The Motley Reader

  Ok first, I need to say that this isn't the type of book that I normally read. Second, it has gotten a lot of hype since it was published so that is another reason for me not to have read it. I like mysteries. A little suspense makes for a good story in my opinion. But time travel,"quantum leap" style body snatching, murder and an unexplained setting? Hmmmm, this has all the makings of something that I would not llike to read. And yet.  Here's the description:  . "Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 pm. There are eight days and eight witnesses for you to inhabit. We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer." See what I mean? This title kept coming up in book discussions so I added it to my TBR list. Then, October came around and well, what better month to read a murder mystery sci-fi suspense novel? Thanks to my local library I was able to get this book and read it without spending any money. However, if I had the chance to ...

  So I'm sure many of you have heard of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. It came out in 1991 and starred Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Jessica Tandy, and Mary Louise Parker.  I have not seen this movie, but I remember when it came out. I remember thinking it looked interesting. I mean, who doesn't like a good girl's night movie? Flash forward to the present and I found out a few months ago that it was based on a book by Fannie Flagg. I also found out that I had inadvertently picked up another book by this same author. I wrote about my thoughts on the The All Girls Filling Station Last Reunion  a while back. I wasn't overly crazy about that book, and sadly I feel the same about this one. Here's a link to that post:  https://themotleyreader.blogspot.com/2020/06/summer-reading-all-girl-filling.html Ms. Flagg is a good writer. I can tell that much from the two books I've read. She is very capable of telling a good story. Her characters are likable. Her stories ...

Do you have a favorite author? You know what I mean right? You've read all their books. You follow them on social media. You know their birthday, the story behind their writing career, and where they like to vacation. You probably recommend them to everyone even if they don't ask.  Now, what if you found out that your favorite author may have plagiarized their most famous book, which also just happens to be your all time favorite? That is the premise of my most recent read  First Impressions by Charlie Lovett. Before reading this book I had never heard of Charlie Lovett. But as you know, I have been listening to the What Should I Read Next podcast by Anne Bogel. Each episode of this podcast is filled with lots of book talk, including book recommendations. First Impressions has been mentioned by Bogel multiple times on the show. From the description she gives, I was intrigued by the concept so I added it to my Goodreads "Want to Read" list a few weeks ago.  Once the ...

How about this for a tagline? A haunting debut novel set against the background of New York City in the 1920s.... Sounds interesting right? Yeah, I thought so too.  I acquired The Other Typist from a book swap held at a local restaurant where I live. I was taken in by the back cover summary. Words like prohibition, speakeasies, fascination and obsession grabbed me and I was looking forward to when I would have time to fall into this story. It was advertised as a thriller along the same lines as Gone Girl . I've not read Gone Girl , but I am familiar with this genre which is a combination of thriller and suspense. It is most often characterized by a "surprise" or shocking ending. It is the story of Rose Baker a self described dignified lady who works with the police typing criminal interviews. Her life is ordinary and quite normal until another typist named Odalie Lazare is hired. Odalie introduces Rose to a life she has not ever experienced. Rose becomes entranced by Oda...

Summer Reading Continued.... Me Elton John has been on my radar since last year when I read the Julie Andrews biography. Biographies haven't really been something I've gravitated toward until recently. I think the year we did the reading challenge at school got me hooked on biographies. That year, in order to get in as many books as possible I started reading books in the Big Head biography series. If you are unfamiliar with these books, they are a series of biographies written on an elementary grade level. They are called Big Heads because of the caricature of the subject on the front cover. Learn more here:  http://www.whowasbookseries.com/who-was/ Anyhoooo. Back to Elton John. I was never a huge fan. But growing up in the late 70's and then the 80's it's hard not to know who Elton John is or not heard any of his songs. However, his biography is another matter completely. Now I'm going to give you the warnings first. There is interesting language in this book...

What would you do if one day you found out everything you know about your life is wrong? That's the basis for the Fannie Flagg novel The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion. This is the third read from my summer reading list. It's also written by the same author who wrote Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which was later made into the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. I've not read the book or seen the movie, but I've heard good things. Also the movie stars one of my favorite actresses, Kathy Bates. Anywho, Sookie Poole has just found out a secret about her life. I won't give it away because it would possibly spoil the book. However, this secret is HUGE and it effects her life in ways she never imagined. Half of the book is told every other chapter from Sookie's point of view. There are some good chuckle moments as you see Sookie try to understand this new information about her life and how to move forward living in a very small town where everyon...

"The murderer is with us on the train now....." This classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie was the second choice from my summer reading pile. It was actually my secret favorite from the list of classics I presented to everyone for voting. My summer classic will actually be Jane Eyre as per your votes, but since this was relatively short I thought I'd keep it on the summer pile. It has been many years since I read Agatha Christie, but I still find myself recommending her for those who favor mysteries. My favorite being And Then There Were None.   Like I said in my summer reading post, "You simply cannot go wrong with an Agatha Christie mystery." I whole hardheartedly believe that her mysteries are some of the best out there. Especially for those who like something with a bit more meat than your average cozy mystery. Murder on the Orient Express, is one of her most famous mysteries. It was even made into a movie. Although this recent version wasn't the onl...