November 2024 Books

♥ The Clue in the Jewel Box by Carolyn Keene - I wrote the following back in July of 2021 when i first read this Nancy Drew Mystery and it still stands: "This book was so good I didn't want it to end." The one good thing about having a dodgy memory is that when I re-read an old book I tend to completely forget the story and it's like reading it for the very first time. 

How Spider Saved Thanksgiving by Robert Kraus - I picked this book up at the library and had high hopes since I loved when Spider saved Christmas and Halloween. This one was not memorable except that it was very much the way Thanksgiving was taught to me at school. "Indians" and really wonderful white people who are generous and sincere. Talk about dated. 

* The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming and Nicola Slater - Here was another one from the library and it was really cute and the illustrations were fun and fresh with an original storyline. 

♥ Did I Ever Tell You This? ¹ by Sam Neill - I, of course, have known about Sam Neill since I was in high school with films like A Cry in the Dark, Jurassic Park, and The Piano, and have continued to see him ever since. He never turns in a bad performance. Subtle and solid. I'm a sucker for a good memoir by someone famous and this was one of the best. Chock full of laughs and fantastic stories. It was perfect for the long drive up and back to Amy's farm. Mr. Neill kept me riveted, and therefore awake, on the late night two-plus hour ride home. 

♥ You Never Know ¹ by Tom Selleck - An exceptional book. Selleck comes across as a man of a bygone era, like the men of the Second World War. Men with honour, courage, character, iron will, integrity, determination, and dignity. A serious man, but one not without humour and kindness. It was an absolute, no-bullshit, pleasure to listen to him read his memoir and get to know him better. The best was when he confirmed what I had hoped all my life - that Jack Weston was a wonderful human being. Takeaways: oh my gosh, he way overused the phrase "above my pay grade" and every time he said it I cracked up laughing. And the story about going with Larry Manetti to visit with Kyle in the hospital and Larry giving him the ring they all wore, had me crying my eyes out. Such a great, great book, and more than worth the wait.

¹ - audiobook

² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.