A Study in Scarlet ~ Arthur Conan Doyle

This is the first story in the series of writings starring the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. In his tale Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduces the reader to Mr. Holmes and his crime-solving companion Dr. Watson. The good doctor has returned to London after a stint in Afghanistan, having served for the military. While on his tour of duty he is injured, and now he is in back in the U.K. to recover. Watson lives on a fixed income and yet he needs a place to live. A friend introduces him to an acquaintance who is in a similar predicament: Sherlock Holmes. The two men become roommates, and it doesn’t take long for Dr. Watson to notice Mr. Holmes’s eccentricities and his unbelievable skill of deduction. Watson accompanies Sherlock on a case aiding Scotland Yard. A murder has been committed, but there is no sign of the killer. In the end the crime is solved by Mr. Holmes, of course, much to the amazement of Watson and Scotland Yard. Thus Holmes begins his lucrative detective practice. The rest, as they say, is history. J

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I LOVED this story! I thought it was so fantastic that I couldn’t stop reading it. From the very moment the reader is introduced to the character Sherlock Holmes you just HAVE to keep reading about him and his peculiarities. The manner is which the author writes him is just amazing and draws you in. I was baffled as to how Holmes found “his man”, but then Arthur Conan Doyle takes the reader back and explains it all, and his explanation kind of added a twist to the narrative. No wonder readers 100 years ago were clamoring for more stories featuring the unique character. My only minor complaint is that Doyle uses many words that modern readers (well, at least me) might not be familiar with. Recommended.

Shutter Island ~ Dennis Lehane

My brother read this book, and he asked me to read it, too, so he could have someone to talk about it with. I had seen the previews for the movie, and thus I knew that this was a thriller and/or scary book. Normally I don’t read books in that genre. Okay, I NEVER read books in that genre or watch movies either. But I figured I’d give it a try for my brother’s sake.

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U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels has been assigned a mission to locate a missing woman at Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane on Shutter Island. He and his partner Chuck soon learn that things are not what they seem at the hospital. During their investigation more questions arise than are answered. On top of that a hurricane is raging around them. Will Teddy and Chuck discover the secrets regarding the island and its hospital? Will they ever leave??

*****

Surprisingly I kind of enjoyed this book. It certainly held my interest. There was also a plot twist at the end of the story. Unfortunately there was some bad language. And since the hospital housed criminally insane people there were some disturbing scenes. Would I recommend this book? Probably not. Will I read a novel from this genre again? Probably not.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ~ Washington Irving

Ichabod Crane is a school teacher who enjoys telling and listening to ghost stories. And the part of New England where he resides, Sleepy Hollow, is filled with tales of spooks and specters and most famous of all: a headless man who rides on a horse at night.

Ichabod tries to court the most sought after beauty in the county: Katrina Van Tassel. Ms. Van Tassel is warm to Ichabod’s feelings, but she is also being wooed by “Brom Bones” Van Brunt, Ichabod’s rival.

Both Crane and Van Brunt are invited to a party given by Katrina’s father. Many scary stories are told the night of the autumn festival, and Ichabod was rather skittish when he left the Van Tassel farm. Not long into his journey home he finds that he is being pursued by the notorious Headless Horseman himself! Ichabod is so frightened by his late-night encounter with an actual ghost that he leaves Sleepy Hollow, never to return.

*****

Because of this book’s history, and the fact that it is so famous, I was expecting a long story filled with adventure and intrigue. You can imagine my surprise then when I discovered that Mr. Irving’s well-known tale is a short story! Its lack of pages though was no indication of its plethora of words. Washington Irving used so many archaic terms that I had to have a Post-It note and pencil next to me at all times so I could write down all the unknown words I found to look up later. And his style of writing is out-of-date which made it difficult to read. I would only suggest reading this story so you can say, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? Oh, yes. I’ve read it.” You’re probably better off just watching the movie.

Rebecca ~ Daphne Du Maurier

This story follows the life of a young female attendant to a wealthy matron. The young lady and her employer are vacationing in Italy when they meet a famous Englishman, Max de Winter. Two weeks later Max and the young woman are married, and he brings his new bride back to England to his stately home, Manderley. But all is not blissful for the newly married couple as the new Mrs. de Winter soon discovers that life at Manderley is haunted by the shadow of Max’s first wife, Rebecca. The mystery of Rebecca’s death grows throughout the summer. Finally, all of Mrs. de winter’s questions are answered through a series of startling events.

This famous 1938 gothic novel completely surprised me (in a good way). I was puzzled by the story right up until the very end. But I enjoyed reading this book because it had such a fantastic twist, and Daphne Du Maurier is an excellent descriptive writer; the reader can easily picture everything that is happening. One other thing that was unique about this tale is that you never find out what the new Mrs. de Winter’s first name is. She is only called by her surname. This was an interesting novel for adults.

P.S. I Love You ~ Cecelia Ahern

I started reading this book and got to the third chapter, I believe, but I couldn't finish it.  There was so much swearing that it was hard to over-look.  I know the story is sweet and I was interested to see how Cecelia actually wrote the book but I couldn't read it.  I don't recommend this book for that reason, since I didn't get too far into it, I obviously don't know much about the rest of the book and cannot rate it on the rest of the contents.

Catcher in the Rye ~ J. D. Salinger

Maybe you are like me in that you have heard of this novel, but you've never read it. It's fame has also piqued your interest. Well, that is how I decided I was going to read this book. And that is also how I found out that this book is not worth reading. :)

Here's the gist: the novel chronicles a weekend in the life of prep school attendee Holden Caulfield. He has been kicked out of another school, but he doesn't want to go home to his soon-to-be disappointed parents. Instead he spends the weekend in New York City. There isn't a real strong plot to the story. It is told in the first person point of view, and the entire book is basically just Holden giving you his thoughts on life. He has been committed to a mental institution because he has had a nervous breakdown, and it seems that he has been instructed to write down the events that led to his breakdown.

This novel is filled with very frank observations regarding people, and Salinger uses a lot of coarse language. A lot. I understand that he was trying to convey a strong character, and when you read the book it does come across that Holden would speak that way. But it was beyond excessive. Also, because Holden is only sixteen, and the novel is written in a manner that Holden himself is telling the story, there is a lot of repetition of words and phrases.

I will give Salinger credit in that he certainly makes the reader believe that a 16 year-old is telling a story rather than a 25 year-old writer. But the bad language makes this book one to be avoided.

Pauline's Passion and Punishment ~ Louisa May Alcott

Synopsis: The title character, Pauline, has been wronged in love, and she uses her womanly wiles to seek revenge against the offending man. With a hunger that is almost demonic, Pauline stops at nothing to make the man atone for what he has done to her.

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After reading A Long Fatal Love Chase I vowed that I had to find more of Alcott’s lesser known thrillers. I was intrigued by that book because it was such a stark contrast to Little Women and its subsequent novels, and the ending was very surprising.

I hunted around and found the massive book Louisa May Alcott Unmasked: Collected Thrillers at my local library. I was specifically looking for the short story Pauline’s Passion and Punishment. And it IS a short story: only 30 pages long. But don’t let its lack of length make you think it was brief in plot development. I found this tale to be unusual, and I don‘t mean that as a bad thing. It was an expected story of love and revenge. I thought I had the ending figured out, but Alcott surprised me once again.

I will definitely be reading more of these suspenseful stories. Alcott is truly a versatile writer.

Atonement ~ Ian McEwan

Robbie and Cecilia grew up together in a manner house in England. He being the son of one of the servants and she the privileged daughter of his mother’s employer. And as usually happens in stories the two fall in love, despite their circumstances in life. But fate decreed that the two lovers should not be together, and Robbie is falsely accused of a crime the very night he professes his love. Robbie is sent to prison for several years, and after his release he joins the military to help fight the second World War. Cecilia joins the war effort as well, as a nurse. They meet up with one another before Robbie leaves for France, and they vow that they will be together when he comes back. But both will become victims to the war, and their love will be unrequited.

~~~~~

I watched this movie a year ago, and I was so moved by the story that after it ended I sat staring at the television while the tears flowed down my face. I watched the DVD extras and discovered that the movie was based upon a book of the same title. Naturally I put the novel on my “must read” list.

Well…it’s NOT a must read. I couldn’t even finish this book. It was excessively wordy and descriptive. McEwan gives the reader so much back-story, and it was just unnecessary information. I tend to like to skip ahead to the dialogue, but there was very little conversation during the first seven chapters. I put the book down to take a break from it, and even two weeks later I dreaded the thought of picking it back up again so much that I decided not to. I already knew the entire plot so what was the point?

This was one of those rare instances where the movie was better than the book. Skip it.

Monday Morning Faith ~ Lori Copeland

40-year-old Johanna is comfortable with the life she's built for herself. A librarian who lives at home to take care of her aging parents. The only thing that bothers her, an aunt who thinks Johanna should be married and makes her opinion known.
But when "Tom Selleck" appears and steals her heart, she's beginning to think maybe her life has turned around and she's not sure if she likes it.
The only thing "wrong" with "Tom Selleck" is that he's headed to Papua New Guinea to be a missionary Dr.
Johanna tries to convince herself she's not in love with him. But when he asks her to go with him, she knows she does actually love him.
Rather shocked and unsure, she finds herself on her way to Papua New Guinea, even though she's 100% sure God's will for her life is not to be a missionary.
Life there, for three weeks, is so totally different from everything she's ever known, reassuring her (or so she thinks) that God's will for her isn't for missions and she starts to question why she's there. She is so far from her comfort zone.
Struggle after struggle tests her faith and when an unexpected tragedy strikes, she knows what she must do ... even if it means "Tom Selleck" is not for her?
Can she really trust and follow the God these missionaries love so dear?
This is another one I enjoyed. Maybe not as much as "A Mile in My Flip-Flops" but it was a good read. There were a couple parts in this one that had me giggling, as well.
I recommend this one, too.

Stranded in Paradise ~ Lori Copeland

Is it possible for almost everything that could go wrong to actually go wrong? It is if you're Tess Nelson.
Tess is a successful, in control of her life business woman.
But when things start to crumble and things she can't control happen, she panics.
She decides she needs a break and flies to Hawaii.
But problem after problem is piled onto her stressful life.
Then to top it off, a handsome, kind of annoying man, also on vacation in Hawaii, keeps crossing her path.
Event after event pushes them together and she keeps seeing that this man has something she does not, a true reliance on God.
When a hurricane that is headed straight for the island throws them together again, she realizes just how strong his faith is and the peace and joy God brings.
Can she truly give up control of her life and trust this God to take control?
I enjoyed this book. Copeland did a good job of keeping the story interesting and exciting. I would recommend this book.