Books Read in June 2012
I know, I know – I’m behind! It was a busy summer, and the longer I was away from blogging, the harder it was to break the silence. But please bear with me because my blog (besides being for your reading pleasure) is also my personal ‘books read’ record so I must post these.
I didn’t finish one book on my Kindle in June – I think I needed a break from it after my two week trip in May on which I read nothing but my Kindle. A couple of really good non-fiction titles topped my list in June, and I read some mystery titles to try to catch up on some reading challenges.
The Story of Stuff
Subtitled The Impact of Overconsumption on the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-And How We Can Make It Better, this is an expansion on the 20 minute Internet movie of the same name. The book digs into the five facets of the linear economic system in use in North America. It’s amazing, it’s controversial and it’s has been haunting me all summer. I will be posting a full review of this. Watch the movie while you wait for it! 5 stars
UContent: The Information Professional’s Guide to User-Generated Content by Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo
An invaluable handbook for Information Professionals aka librarians. A goldmine of information for the rest of us. See my review. 4 stars
A Dog’s Journey
This is a follow-up to A Dog’s Purpose which I read last year and loved so much. I highly anticipated the sequel but found it a little flat – I just couldn’t invest in C.J., or in the dog being a Chihuahua for a great deal of the book. I’m still glad I read it, though, and if you’re a dog lover, you’ll be glad you read it too. 4 stars
Manners for Women by Mrs. Humphrey
A reprint of the 1897 publication of the same name. Here are my thoughts on it. 3.5 stars
Lonesome Hero
I’m sure I would have loved this when it was first published in 1973: my head was ‘there’ and the world was ‘there’, man. But the ‘there’ didn’t resonate with me now and just wanted to slap the young hero who is dragged to Europe (which turns out to be no further than England) and then dumped there by his girlfriend. For capturing a slice of 1970. 3.5 stars
Murder: A Crafty Business
I love mysteries and Lila Philips is an author from Truro NS (the closest town to our village in Rural Nova Scotia). That I would read her book was a given. It’s a pretty standard cozy: the new owner of the town craft shop finds a body in the basement and has a vested interest in proving the police wrong. It was well-written and edited with decent plot but, ultimately, forgettable. 3.5 stars
Murder at Hazelmoor
One of Christie’s stand-alone novels, it’s another standard cozy – a locked room mystery with a pretty obvious perpetrator. Although it wasn’t Christie’s best, I always enjoy the settings and her sleight-of-hand, even after I’m onto her. 3.5 stars
The Crime at Black Dudley
This is the first in Allingham’s long-running Albert Campion series, although in this book Campion has only a bit part, I wasn’t impressed by the mystery, and was distracted by all the implausible secret rooms and passageways. In addition, I thought the writing was ‘loose’. Since this was Allingham’s first published effort, I’ll make allowances and I won’t say that I’ll never read another of hers. I’m just not in a hurry to do so. 2.5 stars
One Lonely Night
Oh, I wanted to like Mickey Spillane! Maybe it’s just his protagonist Mike Hammer who has skewed attitudes towards violence to women; maybe I’m just not a noir mystery fan after all. 2 stars
For Canadian readers:
The Story of Stuff
UContent
A Dog’s Journey
Manners for Women
Lonesome Hero
Murder: A Crafty Business
The Murder At Hazelmoor
The Crime at Black Dudley
One Lonely Night
Kindle editions:
The Story of Stuff
UContent
A Dog’s Journey
Lonesome Hero
One Lonely Night
All the non-fiction titles you read really interested me this month, really great month for you! All the best with catching up on the next months. heh
The first step is the biggest (so I’ve heard anyway), Amy! I hope I can get caught up over the next few days. (is there an emoticon for ‘fingers crossed’?)
Now I’m curious about The Story of Stuff. I’ll try and remember to watch the video tomorrow. 🙂
Do, Vasilly – and if you have time, explore some of the other Story-of-Stuff-Project items on that website.
I read The Story of Stuff last year and found it to be a real eye-opener. It was informative and disturbing. Our entire economy depends on consumption … slowing production to reduce pollution is not going to be a popular message.
No, Leslie, it’s not popular with some people. Leonard has even been accused of being un-American.
When you eventually get around to another Allingham you could try The Tiger in the Smoke which is supposed to be her best book. As I recall I quite enjoyed The Crime at Black Dudley but again it was a local setting for me as I lived in that part of East Anglia for a while.
About ‘stuff’ – it’s strange the way you gather so much of it, then when I reached about 50 I thought – why do I have all this ‘stuff’?! Now I’m trying to get rid of it.
I’ll make a note of the title, Katrina. Thanks for the recommendation!
The Story of Stuff intrigues me. I’ll have to read your full review. I am currently going through our “stuff” and getting rid of it. I feel like I just have too much (well aside from books, that is).
I know, Kristen – even the author of the book recognizes this. She says: “Books occupy an odd space in my relationship to Stuff: while I feel uncomfortable buying new clothes or electronics, I don’t hesitate to pick up the latest recommended title. I asked my friends about it and found I’m not alone in feeling like books are somehow exempt from the negative connotations of too much Stuff.”