1. Sixth Grade. That was still considered elementary school way back when I attended.
2. One.
3. Birdwell Island. So I could hang out with Clifford the Big Red Dog.

I enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book. Then it took a turn beyond which it could not recover.

Up until the story became grotesquely bizarre, the dialogue was snappy, the plot was rolling along, and the hacking was understandable. I‘m willing to suspend my power of disbelief for a good narrative, but not when it‘s beyond all reason and literally makes me roll my eyes and mutter aloud, “Oh, please!”

Zeroes earns zero ⭐️s in my book.

Don‘t bother. Really. ⭐️ out of 5.

I wanted to like this book; the concept— a loyal dog gifted immortality by his magical human companion from whom he is then separated and searches for across battlefields and ballrooms— was great, but I read 120+ pages & nothing happened. Don‘t waste your time or money. DNF

Bloody Sunday was SO BLOODY GOOD!

This book picks up from where the last one in the series left off. Our reluctant hero, Dewy Andreas, has some retribution to inflict before he retires. But then he is needed for just one more mission...

The pages flew and the action kept building. Terrific read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5. This is how a it‘s done.

#spythriller #millitarythriller #thriller #bencoes #dewyandreas

SO GOOD. SO TIMELY. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Russia sets in motion a long-planned attack against Europe to retake Soviet-era territory, occupy and invade Europe, destroy all NATO defenses, and invade America. By first assassinating key NATO personnel & spreading misinformation, the Russians have laid a perfect chessboard. Will our allies and defense partners be invaded before they even know it?

#BradThor #SpyThriller #MillitaryThriller #SpyNovel
#ScotHarvarh

These short stories are clever and had me laughing aloud. I typically don‘t go for short stories, but these were refreshingly different. The book is definitely YA, not for young teens & has a preponderance of f-bombs. I‘m glad I‘m reading it before my 15-year-old daughter; but maybe tempting her with a funny book with mature-ish content will get her to actually READ. #YAWednesday

This sounds like fun! Please add me @TheReadingMermaid #PenPalExchange 😊💕

I‘m from Colorado, USA
Thank you for organizing this.

I‘ve read many accounts of the Trojan War, but this is the first time I‘ve actually been present to feel the sting of sweat in my eyes, smell the blood, and weather the consuming rivalries between warrior-princes determined only to win fame.

The story of Achilles‘ formative years was new to me, and the part of the book that stole my heart. 4.5/5⭐️

I enjoyed this military thriller about a former British spy infiltrating North Korea following cyberattacks by the Hermit Kingdom. It was a great introduction to John Milton, and the first in the series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @Andrew65 for the recommendation! Now to convince Nook to carry more of them— Number 12 was the only full-length novel on offer.

My dad was diagnosed with leukemia a week ago, and I have not been able to sleep at night since. Thankfully, I learned about free (library) #audiobooks on #Hoopla from you wonderful Littens.

These Scottish romances have been the perfect escape.

#romance

I know Atonement was a favorite for a lot of people, but it felt to me like pompous impenetrable verbiage slowed the plot‘s forward movement to an intolerable degree. In other words, too darn slow. #unpopularopinion

OH MY. THIS BOOK!! It is beyond good. FANTASTIC! I listened to it on #audiobook & I‘m so glad I was home at the near-end because I hate anyone to see me cry. An ugly cry, it was, too.

Sisters are separated during the London Blitz (WWII), but really, it examines: How do you move forward after making a mistake you believe is unforgivable?

A beautiful story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Yep, that‘s all of ‘em, 5 of 5

#historicalnovel #womenauthors

Terrific #triller from a new #femaleauthor who is, herself, a former CIA agent.

Compellingly fast-paced, and thoroughly character-driven, I was glued to the pages as they flew by. This is not a spy thriller in the traditional sense, as the MC is a desk-bound CIA analyst who happens upon the duplicity of someone close to her. No “Mission Impossible” heroics or gunfights, but psychological suspense that hooked me until the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5

#OldCoolBooks #Bibliosmia @Linsy

Please forgive the repeat. A photo challenge is no fun with no photo! 😁

#OldCoolBooks #Bibliosmia

A #monograph is a detailed study of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it. The above book is a 1967 monograph of my grandfather‘s second-favorite subject (after my grandmother of course 😊), and beneath is a picture of him racing his vintage 1926 Bugatti Type 35.

#OldCoolBooks #Monograph

This 1917 edition of Mark Twain‘s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur‘s Court” is a #novel. This copy is barely being held together by its binding, the “limp leather” cover having deteriorated to flakes.

#OldCoolBooks #novel

I‘m calling this 1930 edition of the 1903 story “Billy Whiskers” a #novella, as it‘s only 143 pages, including large print and illustrations. Likely intended for children, it‘s a darling tale, told by Billy, a very naughty goat who‘s gone on the lam. Quite an adventure he has while trying to reunite with his one true love, Nanny Goat. Will he get his happily ever-after?

#OldCoolBooks #Novella

A #Bildungsroman is a coming-of-age story, in which character change is extremely important. The 1923 copy of Toby Tyler above is just such a book. Originally printed in serial form in Harper‘s Bazaar in 1877, I‘m pretty sure this story is the genesis of my parents‘ oft asked question, “What are you going to do about it, join the circus?”

As I suspected & poor Toby found out, the circus is no place for a kid!

#OldCoolBooks #bildungsroman

I couldn‘t find a #historiography for today‘s #OldCoolBooks prompt, but this cocktail napkin fell from between two books with disintegrating covers, circa 1920 & 1959. The napkin is likely newer, as it is intact at the creases. It‘s got to be at least 15 years old I would think (judging by the bit of subtle sexism).
Fav:
The lightning bug is brilliant
Tho he has a backward mind;
He flies throughout the blackist night
With his headlight on behind

“I hope that you have met good parents and that you will have a good life. I wish for you a beautiful life, with a beautiful face and a beautiful heart....” —Your loving [birth] mother.

It isn‘t very old, but “I Wish for You a Beautiful Life” is an #epistolary book of letters from Korean birth mothers to their adopted children. It tells of heartbreak and loss, but it is also full of beauty, love, and hope.

#OldCoolBooks #Epistolary

Look what I found in the storage area of our basement! I loved all of the Beatrix Potter stories as a girl, especially Peter Rabbit, but I know these are not the books my mother read from! These #hardcovers came from my grandparents‘ home. They don‘t have a publication date and bear little resemblance to the single thick book of stories Mom had.

#OldCoolBooks #Hardcovers #Lostbooks

This 1870 four-volume edition of “the Complete Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow” includes, among many others, the epic poem “Evangeline,” which was considered a #masterpiece at the time. Perhaps it still is. This set was passed down to me by my grandfather in 2000; it appears to have been purchased new and lived in the family library for the preceding 130 years.

#OldCoolBooks #Masterpiece #VintageBooks

This 1935 Handbook for Patrol Leaders by the Boy Scouts of America is just about the only one of my #OldCoolBooks that is a #paperback. It actually belongs to my husband, who collects Boy Scout gear from pre-WWII.

#OldCoolBooks #paperbacks

This 1910 edition of Jack London‘s Call of the Wild may not be a #spinefreezer in the customary sense, but it sure kept me awake at night when I first read it as an 11-year-old. (That might have had something to do with illustrations like the one above...of course, just the thought of a beloved family pet being mistreated would have given me nightmares as a child!)

#oldcoolbooks #spinefreezers

I‘m inexcusably late with this post due to migraine.☹️

Anyway... I think this 1942 copy of Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol that my husband found at a used book store a few years ago qualifies as a #collectorsedition of #oldcoolbooks .

Hugs to you

MAY 15 PROMPT: #DeckledEdges

My grandfather bought this book in France in 1931 while visiting Mont Saint Michel during his “grand tour” between college and law school. Each page has that wonderful heavy cotton feel of #CoolOldBooks and of course #decklededges The illustration above is from the Tree of Jesse Window at Chartres Cathedral. The sculpture pictured behind the book was sculpted by my grandmother in Italian marble, called “Baby Whale.”

MAY 14 PROMPT: #Whodunnit

I borrowed today‘s selection of #OldCoolBooks from my mom. She‘s been carrying it in a Ziplock bag because so many pages have come loose. It‘s a 1938 German translation by M.R. Rinehart of Julia Koppel‘s book “Miss Pinkerton,” called “KEINE SPUR!Kriminalroman.” Loosely translated, “WITHOUT A TRACE! Whodunnit.” 😳 Really! It was made into a Hollywood movie in 1932 (but I‘m sure the book is better—in both languages!)

#Manicmonday ....

🌸 Current book is tagged. It‘s good but not great, and I should be loving it—it combines my favorite genre of military/spy thriller with my fav time for historical fiction: WWII.
🌸 My family. They‘d all bring books to a restaurant and I had no one to talk to.🙁 Now I love books too.😊💕
🌸 Anytime! Especially when I really should be doing something else.
🌸 A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

🌸 HAVE A GREAT WEEK, EVERYONE! 🌸

MAY 13 PROMPT: #Saga

Give Me Thy Vineyard is not as much of a #saga as some of the longer works that I have in newer copies, but for #coololdbooks, this book seemed the best fit. It‘s a family drama, a love story, a coming of age story, and a work of religious devotion all wrapped together. This copy was printed in 1949, and given to my Father-in-Law in 1953. Still in remarkable condition!

#CoolOldBooks #Saga #dustjackets

MAY 12 PROMPT: Rare Books

This 1885 Allegheny Edition of Theodore Roosevelt‘s Hunting Trips of a Ranchman: Sketches of Sport on the Northern Cattle Plains I think qualifies as a rare book. It was originally my great-grandfather‘s, I believe. My grandfather told me his father had hunted with Teddy a time or two, but “a bit of a bigot, he is(Teddy).” Continued 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

#oldcoolbooks #rarebooks #princeps #firsteditions#theodoreroosevelt

MAY 11 PROMPT: Lost Books

This 1957 Edition of the Hundred and One Dalmatians had been hidden from me as a child because my mother could not trust me to keep from coloring the illustrations (yes, that‘s my handiwork above) #lostbook. Although this is considered a first edition, the story appeared in serial form in Woman‘s Day Magazine as “The Great Dog Robbery” in 1956 & 1957.

#coololdbooks #lostbooks #oldchildrensbooks

I‘m using this for both today and yesterday‘s prompts. It‘s not exactly a #PennyDreadful nor does it have traditional #Swashbucklers, and it‘s even not terribly old. Published in 1976, it‘s fly leaf declares, “Without blood there is no remission of sin!” introducing an epic tale of family, vengeance, gold, Clipper Ships, and the Alamo. My mom kept very few paperbacks, so it clearly made an impression.

#OldCoolBooks #swashbucklers #pennydreadful

I‘ve missed a couple of posts for #OldCoolBooks, but here‘s my contribution for #bookspines. This Fourteenth Edition of Encyclopedia Britannica from 1932 has 24 volumes and was my great-grandfather‘s. I especially love looking at the old maps and pre-WWII Geo-political entries. So much has changed!

#oldcoolbooks #bookspines #spines #oldbookspines

MAY 5 PROMPT: INCUNABULUM

Here‘s my offering of #incunabulum for today‘s prompt in the #OldCoolBooks photo #challenge. These are photos I purloined (Shhhhh!!) 😬 from the Web of the newly-discovered Dead Sea Scrolls that are currently on exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science #dmns. Oh HOW I wish I were up to going in person; the museum is just over an hour from my home! Alas, we can obsess over the pics together.

MAY 4 PROMPT: DUST JACKETS

The great thing about this #OldCoolBooks challenge is that I‘m being reintroduced to all of the books I‘d forgotten I had. I came across my grandfather‘s The Bugatti Story (1967), and discovered he‘d actually gotten the Sir Walter (1959) from his father, all whist looking for the Shell Seekers (rather young at 1987)! The Fox Hunting with Meadowbrook isn‘t very old (2016), but it‘s subject is, so I included it for fun.

This time America‘s security is threatened by cyberattacks, and the still newly-sworn-in President knows she has nearly as much to fear from those inside government as any would-be terrorists. She turns to the one man she‘s certain she can trust: Luke Stone, and begs him back to work. The pages turn themselves in this 4th installment, even as the threats feel uncomfortably real. It‘s a wild ride & a solid 4⭐️s.

#spythriller #thriller #espionage

MAY 3 PROMPT: Naked Books

This edition of #OldCoolBooks is a 1928 copy of Thomas Hardy‘s Return of the Native. It‘s spine is barely hanging together by a few stitches in the back, and as you can see from the wear, it‘s been removed and re-shelved a number of times. I love the fancy title page, but the story is not quite to my tastes (and from the few pencil notes I can still make out, it wasn‘t my great-aunt‘s favorite either)!❤️ #nakedbooks

May 2 #OldCoolBooks PROMPT: TOME

I think this is the thickest book in my collection, measuring in just under 4 & 1/2 inches wide. It‘s the briefs, transcripts, and even exhibits (like the warehouse receipt above) from an appeals case my grandfather argued in 1943. It even has some of his handwriting in it and it smells a little like the cigars many of the other old guys smoked.

This is my treasured seven volume set of Legendary and Narrative Poems by John Greenleaf Whittier, first published in 1848. This Edition of #OldCoolBooks was published in 1892 by Riverside Press and purchased second-hand by my great-grandmother in 1912. It lived in the family home (circa 1834) until being passed to me by my grandfather in 2000.

This is my treasured seven volume set of Legendary and Narrative Poems by John Greenleaf Whittier, first published in 1848. This Edition of #OldCoolBooks was published in 1892 by Riverside Press and purchased second-hand by my great-grandmother in 1912. It lived in the family home (circa 1834) until being passed to me by my grandfather in 2000.

This was a fast-paced spy #thriller that I found hard to put down. Stone & his team are hot on the trail of terrorists who‘ve stolen and weaponized a BSL-4 virus. With a female Intelligence Analyst and US President, the author avoids the latent misogyny often found in this genre. It‘s the 2nd in the Luke Stone series. I liked it just a bit more than the first, although both are quite good and I recommend reading them in order. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A scrumptious debut novel about three women adjusting to life, loss & hardship after WWII. Poverty is a stark new reality for sisters Jeanne & Peggy when the war derails marriage plans. Orphaned, and Peggy pregnant, they‘re reliant on Peggy ‘s Mother-in-Law Thelma for a home. Thelma can ill-afford more mouths to feed, but won‘t a baby fill the hole left by her dead son? Will they find a way to happiness & prosperity, or will secrets destroy them?

I‘m not ashamed to say that I woke my husband up by first laughing and later bawling 😭 over this book. It‘s, perhaps, more embarrassing to admit that I shook off his words of comfort so I could get back to the story. Poor guy! Great Book!! It‘s about the relationship between sisters, love, loss, jealousy and guilt. Mostly, it‘s about finding purpose in your own life, living in the present, forgiving yourself, and choosing to be happy. 4.5⭐️s!

FINALLY have some time to read! My two reading buddies are glad I‘m sitting for a bit, too. They usually don‘t tolerate each other except to wrestle, but the dog is actually letting the cat sit on top of her. 😂 I‘m really enjoying The Time Between. I didn‘t mean to start reading it, but got so intrigued when I bought it on discount that I took a peak at the first chapter, and, well...Now I‘ll just have to finish!

The first book I‘ve read by this author, it was a bit more staid than I typically choose for fiction. Nevertheless I was thoroughly captivated. Although it deals unflinchingly with death, torture, terrorism, race, religion & first love, it is in the end a story of hope and the resilience of the human spirit. I rate it a full 5 stars, but with a warning that it is not for those triggered by violence.👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

The above gem follows: “...(T)he guards put down their cards and get to their feet. Everything goes from Augustus except the knowledge that he won‘t be able to stand anymore.” 😱😱 P. 54

This is turning out to be a very provocative book. I‘m much further along than this quote, but I still don‘t know who‘s good & who‘s bad!
#suspense #upallnightrrading #glenduncan

I‘m about 2/3 into this extraordinary novel that takes place in 2006, during the height of the US‘s black-site rendition program. The beauty of Glen Duncan‘s writing and the protagonist‘s memories are a stark contrast to the interrogation, torture, and then bleak existence on a remote island where the main character has taken refuge. It is not a spy thriller in the ordinary sense, but I‘m hooked.... compelled to find all the answers!

This is a FREE download on Kindle & Nook. The 1st in a series of spy/military thrillers. This is my favorite genre, so I have a bias if it‘s a page-turner (and this was!). The broad strokes of the plot were imaginative & engaging and left more to be resolved in the series. A couple tiny plot errors are excusable, given the overall quality (The Late, Great Vince Flynn, Mars is not.) A solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️