September 2016

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes

by Diane Chamberlain

Audio Book

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes is one of two books that I’ve read recently that explores the theme of consequences.  The other was The Witness by Nora Roberts. In both books, a sixteen-year-old girl makes decisions that have life altering consequences.  Both girls need to change their identities and go into hiding for the rest of their lives. In The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, CeeCee makes a decision to participate in a crime.  This decision molds her character and her life.  It also affects the lives of her future family.  Diane Chamberlain wrote a compelling story about the loss of innocence and the consequences of mistakes made by a naïve young adult. The book made me think of mistakes that I made at sixteen and their consequences.  Chris Dukehart did a great job of narrating the Audible version.  The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes is definitely a good listen.

Broadsides from the Other Orders: A Book of Bugs

By Sue Hubbell

I loved Broadsides from the Other Orders: A Book of Bugs, but I also love bugs.  I bought this book years ago when I was teaching insects to second graders, because it contains lots of interesting stories and facts about lots of bugs. There are chapters covering all of my favorites: butterflies, ladybugs, daddy longlegs and dragonflies.  Lesser-known bugs, such as syrphid flies, were also discussed.  Sue Hubbell, a beekeeper from the Ozarks in Missouri, did a great job of making bugs interesting and relevant.  My only complaint was the ending.  I was left wondering what happened with the camel crickets!  It’s definitely not a kids’ book and probably not a scientific textbook.  It is, however, a very good read for people who have an interest in bugs.

The Intellectual Devotional: Health 

By David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim

It took us almost a year to finish The Intellectual Devotional: Health, eleven months to be exact.  We started on October 20, 2015 and finished the last week in September 2016.  My husband and I have read several of the books in the Intellectual Devotional series.  I have to say that this was our least favorite, so far.  Each week was divided into seven topics: Children and Adolescents; Diseases and Ailments; Drugs and Alternative Treatments; The Mind; Sexuality and Reproduction; Lifestyle and Preventative Medicine; and Medical Milestones.  The reading was dry at times, and totally gross at others.  However, as with all of the Intellectual Devotionals, it gave us a shared reading and something different to discuss.  We also learned a little along the way.  We’re on to Intellectual Devotional: American History, and then we will have read the entire series.  Definitely good books for shared reading!

Les Liaisons Dangereuses: Play Read by the Cast of the Stage Play

By Choderlos de Laclos

Audio from Audible

Les Liaisons Dangereuses is an enjoyable recreation of the play by the stage cast for Audible.com.  This version was in English and was told through letters read by the cast.  It was short, light and a little bit naughty.  Definitely an entertaining listen! 

Big Little Lies (Reread)

By Liane Moriarty

August 2016

Click: One Novel Ten Authors

by Park, Almond, Colfer, Ellis, Hornby, Doyle, Wynne-Jones, Ozeki, Lanagan, Maguire

 I picked up Click: One Novel Ten Authors at our local library book sale.  It looked like an intriguing idea.  This young adult novel was actually written by ten award winning Young Adult authors.  They weave the story of Maggie and Jason’s inheritance from their grandfather, a world-renowned photojournalist.  Each story was unique.  Some worked better than others.  It seemed more like an anthology of short stories with a common theme than a novel. I found it to be a good read… but I’d be interested in what young readers think of it. 

Who Knew?

By David Hoffman

Who Knew? Is one of those quick read books that you can pick up at Barnes and Noble.  I purchased it as a gift for someone and read it before sending.  There were actually a few quirky facts that I really didn’t know.  None were terribly significant, as I can’t remember any at the moment.  However, it’s cute and a good gift.  I’d definitely recommend it, especially if you can get it on sale.

Ulysses

By James Joyce

Audio Book

I can’t think of too many reasons to read Ulysses by James Joyce.  It was a long, boring day with Leopold Bloom, a middle-aged man, and his friends in Dublin.  I read it in an attempt to relate to a sister who insists that she is actually reading the book, which I find very hard to believe.  One reviewer recommended reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man before reading Ulysses.  I’m probably missing something, but I don’t think that was necessary or even helpful.  Neither of them was great, however Ulysses is far less depressing than A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man.  It was just boring.  James Joyce is definitely not my cup of tea!

I purchased the illustrated and annotated Kindle version of this book.  If you have to read Ulysses, the LibriVox audio version is the way to go:

https://librivox.org/ulysses-by-james-joyce/. 

Different narrators read the audio version, which makes it possible to understand the incomprehensible written text.