Death in the Air (2008)

This is the second book in the series by Shane Peacock about the young Sherlock Holmes. The boy Sherlock lost his mother in the first book, Eye of the Crow, and now lives with an old apothecary, Sigerson Bell, who teaches the boy about poisons and self defense. One of the very intereesting aspects of this book is how Sherlock connects parts of London with sites in Charles Dickens' novels. It surely puts the Holmes character into historical perspective.

Sherlock's drive to solve the near death of a trapeze artist is fueled by the desire to help Bell financially and to continue to hone his investigatory skills. With the help of an underground character, Malefactor, he ties in the acrobatic accident with a major theft. The police detective, LeStrade, who appears in the grownup Holmes stories, is the son of a detective from Scotland Yard and recognizes Holmes' talents even though his father does not.

This is a wonderful series and I look forward to reading more of them. Readers of mysteries and historical fiction will enjoy the physical action and tour of historical London.
My rating for this book: +++

The Tale of One Bad Rat (1995)

This is a fabulous graphic novel which portrays a young girl who runs away from an abusive household and how she finds herself with the help from, of all people, the author Beatrix Potter. Bryan Talbot is the British author-illustrator who has created this story which takes Helen to the streets of London where she falls in with a group of homeless kids. She finds that one of the unfortunate effects of abuse is being unable to form relationships and ends up running away from them, too. She ends up working in a pub for an older couple in the countryside where Beatrix Potter was inspired to write and illustrate her books. The rest of the story is a satisfying one of self-realization and eventually confronting her parents in order to begin the healing process.
I think anyone who has suffered abuse might find hope in this book and I highly recommend it. The only warning about this book is the heavy use of unfamiliar cockney slang in the street scenes.
My rating for this book: ++++

The Quest of the Fair Unknown (2008)

Imagine that you were born in the forest and grew up knowing only your mother. Imagine that just before she died she told you only that your father was a knight of the Round Table. Off you go in the world with only that knowledge. Beaufils (his mom's name for him which translates to "handsome son") goes off in search of his father. Well, it seems that almost everyone he meets in off in search of one thing or another. During this time in history, if there wasn't anything going on, the kings would send the knights off on quests so they wouldn't hang around fighting each other. Beaufils finds his way to Camelot, meets King Arthur, and realizes that finding out who his father is will not be as easy as he thought.
This book reminded me of The Little Prince, a French book about a boy who leaves his home planet and meets a lot of interesting characters. I love the subtle humor in this book.

"Does everyone have a title?" Beaufils asked.
"No," Gawain replied. "It's a special privilege, and the people who have a title sometimes
think it makes them very special indeed."
Beaufils smiled at Gawain's witticism. He had to be joking, of course; Beaufils knew that
people would never really think they were special just because of extra words tacked onto
their name.

Readers who enjoy Round Table stories will love this book and others by this author.
My rating for this book: ++++

Breaking Dawn (2008)

I have finally been able to finish the last book in this series by Stephenie Meyer and I am not at all disappointed with the ending. I can't talk too much about this book without spoiling the story so I will just say that Ms. Meyer has left the possibility open for a spinoff series featuring Jacob. There was a discussion about the difference between shape shifters and werewolves that seemed to come from nowhere and which gave me the feeling that we would see more on that topic!
This series was all about love between two very different people and the sacrifices we sometimes have to make for the success of the relationship. Of course, the sacrifices made for this relationship could be considered much greater than most of us would have to make but we are just ordinary humans after all, right?
It is a great pleasure to have a series of books that introduce new characters and situations. When you have finished one book you can look forward to the next. It's almost like reading one humongous book!
I am now looking forward to seeing Twilight, the movie.
My rating for this book: +++++

Momma Mia! (DVD, 2008)

The word that keeps coming back to me for this movie is "exuberant"! I think that Meryl Streep is able to add a level of dignity to every movie she is in, even the comedies, and she has shown me a new side of her with her singing and dancing. (I was surprised to learn she trained to be an opera singer when she was young.) Her character, Donna Sheridan, lives with her daughter on a small Greek island running an old inn. The story opens with 20-year old Sophie (Amande Seyfried) telling her two bridesmaids how she read her mother's diary and learned that there were three men (Pierce Brosnan, Collin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard) who could be her father and that she sent wedding invitations to all three. Will she learn which one is her father?
This is a musical which incorporates songs originally performed by the 70s rock group, ABBA. I was a big fan of this group because their music was so sing-alongable and it was so hard to sit there during the movie and refrain from singing along.
I have to say that Pierce should stick with straight acting. But otherwise, this is a must see movie.
My rating for this movie: +++++

World Without End (2008)

This book takes place in 14th century England in a town called Wigleigh and chronicles the lives of people in various levels of society such as nuns and monks, earls, serfs, and merchants and their relationships between each other. It takes over 1000 pages to tell their stories. One of the things you learn from this book is that it sucked to be a woman during those times and it sucked big time if you were a poor woman. Our characters face one disaster after another: collapsed bridge and cathedral, plague, rape, famine and all the other things people had to live through at that time. No electricity, steam engines, or printing press to make life easier. The only technological advance was the loom. But through it all, people fell in love, had babies and raised them, and made do the best they could. Giving up was not an option for these folks.
This is indeed a hefty book but it reads fast. Conversations and descriptions aren't very deep and you get caught up in the battle of good and evil and you are carried along in the currents that carry our characters through their lives.
I read this book in my car while my daughter was in meetings. It definitely helps having a place to read with little distraction.
I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy historical fiction and aren't intimidated by large books.
My rating for this book: +++++

Battlestar Gallactica

This science fiction series produced by the SciFi Channel has got to be one of the most extraordinary series I have seen in a long while. I have to admit that I have not watched the series as it was originally shown, but I am catching up with the series by renting the DVDs through Netflix. The star of the show is Edward James Olmos, an actor who is able to portray strength and power with a very restrained manner. The series opens after a Cyborg rebellion on the plant of Caprica. Most of the human population is annihalated by nuclear weapons but there is still a large number of humans on various space ships, one of which is the Gallactica commanded by Commander Adama (Olmos). They manage to stay together through a series of "jumps" trying to evade the Cyborgs until they manage to shake them. The senior most government member, Colonial Secretary of Education, played by Mary McDonnell assumes the position of President and, together with Adama, begin the task of organizing the ships, inventoring supplies and personnel, and discuss finding a new home world. Complicating this is the fact that there are Cyborgs hidden among the crews. They have a number of models which look human.
I don't want to rehash the many twisting plot lines but I hope I can entice you to enjoy this series. I have been watching the episodes with my son and not one has gone by without an "OMG" or two. The twists and turns in this series make every episode exciting and leave me waiting for the next one to arrive.
I admit to being a big fan of all the Star Trek series and other scifi series such as Babylon 5 and Firefly but this show outshines other series like a nova. Rent the series at Blockbuster or another company, make up a bucket of popcorn, and strap yourself in for a ride!
My rating for this series: +++++

Charlie Bartlett (DVD, 2008)

Charlie (Anton Yelchin) is quite a character. He's rich, smart, bored, troubled, and imaginative. This is a classic recipe for disaster. When he is kicked out of yet another private school, his mother enrolls him in the local public high school. His first contact with the student body is on the school bus, sitting by a special needs student. It takes no time at all for him to attract the attention of the school bully, Murphey (Tyler Hilton), and Susan (Kat Dennings) who happens to be the daughter of the principal (Robert Downing Jr.). He uses the old saying, "If you can't beat them, join them" and goes into business with Murphey supplying advice and drugs to fellow students from his "office" in the boys' bathroom. What ensues is a real mixup for the school as well as the principal and Charlie's mother. Charlie has a gift of seeing into people and learns how to talk AND listen to them.
This was a fun movie with lots of new faces (new to me). Created for teens, this movie adresses many of the problems faced by many high schoolers. It would please me to learn that a teen watching might take a new view of his or her problems and gain a new perspective to help the difficult and painful high school years.
My rating for this movie: +++

Summertime

It's my last day at work and I have looked through the shelves to pull a few books to read over the summer. But first I have to finish reading the books I have already started! I am currently reading two books; World Without End by Ken Follett and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. World Without End is a sequel of sorts to The Pillars of the Earth, takes place in 12th century England and is nearly 1,000 pages long. One of the things that makes both of these books so readable is that the characters speak modern English. World Without End takes place 200 years later in the same English town and is just over 1,000 pages long. They both are fascinating novels that take you into the lives of the lowest and highest born and into the political intrigue that takes place between the clergy, the military, the merchants, and royalty. I highly recommend these books to fans of historical fiction and long books.
Love in the Time of Cholera is my first book by this author and is very different from other books I have read. I am presently half way through the book and I feel that I am still waiting for the story to begin, like I am still reading the introduction. One of the reasons, I think, that I have this feeling is because he still calls all of the characters by their whole names.
Now that it is summer, I plan on making my minted ice tea, take a tall glass filled with ice and my book out to the backyard, put my feet up, and read, read, read.

The Book Thief (2007)

This is an extraordinary Holocaust story written by Marcus Zusak. Liesel Meminger is eleven years old when she moves to the small town of Molching near Munich to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann. The story is told by Death who follows Liesel's life in between his calls to duty delivering souls from people who die (which keeps him very busy as you can well imagine). He considers himself a student of human behavior and Liesel constantly surprises him. When she arrives at the Hubermann house she is unable to read but has a book with her called The Gravedigger's Handbook which had fallen out of the pocket of one of the men who helped bury her little brother. Amidst all the horror and tragedy, this girl can always find a way to show kindness and compassion to others around her. Her overwhelming desire to learn how to read and her love of reading drives her to find books wherever she can. Once she even pulled a book out of a bonfire of books considered not suitable for reading. Considering how many of these types of book end up tragically, I thought I was in for a sob fest. Yes, there were horrors all through the book, but Liesel's outlook on life is truely inspiring.
If you enjoy (?!) reading books about the Holocaust, don't miss this one. If you don't enjoy reading books that take place during the Holocaust, don't miss this one. It's a great story of keeping one's humanity when everyone else is losing theirs.
My rating for this book: +++++