July Book Challenge

 

1.      A book set in the place where you live ~

女二 (Female Supporting Role)

Author: Joyoon Deng

Genre: fiction

Number of pages: 461

First published: 2023

Setting: Taipei

Rating: 2 stars

First sentence: She was barefoot, stepping into her sister’s cloth shoes.

One sentence comment: This is a book full of dialogues, a bit like a play.

 

I seldom read novels written by Taiwanese writers because I don’t relate much to the characters. However, this book was recommended in a philosophical professor’s video, and it got a Taipei Prize last year.

It’s about a young woman’s acting life and her psychology. The reason she wants to be an actor is that she doesn’t need to act the role of herself. She wants to conquer something. I like the idea that after one gets mature, one can be great without depending on dreams.

 

2. A book set in a different world

Revival

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror

Number of pages: 466

First published: 2012

Setting: US

Rating: 4 stars

First sentence: In one way, at least, our lives really are like movies.

One sentence comment: I love the first two chapters, which are so vivid that I was brought in the methodist community in the sixties US, and felt similar heart-broken like the characters in the book had felt.

 I started the book in latter June. It was written by King in his mid seventies. The major theme is death and faith, which, I believe, he had personally experienced in his near fatal car accident and aftermath in previous years. King is a master in writing an antihero, especially the pivot of his change. The antihero in the book is most interesting. His surname, Jacobs, is the mixture of job and Jacob from the bible. The former was stripped of everything he loved in life, but the latter was determined to fight with an angle to get up a ladder to heaven. Curiously he also used his middle name Dan, which I think is from Dan Brown, the latest powerful antichrist writer.

 I adore this book either for its theme or characters. However, the weakness of the book is the portion of the narrator‘s band career and love life, which felt like superfluous add-on. Therfore, I only give it four stars.

 

3. A book by an author from a country different than your own

Sense and Sensibility

Author: Jane Austen

Genre: fiction

Number of pages: 353

First published: 1811

Setting: Sussex, Devenshire and London, UK

Rating: 3 stars

First sentence: The family of Dashwood had been long settled in Sussex.

One sentence comment: The story is bland because I was affected by none of the characters.

 

This is the last of the Austen’s six novels that I read. I realized why the film of 1995 directed by Ang Lee was considered excellent because the actors made the characters’  feelings effective. Again it is a story of love constrained by financial situations but Marianne was surprisingly immature considering how they were forced to move out with her father’s death.

 

In my opinion, the theme of the book is Gossip. People who care about the two heroines, Elinor and Marianne, pass gossip for the benefit of finding husbands for them. However, Elinor and Marianne seem to be quite obnoxious, criticizing other people for their lack of taste or vulgar remarks. If these people don't exist, the sisters’ good taste of music or art can't be known for the purpose of either love or marriage. If they don't care for gossips, why are they eager to be informed of Willoughby's fortune and character from those who gossip? Actually the society they sit in is fed by gossip, but they act as if they are better than their companions. I think the two sisters are the most unpleasant characters in Austen's novels.

 4. A book with a place in the title

Murder on Bank Street (Gaslight Mystery #10)

Author: Victoria Thompson

Genre: historical mystery

Number of pages: 326

First published: 2008

Setting: New York City

Rating: 2 stars

First sentence: Danny didn’t like lying to the Doc.

One sentence comment: It becomes the easiest thing to continue this mystery series for everything that happens there seems so familiar to me.

 This book seems repetitive to me since many events happened then were talked by different characters. The readers have to read the same events a few times. The plot is most absurd. I think this is the worst book in the series so far. Had I not already bought a few later books, I may stop here.

 

5. A book with a landscape on the cover

Circle of Friends

Author: Maeve Binchy

Genre: fiction

Number of pages: 722

First published: 1990

Setting: Ireland

Rating: 4 stars

First sentence: The kitchen was full of the smells of baking.

One sentence comment: It’s disappointing that there isn’t a mature female leading role as in the author’s previous books.

 

The story revolves around three 20 year old girls. Everyone has to cope with their drawbacks and yearnings. It’s a great story but not as great as the author’s earlier novels. Still, I enjoy reading a devious young woman in formation.

 

June Monthly Challenge

1.      A book about a parent, siblings, or other family members

The Shining

Author: Stephen King

Genre: horror

Number of pages: 659

First published: 1977

Setting: small town

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: Jack Torrence thought: Officious little prick.

One sentence comment: This is my first book by Stephen King then I know the scariest horror is from human.

 

I misunderstood Stephen King as the mainstream art world did. He is ahead of our time at least by 20 years.  In the book, he talked about addiction, hatred, trauma, and madness, which are the major topics when we deal with kids’ problems nowadays. He will be one of my favorite authors that I read every year.

2. A book with a child or a house on the cover

O Pioneers

Author: Willa Cather

Genre: fiction

Number of pages: 230

First published: 1913

Setting: Nebraska in 19^th century

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: One January day, thirty years ago, the little town of Hanover, anchored on a windy Nebraska tableland, was trying not to be blown away.

One sentence comment: It’s a very beautiful book that took me by surprise.

 

I love the two women protagonists that are very different but lovable in the same way. Symbolic scenery and inner thoughts of the characters are fascinating like poetry. The culture and the ensuing sin and crime are responded drastically different by the people then from our era. It provokes me to have a better understanding of human condition.

 

3. A book that was first published during your parent’s lifetime

When the Bough Breaks (# 1 of Alex Delaware series)

Author: Jonathan Kellerman

Genre: mystery

Number of pages: 426

First published: 1985

Setting: Boston

Rating: 3 stars

First sentence: It was shaping up as a beautiful morning.

One sentence comment: I like the part about the psychologist world but not the action packed plot.

 

I can be drawn to any book with Freudian elements, but a psychologist with an Indian Jones trope is ridiculous. However, considering the author’s good language ability, I will give the series anther two chances to see whether he can give the protagonist a better shape. 

 

4. A book by an author who is/was a parent

Neverwhere

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: fantasy

Number of pages: 372

First published: 1996

Setting: London

Rating: 2 stars

First sentence: The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself.

One sentence comment: The story has no spine, and I have the problem of finding my way through it.

 

Gaiman’s prose is OK, but what’s the point of putting on two ugly and brutal baddies from the beginning? I have absolutely no interest in them. It would be more appealing to tell about the protagonist’s relationship with his girlfriend in London Above. I was quite taken by the starting point of the book.

 

May Book Challenge

 

May *1  Pick the shortest book (fewest pages).

The 39 steps

 

Author: John Buchan

Genre: spy mystery

Number of pages: 118

First published: 1915

Setting: first world war

Rating: 4 stars

First sentence: I returned from the City about three o’clock on that May afternoon pretty well disgusted with life.

One sentence comment: I enjoy the plot which involved psychological consideration.

It’s amazing how people can disguise in front of the enemy. It takes a strong personality that can control fear. This is an absolute classic spy novel.

 

May *2 Pick the one with the longest title (most letters)

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Author: Lori Gottlieb

Genre: memoir

Number of pages: 415

First published: 2019

Setting: present

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: Have compassion.

One sentence comment: I have been ravished to meet such a candid therapist.

It’s a surprisingly honest memoir as if she were facing a group of patients to whom she needed to unfold herself to help understand that it is a first step to healing. I can find myself in each case she talked about, so that I got lots of advice from her. She is such a good story teller that I feel I actually meet these cases.

 

May *3 Pick the one with the cover you like best.

The Cat Who Ate Danish Modewrn (The Cat Who Mystery #2)

Author: Lilian Jackson Braun

Genre: mystery

Number of pages: 247

First published: 1967

Setting: the US in the 1960’s

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: Jim Qwilleran prepared his bachelor breakfast with a look of boredom and distaste, accentuated by the down-curve of his bushy moustache.

One sentence comment: The description of the intelligent cat in the novel is so vivid that a person like me, who never try to have a pet, would see the cat as if he were beside me.

 I used to think the covers of the series were too bright to be tasteful, but now I know they are just right for this modern art world. I love the mysterious title with red herring items on the cover. I don’t mind the murder happened later in the book, as long as I met David the charmer, and the down-to-earth photographer, not to mention the protagonist who didn’t have a house, a wife or a satisfactory job, but he was a cat lover. This series seems to plow in the art world full of quirky characters, which has given me joyful time of reading.

 

May *4 Pick the one by the author whose last name is alphabetically last.

A Wrinkle in Time

Author: Madeleine L’engle

Genre: sci-fi and fantasy

Number of pages: 212

First published: 1962

Setting: outside Earth

Rating: 3 stars

First sentence: It was a dark and stormy night.

One sentence comment: It can be the first book for children to appreciate science fiction and fantasy.

 The personality of the protagonist Meg showed that it is an outdated book where the female character was moody and irrational but full of passion.

 

April Book Challenge

 

April *1 author’s first or last name begins with A, I, or R.

Death at Bishop’s Keep (#1 A Victorian Mystery)

Author: Robin Paige (Bill Albert & Susan Witting Albert)

Genre: historical mystery

Number of pages: 296

First published: 1994

Setting:1894

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: Kate Ardleigh glanced warily over her shoulder.

One sentence comment: I was amazed to find the Victorian mystery series I had been seeking.

 

As an Irish American, Kate is the perfect protagonist to plunge into a late Victorian society. An empire passing its prime is perfect for a quirky heroine and aristocrats that sought marriages with financial consideration. Of course we have a Charles Darwen like man to give us another spirit of the era, science and invention. The backstory is dense such as crime that may have nothing to do with the thematic murder in the story. I love the language that refrains me from gobbling the novel without tasting its flavor. The ending is marvelous and I am sure to follow this series.

 

April *2 fire colored spine

Murder in Chinatown (Gaslight Mysteries #9)

Author: Victoria Thompson

Genre: historical mystery

Number of pages: 305

First published: 2007

Setting: New York in the end of nineteenth century

Rating: 4 stars

First sentence: “I’m not in labor, am I?”

One sentence comment: The ending is great for it brought a solution and a new beginning.

 

It’s the ninth book in this series, and it read as good as the previous books. I have a slight criticism, which is the first 100 pages can be reduced into one third of the length. The conversation in the middle of the book is very interesting, and the ending is heart-warming.

 

April *3 With an Earth words

A Puzzle in a Pear Tree (Puzzle Lady Mystery #4)

Author: Parnell Hall

Genre: mystery

Number of pages: 349

First published: 2002

Setting: an American village

Rating: 3 stars

First sentence: “No, no, no,” Rupert Winston cried, silencing the piano and vaulting up onto the stage with all the spry grace of a much younger man.

One sentence comment: This book demonstrates why I love a village life – a musical pageant and real people posing the stable scene for Christmas.

 

The book introduces a new puzzle, acrostics, which is quite amazing. The weak point of the book is that I can’t find any characters to relate to so I can only watch ridiculous characters committing impossible crimes. The conversation between protagonists for discussing the crime is repetitive and boring.

 

April *4 with a water setting

Tell No One

Author: Harlan Coben

Genre: thriller

Number of pages: 369

First published: 2001

Setting: present

Rating: 3 stars

First sentence: There should have been a dark whisper in the wind.

One sentence comment: The author tried to create a mysterious atmosphere that doesn’t convince me.

 

I was put off by the lovesick feelings of the protagonist from the very beginning. The secret was so overdone that it was later revealed like a pretense. The author’s writing is good but I just couldn’t appreciate the storyline.

 Local Book Club Choice

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hide

March Book Challenges

 

March *1 A book written by a woman

Silver Wedding

Author: Maeve Binchy

Genre: fiction

Page number: 385

First published: 1988

Setting: England and Ireland

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: Anna knew that he was doing his best to be interested.

One sentence comment: This fourth novel by Maeve Binchy didn’t live up to her first three novels, which are marvelous and dazzling; however, I still felt very much drawn to various characters in this comparatively thin book.

 Binchy is on top of my favorite authors. She had an extraordinary ability of telling stories, bringing the lost time and values to the present. Yet, time may be different, emotions are tangible, lingering in my heart for a long time. During my reading, I watched a video of Binchy where she talked about her summer love that had turned to despair. I suddenly understood why in the first four books I have read, there was always a charming young man in each story to break the girl’s heart. In this book there were two things that surprised me. The first is that I didn’t know she could write the war between a man and a woman so pungent! Secondly, previously she wrote about female characters to the full. This time she wrote a man’s thought, conscience and rage deeply and vividly that I stopped to ponder and question myself whether I haven’t held on enough to integrity. I had never loved a multi-point-of-view novel before, but Binchy altered my prejudice.

 

March *2 A book with a woman on the cover

What Remains of Heaven (Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery #5)

Author: C. S. Harris

Genre: historical mystery

Page number: 324

First published: 2009

Setting: London, 1812

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: His breath coming in undignified grasps, the Reverend Malcolm Earnshaw abandoned the village high street and struck out through the lanky grass of the churchyard.

One sentence comment: I am delighted to know about the politics in Britain in 1812 by this highly entertaining book.

This is the fifth book of the Sabastian St Cyre series. I couldn't help smiling even before turning the first page. I love the confrontation between Lord Jarvis and his daughter, Hero. Jarvis has the reputation that anyone inconvenient to him had a habit of turning up dead. However, Hero is his indomitable enemy and love. He often wishes she were a son so he could appreciate her intellect and courage. On the other hand, I grow to like the male protagonist, Sabastian.  I chuckle whenever he says 'why tell me this?' in front of people seeking his help. Most of the time he is full of himself, contrary to Hero, but they are bound to bind together.

       The murder in this book is unusual for it involves something thirty years ago. Therefore, this is the most intriguing death. Another interesting matter in the story is that it involved rivalry in the parliament on slavery law and child labor issue. Furthermore and most unexpectedly, we get to meet Benjamin Franklin's son, who was against his father's revolt in the US, and stayed royal to the Prince in England. This is something I had not heard of before.

       I think Harris had played down her language a lot comparing with her first two books. She used to use lush vocabularies to augment the aura of regency era where aristocrats in the pursuit of  fashion and fine art.  Perhaps the mass market didn't bye it so she changed her style.

 

March *3 A book with a woman’s name in the title

The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh

Author: Linda Colley

Genre: biography

Page number: 361

First published: 2008

Setting: Europe, Africa, East Asia

Rating: 3 stars

First sentence: This is a biography that crosses boundaries, and it tells three connected stories.

One sentence comment: This book can be useful if I want to write a novel about seafarers of the time.

I could be a very interesting story concerning a British woman's life during pre- Victorian era when the empire was launching its global sea power. However, the historian writer kept rambling the story with meticulous details as if I were in a soporific lecture room.

 

March *4 A book with a woman in a non-conventional role for her time

A Royal Pain (A Royal Spyness Mystery #2)

Author: Rhys Bowen

Genre: historical mystery

Number of pages: 303

First published: 2008

Setting: London, 1932

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: The alarm clock woke me this morning at the ungodly hour of eight.

One sentence comment: Excellent plot with a funny German princess coming to England, then brought up an international conspiracy.

 Bowen is good at writing comic scenes and hilarious characters. With Hitler prepared to lead Germany and Russian communists keen on subversion, this book is a light read to experience the the pre-WWII era with depression and uncertainly. A bit like the present time in Europe. By the way, I adore the style of book covers on the series.

 

Local club choice

The Call of the Wild

 

February Book Challenge

 Book competition so far

Feb *3 A book with a red cover (“lucky” color)

2001 (a Space Odyssey #1)

Author: Arthur Clarke

Genre: Science Fiction

Number of pages: 297

First published: 1968

Setting: Space in 2001

Rating: 4 stars

First sentence: The drought had lasted now for ten million years, and the reign of terrible lizards long since ended.

One sentence comment: It’s enjoyable for a non SF fan like me because the plot evolves from the root of present science and doesn’t get into far-fetched fantasy.

 

          I should have read this book before a couple of unfavorable more recent SF books. Perhaps I would have developed an overjoyed preference for the SF genre. The author took an interesting and realistic view of human development by first introducing a man-ape called, Moon-Watcher. It was a great imagination and I was feeling very much touched by their primeval life and challenges.

          Then the time jumped into the imaginative 2001 and we found humans already had self-support life system on the Moon. What’s surprising was that the digital newspaper was on! The author had predicted the digital era during the 1960’s. Shortly after, I was put into a spaceship with two humans and one robot to travel outward from the solar system. We got into closer encounters with asteroids and Jupiter.

          The journey’s final goal was Saturn. My criticism is on the last few dozens of pages, which changed from science into complete fantasy, completely leaving the author’s orbit of science.

Feb *4 Free Pick: Happy Lunar New Year! (classic of this month)

Ethan Frome

Author: Edith Wharton

Genre: fiction

Number of pages: 113

First published: 1911

Setting: Massachusetts, US

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.

One sentence comment: The tragic story reflects the age-old argument about fate and free-will.

 Told from Ethan’s point of view, the story showed how pathetic he was but only one old woman showed pity on him. He might seem irresponsible but he had struggled with both pride and shame. To the brink of getting money to run away, he was called back by his conscience not to take advantage of those who had sympathy for him. I was quite moved by his inner dialogues. Through the author’s artistic reporting of details, my heart was caught by what was going to happen to the poor man when death and horror seemed to hover over him forever. This book is going to be my favorite of the month.

 

Feb *2 A book with one of the words from “Year of the Dragon” in the title

The bear and the dragon

Author: Tom Clancy

Genre: political thriller

Page number: 1137

First published: 2000

Setting: Moscow, Beijing, and Washington DC modern time

Rating: 4 stars

First sentence: Going to work was the same everywhere, and the changeover from Marxism-Leninism to Chaos-Capitalism hadn’t changed matters much – well, maybe things were now a little worse.

One sentence comment: It’s amazing to see an assassination bring about a panoramic view of three major powers in our era.

        Spending two months reading this book, I glanced through a mocking review about this book saying that Clancy try to write War and Peace, by bursting with numerous Russian names leading to a war.  I don’t like a large cast but I like him delving into psychological and theological discussion.

          Concerning the plot, the first thing that stroke interest is the talks of building Russia’s gas pipeline to the west with technical supports from American companies, which would be earning billions of dollars. After 23 years of the book’s publication, Europe had to suffer from the dependency on cheaper oil from Russia after the war on Ukraine. The actual pipeline Stream 1 was built in 2010. Clancy’s book was like a prophecy.

This book tackles a lot of cross culture issues, such as American Mafia, the west tradition versus KGB. It’s also a book to understand modern China. The character Ming had grown up under the shadow of one-child policy. She worked for a minister and experienced sex exploitation, which she saw as part of her job. An infanticide eventually led to a clash between China and the US. In case a westerner does not understand this issue, the book provides ruthless explanations. After the brief mentioning of Falun Gong, Ming said that ‘ communism remains a jealous system of belief.’ This story line is excellent and dramatic but not exaggerating at all.

Another intriguing line is to find out the murder in the beginning of the book, who and why. It’s surprising to see that the Russian investigator Lieutenant Paovalov was so friendly with the FBI agent Reilly, that he relied on the US to provide help. The book is full of sarcastic and humorous comments. One of most funny is that when a medium intelligent diplomat was used as a spy, we were told that it wasted a lot of time for counterintelligence people, making them trail dumb diplomats who turned out to be nothing more than just that – dumb diplomat – of which the global supply was ample.

In sum, the events and things discussed in this chunkster is overwhelming. My criticism is that the plot tends to drag  too long. Like a long running TV series, if you jump in the middle, you don’t feel you have missed anything.

Feb *1 A book with an Asian/Chinese protagonist, or author, or setting

 

Author: Shamini Flint

Genre: Mystery

Number of pages: 295

First published: 2009

Setting: Malaysia

Rating: 3 stars

First sentence: The accused, Chelsea Liew, was in court.

One sentence comment: It’s a culture-relevant and informative novel about three major Asian countries, Singapore, Malaysia and China.

This book taught me more about Singapore and Malaysia. I was amazed by the mentioning of the tension between these two countries. Singapore is more progressive but authoritative. Malaysia is a Moslem country; therefore, if a man converts to Moslem, his under-aged children automatically become Moslems, so that the custody will be decided in the Moslem court. In the same way, the man’s inheritance will be dissolved in the Moslem court.

          Through this book, I knew another shocking atrocity from China. Because of the flooding around the Yangtze River, Chinese government cracked down hard on logging. However all the major forests from other Asian countries were exploited and disappeared. This is why I shouldn’t read Asian books because I can not avoid reading detested things about China.

          I think there is a great weakness about the plot. How could the Malaysian police threw people into prison without further evidence, such as a murder weapon or a witness? I can’t read a modern mystery as if the story happened in the Middle Ages.

January book challenges

 

This year I am also taking the Decades Challenge, and I started books published before 1900. The two short stories are from a book collection, The American Tradition.

Jan *1 Book from TBR

The Yellow Wallpaper

Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Genre: short story

Page number: 24

First published: 1892

Setting: US in late 19^th century

Rating: 4 stars

First sentence: It is very seldom that mere ordinary people like John and myself secure ancestral halls for the summer.

One sentence comment: It’s a creepy story that mixed with humor.

          I started with an author I had not read for 2024 challenges. Besides I haven’t read short stories for a long time, and this time I like it. It’s hard to imagine that a woman of mirth would bear so much stress to the point of depression, but strangely, the hallucination saved her from feeling prisoned.

Jan *2 same genre/theme as *1 book

The Real Thing

Author: Henry James

Genre: short story

Page number: 68

First published: 1893

Setting: UK in the late nineteenth century

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: When the porter’s wife, who used to answer the house-bell, announced “ A gentleman and a lady, sir” I had, as I often had in those days – the wish being father to the thought – an immediate vision of sitters.

One sentence comment: It is a heart wrenching story though I was not quite in the narrator’s state ‘ my drawing was blurred for a moment.’

 

          I tried to read Henry James’ A Portrait of a Lady decades ago but gave up. A few years ago, I read but didn’t like Turn of the Screw – too scary and ambivalent. Then I was deeply touched by Washington Square. Now I decided to start this year with his short story. James is famous for his subtle writing with sublime beauty, and I truly felt the effect how he delivered the story of a genteel couple now losing their livelihood. I could sympathize with the narrator’s decision from the very beginning and sadness to the end.

 

Jan *3 similar style cover to *2 book

Tweak: Growing up on Methamphetamines

Author: Nic Sheff

Genre: memoir

Page number: 351

First published: 2008

Setting: San Francisco present time

Rating: 4 stars

First sentence: Day 1

I'd heard rumors about what happened to Lauren

One sentence comment: The vivid journey on the street is surprisingly comic, and the picture of how the rich people live is appalling.

 

          It is a book full of adventure and humor. The narrator started his wayward life as early as when he was sent to Paris to learn French as a teenager, then he squandered money from his father's credit card, thinking he could live like that forever until the card were canceled. He had to go back to face his life, a rich life without meaning. The book is a journey of a young man's struggling with self value and finding salvation.

 

Jan *4 An author from the same country as that of *3 book

The Novice’s Tale ( A Sister Frevisse medieval mystery #1)

Author: Margaret Frazer

Genre: historical mystery

Page number: 229

First published: 1992

Setting: oxfordshire, UK in 1431

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: Mid-September in the year of our Lord’s grace 1431 and perfect weather, warm and dry.

 One sentence comment: It is a most enjoyable first book of a new series for me; Unfortunately, I found most of the books are out of print.

 

First of all, I enjoy the major trait of the book - treating scenes as characters. In the first chapter, it described the priory in more than one page – bustling but serene. In chapter four, the first paragraph gave a vivid view of the kitchen, an important place for secular servants to work. I’m personally quite taken by atmosphere of a priory, a place for regular schedules and rigorous research.

          Secondly, the book elaborated a character’s personality through events and other people’s view like a penetrating picture or drama. When the pious and timid novice, Thomasine first encountered an important man to the priory, she didn’t dare to look but her curiosity propelled her to peek and to compare him with her father.  Later her obnoxious aunt, the pompous and abusive Lady Ermentrude pronounced, “You become any meeker, you’ll cease to breathe!”

          Despite of Margaret Frazer’s aesthetic prose, the plot is a page turner for the first 50 pages. The mentioning of the court scandal, the young king in France, the witch Jon of Arc, all seemed evocative clues. After a quarter of the book, we came to see the inner world of the major protagonist, Sister Frevisse. Then we started to understand what sort of person she was besides her glamouring opening scene as a confident and chatty niece of an important man who visited the priory. It is a wonderful surprise to see how the book structured.

          This book is my favorite in January. If I need to criticize the book, that is the murder victim’s vice and torture was too much exaggerated. Unfortunately, the series seem to be out of print except the first two volumes.

 After putting away my 2023 read books, my largest bookshelf looks fine to cater another years' books. I sticked three more author labels, intending to read their books in the coming years. They are Clarke, Crichton, and King.