Book: Finding Christmas

 Book: Finding Christmas

Author: Karen Schaler

Pages: 384

This is my 235th read for the year

What Amazon says:

This year, she can't wait to share her favorite Christmas traditions with her boyfriend, Grant.  She thinks he's "the one".  So when Grant's hectic work schedule has him more "Bah Humbug" than "Ho Ho Ho" Emmie creates a holiday-themed scavenger hunt to help him find his Christmas spirit.  At the end of the journey, Grant will arrive at the charmingtown of Christmas Point where she's planned a remoantic weekend filled with holiday activities.  But Emmie's plan backfires when a mix-up has the wrong guy following her clues.  Sam, a best-selling mystery writer, thinks Emmie's clever Christmas riddles are from his agent, who is trying to help him get over his writer's block.  When he arrives at Christmas Point and finds Emmie, he immediately feels she's someone special, but she cannot see beyond the fact that the wrong guy showed up.  When Grant finally shows up, Emmie is disappointed to discover he's not enjoying the activities she planned and can't help but wonder if he is really the one for her.  She also cannot get Sam out of her mind.

No one who knows me will be surprised that I thought this book was bad.  Why did I read it?  For a Holiday challenge I am doing for a friend.  I tried to find something for this last category, but gave up and decided to suck it up for a rom/com Hallmark channel type book.  But this one was just poorly written.  Of course you know what is going to happen right from the beginning - that is expected and not the problem.  The problem was the juvenile story.  Emmie is a dumb character.  And extremely whiny.  They make Grant out to be horrible because he has to work so much and doesn't love Christmas to the impossible level Emmie does.  The over use of the word Christmas and Perfect was astonishing.  I think either word was in every other sentence.  There was so much laughing at the dumbest stuff.  I don't know - just overall bad.

Stars: 2

Book: You Better Watch Out

 Book: You Better Watch Out

Author: James Murray

Pages: 240

This is my 234th read for the year

Amazon says:

48 hours until Christmas, Jessica Kane wakes up with blurred vision, ears ringing, and in excruciating pain.  A gash in her head and blood running down her face, the last thing she remembers is goingfor a run and something or someone hitting her in the head.  It doesn't take her long to realize she is trapped in an unknown, deserted town with five other stragers who share similar stories of being attacked and stranded there.  unsure why and how they got there, she knows one thing for certain, she has to find a way out.  That becomes nearly impossible when someone is meticulously orchestrating their deaths, one by one, and the only thing Jessica can do is watch the life leave their eyes.  The fenced-in town is the killer's very own playground and there's nowhere life to hide.

This book was fine.  I read it for a holiday challenge and it fit the category.  It is a short book and I finished it pretty quickly.  Easy read.  I have to admit I didn't see the killer coming for quite a while, so that was a plus.  There is a lot of gore - doesn't bother me.  The ending was just okay.  They left it on a bit of a cliff hanger, so maybe there is going to be a second one?  Who knows.

Stars: 3

Book: Letters from Father Christmas

 Book: Letters From Father Christmas

Author: JRR Tolkien

Pages: 208

This is my 233rd read for the year

What Amazon says:

Ever December, an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for JRR Tolkien's children.  Inside would be a letter in strange spidery handwriting and a beautiful colored drawing or some sketches.  The letters were from Father Christmas.  They told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how all the reindeer got loos and scattered presents all over the place; how the accident-prone Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas's house into the dining room; how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back gardn.  Sometimes the Polar Bear would scrawl a note, and something Ilbereth the Elf would write in his elegant flowing script, adding yet more life and humor to the stories. 

This was a great children's book!  It is well written, of course (I would expect nothing less), and the artwork he drew for his children was amazing.  What a wonderful treasure for his children as they grew up.  These letters and pictures were kept and then made into this book after his death be his family and his foundation.  Glad I found this one.

Stars: 5

The Knowledge Gap

 Book: The Knowlege Gap

Author: Natalie Wexler

Pages: 352

This is my 232nd read for the year

What Amazon says:

It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comesto providing every child with a quality education.  The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilites, lack of accountability.  It was something no one was taking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge.  Welxer brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system.  It follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed.  

This was an interesting book.  I learned a lot from Natalie's research and talking with teachers who are in the classrooms of these elementary schools everyday.  How high schools are seeing widening gaps because the problem lies in the younger kids and the way they are learning.  I did find the content a little dry though.  It didn't hold my attention as well as I was hoping. Also I wish she would have broaden her reach as far as who she met with and talked to.  This is a vast country with vastly different education systems and it would have been nice to see a bigger picture.

Stars: 3.5

Book: In The Company of Witches

 Book: In The Company of Witches

Author: Auralee Wallace

Pages: 336

This is the 231st read for the year

What Amazon says:

For 400 years, the Warren witches have used their magic to quietly help the citizens of the sleepy New England town of Evenfall thrive.  There's never been a problem they couldn't handle.  But then Constance Graves - a local known for being argumentative and demanding - dies while staying at the bed and breakfast Brynn Warren maintains with her aunts.  At first, it seems like an accident....but it soon becomes clear that there's something more sinister at work, and Aunt Nora is shaping up to be the prime suspect.  There's nothing Brynn wants more than to prove Nora's innocence, and it hurts her to know that even two years ago that might have been easier.  Brynn, after all, is a witch of the dea - a witch who can commune with ghosts.  Ghosts never remember much about their deaths, but Constance might remember something about her life that would help crack the case.  But Bryn hasn't used her powers since her husband died, and isn't even sure she still can.  Brynn will just have to hope that her aunts magic and her own investigative skills will lead her to answers - and maybe back to the gift she once thought herself ready to give up forever.

This was a pretty good book.  I listened to it, and it is narrated well.  The story is easy to follow and the characters likeable (the ones that are supposed to be likeable).  It is a cozy mystery where the mystery was good and kept you guessing on where it was going.  Good side characters.  Could picture the town and its people.  The main character, Brynn, is loveable.  Good ending.

Stars: 4

Book: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

 Book: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

Author: Benjamin Stevenson

Pages: 192

This is my 230th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

My name's Ernest Cunningham.  I used to be a fan of freading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones.  I'd hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays.  I was wrong.  So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered.  My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection.  The magician, the assistant, the executive, the hypnotist, the identical twin, the counselor, the tech.  My clues are even more abstract: a suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there.  A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens.  And an advent calendar.  Because, you know, it's Christmas.  It I can see through the illusions, i know I can solve it.  After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn't it?

This was a good book.  This is the third installment in the Ernest Cunningham series, and it did not disappoint.  I liked the characters, and even though it was a quick read, there was a lot of content in those pages.  The mystery is well developed.  I did figure it out pretty early on who it was, but it didn't take away from the story.  These books are humorous, and I like the writting style - that Ernest is the writer of this book and he is telling us the story of the murder.  Very clever.  

Stars: 4.5

Book: The Chritmas Tree

 Book: The Christmas Tree

Author: Julie Salamon

Pages: 134

This is my 229th read for the year

What Amazon says:

On his annual search for Rockefeller Center's next Christmas tree, the chief gardener spots an ideal candidate: a stately Norway spruce located on the grounds of a convent.  There he meets Sister Anthony, a nun for whom the tree has special meaning.  Orphaned and sent to the convent as a lonely young girl, Sister Anthony befriended the then tiny spruce whom she lovingly named "Tree".  Over the following decades, as the tree grew, so did Sister Anthony's appreciation for the beauty and wonder of nature.  She is reluctant to see her oldest and closest friend chopped down and sent to NYC.  But when a fierce blizard threatens the old tree's existence, Sister Anthony realizes it's time to let the world enjoy Tree as she did for nearly her whole life.

This was a great little book.  It is very short and an easy read - read it in a few hours - but I am glad I did.  I liked the story and the message, and it was a good choice for the holiday season.

Stars: 4