Review: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really loved this journey. I could have done without the gruesome details of the sled dogs, but other than that this book made me want to experience the polar night and the aurora australis. After looking at the pictures, I had not realized some penguins were so fluffy (to the eye at least). I really want a penguin!

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2018 - A book set at sea.


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Review: The Snowman

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The further I got into this book, the harder it was to put down. I started this book on a Monday, but I had to put it down for 2 weeks as I needed to make sure I got two other books read before the end of the month. I picked this one up again on a weekend. I have to say it was the longest week waiting for the weekend so I could binge read this book. I was only getting 45 minute in each day during the week during break/lunch at work.

This was a great book. I now feel compelled to read the 6 previous books. This was fast paced and kept me on my toes. Now I can see the movie without feeling guilt for not reading the book first.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2018 - Nordic Noir.


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Review: Killing the Unicorn

Killing the Unicorn by Lizella Prescott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

I read this book in one day. I usually give page turners like this one five stars, but I have to say, I was ready to give up because Helen was an incredibly annoying character for most of the book. Only the story itself kept me going. It's one of those stories you have to know what happens in the end, but unfortunately, you have to deal with an annoying character. I am glad I stuck it out, though. The story itself was great.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2018 - A book with an animal in the title.

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Review: Spellslinger

Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

This is my first book by this author. I have to say it's one of the best books that I have read in a long time. I was cracking up at the "cattitude" the author brought to Reichis. The author is a cat owner and it definitely shows.

Aside from the awesome cat references, the story itself was really awesome. You are grabbed in the first pages, which is not something that has happened to me in quite a while. I finished the book in two days. I would have finished yesterday, but real life (stupid work) and the need for sleep (sigh) got in the way.

I really loved this book and can't wait until the next one comes out on Kindle next month!

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Review: Watermelon Snow

Watermelon Snow by William A. Liggett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my first climate fiction thriller book. I really enjoyed it. It was a wonderful page turner. It was extremely hard to put down after my lunch breaks were over.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2018 - A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title.


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Review: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A sad time in US history that has been nearly forgotten. I'm astounded by the ways the government could come up with so many ways of continuously oppressing the tribes. To make matters worse, the Osage were constantly targets of murderous plots for their oil and mineral rights. With the exception of the murder cases examined in this book, the majority of murders were never investigated or even acknowledged.

The book itself was a great read. Aside from bringing the western frontier to life, I learned quite a bit. As someone who has worked at a title company, I gained a new appreciation for the history of oil and mineral rights.

A couple books ago, I read of how the Navajo were treated during this same time period. These books have made want to read up on other tribes as well. Their stories cannot be forgotten to time.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2018 - True Crime.


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Review: Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After watching Saving Mr. Banks, I was expecting this book to "save Mr. Banks." Unfortunately, it does not; Mr. Banks is hardly mentioned in the book at all. I do not know if the other books in the series lead toward that, but I disliked the Mary Poppins character in this book so much, that I am having an internal battle with myself about whether I want to read the other three books.

Mary Poppins is nothing like the movie version. I have to give Walt Disney a lot of credit. He put some humanity into the movie version of Mary Poppins.

The adventures the children went on were just for the sake of having an adventure. I was somewhat expecting there to be "lessons learned" as the movie Mary Poppins and Saving Mr. Banks seemed to have/imply.

The upside to reading this book was that I was able to fill in a reading challenge prompt that I was struggling to fill in.

I read this book as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2018 - A book with characters who are twins.


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