OK, so not exactly of the caliber of Jane Austen, but a decent continuation of the life of Georgiana. Predictable, yes. Entertaining enough, also ye
OK, so not exactly of the caliber of Jane Austen, but a decent continuation of the life of Georgiana. Predictable, yes. Entertaining enough, also yes. The diary format lent itself well to the narration and there were bits here and there that were actually pretty good. For a free kindle book, worth the time. ...more
This was my first Masie Dobbs mystery and I very much liked it. A WWI American surveyor working in the British military is killed in action, or is he This was my first Masie Dobbs mystery and I very much liked it. A WWI American surveyor working in the British military is killed in action, or is he murdered?
Years later Masie is hired by the boy's parents to figure this out. Part of the reason I enjoyed the book is because of the author's research. She based it on a news article and went into quite a bit of detail as to the norms of the times and the conditions of the war. Not overly long, nor complex - it just fit the bill for what I needed to be entertained during a stressful month. ...more
1933, right in the middle of the Great Depression Daniel decides that he must leave his wife and 3 kids to walk the country in search of work. LaDaisy1933, right in the middle of the Great Depression Daniel decides that he must leave his wife and 3 kids to walk the country in search of work. LaDaisy, his wife, has no idea where he is or why he just disappeared. She is left to fend for herself with no money for food or rent and a vile landlord who wants his rent paid, while Daniel traipses around the country walking or riding the rails, getting paid pennies for back breaking work when he can find it.
This was a free kindle book and it kept my interest. The descriptions of the depression era were heartbreaking, and while I never did completely understand Daniel's thought process for leaving, I thought the book was well plotted and the character makeup excellent. ...more
Dalton Jackson graduates college and jumps into his first job - teaching science at a high school. He's given a class that has broken seasoned teacherDalton Jackson graduates college and jumps into his first job - teaching science at a high school. He's given a class that has broken seasoned teachers and writes candidly about his first two years there. Each chapter is a different experience, most of which are difficult and describe all the ways in which schools are failing not our the students they are supposed to teach, but also how they are failing to support the teachers who are there to do a job.
In the end, it’s just one person’s view of why our schools are failing--but it’s a well thought out view with excellent examples of why the current system fails our students and discourages even the heartiest teachers....more
Seems to me that most people either loved or hated this book. Too many characters, too many jumps in time line, not enough of a plot.
I loved it - loveSeems to me that most people either loved or hated this book. Too many characters, too many jumps in time line, not enough of a plot.
I loved it - loved all the characters, loved how the author fed us the story piecemeal unfolding it layer by layer, teasing us with present day stories that revealed just a little of what happened in the past, and finally I really enjoyed the fact that this book was character driven with well rounded characters, none of them even close to perfect, some downright unlikeable - but all very human.
The book takes place in 1962 and present time; in a small, unknown hamlet in Cinque Terre in Italy and in Hollywood. Pasquale, an innkeeper at the Adequate View Hotel in Porto Vergono meets an American starlet sent to his hotel to rest as she has been diagnosed with stomach cancer while filming Cleopatra with Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. 50 years later, the characters reunite and we learn of their choices, regrets and life decisions and discover how each character evolved and grew through time....more
Great book for a freebie, amazon deal-of-the-day. Light, witty, and populated by a spicy Spaniard with a lopsided smile, it has a lot going for it. ItGreat book for a freebie, amazon deal-of-the-day. Light, witty, and populated by a spicy Spaniard with a lopsided smile, it has a lot going for it. It's not a book about great cooking, or great romances and the main character, Rachel Goodman, is a bit of a disappointment in her journey out of the fog of divorce and back into the real world. At times I just wanted to smack her around and ask her to grow up. But - I read it to the very end and was entertained by this quick read....more
When I bought this book for the kindle I had no idea it was intended for the YA group. I don't usually read that category. However, it worked well forWhen I bought this book for the kindle I had no idea it was intended for the YA group. I don't usually read that category. However, it worked well for this particular compendium of stories of women who had nerves of steel and put their lives on the line to resist the Nazi movement in Europe. The stories are grouped by country and within that, each woman is put into the perspective of the year and what was occurring in their country at the time. It is also followed up with what each woman, at least the ones who survived, did with their lives later on as well as a wonderful list of bibliography pertinent to each woman. A great resource. ...more
Vivienne de la Mare has stayed in Guernsey while her husband is off fighting the war. She has two daughters, blanche a typical self-centered teenager Vivienne de la Mare has stayed in Guernsey while her husband is off fighting the war. She has two daughters, blanche a typical self-centered teenager who is missing out on dances, dating and fashion, and the adorable Millie, who at age six has more sense than most grownups. Vivienne also cares for her mother-in-law who is quickly deteriorating with dementia.
As the Germans establish themselves as an occupying force on the island, and a group of officers moves into the house next door, island life continues with few interruptions and with little knowledge of what is truly occuring on the mainland. Viv works hard to keep her family fed and clothed, her MIL content and her wits about her. She meets some of the German officers next door and falls in love with one of them, Gunther.
This relationship must be kept secret on two fronts: Viv is a married woman, albeit unhappily, and Gunther is fighting for the wrong side of the war. Her values, her trust, her honor are all put on the line, but her feelings for him run deep, her need for a man to hold her and make her feel sane in a time of sheer insanity and vulnerability take over.
This was a theme on the island of Guernsey, which got off relatively easily when compared to other occupied countries. Many people befriended the Germans stationed there, or worked for them and had such mixed feelings of betrayal to their country and yet needed to feed their families. So many people turned a blind eye to the ravages of war, to the small nuances and voices that spoke in whispers of the atrocities occuring around them.
Viv slowly awoke to this, and found her strength and a backbone. Besides the love story, the book deals with matters of conscience, of awareness, of asking and answering the tough questions, of compartmentalizing behaviors. "Let's leave the war outside our bedroom and not think of it while we're together." War makes us do bad things, but I'm basically a good person otherwise..... Powerful questions that are easily answered when one is not in the situation. The brilliance of the book is that the author brings us in, allows us to like Gunther and feel the pain of Viv. ...more
Fun and easy read about a woman who loses her husband to a sudden heart attack and finds out (very early in the book - so no spoilers here) that he haFun and easy read about a woman who loses her husband to a sudden heart attack and finds out (very early in the book - so no spoilers here) that he had a mistress whom she befriends and even invites to the funeral. As Pam grieves, she grows out of her doormat-persona and takes on her mother-in-law, the lawyers, the mistress and her little sister. She learns more about her husband through his death than she knew while he was alive. ...more
“She had given him up to oblige others. It had been the effect of over persuasion. It had been weakness and timidity."
Anne Elliot was persuaded by a g“She had given him up to oblige others. It had been the effect of over persuasion. It had been weakness and timidity."
Anne Elliot was persuaded by a good friend to disengage herself from Frederick Wentworth - he had no fortune and his promises could very well be empty. Becoming somewhat of a wall flower, utilitarian to her sisters but completely unappreciated, 8 long years go by while she helps others and generally keeps to herself. Her demeanor seems to others to be weak, however behind a quiet personality emerges a woman who is level-headed, strong and opinionated. When she reencounters the now Captain Wentworth, the mores of the early 19th Century come to play as she cannot say what is on her mind, nor demonstrate it.
The beauty of the story, which is basically a romance, is that it was written at the time it portrays. We see the way young adults behaved with one another, what was considered appropriate, the importance of birth, manners, income. That is the part that I find fascinating. Austen's dialog is also exquisite, especially when the narrator does such a good job as Juliet Stevenson.
"Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. ...the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything.� Anne Elliot...more
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