#27: Not Another Superhero

I had my first experience with an e-book on our train trip.  Levi didn't want us to haul a bunch of books in our luggage so he downloaded books for us.  The first one I read was Not Another Superhero by Tara Lynn Thompson.  I was hooked on this book from the beginning.

It's about a girl named Samantha Addison.  She is a single woman who works in journalism.  The book starts with her getting mugged.  I immediately loved the dialog between Samantha and her mugger.  She was very sarcastic and nonchalant about the whole thing while speaking to him.  The mugger plays along for awhile and then decides to shoot her.  The bullet doesn't kill her and Samantha can't figure out why she isn't dead.

After the mugging, other things start happening to her.  She always comes out alive thanks to the help of a co-worker named Jackson Christy and a mysterious hooded superhero.  Samantha is put under police protection, but always finds a way to create more trouble for herself.

I found myself laughing in some parts about how sarcastic and crazy she is.  I also felt sad for her and the other characters in other parts.  She kept reminding me of Stephanie Plum in some parts of the book.

The unveiling of the "superhero" was not a surprise to me, but some information in the epilogue was.  I will definitely be reading the 2nd book when it comes out to see what happens.

Currently Reading:  When I'm Gone by Emily Bleeker

#26: The Mystics of Mile End

The Mystics of Mile End by Sigal Samuel was a free advanced copy that I grabbed off of the library table.  It was about a boy named Lev who is growing up in the Mile End neighborhood in Canada.  He goes to both regular school and is being taught about his Jewish religion from his neighbor.  Throughout the book, Lev and his sister Samara struggle with telling their father that being Jewish is very important to them.  The father, David, started doubting his religion shortly before his wife died.

There are several interesting characters in the book.  I really liked how the story was told first from Lev, then Sam, then David, and then a summary of everything.  Even though I didn't understand some of the Hebrew text with the Tree of Knowledge, I still thought it was a very interesting and heartwarming story about the Mile End neighborhood.

#25: Fin and Lady

I just finished Fin & Lady by Cathleen Schine last night.  This is the story of a boy named Fin who is orphaned at a young age.  His only surviving relative is a half sister named Lady.  This story tells how Fin first met her and their lives together.  It's a sad story, but shows the beauty of sibling relationships.

I was really drawn to both characters.  There were some other characters thrown into the story as well including possible husbands for Lady, friends of Fin, and Lady's maid.  I loved seeing the differences in the characters and felt like Fin was a great judge of character.

The story is told from a 3rd person's view and we don't learn who that person is until the very end of the story.  Overall a great book for a random grab off the library table.

Up Next:  We're leaving for a 2 week vacation this afternoon.  Levi uploaded some books to his Kindle for me.  It will be my first experience with e-books.  Hopefully I can get a lot of reading done.

#24: Teas and Tisanes

For some reason it didn't save my Teas and Tisanes review.  I chose this for a learn and do themed book club.  I have a large about of mint taking over my garden, so I was wanting to learn if I could make tea out of it.  This book was really short, but I learned a lot.  I did make some Moroccan Iced Tea as a recipe from my book.  It is just green tea with sugar and spearmint leaves.  Very delicious.

I am excited to just just plain mint tea from my garden this fall.  I also saw a recipe for Chinese Tea Eggs which I hope to make when Minyue come to live with us.  :)

#23: Lila

Lila by Marilynne Robinson was the book discussion pick for the library.  I had planned on going to the discussion on Tuesday (to get double points for the summer reading program), but I have another meeting.  This is probably a good thing since I found the book incredibly boring.

I had read Gilead a while back and I didn't realize this was the 3rd book in that series.  I didn't read the 2nd book, so I don't know if I missed much.  I don't really remember anything about Gilead, but my star review shows I didn't really care for that one either.

Lila is about an orphaned girl who is stolen and cared for by an old woman named Doll.  They have a hard life and are constantly moving so that no one can find them.  There are some very interesting parts about Lila and Doll's life, but the story is very scattered.  I felt like just when I was starting to enjoy the story, it would jump to something else and then I would lose focus.  I'm sure there are others that like this type of jump around story, but it just wasn't for me.

PS.  I'm also annoyed by books that don't have chapters or other breaks.  Makes me have a hard time deciding when to quick reading for the day.

Currently Reading:  Teas and Tisanes for a DIY book club theme

#22: The Code of the Woosters

My friend Jane in Ohio told me about PG Wodehouse and the Wooster/Jeeves books a long time ago.  I had forgot to check into them until I read another book that mentioned them.  The book The Code of the Woosters was mentioned in a secret society book I read awhile back.  I thought I would try it as my first Wodehouse read.

I didn't realize until I added it on Goodreads that it was book 7 in the series.  The other reviews said it would be fine to read on it's own and it was.  It was a little slow going at first, but about 1/4 in I really started enjoying the characters and the shenanigans they got into.  Most of the story revolved around the possible theft of a cow creamer.  Later in the story other stolen items come up.  It has some satirical humor and crazy detective work.  I would really like to learn more about Wooster and Jeeves and plan to read some other books in this series soon.

Up Next:  Lila by Marilynne Robinson

#21: The Devil Wears Prada

I bought The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger from the library spring book sale.  I thought it would be a fun, quick read to get back ahead on my reading goal.  I have never seen the movie, but I have heard a lot of people tell me it's a good movie.

Let me just start by saying that I did really not care for this book.  The writing itself wasn't bad and the story line was okay, but I just hated the characters.  The "devil" Miranda Priestly is a very demanding and ungrateful boss.  I understand that this was her role in a big company.  The employee Andrea "Andy" Sachs was a young girl looking for a career in journalism.  She decided to take the risk of working in fashion with a demanding boss.  I just couldn't stand Andy.  She kept telling herself she needed this job, but it was obviously ruining her life.  She wanted to tell Miranda off so many times, but never did.  And in the mean time she ruined all her other relationships.  In the end, she does tell Miranda off, but in my opinion it was way too late.  Why not do it earlier and tell Miranda why people don't want to work for her.

Just not my favorite book.  I don't really know if I would ever want to watch the movie based off of my view of the book.

Up Next:  The Code of the Woosters by PG Wodehouse