Books read

Last blog I stated that I was going to read 75 books this year 2014. I have read a fast book called A RED HERRING WITHOUT MUSTARD by Alan Bradley, which is a good series if you like mysteries. It is about an 11 year old girl around WWII, who has a chemistry lab inside her house thanks to a deceased uncle who was a chemist. She also is a inquisitive little girl with two sisters, her father, but her mother is deceased. The mother died climbing a mountain and from what is implied Flavia is very much like her mother. She tends to get into lots of mischief unfortunately for the father who is on his way to being broke. A good book but not for young children because there are some adult topics brought into play. Another book I am in the middle of reading is A LONG WAY DOWN by Nick Hornby, this book is on the list of 16 to read before they come out in a movie. I am rather enjoying this book though it is on the topic of suicide. Four random people meet on the top of the Topper, a place tall enough for people to die if they jump off. It has been covered by wire mesh to keep people from doing this. It is New Years Eve, and you meet the first person Martin and his tale, followed by Maureen, Jess, and JJ. Martin is a talk show host who got in trouble for going out with a 15 year old, Maureen is a woman with a disabled son, Jess is a 18 year old who just lost her boyfriend and JJ is young man who feels worthless since his band broke up. All think this is the perfect night to kill oneself, but they really are struggling with the actual deed. The book relates what is going on in each characters minds through all this process. I am hoping for one ending but we will see where the book goes. The only downside, in which I agree with the character Maureen, is too much cursing, though there are times they just use f____, but you get the meaning. I am also in the middle of SNOW CHILD this is a book club pick about a couple who lost their child and move to the wilds of Alaska. Their marriage is struggling and they are about to give up hope when a young girl appears in the woods after a snow. She is like the wind and knows her way around the woods. More later. My next 100 book is ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which I hope to start right after I finish A LONG WAY DOWN. Happy reading