desert_vixen's lair

... with a special guest appearance by the To Be Read (TBR) pile!

The TBR pile for me is currently at 82.  (It's going to grow by a book Friday because there's a B&N coupon for this weekend.)  I'm back to trying to reduce it a little and not buy more.  Plus, I have reading for class - I'm trying the "textbook rental" from Amazon for one title.  The next JD Robb is due in September, and if I can't get the pile down a bit, I may declare a moratorium until Christmas.

Without further ado...

41. Bitter Remains by Diane Fanning - True crime, ex-wife killed by husband and/or new wife over custody (some debate), with some pretty bizarre issues.  I have liked other books by her more, including one set in San Antonio during a time period I lived there.  The book was okay, but there was just something about it that I didn't quite like.

42. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys by Peggy Herz - Quick little info book about the HB/ND show, and the stars.  I found it at a UBS, and it's basically just another piece in my "see all the Nancy Drew" collection.

43. I Am Otter by Sam Garton - Cute kids' board book about a mischievious otter that I could not resist.

44. The Trojan War by Barry Strauss - Decent recent book about the Trojan War - both the conflict of myth and the likely real-world events that it was based on.  It rounded up some of the newer scholarship on Troy, which was worth reading.  I also liked that he didn't play down the cool story of the Trojan War by explaining things.  It's not a long and involved book (200-300 pages) and has a good tone - not TOO scholarly, but plenty of sources provided if you want to dig down some more.

45. Izzie Lizzie Alligator by Tate/Melvin - Part of a kids' series about animals and ecologies and Helpful Humans.  Cute, even if it did make desert_sdwndr eye-roll over the tree-hugger factor.

46. SW: The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster - I felt like I was missing stuff in the movie.  This wasn't a bad novelization, but I still feel like I'm missing a bunch of stuff.  Probably because I'm not obsessive about Star Wars.

47. Ever After HIgh #1: The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale - Because, unlike my parents, I actually check out the stuff A is reading and watching, I fell into the Ever After High gravity well.  It's a really good book and concept, although I'm totally for Raven Queen and not the "good" kids.  And now Im watching the show...

48. Ever After High #2: The Unfairest of Them All by Shannon Hale - Continuing the story from Book One, where Raven Queen puts the buzzkill on Legacy Day because she doesn't want to become evil and powerhungry like her mother, The Evil Queen.  I liked this one slightly better than #1.

49. Once Upon A Time: EAH Story Collection by Shannon Hale - So these little shorts take place before the numbered books.  They're all delightful.  I wish we'd had this when I was little.

50. Discovering Vintage Las Vegas by Paul Papa - A look at vintage/vintage-inspired places in Las Vegas.  It was an interesting read, although obviously I was familiar with a lot of them.

Also, in the MV Reading Program, we read Cherry Ames, Student Nurse and Cherry Ames, Senior Nurse.  We'll read Cherry Ames, Army Nurse, when she comes home, and then we're going to switch.  The MV is really enjoying them.

DV