May, 2009
Filled with mysterious twists and turns and Johnson's trademark humor, this is one of his best books! The character of Walt Longmire was even more contemplative and introspective than in prior novels, and readers find out more about how and where he was raised. I loved this book - as I love all of Johnson's work - and can't recommend it highly enough. Only one small disappointment: Henry Standing Bear doesn't have as big of a role in this novel as he has in previous books.
The Dark Horse: A Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson$24.95 in hardcoverCraig Johnson does it again! Building on the success of his previous Walt Longmire mysteries, Johnson takes readers back to rugged Wyoming, where he goes undercover to help a woman accused of killing her husband. The story is that Wade Barsad, the woman's husband, locks all of her horses in a barn and burns them to death. She, in turn, shoots him in the head six times. Walt isn't buying her confession, so he takes readers to small-town Wyoming - where any stranger is a suspect - only to find that Barsad's wife isn't the only person around who probably wanted him dead.
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2007
I found the author's interpretation and usage of thoughts on grief and faith by C.S. Lewis to be enlightening and comforting. Other than that, I found the book to be trite and simply 184 pages of what one man hopes that heaven is like for those he has lost. Nevertheless, for someone who has suffered the loss of someone dear to them, the story may bring some hope and comfort.
by James Bryan Smith $9.99 in paperbackAlthough this book is fiction, it's based on the author's own losses after his best friend, ("Awesome God" singer Rich Mullins), his mother (Wanda), and his two-year-old special-needs daughter (Madeline) all died within months of each other. The main character in the book, Tim, suffers identical losses and attends a monastery retreat to try to heal his grief-ridden soul with contemplation and prayer before losing his faith entirely. While there, he goes on a dream journey and tour of heaven guided by those he has loved and lost, and even by ancestors that he has never met. Of course, all of his loved ones are deliriously happy to be in heaven and his daughter, who could never walk or speak in life, can now dance and sing. Tim finds out that even small acts of his that he has forgotten about have made everlasting difference in the world.
May, 2009
Because the society reads and comments on such authors as Shakespeare, Austen and the Brontes, this is definitely a book for book lovers! While I absolutely loved the book, I was put off by several incidences of animal cruelty woven into the pages. I felt that they added nothing meaningful to the story.
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows$14 in paperbackThis is an utterly charming novel that takes place in 1946, when author Juliet Ashton begins corresponding with a Guernsey farmer. The farmer encourages his neighbors to correspond with her as well, hence the formation of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. While the book feels a bit disjointed because it is epistolary, the characters are nevertheless charming and well-rounded. You come to love and care for each one through their stories of hardship during German occupation on their small spot on the earth and their heart-warming heroism.
June, 2009
I thought this book was great! It's a shame that Larsson died in 2004 before he could see his legacy enjoyed by millions.
by Stieg Larsson$14.95 in paperbackThe first in a trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson, this book is a hold-onto-your-seat thriller that you won't want to put down until the last page! Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected Swedish financial journalist, is watching his career go up in smoke for libeling a shady businessman. Things look pretty bad until elderly, multi-millionaire business mogul Henrik Vanger offers him a chance to clear his name and start again, but first he must spend a year investigating the forty-year-old mysterious disappearance of Vanger's beloved grand-niece: Harriet. Enter Lisbeth Salander, a pierced and tattooed, feral, super-intelligent computer hacker who has loads of personal baggage and authority issues that make her character tough but vulnerable, and hugely entertaining! The duo soon discovers a multitude of dirty Vanger family secrets, and ultimately the fate of Harriet. Along the way, Larsson skillfully reveals the horrors that have left Salander a damaged woman.
