Springer, Nancy: Enola Holmes series

Nancy Springer
2006-2009, Philomel
Historical/Mystery


Rating: 5/5 


Summed up: So what if Sherlock Holmes had a sister -  the very epitome of female cunning, with all her brother's brilliant powers of deductions, and then some, to the point that even the great detective himself couldn't keep up? Wonderful idea? I thought so.

Publisher summary (Book One):

When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared, she quickly embarks on a journey to London in search of her. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits. Because when she arrives, she finds herself involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess, fleeing murderous villains, and trying to elude her shrewd older brothers—all while attempting to piece together clues to her mother's strange disappearance. Amid all the mayhem, will Enola be able to decode the necessary clues and find her mother?

Wood, Maryrose: The Poison Diaries

Poison Diaries, #1
288 pages, 2010 Balzar + Bray
Historical/Romance/Suspense


Rating: 4/5


Summed up: The daughter of a reclusive village apothecary falls in love with a boy who can talk to plants. 

(click post to read more)

Plath, Sylvia: Aquatic Nocturne

 dull lunar globes
of blubous jellyfish
glow milkgreen:

eels twirl
in wily spirals
on elusive tails:

adroir lobsters
amble darkly olive
on shrewd claws:

down where sound
comes blunt and wan
like the bronze tone
of a sunken gong.

— Aquatic Nocturne, Sylvia Plath

(found on tumblr)

 

 There's just something about the ocean that always moves me. I could just stand on the edge of the Atlantic and stare out at it for hours. In the summer, there's nothing I like more than being able to dip my toes into the surf.


This poem reminds me of a legend about the merpeople: those who are surrounded by the opulent, wild beauty beneath the waves every day - or perhaps, a historical background on the first explorers beneath the deep, separated from the creatures and beauty only by a pane of glass.

The 2011 E-Book Reading Challenge

I didn't realize how little time I was utilizing to read in the day until the beloved parents bought me a Latest Generation Kindle last year for my birthday. Don't get me wrong - there's nothing that can replace that wonderful crinkle of pages and smell of ink, but there's something perfect about a device that gives you a book within 60 seconds, charges up to a month and slips into your bag without the slightest hint of a bulge.

Ahem. I'm rambling again, aren't I?

To sum up, when I caught sight of this challenge, I realized it was absolutely perfect, seeing as I've probably read twelve or so e-books already for the New Year - and definitely going to be working on a few more. This is going to be a static page, therefore (along with the reviews I will most likely write for the books I read), to list the e-books that I read for the challenge.

I will be signing up for the Possessed level (reading 50 e-books).

1. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkein
2. The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkein
3. The Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes, #1) - Nancy Springer 
4. The Return of the King - J. R. R. Tolkein
5. And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Uncommon Criminals