We Need More Shelves

Review: The Monastery Murders

By Jan

on March 31st, 2020

The Monastery Murders (Stanton & Barlings #2) Author: E.M. Powell; Genre: Historical Mystery; Format: Audiobook; Narrator: James Langton; Publisher: Brilliance Audio (2018); Rating: . After giving the second book a chance to change my mind about this series, I’ve given up. It’s not a bad mystery or a badly written story, but it just didn’t catch me. Also, the body…

Review: Patient 3

By Jan

on February 27th, 2020

Patient 3 Author: Chris Chau; Genre: Science-fiction, apocalypse; Format: Audiobook; Narrator: Coy Dugger; Publisher: Chris Chau (2019); Rating: . In the near future, the main character is put into a coma-like state to wait for a cure for a mysterious disease. He wakes after seven years to an alien-destroyed world and a quest to survive. There are lots of surprises…

Review: Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind

By Jan

on February 27th, 2020

Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind Author: Yuval Noah Harari; Genre: History, Anthropology; Format: Audiobook; Narrator: Derek Perkins; Publisher: HarperAudio (2017); Rating: . I took my time with this audiobook because I wanted to concentrate on the topic. Dr. Harari highlights the history of cognitive hominids, which is obviously a huge issue to cover in a little over 15 hours…

The Women of the Copper Country book cover

Review: The Women of the Copper Country

By Jan

on February 27th, 2020

The Women of the Copper Country Author: Mary Doria Russell; Genre: Historical fiction; Format: Audiobook; Narrator: Cassandra Campbell; Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (2019); Rating: . Ancestors of mine were copper miners in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so I was excited to read this one. This was a character study of several people involved in a mine strike in…

Review: The Card, a Story of Adventure in the Five Towns

By Jan

on February 27th, 2020

The Card, a Story of Adventure in the Five Towns Author: Arnold Bennett; Genre: Fiction; Format: Kindle ebook; Publisher: Public Domain; Rating: . This is a delightful story about a young man in early-twentieth-century England who raises himself up by his shirttails (and some luck). Denry is a bit hapless and clumsy as a young man, but he has flashes…

Review: Recursion

By Jan

on January 19th, 2020

Recursion Author: Blake Crouch; Genre: Science Fiction; Format: Audiobook; Narrators: Jon Lindstrom and Abby Craden; Publisher: Random House Audio (2019); Rating: . This title has very mixed reviews, and there are good reasons for that. Overall, however, the clever plot and the good narration really saved it for me. This is mind-bending science-fiction dealing with memory and how dangerous it…

Repin_-_Reply_of_the_Zaporozhian_Cossacks_Yorck

Art I Love: Repin’s Reply of the Cossacks

By Jan

on January 19th, 2020

Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire (1891) by Russian realism artist Ilya Repin is actually my husband’s favorite painting, although I like it, too. It depicts the Cossacks supposedly drafting a vulgar reply to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1676, who demanded their allegiance, even though they’d won the recent battle….

Review: Days Without End

By Jan

on January 4th, 2020

Days Without End Author: Sebastian Barry; Genre: Historical fiction; Format: Audiobook; Narrator: Aidan Kelly; Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Rating: . This is a fascinating story of a young Irish immigrant to America who joins the US Army in the 1850s. We follow Thomas and his friend—and lover—John through the Indian Wars and then the Civil War, surviving life-changing circumstances, and…