Blame It on the Mistletoe by Joyce Magnin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was free when I downloaded it to my Nook.

I get annoyed with its need to re-tell the same events to different characters, and I call its style is dithery. Not much happens but it is talked about and speculated about until the end of the book.

I recommend it only to fans of the series.

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Reflections on the Game by Arnold Palmer


I downloaded it as a free book, thinking Don might enjoy reading this. I read it before he does, and it is only 16 pages long. This is a reprint of an article published ten years ago in Golf magazine.


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Needle in a Haystack by Ernesto Mallo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Needle in a Haystack was free when I downloaded it to my Nook in 2011. This is set in Argentina by an Argentine author, so I thought what better time to read it than on a trip which will have three days in Buenos Aires. Wrong, for the darkness and corruption described provokes feels of apprehension and anxiety long after the book is completed.

I recommend Needle in a Haystack for all readers, especially readers who enjoy literary procedural-detective novels.

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Death of a Prankster by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I chose to take the book to read when flying and electronic devices cannot be turned on; it was a light-weight paperback which did not have to make the return journey.

This is the first book I read by Beaton, even though it is the seventh in its Hamish Macbeth series. It holds up well as an individual mystery of the cozy variety; it feels like playing a game of Clue with lots more rooms and lots more characters.

I recommend it to fans of cozy mysteries.

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The Land of Magellan by W.S. Barclay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was still in my public library's collection when I searched for books to read about this area. It was published more than 80 years ago, and I found it entertaining when it discussed historic tales of Tierra del Fuego, Straits of Magellan, Cape Horn, Patagonia, and the Falklands.

His thought about the extinct natives, the Yaghan, gave me pause to consider too.

Instead of introducing the Yaghan to such (to him) unwholesome luxuries, the event plainly shows it would have been better to have allowed him to remain cold and hungry but healthy. In place of attempting teaching these Indians to plant turnips in the water-logged Fuegan soil, their natural genius as fishermen might have turned to catching and preserving the shoals of sardines, mullet and shellfish which abound in the Beagle Channel. A sufficient food-supply would thus have been secured without altering their diet or withdrawing the stimulus to work. Surplus supplies would always have found a ready sale among the shipping at Sandy Point. But suggestion and criticism alike come too late now.
The conviction, common to all proselytizing sects, that the regeneration of an Indian can only begin when he dons the clothes of his well-wishers is so deeply seated that it usually dies out only with the Indian himself.

I recommend it to all readers interested in this topic.

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Rounding The Horn: Being The Story Of Williwaws And Windjammers, Drake, Darwin, Murdered Missionaries And Naked Natives--a Deck's-eye View Of Cape Horn by Dallas Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Murphy retells the stories of famous voyages around the Horn plus the stories of people who tried to settle in this area plus his own account of sailing the area with a small group. I believe it was Louis L'Armour who said an adventure is just one damn thing after another, and these are tales of adventure.

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Bradt Uruguay by Tim Burford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finally, this is a guide with information for cruisers with information about the services at docking piers, and the transportation available from them. There is also plenty of information available for travelers who have opportunities to explore more of the country than major cities.

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The History of Chile by John L. Rector
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book contains sections titled: abbreviations and Acronyms; Timeline of Historical Events; Notable People in the History of Chile; Glossary of Selected Terms; and Suggestions for Further Reading, in addition to ten chapters of text. The writing can get so boring I struggled to finish even half a chapter at a time. This country's history cannot be that boring.

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Brains: How They Seem to Work by Dale Purves
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was free when I downloaded it to my Nook from Barnes and Noble.

I have a general interest in neuroscience. For the first six chapters, this book was an entertaining memoir of Purves' career and other scientists exploring the function and anatomy of nerve cells and brain cells. Then he switches his outlook to an empirical study of vision and perception. This part seemed more difficult to read and even boring. "Accordingly our perceptions never correspond to physical reality despite the fact that they provide successful operational guides to behavior."

I recommend it only to readers who have more of an interest and more of a knowledge of this area of neuroscience than I do.

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