Patti's Pen & Picks

Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow

2012-01-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

Restless in the Grave is another terrific book by Dana Stabenow, who is one of my favorite authors. This book features both of Ms. Stabenow's Alaskan series characters, Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell.

It is State Trooper Liam who indirectly contacts Kate to go undercover to solve the murder of a wealthy aviation businessman, Finn Grant. Grant had alienated almost everyone in his town by buying them out to turn it into a destination for hunters and other explorers of the Alaskan wilderness. Kate goes to work at the main bar in town, and manages to ask a few questions and is working on answers when things start to get a little too interesting for her. The apartment she is renting is search, and as Kate interrupts that search, she is shoved into deep freezer. She escapes from that, but other situations occur to let her know she is being too nosy. It takes a few more near-misses for Kate to get to the bottom of what is going on and why Finn Grant was killed.

As a fan of Dana Stabenow, it was wonderful for me that she brought Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell together to solve a crime. I consider Kate to be one of the strongest characters in crime fiction; strong of heart and strong physically. She is a hero of mine and I live vicariously through her with every installment of this series.

Another strong character in this series is Kate's dog Mutt. She is part wolf, and all partner to Kate. In Restless in the Grave, Mutt proves time and again that she is an equal partner to Kate in their relationship.

I can't recommend enough that readers start at the beginning of this series, although this is the 19th entry in the series. Learning all about Kate Shugak and her Alaska is wonderful story. That said, Restless in the Grave can stand alone; long time series characters are introduced easily, and the reader should not feel they're missing much by not having read the previous books.

I highly recommend Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow, and look forward to hearing other readers' opinions on this excellent book.

Happy Reading!
Patti

Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow, 2012, Minotaur Books ISBN 9781312559137

This book was sent to me for review by Minotaur Books; no other compensation was offered or accepted for this review.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

2012-01-23T12:18:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

This is an amazing book. I am absolutely fascinated by the information I read in Quiet: The Power of Introverts in World That Can't Stop Talking.

I learned so much reading this book, and it really made me think about my life and who I am. I'm not sure you can come away from this book without thinking about whether or not you're an introvert or an extrovert. Given the title, this book is more focused on introverts, but being an extrovert is not made out to be a bad thing.

Ms. Cain discusses the history of extroverts becoming the American ideal over the past 100 years, and how that not all cultures necessarily value extroverts over introverts. Workplace managers, teachers and parents are addressed to be aware of introverts in their workplaces, classrooms or homes, and honor their requirements (as much as possible) they may have for different needs. Introverts have much to offer as extroverts, but are offering themselves in a quieter way.

Ms. Cain talks about "the contemporary phenomenon I call the New GroupThink--a phenomenon that has the potential to stifle productivity at work and to deprive schoolchildren of the skills they'll need to achieve excellence in an increasingly competive world. The New GroupThink elevates teamwork above all else." [p. 75]

Another interesting point that is raised by Ms. Cain: "Open-plan offices have been found to reduce productivity and impair memory. They're associated with high staff turnover. They make people sick, hostile, unmotivated and insecure...they argue more with their colleagues; they worry about co-workers eavesdropping on their phone calls and spying on their computer screens...They're often subject to loud and uncontrollable noise, which raises heart rates; releases cortisol, the body's fight-flight 'stress' hormone; and makes people socially distant, quick to anger, aggressive and slow to help others." [p. 84] It will be interesting to see if this information reaches supervisors and managers, and if cubicles and offices are resurrected in this era of open-plan offices.

Quiet has given me so much to think about, especially in the world of constant information we live in today. It can be hard to shut out the world in order to listen to your thoughts, and/or what your body may be telling you to do, but it's worth it to be quiet.

Happy Reading,
Patti

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain, 2012, Crown Publishers, ISBN 9780307352149

This book was sent to me for review by Crown Publishers; no other compensation was offered or accepted for this review.

Patti's Picks for 2011

2012-01-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

Patti’s Picks:

Favorites of 2011

Alexander, Tasha A Crimson Warning

(historical mystery)

Allen Sarah Addison The Peach Keeper

(fiction with magic)

Asher, Jay 13Reasons Why

(teen, fiction)

Blackwell, Juliet ACast-Off Coven (mystery with witches)

Blake, Sarah The Postmistress

(historical fiction)

Cline, Ernest Ready Player One

(science fiction)

Coonts, Deborah WannaGet Lucky?

(funny mystery, Las Vegas, 1^st)

Coonts, Deborah LuckyStiff (2^nd in series)

Copperman, E.J. Nightof the Living Deed (Haunted Guesthouse Mystery, 1^st)

Crusie, Jennifer BetMe (humorous romance)

DeWitt, Patrick The Sisters Brothers (western)

Donnelly, Gabrielle The Little Women Letters

(fiction)

Faust, Christa Choke Hold (noir,explicit violence & sex excellent writing)

Green, John Let It Snow

w/ Maureen Johnson (teen holiday adventure & romance)

& Lauren Myracle

Griffiths, Elly The Crossing Places (British archeology mystery)

Hyzy, Julie Artistic License (romantic suspense)

Jennings, Maureen AJourneyman to Grief

(police procedural, 1890s Toronto)

Johnson, Maureen Name of the Star

(teen, fantasy)

Johnson, Maureen 13 Little Blue Envelopes (teen, adventure)

Johnson, Maureen The Last Little Blue Envelope (teen, adventure)

Larson, Erik In the Garden of Beasts (nonfiction, 1930s Berlin)

Lukas, Michael D. The Oracle of Stamboul (historical fiction)

Maron, Margaret Three-Day Town (mystery, #17)

Morgenstern, Erin TheNight Circus (historical fantasy,magic)

Novik, Naomi His Majesty’s Dragon (historical fantasy, dragons,
Napoleonic Wars, #1)

Novik, Naomi Throne of Jade
(historical fantasy, dragons
Napoleonic Wars, #2)

Pintoff, Stefanie The Secret of the White Rose (historical, 1900s New York City)

Ross, Ann B Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle (fiction)

Rozan, S.J. Ghost Hero (PI mystery, #11)

Selznick, Brian Wonderstruck
(children's fiction, beautiful
drawings)

Simonson, Helen Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

(fiction)

Stabenow, Dana ThoughNot Dead

(Alaskan mystery, #18)

Weber, David A Beautiful Friendship

(teen, science fiction)

Wendell, Sarah                Everything I Know About Love,
                                        I Learned From Romance Novels
                                        (nonfiction, humorous)

Westerfeld, Scott              Goliath                                                             (steampunk, fantasy,WWI, #3)

Winspear, Jacqueline Among the Mad (historical,British PI, 1930s, #6)

Winspear, Jacqueline The Mapping of Love & Death

(historical,British PI, 1930s, #7)

Winspear, Jacqueline A Lesson in Secrets (historical, British PI,1930s, #8)

Introduction to Patti's Picks

2012-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

The post to follow will have the list of Patti's Picks for 2011. The formatting is a little off, as I copied & pasted it from Word (not an ideal thing to do for Blogger, rumor has it), but I corrected it as best as I could.

Yes, I realize it's a long list, but who says year-end lists have to be limited to a mere 10 items? These are books I enjoyed for their writing, or their characters, or the story, or all of the above. I have read things that I never would have thanks to publishers' advance reading copies, friends' recommendations or reviews, or reviews read in the course of my work in Collection Development.

I hope you find something to read in the following post, or if you read one or more of the books, that you will share your opinion of the same book with me.

May you read many wonderful books in 2012!!!
Patti

Catch up & Onward into 2012

2011-12-29T13:35:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

Catch-up: for my last post, Thankfully Reading, I finished A Matter of Justice by Charles Todd and Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle.

I took time in December to read what I wanted to read, not anything I was obligated to, or felt I "should" be reading. A little bit of rereading, mostly holiday books, and entries into series I'm behind on. It was very enjoyable.

For the beginning of 2012, I have some advance reading copies to read for review, and I have my Tucson Festival of Books panels to prepare for.

Haven't I mentioned my Tucson Festival of Books panels? The Tucson Festival of Books will be held March 10-11, 2012 on the campus of the University of Arizona, http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/. I volunteered to moderate a mystery panel, they asked if I could moderate two and I said yes.

My first panel is Crafty Cozies with Jenn McKinlay (aka Lucy Lawrence http://www.jennmckinlay.com/), Kate Carlisle (http://www.katecarlisle.com/index-mystery.php) and Earlene Fowler (http://www.earlenefowler.com/). My second panel is titled Daring Deeds in Tumultuous Times with Lauren Willig (http://laurenwillig.com/) and Charles Todd (http://charlestodd.com/); basically, historical mysteries. I'm very excited about both of these panels, which both take place on Saturday, March 10.

When I moderate a panel, I try very hard to read as many of the authors' books as I can. This way I can see character development, and how each author works on or with a series. I also try to come up with good questions that all the panelists can answer AND individual questions that focus on each author, so they each have a moment in the spotlight.

I will have a post for all of you soon after January 1 with my Patti's Picks for 2011; my favorite reads from this year.

My resolutions for 2012 are "Finish" and "Move" per Laura Lippman's post about One Word Resolutions, http://lauralippman.com/2011/12/one-word-resolution-challenge-a-tradition/. Yes I'm using two words for two different resolutions, but that's my interpretation, at least for this year. "Finish" is all about finishing up all the projects I'm half done with around my apartment. "Move" is about exercising, and getting out to socialize more; basically moving off my couch. Somehow I will also have to spend enough time there to read though...

Happy Reading!
Patti