"Rules of Prey"

 I took a little book detour based on a recommendation from a friend. I finally finished "Rules of Prey" by John Sandford. It was a nice little detour!

I feel bad it took so long to read this one. I don't feel it should have but sometimes life happens. I did really enjoy it. I won't say it was a complete page turner, but there were times I had trouble stopping at my appointed time.

It was the first book I read in the Lucas Davenport series. I can see myself reading more, eventually. I would recommend it if you have some time to read. Not life changing, but definitely entertaining!

"Death is Like A Box of Chocolates"

 My 2nd novel in my quest to read through the library was written by Kathy Aarons. It was another mystery with a food related theme by Berkley Prime Crime Mystery Books. Even though it's just two books so far, I'm wondering if this publisher just likes food and authors whose last names start with A.

I enjoyed this chocolate mystery better than the cheese. The story seemed to flow better, it focused on fewer characters, and actually had me wanting to read more to see where it was going.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for some light mystery reading. The end came quickly after the novel, with the solution all in the last chapter and seemed quite sudden. Given a chance, I would pick up another in the series but I wouldn't make it a priority.

"The Long Quiche Goodbye"

 Well, I finished my first book from my library quest. The first author in my library's fiction section was Avery Aames. She is the author of a series, A Cheese Shop Mystery, so I started with the first in the series, "The Long Quiche Goodbye".

Overall, it was worth the read. It was, at times, a little slower paced than I normally like. But, it did keep me interested enough to see what was coming. I also felt it had a lot of characters to keep up with, most of who were minor characters. Then again, it was a murder mystery and what is a mystery without a lot of suspects?

I am glad I read it but have decided to wait on reading any more of the series at this time. If you're looking for a short, easy to read and stay invested in mystery, it is good to visit the cheese shop!

Following a dream

 I love the library. I have always loved libraries - local, college, touring the really fancy ones.

As a child, reading was my escape. I didn't have the worst childhood, but it also wasn't the best. Looking back it was actually pretty good, but non-traditional, especially for the 70s and 80s. I was raised by my grandparents but still involved with my parents, very dysfunctional in so many ways, but I was safe (mostly, physically).

The library, and reading, was my escape. I read most of my free time. As I've grown up, this is something I have missed so much - free time and sitting down with a good book. I had this dream as a child embed itself in my head - what would it be like to read every book in the library?

With 2022 approaching, I've decided this is the time to get started. I picked my local library, https://rclstn.org, and set one main condition - I would start with only books written after 2000. I went to begin with my first selection.

I started with non-fiction, at the beginning (A). The first author was Avery Aames. It was a book from a series called A Cheese Shop Mystery. Instead of the alphabetical first book, I decided to start with the first in the series. This was one of my guidelines in case of series. I am about to begin this reading journey. When done, I will let y'all know what I think.

Here's to years of finally following a childhood dream!