desertvixen | Reading Post #50

I had managed to get a decent amount of reading done before things got ugly around here. Since I'm going to get started on the book sorting soon, I thought I'd wind up this book post.

I read both of the updated Sweet Valley High books, and reviewed them in separate posts. I will try the next 2 just for curiosity's sake about how they're updating things.

The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley was quite good. Yes, I have been a Zorro fan (Guy Williams and Disney) since I was a little girl. The female lead was also lots of fun. I wasn't sad to see the Commandante dispatched. The only question I had: While reading the original, were readers supposed to guess Don Diego was Zorro? On the recommendation of

tepintzin and others, I'll be trying Isabel Allende's update as well.

The Last Dropout by Bill Milliken was good, and it addressed the point that always irritates me when talking about education with D. It doesn't matter how much money we spend on the schools if we have students going home hungry and trying to study in something similar to a war zone. Just throwing money at the problems won't make them go away either. It's going to require personal commitment and effort. It's one of the causes I'm looking forward to spending more time on after I make my exit from the Army.

The Spanish Bride and False Colours by Georgette Heyer were both excellent! Bride is one of those "real history is better than fiction" examples. It's a heavy read, but full of detail and humor. Colours was much lighter, but also very much enjoyed. Kit reminds me slightly of a certain Barrayaran captain - which would explain why I liked him so much. My only quibble on that one was that the cover art was a little unfortunate. Not early-David-Weber-unfortunate, but not a great choice either.

I picked up a good National Geographic book on Arlington called Where Valor Rests.

Women in the Line of Fire by Erin Solaro really deserves its own post, and I'm going to try and write it. In short - critical look at the women in combat issue. Her main point has me in agreement. It is no longer an option with the way the Army is to fight without our women. It's all good and well for the policy makers to say we aren't sending women to combat. The problem is that combat is coming to us.

Friends of Liberty by Nash and Hodges is a good look at the relationship between Tadeusz Koscuiszko, Thomas Jefferson, and Agrippa Hull during the Revolutionary period. Koscuiszko is one of the Polish-American heroes, and appears to have been a genuinely revolutionary person for his time. A critical look at Thomas Jefferson and his attitudes towards not only slavery, but non-whites plays a major role.

Murder on Bank Street by Victoria Thompson was the latest of her Gaslight mysteries. It went very fast, and had a pretty good (if sickening) twist at the end. It also cleared up a major plot thread from the beginning of the series. She's also sort of cheating with the UST by keeping any of the romance off screen. However, with the major plot thread put away, she's going to have to step up in the next book with the romance.

America's Hidden History by Kenneth C. Davis - not like his Don't Know Much books was very good. It looks at some of the history that people don't usually get to pick up about the founding era. If you like early American history, you may already know some of it, but it's still very good. I'd recommend this one.