Cross Fire

It didn't take me long to read this book.  It has short chapters and moves right along, as most James Patterson novels do.  I don't know why I like them since they are mostly formulaic but I keep buying them. 

I love Alex Cross's family and am always anxious to read about how the kids and Nana Mama are doing.  Add to that an interesting plot and cool characters and it's a book I like to gulp.

In this one Kylie Craig, Alex's former friend and co-worker, has escaped from prison and finds a way to be a part of Alex's life, again.  Also, a couple of killers are targeting crooked political big wigs. And then there's the murder of homeless people who have equations written on their bodies.  As usual, Alex is able to solve the mysteries and make DC safe again all while planning his wedding to Bree.

Kylie is visiting for the week so I won't have much time to read but that's okay; I'd much rather play with her.
  

Lipstick in Afghanistan

When we go back to school after Christmas, my World Litrature students will be reading The Kite Runner.  Since most of the book is set in Afghanistan, I'm always interested in reading books about that country.  I saw this one in Walmart and when I got home, I downloaded it.

Elsa Murphy grew up in a poor section of Boston helping her mother take care of her drug-addict sister's special-needs child.  She didn't have much but she did have lipstick that would make her feel pretty and empowered.  One day at the library she reads a magazine article about the starving children in Rwanda and she vows that one day she'll find a way to help them or others in need.

Once she becomes a nurse and both her mom and niece are dead, she travels to Afghanistan to begin a year of working in a Bamiyan clinic.  There she sees first hand what conditions are like under the Taliban.  I found it horrifying but interesting that people really think that way and treat women so poorly.

I couldn't put this book down and will have plenty of extra info to share with my students next month.

Unbroken

I can't believe how long it took me to read this book.  It's not that I didn't like it because it was excellent but, for some reason, I just couldn't read it for long periods of time.  Plus, we've been babysitting Kylie almost every weekend and it's really hard to read when she's around.

This is the true story of Louis Zamperini, Olympic hopeful, and POW in WWII.  He went through horrors first by floating on a raft for months in the Pacific and then being captured by the Japanese and thrown into a prisoner-of-war camp where the conditions and treatment were the worst.  It's a wonder he even survived at all.  I found the book facinating.  The info is interesting and at no point was it boring.  I guess the terrible things he went through were just so bad that I could only read for a little bit before needing a break.  My mind just didn't want to accept it.

The 9th Judgment & A Girl Named Mister

I read two quick books this week. 

 I started with James Patterson's The 9th Judgment.  This is the 9th book in the Women's Murder Club series.  It's a page-turner albeit a bit on the formulaic side...okay, a lot on the formulaic side!  But, still enjoyable.  Lindsey Boxer, with the help of her friends, must solve two crimes.  One is the theft of jewels and murder of a movie star's wife, and the other is the murder of mothers and children around San Francisco.  I did like the original way one of the crimes was "solved" since I really liked the criminal.

This morning I downloaded A Girl Named Mister.  And finished it a couple hours later!  Mary Rudine, nicknamed MR, then called Mister, decides to wait for marriage before having sex.  What she doesn't bargain for is Trey  with his long eyelashes.  Before she knows it, she has broken her vow.  Then Trey breaks up with her.  And she's pregnant.

Written in beautiful poetry, alternating with the story of the Virgin Mary, this story kept me turning the pages and even brought a tear to my eye.  Yes, it is a little heavy on religion, for my taste, but the poetry saves it. 

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

Carl, Cecil, Cindy, Chabot, Cane Creek, Charles, Colin, Clyde.  I was so confused at first keeping all these C names straight!  But, I did and I'm glad!  It took me awhile to get into this book not only because of the names but because I had difficulty getting a feel for the characters.  I felt like I had sunglasses on in the house.  I could see but not well.

The writing is what kept me reading, though.  Spare and beautiful.  Every description creative and unique.  The dialogue spot-on Southern.

And then I got into the story and couldn't stop reading.  Larry Ott has been ostracized for 25 years because he was considered the main suspect in the disappearance of Cindy Walker.  No body or evidence was ever found so he was never formally charged.  However, in the eyes of his neighbors, he was guilty.

Silas Jones is a black police officer (the only officer, in fact) in the small Mississippi town where this story takes place.  As a child, he was friends with Larry for a brief time.  Now, another girl has disappeared and, of course, Larry is the first person everyone thinks of. 

In poignant flashbacks Larry's and Silas's stories are revealed and the intertwining of their lives becomes obvious.  I didn't much care for either of them at the beginning but, by the time the story ended, I was a fan.

And those C names?  They all became clear.

The Confession

I always look forward to a John Grisham novel.  He has a way of writing that keeps me turning the pages.  This one was a bit different, though.  Yes, it has to do with the law like most of his others but this one is more like a documentary.  I felt like I was watching a 48 Hours segment.

Travis Boyette is dying from a brain tumor.  He just got out of prison and decides to take responsibility for a rape and murder he'd committed ten years earlier.  He approaches Keith Schnieder, a minister, to help him.

In Texas Donte Drumm is on death row awaiting lethal injection in a few days for the crime that Travis committed.  Will Travis get there in time to save Donte?

The novel looks at the death penalty from all the different angles from the governor, to the lawyers, to the families, to the convicted.  It's very thought-provoking but the ending was a bit of a let down.

My granddaughter is visiting this weekend so I haven't been able to read much except her books and that's fine with me!  Here's a picture of her drawing in my journal.

Play Dead

I have a confession to make.  Amazon now has games for the Kindle and I dowloaded a couple of them.  BAD idea!  Instead of reading, now I find myself sitting there playing games.

That's why it took me so long to read Play Dead by Harlan Coben.  This is vintage Coben, a novel he wrote before he became famous.  Even though it shows his immaturity as a writer, I still enjoyed it.

Ex-model Laura Ayars and Celtic's basketball player David Baskin are on their honeymoon in Australia when David drowns while out swimming.  Laura is devastated but returns home to try to put her life back together.

The past, however, and David's death will not leave her alone.  She discovers that David transferred a large sum of money to a Swiss bank just hours before his death.  And why was her mother so against her marriage to David that they had to elope?

I saw the end coming but the journey to it was entertaining.

I finished this novel during Silent Reading in block two this morning.  What did I do during block three?  Yup, played a game!