Bogormen

Title: Murder on Birchardville Hill
Author: Ruth Buchanan
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 123
Date read: January 2018

Depressed at the prospect of spending another Christmas alone, successful crime podcaster Morgan Scott travels to the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania to research a historic murder. But in the tiny village of Birchardville, past crimes and present dangers collide, placing both Morgan and the local residents in very real peril. This Christmas, there'll be no silent night.


Not very christmassy, despite taking place at that time of year, but a fun suspense novel with some twists I hadn't seen coming. I liked Morgan, Pat and Levi and Reed definitely grew on me too :)

The end seemed slightly contrived, but never mind - it was still a fun read :)

Title: Now That You Mention It
Author: Kristan Higgins
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 416
Date read: January, 2018

One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.

Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There's only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn't necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.

With a tough islander mother who's always been distant and a wild-child sister in jail, unable to raise her daughter - a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was - Nora has her work cut out for her if she's going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.


This is the first book I've read by Kristan Higgins, but it definitely won't be the last. It's chick-lit with substance, and immediately drew me in and held me captive till the very end. It made me laugh and cry in turns (happy tears!) which automatically makes this a 5 star read. I was thoroughly invested in the story.

My heart broke for Nora's childhood / teenagehood, and I loved seeing her return to her island and get the form of closure she would never have gotten otherwise. Audrey was just lovely, and Poe's growth so, so touching.

I wish we had gotten full closure on the Big Bad Event, but the way it ended was realistic, so I can live with it.

Title: The Host Author: Stephenie Meyer Genre: Sci-fi Rating: 5/5 # pages: 631 pages Date read: May 2008, September 2009, June 2012, January 2018

Summary: Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

Review: Stephenie Meyer did it again. She really knows how to write books I can't put down. I 'read' this book as an audiobook, which turned out to be a mistake. One should never listen to an un-put-downable book, as it's so much more difficult (and slower!) to sneak chapters at opportune moments. I wasn't much more than half way, before I went to order it off Amazon, as I knew I had to own the print version.

I hadn't read any reviews, blurbs or anything about the book, so all I knew was that it was a love triangle between a man, a woman and an alien. To show you how little I knew, I thought the alien was male! I was soon corrected. At first I was amazed at how much the plot seemed like that of the "Animorphs" series, until I realized the aliens here are pacifists, not cruel monsters.

The book starts out very confusingly as you're dropped right into the action, but once you make sense of what's going on, it grabs you, and if you're anything like me, you'll find yourself totally sucked in and unable to leave it. I was very pleasantly surprised and loved it.

Title: Little Town on the Prairie Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder Genre: Classics Rating: 4.5/5 # pages: 223 Date read: July 2007, January 2010, August 2012, January 2018, 2024

The long winter is finally over, and with spring comes a new job for Laura, town parties, and more time to spend with Almanzo Wilder. Laura also tries to help Pa and Ma save money for Mary to go to college.


This is one of my favourite LIW books. I'm fascinated by the descriptions of life in town. Two things that struck me in particular were a) how modestly they lived and b) how quickly they had to grow up. Just think of Laura, going off to teach at age 15. I was no where near mature enough for that at that age. And they all seemed so selfless too - always passing on things to each other, because they didn't need them themselves, and thought the other person would like them more.

Title: Farmer Boy Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder Genre: Classics Rating: 4.5/5 # pages: 236, Audiobook ~7hrs Date read: July 2007, January 2010, August 2012, January 2018, November 2024

The Story of a boy named Almanzo Wilder...While Laura Ingalls grows up on the western prairie, a boy named Almanzo Wilder is living on a farm in New York State. Almanzo and his brother and sisters work at their chores from dawn until supper most days -- no matter what the weather. There is still time for fun, though, especially with the horses, which Almanzo loves more than anything.


It took me quite awhile to read this one the first time around, because I didn't originally think that a book not about Laura could possibly be as good. I don't know why I thought that, seeing as it was the same person writing them, and fortunately my mum talked me into reading it. Now, it's one of my favourite of the series. It has a lot more explaining how they do this or that, but that doesn't bother me at all, since lots of this is completely new to me. I also like the fact that this book spans over almost exactly one year, so you get to see how life on a farm was back in those days.

Title: On the Banks of Plum Creek Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder Genre: Classics Rating: 4.5/5 # pages: 235, Audiobook ~7hrs Date read: July 2007, March 2011, August 2012, January 2018, November 2024

Laura and her family find a new home in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, where the nearby creek and swimming hole lure Laura with dangerous, yet thrilling adventures. Too soon, their life is threatened when prairie fires and other strange events jeopardize their crops.


I remember being totally scared by the grasshoppers after reading this book. I'd read about the plague of the locusts in the Bible, but it never really *clicked* exactly what it meant until after reading this. I can't remember if I noticed this before, but on this readthrough it constantly strikes me how simple a life the Ingalls lived. I know it's (mostly) written with rosy-coloured glasses but I really think there were a lot of advantages to it - more time to play (no TV or computer), more time to spend with your family (again, no TV or computer to compete with)... on the other hand I would miss having more than 3 books at my disposal ;-)