Vacation Reading List

Well hello out there!

 

It just so happens that it is my favorite time of the year. VACATION TIME!!! I am counting down the days. We are off to our vacation spot that we go to every year for sun, sand, rest, relaxation and reading. Ok well I go for the reading, everyone else goes for the relaxation. It means I get to go to the bookstore and stock up for the week. I know, I know I still read physical books. I can’t help it! I love them and cannot see myself EVER using an e-reader. Try not to point your fingers at me and laugh!

 

There are no televisions where we stay. Just little old fashioned cabins, which we all adore! We do bring our phones up in case there is a family emergency. Other than that, we hardly touch anything technologically advanced. We lay in the sun and read. I devour as many books I can in the week. My darling husband reads one on average (last year it was one and half! No need for a standing ovation). He just rolls his eyes as my “read pile” gets smaller every day. I can’t pester him too much, as he is the one who said “should we head to the bookstore and stock up?” – I love him so much!

 

I thought it would be fun to tell you the list of books I am bringing up with me, and then give you a review of what I thought of them when we get home! I KNEW you would love that idea too! Here is what I am bringing:

 

The Goldfinch: A Novel by Donna Tartt, Little, Brown and Company, 2013

 

Me Before You: A Novel by Jojo Moyes, Penguin Publishing Group, 2012

 

Winter’s Tale: by Mark Helprin, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1983

 

The Devil in the White City: by Erik Larson, Vintage Books, 2003

 

The Alienist: by Caleb Carr, Random House, 1994

Omens: by Kelley Armstrong, Vintage, 2013

Now I would like to say that I might not read them all on vacation. One is 748 pages for heaven's sake! But I will read as many as I can. I like to bring a selection depending on how I feel when I am up there. You know they will all be read eventually!

I am not going to summarize them for you now. All I could do is give a brief synopsis of what is on the cover, and who wants that? If you want to know what the cover says, you can look it up. Once I have read them I will give you a full review of each one. Excited? Don’t worry you don’t have to say it, I know you are. I can see it in your eyes. Or wait? Is that boredom? I am going with excitement.

While I polish off my read pile in a lounger, I hope you devour as many books as you can too!

Love
Elyse

Moriarty

Moriarty By Anthony Horowitz
Orion Publishing in 2014
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Adventure, Action

 Picture the Reichenbach falls. NO, not the fall, not Benedict Cumberbatch plunging into the street! The falls, the real place. There you go. Now think Sherlock. NO! Not Benedict Cumberbatch! The one Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote. Sherlock and Moriarty are at the falls and have just taken their relative plunges. Ok, are you with me? Are we on the same page? Good, this is where this novel starts. Here we are introduced to Pinkerton’s detective Frederick Chase who has just arrived from New York and wishes to see the body of Professor James Moriarty. He thinks there is a clue on Moriarty’s body that will lead him to a New York gang. Detective Chase knows that this gang of criminals have come from New York to London in hopes to join forces with the criminal mastermind Moriarty. Facilitating in this investigation is Scotland Yard’s Inspector Atheleny Jones. We follow these men through London in a chase filled with murder to catch this gang terrorizing London. The game is afoot…

 At the beginning of this novel I was wary, I had lots of ideas on what was going on, but was quickly sucked into this well written, and well-paced book. Now I’m a pretty seasoned reader. I am NOT blindsided very often, I can see most endings coming and do not feel I can be shocked easily. Let me tell you what happened when I got to the end. Being an avid reader, I read everywhere, I was on the bus, on my way home (on a very crowded bus mind you) and when the boom hit I said “HOLY S***” I will not lie, the person sitting next to me turned a bit and stared at me. I didn’t even care. I was just too surprised. This should be all I have to tell you about this one.

It was excellent. If you have read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s originals you will really enjoy this novel. If you haven’t, you will still enjoy it. This novel did not feel like it was piggy backing off of the originals, it felt like an extension. It was just another side of the story that we never knew. While reading this novel I was thinking the whole time, what is going on here? I can feel a presence following Chase and Jones but who? Where? And how does he know? I love how Horowitz has placed a few red herrings out there for us to pick up. I gobbled them up readily. I raced to the end of the novel and it was worth it.

The only thing I didn’t like was that the end felt a little bit rushed. But, if I am being totally honest here it could just be that it ended and I wasn’t ready to let go yet

 My Verdict: Read it!

............................................................................................................................................................................................................

 

What did you think of this book? Did you feel it fit in with the other Sherlock stories? Did you read the originals? Are there any books that shocked you with their plot twists?

 ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................

 
If you liked Moriarty you should try:
The Yard

 

Welcome

Hello interweb surfers!

This is my blog. I know nothing of blogging, or the internet, or what I am doing here. I know what you’re thinking…. "Then what are you doing here, whacko?" Well, let me tell you what I do know. I know books, I know how to cook, and I know cakes. So I am here to share that with you.

I don’t just know books, I love them, I live them, I breathe them! I read as often as I can. I wanted to discuss books with my friends and family but they do not read often, and therefore can’t keep up with me. So I started a little book club with the aforementioned friends and family. They agreed to read 1 book a month with me. Ok they would read 1 and I would read 2…4…ok 7 (obviously 7 is an exaggeration!) This however quickly split and once again I was alone in my reading. I do have a few friends who read. But they are often too busy or do not read as quickly as I do. So I turn to you internet, to find people who enjoy the books I do, and who read as often as I do.

Originally, I started this blog to write about books. Well, it will be mainly about books, but that isn’t all I like. So I plan to share with you my thoughts and ideas. A little mish mash of everything that is me. All my little pieces…. If you will. I’m killing you with my hilarity right? No, you’re gone already? That’s cool. You’ll be back! You’ll be like "hmmm I wonder what’s up with that lady who reads 7 books a month" – I told you I was exaggerating sheesh! We can talk about recipes, and what’s going on in the world of me. You’re super excited right?... No? Well I am still going to do it!

Tune in to the next post for my first book review and recommendation.

Love
Elyse