characters chase down smokes. This takes place in France and is about a women who gets caught up in the middle of a family intrigue. I will read more of her books.

55. Kitty Steals the Show Newest entry in the Kitty the Werewolf series. Kitty's over in London for a supernatural conference, and she pokes around in the European structure of vampires and werewolves. The overreaching story gets some more development, and more time is spent on developing Cormac's character. I enjoyed this, but wasn't blown away.

And two more I had read to see if they would work for 7th grade:

53. (YA 10) My Name Is Not Angelica While this lacks development, that is all the events are presented in a string, it very clearly paints a pictures of the events of a pre-colonial slave revolt on a sugar plantation. I would like to use this for my early American history class for 7th grade.

54. (YA 11) Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider Whereas I would say this is more 5th/6th grade. Informative, but kind of dry. I think it would be a hard read (boring) for the appropriate audience. It did definitely outline Hamilton's life, and I learned some things, but I don't think kids would enjoy it.