This was ok. Not as humourous as I remember of the other (few) books I‘ve read by Pratchett. I hate footnotes, though, and even more so in fiction, but Pratchett uses them. Luckily, there were not many in this book

I enjoyed this. I‘m not always a fantasy fan, but as a librarian (and cataloguer), I quite enjoyed that part of the book, and the fact that Isaac (and other libriomancers) was/are able to pull things out of books. That‘s pretty cool. I really liked Isaac‘s pet fire spider (pulled from a book, of course). I was also a bit amused by the bibliography at the end, which included made up titles in the book

I was listening to the audio and I did miss portions of the book, though I managed to take in the major events of the book. I liked the POV of the snake the couple of times we got that. The audio was very good with the accents. The phrases and vocabulary was pretty fun, too. Moore‘s trademark is humour, so of course, there was a bit of that, too. Cont in comments...

I really enjoyed this! I learned a little bit about mythology, as well. I‘m sure I knew some of this at some point, but most of what I once knew I‘ve forgotten! It‘s a short story, so it‘s fairly quick to read

Unfortunately, this book didn‘t always hold my interest. There were chapters on politics, and censorship, but I was most interested in the soldiers themselves. There was some description of the fighting and such, but the author also included comments on what the soldiers thought of the books that were sent. The last chapter also talked about how many soldiers became readers who hadn‘t been before the war. Cont in comments...

There is a lot going on! It does end up meshing together, with Chinese mythology and fantastical elements weaved in, as well. The mythology was told like a story-within-a-story (which I‘m not a fan of), so I kind of skimmed that. Also not a big fantasy fan, so the fantasy stuff didn‘t peak my interest. The book was very dark; the darkness in this book also didn‘t do it for me. I didn‘t like any of the characters in the story, either. Not for me.

I really liked this. With the audio, the narrator made it easy to tell which time frame we were in, just by the voice she used for a younger Annie, so I thought that was done well. There was a short author‘s note at the end; it was interesting to find out one of the missing girls in the book was a real person! And I liked that she decided to set the book pre-internet, pre-cell phone, as well (also talked about in the author‘s note).

This is a spin-off of the graphic novel Fables series. As with the rest of the series, the colour illustrations are very well done. I have not always been all that interested in Bigby as a character, but I liked this story. It‘s been a while since I‘ve read any of the Fables series, and it was fun to read another.

I didn‘t like this one as much as the first two, though that little porcupine was cute! I‘m not sure why this one didn‘t hold my interest as well as the first two in the series, but I did lose focus a few times. (Note: I was not listening to an audio, so can‘t blame it on that.) I will continue the series, however

Another great book by Grisham. I really like Jake and the story was fantastic. Not a short book (are any of Grisham‘s short?), but I wanted to keep reading to see what surprises might happen next. Black woman Portia is working for Jake and planning to head to law school; she‘s another secondary character I really like. I do hope the series continues.

This was ok. Maybe a bit creepy, but I didn‘t think all that much. It just wasn‘t really all too exciting for me. I didn‘t find the characters all that interesting, either. It was definitely 80s, though! There was a little bit of humour at the start, but I didn‘t find the funny lasted throughout the book – at least it didn‘t seem to for me.

It is probably more of interest to librarians and/or people from Saskatchewan who use or once used their public/regional libraries. I am both a librarian and I grew up in rural Saskatchewan. I did find it interesting to read about how the different regional systems were formed, the politics, etc. There were a lot of stats and economics included, as well, which all sounds not overly exciting, but it‘s written in an accessible way.

I listened to the audio and was interested in the set up of the story, but it was hard to follow and I missed much of the middle section. We switched perspectives in the story a lot, and there was nothing obvious to indicate when the switch happened. Add to that, many (though not all) Russian names I don‘t know and it remained difficult for me to figure out who we were following at various times. Cont in comments...

This was fun and I really enjoyed it! It was funny and unrealistic, but just so much fun. I was happy to see at the end of the book that there‘s a sequel

There were a lot of different storylines happening in this book, but I found them all interesting. They did all come together at the end. There were times when we followed the POV of “bad guys” and I often find those parts in many books boring, or at least not nearly as interesting as the rest, but that wasn‘t the case with this one. Not sure why that was. Maybe the dog helped! :-)

I found some parts more interesting than others. Some of the biographical info on some of the people who ran the place was not nearly as interesting, I thought, as the patients who were there and the details about their lives (before and) there. The book was quite detailed, and I sometimes did find it plodding. The font was small and it did take a long time to read. Overall, though, I am rating it “good”.

As with many short story anthologies, there were some stories I liked better than others. There were a few I just didn‘t understand and a couple that didn‘t really end; that is, they just abruptly stopped. I really liked the stories of the WWII Indigenous soldier, Meech Lake/Oka, the Sixties Scoop, and the environmental one of the pipeline running through Dene Territory (the NorthWest Territories). Cont in comments...

I usually don‘t like a story within a story, but I really liked this one. The letters from Leo really ramped things up a bit (though there were times I took a minute to unscramble things in my head, as we had Freddie, a character in Hannah‘s book, using real life events to write her own book. But Leo was reading and commenting on Hannah‘s book!). I still thought the letters worked well and it brought an added tension. Cont in comments...

I listened to the audio, and though it started off well, I tended to lose interest as we went along. There was a lot going on, and I had to wonder about the two of them sticking their noses into everyone‘s business. Overall, I‘m rating it ok.

I thought this was clever. Much of the book was done in different styles. That is, much of the book was told directly from the author to the reader, breaking the “fourth wall". I also thought the atmosphere was done well – I definitely pictured the ‘70s hunting lodge: all brown wood paneling with hunted animal heads on the walls and such. But, I also found it quite “literary” and a bit dry. I certainly didn‘t care about the people. Cont in comnts

I really liked this. Have to admit, though, there was more than once where I said to myself – call the police! Don‘t do these things yourself (and that includes “talking to” Frank – he‘s not a cop, anymore!). This was the 2nd book in a series, but to be honest, I remember next to nothing of the first book, so I would say you don‘t need to read the first one first

The colour illustrations are done very well and the information is provided (it‘s meant for a young audience) is short tidbits. It‘s a very fast read. One interesting thing I learned why doctors used those scary looking bird masks when dealing with the plague. I mean, I “get” why a mask, but why with long beaks…? Now I know

These are so good with so much information. I‘ll never remember even half of it probably, but it‘s done so well, and the (colour) illustrations are beautiful. Even simple things I probably should have known like what characteristics distinguish a raptor. It was interesting to see the close-up illustrations of the birds, like their beaks and talons to distinguish, as I am never likely to see that in person! I am enjoying this entire series so much.

This book was an unfinished manuscript. I still really enjoyed it even if it wasn‘t as Laura would have published it. There were plenty of brilliant descriptions of things. During the four years the crops never did flourish, though they did well with their animals. The weather was the culprit – hail, a tornado, drought, fire. Also blizzards in winter factored into their lives. Cont in comments...

I listened to the audio and this was ok. Pretty slow moving and I did lose focus at points so didn‘t fully follow some of the townspeople‘s activities and even missed who some of the people were. The book references were fun, and it‘s a cute story

I quite liked this. It was slow moving (as gothic stories tend to be), but the end definitely caught me by surprise! The book was from multiple different points of view: Clare‘s, Georgie‘s, and Harbinder Kaur, the main detective on the case. I was least interested in Harbinder‘s POV. Cont in comments...

This was another slow moving book, but overall it was good. It took a bit to learn the characters, especially with Maggie and Maisie – I think I had to sometimes stop and think for a minute every time one or the other was newly introduced into a scene. The story is mostly from Jem and Maggie‘s points of view. Apparently Philip Astley was also a real person and created the first circus.

I have read quite a bit about Jane, and only one or two other books about Katherine and Mary, so I was kept interested. With regards to Elizabeth I, this book sure looked at a different side to her, where she was so very worried about being outsted by others in her family to take over the throne. Katherine and Mary were next in line since Elizabeth had no children (alongside Mary of Scots). I listened to the audio and had no problem with it.

It was a slow-moving book, and maybe not super-original, but it was scary. I had a hard time heading to the basement to clean my cats‘ litter box the one evening I‘d been reading the book! Because of that, it gets a high rating from me. The book did its job to scare me, as any good horror should.

This started off really good, but I have to admit I wasn‘t as interested in some parts (possible like the Russian spy stuff and when the reader followed the “bad guys”). But following Cassie as she tried to figure out what to do certainly kept me interested. And knowing and following the “bad guys” separately did keep up the tension in parts of the book, so there was a reason for it.

This was mostly good. There were a few parts that got bogged down in detail explaining the technology or what was working (or not) that was, at times, a bit too much for me. It was a slow read, but overall, I liked it. It was unfortunate that others “raided” the site. Ballard had hoped that everything would remain there in its own graveyard, but of course, that didn‘t happen. Cont in comments...

This is so well done and I think anyone can learn from these. There are things crows do that remind me of humans. One thing I didn‘t know that crows are very good imitators (with sounds!). This series called “Science Comics” and is so good. This is the 2nd book I‘ve read in the series and they‘ve both been very good and I have learned things! The illustrations are also very well done, including images of a couple of things in their actual size.

I still don‘t understand. It still sounds like sarcasm to me. Examples didn‘t help. A few examples were amusing, but still didn‘t help. It started with explanations of the different types of irony, then a history of irony. There were various examples of authors using irony, irony in pop culture. At least it was fast to read. I liked that there were a number of Canadian examples. But I still don‘t “get” it. I‘m probably more confused than ever.

the first half or so of the book was more interesting to me, as that was the focus on the 80s teen movies. It was interesting to read about his relationships with the actors and how he made the films. He got along very well with the younger actors, but he was not great at communications with other producers, directors, etc, who he had working on his films. He had a particularly close relationship with John Candy, so that was interesting.

Assuming it stayed fairly accurate to true life, the parents and family of Helen sure didn‘t help, as they just gave in her tantrums, feeling badly because she was unable to understand why they might deny her what she wanted. It‘s short, but it has made me want to read more, probably nonfiction. I liked that there was a broad continuation at the end of the book that quickly explained more of Helen and Annie‘s lives together.

I loved Henry and the story with him and Addie. I listened to the audio, and often lost interest when Luc would appear, so I likely missed much of that part of the story. Thinking back on the book as I write this, though, I debate about rating it ok rather than good. I suspect that rating will decrease with time and memory of the book (since it already has just a little)

This was another slow-moving book, but she did such an amazing job describing the conditions – the dust storms and the struggles in Texas, as well as living conditions and struggle for survival once they got to California. It went in a direction I didn‘t expect toward the end. It did remind me of “The Grapes of Wrath”, though I don‘t recall details on that one; it‘s been a long time since I read it.

This was good, a bit slow through most of it, but even so, I liked the story enough that I was close to rating it 4 stars. The very end made up my mind to give it that extra boost up to 4. Because Ellie ended up living on Katie‘s farm with her and her family (part of the bail conditions), it was interesting to learn a lot more about Amish culture.

started off pretty slow for me, but got better once the women were living with the Cheyenne. I quite liked many of the characters and the friendships that developed between them. I also think the book did a good job of showing the culture shock, and the women trying to fit in to this new culture. Cont in comments...

Audio was ok. Similar to short stories, I found some more interesting than others, but it was easier than I‘d have liked to become distracted when listening. Some of the ones I was able to keep a bit more focus on: mosquito (and maybe not one one would have thought an essay to be written on!), squid, wasp, coyote, raven, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, praying mantis. Cont in comments...

The characters had pretty much the same personalities (as in the original); it was a odd to have Matthew and Marilla living in an apartment in a city. It was good, but it‘s just so hard to live up to the original. That being said, it‘s probably not the original book in my mind (I have read it twice, but it‘s been a while), but the CBC miniseries from the mid-80s, which remains one of my all-time favourite movies. I liked the artwork.

I really liked it. It was a bit of a mash of “true crime”/mystery plus horror/ghosts/supernatural going on in the book, but it‘s all stuff I like, so it was all good

Oh, how frustrating were those parents, especially Helen‘s mother! How irresponsible of them! This included a 2nd part to the memoir called “Liverpool Miss”. It did end a bit abruptly, though with an epilogue by Helen‘s son to explain where Helen eventually ended up and how she got there. But with regard to the abrupt ending to Helen‘s part of the story, it does seem there is a continuation. I will be putting it on my tbr.

This is aimed toward kids, but I learned some stuff about the solar system, as well. I really enjoyed this. The pets as crew was kind of silly, but likely appealing to kids. I liked that there was a summary at the end of each planetary visit to explain some of the things learned. I also liked that they stopped at Pluto, even though it is no longer considered a planet. And I also enjoyed learning about a few of the planets‘ moons. Cont in comments.

Without an actual plot, and it moved pretty slow… and teenage girls. It was ok, can‘t say much more than that for me. I loved Ave Maria‘s best friend (at first), but she also made a stupid decision that I was quite disgusted with later (you‘d think she was the teenager!). I think I‘m very much like Ave Maria. I‘m not a parent, but it wouldn‘t surprise me if I had been, that I‘d be similar to her.

I really liked this. There were also flashbacks to what led Jia to her divorce, Ishaan‘s issues at school, and other things going on with Jia. I did find the storm/”current day” scenes more interesting than the flashbacks, but the flashbacks were needed to figure out what was going on. There were times I wasn‘t a fan of Jia; she did some stupid things. I almost rated it a bit lower, but the end brought the rating back up for me.

I liked The Julian Chapter the least of the three, likely because Julian (despite this one being from his POV) is a little s**t (though I did like his grandmother‘s story). I‘m giving it (this time around) 3.5 stars (good). The other two I thought were really good. I really enjoyed Chris‘s story and it probably had the most of Auggie in it. Cont in comments...

It‘s written quite simply and it‘s short, so it is a fast read; I believe it is meant as YA. There were even some photographs of Hannah‘s (that she managed to hold on to through and after the war) that included Hannah, her family, and photos with Anne. There wasn‘t as much about Anne, specifically as I‘d hoped, but that‘s ok. What was there was interesting, as well as learning about Hannah and her family‘s experiences

Probably the only thing I didn‘t like was the convenience of the timing of an event near the end. Thinking more about it, they likely would still have figured it out (in a different way) before the very end. And wow! I was surprised at how much in this story was real! The characters, some based wholly on a real person and some on a mix of people. But even the events… so many of them really happened.

The topic is not really my interest (though I grew up in a small town, so it was somewhat interesting from that perspective), but I think for what it does/recommends/suggests, it is a good book. I think it‘s a worthwhile read, particularly for people who live in rural areas, whether they are “leaders” in those communities, or business owners, or just the people who live there (assuming they do not want their communities to die).