Wellington High School and Com Ed Centre

98,433 pages read and 4,879 team points

Team members

VSW

15,028 pts

(11,692 pages read)

She's a Killer

By Kirsten McDougall

3 stars

This was a re-read. It is better the second time around, but I am still left feeling the whole is not quite the sum of the parts. The story takes place in a dystopian near-future Wellington. Which is a surprisingly large sub-genre (check out Mandy Hagar's Ash series for some other good dystopian Wellington reads.) Without wanting to say more, the novel's protagonist has some problems, and makes a series of increasingly poor choices (many of which started before the book begins) until things spiral totally out of control.
Containment

By Vanda Symon

4 stars

This series keeps getting better. Sam is not *quite* as foolish in some of her life choices in this novel. I really enjoyed the setup for the sting in the end of Containment. Of course, that said, what is up with her and Frost and her slowly thawing relationship with the DI?
Girl of the Mountains

By Trish McCormack

4 stars

Trish McCormack writes stories with characters from the West Coast. It is fitting that I first met her writing while stuck in Karamea by slips and rising flood waters. The somewhat dark (and wet) tone to her books certainly fitted my feelings about the place at that time. Girl in the Mountains splits its story between the 1940s and the late 2010s. While some action does take place on the west coast, the heart of the story is in the Southern Alps and the Hermitage, nestled at their feet at the top of the Waitaki valley. This is a story about family, adversity and women doing a "man's job" at a time when that was most unusual. Yes, there are dark aspects to the story. Good people die, and other bad things happen. But if you like the mountains, a bit of history and (spoiler warning) triumphing over adversity then this will be a great read for you. Trigger warnings: sexual violence (not graphic) and suicide.
Death at the Chateau

By Ian Moore

5 stars

Another lovely cozy murder mystery in the idyllic Follet valley. In places this is laugh-out-loud funny. I hope they make a TV mini-series of this set of books one day.
The Ringmaster

By Vanda Symon

5 stars

Really enjoyed this one, more so even than Overkill. I did guess the murderer early, but mostly due to formulaic reasons rather than anything else. Glad I don't live in Dunedin!
The Deadly Dispute

By Amanda Hampson

4 stars

The Tea Ladies return. Sydney is in chaos - strikes on the docks, stolen gold, students smoking pot intra-family battles about hemlines above or below the knee and so much more. Luckily the Tea Ladies are on hand, and you will get to see them as you never have before (yes, that is a spoiler!). Not quite up there with the first two, but still an enjoyable day's read.
How They Get You

By Chris Kohler

3 stars

This is a book about how people are separated from their money. In 24 bite-sized chapters, he covers everything from shrinkflation, through supermarkets to gift cards. While there is nothing especially revolutionary in the book it is delivered in a humorous manner and is full of good advice. This should be on the essential reading list for teenagers. About the only think obviously missing is a specific chapter on credit cards.
Death and Fromage

By Ian Moore

5 stars

Richard Ainsworth is Moore's 'Everyman'. As he continues to fumble his way through a slow-motion and very amicable divorce from Clare, the vivacious Valerie serves as a force of nature whirling him into another mystery set in the idyllic Follett Valley. This is a very Cozy Mystery and is in places extremely funny. Yes, the plot is a little contrived, but this book was a lot of fun. Good enough that I reserved the next one at the library before logging these pages.
Cinema Speculation

By Quentin Tarantino

1 stars

I only got about halfway through this. If you are a Tarantino fan though, you might get better mileage. This is about his favorite films from the 70s. Unfortunately (or given how violent they seem, maybe fortunately) I've seen very few of them. This is a lot of the gossip about how the films were made, and who was being cast and for what reasons. A really good read for a 70s action film-buff, but sadly not for me.
Murder in the Cathedral

By Kerry Greenwood

5 stars

Highly enjoyable end to the Phryne Fisher series. Spoiler alert: Sadly, with Kerry Greenwood dying it looks like Dot is never going to get married. Aside from that I'm not going to give anything away about the plot, except to say: Planes, Trains and Automobiles!
Overkill

By Vanda Symon

4 stars

Nice to find a new NZ mystery author. The underlying premise is a little far fetched, but the cloying nature of small-town life was well conveyed and the writing style nicely paced. Read this after seeing it recommended by YeahBrenda.
War Maps: Campaigns & Battles of World War II

By Richard Natkiel

2 stars

The maps style is a bit dated (this is from the 80s). The book has combination of maps, photos and summaries of a lot of the WW2 campaigns, including a few I'd not known much about. More a dipper, and incentive to find books with more detail than somewhere to go for definitive information.
The Tea Ladies

By Amanda Hampson

4 stars

A lovely cozy mystery set in Syndey in 1965. This is the first in the series (I accidently read the second, before realising it was a series!). A lot of fun. If you liked the Thursday Murder Club, you are likely to enjoy this as well.
Around the World in 80 Games

By Marcus du Sautoy

4 stars

This book discusses games, board games, card games, pencil and paper games. Even computer games. It looks at the why, the how and the history. And of course (as the author is a mathematician) - the mathematical basis for a lot of the games. A very worthwhile read, and very pick-up and put-down able, as the longest game write-up is about five pages.
Dragon Hero

By Eileen Mueller

4 stars

More of a traditional YA fantasy. This continues on from the previous book but it much more readable. Jumps through various PoV characters to keep the action moving well.
Slow Productivity

By Cal Newport

4 stars

This is a book about how to accomplish more by being less busy. Different from "self help" books, this is directed more at 'knowledge workers'. Interestingly a few of his ideas align quite nicely with teaching.
Everyone in this Bank is a Thief

By Benjamin Stevenson

4 stars

Another Ernst Cunningham novel. This time he gets to work out extra rules for a heist story. Such as "there is always a switch", and "there is always an inside person". The final conclusion is a little stretched, and even for Ernst, he does a couple of pretty dumb things, but the overall read is enjoyable, but perhaps not quite as good as the Christmas special.
The Women in Black

By Madeleine St John

5 stars

This is a lovely story about three women working in retail in a big department store in Sydney in the 1950s. It's a lovely tale, good humour in the writing and interweaving three different storylines into a cohesive whole - set in the background of the Christmas rush and new year's sales.
Ezaara

By Eileen Mueller

3 stars

YA fantasy. The first half is a bit dire with predicable plot turns. But it picks up a bit in the second half. Interesting reading it after reading the prequel a few weeks ago.
Stone & Sky

By Ben Aaronovitch

4 stars

Technically this should not be regarded as a Rivers of London book (although it is in the main sequence) as it takes place up in Scotland. Interesting story, weaving in local narratives and odd spots. I found the editing a little off, and the overt use of a lot of Scottish idioms slightly off putting. Still a great read, and nice to see both Bev and Abigail play bigger roles.
The Cryptic Clue

By Amanda Hampson

5 stars

Wonderful cozy crime. Elderly tea-ladies solve mysteries and go on strike when serve-your-own coffee machines are introduced to the workplace. Now I need to go back and read the first one.
The Lincoln Highway

By Amor Towles

3 stars

As I enjoyed 'A Gentleman in Moscow' I was looking forward to this. It is not as good. This book feels very much like a road trip, it ambles around, and the journey is the point, rather than the destination. Which is just as well. While beautifully written, I found the ending both rushed and unsatisfying. The book as a whole felt less than the sum of its parts.
The Hitwoman's Guide to Reducing Household Debt.

By Mark Mupotsa-Russell

2 stars

This book can't quite decide what it wants to be. It starts off as almost cozy crime, but then we get some quite traumatic scenes. And it ends up being more of a thriller. Interesting idea, that made me remember "The Long Kiss Goodnight" - more from the overall premise of 'Retired hitwoman's past comes back to haunt her' than the execution.
Death and Croissants

By Ian Moore

3 stars

A fun Cozy murder. The protagonist is a mid-fifties Englishman running a B&B in France. The slightly younger and much more vivacious Valerie enters his life like a whirlwind and much chaos ensues.
Tailored Realities

By Brandon Sanderson

4 stars

A collection of short stories. Mostly not part of his other series. Some are very short, and at least one is novella length (150 pages) - but this is Sanderson who is not exactly known for the briefness of his tales.
The Night Before Christmas

By Clement C. Moore (& Niroot Puttapipat)

5 stars

A lovely cut-away/pop up version of the poem. Fun to read out-loud.
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us

By Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross

2 stars

This book should have been good. It reads like popular science with the topic being the intersection between art and neuroscience. However, in spite of lots of interesting anecdotes, I found this really tough going. It feels very "New Agey", and the chapters are really long (typically 30 pages or so), which makes it hard to pick up for short periods of time. Ultimately, I was left feeling this should have either been a lot shorter or contained more science and less stories. Ironic given that part of the premise is around how stories are important for learning.
Strange Houses

By Uketsu

0 stars

This is a strange book indeed. Maps, murder and an old family curse. It has all the ingredients, but it didn't come together for me. Perhaps it is just that translated from Japanese the language and/or cultural aspects get lost, so it feels jarring.
Stray Cat Blues

By Ben Aaronovitch

4 stars

The latest Rivers of London graphic novel. The foxes find they are outmatched by some cat-girls.
Shipping: Today and Yesterday(August)

By Nigel Lawrence(ed)

3 stars

A magzine delivered by Santa. The first several pages read like a gossip column of which shipping lines (and ports) are doing what to whom - and notable accidents. Kiwi rail even gets a mention! There are lots of articles, including one about the Wairarapa, the first "cruise" ship to visit the Pacific Islands - and her sad fate. There are actually a good number of articles about a surprisingly diverse set of topics (including using cargo ships to carry lots of pilgrims on the Haji - a big photo of several of these even make the center pages!) This made for a surprisingly interesting read.
Everyone this Christmas has a Secret

By Benjamin Stevenson

5 stars

A nice easy read mystery story. This continues the series, but there are extra rules this time. Not only does it have to conform all the rules of a mystery novel from the classic age, but also the rules of a Holiday Special. Very enjoyable.
Sharing the Sun

By Viggers, Stuart & Howden-Chapman (eds)

5 stars

This starts with a great overview of the history of electricity generation and regulation in Aotearoa. It then moves on to discuss distributed generation in theory before branching into case studies in both urban and rural areas. It finishes with a chapter on passive houses and an overview of the difficulties facing large scale distributed generation at the moment. A very interesting read.
For Duck's Sake

By Donna Andrews

5 stars

Meg Langslow continues to solve improbable mysteries in the lovely and festive town of Caerphilly. This time it is digging a new duck pond that is the catalyst for solving a thirty year old murder. There are all the regular shenanigans - this time Meg is busy organizing a Mutt March, to encourage the adoption of hundreds of dogs from local animal shelters, which makes for an interesting backdrop for the rest of the action.
Anakisha's Dragon

By Eileen Mueller

3 stars

Young adult Fantasy Fiction. Starts a bit slow but the pace picks up. This is the first book in a prequel series.
Operation Biting: The 1942 parachute assault to capture Hitler's RADAR

By Max Hastings

3 stars

A good review of the operation. However inconsistent editing leads to occasional annoyances in reading. Much time is spent early in the book discussing some of the personalities, but then we don't get to necessarily see much of what they ended up doing. Likewise, there is little conclusion about how important the actual outcome was (as opposed to the propaganda value).
OOTS: Dim Sun

By Rich Burlew

3 stars

A dark-sun alternate universe for the Order of the Stick
Death at the Dolphin

By Ngaio Marsh

3 stars

A bit slow paced. Read more like a romance than a detective story.
Slow down or die. The economics of Degrowth

By Timothee Parrique

4 stars

A full thought out, though distinctly Marxist leaning discussion of degrowth whys and hows. It covers a lot of the history of the degrowth movement along with its philosophy and politics, along with the economic and environmental necessity behind it.
Starter Villain

By John Scalzi

4 stars

This is a fun filled story of someone inheriting their uncle's villainous business. Lots of humour, a series of running gags with a coherent storyline behind it.
Bad Luck and Trouble

By Lee Child

3 stars

Standard Jack Reacher. Looks like it was the basis for one of the TV seasons. This volume sees Jack catch up with what has been happening to his team from the past.

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Wellington High School and Com Ed Centre

98,433 pages read and 4,879 team points

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