Summer Reading Report
Summer Reading Report
Jun 13You Holmes fans might dig this: I just finished reading and thoroughly enjoying Down the Rabbit Hole, the first teen-themed novel from suspense writer Peter Abrahams. I picked it up from the library because of the glowing Stephen King blurb on the back cover, which made it sound like a fun read. It is, and I’d also say that it’s as enjoyable for us big kids as it is for the young ‘uns it’s aimed at. And I mention it for Holmes fans because the thoughtful young heroine, 13-year-old Ingrid Levin-Hill, is an avid Holmes enthusiast and often references his adventures as she’s untangling a pretzel of a murder mystery plaguing her small hometown.
Ingrid is a terrific character, stubborn and self-sufficient. She also has a great, droopy, drowsy dog, Nigel, who reminded me a lot of The Tick’s immortal Speak. Aw, Speak.
In other reading news, I also finished Charles de Lint’s latest, Widdershins. It’s very good and very satisfying for longtime Newford-heads and Jilly/Geordie ‘shippers. I do have one…it’s not really a complaint, but let’s just call it A Thing. It seems like we’re spending a lot of time in the Otherworld lately and that’s all fine and good (especially when it’s necessary, as it is for Jilly’s inner healing), but…I miss the streets of Newford. The Tombs, the bookstores, the little cafes, and all the weird magic lurking just around the corner. Hopefully, we can hang out there a bit more in the next book.
Oh, also, while I was reading Widdershins, I went back and re-read some of the early Jilly/Geordie stories, as well as select portions of The Onion Girl. It definitely enhanced the experience and gave the story some nice context. Highly-recommended, as it also makes the book last longer.
WikiWikiWhack: Speak, Charles de Lint.
I’ll look into Down the Rabbit Hole, though I’m a little frightened by the per page word count of the Read Inside option at Amazon.com.
First off I have to finish Not A Girl Detective by Susan Kandel – It’s about a biographer of mystery authors. In this case the story revolves around Nancy Drew (the first book was about Perry Mason, but NAGD won awards, so it was what I discovered at the bookstore.)
Apparently I’m all about meta-fiction these days. I certainly seem to be reading a lot of it.
I read that! I read the Perry Mason one first and found it pretty fascinating. Being me, I also liked all the vintage clothes talk 😉
I’m liking the book a lot, but I will say this – the cover colours suck for tha dudes. Powder blue and pink – yikes. It fits the book perfectly, so I can’t say they should have done it differently. You know how they have adult covers for the Harry Potter books? Yeah, I need a Bro cover, for reading on the bus. Maybe that hot Grace Horton painting in the book.
I sense a photoshop accompanied review coming, once I’m done.