Silent in the Grave

A Lady Julia Grey Mystery

by Deanna Raybourn, 509 pages

Somehow I missed this historical series when it debuted back in 2007. So far I've read this one and the third one (when I couldn't wait for volume 2). I am liking it well enough to read a few more.

This first line definitely perked up my interest:

To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor.

That hook gives you a taste of the tone of the book, which has a wry sense of humor throughout. In fact, I think the witty style captured my attention more than the mystery itself.

When Lady Julia Grey's husband dies at a party in their own home, she blames Edward's death on his physical infirmities. Her husband's inquiry agent, Nicholas Brisbane, tells her that it was murder, but Julia thinks Brisbane is just a bounder trying to capitalize on Edward's death. A year later evidence turns up which leads Julia back to Brisbane, and the two of them set about trying to find out who the killer is.

The sense of danger intertwines with a growing attraction between Julia and Brisbane. Though the mystery is solved at the end of the book, the relationship between the main characters is not. Of course not!

I haven't read the second book yet, so I don't know what happens between Julia and Brisbane after the events in volume one. I am happy to read Silent in the Sanctuary to find out!

Sabriel (Abhorsen: 1)

by Garth Nix
(1995 | 491 p)

Sabriel is excited to be a few weeks from graduation. Her life in the all girls boarding school has been a good one and now she's eager for a chance to broaden her horizons. But when her father, Abhorsen, suddenly goes missing Sabriel realizes that she is the only one who can find him. Her father isn't just any man. Abhorsen is the world's greatest defense against the Dead and their insatiable desire is to claw their way back into Life. With his absence, Sabriel begins to learn about the heavy responsibility that comes with being Abhorsen.

What a fun story, can't believe I'm just now discovering it. Reminds me of Ursula Le Guin's Wizards of Earthsea in that it's a fast read that takes place in a well-conceived alternative world. Be prepared to be plopped right down in the middle of it, too. You hit the ground running with this one. Charter and Free magic, the Old Kingdom, Ancelstierre, magic bells, and the nine gates of Death. You figure it out as the story unfolds, there's no preamble. I was lucky enough to pick up a library copy in which some kind soul had added a post-it note listing each of the bells and their titles. I referred to that list a lot! This story had everything I love. A strong female lead, a well constructed alternative world, and even a few surprises. Can't wait to get my paws on book two.

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

309 pp
"Children are not guaranteed the luxuries of family, Ms. Wells, he said. If people are unable to exist within the parameters that have been created for them, they lose any claim to titles like son and daughter."
What does it mean to be a family?  What parental behaviors are necessary for the development of healthy children?  Does it matter whether parents try or not? Are these even pertinent questions explored in the book?  I don't know but I do know I enjoyed reading The Family Fang and thinking about how messed up this family was...or was it?  Either the Fang parents messed their kids up irrevocably or they prepared them better than most parents for adulthood.  It's kind of fun to think about.
Caleb and Camille Fang make art out of chaos.  They create situations and then let them unfold, filming everything.  When they have children, the children become a part of the process.  They aren't given a choice and eventually the children rebel.  Then Caleb and Camille plan their biggest art project ever.
I don't want to give anything away so I will say no more except that the book is a quick read and I liked it alot.
Kim F

Happyslapped by a Jellyfish: The Words of Karl Pilkington

by Karl Pilkington

222 p.

Karl Pilkington is a difficult person to describe. He came to provenance through talk shows and travel shows produced by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant of The Office fame. Karl is not an idiot or stupid like Ricky Gervais insists. He's not a genius either, but he has the strangest ideas and viewpoint. That is what I love about Karl Pilkington. He will say the oddest things and sees things differently than anyone I've ever known. This book is mostly about his vacations. He has some funny descriptions of various tourist destinations. Much of it was from his diary that is often the best part of The Ricky Gervais Show and Gervais' podcasts. It was nice that Karl was getting to express himself without Ricky inanely laughing and mocking Karl. I also liked he would digress into some of his odd childhood experiences. Karl is one of a kind and a delight. Though I like him, some may find Karl's works dull or not their taste. He occasionally uses Northern England slang, some may not understand it or find the sentence structures different. I mostly enjoyed this book though.

Kel

The Wolves in the Walls

by Neil Gaiman, illustrations by David McKean
(2005 | 56 p)

Little Lucy hears something in the walls of her house. "It's mice," says her mother. "It's rats," says her dad. "Bats!" yells her brother. But Lucy and her pig-puppet know what it really is. There are definitely wolves in the walls!

Neil Gaiman does it again. A creepy, spooky tale with a light enough touch to make it a perfect fit for most kids. The spine-tingling factor is knocked up a few notches thanks to the artwork of Dave McKean. Collages and pencil drawings lurk through the pages, with a wolf eye peeking out from time to time. Even my 11-year-old step-son had to admit, "That's creepy!"

A perfect Halloween family read!

"Running the Books: The Adventures of An Accidental Prison Librarian" by Avi Steinberg

399 pages

Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto con men.

So begins this memoir. It all started when Avi Steinberg graduated from college and wasn't sure what to do with himself. Though he graduated from one of the most distinguished schools in the country--Harvard--he felt a lot of career-related pressure from the extraordinarily high standards of the Orthodox Jewish community he grew up. When he saw an ad in the paper for a prison librarian, he decided to give it a try. What Avi thought would just pay the bills and provide insurance until he figured out what he wanted to do ended up changing his life. Nothing could have prepared him for the bizarre culture he'd become part of in the tough Boston prison. There was the anxious pimp who solicited Steinberg’s help in writing a memoir. A passionate gangster who dreamed of hosting a cooking show called "Thug Sizzle." A disgruntled officer who instigated a major feud over a Post-it note. A doomed ex-stripper who asked Steinberg to orchestrate a reunion with her estranged son, who was an inmate himself. Some of it's funny and some of it's heartbreaking, but it's all fascinating. In fact, I loved this entire memoir. I find prison culture in general very interesting, even more so from a librarian's perspective since I am a librarian myself. I really like Avi's writing style; I think he uses the perfect tones for both the touching and the hilarious parts, and he does a great job of humanizing the inmates without being cheesy about it. In some cases, he has to reconcile the kind, interesting people he gets to know in the library with the violent crimes he knows they have committed. He's honest about his struggles to give the inmates a chance without being flippant about the things they've done or completely letting his guard down. This is a book that will stick with me for a while, and I hope Avi Steinberg writes more books!

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat by Hal Herzog

I just picked this book up from a cart one day and thought the title was interesting.  The inside did not disappoint.  Hal Herzog is an anthrozoologist and discusses the strange feelings humans have about animals and some of our crazy moral and ethical conclusions.  He discusses why some animals are appealing (apparently the bigger the eyes, the more likely we'll want to parent/love them) and why some repulse us.  He explores vegetarianism and veganism and why so many slide back into the consumption of meat.  It's a fascinating, quick read that probably raises more questions than it answers, but I enjoyed reading it and will be thinking about the implications long after I check the book back in.
Kim F