Top Secret Twenty-One, by Janet Evanovich

Borrowed Kindle version from my local library.

This was one of Stephanie Plum's more enjoyable adventures of late. There was a nice balance of familiar characters, obligatory funeral home shenanigans, vehicle demises, and FTA apprehensions to let you know you were still in Trenton. I actually liked Stephanie in this book. She took care of people left and right, including herself. She was confident and stood up for herself and didn't seem like such a screw-up. And there was Ranger. Lots of Ranger. And Morelli. But Ranger. Who says she has to choose?

Catch #244!

My second catch of 2015 (#244 overall) comes six weeks after I left "The Phantom Tollbooth" on top of a gas pump in Murrysville, Pa. The AnonymousFinder says: "Found at Murrysville Sheetz on rt. 22. I remember reading this book back in school. It will soon be on its way to a new site!" Can't wait to hear more!

Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, and acquired from SYNC 2014, which offers two free YA audiobooks each week in May. Well read by Jim Dale, who also reads the Harry Potter books.

This Peter Pan prequel was great fun, with lots of action and humor and nods to the source material. Not only does this book explain how Peter and the Lost Boys and Captain Hook arrived at Neverland, it also explains the origins of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, and the genius of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, among others. This is a book that would make a great movie. I'm satisfied knowing as much as I know about these characters, so I probably won't seek out other books in the series, but who's to say what would happen should they cross my path?

One Summer: America, 1927, by Bill Bryson

Borrowed Kindle version from my local library. It took me 42 days spanning two seasons to get through this book. Not that it wasn't interesting—the material was fascinating—but maybe the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year season wasn't the best time to tackle it, as I had other things on my mind. What made the summer of 1927 one hell of a summer?

Babe Ruth hit sixty home runs. The Federal Reserve made the mistake that precipitated the stock market crash. Al Capone enjoyed his last summer of eminence. The Jazz Singer was filmed. Television was created. Radio came of age. Sacco and Vanzetti were executed. President Coolidge chose not to run. Work began on Mount Rushmore. The Mississippi flooded as it never had before. A madman in Michigan blew up a school and killed forty-four people in the worst slaughter of children in American history. Henry Ford stopped making the Model T and promised to stop insulting Jews. And a kid from Minnesota flew across an ocean and captivated the planet in a way it had never been captivated before.

Even though the title of the book would lead you to believe you would only be reading about the events of the summer of 1927, Bill Bryson did a good job of giving you all the background you didn't know you needed to know in order to understand just what made this summer so unique. Disappointingly, there was little evidence of his trademark snark, which only came through the cracks in his narrative. Still, I learned a lot about this one summer in America, primarily that things haven't changed as much as we'd like to think they have.

Catch #243!

What a great way to start off the new year! My first catch of 2015 came with this fantastic journal entry by new member EFVS: "I'm in second grade and I read this book with my mom. We both LOVED it! My favorite character was the centipede. I liked him because he didn't like the earthworm and they were always arguing. This made me laugh. This book had a lot of funny parts, adventurous parts, and dangerous parts. It was truly a fantastic book! Thank you for sharing it!"

Thank YOU, EFVS, for catching "James and the Giant Peach"! I'm so glad you liked it.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, by Matthew Quick

Written by Matthew Quick, author of "Silver Linings Playbook," and acquired from SYNC 2014, which offers two free YA audiobooks each week in May. Read by Noah Galvin, who gives an exceptional performance.

I think some of the best stories being told today are in the YA genre. "Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock" is an intense, imaginative, and insightful book that I simultaneously want to keep out of and push into the hands of every teen I know. So many different issues that face kids today were addressed head on, fearlessly and intelligently. This was a really good, thought-provoking book, even for a non-teen like me. My favorite part is the ambiguity of the title: Is Leonard Peacock asking us to forgive him or should we be asking Leonard Peacock to forgive us? You'll have to read it and make up your own mind about that.

Books Read in 2014

Well, thank goodness that's over and done with. Like many people I know, 2014 was not the best of times, nor was it the worst of times, but I am not sorry to see it end. I managed to finish 62* books this year, 6 more than 2013, but several of them were Very Easy Reading, so that 62 deserves an asterisk.

My sort of resolution for 2014—to read an e-book, then an audiobook, then a real book, followed by another real book—never really took off, though 29 of the 62 books were actual physical books from Mt. TBR. If only I hadn't acquired dozens more to replace them at the same time...

So here is a list of the books I finished in 2014. You can follow the links to their journal entries on BookCrossing; those books without a link were either borrowed, or are in my permanent collection for the moment. (E) indicates they were read on my Kindle/Nook/iPod Touch; (A) means they were audiobooks; (L) means I borrowed them from my local library; (R) means I re-read some old friends.

My favorites this year? "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming," by Mike Brown; "Ready Player One," by Ernest Cline; "Grave Sight," by Charlaine Harris; and "Neverwhere," by Neil Gaiman, because it was read by Neil Gaiman.

January
1. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
2. Timebound, by Rysa Walker (E)
3. Doctor Who: Galaxy Four, by William Emms
4. The Life and Times of Call the Midwife: The Official Companion to Season One and Two, by Heidi Thomas (E) (L)

February
5. A Wrinkle In Time, by Madeleine L'Engle (A) (R)
6. My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor
7. The Quest, by Nelson DeMille (E) (L)
8. Doctor Who: The Myth Makers, by Donald Cotton (E)
9. Seek, by Paul Fleischman

March
10. Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk (A) (L)
11. National Velvet, by Enid Bagnold
12. All My Friends Are Dead, by Avery Monsen and Jory John
13. All My Friends Are Still Dead, by Avery Monsen and Jory John
14. The Teleportation Accident, by Ned Beauman (E)
15. If Love Be Blind, by Emma Goldrick (E)
16. Divergent, by Veronica Roth (E) (L)
17. A Feast for Crows, by George R.R. Martin (E)
18. Passenger to Frankfurt, by Agatha Christie
19. Doctor Who: Storm Warning, by Alan Barnes (A)

April
20. Agnes and the Hitman, by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
21. Insurgent, by Veronica Roth (E) (L)
22. Garden of Beasts, by Jeffery Deaver (A)
23. Blackberry Wine, by Joanne Harris
24. Takedown Twenty, by Janet Evanovich (E) (L)

May
25. The Museum Guard, by Howard Norman
26. The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey (A)
27. How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, by Mike Brown (E) (L)
28. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman (A) (L) (R)
29. Rebecca's Tale, by Sally Beauman
30. Allegiant, by Veronica Roth (E) (L)

June
31. An Officer and a Spy, by Robert Harris (A) (L)
32. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
33. Transmission, by Hari Kunzru (A)
34. Cash: The Autobiography, by Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr
35. Bossypants, by Tina Fey

July
36. John Dies at the End, by David Wong (E)
37. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman (A) (R)
38. Ripper, by Isabel Allende (A) (L)
39. The Bat, by Jo Nesbø (E) (L)

August
40. The Frog King, by Adam Davies
41. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling
42. Cat Among the Pigeons, by Agatha Christie (E)
43. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman (A) (R)
44. Stormy Persuasion, by Johanna Lindsey (E) (L)
45. Tears of the Giraffe, by Alexander McCall Smith

September
46. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke (A)
47. The Fault In Our Stars, by John Green (E) (L)
48. The Girl Nobody Wanted, by Lynn Raye Harris
49. Silent to the Bone, by E.L. Konigsburg
50. Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline (A)
51. The Foretelling, by Alice Hoffman
52. Morality for Beautiful Girls, by Alexander McCall Smith

October
53. The Gates, by John Connolly
54. Grave Sight, by Charlaine Harris
55. The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
56. Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell (E) (L)
57. No Choice But Seduction, by Johanna Lindsey

November
58. Wicked Appetite, by Janet Evanovich
59. The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (E)
60. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, by Anne Tyler
61. Death in the Steel City, by Thomas Lipinski

December
62. How The Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss (A) (R)

Catch #242!

I got an early Christmas gift this year from new user paper_chaser, who found "Death In The Steel City" just where I left it a couple of weeks ago: "Found it while restocking the City Paper box near PPG plaza."

Catch #241!

My first (and hopefully not last) catch from this year's Holiday Parade has checked in. New member MarStar writes: "Found at the Holiday Parade, read over the weekend. Enjoyed. Will be releasing it again soon." Safe travels, little guy!

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

Read on my Kindle at the insistence of Niece No. 6. She and Nephews No. 2 and 3 are big fans of The Olympians series of books and I can see why. I'm sure they would have captured my imagination had they been written when I was their age. They serve as a nice introduction to Greek and Roman mythology and made me want to refamiliarize myself with the original stories—they made me want to read more, which is a fantastic result for today's kids.

It's not a trick ...

It's that time of year again! For the last couple of years, I have had a smorgasbord of books for my trick-or-treaters, in addition to the traditional candy, and the books have been a big hit! This year, I made my own labels just for the occasion. The tagline says: "it's not a trick, you're in for a treat!" Download them by clicking here. You can find links to other user-created labels in this thread on the BookCrossing forums.

Catch #240!

One of the books I left in Little Free Library #7801 in Indiana, Pa., last month was just caught and journalled! An AnonymousFinder says, "We love finding book at the book box."

I love that they found it!

The Fault In Our Stars, by John Green

Borrowed Kindle version from my local library many months after having seen the film (featuring Niece No. 2 as an extra!) and after years of hearing glowing reviews of the book.

Although this was my first John Green book, it was not my first encounter with John Green. I was familiar with him from his Life Hacks vlogs and some of his social media interactions, and he's a likable guy. So what took me so long to read this book? Me. I didn't want to give in to the hype or read a depressing book. How can a book about kids with cancer not be depressing? But I finally read the book because I had seen the movie and knew what to expect.

I probably would not have seen the movie if Niece No. 2 had not been an extra in it. Who wants to see a depressing movie? How can a movie about kids with cancer not be depressing? It was, and it wasn't, and that seems to be the magic of John Green. He tells the truth and he doesn't sugar coat it. Sometimes the truth sucks, but sometimes it doesn't, and the world *is* full of infinite possibilities.

A4, anyone?

I have been making my own BCID labels for years, formatted to 8.5" x 11" paper, as is the standard here in the United States. But since BookCrossing is an international community, I'm venturing past the borders into A4 territory. First up, a little international romance. What do you think? Which label should I tackle next?

2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke

When you remember that "2001: A Space Odyssey" was written in the very dawn of the Space Age, that makes it pretty impressive. Man had not even orbited the moon when this book was published in July 1968, just a few months after Stanley Kubrick's movie.

Arthur C. Clarke provides an introduction on this audible.com download, and it was fascinating to hear the history behind this iconic story. In 1964, he and Stanley Kubrick decided to collaborate on a new project, using Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel," as a starting point. Clarke describes this as "a mood piece about the discovery of an alien artifact on the moon. A kind of burglar alarm, set to go off on man's arrival." Kubrick suggested that he and Clarke let their imaginations soar freely by writing a complete novel from which they could derive a movie script. In reality, the novel and the screenplay were being written simultaneously. Clarke says some parts of the novel were written only after seeing the screen rushes of the script.

Dick Hill was a great narrator for this book, providing excellent voices for each character, and getting through the sciencey bits in a very calm and smooth way that didn't make my brain hurt. This book stands alone very well; it does not need the movie. The movie, however, needs this book. I don't remember completely understanding the movie when I saw it, but after hearing this book, I totally get it. And recommend it.

Catch #239!

Another book from my June/July beach vacation has been found, just where (and when) I left it! An AnonymousFinder writes: "I found the book at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach SC. It was on a bench outside one of the retail stores, shortly after 5:30pm. We brought it to VA. My daughter who is 12 read it, but wasn't really fond of it."

The AF also reports that its journey is continuing: "Released Aug. 30th at the National Book Festival in Washington DC around 4pm." I know a few BookCrossers were planning to attend the National Book Festival—I wonder if any of them encountered this traveller?

Catch #238!

I spent the day dropping books in the Oakland and Shadyside neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's bridges have become magnets for "love locks"—combination locks or padlocks that are attached to the wire mesh of the bridges by lovers declaring their undying affection for each other—so I thought leaving "Kramer vs. Kramer," a story about a bitter divorce and custody battle, would tell the other side of the story. It was the first book I left today and was journalled before I could even make release notes. The AnonymousFinder reports: "I was baked and was walking across the Schenley bridge and found this book! Humanity is fucking cool!!!!!!!!" Couldn't have said it better myself.

Stormy Persuasion, by Johanna Lindsey

Borrowed Kindle version from my local library because I just can't quit Johanna Lindsey's Malory series. "Stormy Persuasion," however, is not just a Malory tale, but a Malory-Anderson tale. I feel like I missed a book or two as there were characters I didn't remember—or maybe I skipped a book or two because reviews I read ranged from "meh" to "another rapist love story."

There were *lots* of characters in this one—Malorys, Andersons, good guys, bad guys—too many characters to keep track of while trying to remember their back stories, which rather took away from Judith and Nathan's story. Luckily (perhaps), I have a feeling I'll be reading the story again from Jack's point of view, as her storyline took an unexplored detour.

Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

What the heck? How could I not LOVE this book the first time I read it in April 2010? Can you believe I wrote:

I wish I were more familiar with London so that I could properly enjoy this wonderfully descriptive and imaginative book. Having never been to London Above, much less London Below, I feel like I missed out on some of the nuances of the story locales. When I read fantasy books, it's much easier for me to imagine completely fictional worlds than to try to fit the fantastical into real-life cities, streets, and buildings. Nevertheless, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story, the characters, and Neil Gaiman's writing skills.

This time around, I still haven't been to London Above or London Below, but it doesn't matter. Neil Gaiman made them both come alive for me. Not only is he a better writer than I am, he is a better reader. He can read me any book, any day.

The Bat, by Jo Nesbø

Borrowed Kindle version from my local library, based on bookczuk's review of a newer book in the series. Of course I couldn't read *that* book without reading all the books that led up to it, so I started with the first Inspector Harry Hole novel, The Bat.

The plot (paraphrased from amazon): Inspector Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad is sent to Sydney, Australia, to observe a case involving the murder of a 23-year-old Norwegian woman, who is a minor celebrity back home. Harry is free to offer assistance, but he has firm instructions to stay out of trouble. He fails miserably.

I wasn't too sure about this book through the first few chapters—it was full of Crocodile Dundee-like stereotypes as Harry Hole settled into the story and that made it uncomfortable for me to settle into the story. As it went on, I felt a little more at ease, but I don't know that I always knew what was going on; I was often surprised by a turn of events, a twist, an unexpected reaction, and I liked that. I also liked that everything is important in this story. I will visit "Harry Holy" again.