The Third Gate

By Lincoln Child

Audiobook format

World-famous archeologist Porter Stone has assembled a team of experts on a top-secret search for King Narmer’s Egyptian tomb and the legend “double crown” of Egypt. The tomb is located in the Sudd, a tangled and treacherous swamp land in the northern Sudan. Professor and paranormal investigator Jeremy Logan has been added to the team after unexplained accidents have begun to happen at the site. One team member who has had a near death experience is being used for receiving communications from the dead, making her a valuable asset, as well as a threat, to this mission.

The pacing of the story keeps the listener interested as the mystery unfolds. Are the unexplained events the result of a five thousand year old curse, or is it sabotage?

~ Paula

How to Make Stuffed Animals

By Sian Keegan

ISBN 9781592537990

This book contains modern, simple patterns and instructions for 18 adorable projects. All you need is just a ¼ yard of fabric to produce these cute little stuffed animals to give your favorite little ones. My favorites are the spring dear (love her flower necklace), the hedgehog mobile, raccoon and fluffy sheep. Make them for gifts, decorations or just for fun. These little animals will become family treasures.

~Rochelle

Complete without Kids

An Insider's Guide to Childfree Living by Choice or by Chance

by Ellen L. Walker, Ph.D.

This book analyzes the pros and cons of having a childfree life whether it is by choice, happenstance, or circumstance. It is written by a psychologist who compiled interviews of childfree adults of all ages and pulled out repetitive themes these people experienced. As she points out in the book, we live in a society that celebrates the idea of having children and the idea that this is a choice is not discussed often, if ever at all. This book gives those who are starting their lives out a guide of what this childfree path is like--the reasons some people choose it and how some cope with it.

I found it to be very accurate, while avoiding any negative dialogue against those who chose to have children. The ideas go against what is considered normal in our culture, and it is refreshing to hear a different perspective.

~ Becky

The Tiger’s Wife

By Tea Obreht

While living in a nameless Balkan country, a grandfather shares the stories of his life through tales of the “tiger’s wife” and “deathless man” with his young granddaughter, Natalia. After her grandfather dies alone in a strange place, Natalia realizes that these childhood tales were about events in his life and unlock a secret that she has been searching for. The descriptions of the people and the countryside are rich and vibrant and the story and dialog are refreshingly original.

Our Tuesday night book club recently read this novel and the reviews were mixed. Several of our members felt that the story was too long and moved back and forth through time so often leaving the reader feeling confused. I enjoyed the audiobook format of the book which was performed by two very talented readers who portrayed Natalia and her grandfather.

Téa Obreht, the youngest of The New Yorker’s twenty best American fiction writers under forty, has won several awards for “The Tiger’s Wife”.

~ Paula