meg reads and reads

Title: The Radium Girls Author: Kate Moore If you are looking to try reading more non-fiction, The Radium Girls by Kate Moore is a compelling choice. It is certainly not the most joyful subject, but it is an incredibly interesting and frequently enraging account of a dark chapter in American industrial history. Moore utilizes original interviews, diaries, letters, and court accounts to reconstruct the lives of working-class women hired to paint luminous watch dials for the military. These women were taught to use their lips to point their brushes, effectively swallowing radium with every stroke. Even those who didn't use the lip-pointing method were coated in radioactive dust that they inadvertently carried home to their families at the end of every day. The physical descriptions of the radiation poisoning are harrowing. The narrative tracks a progression of horror where a woman's jaw literally falling apart is only the beginning of the tragedy. The book details a litany of suf...

Title: A Lion Among Men Author: Gregory Maguire Wicked was a masterful reinvention, a brilliantly imagined and intricate take on a familiar world. It wove together elements of L. Frank Baum's original Oz books with sharp social commentary, creating a wholly new and enthralling narrative. It was a complete story with a perfect ending, leaving it open for readers to draw their own satisfying conclusions. But where Wicked was a genius work of fiction, A Lion Among Men feels like a tired and unnecessary extension. This book, like the previous one, Son of a Witch , feels like part of a different story altogether, one that strays far from the magic and intrigue that made the first book so captivating. The plot centers on Brr (the Cowardly Lion), but his tale is long, depressing, and all too similar in theme to the previous installment. While the pacing has improved, the story itself is a convoluted mess of flashbacks and unfulfilling revelations. It's an easy read, but mostly because...

Title: Maul: Lockdown Author: Joe Schreiber I guess this is one of the last books written before Disney acquired Star Wars and wiped out the Expanded Universe (EU) as canon. I was having a hard time finding a list of Star Wars canon books written in order (rather than in chronological order by timeline), so I just started with those published in 2014 and went from there. The book itself is basically interesting. We have Maul on a mission from his Sith Master, Darth Sidious, to infiltrate a prison and acquire a piece of technology from someone who is hiding in said prison (on such a level that he is nearly mythological) and deliver it to what is essentially a cult led by a former Jedi called the Bando Gora--all without using the Force. The former Jedi leader of the Bando Gora, Komari Vosa (a former apprentice of Dooku), is not Sith either. She's just something else. There's also a whole side plot about how Maul is being used as a chess piece by Darth Sidious and ...

Title:  The Memory Keeper's Daughter Author:  Kim Edwards Well, y'all, this one hit me pretty hard, and I wasn't prepared for it. I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up, but I don't think anything could have prepared me for it. It starts out with a young couple, a doctor named David and his wife, Norah, who becomes pregnant. She tells her husband if they have a boy, she wants to name him Paul. If they have a girl, she wants to name her Phoebe. When Norah goes into labor in 1964, they are in the midst of a terrible snowstorm, so David carefully drives his wife to a clinic to give birth. He has to deliver himself. To his utter delight, his wife gives birth to a healthy son. His nurse, Caroline, is keeping Norah drugged, so she's pretty out of it, and surprise! Another baby comes out, a baby girl with obvious signs of Down's Syndrome. Knowing the chances of Phoebe not having a long life expectancy due to the health risks associated wit...

Title: If You Tell Author: Gregg Olsen If You Tell chronicles the true story of Shelly Knotek and her husband, Dave, how they abused and ultimately killed three (possibly four) people, and further abused their children. The abuse ranges from ridiculous to sadistic to what I would classify as sexual. What really pulled me in to this book was the fact that it was a true story. As a mother, I am truly appalled that someone like Shelly can possibly exist, that someone can be so sadistic toward her own children. I truly don't understand. Shelly and Dave received disgustingly short sentences for their crimes. Dave is already free, and I believe Shelly is set to be released from prison in 2022. Dave is a weak little worm, but Shelly is the epitome of true evil and deserves to rot forever for her crimes. I fear for her children when she is released. The descriptions of the events were tough for me to read at times. It honestly made me physically ill. I had to put the book down f...

Title: I'm Done Author: Gurpreet Kaur I have always had a bit of a soft spot for confessional poetry, and Gurpreet Kaur's I'm Done  is no exception. I breezed through the poetry in this book, ravenously consuming words of love, heartbreak, despair, determination, and resilience. Almost any person can relate to Kaur's work, and I'm truly pleased with how the writing has matured since the publication of Warriors.  The layout of this book is stellar, with the alternating black and white pages and the creative spacing to enhance the reading. Kaur also employs strong use of metaphor. My only real complaints are that some of the word choices are a little awkward and repetitive and that the book could use a good editor to help smooth out some of the rough spots. I am quite glad that I read this one and give it a strong four out of five stars. ------------------------------------------ READING PROGRESS Ammey McKeaf by Jane Shoup: 73% Insomnia by Stephen King...

Title: I Capture the Castle Author: Dodie Smith This book was remarkably heartwarming and funny. Normally, I find that humor in books this old doesn't age well, but that really isn't the case here. Dodie Smith's sense of humor shines through in a superb way, and I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. That said, this isn't a comedy. There's a love story. There's concern of mental illness. It's a complex tale of a family that others wish to save (from poverty, from irrelevance, etc.), but they ultimately save themselves. It doesn't end with a happily ever after, but I still feel good about where the characters are at the end. It's Austen-esque with a dose of realism. I like that. Four out of five stars. QUOTES: "There is only one page left to write on. I will fill it with words of only one syllable. I love. I have loved. I will love." "I only want to write. And there's no college for that except life....

Title: The Best Thing Author: Mariana Zapata This book was all right. The cursing goes a bit overboard, in my opinion, almost like the author is just going for a reaction. That may or may not be true, but that's what it felt like to me. There's a whole plot line introduced with the main character Lenny's biological grandmother that felt pointless, because it didn't really go anywhere. The main love story is sweet. There's a big "reveal" in the book that I think was supposed to be a surprise, but I called it very early on in the book. All of that said, there are several laugh-out-loud moments, particularly concerning Grandpa Gus, and that is the main saving grace for this book, in my opinion. Because of Grandpa Gus and Peter, this book gets three out of five stars. Otherwise, it'd probably be less. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't great, either. ------------------------- READING PROGRESS: Needful Things by Stephen King: 84% Dracula by B...

Title: The Dark Bones Author: Loreth Anne White It is way past my bedtime, but I simply had to stay up and finish this book. It's a kind of "whodunnit" novel with lots of twists and intricacies that keep you guessing all the way through. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out how books like this will end, but I was completely shocked at the big reveal. It was nice to get a little glimpse of Olivia and Cole again, though Tori is the only one from A Dark Lure  to figure prominently into the plot of this book. However, the plot centers mostly on Rebecca, Ash, and Ricky. I started in the beginning not liking Ricky, but the more I got to know him, the more I liked him. He's just a kid who has crappy circumstances in life. I was mildly suspicious of Ash in the beginning, but I was able to quickly put those suspicions aside. During the first couple of chapters, I wasn't a huge fan of Rebecca because of her attitude toward her father, but I quickly became a h...

Title: The Night Trade Author: Barry Eisler After the disappointment of Livia Lone , The Night Trade really makes up for it. Reading about Dox is always a pleasure, and it was nice to see him team up with Livia. I love that they are not perfect. They are very human, making mistakes and false assumptions, jumping into situations without fully thinking about them. Livia and Dox balanced each other out well. They would certainly be dead without one another. Five out of five stars. -------- READING PROGRESS: Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon: 68% The Waste Lands by Stephen King: 51% Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: 18% The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White: NOW STARTING

Title: Hidden Star Author: Nora Roberts This is the first book by Nora Roberts I have ever read. Before reading any of her books, I had lumped her into the "grocery store trash" genre. I am happy to report that I was completely correct in this assumption. This book is absolute garbage. The writing is lazy, and there is so much sleaze. Normally when you read trashy books, there is some humor to kind of keep you engaged, but not here. Nope. Nothing. In all fairness, the main plot is okay. But it takes you about 75% of the book to get there. If this hadn't been such a quick and easy read, there is no way I would have been able to make it that far into the book without anything actually happening. So...yeah. 2 out of 5 stars. ------------- READING PROGRESS: The Night Trade by Barry Eisler: 60% Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: 10% The Waste Lands by Stephen King: 51% Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon: 68% Drinking and Dating by Brandi Glanvil...

Title: Livia Lone Author: Barry Eisler The plot of this novel is great, by turns incredibly moving, immensely devastating, and completely horrifying. Child sex trafficking is not a easy subject to tackle, but Barry Eisler does it convincingly and without holding back. At the beginning, I felt like some of the details were only gratuitous, but as the plot advanced, I realized he had a purpose. That said, there are some issues I have. First, how many times do I have to read the phrase "he panted"? Second, what 8th grader goes to recess? Third, he talks about how the moon was out in one scene, but it was also pouring snow. Which is it? These are three examples of things that really bugged me and that were ultimately distracting while reading. If I ignore those things, it was very enjoyable. I give it three out of five stars. --------- READING PROGRESS: Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon: 50% The Waste Lands by Stephen King: 47% The Warriors Ser...

Title: Let's Dance, Snoopy Author: Charles M. Schulz This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but this was not a fun read for me. It took me forever , because I found the comics to be so tedious and so dated. They have definitely not held up well over time. There were a couple here and there that were cute or funny, but, for the most part, no. Two out of five stars. --------------- READING PROGRESS: Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon: 5% The Waste Lands by Stephen King: 11% A Dark Lure by Loreth Anne White: 20% The Warriors Series Boxset I by Ty Patterson: NOW STARTING

Title: An Echo in the Bone Author: Diana Gabaldon So much happens in this book that it's hard to even know where to start. It's truly a beautiful story and maybe my favorite thus far in the series. There is so much wonderful character development, not just for Claire and Jamie, but also for John, Ian, and William, not to mention the introduction to several wonderful new characters. Gabaldon throws us into the midst of the American Revolution, and she very effectively describes the danger and pride and sheer determination for survival. Once again, her research is spot on, and I only respect her more as a writer the more I read these books. Five out of five stars. ------------ READING PROGRESS: The Dark Half by Stephen King: 71% Let's Dance, Snoopy by Charles M. Schulz: 87% The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler: 29% Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon: NOW STARTING

Title : Zero Sum Author: Barry Eisler This book is more a sequel to Graveyard of Memories than a continuation of the John Rain series. It is another glimpse into John's past which is at points endearing, but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as Graveyard of Memories was. It felt kind of forced, and the ending was pretty anticlimactic. We do get more of an idea where he obtained some of his methods, which was nice, but all in all, this wasn't close to being one of my favorites in this series. In spite of that, I think it's good enough for four out of five stars. -------- READING PROGRESS: An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: 94% The Dark Half by Stephen King: 61% Let's Dance, Snoopy by Charles M. Schulz: 85% The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler: NOW STARTING

Title: The Detachment Author: Barry Eisler I'm happy to report that, even after the disappointment of the last Eisler novel I read, this one did not fail to please. I'm glad I read the first two Ben Treven books so that I would know what was going on in that storyline, because it was very important to the continuation of John Rain's story in book 7 of this series. I have no real complaints. It was a really good book, and I'm glad John, Dox, Larison, and Ben could keep from killing each other. They were certainly an interesting combination of people, and it was very fun to read. Four out of five stars. -------- READING PROGRESS: An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: 73% The Dark Half by Stephen King: 51% Let's Dance, Snoopy by Charles M. Schulz: 46% Graveyard of Memories by Barry Eisler: NOW STARTING

Title: Inside Out Author: Barry Eisler Eisler knows how to write a good story, and he didn't disappoint with the second Ben Treven book, Inside Out. It was good to see the potential tie-in to the John Rain novels (which I will be able to go back to now), and I have missed John dearly. To be completely honest, this book felt hurried. It's not really any shorter than any of his other books, but there are lots of distracting and careless punctuation errors that normally aren't such a huge presence in his work. Despite that, this was an enjoyable read. I really liked Paula's character, and I was super disappointed that she turned out to be the way she was. I guess the clues were there all along, though. There is also a really interesting (and not altogether inaccurate, I'd say) take on the state of the American government, and it's fascinating, because it feels particularly accurate now, and this book was published in the pre-Trump presidency world. Hort h...

Title: Bad Traffick Author: D.V. Berkom I said a while back I would eventually come back to Leine and see where her story led, and I did. Book Two of the Leine Basso series was better than the first. There were some minor editing issues (you'll notice this is a pet peeve of mine) and a couple of minor consistency issues as well, but nothing major. The character development was decent, and the writing was overall really good. There was the predictability factor, but Berkom did have a couple twists at the end that I didn't completely foresee. This book was definitely a vast improvement over the first. There was even a loose end that I hope is returned to at some point. I'm going to switch gears for my next read, but I will definitely return to Leine in the future. Four out of five stars. ---------- READING PROGRESS: An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: 43% The Dark Half by Stephen King: 5% Inside Out by Barry Eisler: 31% Let's Dance, Snoopy: 65 Years o...

Title : Fault Line Author: Barry Eisler Book Seven in the John Rain Series also says "Ben Treven Book 3," so I figured I should read the first two Ben Treven books before I moved on to the seventh John Rain. The first two thirds of this book was absolutely miserable for me. I didn't like Ben. I didn't like Alex. And I really didn't like Sarah. Also, the plot was extremely predictable up to the end. No surprise twists. I think maybe it was supposed to be a surprise, but it wasn't. I think this book was also a huge letdown, because when you read the John Rain books, John has such a strong voice and such a strong presence that you really feel like you're there in the story. This book was severely lacking in that regard. This was really almost a two-star review, but Ben became more likable by the end of the book, and that's the only thing that saved it. Hopefully, Book Two will be better. Three out of five stars. ----------- READING PROGR...

Title: The Killer Ascendant Author: Barry Eisler I was really excited about this book, and it was a bit of a letdown. Dox was the the main thing that saved this book for me. His sense of humor, the way he handled himself under unimaginable pressure...it was perfect for his character. Mopey John was no fun to read. He made his choices but couldn't seem to deal with the repercussions of them, and that was disappointing. And I personally thought the stunt Delilah pulled in the last book was unforgivable, so why is he still hanging around with her? Sigh. I guess we'll see what happens in Book Seven. Three out of five stars. ----------------------------- READING PROGRESS: An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: 16% Silent Crime by W.L. Knightly: 86% The Dark Half by Stephen King: 4% Fault Line  by Barry Eisler: JUST STARTING