Time for the next 4-Month Challenge!!!

I love these challenges sponsored by the Book Drunkard. These are the categories:

5 points Challenges

Read a book whose author begins with S – first or last

Read a book set during WWII

Read a book with a fruit on the cover or in the title

Read an Indie

Read a book with a tree/trees on the cover or in the title

 

10 Point Challenges

Read a book whose author begins with O – first or last

Read a YA book whose author published their debut novel in 2012

Read a book set in Europe

Read a book with an embrace or kiss on the cover

Read a book with a light source on the cover (lamp, candle, torch, sun, etc.)

 

15 Point Challenges

Read a book whose author begins with N – first or last

Read something related to the circus (fiction or non-fiction)

Read a book set in the USA

Read a book by a ‘new to you’ author

Read a book with a one word title that’s a proper noun

 

20 Point Challenges

Read a book written in the 1990′s

Read a book whose author begins with D – first or last

Read a book set in Canada

Read a YA Historical 

Read a book published from September to December, 2012

 

So, here goes...

The Big Steal by Emyl Jenkins

The Big Steal by Emyl Jenkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The thing I liked most about this book was that it was set in southern central Virginia - not far from Charlottesville. I love that area. There were several mysteries in this book and solving them made it interesting. You never knew what was around the next bend - or on the next page. Sterling, the antiques appraiser, was very good at what she did, but she was also very clever and could figure things out well. She took the time to learn about the people involved and how they thought. The house, Wynderly, seemed fascinating with its secret rooms and passageways. This was a very good book and I may search out other titles by Emyl Jenkins to read.

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The Royal Sheikh by Kathryn Lane

The Royal Sheikh by Katheryn Lane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book to review. It was a typical romance novel however, it was set in the Middle East in a country called Bahir. A young architect was splashed by a limo that was arriving as she standing outside a restaurant in London. The man in the limo, the Royal Sheikh, was mesmerized by her and bought she and her friend dinner to make up for the splash. And it went on from there. He happened to see a drawing that she did on the back of a book and he asked her to design a house for him in Bahir. They fell in love; he thought she was using him to advance her career; she found out he was engaged to an Arabian Princess; she goes back to London; he gets out of the engagement and goes to London to find her; she won't have anything to do with him; he gets his assistant to make an appointment with her; he goes; she falls again; he tells her he isn't married; they resume their relationship, get married and go off to live in Bahir in the new house she designed. It was a good story, typical, but good. Sometimes I like to read something light. This was a fun, quick read.

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The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this classic book! I wanted to read a classic and I wasn't sure which one to choose. After reading reviews of "The Woman in White" where it was described as a mystery comparable to contemporary mysteries, I decided to try it. Even at over 500 pages, it never dragged. There were twists and turns, mistaken identity and downright nastiness. Yes, it was written a long time ago and it takes place in Victorian England, but it plays with your head and makes you question each character's loyalty to the other characters. My favorite characters? Walter Hartright of course, and Laura. Laura was so innocent in all of this and Marian was so clever and strong. Wilkie Collins knew how to write a mystery!!!

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The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a short little book - a novella. It was quite entertaining to think of the Queen of England sneaking around to get an opportunity to read and how obsessed she was. Aren't all of us booklovers obsessed with reading? I carry a book everywhere with me in case I get a moment to read a chapter while I'm waiting for an appointment or something. The objections of her ministers to her reading irritated me especially when they got rid of Norman. Even though he benefitted by getting a college education, it bothered me that they removed her fellow booklover and her friend. She didn't seem to have many friends. I'm afraid I didn't really understand the ending - I guess it brought back the fact that it was a work of fiction. I could imagine the Queen actually doing some of the things that happened in the book and then the ending smacked me on the forehead reminding me that it was a work of fiction - none of it was true. How disappointing. Anyway, I did enjoy the book just didn't like the end.

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