Sunday, December 14, 2014

Sunday Summary, 14 December 2014

Business travel sure gives me a lot more time to read. This week I had three flights as I hopped from Dallas to Detroit to Louisville and then returned to Dallas. That probably contributed to me completing more books this week than last. And, as usual, I'm linking up with The Sunday Post, hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on the blog, showcase books and things received. Share news about what is coming up on the blog for the week ahead.


Where I've been reading

My week started with a business trip from Dallas to Detroit on Monday for meetings on Tuesday. From there, I flew to Louisville, KY, for another meeting and then back home on Wednesday evening. Thursday, I spent most of the day in hospital waiting rooms as I accompanied my husband for knee surgery. The weekend, I was at home. It's a nice respite before my trip to NY next week.

What I've been reading

Book Cover: Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from Denton Public Library (via Overdrive)
Completed: 7 December

★★★★☆

Waistcoats & Weaponry is the third book in Gail Carriger's Finishing School series. This is a YA series set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate. Sophronia Temminick is a student at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. Her mother thinks it's a simple finishing school, but Sophronia has learned that she and her fellow students are actually a school for espionage. Yes, she'll learn etiquette along with how to curtsey, how to dress, and how to dance. But she'll learn the skills of subterfuge, diversion, and spycraft.

In this episode, Sophronia and friends leave school to attend a ball and from there sneak aboard a train as they assist Sidheag return home to her werewolf pack in Scotland.

Yes, it's paranormal steampunk all the way. A glorious combination of steam power, dirigibles, corsets, clockworks, vampires, and werewolves.


Book Cover: Peter and the Startcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson Format: audio
Source: freebie from SYNC YA giveaway, summer 2014
Completed: 10 December

★★★★☆

Although I've had a paperback copy of Peter and the Starcatchers in my TBR stack for several years, I never got around to reading it. Then, the SYNC audiobook program included Peter and the Starcatchers as one of the free titles they gave away in the summer of 2014. I have to say that the recording was so well done that I'm sure I actually enjoyed the story better listening to it than I would have by reading the text.

Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have written a prequel to the original Peter Pan story by J. M. Barrie. In this episode, we meet Peter as an orphan being transported to the court of King Zarboff as a servant. Along with four other orphans, he is loaded onto the Never Land, a sailing ship also carrying passengers Molly Aster and her governess Mrs. Bumbrake. And, there's a mysterious trunk locked up in a lower hold.

When strange things start happening around the trunk, Peter sets out to find out what's inside. He's thwarted, however, when pirates raid the ship. The trunk is knocked overboard, Peter falls overboard, and most everyone winds up on a desert island.

It's a rollicking adventure, read particularly well by Jim Dale. The mermaids, the natives, and even the crocodile put in their appearances. I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series.


Book Cover: Saint Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from Sanger Public Library (via Freading)
Completed: 11 December

★★★☆☆

In his fourth appearance, Brother Cadfael has been assigned the role of interpreter for a Welsh merchants for the duration of a 3-day market fair held on the grounds of the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul. Recent fighting in the civil war has left the town of Shrewsbury in dire need of repairs to roads and walls, and the leading citizens of the town are disgruntled that the Abbot won't agree to designate a portion of the fair's proceeds to the town.

When a gang of boys converge upon a wealthy merchant demanding that he hold back part of the tariff from the Abbey and give it to the town, the confrontation results in a brawl along the river's docks. Later that night, the merchant is murdered and suspicion falls on the son of the town's provost, leader of the young men. It's up to Brother Cadfael to help the sheriff's deputy expose the murderer and assist the merchant's orphaned niece in conducting her uncle's affairs.

Saint Peter's Fair is a well-written and well-researched historical fiction—another excellent addition to the series. It keeps getting better and I've selected this series for one of my challenges in 2015.


Book Cover: Kris: The Legend Begins by J J Ruscella Book Cover: The Root of All Evil by Ellery Adams and Elizabeth Lockard I'm reading two very different books right now. Kris is a lovely story about a young orphaned boy who grows up to be Santa Claus. I'm about 1/3 of the way into it and enjoying it very much. The Root of All Evil is a cozy mystery with a small Bible Study group providing the cast of characters. Both should be completed early next week. Check back next Sunday for reviews.

This Week on the Blog

This week I spent a lot of time thinking about reading challenges for 2015. In 2014, I decided to avoid committing to too many challenges and that worked well for me. But it's so tempting to sign up for challenges because they look like so much fun. This week's posts are all about challenges—past and future.

  1. 2015 Reading Challenges - Part 2, 42 SF Challenge
  2. 2015 Reading Challenges - Part 3, Finishing the Series and Eclectic Reader Challenges
  3. 2014 Challenges: An Update
  4. Book Blogger Hop: 12-18 December 2014

2 comments:

  1. I got a new smartphone and some how lost all my free audio books from SYNC. I need to see if they are on my online account. Enjoy! The Root of All Evil looks good

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    Replies
    1. I lost all of the 2013 books. That's why I was extremely careful this year to only download to my computer, and then copy the files over to another directory instead of leaving them tied to the Overdrive application. Good luck in recovering your files.

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