Children of the Fox by Kevin Sands

 Callan was trained by a master con man. Then one day his master disappeared and ever since he had been planning and carrying out his own little gaffs, trying to save enough money to give him a hope of a respectable life. One day he receives an invitation he can't resist--pull off one job, and be paid more money than he had ever imagined.  He recognizes it for what it is, a trick, but he still can't resist looking into it. His benefactor teams him up with other young teens and tasks them to steel a magical item from the head magician himself. Little do they know that by succeeding they might lose everything.

I put this book on hold after reading the last Blackthorn Key book. I was not disappointed.  This is an exciting and intriguing story with interesting characters. The setting and the magic system are a little fuzzy but I don't think most readers will be too disturbed by that. You can tell that the author is well established, because the book ends on a cliffhanger. They never let new authors do that, but here it works. I put the second book on hold right away, and it is already waiting in my cue. (416 p. 2021)

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

The SecUnit likes the small team of scientists it has been tasked with protecting as they investigate the possible assets of an uninhabited planet. The SecUnit, which calls itself, MurderBot, has secretly disabled its management program, and has downloads hours of action sitcoms to review while in stasis between its daily patrols and other responsibilities. It doesn't feel comfortable around the humans and always keeps its visor down around them.  Then one day something goes wrong. There is an attack on a base, and the team begins to wonder if there is more to it than the undocumented large fauna which injured one of the crewmen.  It is up to MurderBot to keep its unit safe as they investigate the unknown.

I can't remember who recommended this book to me but I really enjoyed it. The MurderBot has an interesting personality, both interaction-averse and highly protective of the scientists. It is querky in a kind of Asperger's way that is endearing. There is some language, but the book is otherwise clean for a YA SciFi. It is also really short and I think it would be a good choice for a teen reluctant reader. I enjoyed it enough I put the second on hold right away. (2017, 160 p)

P.S. As I was looking up the page count and publication date, I discovered it won a boatload of awards the year it came out. 

The Call of the Wraith by Kevin Sands

 In this forth book in the Blackthorn Key series, Christopher Rowe wakes up in a peasant's shed not knowing who he is or how he got there. The kind farmer tells him the was washed ashore after a shipwreck. As he starts to search for clues about his identity, he meets Tom and Sally, but even though they recognize him, he doesn't recognize them. They team up to try to figure out what happened, but also to solve a mystery.  Children in the village have been disappearing, and locals blame it on a ghost called the White Lady. As they investigate Christopher's past and the mystery of the missing children, Christopher's memories slowly return. 

When I was looking for what to read next, I found this book. I felt like I had read it before, but I didn't have it on my blog.  I started to listen to it, and realized I had listened to it before. It had been long enough that I didn't really remember the plot and I enjoyed listening to it again. I have really enjoyed all of the Blackthorn Key series. The characters are well drawn and the plots are clever.  I don't know how authentic the setting is, but the author does address a real middle-ages issue with each book.  This book deals with the problem of the Barbary Pirates.  I read book 3 in 2018, and I don't know why I waited so long to continue the series, but it won't be as long before I read the next book. (2018, 512 p)

Great Courses: Identity in the Age of Ancestral DNA by Anita Foeman

 Many people base a lot of their personal identity on their race and family narrative. What happens, then, if you take a DNA Ancestry test and discover that your race or family narrative is not what you thought it was? This is the guiding question of this 12-part Great Courses Lecture Series.  The presenter has spent 18 years doing research on this topic.  She finds volunteers that are interested in doing a DNA test, interviews them, and then gives them the test. When the results come back she interviews them again. She spends the beginning of the lectures talking about different ways people can deal with the results emotionally.  Then she does a couple of lectures talking about ethical issues surrounds DNA results, especially related to medical issues that might arise. Finally she talks philosophically about the different elements of personal identity and their importance in our lives.  

Sometimes when I finish a book and don't know what to listen to next, but I don't want to spend a lot of time selecting a new book, I just look at what Great Courses are available.  I don't know why I chose this one this week. It didn't turn out to be what I expected. I thought they would go into more of the science of how ancestral DNA tests determine where someone's ancestors are from, but this course dealt with that only tangentially. Instead it mostly dealt with how people feel when they get unexpected results.  It was a little amazing to me that the lecturer could find enough to fill six hours of lectures on this topic. After listening to it, though, I realized that because I am from a religion that encourages members to know their genealogy, I know much more about my ancestry than the common American. When I did an Ancestry DNA test it was no surprise at all that 97% of my ancestors came from the British Isles. Listening to these lectures opened my eyes to the plight of mixed racial people who might not know if their great grandparents were white, African, middle eastern, or American indigenous. I guess it could be a little disorienting if you have always identified as African American and then your Ancestry DNA test shows that you are only 1/4 African, 1/2 Asian and 1/4 white.  Do you then stop seeing yourself as African American and instead start identifying as Asian?  Or what if you do the test and find out that your parents used a sperm donor, and you have a dozen people who are your biological half siblings? It ended up being an interesting topic, though one I probably won't have occasion to apply to my personal life. (6 hrs, 2022)

The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren

 Lucy Swift is still smarting from a nasty breakup with her toad of a boyfriend.  She is going to Oxford to visit her grandmother who owns a knitting shop in the historic part of town.  However, when she arrives she finds the shop boarded up.  Neighbors tell her that her grandmother had passed away three weeks before. Lucy is devastated, and then overwhelmed when she finds out that she has inherited the knitting shop. Things get even more complicated when Lucy starts meeting strange people with ageless looks and cold hands who turn out to be the local vampires.  Lucy learns that her Grandmother has become a vampire, too, and though undead, seems almost like she was in life.  It turns out that her Grandmother was murdered and Lucy's life is also at risk unless she can discover who the murder is and what he was after. 

This book was recommended to me by one of my young adult patrons at the library.  It is relatively short and a very fun to read. Even though Lucy is 27, this book is appropriate for the 14-18 crowd and will appeal to teens who liked Twilight. This is more of a mystery than a romance, but there is a rather cute, single, police officer that keeps showing up at just the right time. The mystery elements are pretty good, though it wasn't super hard to guess the culprit.  Though the magic system is a bit fuzzy, there is a host of charming characters and a fair dose of humor. I just looked it up and it is the first in a series.  I just put the second on hold. (260 p. 2018)

Penny For Your Secrets by Anna Lee Huber

In this third installment in the Verity Kent series, Verity and Sydney Kent are pulled into murder mystery when Verity's friend, Ada, is accused of killing her unaffectionate aristocratic husband. A few days later they are asked to investigate another murder, this time the sister of one of Verity's spy buddies. As Verity and Sydney follow clues they continue to work on their relationship and deal with the ghosts of their past. 

This is a pretty fun series. There is a lot of chemistry between Verity and Sydney and their on again/off again passion leads to good sexual tension. That being said, all their marital exploits are completely off screen. The mystery elements are well crafted, and the portrayal of the roaring twenties in post war Europe is interesting. I only wish they had a different reader narrating the book. I don't know why they chose her.  Her accent and character voices are ok, but she totally doesn't understand phrasing. Oh well.  I am more tolerant of bad readers than some people so I will probably end up listening to more in the series. (2019, 336p)

Alice's Adventure in Wonderland: A Full-Cast Radio Play

 Alice is bored reading outside with her sister. The warm sun lulls her to sleep but she is awakened by a white rabbit with a waistcoat and a pocket watch.  She follows the rabbit down the well, where she finds of world of strange and of

ten rather rude characters.  In her attempts to follow the White Rabbit, she ends up growing very large, and very small.  She attends an "unbirthday" tea potter with the Mad Hatter and March Hare. Finally she ends at the Queen of Heart's garden party where she nearly has her head chopped off. Unflappable Alice is not afraid, and simply tips over the Queen's Soldiers, who are, after all, just a deck of playing cards.

I listened to this in preparations for an Alice themed library event we will be having a week and a half from now.  It had been a while since I had read Alice in Wonderland, but it is still as frightening and "trippy" as I remembered. This time through, however, I recognized that there are also some very clever puns and witty satire going on.  It is one of those books that people think were written for children, but which were really for adults. The recording is pretty good, with all of quite a large cast doing their parts pretty well. (2018, 2 hrs)

And There Was Light by Jacques Lusseyran

 When Lusseyran was eight years old an accident left him blind.  As an active child in Paris, he didn't let his disability slow him down for long.  He recruited other boys to help him run and play and by the time he was 17 he was something of a leader among the young men. Then Germany invaded France, and Lusseyran knew he had to find some way to resist. He organized his friends and other young men in Paris to produce and deliver allied newsletters.  After many months of success, he was betrayed and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. There he experienced terrible conditions, and many of the young men from his group died, but in prison his disability was a blessing because it meant he wasn't sent out in the work groups.  Instead he worked as a translator and went through the camp encouraging others. 

One of my friends at work recommended this to me and I really enjoyed it.  It is the autobiography that was the inspiration for All The Light We Cannot See which I also enjoyed. Lusseyran's writing is very uplifting.  He describes how he continued to "see" the world by tuning into his other senses, and how it felt like all the world was filled with light, even when he couldn't see. His upbeat and positive attitude is an inspiration, as is his courage, not only during the war, but also as he grew up and lived an active life as a young teen. Also touching was he stories of the boys who befriended him and became very loyal to him. This is a great choice for those who like WWII history. (2014, 304p)

The Valet's Secret by Josi Kilpack

 At his cousin's unexpected death, Kenneth Winterton has become the heir of a legacy he never expected. He is overwhelmed with his new role so decides to change clothes with his valet so he can escape for a few hours on horseback to clear his head. While riding he nearly runs over Rebecca Parker, a widow who now cares for an alcoholic and sometimes violent father. When Kenneth comes to Rebecca's aid by the roadside sparks fly. Kenneth can tell Rebecca is a tradeswoman, so he pretends to be the valet of the new heir to the earldom so he can get to know her better.  He knows his deception can't last long, but he can't convince himself to tell her and give up their long walks together. Once the truth does comes out, Kenneth and Rebecca try to deny their mutual attraction. They are from different classes, and there is no way the ton would ever allow an Earl to marry a shopgirl.

As I listened to this short novel I felt like I had read it before. I hadn't, but the idea of a nobleman in disguise is not a new one. In fact there was nothing very original or surprising in the plot at all. Still, it was short and clean and the characters where sympathetic enough. I mostly chose this book because I was waiting for another one I had on hold, and it filled that role admirably. (288p, 2022)

Who Was (personalities from the 1800's in America) (various authors)

 This week I was waiting for a book I have on hold, so I didn't want to commit to a longer book.  Instead I listened to three Who Was books for children.  I decided to pick famous American characters from the early to mid 1800's.  I thought it would be interesting to compare their lives. 

Who Was Daniel Boone by S.A. Kramer 

Daniel Boone is famous for creating a passage through the Appalachian Mountains to Kentucky.  He was an adventurer, marksman, trapper and soldier. When I was a little girl, we saw these kinds of characters as heroes of American history. Now we are a little more sensitive to the injustices of western expansion, and how unfair colonists and pioneers were to native peoples.  This book does a pretty good job of addressing the ethical issues while acknowledging that people from the time period had a different moral yardstick than we use today.  Still, I finished the book feeling embarrassed and guilty about the way my ancestors treated others, rather than proud of it. (2006, 112 p)

Who Was Johnny Appleseed by Joan Holub

I found this a rather illuminating depiction of a character who had seemed more like a folk tale to me than a real person.  I had always pictured Johnny Chapman as a kind of 19th century hippy, going around planting apple trees and talking with wild animals.  That is a little bit true, but he was also an entrepreneur that took advantage of the government's rule that homesteaders had to improve their claims in order to keep them. He collected seeds from community apple cider presses, grew seedlings and then sold them to settlers.  I didn't realize that Chapman actually, at various times, owned thousands of acers of orchards. He seemed to not be a very good businessman, though, because he always lost his land because of mismanagement. Because he was kind to native people and non-violent, he is less morally questionable than Boone. (2005, 112 p)

Who was Harriet Beecher Stowe by Diana Meachen Rau

I knew less about Stowe coming in to this biography than I knew about the other two.  I knew that Uncle Tom's Cabin was very influential in promoting abolition, but I didn't understand exactly how successful it was.  I found it interesting that Stowe was just a housewife who liked to write.  She wrote short pieces for newspapers, and one nonfiction book for her sister's school. Uncle Tom's Cabin was her first novel, and it was an instant and huge success. It made her very wealthy and famous, and she used her fame to promote freedom for enslaved peoples. It was my favorite of the three biographies, maybe because I could relate with the protagonist better. (2015, 112 p) 

One historical insight I gained from reading all three books is that the push to settle the American West was not only fueled by population growth. It was also the result of poor farming practices and over hunting that left the land depleted only a short time after the Europeans arrived. Another insight I had was that in the early 1800's almost everyone was on the edge of food insecurity.  It didn't take much--a drought, an attack from hostile natives, depleted soil--to make it so whole communities didn't have enough to eat. That is one way that life in our country has improved. 

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

 Gladwell is famous for his books The Tipping Point, Outliers, and Talking with Strangers.  This book is a collection of articles he wrote over a long career for The New Yorker,  He divides the 19 essays into three groups: Obsessives, Pioneers, and Other Varieties of Minor Genius; Theories, Predictions, and Diagnoses; and Personality, Character, and Intelligence.  In the first he recognizes lesser known people who were really good at what they did and impacted the world. The second talks about intelligence failure, and focuses a lot on the fall of Enron. The third deals with how hard it is to use objective measures to predict how successful someone will be. 

Gladwell has a very entertaining and glib style.  You find yourself wanting to believe him just because of his smooth rhetoric.  After listening through 19 of his essays, I recognized a recurrent pattern in his writing. He sets up a case study that seems to clearly suggest something.  Then he carefully analyses it to show that you can't make the assumptions you did when you first heard the story.  His articles are thought provoking and interesting, and I found myself sharing some of his stories with people I interacted with all week. It is an older book, and some of the articles are older still.  Someone under fifty might have to do a little research to understand the Enron scandal and other cultural references to the 70's and 80's.  As someone over 60, some of the articles brought back memories of things I hadn't thought about in a long time, like the old Veg-o-matic commercials and the Loreal and Clairol hair color commercials.  The book is read by the author who does a great job.  I would certainly recommend this book to someone who enjoyed his other books. (2010, 448 p)