Yo Ho Hoping for a Better Life

Dang, times were hard back then. Employees at the mercy of cruel masters, no recourse, no real medical care, and on and on. No wonder so many men opted out in favor of the swashbuckling route. Relative egalitarianism (though not completely, and you'll have to read it to find out more) and a heck of a bigger paycheck meant at least a moderately better situation. This book manages to chronicle all that Bartholomew Roberts did during his tenure as the most feared pirate of the Caribbean without sounding like an inventory list. You'll learn what made "Black Bart" tick (or possibly what did) and about the caginess that made him so successful. Fix yourself some grog and drink this book up!

One Fish, None Fish?

Ingredients:

1 large history lesson

1 tearful love story

1 biology class

1 whodunit

Stir in :

Philosophy (to taste)

Bake, or half-bake. You pick.

This unusual book will keep you reading, reading, reading, to find out how it all turns out. Spoiler: the author will tell you right at the beginning that the answer to everything is chaos. Whether you agree or not with her final analysis is up to you. I enjoyed the mix.

Prepare to Be Pulled In

This is not my typical jam; I normally steer clear of anything mystical, occultish, or other-worldly. But, hey, the price was SO right ($1.00), and the book was a chunky little tome just calling to me. Plus, it had a weird tree-looking guy tippy-toeing on the cover. How could I resist? Onward and upward the book marched, through my stacks, getting closer and closer to the time when I would, with my strict method of book selection, be required to actually read it. Its time finally came, and to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it. (See first sentence.) The first two chapters sputtered along, with me characteristically bemoaning my book selection (a witch? people screaming in the night?), but then the sputtering roared to life. Off that story went, and it took me with it.

Our heroine, Miranda, is sharp, bereft, world-weary, and holds those cards close to her chest. And well she should, because she has some secrets to keep. That's all I'll say about that, because I don't like spoilers. Add a bayou, some creepy people, stir it all up, and you have yourself a spine-tingler. As you wind your way through this book, Andy makes every scene come to life, and does so economically. Here's an example: "Far across the bean fields, a swarm of race cars on some dirt track made a sound like a hive of bees." Can you hear it? Or how about this one: "Pulse racing, she had no spit." I read so many sentences twice, just to soak them up. What a writer.

While this still isn't my usual taste, I'm truly glad I didn't miss out.