Can you spare five minutes? Good. Cuz that’s about all the time I’ve got on this Reading Goods thing. Ya see, Mom has her I’m Reading: Do Not Interrupt on Pain of Death face on. You know. With those eye glass do-dads and a furrowed brow. (No idea what that means. If you do, kindly holler.) So I gotta get this in like, pronto!
Squirrel!
Wait. Where was I?
Oh yeah. Reading Goods. You may know it as Goodreads. But let’s not get picky here, Buttercup.
“I love, love, LOVE Karen Linamen books!” gushed She Who Shall Remain Nameless. “They’re funny. Warm and relatable. Down to earth and practical.” She paused. “But…”
Her Momness raised an eyebrow. Cocked her head (looks a lot cuter when I do it. Nobody’s perfect). “But what?” chirpeth Mom.
We’ll get to the “But what?” part in a min. So kindly keep your hair on, Cupcake. Cuz we’re gonna take a look at two more Linamen books today. First….
Ever want to just smack an entire cast of characters? That’s what we felt like after 309 pages of The Ivies.
Now, The Ivies is the kinda book that’s gonna nab rave reviews all over the place. Not here, Toots. We don’t do that gob-smacked slobber stuff over a book that smells like Eau de Skunk. Walks and talks like it, too.
We’re just funny that way. Like:
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re either: 1) A humungous book lover, 2) A humungous dog lover, 3) Both, or 4) Tired of kitty-sitting the neighbor’s feline.
Well. Have we got a deal for you.
Ya see, Her Royal Momness stumbled upon this “Summer Reading Challenge” thingy about three months back. (Stumbling. Ya know. Like Mom finds most things. Don’t tell her I said that, okay?)
Anyhow, this SRC Challenge ’24 is hosted by the 52 Book Club. Since 2024 is a Summer Olympics, this year’s reading challenge had an Olympics-ish flavor. With 24 sports-inspired book prompts. Participants chose which “medal” they wanted to aim for, based on the number of books they planned to read during the summer in line with select Olympic-ish book prompts: Bronze, Silver, or Gold?
Via The 52 Book Club:
“They weren’t just nine guys in a boat; they were a crew.”
Two unassuming signs announce the entrance and egress to the City of Sequim in Clallam County, Washington State. Perched on the shoulder of U.S. 101, they’re almost impossible to read as you drive by at 60-ish mph. But Mom caught ‘em. Or at least, a few words: Welcome to Squim, Home of Olympic Champions…” Or maybe it was “Gold Medalists…”
We went by too fast to read the rest. But we’re willing to bet the name Joe Rantz, one of the boys in the boat, is on it.
If you’ve been reading with us for any length of time – say, 20 minutes or so – you know that Mom and I are singularly unimpressed by the words “Best-selling author.” Or its kissing cousins, “(fill in the blank) Award Winner” and “Over a bazillion copies in print.” The fact that everyone and their neighbor’s cat is crowing about a new release impresses us about as much as a plate of overcooked arugula.
Yea, verily. We’ve heaped praise on unknown indie authors who’ve earned it. We’ve also panned Pulitzer Prize winners who deserved it. Ya just never know.
Hey, Kimster! Is the tea hot yet? And will you kindly quit hogging the fleece blankie?
Bother. The things I do for Mom. We’re both hunkering down to read this gripping and intense tale of mind-numbing cold, desperation, myth, legend and survival by Dan Simmons.
First, if you’ve never heard of Franklin’s ill-fated expedition, The Terror might be a good place to start. We were pretty familiar with the history before starting the book. So some bias there.
Before we dive in to specifics, you may want to know that The Terror is a fictionalized account of Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition to the Arctic to find the Northwest Passage. The expedition’s two ships are the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. Franklin is the overall expedition commander. James Fitzjames captains the Erebus. Franics Crozier captains the Terror. They set out to find the elusive Northwest Passage in 1845. The ships – and all hands – disappeared without a trace in the summer of 1848.
It’s all about the moola in this intense and gripping thriller by the Grande Dame of True Crime, Ann Rule.
Scarlett O’Hara Wannabe Pat Taylor Allanson is whatcha might call a “Georgia peach.” Strikingly beautiful with enough Southern charm to knock a mint julep off its feet a mile away, Pat dreams of a Tara-like plantation where she and new hubby Tom can raise horses, grow roses, and float around the highest echelons of Atlanta society. Pat even costumes herself and Tom as Scarlett and Rhett Butler for their wedding photos. Less than two months later, their dream explodes in terror and murder: their beautiful home is mysteriously burned to the ground and Tom’s convicted of the brutal slaying of his mother and father.
And that’s not all.
“Mom! Mom! Stop the presses!”
“Stop what presses, Kimster? We don’t do presses around here.”
“So? I’ve just always wanted to say that. Especially when I have a super-duper, extra-crispy bacon worthy announcement!”
“Okay, Kimmi. Spill it.”
“Well Mom, I wantcha to meet my two new best buds: War Horse and Big Love.”
“What?”
“Yeah. You see, there’s this awesome new book out called Big Love and War Horse. War Horse is a Doberman pup. Big Love is a senior Great Pyrenees, and…”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope! In fact this book is so good, I’;m gonna tell ya all about it myself! So here is the Official Unabridged Kimber the Magnificent Version of a book we absolutely LOVED (with a little help from the one with opposable thumbs. Cuz, ya know. Mom): Like this:
You know how Her Royal Momness and I love historical fiction, right? Could scarf it up with a spoon. Forget to eat breakfast. Lunch. And dinner. Stay up all night until The End. Forego another round of extra-crispy bacon.
Wait. Belay that last one. But suffice it to say that of the bazillion historical fiction titles we’ve read lately, Melissa Cole’s A Grain of Hope is one of the most compelling. In fact, we’re giving A Grain of Hope The Official Mom and Kimber Must-Read Stamp of Approval. Here’s why:
Pages & Paws 