How to Make Money Homesteading: Tim Young

This book brought up a lot of good points to consider before getting into farming; How good is the water? have pesticides been used on the land? and to make sure you get it tested. Lease land to hunters lease land for grazing if you don't have animals yet- bulls eat 50% more than cows I found myself jotting down a lot of websites and book titles, which later amused me because the end said to get rid of your internet! What amused me even more is that there is a huge market for books like these and basically how to do things humans have been doing for thousands of years, A coworker the other day tried to tell me how to make compost...What a funny world we are now living in.

The Kept Woman: Karin Slaughter

The story starts with prologue of a woman watching her adult daughter die. We learn she left her daughter at the hospital after having giving birth and this is her first time seeing her again. There is a man who tries to come into the room where they have been left and the mother looks for a weapon, finding a doorknob. The story then officially starts with two police officers going to a murder scene. A retired detective has been killed by a doorknob to the neck. The story is then slowly pieced together on how the people all knew each other. This was a super suspenseful story as we try to figure out who is who and how everything occurred.

The Mustache Growers Guide

This was a funny little how to guide on mustache growing. It includes pictures of each mustache as well as suggestions on how to wear it and how to grow it.

The Outsiders: S E Hinton

This is the classic teenage boy book. The story is told by 14 year old Ponyboy Curtis about the life on the "wrong side of the tracks" Ponyboy's friend Johnny accidently kills another boy while trying to rescue Ponyboy from being drowned by the boy. The two of them hid out in a church in the country while they try to figure out what to do. One of the older boys, Dallas, comes up to the church and takes them to get a meal, when they come back the church is on fire. A group has been picnicking at the church and there are children stuck in the burning building. Without thinking about it, both Johnny and Ponyboy run into the burning building to get the children. A beam falls and pins Johnny, Dallas goes into the building to get Johnny out. Johnny later dies from his injuries, Dallas can't live with the lost and commits "suicide by police". Ponyboy tries processing the loss and becomes grateful for his brothers who take care of him.

In a Dark Dark Wood: Ruth Ware

CREEPY. I hate books like this where the very beginning hints that something horrible happens, because then I can't put it down. Seriously- where did my Sunday go? Leonora- "Nora" is a successful writer who one day out of the blue gets an invite from an old friend from school. She is having a bachelor "hen" party. Nora has completely forgotten about Clare and doesn't want to go, but she doesn't respond right away and feels guilty after seeing how many people send regrets. Her and another friend from school Nina, whom she still sees, decide to go. Once out in the middle of no where at the "glass house" for the party Nina and Nora wish they hadn't come. They have trouble picturing the Clare they knew (as the story progresses you learn Clare was not a nice person) would not have befriended such an odd group. The party gets worse as the first night ends as drugs are brought out and we learn Nora used to date the man, James, that Clare is marrying. Of course games are played about how well everyone knows James and Nora gets sick. It is hinted at that Nora and James had something big happen which caused the break up and we don't learn until later that Clare was responsible for their break up by sending a text "from" James to Nora about what to do with her pregnancy at 15. Nora then never returned to school. The house is broken into on the second night and a man, James, is shot and killed. At first Nora thinks it was some horrible mistake, but then while she is in the hospital too, is told she sent the texts calling James up to the cabin. Clare set the whole murder up because she came clean about the text to Clare as teenagers. She was going to let either Nora or her obsessive friend Flo take the blame, but then Nora sneaks out of the hospital and goes back to the house where the party took place to try to solve the crime. Clare was faking her condition in the hospital and follows Nora up there and poisons her. The cop comes up in time to solve the mystery.

Daughters of Eve: Lois Duncan

This was a disturbing book about feminists in the late 1970's as the woman takes it too far in a school. The story centers around a group of girls in the exclusive club called "Daughters of Eve", they have to be invited by the other members to become a member. The new teacher who is the head of the organization tells the girls about a "friend" who applied for a principal position and was passed over by a man (her boyfriend) who didn't have any credentials other than being male in a male driven world. She therefore takes out her anger on the boys in her new school. A boy leads a member of the group on after breaking up with another girl and the teacher has them take revenge by shaving his head. Another boy then gets to advance his science project to the next level, chosen over a girl in the group because she hadn't followed the instructions. The group destroys the boy's project and the science teachers room without waiting to hear for the explanation. Another girl gets pregnant and the teacher wants to help her have an abortion. Lastly a girl defends her mother to her abusive father and ends up killing her father. The book then includes a short "where they are now" section where all the girls seem to do well for themselves (with the exception of the girl who killed her father and is in a "psych ward", the teacher even becomes a principal. At the end of the book you are left wondering what just happened? No one (other than the murderer and the father who was killed) seemed worse off after the story, but it still seemed to go too far and became a sort of cult. The book leaves you with mixed emotions, which was done by excellent writing!

The Nest: Cynthia D' Aprix Sweeny

This was a hard book to put down because the characters are so human. They have both ugly sides and good sides, where the reader can relate to both. In a family of four, two daughters and two sons- Leo, the eldest is the most charismatic and the most a mess. The book starts with Leo in an unhappy marriage, he takes the waitress at a party out for a ride in his car and they are in an accident. The girl loses her foot and Leo's family's inheritance money, that was supposed to be split four ways, mostly goes to pay off the waitress. The other children have made bad financial decisions and have been counting on the "nest" money as they've termed it. Throughout the book we learn about each character through both their narrative sections and with memories they have of the other family members both good and bad. Leo eventually takes off to the to another country hoping not to be found because he doesn't want to pay the "nest" money back. In the end each sibling finds peace with losing things they love in order to pay for their financial burden, but they are finally happy in the end. The siblings are back in each others lives with the exception of Leo. This book was about the strange dynamics of family and finding out what is important in life through finding yourself.

Face Down Upon an Herbal: Kathy Lynn Emerson

I loved this book! It was set in England in the 16th century I believe. An herbalist is invited to the castle after a man is murdered and no killer is found. She is not sure why she is there, but finds a twisted plot about forgeries and treason. This book has humor, people falling in love, married people not really in love, and mystery. Even the lady of the castle is not who she claims to be. It was a really fun read.

The Fall: Bethany Griffin

I loved this story and since it has short chapters it was a quick read. The story serves as a sort of back drop to Poe's "The House of Usher" The house keeps the Usher's both safe and as prisoners until they reproduce the next generation of Ushers. The story is told from the point of view of Madeline Usher starting when she is a child and trusts the house to becoming an adult and knowing she can never leave and the house is killing her.

Darkness Under the Sun: Dean Koontz

This short story starts out with stating this serial killer, Alton Turner Blackwood, learned to kill families from a little boy. When you meet the little boy you are unsure if he is also evil or if he is killed by the serial killer. The main character, Howie, is 10 or 11 when he meets Blackwood in an abandoned building. Howie is scarred from a fire his dad lit in attempting to kill him. Blackwood is disfigured from birth defects. Howie feels a peace with the older man he hasn't felt before with anyone. After making him lunch he asks the man to rent out their room as their renter had just moved out. Blackwood asks for his address and a picture of his sister and mother, then tells Howie he needs time to think about it. Howie is so excited he can't sleep and sometime after 9 pm goes back to the abandoned building to see if Blackwood has made a decision. The building is empty and a little boy that always taunted Howie has been murdered in the building. Howie goes back to his house and finds the window broken and the door unlocked. He yells for his mom to get the gun and is nearly killed as Blackwell throws a knife at him. Blackwell says if he ever tells anyone about him he will come back and kill his family. Howie seems to be watched by Blackwell's pet crow the rest of his life.