Book: Who Ate The First Oyster

 Book: Who Ate The First Oyster

Author: Cody Cassidy

Pages: 240

This is my 253rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Who invented the wheel?  Who told the first joke?  Who drank the first beer?  Who was the murderer in the first murder mystery, who was the first surgeone, who sparked the first fire - and most critically, who was the first to brave the slimy, pale oyster?  In this book, writer Cody Cassidey digs deep into the latest research to uncover the untold stories of some of these incredible innovators (or participants in lucky accidents).  With a sharp sense of humor and boundless enthusiasm for the wonders of our ancient ancetors, Who Ate the First Oyster? profiles the perpetrators of the greatest firsts and catastrophes of prehistory, using the lives of individuals to provide a glimpse into ancient cultures, show how and why these critical developments occured and educate us on a period of time that until recently we've known almost nothing about.

This was an interesting book.  It was on our shelf and honestly, I cannot remember how it got there.  I am gifted a lot of books, so maybe that?  I do love a good non-fiction, and this was a fun read.   It is a quick trip through the time of homosapiens over the last 160,000 years.  Even goes back to 3 million years ago with primates and how they discovered how to use tools and fire  Pretty cool journey.

Stars: 3.5 

Book: Threshing Day

 Book: Threshing Day

Author: Rebecca Yarros

Pages: 224

this is my 252nd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Welcome to Threshing Day, the brutal, high-stakes trial where would-be riders at Basgiath War College fight to earn the bond of a dragon or die trying.  Amid ruthless competition and dragon fire, these 13 cadets must survive a battlefield where desperate rivals will do anything to gain an advantage and dragons decide one's ultimate fate - and where a single choice can forge a rider - or destroy them.  Xaden Riorson, the powerful leader.  Rhiannon Matthias, the clever friend.  Dain Aetos, the dutiful rule-follwer.  Liam Mairi, the kindhearted protector.  Ridoc Gamlyn, the jokester.  Sawyer Henrick, the underdog.  Garrick Travis, the dependable aide.  Imogen Cardulo, the Impulsive fighter.  Bodhi Durran, the second-in-command.  Mira Sorrengail, the fearless rider.  Brennan Sorrengail, the brilliant tactician.  Aaric Graycastle, the restless royal. Sloane Mairi, the determined sister.  On Threshing DAy, there's only one rule: don't die.

This book was great.  Yes - I have read the Fourth Wing series, even though YA is getting way too young for me.  However - I do love a good dragon story.  The books were starting to wane for me, BUT I thought what the heck with this novella.  The art work is extrodinary.  And the stories of how each character obtained their dragons was fun.  I will say that Yarros does 2 things well - writing the dragon personalities - they are hysterical and so fun to read (and if you listen to these books - even a better listen), and endings.  Girl has a talent for endings of books.  So if you like the Fourth Wing books - definitely check this one out, and make sure you pick up a copy with the artwork.

Stars: 4.5 

Book: I'll Stop The World

 Book: I'll Stop The World

Author: Lauren Thoman

Pages: 446

This is my 251st read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Is it the right place at the wrong time?  Or the wrong place at the right time?  Trapped in a dead-end town, Justin Warren has had his life defined by the suspicious deaths of his grandparents.  The unsolved crime happened long before Justin was born, but the ripple effects are still felt after 38 years.  Justin always knew he wouldn't have much of a future.  He just never imagined that his life might take him backward.  In a cosmic twist of fate, Justin's choices send him crashing into the path of determined optimist Rose Yin. Justin and Rose live in the same town and attend the same school, but have never met - because Rose lives in 1985.  Justin won't be born for another 20 years.  And his grandparents are still alive - for now.  In a series of events that reverberate through multiple lifetimes, Justin and Rose have a week to get Justin unstuck in time and put each of them in control of trier futures - by solving a murder that hasn't even happened yet.  

Meh.  Free read from Amazon

Stars: 2 

Book: Girl Who Was Taken

 Book: Girl Who Was Taken

Author: Charlie Donlea

Pages: 352

This is my 250th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are both high school seniors in the small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina.  When they disappear from a beach party one warm summer night, police launch a massive search.  No clues are found, and hope is almost lost until Megan miraculously surfaces after escaping from a bunker deep in the woods.  A year later, the bestselling account of her ordeal has turned Megan from local hero to national celebrity.  It's a triumphant, inspiring story, except for one inconvenient detail: Nicole is still missing.  Nicole's older sister Livia, a fellow in forensic pathology, epects that one day soon Nicole's body will be found, and it will be up to someone like Livia to analyze the evidence and finally determine her sister's fate.  Instead, the first clue to Nicole's disappearnace comes from another body that shows up in Livia's morgue - that of a young man connect to Nicole's past.  Livia reaches out to Megan for help, hoping to learn more about the night the 2 were taken.  Other girls have gone missing too, and Livia is increasingly certain the cases are connected.  But Megan knows more than she reveals in her blockbuster book.  Flashes of meory are coming togeher, pointing to something darker and more monstrous than her chiling memori describes.  And the deeper she and Livia dig, the more they realize that sometimes true terror lies in finding exactly what you've been looking for.

This was an interesting enough book. I listened to it and it kept me entertained during long drives and yard work.  I did not see the ending coming - I will give it that.  I did feel like the killer was a bit of a "what?" reaction for me-  nothing that really lead me to believe that was where this was going anywhere in this book.  

Stars: 3.5

Book: A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe

 Book: A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe

Author: Mark Dawidizak

Pages: 283

This is my 249th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

It is a moment shrouded in horror and mystery.  Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849, at just 40, in a painful, utterly bizarre manner that would not have been out of place in one of his own tales of terror.  What was the cause of his untimely death, and what happened to him during the 3 missing days before he was found, delirious and "in great distress" on the streets of Baltimore, wearing ill-fitting clothes that were not his own?  Mystery and horror.  Poe, who remains one of the most iconic of American writers, died under haunting circumstances that reflect the 2 literary genres he took to new heights.  Over the years, there has been a staggering amount of speculation about the cause of death, from rabies and syphilis to suicide, alcoholism, and even murder.  But many of these theories are formed on the basis of the caricature we have come to associate with Poe: the gloomy-eyed grandfather of Goth, hunched over a writing desk with a raven perched on one shoulder, drunkenly scribbling his chiling masterpieces.  By debunking the myths of how he lived, we come closer to understanding the real Poe- and uncovering the truth behind his mysterious death, as a new theory emergest that could prove the cause of Poe's death was haunting him all his life.  

This was a very interesting book.  I admit I had no idea that Edgar Allan Poe died at the age of 40 and spent most of his life poor.  I did not know he was orphaned at a young age and the family that took him in is where the Allan comes from in his name.  I also did not know that no one knows how he died.  This book weaves his life - touching on his childhood and upbringing among the last few months of his life and the author trying to unfold what ultimately happened to him.  Good book.  

Stars: 4 

Book: Just Another Missing Person

 Book: Just Another Missing Person

Author: Gillian McAllister

Pages: 384

This is my 248th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Not everyone who is lost should be found.  22 year old Olivia has been missing for one day - and counting.  She was last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley.  And not coming back out again.  Julie, the detective heading up the search for Olivia, thinks she knows what to expect.  A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her husband and daughter.  But in this twisty police procedural, she has no idea just how closeto home this case is going to get. Becasue the criminal at the heart of the disapperance has something she never expected.  Hisweapon isn't a gun, or a knife: iot's a secret.  Her worst one.  And her family's safety depends on one thing: Julia must Not find out what happened to Olivia - and must frame somebody else for her murder.  If you find her, you will lose everything.  What would you do?

This was a pretty good book.  I have read quite a few of Gillian's books - Wrong Place Wrong Time continues to be my favorite of hers.  This has a good twisty story - good for a "spooky month".  I was not sure where it was going or who was going to be the bad guy until the end.  There are a ton of characters in this one and I had to really pay attention to keep them all straight.

Stars: 3.5

Book: Encyclopedia Brown

 Book: Encyclopedia Brown

Author: Donal Sobol

Pages: 96

This is my 247th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Leroy Brown, aka Encyclopedia Brown, is Idaville neighborhood's 10 year old star detective.  With an uncanny knack for trivia, he solves mysteries for the neighborhood kids through his own detective agency.  But his dad also happens to be the chief of the Idaville police department, and every night around the dinner table, Encyclopedia helps him solve his most baffling crimes. 

Read for the Rory Gilmore Challenge

Stars: 4