"The Fighting Ground" by Avi

Well, that was different.  I'm not entirely sure I liked The Fighting Ground, but I definitely found it interesting!  Especially the idea behind the format of the story.  Instead of having chapters, it's broken up into sections by time, each section relating what happens every five minutes or so.  Depending on your reading speed, that can make this feel like it's happening in real time.  That was a nifty conceit.

The book focuses on a thirteen-year-old boy, Jonathan who aches to join the Patriots and fight against the British.  His father was wounded in the war and has come home to recover, but Jonathan doesn't see his father as a hero.  He sees him as a boring and tired adult who doesn't want Jonathan to have any fun.

So, Jonathan seizes his chance when there's an opportunity to borrow a gun from a neighbor and go fight some Hessians in the neighborhood.  Except the skirmish he ends up taking part in has little glory or excitement.  It's noisy and confusing and scary, and Jonathan decides he has had enough of war.  Unfortunately, the war has not had enough of him.  Before he finds his way back home, he faces some terrible people and learns some uncomfortable truths about himself and about war.

This is probably not a book I'll keep on our shelves.  But I think it was a timely thing to read right before the 250th anniversary of our nation's birthday.  It's a good reminder of the toll that the war took on ordinary people of all ages, and of the fact that war isn't glorious or fun -- it's dirty and dangerous and uncomfortable and scary.  For me, that's a good reminder of how much respect I owe those who choose to serve our country in the military, both now and in the past.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG-10 for several cuss words, a scene of battle and bloodshed, and lightly described encounters with death and dead bodies.  This is a middle-grade book, but some younger readers may find it too scary or disturbing.

This is my sixth book read for my #RevolutionaryWarReads challenge that I've set myself.  You may notice I've made a new graphic for this challenge... and I probably will need to make another new one before the year is over, because I keep acquiring more books about the American Revolution!  This will do for right now, though.

"Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile" by Kristiana Gregory

I picked this book for my 3rd-5th grade literature class at our homeschool co-op to read because I am focusing on the importance of settings this year.  I'm having the class read books set in a variety of places and times so that we can see how books expand our horizons, and how a book's setting can impact the story itself.  But I hadn't read this myself before, I'd just heard good things about this Royal Diaries series, so I had to read it first to be able to lead discussions in class.

This was a solidly entertaining and informative look at what life could have been like for Cleopatra VII when she was between the ages of 12 and 15.  She was one of several daughters of the Pharaoh, and although I knew she would eventually be the queen of Egypt, that future wasn't at all assured, according to this book.  Over the course of several years, she navigates some tricky political and social situations, including an extended visit to Rome and a burgeoning attraction to this cocky dude named Marc Antony.

This was a fast read, and I feel like I got a good taste of life in both ancient Egypt and pre-empire Rome, which was really cool.  The historical details were fascinating and very naturally woven into the texture of the story.  I was especially intrigued by Cleopatra's friendship with Theophilus, a young Jewish scholar, and how much of the Jewish religion was explored here, as well as Greek, Roman, and Egyptian religions.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for murders (including stabbings, chokings, poisonings, and snakebite), drunkenness, and descriptions of crucifixion and gladiatorial games.

"Streams to the River, River to the Sea" by Scott O'Dell

I loved this book as a teen.  I loved this book again now.

Streams to the River, River to the Sea is a fictionalized account of Sacagawea's life.  It begins with a fictional description of her life beginning as a pre-teen when she is captured by an enemy tribe and literally groomed to become the chief's son's wife.  A half-French trapper named Touissaint Charboneau wins her in a gambling game and decides to make her his second wife.  Shortly before she gives birth to their first child, the Lewis and Clark Expedition shows up at the village where Sacagawea lives.

From there on, the book mostly follows the known account of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but tells it from Sacagawea's perspective.  

Things I particularly love about this book:

+ the extremely well-researched depiction of American Indian life

+ getting to see a real-life adventure through the eyes of a young woman

+ Sacagawea herself.

Things I'm not so fond of in this book:

+ the portrayal of Sacagawea as a young teen, maybe 14 or 15 -- she was actually more like 19 at this point in her life

+ the portrayal of romantic feelings between Sacagawea and William Clark -- they're not historically accurate, they're based on a novel from the early 20th century that has since been debunked by historians as having fabricated a lot of things, including the supposed romance between Sacagawea and William Clark

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-10 for a non-detailed depiction of childbirth, cruelty to animals, and for the portrayal of domestic abuse.  No bad language or spicy scenes, but does contain some frontier violence.

"Lonely on the Mountain" by Louis L'Amour

Well.  Hmm.  What in the world is up with the ending of this book?  It's a cracking good Sackett adventure for 23 chapters, and then it's like someone else finished it off from Louis L'Amour's notes.  Everything gets wound up ridiculously quickly, and the writing gets patchy.  As in, it jumps from first to third person within paragraphs or scenes, with zero reason.  There were other Sackett books published several years after this one that weren't that way at all, so it's not like this was L'Amour's last book and he just didn't get it edited properly or something.  Maybe the editors were on strike?  I don't get it.

Aside from the vexing last two chapters, I liked Lonely on the Mountain a LOT because it has Tell, Orrin, and Tyrel all working together to help their cousin Logan, and Cap Rountree is there too, and yeah... I love it when the Sacketts assemble to help one of their own.  In a lot of the books where that happens, we focus on the guy in trouble and the assembling Sacketts just show up to help, but this is like the reverse, where we get to see the helpers heading out to rescue the one in trouble.  That was nifty.

But, man, those last two chapters.  They feel like first drafts that never got revised. What in the world.

Particularly Good Bits:

"There's two kinds of people in the world, son, those who wish and those who will.  The wishers wish to be rich, they wish to be famous, they wish to own a farm or a fine house or whatever.  The ones who will, they don't wish, they start out and do it.  They become what they want to or get what they want.  They will it" (p. 95).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for lots of western-style violence, as well as danger from nature and animals, and a smidgeon of cussing.

This is my 27th book read from my TBR shelves for the 2024 Mount TBR Reading Challenge.  AND I have finished my own personal challenge to read all of the Sackett novels in two years!!!

"Bowdrie's Law" by Louis L'Amour

Well, this was fun!  Like its predecessor, Bowdrie, this is a collection of ten short stories starring Chick Bowdrie, a Texas Ranger who rides a mean hammerhead roan and always gets his man... eventually.  The stories range from a bit humorous to very serious, and some have more action than others.  But they're all enjoyable.  I read the whole book over a couple of very stressful weeks, savoring one short story every evening or so as a way to unwind and recharge, and they were perfect for that!

Interspersed among the short stories are several historical notes about real people and places from the Old West.  I loved those!  They were always short and to-the-point, but informative.

Particularly Good Bits:

He realized what a fool he had been.  There could be no tolerating of evil.  One stamped it out or the evil grew worse (p. 140, from "The Outlaws of Poplar Creek").

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for some mild cuss words, some western violence, and some vague hints about what could happen to good women at the hands of bad men.

This has been my 22nd book read from my TBR shelves for the 2024 Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

"In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

This is such a fun, upbeat book!  It's set in 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, but it's actually about a little girl from China who moves to New York City with her mom to be with her dad, who had previously come to the USA to find work.  The little girl has to choose an American name for herself, so she picks the only American-sounding name she knows and likes: Shirley Temple.

Shirley Temple Wong doesn't speak English, doesn't know how to roller skate, can't play baseball, and doesn't know the Pledge of Allegiance.  But she learns all of those things over the course of the book.  She becomes an avid baseball fan and listens devotedly to Dodgers games on the radio.  She makes new friends, tries new foods, and even takes piano lessons from their landlady.

If This was  Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for one scene where a friend of Shirley's makes her take a blood oath not to tell their parents they are looking at an anatomy book that has pictures of naked people in it.  It's not belabored or really dwelt upon, but still not something I probably wouldn't want my kids encountering when they were quite young, so some other parents might feel the same.

"Ride the River" by Louis L'Amour

This Sackett book is mostly from the point of view of Echo Sackett, a sixteen-year-old girl on a mission: she needs to collect a sizable inheritance left her by the descendants of a friend of her forebear Kin Sackett.  She has to go to Philadelphia to get it, and on the way home to the mountains of Tennessee, she's waylaid repeatedly by rogues cutthroats, and thugs determined to steal her money.  But Echo is a Sackett, and she has a handy guy named Dorian Chantry and another called Archie along to sort of chaperone her on her way home, and the three of them all take turns proving to each other just how surprisingly handy they can be in a tight spot.

I absolutely loved Echo Sackett.  She put me in mind of Mattie Ross from True Grit by Charles Portis, but more capable and determined and savvy yet.  Not to mention sweeter and kinder.

Since I love Borden Chantry, I was excited to have a couple Chantrys play such a big role in this!  L'Amour put Chantrys in quite a few of his books, which tickles me :-)

Particularly Good Bits:

"Do not let yourself be bothered by the inconsequential.  One has only so much time in this world, so devote it to the work and the people most important to you, to those you love and things that matter" (p. 38).

"How many are there?  Of the Sacketts, I mean?"
"Nobody rightly knows, but even one Sackett is quite a few" (p. 160).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for some scattered mild cussing, some violence, and lots of perilous circumstances.

This is my 28th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.

"Jubal Sackett" by Louis L'Amour

Well, this is by far my favorite Sackett book so far!!!  The entire thing was about surviving in the wilderness, living off the land, and defending yourself with a few weapons and your wits.  

Jubal Sackett, wandering son of Barnabas Sackett, explores the land between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains.  He's tasked with finding a Natchez princess named Itchakomi and telling her that her people need her to return home, and he races to find her before the Natchez warrior who intends to force Itchakomi to marry him.  Jubal and Itchakomi get married instead, and then have to fend off the other warrior and his pals, plus Spanish soldiers, raiders from other tribes, predators, and the weather.

Particularly Good Bits:

To talk too much is always a fault.  Information is power (p. 19).

That was how I would remember my father.  There was never a place he walked that was not the better for his having passed (p. 242).

If strength could not win, one must use wit, if one has any (p. 243).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG for violence, danger, a handful of old-fashioned cuss words, and man bent on buying a woman so he can traffick her.

This has been my 23rd book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.

"The Warrior's Path" by Louis L'Amour

The Warrior's Path had a much more focused plot than the previous two Sacketts books, which I appreciated.  Kin and Yance Sackett (sons of Barnabas, who was the star of those first books) get word that Yance's wife's young sister has disappeared up in Massachusetts, along with a young woman that people believe to be a witch.  Kin and Yance set off through the wilderness, arrive at the colony where the girls lived, discover nobody is particularly inclined to seek the lost girls, and set off to find and rescue them.  

That section was my favorite, as it was filled with the kind of woodcraft and woodlore that has always thrilled me.  I used to read these junior biographies of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett and Kit Carson and their woodsy brethren over and over and over as a kid -- I even had sections of my favorites memorized.  I would practice tracking critters in the snow: my cats, our dog, birds, raccoons, my little brother, and anything else that traipsed through.  Good, good times.

The Sacketts find and rescue the girls, but Kin thinks this is not enough.  They've uncovered a "white slaver" ring -- we would call them human traffickers today -- that is stealing teenage girls from the colonies in America and selling them to planters in the West Indies.  Kin is sure that, unless they can catch and convict the ringleaders, more girls will keep getting kidnapped and trafficked, over and over.  So he sets off for Jamaica, tracing one of the leaders to Port Royal.

Kin's totally right about the trade in white women not slowing down just because they rescued two girls.  The gang's leaders are making too money to be stopped by the loss of two captives.  They even manage to re-kidnap the older one, Diana, and take her to Jamaica, thinking they can force Kin to stop fighting them by threatening her or something.

But these guys clearly don't understand Sacketts.  Kin won't stop until the gang of traffickers is brought to justice, either at the end of a rope or the end of his sword.  The last quarter of the book has a lot of swashbuckling and swordplay and fist fighting and other thrilling heroics.

Also, Kin and Diana get married.  This is not really a spoiler, as you should be able to see that coming by the time you've finished chapter one.

Particularly Good Bits:

"To make a country we need all kinds.  He is a thoughtful man, and such are needed.  He reads, he thinks.  Too many of us are so busied with living that we do not" (p. 62).

Yet aside from her beauty there was much in her to admire, for she was a quietly capable person who did not scream, faint, or cry so far as I had seen.  She looked matters in the face and did something about them (p. 73).

"You have your books.  They are the best companions" (p. 80).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG for lots of violent fights, the understated but obvious fact that these teen girls were being sold as sex slaves, lots of peril and danger, and a handful of old-fashioned cuss words.

This has been my 18th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.

"Nightmare Town" by Dashiell Hammett

You may have noticed this book was in my sidebar for like three months.  That's because I was savoring it.  For three months?  Indeed.  It's a collection of a novella and a lot of short stories by Dashiell Hammett, and I was using it as inspiration while I hammered my way through the first draft of my own 1940s mystery book, Murder Most Foul, which I talked about here on my other blog earlier this week.

I had a great time reading this collection.  My favorites in it were:

+ Nightmare Town, the titular novella about a corrupt desert town and two people who try to escape it.

+ "Ruffian's Wife," a short story about a woman who loses confidence in her husband when he turns out to not be the big, bad tough guy she believes him to be.

+ "The Man Who Killed Dan Odoms," a short story about a man seeking sanctuary on a remote farm as he hides from people who want to avenge the man he killed.

+ "The Second-Story Angel," a short story about a writer who gets a surprise visitor in the middle of the night, then learns something even more surprising about her a few weeks later.

+ "Tom, Dick, or Harry," a short story about a robbery that has a really cool twist on the identity of the robber.

+ "A Man Called Spade," a short story featuring Sam Spade, the detective from The Maltese Falcon, and has him solve a murder that seems to be open-and-shut, but isn't.

Particularly Good Bits:

...where knowledge of trickery is evenly distributed, honesty not infrequently prevails (Nightmare Town, p. 15).

I don't like eloquence: if it isn't effective enough to pierce your hide, it's tiresome; and if it is effective enough, then it muddles your thoughts ("Zigzags of Treachery," p. 99).

Ninety-nine per cent of detective work is a patient collecting of details -- and your details must be got as nearly first-hand as possible, regardless of who else has worked the territory before you ("One Hour," p. 253).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for lots of different kinds of violence, some light and occasional bad language, and the occasional oblique reference to sexual activity in a non-descriptive and non-titillating way.

This is my 17th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.

"To the Far Blue Mountains" by Louis L'Amour

This second book about Barnabas Sackett was a lot of fun.  But I don't think I liked it quite as well as Sackett's Land, mostly because this one had more exciting adventures and less downtime to get to know the characters.  I commented to my husband a couple of times that L'Amour tosses his characters into one thrilling escapade after another so quickly that the reader really never has a chance to catch their breath between one set of heroics and the next.  Each adventure that befalls Barnabas was cool, but the pacing didn't quite hit me the way I'd like.

Barnabas Sackett is a cool dude, though, and no mistake.  You just can't keep him down.  He refuses to be daunted.  And I loved that.  I also loved a new character in this one: Lila, the maid to Barabas's intended.  She can swordfight and shoot a rifle, ride a horse all day and all night, cook so well that men will mutiny on her behalf, and is generally a completely awesome person.  I wish there was a book about her all on her own, because I bet it would be a roaringly good time.

Once again, Barnabas Sackett spends the bulk of this book just trying to get to America and set up a home there.  Which he does, eventually, but not before multiple shipboard battles, kidnappings, treasure hunts, and so on.  He and his wife do eventually build a home together, have kids, and raise those kids to adulthood.  But it takes quite a while to get there.

Particularly Good Bits:

We must not lose touch with what we were, with what we had been, nor must we allow the well of our history to dry up, for a child without tradition is a child crippled before the world.  Tradition can also be an anchor of stability and a shield to guard one from irresponsibility and hasty decision (p. 21).

I had never complained, for who cares for complaints?  If something is wrong, one does something (p. 64).

"I do not wish.  I do what becomes the moment.  If it be a cook-pot, I cook.  If it be a needle, I'll sew, but if it be a blade that is needed, I shall cut a swath" (p. 76).  (That's Lila, btw.  Precisely what I love about her, really!)

"The tongue of Wales is music, and you write it well" (p. 84).

How deep, how strange is the courage of women!  Courage is expected of a man, he is conditioned to it from childhood, and we in our time grew up in a world of wars and press-gangs, of highwaymen and lords sometimes as high-handed as they.  We grew up to expect hardship and war.  But a woman?  I'd seen them follow their men to war, seen them seeking over battlefields to find their lonely dead, or the wounded who would die but for them.  I have seen a woman pick up a man and carry him off the field to a place where he might have care (p. 129).

Where go the years?  Down what tunnel of time are poured the precious days? (p. 248)

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for lots of violent fights, deaths, captures, escapes... but all told in non-gruesome or terrifying ways. It does have a handful of old-fashioned cuss words. 

This is my 11th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.

"Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones

I've been meaning to read Howl's Moving Castle for probably a decade now.  I even got it out of the library once, but took it back unread because I just ran out of time for it.  My son discovered this series recently, and he loves it so much I said I would read the first book so he had someone to discuss it with.

Happily, I liked it a whole lot!  It had the sort of quirky, absurdist humor that makes me laugh aloud.  And the characters were quite loveable.  

Sophie is the oldest of three daughters.  Alas, in the world where she lives, eldest daughters never have any adventures or good luck of any sort.  They always fail.  They are never special.  Since she's doomed to a boring life, Sophie figures she should just stay in her tiny village and sell hats while her younger sisters of have all the adventures and find all the fortunes.  

Except, of course, Sophie ends up having to go out and have an adventure in spite of her own expectations.  After she falls afoul of the Wicked Witch of the Waste, she finds a new job keeping house for the Wizard Howl in his moving castle.  Sophie befriends Howl's apprentice, Howl's fire demon, and (eventually) Howl himself, and she discovers some pretty surprising things about herself too.  And, of course, she ends up helping save the day even though she doesn't think she's meant to.

Particularly Good Bits:

"It's just a tantrum," Sophie said.  Martha and Lettie were good at having tantrums too.  She knew how to deal with those.  On the other hand, it is quite a risk to spank a wizard for getting hysterical about his hair.  Anyway, Sophie's experience told her that tantrums are seldom about the thing they appear to be about (p. 122).

"Nobody's safe in a wizard's house," Calcifer said feelingly (p. 323).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for some perilous and mildly scary parts and lots of (obviously pretend) magic.

"The Sign of the Beaver" by Elizabeth George Speare

I remember loving this book as a youngster.  Anything to do with American Indian life has always fascinated me, and when you add that to a story about a kid living off the land on his own, and I was destined to be a fan.

Happily, this book totally lived up to my memories of its excellence.  I read it aloud to my kids this fall, and all three of them were enthralled.  I suspect they'll be rereading it themselves now.

Twelve-year-old Matt went out into the Maine wilderness with his father and built a cabin on land the family had just bought.  Together, he and his father also cleared a field and planted corn.  Then, his father leaves to fetch the rest of the family.  He says he'll be back in six or seven weeks. Long before harvest.  He leaves Matt a rifle and ammunition, food supplies, and his own father's pocket watch.  And he trusts this adolescent kid to guard the house, tend the crops, and survive.  Alone.

Which Matt does.  He makes mistakes, he has accidents, and he gets into some fairly dangerous situations.  But the chief of a nearby American Indian village makes a bargain with Matt: if Matt will teach the chief's grandson Attean to read English, the Indians will keep Matt supplied with fresh food and help him stay safe.  Attean teaches Matt how to find his way in the forest, how to hunt with a bow and arrows, and how to make many useful tools.  Matt tries to teach Attean to read.  Together, they both learn how to be better neighbors and friends.

My perspective on this story was a little different now that I'm a parent of half-grown kids myself.  I kept imagining what his father must have felt, leaving his twelve-year-old son alone in the middle of the wilderness to take care of the new cabin and the growing crops alone.  But, mostly, I got caught up in the adventure of the story and simply enjoyed it the way I did when I was a tween myself.

Particularly Good Bits:

Day after day Matt tramped the woods alone, trying to shake the doubts that walked beside him like his own shadow (p. 91).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for some dangerous situations that would scare young children.

"The Cherokee Trail" by Louis L'Amour

When I was a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was Five Mile Creek (1983-85), which was "inspired by" The Cherokee Trail.  You can read my overview of that series here.

My whole family enjoyed Five Mile Creek -- we rented two episodes on VHS every weekend to watch as a family -- but I absolutely loved it.  (It's still in my top ten for favorite TV shows.)  So, my mom found The Cherokee Trail at the library (presumably at my insistence) and read to see if it would be something she could read aloud to my brother and I for our bedtime read-aloud.  I was probably nine or ten at the time, and I remember being really disappointed because, as I remember it, she said it wasn't appropriate for us.  She said it had too much bad language and was "too grown-up", and we wouldn't like it.  

So, I've resisted reading this book for thirty years.  But I've also been curious about it.  Recently, a couple of friends recommended it to me, and I decided to just take the plunge and read it.  And guess what?  I didn't hate it!  In fact, I'm kind of confused by my memory of my mom's judgement of it.  Because there's hardly any bad language, and there's no inappropriate content.  Like, there's zero romance.  The word 'rape' does appear once, in connection with something that happened years earlier and in a different place, but she could have just read over that if she had read it aloud to us, same as she would have read over the bad language.  

She was probably right that I wouldn't have liked it at the time, though.

Why?  Because it actually doesn't bear much resemblance at all to Five Mile Creek.  They're both about a stagecoach way station being run mainly by women, and that is it.  That's the only similarity.  The Cherokee Trail is about one widow and her daughter and an Irish girl running a way station along a Colorado stagecoach route.  Five Mile Creek is about an unmarried Australian woman and an American woman with her daughter running a way station along a New South Wales stagecoach route.  The book is extremely serious, and the TV show is fun, family-oriented fare.  The characters and the plot are entirely different.

In The Cherokee Trail, widowed Mary Breydon takes on the job of running a way station along the Cherokee Trail in Colorado, a job her husband had been hired to do.  But he was murdered in cold blood by the man who, a few years earlier, led a band of guerillas that looted and burned down their plantation and stole all their horses.  This man is now living in Colorado and has high political ambitions, and no word of his past behavior can be allowed to spread because that would ruin his high hopes.  But Mary Breydon knows who he is and what he did, and so, even though she rapidly wins friends and respect with her handling of the way station, her life is in serious danger from her husband's murderer.

It's an awesome story, and Mary Breydon herself is a marvelous character.  I want to hang out with her, which you know is about the highest praise I have for fictional characters.  I am SO glad that my friends urged me to try reading this!

Here's one random thing that surprised me, though -- I always thought this book was published long before Five Mile Creek aired.  But it wasn't!  It was published in 1982, one year before Five Mile Creek debuted!  My mind is blown.

Particularly Good Bits:

If a man could do it, why couldn't she? (p. 33).

Like many another western man, his past was his own secret, and he never spoke of it (p. 39).

"If one has a book, Mr. Boone, one is never alone. They will talk to you when you want to listen, and when you tire of what they are saying, you just close the book.  It will be waiting for you when you come back to it" (p. 61).

"Never read much, myself.  Seen a few plays from time to time.  That Hamlet now, seen that one twice.  There was some mighty fine talkin' in that play, but folks were makin' a lot of what they called his indecision, and that seemed kind of silly to me.  After all, he had no evidence of wrongdoin' there, on the word of a ghost.  Now, a man's got to be reasonable.  A man who would attack somebody or even accuse somebody on the word of a ghost would have to be off his trail mentally" (p. 99-100).

This was their land of Canaan, the land where dreams came true, but here there was a difference, for each on of them seemed sure that he had to make the dreams come true, that it would be the result of something he did (p. 179).

"A family is a place where a body can share the no-account things, can talk of the little matters important only to ourselves, where we can laugh and cry and tell of the day-by-day happenings and then forget them" (p. 193).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for western violence and a little mild cussing.

This is my 45th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Bowdrie" by Louis L'Amour

Bowdrie is a collection of short stories about Texas Ranger Chick Bowdrie.  He's a sensible, intelligent, quick-witted Ranger who spends these eight short stories hunting down killers, thieves, and other bad guys in an calm and quiet way.  Several of the stories also have a surprise partway through where you think you know what mystery or crime Bowdrie is trying to solve, but then the narrative shifts and you discover he's after somebody else.  Which was pretty nifty.

You may remember that I absolutely loved L'Amour's book Borden Chantry because it was a western murder mystery.  My friend Eva recommended I try out these short stories because I liked that so much, and I'm really glad she did!  In fact, I just ordered a copy of L'Amour's novel Bowdrie's Law because I need more.  

Of the eight stories here, my favorites were "Too Tough to Brand," "The Killer from the Pecos," and "Bowdrie Follows a Cold Trail," but not one of these stories was a dud, and I will happily reread this collection in the future.

Particularly Good Bits:

The ways of dishonest men were never as clever as they assumed, and the solving of a crime was usually just a painstaking job of establishing motives and putting together odds and ends of information ("A Job for a Ranger," p. 28)

It was early afternoon, but the town was already up and sinning when Chick Bowdrie left his roan at the Almagre livery stable ("The Killer from the Pecos," p. 127).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for western violence and a smattering of traditional cuss words.

This has been my 43rd book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Liar" by Jan Burke

This Irene Kelly mystery really kept me guessing.  I was quite convinced the whole way through that one character I really liked was going to end up being a villain because... that happens in a lot of series to new characters I like a lot.  Happily, Liar did not go that route.  In fact, I'm hoping this new character pops up again in later books. 

In Liar, Irene Kelly's aunt dies in a hit-and-run accident that turns out to have been a deliberate homicide.  Who would want to kill her reclusive, barely-making-ends-meet aunt?  That is the question!  And, suddenly, suspects come crawling out of the woodwork.  Was it Irene's cousin Travis, son of the dead woman, who lives in a purple camper and travels around telling stories to kids at libraries?  Was it the dead woman's brother-in-law who says he's had nothing to do with the family for years?  Was it a creepy private investigator who seems to be stalking Irene now, but was watching her aunt before she died?  Or was it one of the five other people with possible motives and less than stellar personalities/alibis?  

Yup, kept me guessing, like I said.  I never did figure it out before the reveal, which is how I prefer to experience mysteries.  No wonder I enjoyed it!

I also love that each Irene Kelly book takes place shortly after the previous one, so Irene and her husband Frank and the other recurring characters are still dealing with stuff that happened before.  They tie together really naturally that way, and I dig that.

Particularly Good Bits:

Trauma runs the marathon, not the fifty-yard dash (p. 90).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: R for bad language, violence, non-detailed descriptions of murder scenes, discussions of marital infidelity and illegitimate children, and mentions of child abuse.

This is my 27th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Hocus" by Jan Burke

Well, that was extremely tense and thrilling.  Wow.  You know, I don't think I realized quite how attached I've become to Frank Harriman, police detective husband of Irene Kelly, until this book.  Maybe Irene hadn't either. 

I think this is the fastest I've read one of these books, and even though I knew (because I've read one later book in the series before) that Frank was going to come through this book alive, I was frantic to get him rescued.  I couldn't read fast enough.

You see, Frank Harriman gets abducted by two unhinged dudes who have a past history with him, a history that involves a brutal double homicide and hostage situation.  Frank was the hero of that first incident, but he's the victim this time around, and... you know how I get all protective of fictional characters I love?  MAN, I wanted so much to jump into this book and protect Frank.

Yeah.  Anyway, Irene Kelly continues to be a delight to hang out with.  I love that she never does stupid things like run heedlessly into what she knows will be a dangerous situation, or go off chasing someone without letting other people know where she's going.  Yes, she runs toward danger at times, but she knows that she's doing so, and she calls for backup and help consistently.  I appreciate that a lot.

Particularly Good Bits:

Wrigley and I have a strained relationship in the best of times, and between two and three in the morning is never going to rank as one of the best of times (p. 45).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: R for some brutal violence, abduction of children, bad language, and hints of sexual conduct between married people.  It's not particularly icky in any way, but it's not suitable for children, either.

This has been my 19th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"The Silent Gondoliers" by William Goldman

I'm vexed with myself that it's taken me this long to read this book.  Because it is an absolute gem.  It's a tall tale told by a master satirist.  It sparkles, it swoops, it shines in all the right places.  I read the whole thing in one sitting, chuckling with glee over and over.  Well, silently chuckling because I was at my daughter's gymnastics lesson and I didn't want to distract the gymnasts.  Probably some of the other parents thought I was having quiet little coughing fits or something.  But I wasn't, I was laughing and laughing.  

And then?  The very last line brought tears to my eyes.

It's all about a young man named Luigi who is the finest gondolier in all of Venice.  But poor Luigi has a terrible secret.  He also has one great dream -- the one thing he wants with all his heart.  And he can never have it, because of his secret.  But then comes a fateful day when only Luigi can save everything he holds dear, and in the process, he might just get a chance to live out his dream.

Particularly Good Bits:

I'm old now, or at least that's what my eyes tell me when they greet my face in the morning mirror.

Quietly, George of the Gritti replied: "We are gondoliers and we make our own decisions; explanations are not a part of our vocabulary."

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for a few mild cuss words.

This has been my 18th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.  I'm halfway to my goal of 36!  This certainly does bode well.

"Remember Me, Irene" by Jan Burke

Ooooooh, this was far and away the best Irene Kelly book yet!  Also, it's the first one I've read this year that was not a reread, so that added some extra zing, I suppose.  Though, to be honest, I haven't remembered loads about the first three either, since it had been so long since I'd read them the first time.

Remember Me, Irene kicks off with a homeless man at a bus stop recognizing Irene Kelly.  Not so shocking, as she's a pretty well-known reporter in Las Piernas, CA, and her picture has been in the paper more than a few times.  But he insists he knew her long ago, though he won't tell her his name.  It's not until later that Irene learns who he is now (Lucas Monroe, alcoholic) and who he used to be (a college instructor who taught Irene years ago).

This one little thread begins to unravel a huge, hidden conspiracy involving architecture, contractors, local politics, and several murders.  It was really, really tangled, and I loved every minute.  Especially the parts that took place in an abandoned hotel called the Angelus.  First, I am fascinated by abandoned buildings, and second, it sounded like a place they would use as a setting for some random ep of Angel (1999-2004).  I loved imagining wandering around in it.

Also, I love that Irene and Frank are a happily married couple.  They are both such strong-minded, stubborn, loyal, wonderful characters who insist on standing by each other through anything, but who also don't always get along at every minute of the day. 

Particularly Good Bits:

     Holding me in bed that night, Frank was warm and solid, his simple act of affection as important to me as the beating of my own heart against his hand.  "I like being married," I whispered, thinking he was asleep.

     "Me, too," he murmured against my ear (p. 220).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: R for a long of very strong language, some messy crime scenes, a suicide, and quite a bit of innuendo (but no open-door love scenes).

This is my 13th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Dear Irene," by Jan Burke (again)

What a perfect book to take on vacation!  This one galloped along at a terrific pace, and I really loved all the bits of Greek mythology that got woven into it.  I know I read this back in 2013 (also while on a road trip!), but really didn't remember it at all.

A serial killer sends Irene Kelly cryptic messages foretelling each kill before he makes it, or before he allows the body to be discovered.  They refer to her as Cassandra and him as Thanatos, and they reference lots of Greek mythology as little clues to lead her (and the police) to the next victim.  Of course, Irene Kelly and her fiance, Detective Frank Harriman, solve the mystery and stop the killer before he can finish his fiendish plot, but not before several people do die.

Some of the deaths in this one were pretty gruesome, but Irene herself didn't get tortured or anything, which made it easier to handle than the first couple books.  I think this is the last of the series I've read besides Bloodlines, so the next few I read will count for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022 :-D

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: R for profanity, gruesome crime scenes, characters in grave peril, and innuendo.  No open-door love scenes.