Week in Review #25

This week I read nine books!!!!

44. Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton. 1990. 466 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, adult science fiction, dinosaurs, action/thriller]

15. Into a Golden Era (Timeless #7). Gabrielle Meyer. 2026. 384 pages. [Source: Library] [christian fiction, christian romance, series book, 3 stars]

43. Board book: Let's Count to Ten: Animals. Priddy Books. 16 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, counting book]

44. Barnacle is Bored. Jonathan Fenske. 2016. Scholastic. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy] [5 stars]

45. Plankton is Pushy. Jonathan Fenske. 2017. Scholastic. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy][4 stars]

46. Peek-a-Clue: Animals at Home. Gideon Sterer. Illustrated by Marcos Farina. 2026. 38 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, board books]

47. Peek-a-Clue: Safari Animals (An Animal Guessing Game) Gideon Sterer. Illustrated by Marcos Farina. 2026. 38 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, board books]

48. Candy Corn Christmas. Jonathan Fenske. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, Christmas, Halloween]

49. A Unicorn, A Dinosaur, and a Shark Walk into a Book. Jonathan Fenske. 2023. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [picture books, animal fantasy, meta fiction]

Century of Viewing #25

1950s

• 1952. Limelight. FANTASTIC movie. Horrible movie poster. Charlie Chaplin is WONDERFUL in this movie. Anyway, basic premise: an aging, out-of-work clown saves the life of a depressed young woman, a ballerina. As he nurses her back to health, they grow closer and closer. They both make good attempts to fight for happiness and new beginnings. But when he fears he's standing in her way of making a great success, he steps down and gives into his weakness--alcohol. But she never stops believing in him....and his comeback. This one also features Buster Keaton in the last twenty or twenty-five minutes. ABSOLUTELY HAUNTING melody. I loved this one so much!!!!
• 1954. The Caine Mutiny. Despite the lack of Michael Caine (hee hee) this drama has DRAMA and then some. Set during World War II. It was EXTREMELY intense in places. When a captain fails to make decisions that could save the ship and men, several men step forward to take command....and will be put on trial for it.
• 1959. The Bat.  This one wasn't for me. Or at least it wasn't for me last night when I watched it. A mystery writer rents a big house...the neighborhood is being terrorized by "the Bat" and other things are just a bit off. But she'll use her skills as a writer to help solve the mystery....or will she???? To me it wasn't so much about her being super smart as it was her just happening to rent the house where a treasure has been hid AND witnessing a few things. And the person she thinks is "the Bat" isn't the Bat??? So again, it wasn't her being brilliant and deducing everything (were there clues for the audience to follow????) so much as the ending just happening.

1960s

• 1960. 13 Ghosts. Is it scary? No, not really. Only "scary" in a spooky, perhaps campy way. A man inherits a mansion haunted by 13 ghosts. His uncle was a ghost-hunter who collected ghosts and entrapped them. A family--dad, mom, sister, brother--is in danger though all may not realize it. The kid brother, for example, is ALL in for the thrills and chills and excitement. I enjoyed this one well enough.
• 1960. 12 to the Moon. It was a thing I watched. Twelve travel to the moon and back with more misadventures than they'd prefer. Ten men, two women. Many, many, many, many, many nations represented. A few animals as well. This one has plenty of mishaps in the plot yet rarely is truly entertaining. My favorite bits being how the hostile alien race living beneath the surface of the moon WANTED the cats to stay and the humans to go far, far, far away. It does have a couple of messages embedded in it.

1990s

• 1996. Twister. It has been thirty years, I think, give or take a few months. I'm sure this was a Blockbuster rental on VHS. It was INTENSE but good. I felt bad for Melissa who accidentally had to do the storm chasing and experience all the trauma of having so many close calls. No wonder she was relieved to let him go!!!! This one had a LARGE cast of characters that felt right. And more than a few memorable scenes.

2020s

• 2026. Seeking Persephone. Four episode mini-series, period drama. I hadn't really held out any hope of watching this one, but I saw it streaming free on Roku (don't know how long it will be free) and knew I needed to make time for it. Based on Sarah M. Eden's book, I wanted to love, love, love, love it. And I do love the idea of it!!!!! And the fact that a book by an author I've enjoyed in the past has had a book adapted!!!! A CLEAN period drama at that. This could potentially open up doors for others to be made in the future perhaps. I hope. I love the setting. I love the costumes. I love the trope of marriage of convenience. I should have loved the "Beauty and the Beast" or Persephone and Hades connection, but, honestly that was my least favorite bit. BUT I do love quite a few things about this one. I just found the whole "terrified of wolves" and "chased by a wolf pack" thing a bit odd. I mean the whole success of their marriage almost leans on this fear of wolves.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

44. Jurassic Park

44. Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton. 1990. 466 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, adult science fiction, dinosaurs, action/thriller]

First sentence: The tropical rain fell in drenching sheets, hammering the corrugated roof of the clinic building, roaring down the metal gutters, splashing on the ground in a torrent.

Premise/plot: Is there anyone who doesn't know the premise of Jurassic Park?????? Even if you've never actually actually seen the movie, Jurassic Park???? There are companies--individuals--playing God, if you will, who have brought "back" dinosaurs from extinction filling in the blanks as they see fit. But perhaps with not enough caution. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something.

There are many, many, many characters. But essentially the book is mainly about what happens when visitors come to the park ahead of the opening--that is still in the future (or is it???). They are there to "see" what has been done....so far.

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved this book!!!! I think it is SO much better than the movie. I really got swept up in the story!!!! And I loved how much more substantive the book is--in terms of both characterization and plot. Life finds a way indeed!


© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Week in Review #24

This week I read five books!

42. The Midnight Library. Matt Haig. 2020. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [adult fiction, adult science fiction, fantasy]
43. The Midnight Train. Matt Haig. 2026. 296 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, adult speculative fiction, adult romance]
41. Henry's Picture-Perfect Day. Jenn Bailey. Illustrated by Mika Song. 2025. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, early chapter book, school, friendship]
42. Henry Upside Down. Jenn Bailey. Illustrated by Mika Song. 2026. 52 pages. [Source: Library] [early chapter book, 5 stars, school, friendship]

The War for Middle-Earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933-1945. Joseph Loconte. 2025. 288 pages. [Source: Review copy] [nonfiction, world war II, literature, 4 stars]

Century of Viewing #24

1960s

• 1962 If A Man Answers. One of my favorite movies growing up. I love, love, love Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin. This romantic comedy has a lot going on but a very happy ending!

2000s

• 2006 Akeelah and the Bee. Akeelah and the Bee. It was good. I enjoyed it for the most part. Some of the characters were a bit abrasive....but all in all, I am glad I watched it. THIS does finish out my 2000s decade for which I am very thankful. And it was a new-to-me movie. So the story: Akeelah is not doing great at school and her home life is questionable....but she can spell. And her talent is recognized and she enters the world of spelling bees.

2010s

• 2011 Atlas Shrugged, Part 1. I have not read the book. I could see how the book written in 1957 was "sci-fi" in that it was set in the future and a bit dystopian. It was harder to sell as sci-fi in the movie adaptation. It is "set" in 2016 but the movie is from 2011. True, it's not our 2016. This would be more of an alternate reality 2016 where train travel is everything and commercial air lines are nonexistent. It is very economic/political battle of ideas movie. It was okay. I didn't like it much, but, it wasn't horrible.
• 2017 Boss Baby. This movie is SO enjoyable. I love, love, love all the feels at the end!!!!! That letter is something so sweet!!!! There were many details that I just loved. Tim is a reluctant big brother, but, he learns all about love in this comedy where his new brother is THE boss baby.
• 2019 Men in Black: International. Would I be as disappointed in this one if I didn't love the first three so much????? Probably not. The third MIB is one of my favorite, favorite all-time movies. This one is decent enough I suppose. It grew on me as I watched it, but, merely from bored to vaguely entertained.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

43. The Midnight Train

43. The Midnight Train. Matt Haig. 2026. 296 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, adult speculative fiction, adult romance]

First sentence: Wilbur Budd died around midnight, but he had trouble remembering the details.

Premise/plot: The Midnight Train is a premise-driven novel. Think Twilight Zone, Our Town, and A Christmas Carol. Wilbur Budd, the protagonist, dies soon after the novel opens. He's lived a long life, in many ways a successful life. IF you only look at dollars or cents--or the British equivalent. But Wilbur has focused on all the wrong things for perhaps the right reasons, perhaps not the right reasons. But his need to escape the poverty of his childhood--as well as dealing with some childhood trauma, or not dealing with it as the case may be--has left his heart as cold as ice. Maggie loses the man she marries to a cash register essentially.

The night he dies, he boards a train, the "Midnight Train," the train that will take him to the afterlife. He can look out the windows and see every moment of his life flash by. There will be stops along the way. As a ghost, he will look upon significant moments of his life. Some are obviously significant. Some less obviously significant moments. Some are moments that he is overjoyed to relive, to experience with fresh eyes. Others are dark, haunting, traumatic. The train stops and he must go where it takes him.

There are RULES and more rules. But what if there weren't rules. What if Wilbur is a REBEL and a risk taker? What if he is determined to NOT go quietly...

My thoughts: I could not put this one down. It was IMPOSSIBLE for me to go to bed until I finished it. It was reflective and equal parts wonderful and heartbreaking.

I recently read Midnight Library. Nora Seed does make an extremely small appearance as a piano teacher in this one. I LOVED this one more than Midnight Library. I thought the characterization was better. Or maybe the premise was better.

Quotes:

• I don't mean to be pedantic, but the whole point of a life flashing before your eyes is that you see it.
• It was interesting, to realize that even your own past was new territory to explore. That memories were no more the real event than flags were their nations.
• A life of avoiding pain becomes a life defined by pain. Pain and regret.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

42. The Midnight Library

42. The Midnight Library. Matt Haig. 2020. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [adult fiction, adult science fiction, fantasy]

Premise/plot: The Midnight Library is a premise-driven, slow-moving, reflective novel. Nora Seed, our protagonist, hates her life. The book opens with a countdown until an attempt of the self-destructive sort. She's lost her job. She's lost her side job. Her cat has died. Her brother barely speaks with her. Nothing is going right. Nothing has gone right. Perhaps nothing has ever gone right. Her list of regrets is long, so long that it could in fact fill a library.

When Nora finds herself between life and death she enters the Midnight Library. A slightly more pleasant place to be than the Twilight Zone. Nora will have all the opportunities--infinite opportunities--to see how her life would have turned out if she'd made different choices. Big choices. Small choices. All the choices. Infinite parallel lives to step in and out of. But will any feel like home? Will living her other lives make her want to live?

My thoughts: The book was enjoyably thought-provoking in some ways. I liked the premise. I didn't love, love, love it. But I liked the concept. This is similar and dissimilar to It's a Wonderful Life. The book opens in the same rock-bottom place. BUT there are many, many paths to explore and not just the one if she'd never been born. It is not about how her life has impacted others. I mean in a vague way perhaps maybe if you squint and tilt your head. Nora has to learn to live life you just have to keep on keeping on, and don't think too much, don't navel-gaze, don't look for more meaning than there is, don't waste time thinking about the past or the future, just live life in the day. I don't even know if that was the message??? Honestly the messages were messy. And that was a bit of the point as well, perhaps. That life is messy, messy, messy. And it will never be anything but messy. Don't think that you're missing out on the "good life" because your life is a mess and you are a mess????

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews