joannneuroth's reviews
93 reviews

Eddie's Boy by Thomas Perry

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Go as a River by Shelley Read

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.
I found the writing lyrical and the premise of discovering how to live "as a river" compelling.   But it moved too slowly for me.  Other books were calling and I found myself slogging on as if I'd made a commitment to the author, and realized this is not why I want to choose my reading.  
The Informant by Thomas Perry

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adventurous mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Waiting by Michael Connelly

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adventurous mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

As always, a Michael McConnelly book rips along, carrying me with it.  Just what I needed as a respite from busy, heavier stuff.  This one follows three cases at once, and kept me on my toes following all the threads, but Renee had it all in hand so I just kept reading.  

Renee Ballard is a good woman, a risk-taker, a quick thinker, a loyal boss and friend.  I'd like her on the job when something bad happened to me.  Complex and dealing with her issues, yes, but her "flaws" are not the main focus here; her growth in confidence, scope, responsibility and vision are the main focus.  And seeing her begin to mentor her "volunteers" is fun.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

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adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Well, when I can't decide whether to mark this mostly SLOW or MEDIUM or FAST paced, that should be a clue that my reactions veered wildly over the course of the book.  By page 100 I was ready to write it off as flat, SLOW and boring:  the time traveler theme that hadsounded so promising was slowed to an enculturation project slog.  

But kept going partly because of reading habits and partly because my wife said it got better.  It did.  Things started to get wonky (a bureaucracy tries to manage time travel?  What could go wrong?) and soon they're deep into puzzling out what smells wrong about this, each in their own worlds and with their own security clearances.  Also falling (lunging?  slipping? groping? negotiating their way?) into lust confused by culture clashes between a Victorian Naval officer and his contemporary "bridge." -- nicely hot I thought -- so it got compelling and MEDIUM paced.  And then the end sped up to the point of fragmented confusion (as a time-travel novel reasonably would).  And we learn how to ride a wave and come up for air. . . several times.   In the end I'm glad I kept going.  Give it a try.
Camino Ghosts by John Grisham

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Apparently, picking this book up from the 7-day "express read" table in my library I stumbled on the third book of a trilogy.  But it didn't matter -- it was readable, classic Grisham.  And -- like his character who writes best-sellers that can be read in a day -- Grisham goes down fast and satisfyingly.  I like thee characters enough that I'll probably go back and look for #1 and #2.
And Then There Were Nuns: Adventures in a Cloistered Life by Jane Christmas

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Remarkably little about God in this tale of a not-so-young woman exploring a possible vocation as a nun.  She feels an affinity for what contemplatives call "retirement" that is strong enough that she puts an engagement on hold while she visits several Anglican and Catholic convents and monasteries.  But she seems mostly to be testing her aptitude for a lifestyle rather than pursuing communion with Mystery.  (Although there is a remarkable paragraph in which she gets a vision of what real devotion feels like).  Lots of information about the religious life, delivered with sassy and irreverant attitude as she probes underneath the cliches.  I found it surprisingly readable and interesting, given that I have no curiosity at all about whether I'm called to the religious life.
The Old Man by Thomas Perry

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A race-through-it re-read because I was caught without a book.  But what fun!  Thomas Perry just doesn't disappoint.  Riveting, complex.  And who couldn't love a character with black dobermans named Dave and Carol??
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I enjoyed getting to know Belle da Costa Greene.  The book's first-person narration made visceral the relentless, wary, pre-emptive state of mind a person of color needed to have to pass as white in a time when the stakes were life-threatening.  The whirlwind tour of Gilded Age social scenes was a bonus, and the insider glimpse of rare book acquisition was fun.