The Flying Sikh - Stephen Barker

Hardit Singh Malik was an Indian who served during WWI in the air forces for Britain. 

Looking at the cover, I was expecting the book to be about Malik and his service. A lot of it is, but a lot of it focuses on the political issues that surrounded the troubles Malik faced dealing with the British Government and military. Malik almost felt like a side character in his own book.

Normally, I would read through the appendices, but I was just glad for the book to be over. The issues were repeated, and I felt like I could almost predict where some parts were going. For example, I feel like I read about fitting in related to organized sports in Britain at least three times. And that's not even one of the Indian-British relations that are referred to consistently.

Overall, the book was organized in a chronological way, but the chapters aren't solely focused on Malik. If you're interested in the issues going on around that time, I suppose the book could be interesting. I wanted to learn about Malik. The amount of time spent discussing his actual air service wasn't as much as I expected, so that was disappointing. It looked like from the time Malik's service truly started and the conclusion was only about 120 pages (Kindle version). The conclusion talked again about the issues almost as much or more than Malik.

Hardit Singh Malik was a pioneer in his time, and he did write his own autobiography called A Little Work, A Little Play. I couldn't find a copy of that, so I tried this book. It wasn't an easy read for me, and that may have been due to my expectations. It was a miss for me.

Farewell, My Lovely (Philip Marlowe #2) - Raymond Chandler

This is the second book in the series. Back in September of last year, I read the first book, The Big Sleep. I liked that one, so I wanted to read more about the unique personality that was Philip Marlowe. Just as a quick disclaimer, there is dated language in this book.

In this book, Marlowe gets pulled into a bar to be involved in a murder (that no one seems to care about), then there's another murder at the handover of some jewels, and then a bunch of other stuff happens. It's kind of a mess. Marlowe walks into a lot of situations and weasels his way out of them in his normal fashion.

I didn't seem to enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. I liked the gentle giants of the book more than Phil. Well, the one wasn't really gentle, but Moose was definitely a giant. Red was the other character I really enjoyed. He had personality, and I was happy to find out he had a happy ending.

Other than that, the entire thing was a muddle for me. There were so many twists and turns, I got a bit lost a couple times. Maybe that's on me, but it wasn't a smooth sail for me. Marlowe was always playing an angle, but I had no idea what it was. I think I'm done with this detective. 

Proving Ground - Kathy Kleiman

Both my kids are into computers, and my husband is as well. One of the kids is majoring in Computer Science, so I was interested in seeing what women have done in the field when it was new.

This book follows 6 of the first programmers of the ENIAC machine. It lists many of the other people involved with the early ideas and the project as well. Not being familiar with a lot of the terminology, I was a little lost here and there. Aside from that, it was a good explanation of what the women experienced.

The page count is a smidge misleading. The product page lists the book at 274 pages. The main "meat" of the book ends at page 220, followed by an epilogue, photos on page 232, a postscript starting on page 233, and the end notes begin on page 244. (All page numbers are referring to the Kindle version.)

I learned a lot in this book. It was a fairly neutral narrative until I got to the epilogue. That part of the book was the author's journey of researching and learning about the subject. She also tends to lean toward the subject of gender inequality in this section. I'm not saying it's not a fair point, I'm just pointing out it becomes more prevalent all of a sudden. 

I think if you like computer science, and you're interested in the history of the field, you might like this book. It's not going to appeal to everyone, especially if you have no idea what goes on with mathematics and the basic concepts of programming. I'll give it a Good Book! review, because I enjoyed it, but I think it would've lost me if it was much longer.

Dear Daughter Dead - S B Hough

My other epic find at the used book store was this paperback. I was intrigued by the cover and the explanation on the back. I'd never heard of this author, and when I looked him up, I noticed he wrote under three different names and different genres. His actual name was Stanley Bennett Hough.

Caroline's naked body is found on the bank of a creek. Only a few families live in the secluded little neighborhood, and no one wants to guess what happened. Maybe someone from the outside came in and performed this terrible act, but Brentford stays on the site. He digs up a lot of history on all the residents and finds they all seem to be connected. But who is responsible for Caroline's death?

This book was different. I hated the tiny print, but that was my bad for not looking before I bought it. Brentford is the type of detective who doesn't let on what he's thinking. It makes for a winding journey but an enjoyable one. The ending is not what I would call satisfying. Does the killer get revealed? I would say...sure? But it's a bit convoluted, and the end is just sad all around. The story itself struck me as unique, and it was really interesting.

This is the kind of book where you need to pay attention to what's happening, or you'll miss something. It might be a clue or a connection between some of the characters. It may or may not make a difference overall, but I wouldn't try to read it while my attention was divided. I did enjoy the overall story, so it easily earns a Good Book! review.

 

Murder at Glen Athol - Norman Lippincott

I came across this movie in the past, and it made me want to track down the book. I finally got the chance to read it.

The plot is the same as the movie, but to sum it up: a detective is trying to solve a double murder and clear a wrongly accused man.

While I was reading this, I was reminded of the movie. I watched it back in March, so it's been a few months. I'll admit I was a bit confused at first, but that was my fault. I go back and forth between fiction and nonfiction, but I also had a paperback I was reading. It was also a mystery, so it was muddying the waters a bit.

I liked the book. It was easy to read, and I liked the relationship between Holt and his main man, Jeff. I looked again, and I really couldn't find anything else with this author's name on it. I'm kinda bummed about that, but on the other hand, I have tons to read. I will miss Holt, though. Good Book!

One Man and His Dog - Anthony Richardson

The weird thing about this book is when I went to look it up on Amazon, the page for the Kindle version was gone. The link from my purchase takes me to a dead page. This book is out of print, so it's a shame it isn't available. Maybe it's a temporary thing.

Vaclav Robert Bozdech (Jan) is a Czech man who wants to fight the Germans during WWII. When's Jan's plane is shot down between the German and French lines, he hides in a building with a pilot. Inside the building they find a puppy. Jan is drawn to the pup, but the dog could give away their position, so they leave him behind. The puppy isn't happy about that and starts to cry. Jan goes back to take care of him (not in a good way), but instead a beautiful friendship starts. The dog is named after a Soviet plane ANT-40 - his name is Antis.

Over the years, these two are inseparable. It's a relationship that puts Antis's life in danger more than once. His dedication to watching for his master is heart-wrenching. Jan and his fellow airmen work together on numerous occasions to protect the dog, and he returns the favor. He's special in so many ways.

This book was really good. I was a bit disappointed there wasn't any kind of explanation of how the author got the story. Putting that aside, the amount of trials these two went through was extraordinary. Even after the war ended, Jan wasn't welcome in his own country and had to flee again. The end had me in tears. I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it. Hopefully it comes back on Kindle soon. Good Book!

Possession - Ann Rule

We were at my favorite book store, and I was scrounging around in the used books. I had some specific things I wanted to look for, and this author was one of them. She's mainly known for her true crime, so I headed into the nonfiction section and found this book. It was the only one there, and it wasn't until much later I noticed it was fiction.

Danny and Joanne are having marital problems. She's feeling bored, and she's obsessed with finding out why they haven't been able to conceive. He's a policeman, so his hours are also getting on her nerves. His partner, Sam, makes her jealous, because they have a special bond she doesn't understand. Anyway, Danny and Joanne head up into the mountains to try and reconnect. They don't realize a serial killer is tracking Joanne and thinks she's his perfect woman.

The book intrigued me at first. I'm familiar with the settings involved, so that was cool. But the problems started to arise when I thought Danny died. I'll admit, I knew he was dead, but I wanted Sam to find him on the edge of death. After Danny's death was confirmed, I really didn't care what happened to the rest of the people. Once Joanne was in the clutches of the serial killer, I could see where the end was headed, and I hated it. When the end came, I hated it. I also hated the epilogue and the name chosen for the serial killer. They tried to ruin my dad's name! And oh. My. Goodness. The sex...why did we have to be so descriptive and have so much of that in there? I didn't just have to endure reading about rape, there were other descriptions, and I hated all of them as well. Thank goodness it was fiction.

RIP Danny. You deserved better...

PS - On the positive side, the writing style was well done. 

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America - Matt Kracht

We went on a shopping trip last weekend and ended up at the mall. After successful locating some comfy shorts (a necessity for hermits), my daughter wanted to go to the "sock store." I personally had never been there, so I was excited to see it.

The place was great. Socks, oddities, a cool shirt (kinda wish I'd gotten it to be honest) and...

THIS BOOK!

Ok, I admit. I was almost cry laughing in the store. I'm sure people were wondering if I'd lost my mind, but just flipping through a couple of the pages had me calling over my daughter. It has rough drawings and sarcastic commentary about birds and the watching of them.

I like to hunt for birds, but guess what? It does suck. The birds always show me their butts, never sit still and I have had a bird poop in my hair. So, I loved this book. I like the snarky names for the birds and their fun categories. Murder birds is probably my favorite. The picture of the Pooper's Hawk had me almost cry laughing. And the extinct birds? Awesome addition.

One word of caution: I wouldn't buy this for my 10-year-old interested in birds. The names of some of these and the language isn't something I would want my child repeating back to me. I can only imagine being in public and hearing a child shout, "Look, Mom! A M--rf--ing Bald Eagle!"

But if you're an adult and can moderate your language in a setting, this book is great fun. The pictures are amazing, and the tips are fun. So get out your thermos of booze, get some binoculars and look for that White-breasted Butt Nugget. Great Book!

The Girl Behind the Red Rope - Ted and Rachelle Dekker

Back in the day, Ted Dekker was my favorite author. I was hesitant to read this one, however, because it seems like every time an author "teams up" with someone, I can tell. And it's not for the better. I noticed that when it came to The Book of Mortals series. That was written with Tosca Lee, another author I enjoyed, but I didn't enjoy the team up. I think it was the first series of Dekker's that I didn't finish.

Anyway, Grace lives in a religious community that's enclosed by a red rope. Her community is protected behind the rope because of a woman named Rose's link to the other side, Sylous. Grace's brother convinces her to help him explore outside the perimeter where the fabled Furies supposedly have free reign of the world. Grace has an experience outside the rope and so does her brother. Their experiences affect them in different ways and the way they see the community they live in.

Grace's father is dying. He's on his way to reunite with his family, and he has a boy with him named Eli. The boy is special with his wisdom and the freedom he seems to enjoy. But he's also a threat to the status quo of the community. Rose won't disappoint Sylous, so Eli and Grace's father have to go.

So, I knew this book was going to be a religious allegory. Dekker always seems to do that. It's just a matter of how much. And by the end, it was a LOT. The last 20% of the book was making me wish for it to end. It was all "fear is bad" and "light of the world" over and over. The ending drove me nuts a bit. Grace forgave Rose REAL quick. Considering what happened and how much she fought with herself over the whole fear thing, I thought Grace would have at least a little bit of an issue with forgiveness. Nope. Oh well. I wanted to give this one a chance, and I did. It just wasn't for me. Too preachy and repetitive.

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (Lord Peter Wimsey #4) - Dorothy L Sayers

This is the fourth Lord Peter Wimsey book. I didn't realize that when I read it - only afterwards. The first three are Whose Body?, Clouds of Witness and Unnatural Death. 

A dead body is found at the Bellona Club. The general was old and in ill health, so it wasn't a big deal until Wimsey is approached and asked to look into the time of death. The general and his sister died very close in time, and it makes a difference with the distribution of both estates.

As the onion reveals its layers, the time of death becomes a little less important as other details emerge. Wimsey is wanting to protect certain people, and I found myself hoping for a certain outcome as well.

This book was particularly interesting in that I thought I was getting to the end three different times. I would look where I was in the book and be confused. There was so much left, but it seemed like things were wrapping up. Then something would happen to make the floor fall out from the case. It was great!

The writing flowed well, which is something I appreciate in a work this old. I couldn't wait to get back to it. George had my sympathy for sure, but that's all I'm going to say about the plot. I really enjoyed this one, and I'm immediately off to Gutenberg.org to download Whose Body? which is in the public domain. I may not get to it right away, but I want to get it on my list of things to read. Good Book!