Carousel Horse Christmas (The Ornamental Match Makers #1) - Danni Roan

I 100% picked up this book because it said carousel horse. I'm a carousel horse nut, and there aren't a ton of decent books out there that revolve around carousel horses. Any time I see one, I try to give it a shot. 

Audrey is on the way home from shopping with her friend when they almost hit a man on a horse. His trailer was hit, and he had to round up his horses. The horse he's riding looks just like the mysterious carousel horse ornament Audrey received.

The next day, Holden Bays shows up on her doorstep, and the Hallmark movie begins.

The book is really short, so I'm not going to go in depth about the plot. I am curious how Holden "tracked her down." She wasn't the driver of the car, so I can't say he used her license plate. How exactly did he find her? There are a fair number of typos in there, and a lot of them are homophones. They're the kind of typos a spell check isn't going to pick up on. "For o'clock"

SPOILER: The end ruined this for me. It's the same issue I have with a lot of Hallmark movies. The relationships move too fast, and in this book they move WAY too fast. How many hours did they spend together?

Other than that, the carousel horse didn't have anything to do with anything. It popped up in the beginning and, then it was irrelevant. I suppose if you're looking for a short romance, this might be a good diet book. I just really don't like when people rush into relationships. Take some time. Get to know a person!

The Odyssey - Homer

After listening to EPIC: The Musical numerous times now, I wanted to read the original and see where the inspiration came from. The version I read came from Gutenberg.org and has been rendered into prose form. I'm not a fan of poetry. Never have been.

If you're unfamiliar with The Odyssey, it's the story of Ulysses/Odysseus, a soldier who fought at Troy to save Helen. Now, he's on his way home to his wife and son, but the gods, the sea, and sometimes his own men, seem to be working against him. His wits will only get him so far, but when he makes it home, he still has to deal with the suitors who have taken over his house and are wooing his wife.

It took me a minute to get used to the different versions using the opposite names for the gods. EPIC used the Greek names for them, and The Odyssey was using the Roman names. I'm not as familiar with the Roman names, so once or twice I had to pause and remember who someone was (for some of the minor gods like Vulcan).

The story wasn't actually linear, which really surprised me. Considering it was considered to be written between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, it's interesting to me that the original poem was that complex. I realize I'm not exactly reading the story in poem form, but I would've never made it had I tried to read it that way.

The other really surprising thing was the balance of the story. I didn't realize how much of the story actually takes place after Ulysses makes it home. The very end of it dragged on a bit, but the overall story was pretty good, and I enjoyed it. Good Book!

Side Note: EPIC isn't a 100% faithful adaptation, but I don't mind. I love the songs and the story it weaves. It doesn't bother me one bit, which is unusual for me. If it had been a book/movie scenario, I'm not sure how I'd feel. In this instance, I'll listen to EPIC any day of the week, and I'm glad I read the book (in prose).

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World - Matt Kracht

After loving The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America, it seemed like a no-brainer to pick this one up.  The first book amused me so much, I had both my kids read it, my daughter's boyfriend, and then I sent my copy to my uncle. He hasn't read it yet, but he flipped through a couple pages, and he's told me it looks pretty funny and right up his alley.

This book is more birds. It breaks them down into basically the same categories, but this time it also adds in where they live. There's a bit of history and games in the back. 

You can't really recreate a first-time experience, and I think that's the problem I had here. A lot of this book felt the same as the first one, but I didn't enjoy it near as much. The variety of birds to be covered around the world is so vast, I was surprised there were so many that were listed in North America. Especially since there was already a whole book about those. I felt the lack of murder birds was criminal (there were only two this time !?), and it just wasn't as fun.

I did smile during the history section, but if I compare the two I'd still prefer the North America book for a couple of reasons. First, it was more focused, so I didn't have the expectation of seeing exotic birds from around the world. Second, the names of the birds seemed to flow into nonsense better (in my opinion). And last, but maybe the most important point, this particular book doesn't have the M-rf--ing Bald Eagle!

Berserk (Volumes 3-5) - Kentaro Miura

So I'm combining a few volumes here. There might be a few spoilers here and there, and those are mostly to help me keep track of what's happening.

Volume 3 was a bit of an adventure for me, and it had nothing to do with the content. I found a used copy on Amazon, listed BY Amazon as Like New. It was only $27, so I was happy to get it. When it came, I couldn't believe what I saw. The cover was warped, and the pages looked like they had water damage. There was even a hole in the spine! The funniest part was the inspection sticker on the back cover. Yeah...ok. Sure, someone "inspected" it. Needless to say, I sent that one back. I did read it real quick, though. I've also found a real new copy for around the same price to replace it, so I'm good now.

Storywise, I'd say the anime ends around the middle of volume 4. After the Eclipse is all new territory for me, and it's been interesting so far. I'm saddened by what the sacrifice did to Casca and Guts, and now he's on the road alone. Well, the fairy is with him, but I'm on the fence with that thing. Sometimes I hate it, and other times I think it's ok. I've never really loved it, though.

I'd say volume 4 was also the book that had the most nudity so far. I normally just skim past it, but this isn't the first time (nor will it be the last, I'm sure). But I wanted to add a warning that rape is part of the story. This also isn't the first time, so if that's a sensitive topic for you, be aware it's in there. 

I am hooked on the story. Guts is one of those anti-heroes that doesn't care about anyone until he does. I like him, and Volume 6 is on the way! Good Books!

Handbook for Spies - Alexander Foote

I was able to get a digital version of this from Coachwhip a while back. It is written by a man who was part of the spy network for Soviet Russia during WWII until he was arrested. After the war, he spent some time in Russia and decided he wanted to cut ties with the Centre.

The pace of this book was a bit tedious at times. I'm not sure what it was, but I had issues getting through sections of it. Other parts were fine, even highly interesting, but when he was explaining the way the network functioned, I was losing interest.

The part that interested me the most was the matter of fact way he approached his feelings of breaking ties with the Centre. He had initially believed in Communism, watched the way it worked in Russia, and decided he didn't want to contribute toward it anymore. 

I'm on the fence with this one. I was interested in how things worked, but it wasn't really written in a way that kept my interest. I'm not blaming the author at all. It's just the way it struck me. Side note: I thought it was crazy that when there was too much information, and the spy wanted to simply hand it over to the Allies, he was told to burn it instead.

 

Passage to Dawn (Legacy of the Drow #4) - R. A. Salvatore

This is the fourth and final book of this particular series. Drizzt and Catti-Brie are sailing the seas, but their travels will lead be cut short and lead them to a reunion with Bruenor and Regis.

Errtu has a captive he's certain will release him from his banishment from the material plane and allow him to exact his revenge on Drizzt. A riddle makes the drow believe the balor is holding his father, Zaknafein, captive. To free the prisoner, Drizzt and his friends will have to return to Icewind Dale, a place that many of them consider home. It's also a place where the crystal shard was buried. But Crenshinibon has freed itself and is working on a new plan to work evil in the realms.

I liked this one, but the end was bittersweet for me. Drizzt's ups and downs create the same for me. I was worried we'd lost the great panther, but I really liked the way she returned at the end. The further I get into the world of Drizzt, the more I appreciate being able to read them in order and close enough together to remember (enough) what's happened before. I'm so grateful I was able to get almost all of them through a Humble Bundle. Next up is the Paths of Darkness series, and I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but it won't be super far into the future. Good Book!

The Heart Hunter - Mickey George

This was a gift for my daughter for Christmas. I wasn't sure how it would go, but I'd done a lot of research, and this was pretty highly reviewed.

A curse on the island of Envecor has caused everyone's heart to be outside their body. Some take care of it, while others aren't as caring. It's also made everyone immortal until they find their soulmate. Once they do that, they can leave the island, grow old and die. Some people don't want that to happen. One of those people is the king, so he hires Psyche, a heart hunter. She is tasked with tracking down the king's soulmate and killing them.

There's a lot to love in this book. The illustrations are bold and beautiful, and the story takes you on a journey of pain and healing. Psyche starts out as a tough as nails type, but as hard as she tries, she can't prevent her softer side from peeking through her own armor.

I don't know why this doesn't have more exposure. It's a self-contained story, and it's really good. It easily gets a Good Book! ranking from me.

 

The House on Garibaldi Street - Isser Harel

This book is the true story of the Mossad's operation to bring Adolf Eichmann to justice for his crimes during the Holocaust. The Mossad members went to Argentina, came up with a plan, and got their target out of there. They dealt with various obstacles, almost caught up with Josef Mengele (another really high-value target), and brought Eichmann back to Israel to stand trial.

The writing in this book was very factual, but it still read like a spy novel. Maybe it should have been boring at times, but I wasn't bored. I was fascinated by the amount of preparation that went into this operation. They made sure they had the right man, they had multiple plans in case something went wrong, and they were able to pull it off.

The really funny thing about this book is that it made me nervous. Obviously, they got Eichmann out of Argentina, but the way the book was written made me feel some of the tension these men and women must have went through at the time. I'm just curious what Eichmann thought he was going to gain by playing the servant to his captors. It was a bit creepy. This definitely gets a Good Book! review.