Books read in 2009

January 2009
A Tale of Two Cities...Charles Dickens...excellent, romantic
The Scarlet Pimpernel...Baroness ...good
I decided to read the entire series of Thrush Green by Miss Read, I enjoyed it years ago:
Thrush Green...Miss Read...loved
Winter in Thrush Green...Miss Read...good
News From Thrush Green...Miss Read...good
Gossip From Thrush Green...Miss Read...good
Affairs in Thrush Green...Miss Read...good
Friends at Thrush Green...Miss Read...good
Battles at Thrush Green...Miss Read...good

February 2009
Return to Thrush Green...Miss Read...good
At Home in Thrush Green...Miss Read...good
The School at Thrush Green...Miss Read...okay, not great
Celebrations at Thrush Green...Miss Read...okay, not great
The Year at Thrush Green...Miss Read...pretty good

March 2009
Village School...Miss Read..started, not as good
Children's Literature:
The Bat Poet...Randall Jarrett...interesting
My Father's Dragon..too whimsical
Professional Reading:
What Struggling Readers Need Most...Richard Allington, excellent, research based

April 2009
Professional Reading:
Choice Literacy and The Daily Cafe archives online

May 2009
Wallander's First Case...Henning Mankell...excellent short stories, my favorite Mankell so far

June 2009
The Dogs of Riga...Henning Mankell...good
Jellicoe Road...tried, Jordan liked
Hunger Games...Suzanne Collins...good in parts
Thornyhold...Mary Stewart...reread, loved again
I, Keturah...Ruth Wolff, reread. loved absolutely
Faceless Killers...Henning Mankell, pretty good
Hamlet, Revenge...Michael Innes...complicated, but good
Short Stories of Marjorie Rawlings...excellent
Professional Reading:
Mosaic of Thought...Keene and Zimmerman...good

July 2009
Inkheart...Cornelia Funke...very good
The House at Riverton...tried, boring
The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday...Alexander McCall Smith...good
Professional Reading:
Why Students Don't Like School...Daniel T.  Willingham
Hamlet...Shakespeare...adapted by Bruce Coville
Midsummer Night's Dream...Shakespeare...adapted by Bruce Coville
Twelfth Night...Shakespeare...adapted by Bruce Coville
The Five Love Languages...Gary Chapman...good
The World According to Bertie...Alexander McCall Smith
Professional Reading:
The Complete Four...Pam Allyn..good

August 2009
My Life in France...Julia Child...fascinating

September 2009
Catching Fire...Suzanne Collins...not as good as Hunger Games
The Brutal Telling...Louise Penny,  mesmerizing
Professional Reading:
Teaching Wonder...Georgia Heard...good ideas
Literacy Cafe...Boushey and Moser

October 2009
The Case of the Gilded Fly...Edmund Crispin...rereading
Holy Disorders...Edmund Crispin...rereading

November 2009
Professional Reading:
How to Ignite a Passion for Reading...Steven Layne...online...different book choices than I would make

December 2009
Buried for Pleasure...Edmund Crispin...complicated!
The Elegance of the Hedgehog...Muriel Barbery....translated from the French, okay

Books read in 2008

January 2008

Nothing Can Rescue Me...Elizabeth Daly...very good
Holy Disorders...Edmund Crispin...excellent
The House Without the Door...Elizabeth Daly...okay
In A Lonely Place...Dorothy Hughes...didn't finish...written from the murderers point of view
Swan Song...Edmund Crispin...good
Love Lies Bleeding...Edmund Crispin...excellent

February 2008

Sudden Vengeance...Edmund Crispin...good
Fen Country...Edmund Crispin...good
The Silver Bough...Lisa Tuttle...didn't finish
Love Over Scotland...Alexander McCall Smith...ok
Glimpses of the Moon...Edmund Crispin

March 2008

The Case of the Gilded Fly...Edmund Crispin...
Appleby and the Ospreys...Michael Innes...good
Thou Shell of Death...Nicholas Blake...excellent
The Beast Must Die...Nicholas Blake...intriguing
The Corpse in the Snowman...Nicholas Blake

April 2008

Hamlet Revenge...Michael Innes...complex
A Thousand Days in Venice...DeBlasi...inspiring, eccentric
Rose Cottage...Mary Stewart
A Thousand Days in Tuscany...DeBlasi

May 2008

Windy City...Scott Simon...didn't finish
Thornyhold...Mary Stewart...good old-fashioned read
The Lady in the Palazzo...DeBlasi

June 2008

The Moonspinners...Mary Stewart...good
Nine Coaches...Mary Stewart
The Miracle at Speedy Motors...Alexander McCall Smith...good
Wildfires at Midnight...Mary Stewart...ok
People of the Book...Geraldine Brooks...tried, didn't finish
My Brother Micbael...Mary Stewart...dum
The Ivy Tree...Mary Stewart...suspenseful

July 2008

Madame, Will You Talk...Mary Stewart...no more!
The Man Who Was Thursday...G.K.Chesterton
Precious Bane...Mary Webb...good, but sad
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek...Annie Dillard...interesting but odd
Gilead...Marilynne Robinson...loved
Mystery Compliations
Over the Moon...Elissa Haden Church...dated
The Spotted Cat...Christianna Brand

August 2008

Green for Danger...Christianna Brand
The Bedquilt....Dorothy Canfield Fisher...excellent
Two Old Women...Velma Wallis...interesting

September 2008

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle...didn't finish
The Complete Four...Pam Allyn...professional reading
The Artist's Way...Julia Cameron...

October 2008

Cordouroy Mansions...Alexander McCall Smith...serial read online
Poppy...Avi...child's book
Fantastic Mr. Fox...Roald Dahl...fun
Good Masters, Sweet Ladies...L.A.Schlitz...Newbery Winner

November 2008

Death of a Gossip...didn't care for

December 2008

Inkheart...Cornelia Funke...good
The Guernsey Literary Society...part good

Books Read in 2007

January
Woman in White...Wilkie Collins...a new favorite

February

March
Unnatural Death...Dorothy Sayers...good mystery

April
Why Do They Act That Way...Walsh...a book trying to explain teen brain function, somewhat helpful
Five Red Herrings...Dorothy Sayers... good mystery

May
Clouds of Witness...Dorothy Sayers...another good mystery
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club...Dorothy Sayers...good

June
Slaughterhouse Five...Kurt Vonnegut Jr.... tried, bluk!
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive...Alexander McCall Smith...good as always
Suite Francaise...Irene Nemirovsky...mesmerizing, heartbreaking stories of the Nazi occupation in France
Sempster's Tale...Margaret Frazer...medieval mystery series, good
The Kite Runner...Khalid Houssini...well written, heartbreaking
Read With Me...Thomas Costrain...anthology of good fiction

July
Little, Big...John Crowley...started, didn't like
Housekeeping...Marianne Robinson...well written, very depressing
Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight...lame writing
The Secret History...Donna Tartt, captivating at first, then lame
The Janissary Tree...Jason Goodwin....didn't finish
I Capture the Castle...Dodie Smith...shallow and silly

August
Tell Me a Riddle...Tillie Olson...sad, beautiful writing
China Governess...Margery Allingham...reread a favorite...complex, romantic mystery
The Careful Use of Compliments...Alexander McCall Smith...good
The Beckoning Lady...Margery Allingham...so complex I had to start it several times
The Franchise Affair...Josephine Tey...reread a favorite of all time...loved it!
Death of a Ghost...Margery Allingham...good mystery
Flowers for a Judge...Margery Allingham...very good mystery
Dancers in Mourning...Margery Allingham...Wow! surprise ending
The Case of the Late Pig...Margery Allingham...okay

September
Bee Season...Myra Goldbery...tried, didn't finish
Cry the Beloved Country...Alan Paton...didn't finish
The Moonstone...Wilkie Collins... reread a beautiful, romantic, favorite mystery...loved it!
Traitor's Purse...Margery Allingham...good mystery
No Love Lost...Margery Allingham...good mystery
More Work for the Undertaker...Margery Allingham...good mystery

October
The Mind Readers...Margery Allingham...reread...futuristic sci fi mystery, okay
The Beckoning Lady...Margery Allingham...finished it this time!
A Beautiful Blue Death...pedestrian writing...cool title though
A Killing at Badger's Drift...Caroline Graham...good, but racy
A Crime at the Black Dudley...Margery Allingham...good mystery, fun to read
Look to the Lady....Margery Allingham...good mystery

November

December
The Moving Toyshop...Edmund Crispin...classic mystery, kind of crazy
Deadly Nightshade...Elizabeth Daly...classic mystery, good
Coroner's Pidgin...Margery Allingham...mystery, good
Tether's End...Margery Allingham...mystery...excellent, very suspenseful

Books Read in 2006

 
January 2006
Out of the Silent Planet...C.S. Lewis...intriguing
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate...Alexander McCall Smith...always entertaining to read

February 2006

The Lord of the Rings...Tolkien...  classic
The Fellowship of the Ring...Tolkien...good, but the Hobbit will always be my favorite

March 2006

April 2006
The Country of Pointed Firs...Sarah Orne Jewett...wonderful
Excellent Women...Barbara Pym
     tried:  Quartet in Autumn...Pym
               Lucky Jim
The Last Templar...Michael Jecks...historical fiction...fairly good

May 2006
Blue Shoes and Happiness...Alexander McCall Smith...love this series

June 2006
E. B. White...biography...great writer...not that great life
Things Fall Apart...Chinua Achebe...interesting but ultimately depressing

July 2006
The Hunter's Tale...Margaret Fraser..medievel series mystery...very good
A Coffin for Dimitrios...Eric Ambler...classic crime mystery
The Big Sleep...Raymond Chandler..classic crime mystery
Espresso Tales...Alexander McCall Smith...enjoyable read
The Moonstone...Wilkie Collins...loved, one of my favorites...very romantic and suspenseful
Strong Poison...Dorothy Sayers...classic mystery
The Maltese Falcon...Dashiell Hammett...classic mystery

August 2006
Gaudy Night...Dorothy Sayers...new favorite
Busman's Honeymoon...Dorothy Sayers...play adapted to novel...doesn't work for me
Nine Tailors...Dorothy Sayers...another new favorite
Murder Must Advertise...Dorothy Sayers...good
Lord Peter...Dorothy Sayers...good
The Innocence of Father Brown...G.K. Chesterton...very enjoyable story of priest detective

September 2006
The Wisdom of Father Brown...G.K. Chesterton...enjoyable

October 2006
The Tiger in the Smoke...Margery Allingham..classic mystery
A Right Attitude to Rain...Alexander McCall Smith

November 2006
Flowers for the Judge...Margery Allingham...good
Police at the Funeral...Margery Allingham...good
The Fashion in Shrouds...Margery Allingham...good

December 2006

The Widow's Tale...Margaret Fraser..medievel mystery series...well written

Love of Reading

This blog will be my online record of books I have read in the last five years.  I find it helps me to remember books I've enjoyed and where my interests have been since 2005.

June 2005
Confederates in the Attic... Tony Horowitz...Fascinating!
Because of Winn-Dixie...Kate DiCamillo
Death Comes for the Archbishop...Willa Cather...Excellent, Loved
For the Good of Earth and Sun...Georgia Heard
Empire Falls...Richard Russo...okay
Old School...Tobias Wolff... well written
The Beekeeper's Apprentice...Laurie King...annoying

July 2005
Reading Essentials...Regie Routman...valuable for professional reading
Blood of My Blood...Marjorie Rawlings..riveting
One of Ours...Willa Cather...well-written
My Antonia...Willa Cather...weird, didn't finish
Twilight Comes Twice...Ralph Fletcher...beautiful picture book
Hello, Harvest Moon...Ralph Fletcher...beautiful picture book

August 2005
Birds of a Feather...Ngaio Marsh...slightly dated mystery
Enter a Murderer...Ngaio Marsh
Lost Treasure...Janet S. Anderson... interesting juvenile fiction
Night at the Vulcan...Ngaio Marsh
Death of a Peer...Ngaio Marsh...best so far
Mrs. Presumed Dead...Simon Brett...light reading
Crossing to Safety...Wallace Stegner...good

September 2005
Shepherds Abiding...Jan Karon...okay

October 2005
Maigret's Christmas...Georges Simenon...excellent mystery
Maigret and the Wine Merchant...Georges Simenon...enjoyable mystery
Maigret and the Gai Moulin...Georges Simenon...good mystery

November 2005
Artists in Crime...Ngaio Marsh...okay mystery
The Beckoning Lady...Marjory Allingham...very difficult to keep at reading, mystery

December 2005
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies Alexander McCall Smith...loved, as usual
The Moving Finger...Agatha Christie...mystery