The Thirteenth Guest - Armitage Trail (Maurice R. Coons)

This author is well known for writing Scarface. I was intrigued once I watched one of the movie versions (apparently there are two, but I watched the one from 1943). It left me with a lot of questions, and I was hoping to get them answered here.

The local district attorney gets a mysterious note to meet at an abandoned mansion. He ends up being delayed, so he feels guilty when he arrives late and finds the body of a young woman in the house. He calls the local detective, Grump, and they're on the case.

The case takes a lot of twists and turns, and the solution is pretty cool. I think it was interesting how "loosely" based the movie was, but I was glad I finally found out who the actual 13th guest was. The book makes a lot more sense than the movie I watched, and I'm not sure why the movie made the decisions it did. On the plus side, I got to read a good book! (I spoiled my verdict!)

I didn't want a physical copy of the book, but I had trouble finding a version for my Kindle. Eventually, I found a site called Coachwhip.com where I was able to download a couple books I couldn't find elsewhere. I also picked up a freebie called King Kobra, which I'm going through with my daughter. We're having some fun with that.

OK, back to the book. I really liked this one. It was easy to read and kept me guessing the whole time. It's something of a diet book, but it says what it needs to say without needless language. I think it's unfortunate the author died at the age of 28. I believe he's a good writer. Maybe sometime in the future I'll get around to reading Scarface. Good Book!

The Crow: Special Edition - James O'Barr

I've been getting interested in more visual types of media. I like the comics/graphic novels, and I enjoyed my first manga. When I heard about The Crow, I really wanted to read it. The series was made out of a place of grief, and I was super interested to see how the author channeled that grief into this graphic novel.

The special edition I had included some content that wasn't included initially. The Crow is a man named Eric. When his fiancé is murdered on the side of the road, he goes on a revenge spree. Sprinkled throughout are memories of Eric's time with Shelly. The drawings are intimate at times, so it's something to keep in mind for when you read it. More for who is around you. 

The story is sad and touching. It's well done, and I was heartbroken by the outcome for Eric and Shelly, and also for the horse. The crow (bird) is an interesting aspect of the story, and I really appreciate the entire package. I was a bit skeptical when I saw The Crow's "look," but it makes sense and grew on me. It's a sad tale, but gets a Good Read! review.

Red Alert - Peter Bryant

This book was on my radar after I learned it was the inspiration for the movie Dr. Strangelove.

The first thing I want to address is the background I learned. The author, Peter George, wrote this in 1958. He was a Welshman, and he wrote under various pen names. The original title of the book was Two Hours to Doom. The thing that shocked me the most was it was written seriously. The movie is so satirical, so I was interested to see what was different. It seems the author wasn't happy about the satirical slant of the film. Eventually he wrote a version dedicated to the filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, and apparently it reflected the tone of the movie.

A dying brigadier general makes a decision that will pretty much end the world. He believes that if he strikes first in the nuclear war, the States will have the upper hand. If they wait any longer, the Soviets are working on something that will make them superior. The general has nuclear bombs at his fingertips, and he sends them out in a way that it seems impossible to bring them back.

Each chapter is dedicated to a specific area: one of the planes carrying a bomb, the base where the general is at, and the Pentagon. Times are also listed, but I didn't really pay attention to those. Most of the time, relevant points in time were marked in the text. There weren't a ton of characters to keep track of, and the writing was easy to follow.

The scariest parts of this book are the plausible parts, which is most of the book. At the time it was written, it was probably even scarier. The author was in the military, and these thoughts plagued him. He wrote other books with this theme, and he eventually took his life in 1966. I'd like to read more of his work in the future. I really liked this book, and I really liked the movie. They are both great in their own way, and I have no issues giving this a Good Book! review.

The Shore Road Mystery (Hardy Boys #6) - Franklin Dixon

The final public domain Hardy Boys for 2024 was redeemed by this little gem.

When Jack and his father are falsely accused of stealing cars, the Hardy Boys are ready to help. Suspicion falls on a former farmhand, and the boys start to investigate. They get their own car and try to trap the real criminals.

I mean, they still rehashed all the previous cases and added more background by telling me about their friends. But! The boys also weren't completely stupid. They did get themselves sneakily "kidnaped" (seriously it was spelled that way multiple times in the version I read), but it was for a purpose. They weren't spotted at first, so they evaluated the situation and decided to get help. It actually wasn't their fault they had issues this time, so I'll give them some credit for that.

We're back to the good stuff with this book. I was getting a bit worried since the last two were questionable. I liked this one. It was quick to read and fun. Good Book!

 

Beyond the Call of Duty - Bernard Fisher

This book covers the life of a man who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the Vietnam War. When a fellow airman went down in a dangerous area, he landed and rescued him.

It feels like the book spends as much time on his Air Force career as it does his family life. While a bit of background information on his life would've been fine, I felt like the military career didn't get the detail I wanted. It was more general information with some specific stories here and there.

I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. Part of that could be due to my expectations, but I just wasn't interested in the amount of faith and family information included. Fisher is definitely a brave man, and I'm glad his story has been preserved. This particular book just wasn't for me.

The Dungeon Democracy - Christopher Burney

Well, I'm back from a trip, so now it's time to get my reviews out. I made it through a few books and a couple movies this time, so let's start with the book I finished last night.

This book is an overview of the author's time in Buchenwald concentration camp. It isn't like the usual memoirs of people's time in a camp, but instead it focuses on the different nationalities and the way they interacted with each other.

It isn't what I expected. It was a sad look into how people in the same situation treated each other. I knew there were instances of cruelty and selfishness, but there were also positives. I read a lot of the political conflicts between the different nations even in such circumstances.

The writing was something of a struggle. The author writes in such a way that I had to pay close attention and re-read sentences to try and understand what he was saying. It was also written so soon after the war that the author didn't know the fates of certain people that had been in power.

Overall, the book was an interesting look into a different aspect of the concentration camp. Normally, it's a look at the way the Nazis treated the prisoners, but reading a book dedicated to the way the prisoners treated each other was definitely interesting. I think one of the things that really stuck with me was when he mentioned how the Nazis had cast them into horror, and they had a chance to show their cause is just and when they're free they can have basic decency and respect human life and liberty. Instead they proved the contrary. That had to be demoralizing for the author, and it was pretty sad as a reader.

I'm glad I read it, but it was a bit hard to get through. The different perspective was worth my time. I would only recommend it for someone who is interested in the internal structure of Buchenwald.

Hunting for Hidden Gold (Hardy Boys #5) - Franklin Dixon

The next Hardy Boys took me to the wilds of Montana to search for gold. A prospector named Jadbury (I'm including his name because I loved it, and he was my favorite character) has his house dislodged by a blizzard, and when the shack falls off a cliff, the boys and their friends are on the scene to save the crusty prospector. They find out he's been to Montana and had his gold stolen by his supposed partner.

The boys are summoned to Montana by their father, and they (eventually) make their way there. After a few run-ins with a gang, they are on the trail of the missing gold. And guess what!? It's the same gold Jadbury was referring to! What are the odds? Spoiler: you're not supposed to ask.

So, when I read the previous book, I was a bit concerned the boys were getting a bit careless. In this book, they are straight ridiculous. These two teenagers run afoul of stranger danger twice in a row! And immediately after getting saved the second time, they get into another stranger's car and comment on how they've learned their lesson. I won't go into the African American portrayal in this book, but it was not good at all.

The Hardy Boys also think they've stepped up their game in the disguise department. How will they ever fool a gang? They decide the best idea is to literally Superman it. By that I mean buy a pair of glasses. I guess they did enhance the outfit by purchasing some large books, but still...Maybe the worst part was that it worked.

I was a bit worried they were going to try and make my man Jadbury a villain, but I needn't have feared. He was safe. I think it's because he stayed in Bayport where the Hardy Boys couldn't continue to "help" him. It's amazing those two were successful at anything in this book and that anyone thought they were smart for the way they went about it. And how do you get trapped in two blizzards?! Learn to pay attention to the weather, guys! This was not a favorite for me, especially since there was no resolution with Jadbury. I wanted to see his reunion with his partner. Oh well...

Beyond the Call of Duty - Isabel George

This book tells the stories of four canine heroes from different eras. For the most part, the stories lead me to other books that are dedicated to the dogs.

First is Smoky from WWII. She's a little Yorkie that meant a great deal to the men around her, especially William Wynne. Wynne later wrote a book called Yorkie Doodle Dandy. The chapter in this particular book was a bit tedious, because there was so much background to the overall war that wasn't really relevant.

Next up is Antis, also from WWII. A Czech soldier takes his dog up into the air. There are two books I found that caught my eye on this one. The first is mentioned in this book, Freedom in the Air by Hamish Ross. Then there's The Dog Who Could Fly by Damien Lewis. I think this was probably my favorite section of the book.

After Antis, I read about Tangye, during the 2000s in Afghanistan. An energetic Labrador, he was important enough that a mission was undertaken by the Nowzad charity to bring him to the UK. The book I feel would pair with this story is by the founder of the charity, Pen Farthing. He's written a few books, but the one I'm referring to is called One Dog at a Time.

Finally, I read about one of the most famous military dogs, Sergeant Stubby from WWI. A lot of books were written about this dog, including one by this author. You can learn a ton about him by reading his obituary from the New York Times. Stubby was a good dog, and while I'm glad they kept his coat, I'm not sure how I feel about displaying his remains. Taxidermy always freaks me out...

Overall, the book is okay. There were some typos here and there, but those didn't bother me much. The writing didn't flow as well as some of the things I've read in the past. The main thing the book accomplished was to make me interested in reading the other books I've mentioned. 

Rather Die Fighting - Frank Blaichman

This book focuses on the important, and often overlooked role, of the Jewish resistance. Frank is not even an adult when the war comes to his town. He ends up in the forest and fighting with others against the Nazis. A key difference is these people went out of their way to make sure they didn't punish the innocent.

This is written in a very easy manner, but it was also incredibly sad. The narrator would mention a person, and most of the time, it was followed up with how they were killed shortly thereafter. The worst were the accidents. On top of that, the people that went through all this don't seem to find peace after the war ends.

I really enjoyed this book. The only criticism I have is the location of the pictures. They include people that haven't been introduced yet, so it was a bit confusing. Other than that, I recommend this book for a different perspective of the Jewish experience during WWII. Good Book!

The Missing Chums (The Hardy Boys #4) - Franklin Dixon

A new year means more public domain Hardy Boys! This one is particularly interesting for a couple of reasons.

First, I loved the recap. "In our first three mysteries..." I can just imagine if they kept this up when we get to book twenty. Half the book would be brief recaps of what the boys already accomplished!

Second, the "chums" are great. Chet and Biff are kidnapped (not why they're great). They are mistaken for the Hardy Boys, but the kidnappers just ignore their pleas. When it comes to escaping, these two aren't the problem.

I hate to say it, but the Hardy Boys actually dropped the ball a bit in this one. First, it took them too long to make the connection that their two friends were missing and the strange ransom note sent to their house. Next, they know their friends are on the island, so why don't they just go straight for help? Instead, they get captured, which is what the kidnappers wanted in the first place. Then they have to escape to do what they should have done in the first place.

Oh well. I did enjoy this one, but not for the Hardy Boys themselves. I was cheering for Chet and Biff! These are always a quick read and fairly entertaining. Good Book!

Berserk - Deluxe Volume 1

This is my first ever manga. I've read comics collections and graphic novels, so I didn't have to make too many adjustments. I just had to get used to doing it all backwards. I chose this particular manga because I am drawn to the Dark Souls universe. Bloodborne is probably my favorite of those video games, and when I found out Berserk was the inspiration for the games, I wanted to check it out.

The deluxe version is very nice, but it's a tome. It's heavy and hard to get in a comfortable position to read. It's also not very good to read in public. There's a parental advisory sticker on the cover, and it earns that sticker on the first page. There is a lot of violence and nudity. A LOT of people are cut in half. If I focus on the story itself, I was interested and wanted to learn more. The cliffhanger at the end was disturbing, and I want to know what happened, but I also don't want to know.

I was invested in the story, but there are two main things that keep it from being five stars for me. Well, I suppose it's one point, but there's two facets to it. To read this whole story, I'd be investing in 14 volumes of Berserk. That's a lot of shelf space. A Kindle version is available, but personally, when it comes to this particular art form, I prefer a physical copy. Also, the really nice, long books aren't cheap. I haven't decided what to do about this series, but the story itself isn't what holds me back. I'm going to give the story itself a Good Book! review, but it's going to take a few days for my back to recover from carrying it around!

The Doom of the Great City - William Delisle Hay

This story is a letter from a man to his family. They've been after him for years to tell his "survivor" story. It's short (52 pages), so I blazed through it last night.

A deadly fog has wiped out London. The survivor (I can't remember his name or maybe he didn't have one) is headed back to check on his mother and sister. He spent the night with friends, and when morning came and London was silent, he had to head into the city.

With it being so short, I was surprised how much of the beginning was dedicated to listing the evils of London. After that, it ramped up a bit when he started his actual tale. This was written in 1880, so having the fog as a destructive force makes a lot of sense. 

I think my main issue with this was the length and calling him a survivor. He wasn't actually in the city, so he didn't technically survive the fog. Anyway, the length...so much potential was lost! It only scratches the surface of the event. The narrator makes his way through the destruction of the city and to his family, but then it ends. I wish there had been more, but I enjoyed about 2/3 of it. Somewhat Good Story?

Escape From Arnhem - Leo Heaps

Heaps was part of the doomed Battle of Arnhem. It was part of the larger Operation Market Garden, which didn't go anywhere close to planned.

Heaps goes through a lot. He is trapped behind enemy lines, gets captured, escapes, and helps the Dutch Underground transport evaders on numerous occasions. The tone is more narrative than internal, but I understand that. This was written a year after the war ended, and the wounds were still fresh. He may not have even had sufficient time to reflect how he felt at that point.

The writing itself is easy to follow, and there isn't any unnecessary flowery descriptions. I appreciated how he gave an update on various people if he knew what happened to them. There isn't any real in-depth intro into his life before the war, and for obvious reasons, his post-war life if a bit of a mystery. Heaps also wrote another book about Arnhem, The Grey Goose of Arnhem, and it looks like that one is focused more on various individuals.

I enjoyed this book. I learned a lot, and that's always a plus. It's on the short side, at a 145 pages, so if you're interested in Arnhem and the Dutch Resistance, this might be a good place to start. Good Book!

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

I didn't remember anything about this one. I'm just trying to weed out shorter titles in my lengthy list of books waiting to be read. I was immediately getting Apocalypse Now vibes, and then I realized how the book ended up on my list. This was the novella that inspired the movie. It's not quite the same, though. Instead of the Vietnam War, this story deals with the ivory trade.

Marlow is telling the tale of sailing upriver in the jungle. It's harsh, and Mr. Kurtz is waiting for him at the end. He's more legend than man, and Marlow is interested in just hearing him speak.

The writing is what I dread in older books. This was published in 1899, and I think the writing shows it. The racial language hasn't aged well and appears fairly often. The complex language used for descriptions doesn't make it easy to read without paying close attention. Even though I was trying to pay attention, I still had to go back a few times and reread sections.

I will say the inspiration translated well to the movie. It didn't take me long to make the connection, and of the two, I would rather watch the movie again. I wasn't super fond of the it (I was on the fence on whether I liked it or not), but I didn't really enjoy this story. The writing made it an uphill battle, and I needed more interaction with Mr. Kurtz to understand how he impacted Marlow.

Don's Great Escape - Donald E. Phillips, Theresa M. Ripley

Side note: I just updated my lists (fiction and nonfiction) of what I've got waiting for me to read. Faced with the number of books waiting, I've decided to blast through some of the shorter ones to give myself a sense of progress.

Donald was captured in 1943 and spent time in Stalag Luft III. The book has a brief overview in the author's words of his time. After that, his letters home are published with details added by the editor.

There isn't much to say. The book is 98 pages, but I don't feel like I know Donald any better. I definitely don't know much about what he went through while he was a POW. The letters from the camp were understandably vague and didn't add much to my knowledge of his character. The weird unanswered questions added by the editor didn't help, either. "What did he feel at this time?" I don't know and neither did she.

The "great escape" mentioned is a bit deceiving. Donald doesn't try to escape the camp. I'm guessing the title is meant to connect the movie The Great Escape (the prisoners escaped from Stalag Luft III) to Donald making it out of the war alive. Not sure about that, but it's my theory.

I mention both the author and editor in this case because it feels like the author does more writing than Donald. She adds a lot of random thoughts and repeats tidbits from the previous letter/section. She also repeats information from earlier in the book later on. I think the best part was probably the Further Reading section at the end. If you want to learn more about what men went through in that camp, I think one of those books would be your best bet. This seems like one of those books that would be best appreciated by a member of the family.

The Monk - Matthew Gregory Lewis

I became interested in reading this when I saw it listed on a collection of early horror books. I'm glancing over titles like Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray when I saw The Monk: A Romance. And it was in the number 1 position! I was instantly intrigued.

Ambrosio is seen by many as a sort of walking saint. He stays in the abbey and never leaves. He has no pity for the faults and weaknesses in others. One of the other members becomes very dear to him, and when they reveal their secret, Ambrosio begins his descent to the sinful side. And he goes all in. His "guilt" is fleeting and easily forgotten as he moves on to the next offense.

Other than Ambrosio, there are other characters important to the book. Lorenzo, Agnes, Raymond and Antonia are the main four, and they are the romance side of the book. I'm not going to get too far into the plot - I'll be writing all day. I will mention there are elements of the supernatural. Devils and magic are intertwined in the book, and they mesh well with the story.

I think one of the most interesting things about this book is that it was published in 1796. I think we should all pause and appreciate how amazingly coherent and enthralling something published that long ago can be. I'm not saying it's perfect. When Raymond was telling his history, I wondered why he chose to go back so far, but I'm not complaining. Also, the Spanish Inquisition was no joke. I had to look up what an auto-da-fe was (where they burned heretics), and that wasn't even the worst thing that happened in the book.

I'm also going to confess I learned something about myself reading this book. Ambrosio is a human who it's hard to find words for. Monster seems too tame. But when there was any hint of him having a chance at redemption, I resisted the idea. I wanted him to pay for what he'd done. He was a selfish, narcissistic man, and no punishment seemed like it would be enough. I'm not very forgiving...

This book is good. I think if you go into it realizing it isn't a romance (I mean there are romance subplots in there, but I don't see it as the main theme), you can appreciate it for what it is. It's a gothic story for sure, not outright horror, but I'm a sensitive soul. Some of the scenes had me on the edge of my seat, and I was startled by someone who came and asked me a question. Honestly, that happens most of the time, but I was so hyped up from the tension in the book, I was nervous. Recommended for sure! Great Book!

Suddenly a Widow - George Harmon Coxe

My final treasure from our trip to Adventures Underground. I was really excited to read this one. It has to have one of the strangest covers I've ever seen. When you decide to plaster a review on the cover that includes the word "neat," I can't resist (it actually said "NEAT...EXCITING" - thank you New York Times for that thorough review). Also, I'm not sure why the woman doesn't appear to have any arms. And finally, why is there a gun in the picture when there is mention of a heart attack!? All of this made me so excited to read this book.

Ann has a paranoid and grouchy invalid husband. When she goes to give him breakfast, she discovers a strange note on the door. It suggests that when Ann opens the door, she's going to find a dead man. When the body is found, things start getting sticky. Lies, blackmail, suicide and murder are all included. An affair is suggested between Ann and the doctor, and while that isn't true, Alan wants to clear her name.

What I found interesting was the detective in this case. It's a doctor! He was by far my favorite character in the book. Ann was okay but a bit daft overall. I liked the writing style, and I had issues putting it down. The print was a bit small, but it was only 159 pages. Was it "neat...exciting"? Sure was! Good Book!

The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt - Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt was an interesting woman who lived in an interesting time. She lived through two world wars, the Great Depression and various other things.

I liked her writing style, but I can tell this is three books together. When I got to the last section, it didn't mesh with the rest of it as well. The first part of the book went through her life as a young person and her life in the White House. After that, the tone changed, but I was still invested.

Then the writing became more political than autobiographical. The whole rest of the book seemed to be comparisons and ranting about Communism and democracy, Russia and the United States. She was involved with some campaigns, and she talked about how those weren't as democratic as they could be.

Some of this resonates today, but I picked up the book to read about her life. I was okay with it for a while, but then it got somewhat repetitive and dry. Overall, it's a tale of two (three) books. The interesting part and the overly political part. She still seems like an interesting woman, and it would have been interesting to visit Hyde Park for tea and lunch. I'll give it 3.5 stars.

Monk's Hood (Brother Cadfael #3) - Ellis Peters

Paperback #2 from the Adventures Underground spree! This one was picked out by Mom, and I was excited to check it out.

A man is poisoned, and suspicion falls on his stepson. A brother at the nearby abbey is something of a sleuth and vows to discover the truth. The evidence is stacked against the young man, but Cadfael doesn't back down from the challenge.

Very early on, I felt a sense of familiarity. The medieval aspect with Brother Cadfael and his personality sparked my memory. Looking back, I found that I'd read A Morbid Taste for Bones, the first book in this series.

I was a bit nervous reading this one. There wasn't a clear villain, and I was afraid one of the characters I liked was going to be the killer. And then what would happen? I was right about the killer being someone I liked, but everything was settled in a way that was acceptable. I liked the first book, and I liked this one as well. Also, I loved Brother Mark! Good Book!

The Witcher Omnibus (Volume 2) - various

After reading the first omnibus, I was anxious to read the second. There are three "real" stories and a one-shot.

Of the three full stories, I liked Of Flesh and Flame the best. It has Dandelion in it, and the end had a cute twist to it. After that, Fading Memories was next. The story was pretty interesting, but the end was a bit confusing. And last comes Witch's Lament. The art style in that one didn't appeal to me, and the story didn't draw me in as much as the others. The short one-shot at the end, Once Upon a Time in the Woods, was apparently made for Comic Book Day. I thought it was strange.

Compared to the first omnibus, there is no comparison for me. The first one had better stories, was longer, and I enjoyed the art more overall. If I had to choose one or the other, I'd get the first one. Even though it wasn't as enjoyable as the first one, I still liked it well enough to give it a Good Book! review.

No Surrender - Christopher Edmonds

Chris is a son who didn't get a chance to discover how much of a hero his father was while he was alive. When Chris's daughter has a school assignment, Chris's interest in his father is rekindled. He leaves a comment, and it leads down a path of discovery and learning.

The middle part of the book was the best part. It was when the author took the interviews and research and put together the story of what actually happened. The beginning focuses more on Chris. What I would consider the meat of the book ends on page 293. On the Amazon page, the book is listed at 352 pages. So what's in the rest of the book? The very end is repetitive of things that were mentioned earlier. I skimmed through that. The afterword gave updates on what happened to some of the men mentioned in the book. 

I had some issues with the book. The Notes section of the book had to be the most frustrating. They should have been footnotes throughout the book. A note would give a few words of the quote and where he got it. No page number or anything. Many times throughout the book, I would read something and wonder how he knew that. When I first started reading the middle section, I had no idea he'd met so many people. That was cleared up at the end.

The other issue may or may not be Kindle specific. The pictures were extremely tiny. They also gave credit, but most of them weren't labeled in any helpful way. Even if I could make out what I was looking at, I didn't know who it was or why I was looking at it.

The story itself is great. Roddie was an inspiration to his men, but I feel like it's important to realize they were all heroes as well. When the Germans were asking almost 1300 men to obey, they all stood firm. Under Roddie's leadership, yes, but it still took strength for them not to cave under those conditions.

I liked the middle part so much that I almost forgot the tedious nature of the beginning, but then I made it to the end, and it all came rushing back. I enjoyed reading the stories of the men involved, but I feel like Chris's part in the tale could've been summed up in a prologue. He could've summarized the results of his journey in an epilogue and how his father was recognized. Then the book would've been focused more on Roddie. In my opinion, it just needed a bit of polishing.

The Witcher Omnibus (Volume 1) - various

I'm a fan of the Witcher. I've read all the books and watched my husband play the video games. (I tried to play one of them, but it was disastrous.) My kids have gotten me into reading comics here and there, so when I found out this existed, I was in.

This volume has 440 pages and 4 stories: House of Glass, Fox Children, Killing Monsters and Curse of Crows. Three of the stories have multiple comics involved with Killing Monsters being a one-shot. At the end was a collection of sketches and an interview.

Overall, I really liked this collection. I was a bit nervous at first, because the cover is straight weird. I'm sorry, but it's not the style I like. Fortunately, the art inside was more along the lines of what I was expecting. The stories were good and lined up with what I knew of Geralt. I don't think I can pick a favorite. They all had a satisfying twist.

There is another omnibus, and I'd like to get a hold of it. There are Kindle versions of these, but for comics, I prefer a physical copy. Yes, they take up more room, but it's easier to read them when I can hold them in my hand. Good Book!

An Owl Too Many (Peter Shandy #8) - Charlotte MacLeod

We went to Adventures Underground again in search of older paperbacks. Little diamonds in the rough that are just waiting for me to find them. This title is newer, but it caught my attention 1) because of the owls and 2) because of the picture of the owl. I know nothing about Peter Shandy and had no idea I was in the middle of a series. It didn't matter much, but there were hints of other stories here and there.

An owl count turns deadly when a newcomer ends up dead. The group discovers he isn't who he pretended to be, and everything seems to center around Winifred Binks, the heiress to her grandfather's fortune. After that, there's kidnappings, shady deals, disguises and hypnotism.

You know what I didn't read about? Owls. There were zero owls in this book. They talk about them, but the "snowy owl" was a package of feathers on a wire? Blah. And the "owl too many" is just Shandy referring to how maybe he's counted one too many over the years. It was disappointing, since I only picked it up for the owl. It was too recent to count as one of the usual books I pick up for my experiments.

If I set aside my owl expectations, I guess the book was ok. It doesn't stand out as being super clever or anything. If anything, I was upset at certain aspects. The whole hypnotism confession is useless due to those pesky Miranda Rights. I also had the most sympathy for Knapweed. For numerous reasons, but mostly because no one seems to care about him most of the time. Toward the end, that was super frustrating. The characters just go on with their business, and Knapweed is forgotten.

I don't think I'll read more of these. I'm not sure how much owl disappointment affected my opinion, but it wasn't long before I figured out owls weren't really a main focus. From then on, I was giving it a fair shot, but it just didn't grab me. Poor Knapweed...

Memoirs of a Stuka Pilot - Helmut Mahlke

I'm always interested in reading personal accounts of pilots. I can't comprehend what drives people to choose to go up in the air and risk their lives. I've seen some of the planes they flew during WWII in museums, and I can't imagine trusting my life in one.

Helmut works his way into a Stuka, and then works his way through the ranks. He is present for the Battle of Britain, Africa, Italy, and the Eastern Front. He doesn't always have the most important roles to play (for example, he doesn't bomb London), but he goes through a lot, including being shot down behind enemy lines twice.

The thing that struck me the most was his humanity. Any time one of his crews went down or was injured, he listed their name and what happened to them. He had respect for his fellow soldiers and also the enemy. He mentions thoughts for the enemy in passing a couple of times, and then he moves on. He has to. He's also glad he isn't down on the ground where he can see the carnage. After he's injured, he appreciates how both sides are working together at the hospital "just being human."

I found it interesting how he sprinkled in little bits of information he learned later on. When he was serving, he was told what to do, and news of what was going on in other places was censored. Also, soldiers weren't allowed to vote, and that was something I'd never considered, but it made sense.

The book itself is around 450 pages. The afterword is a brief summary of what happened to Mahlke during the rest of the war, but most of it is dedicated to a history of the Stuka group he was stationed with. The Appendixes are lists of pilots and ground crew (roster, KIA, missing, casualty reports and posted elsewhere). I was a bit disappointed to not learn anything of Mahlke's later life. Just that he had retired and died December 26, 1998. Overall, it was a Good Book!

The Big Four (Hercule Poirot #5) - Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot is back for another case in this interesting book. It isn't like the normal cases, and I read that it was originally twelve short stories. That made sense.

The Big Four is an international criminal organization. Over a period of months, Poirot and Hastings have encounters with various members. They can't narrow down the identity of Number Four, but eventually all four of the main players are identified. The problem now is catching them.

I can't read many Hercule Poirot without having an idea of what's going to happen. I watched the David Suchet series, so I remembered parts of this one. The story was okay, but it wasn't as interesting as many of the other Christie books I've read.

The book entered the public domain in 2023, so if you're interested in reading it, you should be able to find it available for free. It wasn't the worst thing I've read lately, but it won't stick in my memory as one of the better ones, either.

 

Eight Lives Down - Chris Hunter

I looked into this topic after watching The Hurt Locker. I wanted to know more about the type of person who would voluntarily put themselves into harm's way to go into a foreign country and disarm bombs. All the while it probably feels like everyone is trying to kill you, and if they aren't, you can't tell which ones are and which aren't.

Hunter is a British soldier who disarms bombs, but he also is trying not to lose his family. His wife has had it, but he feels like he has to protect the men he's working with. The adrenaline rush he gets from neutralizing these threats is something he can't seem to separate himself from.

The book is harrowing and scary. It was silly. The man wouldn't have been able to write the book if he hadn't made it, but there were times I wasn't sure he would be able to finish his tour. And I was so invested in whether his family would be there when he got back. He knew he was screwing up, but he just kept messing up. It just made me sad.

This was one of the better autobiographies I've read. It's written in an easy manner, and it's not bogged down by so many technical details I couldn't follow what was happening. I am so glad I read this. It was well worth my time, and if you have any interest in this topic, I highly recommend this book. Good Book!

 

The Enemy Below (condensed) - D. A. Rayner

I watched the 1957 movie and wanted to read the book.

The version I read was a condensed version. I don't know if anyone remembers the Reader's Digest books that had like 5 or 6 books smooshed into them, but that's what this was. It ended up being about 80 pages.

The story revolves around the battle of wits between the captains of a British destroyer and a German sub. Both men are clever and try to predict what the other will do. The German sub is on its way to a rendezvous, so the captain doesn't have a lot of time to engage with the destroyer. He'd rather shake him off.

The captain of the destroyer quickly catches on that the sub is headed toward a meeting, but he doesn't let up. When the sub runs out of options, the two leaders have to use what they have left.

Even though the book was condensed, I enjoyed the tension Rayner was able to weave into his writing. I loved the end. *Spoiler* A scrum in the water was just what this story needed at the end. Out of the two books written about the Hecate, this is obviously the second one, and I hope to someday track down the first one, The Crippled Tanker. Good Story! 

Against All Odds - Alex Kershaw

WWII brought out the best and worst in a lot of humanity. This book focuses on the 3rd Infantry Division, mainly four specific men: Maurice Britt, Audie Murphy, Keith Ware and Michael Daly. Others are mentioned here and there, but the book mainly follows these four through the war and afterwards.

The book is divided up into The Mediterranean (Italy), France, Germany, and Peace. Also, within the chapters, there are many section breaks, so I didn't have to dedicate an hour to make it to a break in the book. It has pictures in the middle (paperback), and notes and a bibliography at the end.

I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about the 3rd Infantry Division and some of the more notable members that were in WWII. The book is well-researched as evidenced by the amount of material referenced in the bibliography.

These men all had one thing in common: they didn't do it for the glory. They did it to survive and try to save the man next to them. Many times they weren't able to do it, which weighed heavily on them. They didn't come home to bask in the glory and wear their medals to the store. They were true heroes. Good Book!

67 Tales from Poland - various authors

This book is a collection of folk tales and short stories. They are unique to anything I've ever read in the past.

Out of the 780 pages listed on Amazon, only about 230 are dedicated to what I would call folk tales. The rest are short stories. Once the folk tales ended, I started to slog through the book. I skipped the final 6 stories. I just couldn't do it anymore. 

Overall, I liked the strange folk tales. Some of them were so weird, and I loved it. Others seemed to teach the wrong lesson or no lesson at all. If I had stopped when those tales stopped, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more and "finished" it a lot sooner. Of the short stories I read, the only one I can remember being somewhat interested in was The Returning Wave. For me, the book was a bit disappointing as a whole.

The Forgotten 500 - Gregory A. Freeman

Merry Christmas to me! This book was given to me as a gift, and I was super excited to read it. Operation Halyard ranks up there as one of the most heroic and brave things I've ever heard of. When it comes to a thoughtful gift, giving me a book that's going to teach me about a little known WWII event is the best you can do.

During WWII, Yugoslavia was fighting two wars. One was against the Germans, and the other was an internal conflict between two warring groups led by two men with completely different viewpoints. Tito and Mihailovich stood on opposite sides, but when American airmen (and also some from other countries) start to fall into the countryside, Mihailovich's followers protect them. It's extremely dangerous, not only for the men, but the villagers as well.

The soldiers are gathering in the mountains, but no one is acknowledging them or offering assistance. That's because forces are at work keeping the information from the people that can help. Communists are poisoning the government's opinion of Mihailovich and support is going to Tito's Partisans. Now that the Allies have chosen a side, they can't be seen to have anything to do with Tito's enemy. The operation also is getting sabotaged from the inside, but eventually it gets going.

I really enjoyed this book. I was disappointed to learn that even now efforts to recognize Mihailovich are buried and swept aside. The 500+ men whose lives were affected by the wrongly accused Mihailovich wanted to see his name cleared. Unfortunately, this book seems to be the only public thing I've seen/heard. Even the presentation of the hidden Legion of Merit was done without any fanfare or publicity. So sad. One of the things that expressed what I was thinking was quoted in the book: "No Western nation, including the United States, can hope to win its own battle for freedom and survival by sacrificing brave comrades to the politics of international expediency." Ronald Reagan

The book is well-researched, and I appreciated the bibliography and the pictures included. When I come across something as interesting as this, I want to dive deeper, and I'll be able to do that thanks to the bibliography. The writing style was engaging, and I was never bored. I see that the author has written some other books about events that don't sound familiar to me, so I hope to be able to read more from him in the future. Good Book!

Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness! - Selma Lagerlöf

I picked this up after watching The Phantom Carriage. It's the novel the movie is based on. The book was actually written to teach people about tuberculosis. What a way to do it!

A man is attacked on New Year's Eve. And since he was the last one to die, he is now doomed to drive Death's cart for the next year. David has not been a great human being, so no one is going to mourn him. Except Sister Edith. Even though David has treated her horribly and is responsible for her illness, she fights for him endlessly. The previous driver is an old friend of David's, and he takes him around to "show him the ropes." In doing so, he sees a few different ways his life has impacted other people. People he should care about. But he's a stubborn man, even when faced with the unavoidable. Will he accept his fate?

I found it terrifying to think time would slow down to a rate that the driver of the cart would get to the next person. A year could feel like a century. I liked George, the driver, and the way he dealt with not only David, but the people he interacted with.

I really liked this book. The copy I had on my Kindle was pretty messed up, but I was able to read it okay. It's not a super long book, and I really liked the progression of the character. It reminds me of A Christmas Carol, but this one is different. The Dickens tale has been used and redone so many times, and I feel like it's lost a lot of its meaning. This tale was new to me, and I enjoyed it. The end was really good as well, and I like how it had its own "God bless us everyone." In my opinion, this one is a bit better. "O God! Vouchsafe that my soul may come to maturity ere it be reaped!" Good Book!

Three Came Home - Agnes Newton Keith

One of my Christmas gifts this year was an old hardback copy of this book. I was told it was about a woman who was a prisoner of war in Borneo during WWII. I was also told there was a movie. When I first heard the premise of it, I was worried I'd watched the movie already. It sounded very familiar, but after a bit of research, I discovered I was thinking about Paradise Road (1997).

Agnes was already an author when she was taken prisoner with her son. Her husband was separated from her, and their interactions were few and far between. She endured a lot of hardship, disease and pain (physical and emotional).

The writing was good and easy to read. I wasn't fond of the pictures she drew, but that's personal preference. She didn't gloss over her feelings or explain them away. She also didn't shy away from adding the horrors she experienced.

Overall, this was a great book. I was trying to treat the book gently as it reminded me of some of the books I was able to salvage from my grandmother's house. Mrs. Keith was an interesting individual, and I was glad to learn about her life in the camp. I may look into reading more of her works in the future. Good Book!

(I also watched the movie - you can read my review of it here.