Book 216 A brew to kill by Cleo Coyle

A Brew to a Kill (Coffee House Mystery)
A Brew to a Kill - kindle edition
784 books to go!

Summary:
This is the latest book in my beloved coffee house mystery series. After a shocking hit and run goes down in front of the Village Blend Clare must solve the mystery of who did it, while at the same time battling a cupcake food truck that has waged war with her. In the meantime her and Matt discover crack in a new shipment of coffee beans and need to prove their innocence. The ending wraps up nicely, except for leaving Clare and Mike Quinn separated by distance for a little while.

Opinion:
I absolutely love these books, around Christmas time there's another holiday one being written that I can't wait to read. I have nothing bad to say about these mysteries and would recommend them to anyone.

Why I chose to read this: 
Found out about the release and requested it through the library to read right away! 

 

Book 215 The zen of listening by M.A. Rebecca Z. Shafir CCC

The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction
785 books to go!

Summary:
This is a helpful guide on how to listen to someone. It's full of advice on how you can get yourself into the mindset to listen to a person, and what you can do to learn how to be a better listener.

Opinion:
This book wasn't bad, it was written by a speech pathologist. The advice was valuable and I look forward to trying to use the techniques I remember to listen to someone.

Why I chose to read this: 
This book was recommended to us while we were in pre cana by one of the other couples taking pre cana with us. I have to check it out again when I get back from the honeymoon in case Shawn wants to read it.

 

Book 214 No Return: A contemporary phantom tale by Chrsitine Pope

786 books to go!

Read the informal review on my phantom of the opera blog.

Book 213 We were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

We Were the Mulvaneys (Oprah's Book Club)
We Were the Mulvaneys - Kindle Edition

787 books to go! 

Summary:
This story is a before and after story about the rape of a young girl and the effects it has on her and her family.

Opinion:
I didn't really like this book all that much. I'm starting to think I might not be a Joyce Carol Oates fan in general, which semi disappoints me because I was really excited about reading her works. She is a good writer, I like that the stories I've read by her so far seem to have a before and after the horrific event aspect, but I don't really find them all that exciting, I find them to be boring and overly detailed. It's great how she gets into the head of every character as events happen, and gets into their thoughts after the event, but the overly detailed style and the ordinary painstaking events that go on for most of the book isn't my style.

Why I chose to read this: 
My friend Kate gave me this book a long time ago when she was cleaning out her book shelves. I intended to pass it on to my sister but for reasons of lightening my load because I don't have a car again right now I passed it to a co-worker when I was finished reading it because I had bought it on the train with me and finished it during a break.

 

Book 212 In the eye of the beholder by Sharon E. Cathcart

788 books to go!

Since this is a phantom related book, you can see my less informal review about it in my phantom of the opera blog.

Book 211 The Librarian by Larry Beinhart

 The Librarian: A Novel
 The Librarian: A Novel - Kindle Edition

789 books to go!

So maybe by the end of 2012 I can plow through at least 89 more books, giving me a total of 700 to go...we'll see. Taking the train is helpful in that regard.

Summary:
University Librarian David Goldberg is on the run for his life in this action packed novel, after the man he's working for Alan Stowe, mistakenly assumes David has learned something he wasn't supposed to about the current presidential election. 

Opinion:
This book was pretty good, it was amusing, featured some action, contained some intrigue, definitely one of those all around reads with lots of good stuff inside of it. 

Why I chose to read it:
I picked it up because I noticed the title. 

 

Book 210 The Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O'Connor

The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer [Deckle Edge]
The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer

790 books to go!

Summary:
This book is about the history of one of Gustav Klimt's works, the model for this work was Adele Bloch-Bauer. This non fiction story follows the painting at the start of it's creation, and it's journey hereafter, including where it ended up in a war torn Vienna during the Holocaust, to it's final destination to a private owner, purchasing the piece during an auction. 

Opinion:
At first I couldn't get into this book but then I started to find it very interesting. The author writes the piece like quasi historical fiction. The story touched me emotionally, Klimt is also another artist I like so I did enjoy reading in depth about this particular piece. 

Why I chose to read it:
I found out about it at work when a few people asked for it so I decided to check it out and read it too.