booksrockcal's reviews
509 reviews

Lonely Planet Germany 10 by Kerry Walker, Catherine Le Nevez, Benedict Walker, Kerry Christiani, Marc Di Duca, Ali Lemer, Hugh McNaughtan, Anthony Ham, Andrea Schulte-Peevers, Leonid Ragozin

adventurous informative medium-paced

3.0

i read this preparation for our trip to Germany in the summer. It is a comprehensive guidebook and the end pieces on German history, art and culture were my favorite parts. I just wish there had been more on art, culture, and history. 

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.5

I have never watched the Barefoot Contessa or read or used one of Ina Garten’s cookbooks, but i picked up this book because as part of a read along. I’m really glad I did as I enjoyed Garten’s story so much . She recounts her difficult childhood briefly and her love at first sight and marriage at age 20 to her beloved Jeffrey in the first few pages of the book. From writing nuclear energy policy papers to buying the Barefoot Contessa, a specialty food store in West Hampton she purchased with no experience in the food business, to developing a food empire while writing books and starring on the Food Network, Garten shows that hard work, dedication, and preparation lead to success -but especially when the luck happens. I enjoyed her stories of life as a woman trying to make a career in a world in which women were not recognized as people who operated separately from their husbands or fathers. The story of her relationship with Jeffrey is truly inspiring because it is clear they believe in each other so completely. Ina and Jeffrey live a life of great privilege but the book demonstrates that they started with little and then worked hard to reach their goals and sometimes look around wondering how they got to where they are. I listened to the audiobook and it was honestly like having a conversation with Ina. 

Christmas with the Queen by Heather Webb, Hazel Gaynor

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I am pretty much a sucker for any book about the royal family, fiction or non fiction, and if you add in Christmas as a theme it is all the more appealing.  This book is about two friends from WWII who are reunited in 1952 in Sandringham, the royal estate where Queen Elizabeth, newly ascended to the throne, is set to deliver her first Christmas address. Olive works for the BBC and has been sent to report on the events related to Christmas and the royal family. Jack is an American Navy veteran and chef who ended up in Britain after his service as a Seabee when he married a British woman who tragically dies as the book begins. The romance between these two develops over the years with royal events as the backdrop although it is nearly derailed by a secret Olive keeps from Jack. I enjoyed this book although the romance was a bit slow in reaching its conclusion. But all’s well that ends well and the story provided an excellent conclusion to my holiday reading. 

A Short History of British Architecture: From Stonehenge to the Shard by Simon Jenkins

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

This is a highly readable survey of British architecture, one of my favorite topics. I enjoyed the narrative laced with the author’s opinions and observations.  My only complaint is that there were not enough photos of the buildings discussed. I had to keep googling them on my phone. Also I would have liked more examples from my beloved Scotland. Otherwise it was a fantastic read with a lot of detail and interweaving of the art/architecture with British history. 

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I read this book for the OGC Book Club. I didn’t know what to expect from something billed as a funny, lighthearted mystery and this book didn’t disappoint- it exceeded my expectations. The book is smart, funny, thought provoking- an intergenerational story about found family, kindness, and love set in San Francisco and centered around events related to the murder of a man found dead in Vera Wong’s tea shop. Vera is the widowed mother  of a millennial lawyer who is busy with his career despite his mother’s attempts to engage with him and she spends her days selecting tea for her few tea shop customers. One day she finds a dead man in her tea shop and decides she is better equipped to find his murderer than the police. She befriends the four “suspects” and works to find the killer even when the police deem the death an accident caused by an allergic reaction. Vera is very funny- the stereotypical Chinese mother who texts her son to be sure to look for a girlfriend at his law firm and who is up at dawn proclaiming that sleeping in is for Europeans and sick people. Solving the mystery takes a few twists and along the way the reader laughs and cries with the characters. A wonderful book!!

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This book grabbed me from the moment I started it. It is Salman Rushdie’s memoir about the knife attack against Rushdie by a young man radicalized by you tube in Chautauqua, New York, 23 years after Iran issued the fatwa against Rushdie following publication of the Satanic Verses. Despite living in London for many years under the guard of Scotland Yard, Rushdie moved to NYC in 2000 and had been living without incident until the attack in Chautauqua in which he nearly died and  which left him with a damaged hand and liver and caused him to lose his eye. Ironically Rushdie, a former President of Pen America, was speaking at Chautauqua on the importance of protecting writers and their right to speak. The book chronicles the attack, the response, Rushdie’s recovery supported by his wife Eliza, his sons, and his sister, and the impact on his physical and emotional health. I have never read a Salman Rushdie novel as I am not a big fan of magical realism but I may have to reconsider- he is a gifted storyteller even of his own story and his language is beautiful. I’m going to buy the book so I can write down some of his meditations of art, life, literature, religion, and freedom of speech. The book is a powerful defense of the right of authors to speak without fear of attack (Rushdie was an outspoken defender of the Charlie Hebdo writers/cartoonists) and a tribute to the power of grace, love, and kindness in the healing process.  In one portion of the book Rushdie has an imagined dialogue with his attacker that encapsulates his anger and also his view about the right to speak and write - this was the only part of the book that seemed slightly stilted but I’m still giving it 5 stars for language, readability, and it’s compelling message.  And I read this on audio with Rushdie reading it. 

Family Family by Laurie Frankel

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I read this book with a group and we were supposed to use all of January to finish. However, the story was so compelling I had to keep reading until I found out who had done it . In this story, a charwoman named Mrs McGinty is killed in her parlor. Her boarder is convicted of the murder and the detective running the case calls Hercule Poirot for a consultation as he doesn’t believe the young man is guilty. Poirot moves into a guesthouse in the village and begins to do research on all the people Mrs. MCGinty worked for in the village. They are all possible murderers once Poirot starts looking at them.  This is a Christie with a lot of humor especially related to his stay in the messy and disorganized guesthouse. Also it features a visiting character based on Agatha Christie herself. The characters were interesting and I did not figure out who the killer was. Every time I read a Christie novel I ask myself why I haven’t read more. So good!!

Slashing Through the Snow by Jacqueline Frost

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is the third book in the series that I have read. I’ve read each book at Christmas and enjoyed them immensely as they provide light and cozy holiday mystery vibes. In this installment, Holly is back, now acting as an innkeeper on her parents’ Christmas tree farm/ Christmas amusement park, Reindeer Games, in cold and frigid Mistletoe, Maine. In this book a critic from Boston known for her scathing reviews is murdered at the inn Holly is running. Holly’s friend Cookie’s fingerprints are on the murder weapon and Cookie is being investigated by the authorities, led by Holly’s boyfriend Evan, the sheriff of Mistletoe.  Evan begs Holly to not get involved but she defies him in order to clear the name of her friend Cookie.  While the story and outcome are predictable, I still found reading the story enjoyable. I love all the characters and the setting is perfect for Christmas. This book is another perfect Christmas read. 

The Shortest History of Germany by James Hawes

adventurous informative medium-paced

3.75

I picked up this audiobook on Hoopla just after New Year’s. My husband and I are going to Germany this year and I wanted to get some background reading in and this seemed like a good choice as it is called The Shortest History of Germany.  It was highly readable and accessible although the author does seem to have some interesting opinions I will have to explore more in subsequent books. The author favors Germany west of the Elbe over Germany east of the Elbe and considers that the bad elements of Germany that led to Hitler (and the current rise of the ADF from the Protestant East. He doesn’t like Bismarck and I’m not sure Catholics were as unsupportive of Hitler as he maintains especially given the composition of Austria. I also would have appreciated more on the art, architecture, music, and literature of Germany. Still taken for what I wanted as I begin a year that will include travel to Germany- an overview of German history- this fit the bill.