• Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) – I “finally” finished this one in March. Overall, I enjoyed it – a clever detective story. I think my problem was that I put it down back in October in favor of other reads and then had a tough time getting back into it. When the next one comes out, I’m pretty sure I need to “read it straight through.” As I was in London, it was fun to go past locations and recall a mention in this book.
• The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson – A fascinating Pulitzer prize-winning fiction set in North Korea. Indeed, the life story of the son of an orphan master who was raised in an orphanage, started his military service on tunnel patrol, was pulled into “secret” missions, becomes a prisoner and reinvents himself out of a prison camp.
• The Anatomist’s Apprentice by Tessa Harris – (audio) Meh. The first in a series about an American anatomist in England in the 1780s. An attempt at CSI meets the splash of the Pink Carnation series. Not sure if I’ll continue this series.
• Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum – The first in a “quick read” knitting mystery series. After the “heavy” reading of Orphan Master, a light read seemed in order. The setting reminded me of a fall weekend near Cape Cod, the fun of Door County and Harbor Country and the yarn shop reminded me of some of my favorite yarn shops of years gone by. It was a breezy read but I’m not sure I’ll seek out the rest of the series.
• The Expats by Chris Pavone – An espionage tale mixed with a ‘home life/domestic’ story with a bit of whiplash from how the chapters move between present & past & further past & back & forth all at once. I snagged this after reading a review about the author’s newest book & seeing that the library offered this. I’m still not sure my thoughts on the book – the story was a clever “twist” on spy thrillers but the structure seemed distracting.   #whiplash
• My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (audio) – After enjoying a a delightful evening at the theater seeing Wooster & Jeeves in London, I knew I needed to add this series to my reading (or listening). As I listen to the stories, I must admit that instead of the voice of the audio book narrator I hear Jeeves dialog as portrayed by Matthew MacFayden and I see Wooster’s expressive face as portrayed by Stephen Magnan on stage.
• Active reads/listens to be included in future reviews: The Apple Orchard; The Romanov Prophecy; Moonwalking with Einstein and more…
• Hold requests at the library include Laura Ingalls Wilder & Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The kindle is recharging in advance of a couple of (stateside) flights “for fun” this month…so plenty of reading time awaits…

• Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety by Eric Schlosser – I first saw this book in Barnes & Noble during my fall fun weekend in WI. The cover caught my eye – the cover liner confirmed it – this daughter of a Titan Missileer needed to read this book. A well written history of the US nuclear program as a whole and a detailed account of a specific silo accident. I enjoy good narrative nonfiction and this had it. Reading this book also presented the opportunity to learn a lot more about my Dad’s days spent underground in Kansas – both through the pages and talking and asking more questions while I was home for Christmas. I definitely don’t take for granted how good it was to have him back home after every 24 hour shift underground. #childofthecoldwar #heavyreading

• The Circle by Dave Eggers – Future fiction imagines “what if” all our activity is fully online. The end was meh. Makes you think about what really is too much w/ all this connectedness.  Some of the connections were absurd – some were just slightly exaggerated from where we are today – some may have been introduced at recent show. Couple this fiction read with some non-fiction reads on technology overload and imbalance that I’ve read in the last 2 years- it definitely has me pondering how best to be connected. #notgoingoffgrid #dontneedtoshareall

• Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book by Diane E. Muldrow – A fun compilation of the life lessons we were learning as we learned to read w/ Little Golden Books. The introduction to this quick book was almost as insightful as the fun phrases and illustrations from the childhood favorites. #wowthefunbooksweredeep

• The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde – Starting a “new to me” series that I’ve wanted to read for a while. Fun mash up of save the world + slightly altered society + literature references. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. My favorite quotation from the book: “No bond is stronger than that welded in conflict; no greater friend is there than the one who stood next to you as you fought.” #mightbetimetoreadjaneeyreagain

• Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay – A bit of chick lit – a bit of faith – a bit of Chicago. A fun & quick read that was more than just a “standard” chick lit. Also, some fun use of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte and other classic authors. #notjustfluff