The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok by Ben Waggoner

The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok by Ben Waggoner


4.0/5.0 - I would listen to this book again, the content was interesting, and the reader was fantastic. There are three sagas from old Norse tales, a Latin fragment of the list of kings, and the Krakumel, Ragnar's death song, which is so lyrical!

I desire my death now.
The disir call me home,
whom Herjan hastens onward
from his hall, to take me.
On the high bench, boldly,
beer I’ll drink with the Gods;
hope of life is lost now—
laughing shall I die!”

There is one part where the king is talking to Bjorn that is a bit tedious, being "the king said...", "Bjorn said..." like some kind of tennis match. Other than that, it was interesting to things from " Vikings" and "The Last Kingdom" come alive.

Book 124 of 2021

Free as part of the Audible Plus library.

View all my reviews

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.0/5.0 - Allan Karlsson is tired of living in the retirement home after one year, so on his one hundredth birthday, he climbs out the window and disappears. Over the next twelve hours we follow the adventures of his first hundred years, which, as an explosive expert, takes him to China, Russia, Los Alamos, and other places around the world. He's much like Forrest Gump, in his naïve ways and like Forrest, meets many world leaders. He manages to befriend many people and always looks on the bright side of things, even when in the Russian gulag.

Book 122 of 2021

Listened to this while working on my 1000 piece Springbok puzzle - Comic Books Galore.

View all my reviews

Helena by Evelyn Waugh

Helena by Evelyn Waugh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5/5.0 - A novel of the life of St. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, and the discoverer of many religious relics, including the true cross. Written in 1950, it is now a classic of the Catholic faith. Learning about life in the fourth century Roman Empire, although not in any detail. I was surprised to find that divorce was not stigmatized, and also that relatives could be killed for any reason by those in power.
Book 121 of 2021

View all my reviews

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 rounded to 4 stars - I had a friend at Drake who used to read J.D. Robb all the time. Three or four books a week. This is my first book, but I enjoyed it enough that it won't be my last. The takes place in 2058, in NYC. The book was written 26 years ago, and the author did a good job projecting how life might be, there are no obvious anachronisms.
Eve Dallas is a police lieutenant with a haunting past. Abused and abandoned as a child, her memories of her early childhood are spotty and terrifying. When she takes lead on a brutal rape/murder case that soon becomes serial, she is thrown into a high powered world of politics and money. Along the way, she meets and falls in love with Roarke, a man of incredible wealth, power and ingenuity with a past of his own. Will their love continue to grow? We will find out, as this popular series now numbers 53 books.
AtY #1: A book related to “In the Beginning...”
Book 119 of 2021


View all my reviews

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5/5.0 - I love it when a book that I was unsure about turns out to be such a hit. Although this took me about 50 pages to get into, I soon found myself hooked. I loved the variety of characters, both children and adults, with their many talents and foibles. I loved to watch them grow and discover things about themselves. And the lessons of kindness and acceptance are themes we need to live by.
Book 111 of 2021

View all my reviews

Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith

Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5.0/5.0 - I loved this book, so much that I immediately recommended it to my daughter-in-law, who is so much like the protagonist it's uncanny. I can't remember how I found it, but I think it had to do with the cover. In the past year or so, I've read The Second Chance Boutique and The Secret Lives of Dresses. If you look closely, you'll see that the dress is made of book pages, which symbolizes Isabel's job as a book preservationist and her love of ephemera.
Sadly, I don't have the words to describe why this book was so wonderful, maybe it spoke more to me than it would to you, but I'm telling you it's worth the two hour investment of your time!
Book 109 of 2021
ILL book #2 from ACPL

View all my reviews

You Belong to Me by Mary Higgins Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 rounded up to 4.0 stars - First, here's the GR Blurb:

A beautiful and dedicated young psychoanalyst is terrified to discover that her beloved sister is determined to marry one of the doctor's former patients, a man who conceals a dangerously jealous, obsessive nature, as well as a pattern of abuse, behind his charming and wealthy façade.

I'm not sure what book this was describing, but it wasn't the one I read. First, the protagonist is a clinical psychologist not a psychoanalyst, and while I'm sure she loved her sister, beloved implies a much closer, even treasured relationship, than these two women shared. Also the sister, Dee, wasn't determined to marry the villain, and while Susan was a little worried that her sister might be trying to steal another man from her, she is not terrified of anything until right up at the end, when she is terrified she is going to die. Finally, the bad guy was not one of her former patients, BUT he was charming and wealthy - so there's one thing that's right.

Here is a better version. A beautiful, young, former Assistant DA turned clinical psychologist/radio host inadvertently triggers the death of several people when she brings up an unsolved case of a woman who disappeared while on a cruise three years before. Conveniently, the murderer/serial killer happens to be listening to the show, and goes on a spree to eliminate witnesses and pesky psychologists. Lots of red herrings and false leads are thrown in to steer you off the track, but everything ends as well as it could - which is not well at all for the previous victims and potential witnesses, but pretty well for Susan and her sister, Dee.

Book 108 of 2021

View all my reviews

Make Your Own Sunshine: Inspiring Stories of People Who Find Light in Dark Times by Janice Dean

Make Your Own Sunshine: Inspiring Stories of People Who Find Light in Dark Times by Janice Dean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - Maybe you know of Janice Dean. My husband did, but I didn't. So I didn't pick this book up based on the author, maybe a little bit based on the cover and more based on the title and the implied subject. The book delivers on what it promises, serving up stories that range from a small child selling cocoa and cookies and donating the money to pay off negative lunch balances at her school, to the principal who makes each graduating student's pandemic related experience special by dressing in full regalia and going to each home and placing a sign in their yard. There are several other stories of teachers who have made a difference in the lives of their students. Some stories are tug at your heart, like the first responder who spent months working the Pile after 9/11, who died, as many others did, from cancer, likely as a result of his time there. Besides his work there, he was active in advocating for a permanent health and compensation fund for the victims, and even while dying, raised money to buy a transport van for other sick responders. Parents and siblings also provided inspiring stories, lunchbox notes to last a lifetime, and a video with audio clips for a young bride whose father had died before her marriage. In all, there are more than 20 such stories.
There was a personal connection for me, as well. Ms. Dean turned 50 this year, had planned a big trip that had to be postponed due to the pandemic, and has MS. This also describes a friend and I felt like I understood her a little better, having read this. She is bright, brave and like two of the other people with MS in the book, climbs mountains and runs races. Another former colleague of mine reminds me of Janice, as he seeks out stories of optimism and is such a positive person. These people are gifts in my life.
I'd recommend this to anyone who has struggled during these past months, and especially for those who feel like they've lost control over their lives. Maybe there will be a story in here that will light your way or give you inspiration.
AtY #50: A Book Published in 2021
Book 107 of 2021




View all my reviews

Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe by Deborah Cadbury

Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe by Deborah Cadbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - Queen Victoria shared her husband's dream of marrying their descendants into the royal houses of Europe in order to stabilize the power of the British Empire and increase peace. This book focuses on a subset of her grandchildren, seven of whom were crowned rulers in England, Germany, Greece, Norway, Russia, Romania and Spain. Perhaps the best known of these would be George V, who became stepped into the line of rule after the death of his brother Eddy, Wilhelm II and Alix, also known as Alexandra - the Empress of Russia. While much of the book describes the courtships, often manipulated by the Queen or her children, the last chapter is devoted to the outcomes, culminating in the first World War. The book was well researched, included many sources from the Royal Archives, and was more interesting than I expected!
Pop Sugar #32: A book whose title starts with "Q," "X," or "Z"
Book 104 of 2021


View all my reviews

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.0/5.0 - I enjoyed it more than I expected to, given the slow start. Written in 1923, by Dorothy L. Sayers, this book introduces Lord Peter Wimsey, an amateur sleuth and veteran of World War I. He suffers from shell shock/PTSD/weak nerves, depending on which term you choose to use. He has a valet named Bunter, a Dowager Dutchess mother, and a hobby of collecting old books, especially Dante. It put me a little in mind of the P.G. Wodehouse series.
Pop Sugar #13: A locked-room mystery
Book 103 of 2021


View all my reviews

The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan

The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 rounded to 5.0 stars - I loved this book about 3 sisters who come together one summer when their famous author father dies, and discovers truths that rock their worlds. (view spoiler)[A lost memoir, an unexpected half-sister, a surprise divorce (hide spoiler)] are just a few of the twists and turns the sisters face and manage to get through together, each one growing in ways they wouldn't have thought possible just weeks earlier.
Book 101 of 2021

View all my reviews

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5/5.0 - In a different life, I would have been a midwife, but the closest I came was to be a childbirth educator and give birth at home to my youngest child with a midwife-doctor. This received a Newberry Award in 1996, and I have set a reading goal to read the Newberry Award winners. This takes place in 14th century England and tells the story of a young girl, called Brat, who renames herself Alyce, who apprentices to the local midwife. You really want to root for the spunky young lass, who is kind and hard working but lacks in confidence. By the end of the book, she has learned more about the world and herself and is growing into her role.
Book 100 of 2021!

View all my reviews

Into the Forest by Jean Hegland

Into the Forest by Jean Hegland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - This book stood the test of time for me. I first read it probably 20 years ago, and although I am a different person now (older, wiser?) and the world is different, I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time. Eva and Nell are sisters in their mid-teens when the world goes awry. Their mother has died from cancer, and they live with their father in Northern California, about 10 miles from the nearest town, on the edge of a forest. It is never made clear exactly what has happened that precipitated the crisis, but the power is out, food becomes scarce, and society is shutting down. For several months the three of them get by, growing their garden, canning, reading, dancing, until one day the father has an accident while cutting wood and dies. Now Eva and Nell only have themselves to rely on, and here is where being homeschooled serves them well. They are well read and resilient. Nell finds a book on native plant in Northern California, and they learn to live closer to the land. When they are threatened by a man who means them harm, they take to the forest with the new baby Robert. Here the story ends. Will they survive? One can only hope.
Book 99 of 2021

View all my reviews

The Little French Bistro by Nina George

The Little French Bistro by Nina George
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - This book tugged at my heart. I felt for Marianne, who forty years into a loveless marriage decides to walk away from it and from life. She tries to commit suicide by jumping into the Seine. When she is rescued and sent to a hospital, she escapes and ends up in Brittany, where day by day, she discovers who she is and what she has to live for. Twice she thinks about going back to her old life, starts to do it, but realizes in time that isn't what she wants. She finds friends, work, a calling, and love where the world begins.
Book 98 of 2021

View all my reviews

Shelter Mountain by Robyn Carr

Shelter Mountain by Robyn Carr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - This was a step up from the first book in the series for me. Preacher (John) Middleton is such a likeable hero, stepping in as surrogate father to Christopher, falling deeply in love with Paige, and acting as a role model for young Rick. Paige, though abused and running for her life, takes a chance with John, and over time learns to love and trust again. She can see how very different he is from her abusive ex. Of course, Jack and Melinda were also on the scene, and had a baby, with Jack having to be the catcher to Melinda's pitcher (sorry for the bad pun). Then there was Liz and Rick's sad story, and the introduction of the new characters (and stars of the next book), Brie and Mike. Virgin River is one big, loyal family. One caveat, if you're a fan of the Netflix series, it doesn't stay true to the book, but in my opinion, the book is better.
AtY #13: A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
Book 97 of 2021


View all my reviews

LaRose by Louise Erdrich

Yet another literary fiction! I've been meaning to read it for years, and it was chosen for me by another GR member for a Pick 3 quarterly challenge. I'm glad I read/listened to it, it was such a good book, if a little slow going.

LaRose by Louise Erdrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - This book was beautifully written, and won several awards, including PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Nominee (2017), National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction (2016), and Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2017). The story is one filled with native customs, struggles, redemption, the power of both love and hate, and above all, family. I listened to the book on Audible (14.5 hours), narrated by the author. The book starts slowly for me, but it is mesmerizing.
Pop Sugar #16: A book by an Indigenous author
Book 96 of 2021


View all my reviews