The Introverted Detective

 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 ...

 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 i...

 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...

 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, Apr...

 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 sea...

 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 mur...

 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 t...