Three Summer Reads...

or rather, 

two reads and a listen.

First up, I finished listening to Neil Gaimen's Norse Mythology.

And while I don't normally care if a book is audio or print, this is one I would strongly urge to go with the audio version.

First, you can have all the 'weird' words pronounced for you!

I have always been terrible at 'sounding it out' and this helps.

Secondly, Neil Gaiman reads it himself and has a wonderful voice. Almost Alan Rickman-ish at times.

But a great read/listen, learning all the back story of Odin, Thor, Loki and the like - where they came from and where they went.

I think this would please both adults and kids on a long car trip this summer.

Continuing in the magical trend, I read Mark Tompkins The Last Days of Magic.

I had seen several rave reviews on it and our library had it in large print, so I borrowed it. And Diana Gabaldon liked it. (And if you don't know who she is, stop reading now!)

Anyway...

I waded through the first half and then skimmed the rest. Not a favorite of mine.

I think my problem with the book was the mish-mash of Judeo-Christian lore (fallen angels and the like) with Celtic mythology, thrown in with Chaucer and the Roman Catholic Church. 

It starts as a mystery in the present day, quickly reverts to medieval times and only at the end returns to the original mystery.

Now, in the back of my mind, I truly believe there are elves and fairies and brownies and the like. Fallen angels, check. Lilith and all her trouble making, double check. I also feel the reason they aren't around anymore is the old trope 'magic is failing because we don't believe in it anymore'. 

It was OK and while I won't say, don't read it, just put it at the bottom of the stack.

Oh, and by the way, large print editors, check the books better and don't rely so much on the computer. The book had several places were there was only one word in the middle of the sentence on a line because no one bothered to double check it. (And it wasn't a device of the book - just sloppy printing.)

Finally, Dean Koontz's The Silent Corner.

If you are going to read one book this summer, let this be the one!

Jane just lost her husband to suicide. And it seems there has been a rise in the number of suicides, but no one is mentioning any of that. Did I mention Jane is a crack FBI agent?

So Jane goes to 'the silent corner', off the grid, so to speak, where she can't be traced, because it seems there are some really bad people not liking where she is poking her nose.

The story has a great premise and very believable. The action keeps you on the edge of your seat. And while the mystery has been solved, the story isn't over! So I can look forward to more about Jane and her adventures.

So now, back to my Robert Jordan odyssey. I am currently listening to book four, The Shadow Rising. And listening to Brandon Sanderson's Bands of Mourning. On the bedside table is a huge stack of to-be-read books, so stay tuned.