This was just OK. It was by no means badly written, bad, or even that boring. I just did not find myself finding anything special about the work.

This was my first time reading a Batman novel that was not a graphic novel. I found that towards the ending the writing style did remind me of a comic. I found the dialogue in the 1950s scene a bit too campy and on-the-nose. I did not feel particularly attached to any of the characters, and just enough for Bruce/Batman and Thomas.

What kept me reading was the mystery did keep building and I liked the inclusion of Thomas Wayne’s story. I found the femela characters lacking, particularly Martha who seemed to be a rich girl stereotype and dream girl more than an actual person in her scenes.

I found the plot and ending typical of how the Batman mythos has evolved in film. I would not particularly recommend this to anyone, but it was an alright novel that some Batman fans may enjoy.

Read January 23-25, 2015.

What a lovely tribute to P. G. Wodehouse.

I have read all the Jeeves & Wooster books, but that was many years ago. I enjoyed most them, but they got a bit repetitive after awhile. Bertie would get in a scrape, become engaged to an annoying female, and Jeeves would save the day. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Faulks did a lovely job of rounding both Jeeves and Bertie out in their last “adventure” here. I really enjoyed the side characters as well. He got the tone of the dialogue right because I could hear Stephen Fry as Jeeves reading things out loud.

I won’t spoil the plot or details, but I think fans of the books would enjoy this unless they were super-canonical and particularly about details. I really liked the ending and I definitely enjoyed this novel.

Read January 19th, 2015.

In my eyes, this is a fairly typical Kingsolver novel. It features strong female protagonists and characters, a connection to or metaphors with the land, and a quiet and satisfying ending.

I keep reading Kingsolver’s books because I find her characters to be well drawn out. They are often similar women, but the words and their thoughts seem realistic. They are human. They aren’t perfect, but I often want to be their friend. They have tragedies and in this one, the protagonist is surrounded by it. She makes the best of it with her baby girl Turtle.

These novels aren’t exactly feel good because of the emotional and mental realism of the characters. I can rely in Kingsolver ending the novel with hope and a good resolution. Her endings are not flashy ones. They are candid yet important endings for the characters.

I will continue to read her novels though my favourite book of hers is the nonfiction Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and I didn’t really love The Poisonwood Bible as much as everyone else. I do relate to Kingsolver’s ethos with the land and being connected to both people and it.

Read January 12th-13th, 2015.

This novel is a gem. It has well drawn characters, action, romance, poignancy, great diction, and it’s just delightful. The story is of a chef who is kidnapped by pirates.

My best friend is a library technician, but I read more than her. She saw a post at her library’s book recommendation board. She said the main character and narrator is similar to the Crane brothers from “Frasier,” a show we both love.

Indeed, Owen Wedgewood does remind me of Frasier Crane with a dash of Niles, but that is just the surface of how fun this book is. It has interesting characters and lots of history points. In fact, the climactic moments of this novel take place in the South China Sea, in the Pearl River Delta, and in Macau which are places I am very familiar with.

The writing is elegant as befitting the narrator who is a master chef. Brown is great at historical fiction and adventure, but he’s a great food writer as well. This novel was almost written for me especially with the character development and romance that happens toward the end.

Sad and tragic things happen in this novel, but it’s not swept under or made mawkish. The writer has a deft touch. Furthermore, I love the vocabulary of the novel. I had to refresh my memory and look up a few words. I really enjoy that as I love words, and I find most novels don’t challenge my vocabulary anymore. This one does and it’s splendid.

If you enjoy pirates, food, and history, I’d highly recommend this novel. This was a great reading start to the new year.

Read January 3-4th, 2015.