The Twenty-fourth of June - a book review

 The Twenty-fourth of June by Grace S. Richmond is a novel I've never heard of before. A family member wanted me to borrow and review it. I said I'd do that. I'm reading her copy right now, ignoring the introduction essay and afterward sections. Onward!

Courtesy of Amazon

This book follows a man of 28 proving himself to a young woman in the Gray family. It is not what I'd typically pick up, but I'm willing to try it out. The last time this family member suggested a book it was a four-star rated one (Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter). I'm including spoilers in this review, so please come back later if you want to go into it blind. 

Speaking of going into this blind, I'm going into this book practically blindfolded. I didn't get a plot overview other than "romance" and how much my family member loved it. In other words, this review will be honest and I'll be genuinely surprised at plot twists. It's not my usual cup of tea, but it started out strong. 

The events of the book

It starts with Richard Kendrick delivering a message to Judge Gray (from his grandfather, who insisted he go at once). He gets to the Gray residence to find the front door is busted, so he goes in the back and gets to see some of the other members of the household pass while waiting for ten minutes. The Judge speaks with him in the library and he sees the young woman who owns the rose-red scarf on the hat stand for one brief, fleeting moment. The family then talks about him after he leaves, introducing us to the characters of the family. It turns out there might be some scandal papers talking about the Kendrick family. The Judge is not happy to hear negative talk about his dear friend's grandson and cuts the conversation off rather quickly. 

Chapter two begins with Richard volunteering himself to deliver some maps and pamphlets to Judge Gray. Judge Gray then asks if he knows anyone to help him with his writing (his eyes are in bad shape) and Richard volunteers himself. He also says he'll find a substitute if he has to be away (in case he needs a loophole). Matthew Kendrick (Richard's grandfather) then sent a note to the Judge saying to "work him hard" and that he should meet all of them, that it'd be good for him. He works for the judge for a while and ends up in the company of the youngest child, who is eating a meal. This child then introduces him to the main love interest Roberta. He is denied the time to hang out with the two on a country walk. 

I'm going to be dead honest. I stopped here. I flipped ahead and found nothing interesting, at all. Chapter one was great, but after chapter two my will to pick up this book was at zero and my desire to read something else was high. I stopped after chapter three. I tried to make myself go to chapter five, but no dice. It's not worth it to put myself in a reading slump. This is an incomplete review, so no star rating is needed. I DNFed ( DNF means Do Not Finish) this book. It's going back to my relative, where it belongs. 

My thoughts

I won't lie. This is not what I typically pick up and I knew from chapter two I'd have to push myself through it. Badly written? No. Unlikable male character? No. Nothing was bad about it, but I didn't feel compelled to pick it up after chapter two. Chapter one was fine, but everything after was boring. I tried to get to chapter five because I tried to give it a chance. It's not worth it to me. I have so many books I want to read that I won't force myself through a book I'm not compelled to read.

I didn't dislike the characters, I had no problem with our love interests, and I didn't hate the plot. What I disliked was the slow, uneventful pace. It crawled in pace. I was bored. Every glance at my own bookshelf begged me to put it down and send it back to my relative, who said she loved it. I wanted to love it, but I can't. I tried. The back said it was "steeped in suspense", but I can't find the suspense anywhere. What is the suspense? I looked up plot twists for this book and found nothing.

Long story short, please know that this book is not something for action or adventure lovers. If you like books where things happen, avoid this one. This is a squeaky clean, Christian romance (nothing wrong with that, but please note you'll be reading nothing spicey). It is definitely not my cup of tea. I'll stick to Bridgerton if I want a romance. 

Courtesy of Etsy.com

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde - a book review

 I'm going to focus on reviewing more books this year. Of the books in the 2025 reading year, I'm starting with a classic. I give you my review of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This is a spoiler-heavy review. 

Courtesy of Pinterest.com

The book I'm reviewing is a classic—a horror classic. I know the end (at least the movie's end), so it isn't a real surprise to learn that Jekyll is Hyde. I think almost everyone who took a literature class knows that. In basic overview, a man plays with the idea of his good side and bad side and gets himself into a horrible situation. He gets to a point where he can no longer control "Mr. Hyde", whom he says he can get rid of at any time. 

Book Events

We start with a lawyer (Utterson), reading a clause in the will of Dr. Jekyll, a dear friend. Dr. Jekyll's leaving Mr. Hyde all his money and property if he disappears or dies. The lawyer thinks Hyde is a horrible man and has a conversation with Hyde. Hyde is rude to him. He speaks with Jekyll later, and Jekyll is annoyed that he's questioning his will contents. Not long after, we see Hyde kill someone with Jekyll's cane, the very cane the lawyer gifted to Jekyll. He now has to tell his dear friend what happened and what Hyde has done. When he does Jekyll acts strange again, looking sickly and devastated, saying Hyde won't come back. He produces a letter he received (a letter Jekyll could have written himself) saying Hyde has safely escaped. The lawyer assumes Hyde dropped it by the lab. The butler had no knowledge of the letter. The lawyer takes the note to someone, who compares the handwriting with an invitation from Jekyll. It is almost the same with a slight slant. 

Hyde then disappears while Jekyll becomes the social butterfly he used to be - until two months later, when Utterson is not admitted into Jekyll's parlor with no explanation. Utterson is upset since he'd been visiting for weeks with no issue. He has the handwriting man (Guest) over because he's feeling lonely. He also speaks with his other best friend, Dr. Lanyon. Lanyon is ill and will not speak of Jekyll. He dies soon after. Utterson sends a note complaining about why he can't come over (because of course, it's all about you, Mr. Utterson) and gets a response that's a bit dramatic. Jekyll intends to live a life of seclusion for some unknown reason. He won't explain, just says that he did this to himself. I made note in my ebook here ("drama queen") because it was so melodramatic in wording. 

Courtesy of ar.inspiredpencil.com

After Lanyon's funeral, Utterson reads a letter his (now dead) friend wrote to him. In it was another letter, one to be read after the disappearance or death of Jekyll. Utterson restrained his curiosity and put it in his safe. This didn't stop Utterson from coming to Jekyll's house anyway. Clearly, he didn't listen to the contents of that letter. After hearing the troubled state of Jekyll over and over again while talking to Poole, he eventually stopped coming. Jekyll had taken to living in the cabinet room over the lab. He was silent and not himself. Poole's report rarely varied.  On a walk, he sees Jekyll through a window and speaks with him. Jekyll is depressed and Utterson invites him on a walk since he's already out with his cousin. The conversation abruptly ended when Jekyll's face changed and he slammed the window shut as it did. Utterson and his cousin were almost speechless upon seeing the change. 

One evening Poole comes by to say something is terribly wrong. He can't clearly explain what is going on, but he wants Utterson to come with him and see for himself. Utterson gets his coat and hat immediately, braving the wind and weather with Poole. It turns out all the servants are terribly afraid and huddling together by the fire. Poole knocks on the door to illustrate the fact Jekyll's voice has changed, then explains that 8 days ago the voice changed. He had even warned Utterson not to go in if invited. Poole goes on to say that their orders were from papers thrown on the stairs and Jekyll was begging for some sort of medicine. When he got it and brought it back, Jekyll would say it wasn't pure. They didn't see him, just read notes. One note goes from one tone to another. Poole explains he got a glimpse of Jekyll.  Utterson hears Poole out and comes to the conclusion his friend has a deforming illness, since he's now wearing a mask and hiding. Poole says that isn't it, insisting that the man was shorter than Jekyll and Jekyll might be dead. 

At this point, Utterson insists on breaking in to see if Jekyll is alive. They yell out a warning. After a refusal to come out, they burst in with an axe and fire poker to find Hyde had drunk something poisonous. They search fruitlessly for the body of Jekyll and return to Hyde's body with nothing to show for their search. They start looking around and find blasphemies written all over Jekyl's open books and an unfinished chemistry experiment. An envelope is addressed to Utterson, containing a will where Utterson gets everything instead of Hyde. It also says to read what Lanyon wrote to him, that the end was near when he wrote the letter that morning. 

As for what Lanyon wrote, it starts with a letter from Jekyll, begging for a specific, shady errand that will save him. If not done, he is doomed, it explains. It then goes on to (dramatically) explain how Lanyon saw Hyde transform back into Jekyll, then say that after what he saw he would certainly die. He did, as it were, but it sounds so ridiculously dramatic when you read the letter. A couple of the sentences require dictionary help, but we'll talk about it later. 

Courtesy of literature.fandom.com

Jekyll's letter explains that he was trying to split his evil and good nature up. It seems that he does remember what he does in Hyde's body, if I understand correctly. Hyde's form delights in evil. He observed that human nature is grey, not black and white, and that Hyde's form repulsed everyone. Being Jekyll again didn't make him all good, though, just the morally grey man he'd always been. His experiment was not fully successful. He liked that he could be free of his disciplined nature, but still be seen with respect. He was using it to misbehave and have an alibi. He was slowly killing his conscience. He was not taking responsibility for anything he did, instead he hid behind his respectable doctor cutout while "Hyde" did all the evil he wanted to do. This was only a problem when Hyde came out without the concoction. This was when he seemed to forget what he did in Hyde's body. He had to choose his conscience or Hyde, but by indulging his evil alter ego so often he'd already practically made the choice. It was too late. He was the good doctor for two months, then fell back to old habits. He then repented on his knees in tears and screaming and never purposely revived Hyde again. He had to make Lanyon help him get to his medicine when he transformed and couldn't get back to the lab (he broke his own key). Now he could no longer control Hyde and Hyde came out anyway. He had to be near his medicine or he'd never be Jekyll again. Hyde became his own man, scrawling on his books, burning letters and the portrait of his father. The only thing Hyde feared was Jekyll's possible suicide. This letter was the last letter that Jekyll would ever write because the medicine was impure and running out fast. Hyde would soon take over his mind. At the time Poole grabbed Utterson, Jekyll was already permanently gone. 

Overall Thoughts

Now that all you students have cliffnotes on the book, let's talk about what I think. I'm glad I read this on my ereader (a Christmas/Birthday gift - thanks Grandma!) because this book had large words and many sentences I had to dissect to understand. I have notes that say "what?" all over the book. The other thing about this book that stands out is how dramatic the language is. I did mark "drama queen" somewhere and "dramatic, but okay" on Lanyon's last letter. All this said, it's worth the time. 

The idea that Jekyll never suicided himself to kill Hyde due to pity almost sounds like Gollum to me. I know that's not quite a direct line, but it reminds me of Gollum. Pity stayed Bilbo's hand and pity stayed Jekyll's desire to end Hyde by killing himself. At the end Hyde did kill himself, but Hyde was only Hyde by the end. Jekyll had been overtaken by his own experiment and his own mistake of indulging that experiment. It comes to the idea of indulging sin/evil; evil gets easier and good gets harder. Do you feed evil or good? It's a real question. We are all morally grey, as Jekyll notes, and giving into the evil side of yourself leads to utter ruin and disaster. Jekyll destroyed himself by creating Hyde. He was already a bad guy before he created Hyde, though. Some of this book could have been based on the author realizing his close friend (one like Dr. Jekyl) had been assaulting and murdering women the whole time he knew him. Utterson could very well have been a reflection of the author. 

This is horror that makes you think. Many phrases are highlighted in my ebook copy because they are thought-provoking. Jekyll plays with the idea of being the upright, good doctor while secretly doing evil. It doesn't work that way. You can't do evil and not expect it to overtake you. This is something we all need to remember. Read this book. Use your dictionary to get past the language. It's worth your time. 

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

TBR Overview 2024

 This year my TBR (To Be Read) list did not go as planned, mostly because I threw it to the side to focus on cleaning my bookshelves. For this reason, I skip what this year's goals were entirely. Aside from all those thrown-out goals, let's look at the data. 

I decided to prioritize cleaning out my bookshelves and going through the second chance pile. My data looks so different than last year's. Be prepared to see data indicating my second chance pile rose to the top of my priorities. I even blogged some of it for content. 

I also learned something more about myself. I mood-read and I liked it a lot. I'm making more space for that in my TBR. I might still have set titles, but I intend to set up my TBR to have more mood-reading openings. Along with all that, I'm so much better at dropping books I don't enjoy reading. I've learned a lot this year. 

Next Year

First, we have the set titles, which will literally be what I didn't read in 2024, plus maybe a few series here and there. I'm rolling over what I didn't get to. 

When it comes to mood reading I'm putting in reading challenges that have no set titles, as well as a library category. The library category's only qualification is that is has to come from the library, online or in person. The reading challenge that I'm adding is called the "one shelf challenge". The idea is that I roll a randomizer wheel for a bookshelf, then for a shelf within that big bookshelf. After that, I pick a book from that shelf. It leaves me open for mood reading (unlike the read it or unhaul it). 

I'm still doing the read it or unhaul it challenges I skipped from this year, but the added challenges and added category leave me wiggle room. I do the challenges for variety, and I keep my bookshelf cleaned out of books I don't end up liking. Booktuber Emily Fox inspired me to do both challenges. She does these to keep her bookshelf a bit cleaner, as well. 

What Happened?

I started with a concrete list of books and series. Then I got the great idea of cleaning my bookshelf, effectively upending a lot of my previous plans. I got to some of them, but mostly I just threw the goals into the garbage and mood read most of the year. It wasn't that bad, really, and I don't regret mood reading. I intended to read everything on my MP3 player, but it didn't happen. I intended to review more classics, but it didn't happen. The goals flew off into the void. There is nothing wrong with that. 

Instead, I read some books that were calling to me, like Eragon and The Hobbit. I also devoured the second chance pile, finding both duds and excellent novels. Most of them have been donated, but I did find some good books I wouldn't have picked up otherwise. At the end of all this, I've cleared more space for books. I still lack space for books, thus I tapered my Christmas list of books to what I truly want to collect. I have no regrets. I still achieved something. 

Courtesy of Reddit.com

What I Learned About Myself

I learned that books you don't have a connection to need to leave the library. Take them to a friend, a donation box, a public library, or any place that will take them off your hands. Bookstores that sell used books will take them for money. If you don't enjoy yourself, put it down. Leisure books are not school projects you have to read. 

Mood reading is apparently my thing now. I tailored my 2025 TBR to reflect this need in my life. Open challenges with no set titles will help me do this more often. It was great to pick up a book because I felt like it. I read more that way and I'm going to let myself mood read more often. 

Challenges are absolutely helpful in keeping a bookshelf clean over time. It doesn't take you long to read three books from the unread category and make a decision. Doing this every few weeks or so will keep your shelf looking like what you love. Read it or unhaul it will have you reading what you rarely pick up and the one shelf challenge will have me picking from one shelf only. This will help me read what I have, making it so I don't avoid any of my books. 

The Data

First, let's look at categories. I'm eliminating the category of TBR with my husband for 2025. We used to read together more often, and we'll still read together, but I'm no longer including it in my TBR goals. Reading what I wanted to read together in one year is not achievable.  I ended up cleaning my bookshelf almost the whole year. I also mood-read and picked up a decent amount of non-TBR books. 

Finished books don't include what I DNFed (chose not to finish). I did indeed leave two months completely unfinished, as you can see. I hit a reading slump due to the amount of books I was choosing not to finish. When you read a lot of what you don't like, you end up in a reading slump. It's unavoidable. It's done, though, so I'm officially done with the second chance pile. 

Overall form of books, counting what I didn't finish, was overwhelmingly physical. One reason for this is the second chance pile, but I also intend to read what I own on the shelf. Online books don't clutter my living room shelves. With that in mind, I also love physical books because they don't require staring at a screen. Ebooks are great and audiobooks are wonderful. Audiobooks grow on me every year. Physical is still my favorite. No device is needed. Online books can be easy to forget. 

I didn't do too badly on finishing books, despite the shocking amount of DNFing I did. For one thing, I found some I loved in the second chance pile. For another, I read outside the pile and read some of the TBR. I did DNF nearly half, but I still finished more than I DNFed. Yay! I'm sure next year's stats will be better than this. 

Overall Results

By the end of this year, I've become a different reader. I mood-read more often than I TBR read. I've now left openings for mood reading in the TBR itself. I've learned to put down what I don't enjoy, I've gone through the whole bookshelf to ensure my shelf reflects me, and I'm adding a new challenge to my TBR. I'm even adding a category - library - to ensure I try new releases and hyped books for myself, before buying them on a whim. I'm discovering there are genres I can't get into and genres I love. Reading a variety of them helped me learn about myself. This TBR was a success, even if it wasn't an "I finished it all" success. I had fun this year. That's what counts.  

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware - A review

 I can't hold back my thoughts on the book The It Girl by Ruth Ware! I love it. Now you all get hear me gush about it. This blog is full of spoilers, so if you want a spoiler-free review go elsewhere. 

Courtesy of phdiva.blog

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is a mystery that I picked up on a whim in 2024. This review will come much later in scheduled blogs than my actual reading of it. In other words, I already read it weeks ago by the time you see this. 

Let's get into the basic plot. Without getting knee deep in spoilers, here is the basic plotline. Hannah Jones, years after finding her college roommate dead, can't remember the whole encounter. The convicted culprit, who never stopped screaming his innocence year after year in the courts, died of a heart attack in prison. This starts a ball rolling mentally for Hannah. She's pregnant, fears the press swarming her like before, and was just trying to live a normal life - one not surrounded by the death of her best friend, April. You see her grief all book long. One reporter starts asking questions, leading Hannah to think that her evidence may have put the wrong man in prison. From there the snowball becomes a boulder, metaphorically, and she pursues more information despite her husband's frustrations. 

Where Spoilers Begin

If you've read this much and never read the book, stop. Stop and go to the library. Pick it up off the bookstore shelves or the internet. I'm serious. Don't go further. The twists are part of the fun. 

Again, spoilers abound after this sentence, and you have been warned. 

Now that all the people who didn't read it left (cough, cough), we'll go on. 

What I Liked 

The culprit was genius. No joke, Hugh was the last person you'd expect to be the culprit, but there were clues present. Start watching Hugh from the point of the strip poker game and you'll see compressed anger and constant disrespect from April. It turns out that might have been her source of pills and he literally faked his test to get into medicine in Oxford. He's too dead to confirm the theory, but the theory fits into the facts neatly. 

Hugh is like the bird watcher in the book Curtains, the last Poirot novel by Agatha Christie. Let me explain further and it will make more sense. The bird watcher not only convinces people of lies (like Hugh saying Will was at the college the night of the murder), but redirects the attention toward others (like when he mentions Emily getting pranked by a letter). The bird watcher remains invisible because he's redirecting and manipulating the people around him. Read this again and watch Hugh remain invisible. You know next to nothing about Hugh until the end. He kept contact with everyone to ensure he'd be a confidante and not a suspect. It was brilliant. He was not blindsided by Hannah's actions purely because he became her confidante. 

I also loved the way the broken phone became a plot device to save Hannah in the car situation. Will was only able to come to her aid because she made a split-second decision, a decision to take advantage of the fact Hugh thought her phone was fully dead. Some writers would put in "convenience plot" to save our main character, but this was not a convenience plot. We knew she broke her phone earlier. It doesn't seem too convenient, and yet, the author clearly set up a scenario specifically for this scene. It's excellent writing. 

The style of the book itself was paced perfectly. I loved seeing what happened back then paired with the present (or "after"). Hannah, our eyes and ears for the story itself, sees life in before and after because the murder shook her so hard. It works up to the revelation that Hannah saw April alive, pretending to be dead, but Hugh was the only one to see her dead. I liked that the memory gap thing wasn't a melodramatic reveal, but was revealed at just the right time. The pacing kept you reading, but fed you snippets of information as you read. The book didn't feel too long or too short. 

What I Didn't Like

Only one thing didn't make sense. One thing was never explained. Who was shagging with April near her death if it wasn't Will or Ryan? The dialogue made it sound like an important detail. Personally, I theorized that it was Hugh and he was not offered a way to say no, but I think I'm wrong. He wasn't the type to even like April and she treated him horribly, not romantically. This is the only point I am confused on. If anyone can comment some explanation or theories, please do. 

Aside from what I just explained, nothing else was disliked. I loved it, loved it, and loved it more. It was so worth reading I'd pick up anything by Ruth Ware now. I have another book of hers, already. I can't wait to read it. 

Overall Thoughts

Keep in mind that grief and Hannah getting through her grief are a vital part of the book. At the end we see her finally get rid of the requests folder and build the crib for her incoming child. At the beginning she can't even touch the crib. It's a beautiful picture of dealing with issues head-on. The story shows a wrecked Hannah dealing with trauma and facing it, conquering it with strength she didn't know she had. If you don't want to hear about grief hallucinations (her seeing April everywhere, for example) and depression, you'll dislike this book. If you don't care about her pregnancy, you'll get bored. 

I loved it. I give it five stars and then some. Go check it out for yourself. Oh, and if you hate the F bomb you came to the wrong book. It's university students talking roughly because they aren't at some private Christian college. They are at Oxford. They drink and they play strip poker. Don't think this is clean language. I'm telling you now. 

For more on the concept of what an "it girl" is, see this link to my blog on the film that started the phrase.

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

Ben Hur (1925) - a silent film review

 I watched the 1925 Ben Hur, a silent film that made me cry a bit. It was good. I'm putting the video link in this blog post. Keep in mind it is about 2.5 hours long. It doesn't feel long, though. 

Courtesy of San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Alright, let's get into plot. This is the story of Judah Ben Hur, paralleled with the story of Jesus. This was remade in 1960. Both chariot scenes were deadly.  1925's scene killed five horses with their trip mechanism (on accident). 1960's movie killed a stuntman in this same scene. Obviously, that scene is hard to film and hard to arrange without accidental death. All that being said, let's jump into Judah Ben Hur's storyline. 

Judah Ben Hur, a jew, gets betrayed by a friend who has become a Roman soldier, where he ends up in a ship's galley as a slave. After a scene where an officer takes notice of him and a fight between a Roman ship and a pirate ship, an officer frees him from his slavery. He then goes in search of his mother and sister (whom he can't find), finding his family's bondservant and daughter in the process. The Bondservant is damaged from Roman torture by now. The mother and sister are forgotten in a prison cell with lots of other prisoners. From here a man is looking for a chariot racer. He accepts this position because the man who betrayed him, Messala, is racing there. They race to the death, where Messala is badly damaged. Despite revenge being served, he's still desperate to find his mother and sister. He joins Jesus' followers and tries to get an army for Christ (because, you know, they think he's going to overthrow Rome right now). It turns out the mother and sister are lepers when they come out of prison. As the story of Jesus progresses, the bondservant's daughter (Esther) convinces the two women to catch Jesus for some healing. They are healed. The movie ends just after the crucifixion. 

Things to Note 

If you hate violence, be aware that Roman violence is displayed. Not only do you see a man tied to a ship figure head and rammed into the Roman ship (being returned in the pirate's "own way"), but you'll also notice something behind the guard in the galley. You see a man tied to a cross, nude but facing the cross itself. He's wiggling a bit at first, but as the galley scenes progress he stops moving. I noticed it. Now you will, too. Also, Simonides (bondservant of Hur family) is tortured for about 30 seconds in a scene, which explains his lack of health when you see him again. Then there is a man impaled on a spear in the ship battle. If you came for a light movie, maybe try again. 

Contrasting to the violence, we see the beauty of Jesus (who is represented by either a hand or what might be a dressed up extra). They had no actor for Jesus, clearly, so when you see him heal or offer Judah Ben Hur water (in a scene where he's marched by the Romans) Jesus is only a hand. Those scenes of healing and the scene with the water are beautiful. You might cry. I did. 

Again, this is also a longer movie. Short attention span? No, you need an attention span for this. I loved it and it didn't feel overly long. It's worth your time. You don't even have to pay to see it. I have the video below. 

Overall Thoughts

10 out of 10, and I would give it an 11 if the scale went that high. I think this might be my favorite version of Ben Hur. It doesn't go into melodrama. It is a real drama I can take seriously. It isn't under or over acted anywhere; it's perfect. Never remake this in 2024. We don't need more gore. This was the perfect balance of showing and telling, without grossing out the audience. It got the point across in ways that didn't have to be gorey. It was amazing. I don't think the other version is gorey (1960s), but I don't remember. 

Just know that there is violence in this, in case you thought "family movie night" and you have a five year old. At least now you know what's in it before you go "Oh my!" at the naked cross man behind the guard. Also, some women are less clothed. I'm telling you now, just in case you thought this was a children's movie - it is not that. It's good, though, and worth it. It's also free on YouTube. See the above video to find it right away. I found one version with no music and had to search for a different recording. I can promise the one in this blog has music, but can't promise others will. 

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

The Last of the Second Chance Pile

 I finally, FINALLY, got to the last four books of the pile. If you haven't been following the second chance pile read-or-unhaul-it challenge, you won't know, but I've been trying to read something I call the Second Chance pile. This is the last stage of my bookshelf-cleaning journey for the year. Let's get into it. 

Courtesy of jooinn.com

As usual, here are the rules. 

1. I pick up a book at random from the pile. 

2. I read at least 5 chapters. 

3. I decide if I keep going or DNF (do not finish) it. 

4. I review it. 

The process above is what'll happen to these books. I'm trying to do at least three per blog, but today we have the last of the pile, so we're going for four books. If I'm not enjoying myself and I'm not compelled to keep reading I will put it down. Onward! 

First The Dead by Tim Downs

Courtesy of Ebay.com

It started well, with two men trying to get bodies out of the bayou, then transitioned to a bad blind date. It's a series of murders, according to the back, where the killer/killers are using the waters of Hurricane Katrina to cover up their crimes. Great concept, but we'll see if I continue. Our main character is a forensic expert who focuses his attention on bugs and forensics. Already, the conversation with his date is not my forte. Fortunately, he wanted the date to end, so him talking about death and bugs helped his case.

I DNFed it. Two chapters were good and the next two chapters were boring. I had no motivation to continue because I didn't connect to our main character. I'm pretty sure it was mostly just me disliking our main character. I didn't even get to why someone was taking a body out of the bayou into the flooding area. I was too bored. Either this starts super slow, or our main character is kind of strange. I also have no interest in hearing about the dead for as long as it talked about the dead. Forewarning, it is all about dead bodies. 

Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer

Courtesy of goodreads.com

I DNFed this by mid-chapter two, when someone started torturing someone with threats and thumbscrews on toes. I was done at that point. I also figured the violence would get worse if the second chapter included torture, so this wasn't the book for me. It was a bit like jumping into a fantasy novel and not knowing what was going on. Maybe you are meant to read the whole thing to figure that out. I didn't even get there. 

Plotwise, you are probably supposed to figure it out chapter by chapter. It centers around a young girl who grew wings in an apocalyptic world. It reminds me of Maximum Ride, but if you had three main characters (don't know the third main person, didn't get there) and it was a different apocalypse. Also, our oppressive group has some religious connotations and I kind of hate that. I guess the book is supposed to make you think, if reviews on the cover are to be believed. I decided torture was a deal-breaker and didn't continue. 

Are you Afraid of the dark? by Sidney Sheldon

I started this and was on the fence for the first chapter, but by the fifth chapter I was in - hook, line, and sinker. It got my attention within five chapters and had me caring about the main characters right away. I wanted to continue. I was even upset that I couldn't find the audiobook on my library app. It follows two women, both widows of murdered men, who find they are being chased with intent to kill. The plot follows them finding out why - all in the wake of a long list of missing and dead individuals in Europe. It kicks off with the cases of the dead, some of them related to scientists and mafia. You feel the widows' grief and hear the personal stories -with little details thrown in that make you wonder what this "Prima" issue is. 

I will spoil nothing. This was too good. Five stars and I can't recommend it enough. If I had just thrown this in the little library I'd have kicked myself. The main characters have a growth arc and bond over their grief, commonly going back to the days of their marriages in their head and being jerked back into reality (I think that's disassociation). It gives out bits of information at a time, telling you more and more as the stakes get higher and higher. Little clues are thrown out as dialogue and events pile up. Past events impact future events directly. You'll notice what connects when you pay attention to names and flashbacks. I would say this is for adults only, though, so don't read this to your young children. 

Ghosts In Baker Street by Various Authors

Courtesy of Goodreads.com

This was a short story collection. I read one story to judge whether I was keeping it. The theme of this collection is Sherlock Holmes finding supernatural events and having no explanation for the event. The first story was eventful, a man claiming to be Satan and getting shoved in the asylum as a direct result. Holmes talked to him and the man said he was leaving at midnight. At midnight the man who claimed to be Satan was suddenly not claiming to be Satan and very confused about where he was. It was interesting to say the least. It was entertaining enough to stay. 

The thing about short story collections is that they are not binge-able. I want to savor, not speed through, so I'm keeping it with only one story read. That being said, some might not be my jam, but the stories here probably aren't found anywhere else. I'm not throwing the whole book into a donation pile when good stories remain. 

Conclusion

This was the end of the second chance pile, for real. I am done with it. I have the rest of the year to chill with books I know I'll love. I'm happy. I no longer have to wade through the pile. The book cleaning process was completed before December hit and I have more time for other books. Not much else to do except celebrate a project completed. 

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

Cleaning My Shelves

 I'm a book dragon. I need help. I am now going through all the bookshelves to get the unwanted out and make space for new books. I only have so much space. This was overdue. 

Courtesy of Lithub.com

Today you're reading what'll be a lot of work. I went through all the shelves one by one. I took out what I had doubts about and put it in two categories. One stack of books is the donate pile (which I did all at once). The other stack was what I gave a second chance to. 

The second chance pile will be addressed later in this post and given a star (1-5) review. Whatever stays will prove itself. The rest of it goes in the donation stack. Some shelves did not change and won't change because they are my Nancy Drew collection or didn't have any books leave the shelf. 

The Process

This took some time. I started with my bedroom bookshelves, then made my way into the living room bookshelves. Many of these shelves won't change much. I'm working from the most chaotic to the least chaotic shelves. I began by going to every shelf and picking out what I immediately knew was a donation pile book. This meant outdated reference books, textbooks I'd never use, duplicates, and anything else that just had to go. It was mostly outdated reference books and duplicates. I did this on all shelves to get the obvious "donate me" books out of the way. 

From there, I went shelf-by-shelf finding the "second chance" books. I tested them by the standards I set, then decided if they stayed or left. I got through with this process before December hit, which was something I was happy with. 

Courtesy of Pinterest

Second Chance Pile

The whole idea of the second chance pile is giving books that might be good a chance to prove they belong on the shelf. It sounds like I'm making them battle when I say that, but I don't want to miss a good book. Below I have listed the rules for the second chance pile. 

Rules for second chance pile:

1. It has to prove it is readable/worth reading in five chapters. 

2. If it is DNFed or less than three stars it goes into the donation pile.

3. Only books that I am on the fence about or have serious doubts about reading go in this pile. If I won't read it or reference it, it is donated. 

The Fate of The Second Chance Pile

Here we have the fate of the books on the second chance pile. I'll list the book and author with either a star rating or a DNF. I will put my reasons for the DNF beside those books. This process took the longest because life happened and I didn't have all the time in the world to read through. Fortunately, a lot of time was saved by going with my gut instinct to weed out what I clearly wouldn't like. 

-DNFs-

The works of Doyle by Authur Conan Doyle -  Grating writing style

On Thin Ice by Linda Hall -  Lost interest in the plot

Dangerous Secrets by Lyn Cote - It rubbed me the wrong way within one chapter

Reasonable Doubt by Tracey V. Bateman -  I was still not totally into it five chapters in

The Secret Marriage of Sherlock Holmes and Other Eccentric Readings -  It wasn't the actual Holmes stories

A Million Ways To Die In the West by Seth MacFlarlane -  The humor wasn't for me

Reader's Digest Condensed Books Vol 4 1996, Vol 4 1993, Vol 1 1997 - They are condensed, not full novels

Divine Love Song by Elizabeth Mulloy - I wasn't interested enough to keep going 

Crazy Love by Francis Chan -  Not interested enough to continue

White Dessert by Loren D. Estleman - No interest within the first chapter

Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews - got bored within two chapters

Raven Threads by K. D. McCrite - Not compelled to read further than five chapters

Sundays In Fredericksburg by Various authors -  Not Compelled to read further than five chapters

Why her? by Nicki Koziarz - Lost interest by chapter four

At Home In Mitford by Jan Karon - On CD, can't play on laptop

An Island At War by Deborah Carr - Genre was too dark for me, not sure I wanted to continue 

The White Rose Resists by Amanda Barratt - Genre was too dark for me, couldn't sit with distressing emotions

The Last Bookshop In London by Madeline Martin - I was not invested in the story or the main character

Sherlock Holmes and the Egyptian Hall Adventure by Val Andrews - Not invested in the story or compelled to keep reading

Murder Among us by Ann Granger - Not compelling enough, didn't care even after the murder plot was revealed

The Defense Never Rests by F. Lee Bailey - Not my genre, a biography and not a mystery novel

First The Dead by Tim Downs - Not my thing, didn't connect to the main character

Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer - Torture by chapter two, too much

-Star Ratings-

Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter- 4 stars, but had to throw out because it was missing pages

Mountain Peril by Sandra Robbins - 4 stars

The Good Neighbor by Sharon Mignerey - 4.5 stars (would definitely recommend) 

The Elementary Cases of Sherlock Holmes by Ian Charnock - 4 stars (not light reading)

Soul Tattoo by Samuel Kee - 4 stars (excellent faith book)

Storm Front by John Sandford - 3.75 stars 

In the company of sherlock holmes by various authors - keeping it, no star rating due to amount of actual short stories in it

Donna Parker Special Agent by Marcia Martin - 4 stars, excellent light reading

Hearts of Fire - 5 Stars, not light reading

Ghosts in Baker Street by multiple authors - 5 stars, a fun collection

Are you Afraid of the dark? by Sidney Sheldon - 5 stars, an amazing thriller with perfect pace

Courtesy of LiveAbout

Conclusion

Well, I'm done, and I still have a problem. I still lack space on my bookshelves. I found space, yes, but that filled back up before I even finished the second chance pile. I'll always have this problem. It's a luxury to have this problem, really. Let's be real. But it does make me consider an e-reader. 

For all those in small apartments, you understand. It might be a good idea for all of us to go through every few years and pick out a second chance pile. Your second chance pile could be what you never feel like picking up or something you heard bad reviews of, but regardless many book dragons should consider trying it. You'll find books you love in the process. You might even learn your taste in books is not what you expected. 

***********************************************************

I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.