Joy H.'s bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 27 Nov 2024 03:31:47 -0800 60 Joy H.'s bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Joy H. 0 I did not read this book but I watched the 2007 film version via a Netflix DVD.



A few years ago, I also watched the 1999 version:



I liked the 1999 version better.]]> 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: watched-film-only, classic, historical-fiction, romance, regency-period
review:
Added 11/25/13.
I did not read this book but I watched the 2007 film version via a Netflix DVD.



A few years ago, I also watched the 1999 version:



I liked the 1999 version better.
]]> In the Midst of Winter 35020428 New York Times and worldwide bestselling “dazzling storytellerâ€� (Associated Press) Isabel Allende returns with a sweeping novel about three very different people who are brought together in a mesmerizing story that journeys from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil.

In the Midst of Winter begins with a minor traffic accident—which becomes the catalyst for an unexpected and moving love story between two people who thought they were deep into the winter of their lives. Richard Bowmaster—a 60-year-old human rights scholar—hits the car of Evelyn Ortega—a young, undocumented immigrant from Guatemala—in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn. What at first seems just a small inconvenience takes an unforeseen and far more serious turn when Evelyn turns up at the professor’s house seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant Lucia Maraz—a 62-year-old lecturer from Chile—for her advice. These three very different people are brought together in a mesmerizing story that moves from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil, sparking the beginning of a long overdue love story between Richard and Lucia.
]]> 354 Isabel Allende 1501178156 Joy H. 1 Published October 31st 2017 by Atria Books (first published May 2017).
ebook from public library-read in browser.

June 26, 2018 - I've have read 29% of this book and I find it too disturbing. It starts out pretty well and draws you in but then it begins describing the political violence and suffering of the poor people in Central America. Not uplifting at all. Disturbing descriptions about murderous gangs are not for me.
SO I'VE DECIDED NOT TO FINISH READING THIS BOOK.]]> 3.93 2017 In the Midst of Winter
author: Isabel Allende
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: fiction-historical, fiction-literary, fiction, crandall-library-loan, too-disturbing-to-read, didn-t-like, central-america, decided-not-to-continue, depressing, violence
review:
Added June 25, 2018.
Published October 31st 2017 by Atria Books (first published May 2017).
ebook from public library-read in browser.

June 26, 2018 - I've have read 29% of this book and I find it too disturbing. It starts out pretty well and draws you in but then it begins describing the political violence and suffering of the poor people in Central America. Not uplifting at all. Disturbing descriptions about murderous gangs are not for me.
SO I'VE DECIDED NOT TO FINISH READING THIS BOOK.
]]> <![CDATA[An Extraordinary Union (The Loyal League #1)]]> 31179367 As the Civil War rages between the states, a courageous pair of spies plunge fearlessly into a maelstrom of ignorance, deceit, and danger, combining their unique skills to alter the course of history and break the chains of the past . . .


Elle Burns is a former slave with a passion for justice and an eidetic memory. Trading in her life of freedom in Massachusetts, she returns to the indignity of slavery in the South--to spy for the Union Army.


Malcolm McCall is a detective for Pinkerton's Secret Service. Subterfuge is his calling, but he's facing his deadliest mission yet--risking his life to infiltrate a Rebel enclave in Virginia.


Two undercover agents who share a common cause--and an undeniable attraction--Malcolm and Elle join forces when they discover a plot that could turn the tide of the war in the Confederacy's favor. Caught in a tightening web of wartime intrigue, and fighting a fiery and forbidden love, Malcolm and Elle must make their boldest move to preserve the Union at any cost--even if it means losing each other...]]> 274 Alyssa Cole 1496707451 Joy H. 5
8/16/18 - This book is keeping me interested. Hope it continues to do so.
I finished reading this book on 8/22/18. It kept my interest all the way.
The main characters were very likable.]]> 3.96 2017 An Extraordinary Union (The Loyal League #1)
author: Alyssa Cole
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/22
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: slavery, crandall-library-loan, read-in-browser, overdrive, romance, historical-fiction, fiction-historical, civil-war, romance-inter-racial, compelling, e-book, finished-reading-it
review:
Added 8/16/18. (Published March 2017.)

8/16/18 - This book is keeping me interested. Hope it continues to do so.
I finished reading this book on 8/22/18. It kept my interest all the way.
The main characters were very likable.
]]> The Girls of Ennismore 32731232 For fans of HBO’s The Gilded Age, explore the dazzling world of America’s 19th century elite in this lush, page-turning sagaâ€�

Set in Ireland during the turbulent early 20th century, Patricia Falvey's sweeping novel explores an unlikely friendship between two girls of vastly different backgrounds, as each tries to overcome the barriers set by class and birthright...

On a June morning in 1900, Rosie Killeen crosses the road that divides her family's County Mayo farm from the estate of Lord and Lady Ennis, and makes her way to the "big house" for the first time. Barely eight years old, Rosie joins the throng of servants preparing for the arrival of Queen Victoria. But while the royal visit is a coup for Ennismore, a chance meeting on the grounds proves even more momentous for Rosie.

Victoria Bell, Lord and Lady Ennis's young daughter, is desperately lonely. Though the children of the gentry seldom fraternize with locals, Lord Ennis arranges for Rosie to join in Victoria's school lessons. For Rosie, the opportunity is exhilarating yet isolating. Victoria's governess and aunt, Lady Louisa, objects to teaching a peasant girl. The other servants resent Rosie's escape from the drudgery of life below stairs. Bright, strong-willed Rosie finds herself caught between her own people and the rarefied air of Ennismore--especially as she grows closer to Victoria's older brother, Valentine.

As they near womanhood, the girls' friendship is interrupted. Victoria is bound for a coming out season in Dublin, and Rosie must find a way to support her family. But Ireland is changing too. The country's struggle for Home Rule, the outbreak of the Great War, and a looming Easter rebellion in Dublin all herald a new era. Not even Ennismore can escape unscathed. And for Rosie, family loyalty, love, friendship and patriotism will collide in life-changing ways, leading her through heartbreak and loss in search of her own triumphant independence.

Advance praise for The Girls of Ennismore

“An evocative, heartfelt story of how the bond of female friendship can survive and thrive through adversity. Beautifully drawn, full of rich historical detail, and with a truest Irish sense of place, I was seduced from page one.â€� —Kate Kerrigan, New York Times bestselling author of Ellis Island

“Two friends, born of vastly different worlds, dare to defy convention and the strict bindings of societal class in Falvey’s latest novel. Rich in authentic historical and Irish detail, The Girls of Ennismore is a compelling story of love, duty, and reinvention, highlighting the vast rewards—or grave consequences—of following one’s heart. Fans of Downton Abbey will devour this sweeping tale.â€� —Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of The Edge of Lost

“A captivating portrayal of life in Ireland—above and below stairs—during the years leading up to the Great War and the Irish rebellion. Engaging, atmospheric and packed with rich historical detail. I thoroughly enjoyed The Girls of Ennismore .â€� —Hazel Gaynor, author of The Girl from The Savoy]]> 448 Patricia Falvey 1496709969 Joy H. 5 Started reading July 27, 2018.
Finished reading the next day! I enjoyed this story very much. It captured my attention from the very beginning, right on to the very end. At the same time, I learned a lot about the uprising in Ireland and how Ireland was able to get its independence from England.

One GR reviewer said this book reminded her of "Downton Abbey". This book makes one realize the many unfair aspects of the class system. In a way, the story has a sense of humor all its own, due to the complications wrought by the plot. The characters were very likable and well-drawn. There were surprises right to the very end! 5 stars!

"Set in Ireland during the turbulent early 20th century, Patricia Falvey's sweeping novel explores an unlikely friendship between two girls of vastly different backgrounds, as each tries to overcome the barriers set by class and birthright...
On a June morning in 1900, Rosie Killeen crosses the road that divides her family's County Mayo farm from the estate of Lord and Lady Ennis, and makes her way to the "big house" for the first time. Barely eight years old, Rosie joins the throng of servants preparing for the arrival of Queen Victoria. But while the royal visit is a coup for Ennismore, a chance meeting on the grounds proves even more momentous for Rosie."
ABOVE IS BLURB FROM AMAZON PAGE: ]]> 4.21 2017 The Girls of Ennismore
author: Patricia Falvey
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/28
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: e-book, fiction, fiction-historical, read-in-browser, historical-fiction, set-in-ireland, finished-listening-to-it, well-drawn-characters, likable-characters
review:
Added June 26, 2018. (Published March 28th 2017 by Kensington)
Started reading July 27, 2018.
Finished reading the next day! I enjoyed this story very much. It captured my attention from the very beginning, right on to the very end. At the same time, I learned a lot about the uprising in Ireland and how Ireland was able to get its independence from England.

One GR reviewer said this book reminded her of "Downton Abbey". This book makes one realize the many unfair aspects of the class system. In a way, the story has a sense of humor all its own, due to the complications wrought by the plot. The characters were very likable and well-drawn. There were surprises right to the very end! 5 stars!

"Set in Ireland during the turbulent early 20th century, Patricia Falvey's sweeping novel explores an unlikely friendship between two girls of vastly different backgrounds, as each tries to overcome the barriers set by class and birthright...
On a June morning in 1900, Rosie Killeen crosses the road that divides her family's County Mayo farm from the estate of Lord and Lady Ennis, and makes her way to the "big house" for the first time. Barely eight years old, Rosie joins the throng of servants preparing for the arrival of Queen Victoria. But while the royal visit is a coup for Ennismore, a chance meeting on the grounds proves even more momentous for Rosie."
ABOVE IS BLURB FROM AMAZON PAGE:
]]> The Burning Girl 34798076 A bracing, hypnotic, coming-of-age story about the bond of best friends, from the New York Times best-selling author of The Emperor's Children.
Julia and Cassie have been friends since nursery school. They have shared everything, including their desire to escape the stifling limitations of their birthplace, the quiet town of Royston, Massachusetts. But as the two girls enter adolescence, their paths diverge and Cassie sets out on a journey that will put her life in danger and shatter her oldest friendship.
Claire Messud, one of our finest novelists, is as accomplished at weaving a compelling fictional world as she is at asking the big questions: To what extent can we know ourselves and others? What are the stories we create to comprehend our lives and relationships? Brilliantly mixing fable and coming-of-age tale, The Burning Girl gets to the heart of these matters in an absolutely irresistible way.]]> 256 Claire Messud 0393635031 Joy H. 0 ebook, 256 pages - Published August 29th 2017 by W. W. Norton Company

This is a story about the friendship between two young girls.
See the SUMMARY and SYMBOLISM at:

"The novel is an account of the events precipitating that friendship’s end... 'everyone loses a best friend at some point.' " FROM: [THE PRECEDING LINK GIVES MORE SUMMARY INFO.]

See the explanation for the title at: (The title comes from a poem.)

The NY Times review says: " “The Burning Girlâ€� is a .... novel, one that argues that the inchoate pain caused by a friendship’s end *is* the story. ... In her novel, the burning deck is a long and intense friendship between two pre-teenage girls. This friendship collapses beneath them".
FROM:

As an aside, this story reminds me of the pain I myself felt when my friendship with a teen-age friend ended. I still feel that pain. So there IS some truth to the theme of the story.

However, I found this book uninteresting to read and have decided not to continue reading it. (6/27/18)]]> 3.42 2017 The Burning Girl
author: Claire Messud
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: crandall-library-loan, e-book, young-adult, fiction, fiction-contemporary, fiction-literary, coming-of-age, not-interesting-enough, decided-not-to-continue, friendship
review:
Added 6/26/18.
ebook, 256 pages - Published August 29th 2017 by W. W. Norton Company

This is a story about the friendship between two young girls.
See the SUMMARY and SYMBOLISM at:

"The novel is an account of the events precipitating that friendship’s end... 'everyone loses a best friend at some point.' " FROM: [THE PRECEDING LINK GIVES MORE SUMMARY INFO.]

See the explanation for the title at: (The title comes from a poem.)

The NY Times review says: " “The Burning Girlâ€� is a .... novel, one that argues that the inchoate pain caused by a friendship’s end *is* the story. ... In her novel, the burning deck is a long and intense friendship between two pre-teenage girls. This friendship collapses beneath them".
FROM:

As an aside, this story reminds me of the pain I myself felt when my friendship with a teen-age friend ended. I still feel that pain. So there IS some truth to the theme of the story.

However, I found this book uninteresting to read and have decided not to continue reading it. (6/27/18)
]]> <![CDATA[The Hudson Diaries: The Life and Times of a Baker Street Resident]]> 19197657 47 Kara L. Barney 161187369X Joy H. 0
Around July 2018, I read most of the stories in this book about Sherlock Holmes' maid. They were pretty good mysteries but not compelling.

Merged review:

Added 8/3/18. (first published July 5th 2012)

Around July 2018, I read most of the stories in this book about Sherlock Holmes' maid. They were pretty good mysteries but not compelling.]]> 2.89 2012 The Hudson Diaries: The Life and Times of a Baker Street Resident
author: Kara L. Barney
name: Joy H.
average rating: 2.89
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2018/07/01
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: read-partially, fiction, mystery, crandall-library-loan, overdrive, sherlock-holmes, short-stories
review:
Added 8/3/18. (first published July 5th 2012)

Around July 2018, I read most of the stories in this book about Sherlock Holmes' maid. They were pretty good mysteries but not compelling.

Merged review:

Added 8/3/18. (first published July 5th 2012)

Around July 2018, I read most of the stories in this book about Sherlock Holmes' maid. They were pretty good mysteries but not compelling.
]]> <![CDATA[Someone to Hold (Westcott, #2)]]> 30762354 Humphrey Wescott, Earl of Riverdale, has died, leaving behind a fortune and a scandalous secret that will forever alter the lives of his family—sending one daughter on a journey of self-discovery...

With her parents� marriage declared bigamous, Camille Westcott is now illegitimate and without a title. Looking to eschew the trappings of her old life, she leaves London to teach at the Bath orphanage where her newly discovered half-sister lived. But even as she settles in, she must sit for a portrait commissioned by her grandmother and endure an artist who riles her every nerve.

An art teacher at the orphanage that was once his home, Joel Cunningham has been hired to paint the portrait of the haughty new teacher. But as Camille poses for Joel, their mutual contempt soon turns to desire. And it is only the bond between them that will allow them to weather the rough storm that lies ahead...]]> 400 Mary Balogh 0698411390 Joy H. 3 E-book, borrowed from public library to be read in my browser.

The story is a good one but there are too many characters to keep track of because of the confusion caused by changing inheritances among the family members (including the loss and gain of nobility titles). The story seems too drawn out... drags a bit.

There are some sweet moments in an orphanage.

Has a sweet romance story (about Camille and Joel); so I am sticking with it.

I'm still reading it July 2, 2018! Started in June 2018. Have read 83% of the ebook so far. Hope it ends soon!

July 2, 2018 - I finally finished this book. It was a good story and a lovely romance, even if the story was too drawn out.]]> 4.27 2017 Someone to Hold (Westcott, #2)
author: Mary Balogh
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2018/07/02
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: crandall-library-loan, e-book, romance, fiction, fiction-historical, regency-period, too-many-characters, drags-at-times, too-drawn-out, too-many-inheritance-details, orphanage-involved, inheritances, titled-nobility, finished-reading-it
review:
Added 6/26/18. (Published February 7th 2017 by Jove)
E-book, borrowed from public library to be read in my browser.

The story is a good one but there are too many characters to keep track of because of the confusion caused by changing inheritances among the family members (including the loss and gain of nobility titles). The story seems too drawn out... drags a bit.

There are some sweet moments in an orphanage.

Has a sweet romance story (about Camille and Joel); so I am sticking with it.

I'm still reading it July 2, 2018! Started in June 2018. Have read 83% of the ebook so far. Hope it ends soon!

July 2, 2018 - I finally finished this book. It was a good story and a lovely romance, even if the story was too drawn out.
]]> <![CDATA[Talking Back: . . . to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels]]> 19876661 557 Andrea Mitchell 1101201355 Joy H. 4 I'm currently listening to the audio version of this book. It's a very frank and open memoir of her life as a reporter. I find it to be an interesting review of the current events which I've observed over the years. The behind-the-scenes nature of the book makes it even more interesting.

Addendum: During January 2012, I finished listening to this audiobook. I found it very interesting and it was nice getting to know about Andrea Mitchell's life. I liked her strong delivery.]]> 3.91 2005 Talking Back: . . . to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels
author: Andrea Mitchell
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2012/01/01
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: audio-version, history, celebrity
review:
Added 11/26/11.
I'm currently listening to the audio version of this book. It's a very frank and open memoir of her life as a reporter. I find it to be an interesting review of the current events which I've observed over the years. The behind-the-scenes nature of the book makes it even more interesting.

Addendum: During January 2012, I finished listening to this audiobook. I found it very interesting and it was nice getting to know about Andrea Mitchell's life. I liked her strong delivery.
]]> The Painter's Daughter 26052373
Captain Stephen Overtree is accustomed to taking on his brother Wesley's responsibilities. Near the end of his leave, he is sent to find his brother and bring him home. Upon reaching Devonshire, however, Stephen is stunned to learn Wesley has sailed for Italy and left his host's daughter in serious trouble.

Stephen feels duty-bound to act, and strangely protective of the young lady, who somehow seems familiar. Wanting to make some recompense for his own past failings as well as his brother's, Stephen proposes to Miss Dupont. He does not offer love, but marriage "in name only" to save her from scandal. If he dies in battle, as he fears, she will at least be a respectable widow.

Desperate for a way to escape her predicament, Sophie finds herself torn between her first love and this brooding man she barely knows. Dare she wait for Wesley to return? Or should she elope with the captain and pray she doesn't come to regret it?]]> 466 Julie Klassen 1441228802 Joy H. 5
This was a pleasant romance story with enough suspense to hold my attention throughout. 5 Stars!
]]> 4.29 2015 The Painter's Daughter
author: Julie Klassen
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/28
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: finished-reading-it, romance, historical-fiction, crandall-library-loan, overdrive, read-in-browser
review:
Added 8/28/18. (first published November 24th 2015)

This was a pleasant romance story with enough suspense to hold my attention throughout. 5 Stars!

]]> The Woman Upstairs 17406638
Nora Eldridge, an elementary school teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts, long ago compromised her dream to be a successful artist, mother and lover. She has instead become the “woman upstairs,â€� a reliable friend and neighbor always on the fringe of othersâ€� achievements. Then into her life arrives the glamorous and cosmopolitan Shahids—her new student Reza Shahid, a child who enchants as if from a fairy tale, and his parents: Skandar, a dashing Lebanese professor who has come to Boston for a fellowship at Harvard, and Sirena, an effortlessly alluring Italian artist.

When Reza is attacked by schoolyard bullies, Nora is drawn deep into the complex world of the Shahid family; she finds herself falling in love with them, separately and together. Nora’s happiness explodes her boundaries, and she discovers in herself an unprecedented ferocity—one that puts her beliefs and her sense of self at stake.

Told with urgency, intimacy and piercing emotion, this brilliant novel of passion and artistic fulfillment explores the intensity, thrill—and the devastating cost—of embracing an authentic life.]]> 272 Claire Messud 0307962407 Joy H. 1 Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Borrowed audio version from public library. Listened in browser.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Nora Eldridge, our 42-year-old protagonist, an aesthete-wannabe who has slid into the bourgeois suburban life of a schoolteacher. "
"Nora, our archly funny, venomous, and raging 42-year-old narrator, recounts her thirty-seventh year, when she was living alone and teaching third grade in Boston after the death of her profoundly frustrated mother. Nora longs to make art but hasn’t mustered the necessary conviction.
"Enter the Paris-based Shahids***.
" Reza, her new student, is a magnet for bullies stirred up by post-9/11 xenophobia. His Palestinian Lebanese father, Skandar, is a prominent academic spending a year at Harvard. His Italian mother, Sirena, is an artist in need of a studio and a studio mate. She promptly recruits Nora."
FROM:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***NOTE: Shahid = the Arabic word for martyr, usually applied to Muslim martyrs
FROM:

"When Reza is attacked by schoolyard bullies, Nora is drawn deep into the complex world of the Shahid family; she finds herself falling in love with them, separately and together."
---FROM GOODREADS DESCRIPTION

I'VE DECIDED NOT TO FINISH LISTENING TO THIS AUDIO BOOK.
THE NARRATOR WHINES ON AND ON ABOUT ANY NUMBER OF SUBJECTS AND NEVER SEEMS TO GET TO THE POINT, i.e., relentless sermonizing! I listened to 65% of the book and then gave up.

SEE THE FOLLOWING NEGATIVE GOODREADS-MEMBER-REVIEWS OF THIS BOOK.
Lesa Parnham's Review: /review/show...
Rachel's Review: /review/show...]]> 3.50 2013 The Woman Upstairs
author: Claire Messud
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2013
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: crandall-library-loan, audio-version, fiction-contemporary, fiction-literary, fiction, decided-not-to-read-it, relentless-sermonising
review:
Added June 25, 2018. (Published April 30th 2013 by A. A. Knopf)
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Borrowed audio version from public library. Listened in browser.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Nora Eldridge, our 42-year-old protagonist, an aesthete-wannabe who has slid into the bourgeois suburban life of a schoolteacher. "
"Nora, our archly funny, venomous, and raging 42-year-old narrator, recounts her thirty-seventh year, when she was living alone and teaching third grade in Boston after the death of her profoundly frustrated mother. Nora longs to make art but hasn’t mustered the necessary conviction.
"Enter the Paris-based Shahids***.
" Reza, her new student, is a magnet for bullies stirred up by post-9/11 xenophobia. His Palestinian Lebanese father, Skandar, is a prominent academic spending a year at Harvard. His Italian mother, Sirena, is an artist in need of a studio and a studio mate. She promptly recruits Nora."
FROM:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***NOTE: Shahid = the Arabic word for martyr, usually applied to Muslim martyrs
FROM:

"When Reza is attacked by schoolyard bullies, Nora is drawn deep into the complex world of the Shahid family; she finds herself falling in love with them, separately and together."
---FROM GOODREADS DESCRIPTION

I'VE DECIDED NOT TO FINISH LISTENING TO THIS AUDIO BOOK.
THE NARRATOR WHINES ON AND ON ABOUT ANY NUMBER OF SUBJECTS AND NEVER SEEMS TO GET TO THE POINT, i.e., relentless sermonizing! I listened to 65% of the book and then gave up.

SEE THE FOLLOWING NEGATIVE GOODREADS-MEMBER-REVIEWS OF THIS BOOK.
Lesa Parnham's Review: /review/show...
Rachel's Review: /review/show...
]]> <![CDATA[Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs]]> 15865547 268 Steven Hassan 0967068819 Joy H. 0
I first heard about this book on VPR radio. It's a book on the subject of "cults".

VPR radio's program pointed out that people are deceived, manipulated, indoctrinated, and brainwashed by destructive cults.

Cults differ from other religions in the fact that once you're in the cult, they make it very difficult to leave. They use fear and humiliation as weapons.

Wiki says that author Hassan, using the acronym "BITE", "describes the 'four components of mind control'" as:

Behavior control
Information control
Thought control
Emotional control

See:

]]> 4.22 Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs
author: Steven Hassan
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.22
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: keep-in-mind, cults, non-fiction
review:
Added 9/19/12.

I first heard about this book on VPR radio. It's a book on the subject of "cults".

VPR radio's program pointed out that people are deceived, manipulated, indoctrinated, and brainwashed by destructive cults.

Cults differ from other religions in the fact that once you're in the cult, they make it very difficult to leave. They use fear and humiliation as weapons.

Wiki says that author Hassan, using the acronym "BITE", "describes the 'four components of mind control'" as:

Behavior control
Information control
Thought control
Emotional control

See:


]]> The Windsor Story 1494375 If you thought you knew everything there is to know about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, you are in for a shock...

In this authoritative, entertaining dual biography of Edward VIII and the American woman for whom he sacrificed the crown of England and its Empire, we see the Windsors as they have never been seen before: Wallis as a domineering woman who badgered the King for a bigger title, and the King himself as a slave of love. Through interviews with those closest to them, we observe their marriage not as the sentimental love story but as the nightmare it truly was.

The Windsor Story sweeps the reader up into a saga embracing two World Wars, the roaring twenties, the decadent café society of the fifties, and a score of personalities ranging from Cecil Beaton to Adolf Hitler, with major appearances by Winston Churchill, Prime Minster Stanley Baldwin, Queen Mary, the present Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is above all enthralling history, shedding new light on who made the decisions that led to disaster, the court intrigue that swirled around the Abdication (a Watergate-sized foul-up), the gulling of the British press by Lord Beaverbrook, and the royal family's vindictive behavior, which drove the Windsors into the arms of the Nazis and other unsavory and dangerous connections that were to mar their lifelong exile.]]> 639 J. Bryan III 0688035531 Joy H. 0 The Windsor Story, after reading Royal Feud: The Dark Side of the Love Story of the Century. Although I read only part of The Windsor Story, I found that it explained more (i.e., gave more background) about the various Windsor friends which are mentioned in both books. That was helpful.

However, after awhile, since it repeats much of was in Royal Feud, I decided not to continue reading it.

Since I didn't finish it, I won't rate it.]]> 3.92 1979 The Windsor Story
author: J. Bryan III
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1979
rating: 0
read at: 2010/03/01
date added: 2024/07/09
shelves: non-fiction, royalty, read-partially
review:
I started reading this book, The Windsor Story, after reading Royal Feud: The Dark Side of the Love Story of the Century. Although I read only part of The Windsor Story, I found that it explained more (i.e., gave more background) about the various Windsor friends which are mentioned in both books. That was helpful.

However, after awhile, since it repeats much of was in Royal Feud, I decided not to continue reading it.

Since I didn't finish it, I won't rate it.
]]> The Catcher in the Rye 169183 277 J.D. Salinger 0241900972 Joy H. 4 classic, fiction 3.74 1951 The Catcher in the Rye
author: J.D. Salinger
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1951
rating: 4
read at: 2000/08/01
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves: classic, fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Therese Desqueyroux & Het einde van de nacht]]> 15716667 novels, Therese Desqueyroux is the haunting story of an unhappily married young woman whose desperation drives her to thoughts of murder. Mauriac paints an unforgettable portrait of spiritual isolation and despair, but he also dramatizes the complex realites of forgiveness, grace, and redemption.

Set in the countryside outside Bordeaux, in a region of overwhelming heat and sudden storms, the novel's landscape reflects the inner world of Therese, a figure who has captured the imaginations of readers for generations.

Raymond N. MacKenzie's new translation, the first since 1947, captures the poetic lyricism of Mauriac's prose as well as the intensity of his stream-of-consciousness narrative. MacKenzie provides notes and a biographical and interpretive introduction to help readers better appreciate the mastery of Francois Mauriac, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1952.]]> 252 François Mauriac 9067900338 Joy H. 0 I did not read the book, but watched the movie adaptation, "ThérÚse (2012) (in French with English subtitles).
"ThérÚse Desqueyroux" (original title)
Cast: Audrey Tautou

"An unhappily married woman struggles to break free from social pressures."

"Bored by an arranged marriage to a dull but well-meaning husband, a young wife in rural France in the 1920s seeks a drastic solution to her problems."

The movie kept my attention but I didn't particularly enjoy it because there were too many unanswered questions in my mind about motivations. There were also hanging subplots. The ending is so nuanced that I had to read a review to understand what it meant.

I got tired of seeing the same taut, grim expression on Theresa's face, actually expressionless. It hardly ever seemed to change. ]]> 4.12 Therese Desqueyroux & Het einde van de nacht
author: François Mauriac
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.12
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/17
shelves: watched-film-only, marriage, fiction
review:
Added 1/27/15.
I did not read the book, but watched the movie adaptation, "ThérÚse (2012) (in French with English subtitles).
"ThérÚse Desqueyroux" (original title)
Cast: Audrey Tautou

"An unhappily married woman struggles to break free from social pressures."

"Bored by an arranged marriage to a dull but well-meaning husband, a young wife in rural France in the 1920s seeks a drastic solution to her problems."

The movie kept my attention but I didn't particularly enjoy it because there were too many unanswered questions in my mind about motivations. There were also hanging subplots. The ending is so nuanced that I had to read a review to understand what it meant.

I got tired of seeing the same taut, grim expression on Theresa's face, actually expressionless. It hardly ever seemed to change.
]]> Lady Chatterley's Lover 49583709
With her soft brown hair, lithe figure and big, wondering eyes, Constance Chatterley is possessed of a certain vitality. Yet she is deeply unhappy; married to an invalid, she is almost as inwardly paralyzed as her husband Clifford is paralyzed below the waist. It is not until she finds refuge in the arms of Mellors the game-keeper, a solitary man of a class apart, that she feels regenerated. Together they move from an outer world of chaos towards an inner world of fulfillment.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700Ìętitles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theÌęseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-dateÌętranslations by award-winning translators.]]> 400 D.H. Lawrence 014303961X Joy H. 4 I read this book a while ago. I remember enjoying it.

Merged review:

Added 9/9/13.
I read this book a while ago. I remember enjoying it.

Merged review:

Added 9/9/13.
I read this book a while ago. I remember enjoying it.]]> 3.48 1928 Lady Chatterley's Lover
author: D.H. Lawrence
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.48
book published: 1928
rating: 4
read at: 1988/01/01
date added: 2023/11/17
shelves: fiction, classic, read-a-while-ago
review:
Added 9/9/13.
I read this book a while ago. I remember enjoying it.

Merged review:

Added 9/9/13.
I read this book a while ago. I remember enjoying it.

Merged review:

Added 9/9/13.
I read this book a while ago. I remember enjoying it.
]]> The Shipping News 7354
A vigorous, darkly comic, and at times magical portrait of the contemporary American family, The Shipping News shows why E. Annie Proulx is recognized as one of the most gifted and original writers in America today.
(back cover)]]> 337 Annie Proulx 0743225422 Joy H. 5
I enjoyed reading this touching book.

I read somewhere a while back that Proulx's writing style is considered to be spare. I didn't think about that while I was reading but I now I realize that it's true. Now I'm wondering how many other writers have a "spare" writing style like that. I'm also wondering where I heard that comment about her style.
EDITED:
PS-I found the following about Proulx's style at LibraryThing's member reviews:
"Clipped. Spare. But descriptive writing."
"The style, vivid but spare. Freely uses sentence fragments, both to represent interior monologue and to enlist the reader's complicity in supplying the missing parts."
FROM:

A movie was adapted from the book in 2001:


I thought that Kevin Spacey was too good-looking to play the part of the character, Quoyle, who was supposed to be homely. He's noted for his large chin.]]> 3.88 1993 The Shipping News
author: Annie Proulx
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/10/31
shelves: prizewinner-pulitzer, fiction, adapted-to-film, watched-film-too, read-a-while-ago
review:
_The Shipping News_ by Annie Proulx

I enjoyed reading this touching book.

I read somewhere a while back that Proulx's writing style is considered to be spare. I didn't think about that while I was reading but I now I realize that it's true. Now I'm wondering how many other writers have a "spare" writing style like that. I'm also wondering where I heard that comment about her style.
EDITED:
PS-I found the following about Proulx's style at LibraryThing's member reviews:
"Clipped. Spare. But descriptive writing."
"The style, vivid but spare. Freely uses sentence fragments, both to represent interior monologue and to enlist the reader's complicity in supplying the missing parts."
FROM:

A movie was adapted from the book in 2001:


I thought that Kevin Spacey was too good-looking to play the part of the character, Quoyle, who was supposed to be homely. He's noted for his large chin.
]]> <![CDATA[Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 1: 1939]]> 1891166 432 Isaac Asimov 0879977000 Joy H. 0 Added 4/30/11.<br /> 0.0 1979 Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 1: 1939
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Joy H.
average rating: 0.0
book published: 1979
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/24
shelves: keep-in-mind, sci-fi, recommended-by-a-reader-friend
review:
Added 4/30/11.

]]> Gene Wilder: Funny and Sad 10467286 280 Brian Scott Mednick Joy H. 0 keep-in-mind As of 6/7/15, our public library doesn't have this book.
As of 6/7/15, Audible.com doesn't have this book.
See Amazon ad for this book: ]]> 3.50 2010 Gene Wilder: Funny and Sad
author: Brian Scott Mednick
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/22
shelves: keep-in-mind
review:
Added 10/25/11.
As of 6/7/15, our public library doesn't have this book.
As of 6/7/15, Audible.com doesn't have this book.
See Amazon ad for this book:
]]> A Many-Splendoured Thing 702590 384 Han Suyin 9997546822 Joy H. 0 I did not read this book but watched the film adaptation which aired once again on the TCM Channel on 5/21/17.

See my review of Till Morning Comes by this same author, Han Suyin,
at: /review/show...
_Till Morning Comes_ is one of my favorite books.

In my review, I wrote that Han Suyin's novel, "A Many-Splendoured Thing", the story of a married British foreign correspondent Mark Elliot who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor, was made into a film called "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing". This also inspired a popular song.
---Info from Han Suyin's WIKI page at: ]]> 3.94 1952 A Many-Splendoured Thing
author: Han Suyin
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1952
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/30
shelves: watched-film-only, fiction, china, adapted-to-film, historical-fiction, romance
review:
Added 5/21/17. ((first published June 1952)
I did not read this book but watched the film adaptation which aired once again on the TCM Channel on 5/21/17.

See my review of Till Morning Comes by this same author, Han Suyin,
at: /review/show...
_Till Morning Comes_ is one of my favorite books.

In my review, I wrote that Han Suyin's novel, "A Many-Splendoured Thing", the story of a married British foreign correspondent Mark Elliot who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor, was made into a film called "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing". This also inspired a popular song.
---Info from Han Suyin's WIKI page at:
]]> <![CDATA[The Peter Lawford Story: Life With the Kennedys, Monroe and the Rat Pack]]> 660176 271 Patricia Lawford Stewart 0881844349 Joy H. 0 Added 6/18/15. 3.20 1988 The Peter Lawford Story: Life With the Kennedys, Monroe and the Rat Pack
author: Patricia Lawford Stewart
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.20
book published: 1988
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/23
shelves: keep-in-mind, biography, show-business, hollywood, gossip
review:
Added 6/18/15.
]]> <![CDATA[Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books]]> 9638796 Reading Jackie mines this significant period of her life to reveal both the serious and the mischievous woman underneath the glamorous public image.ÌęÌę
Ìę
Though Jackie had a reputation for avoiding publicity, she willingly courted controversy in her books. She was the first editor to commission a commercially-successful book telling the story of Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with his female slave.Ìę Her publication of Gelsey Kirkland's attack on dance icon George Balanchine caused another storm. Jackie rarely spoke of her personal life, but many of her books ran parallel to, echoed, and emerged from her own experience. She was the editor behind bestsellers on the assassinations of Tsar Nicholas II and John Lennon, and in another book she paid tribute to the allure of Marilyn Monroe and Maria Callas. Her other projects take us into territory she knew well: journeys to Egypt and India, explorations of the mysteries of female beauty and media exploitation, into the minds of photographers, art historians, and the designers at Tiffany & Co.Ìę
Ìę
Many Americans regarded Jackie as the paragon of grace, but few knew her as the woman sitting on her office floor laying out illustrations, or flying to California to persuade Michael Jackson to write his autobiography. Reading Jackie provides a compelling behind-the-scenes look at Jackie at work: how she commissioned books and nurtured authors, as well as how she helped to shape stories that spoke to her strongly. Jackie is remembered today for her marriages to JFK and to Aristotle Onassis, but her real legacy is the books that reveal the tastes, recollections, and passions of an independent woman.]]> 368 William Kuhn 0385530994 Joy H. 4 RE: _Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books_ (2010) by William Kuhn

SEE MY UPDATES TOWARD THE END OF THIS REVIEW (added in April & May, 2016).

In 2011, I read a sampling of this book via Google eBooks. Jackie Kennedy, in her later years, worked in publishing as an editor at Viking and then as an assistant editor at Doubleday. The book gives an interesting insight into that world.

In the prologue, Kuhn writes that Jackie's son, John, "said that one of his mother’s essential characteristics had been 'her love of words.'" Kuhn writes: "... it is those twin loves—of books and of words—that help to define who his mother was." ... "...first and foremost she was a reader."

Kuhn also quotes someone saying about Jackie: "She was a voracious reader".

The prologue of the book can be read at the link below:
_Reading Jackie, Her Autobiography in Books_

More here:




Below is a link to Random House page with a free audio excerpt from Chapter One:


As you can see, I am a fan of Jackie. :) I've always been fascinated by her.

PS-Below is a link to another excerpt from the book _Reading Jackie, Her Autobiography in Books_:


This part of the book is called "When Jackie Met Jacko" and tells how Jackie became involved in the publishing of the book, _Moonwalk_ (1988). See the GR description here: Moonwalk (by Michael Jackson).
"The #1 New York Times bestseller! Michael Jackson’s one and only autobiography â€� his life, in his words. With original Foreword by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis..."

It's fun to read what goes on behind the scenes in the writing and publishing of a book!

PS-Below is an excerpt from the above link:
===============================
"... When the ïŹrst writer who was assigned to the project didn’t work out, Areheart got more actively involved. She ïŹ‚ew to California with a tape recorder to record Jackson’s responses to her questions about his life and career. She ... eventually handed off her material to a second writer, Stephen Davis ... He took the recorded material and shaped it into a narrative. ... Areheart had to ïŹ‚y to Australia to get his [Jackson's] approval of the text. He didn’t want to read it, so she read it to him, line by line, for two weeks in 1987, making notes of his changes."
==================================

The book, _Moonwalk_, was ostensibly 'written" by Michael Jackson", but from what I can see, they recorded what he said and edited the material into what became the autobiography. It's an interesting process in which editors do quite a bit behind the scenes.

4/24/16 - UPDATE : I am currently listening the the audio version of this book. I didn't remember that I had written this review and I don't remember much about what I had formerly read of it. However, I want to mention that some of the audio book gives the impression that there was a side to Jackie that wasn't as perfect as we've been led to believe. The book points out that she could be very sharp and had an angry side to her personality. They talk about her stamping her foot. One anecdote says that when Jackie said she wanted to be called "Jacque-leen" (the French pronunciation), her sister-in-law pointed out that it rhymed with "queen". The audio book says that Jackie had a flirty side to her when talking to some men. I guess those things can be said of any woman; we all have our moments, after all. But it's strange to be hearing these "catty" things about Jackie whom I've always admired.

The reader of the audio-book is Susan Denaker who can sound very catty herself as she reads. She often imitates Jackie's soft voice when quoting her and it comes across as a mock-imitation. The book suggests that Jackie wanted to marry someone with money because of her background, coming from a broken family. When her mother married for a second time, to a rich man, Jackie wasn't one of the trust-babies of the rich stepfather. At least that's how I understood it.

I plan to read some of the GR reviews to see if any of the impressions I got from the audio-book were had by other readers. Below is an excerpt from a GR review which reflects what I said above, only it says it better:
===================================
"Part of the book goes into her imperious behavior toward some people, her noblesse oblige attitude toward others ... She was nurturing toward her writers yet very pointed in her written notes � sometimes verging on brusqueness. "Reading Jackie" presents a picture of a real woman with good and bad qualities ..." [ FROM M.L.'s GR review at: /review/show... ]
==================================

Learning about Jackie's work as an editor was very interesting. She definitely had her own ideas about things. You have to admire her for that.

It's like entering another world to read about the circles which Jackie traveled in. Her world was peopled with so many blue-bloods, so many powerful, well-connected bigwigs, movers and shakers, and so many talented people who were tops in their field. This book gives a peek into that strata of society. A nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

Another angle to the book was that it provided a peek into the publishing world and the work of an editor, including all the choices that must be made before we see the finished product. Mind boggling! Just dealing with so many different people with different opinions must be an enormous task. Too much pressure, if you ask me!

5/8/16
Below is an excerpt from Wall Street Journal review at:
"Mr. Kuhn and Mr. Lawrence make it clear that she [Jackie-"Mrs. Onassis"] was a tireless and imaginative acquirer of compelling if sometimes esoteric books, an editor who nurtured her writers and fought like a lioness for her projects with the suits on the business side. "

5/11/16
I keep coming back to this book. In fact I've ordered a hard copy and I've also bought a digital copy for my Amazon Kindle Cloud. I was even inspired to buy a Kindle Fire HD Tablet at Amazon so that I can read the digital book at my leisure anywhere I go. It's that kind of book... so full of information and references. And it's the literary world after all, a world I am drawn to. I hope the enjoyment will last.

Below are some quotes (about "FASHION") from the book which interested me and changed my thinking. Up to now I had considered fashion a useless and superficial part of our culture. However the quotes below have made me see it another way:
==============================
KINDLE LOCATION 636, 641: “Do not be too hard on vanity," Vreeland* said. "Some may think it vain to look into a mirror, but I consider it an identification of self." She observed further, "The feel of a perfect piece of silk to a woman is a very exciting thing. It's the greatest projection of pleasure. And what's wrong with pleasure?" For Vreeland, fashion was also about the exquisite craftmanship of women's clothes, itself an art, not inferior to painting or writing or photography. It was important for women of means to sustain this art..."

KINDLE LOCATION 646, 663: "Jackie took Vreeland's lesson and put it into words she chose herself. ... In writing this piece, Jackie learned something else. To collect and commission beautiful things -- whether it was beautiful dresses or beautiful books -- was itself a form of creation, of worthwhile knowledge, because it stimulated the work of other artists. Sartorial connoisseurship is a stimulus to creation in fashion."

LOCATION 2510: "Vreeland's biographer Eleanor Dwight argues that the movie ["Funny Face"] had a serious point to make, because it 'illustrated Vreeland's own conviction that fashion is an authentic art form, and is important because it makes life more beautiful.'"
==============================
*Diana Vreeland (1903-1989), was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and as a special consultant at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1964. FROM:
==============================]]> 3.68 Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books
author: William Kuhn
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.68
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2011/02/01
date added: 2021/10/26
shelves: biography, non-fiction, editing-and-publishing, celebrities, celebrity-kennedy
review:
Added 2/8/11.
RE: _Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books_ (2010) by William Kuhn

SEE MY UPDATES TOWARD THE END OF THIS REVIEW (added in April & May, 2016).

In 2011, I read a sampling of this book via Google eBooks. Jackie Kennedy, in her later years, worked in publishing as an editor at Viking and then as an assistant editor at Doubleday. The book gives an interesting insight into that world.

In the prologue, Kuhn writes that Jackie's son, John, "said that one of his mother’s essential characteristics had been 'her love of words.'" Kuhn writes: "... it is those twin loves—of books and of words—that help to define who his mother was." ... "...first and foremost she was a reader."

Kuhn also quotes someone saying about Jackie: "She was a voracious reader".

The prologue of the book can be read at the link below:
_Reading Jackie, Her Autobiography in Books_

More here:




Below is a link to Random House page with a free audio excerpt from Chapter One:


As you can see, I am a fan of Jackie. :) I've always been fascinated by her.

PS-Below is a link to another excerpt from the book _Reading Jackie, Her Autobiography in Books_:


This part of the book is called "When Jackie Met Jacko" and tells how Jackie became involved in the publishing of the book, _Moonwalk_ (1988). See the GR description here: Moonwalk (by Michael Jackson).
"The #1 New York Times bestseller! Michael Jackson’s one and only autobiography â€� his life, in his words. With original Foreword by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis..."

It's fun to read what goes on behind the scenes in the writing and publishing of a book!

PS-Below is an excerpt from the above link:
===============================
"... When the ïŹrst writer who was assigned to the project didn’t work out, Areheart got more actively involved. She ïŹ‚ew to California with a tape recorder to record Jackson’s responses to her questions about his life and career. She ... eventually handed off her material to a second writer, Stephen Davis ... He took the recorded material and shaped it into a narrative. ... Areheart had to ïŹ‚y to Australia to get his [Jackson's] approval of the text. He didn’t want to read it, so she read it to him, line by line, for two weeks in 1987, making notes of his changes."
==================================

The book, _Moonwalk_, was ostensibly 'written" by Michael Jackson", but from what I can see, they recorded what he said and edited the material into what became the autobiography. It's an interesting process in which editors do quite a bit behind the scenes.

4/24/16 - UPDATE : I am currently listening the the audio version of this book. I didn't remember that I had written this review and I don't remember much about what I had formerly read of it. However, I want to mention that some of the audio book gives the impression that there was a side to Jackie that wasn't as perfect as we've been led to believe. The book points out that she could be very sharp and had an angry side to her personality. They talk about her stamping her foot. One anecdote says that when Jackie said she wanted to be called "Jacque-leen" (the French pronunciation), her sister-in-law pointed out that it rhymed with "queen". The audio book says that Jackie had a flirty side to her when talking to some men. I guess those things can be said of any woman; we all have our moments, after all. But it's strange to be hearing these "catty" things about Jackie whom I've always admired.

The reader of the audio-book is Susan Denaker who can sound very catty herself as she reads. She often imitates Jackie's soft voice when quoting her and it comes across as a mock-imitation. The book suggests that Jackie wanted to marry someone with money because of her background, coming from a broken family. When her mother married for a second time, to a rich man, Jackie wasn't one of the trust-babies of the rich stepfather. At least that's how I understood it.

I plan to read some of the GR reviews to see if any of the impressions I got from the audio-book were had by other readers. Below is an excerpt from a GR review which reflects what I said above, only it says it better:
===================================
"Part of the book goes into her imperious behavior toward some people, her noblesse oblige attitude toward others ... She was nurturing toward her writers yet very pointed in her written notes � sometimes verging on brusqueness. "Reading Jackie" presents a picture of a real woman with good and bad qualities ..." [ FROM M.L.'s GR review at: /review/show... ]
==================================

Learning about Jackie's work as an editor was very interesting. She definitely had her own ideas about things. You have to admire her for that.

It's like entering another world to read about the circles which Jackie traveled in. Her world was peopled with so many blue-bloods, so many powerful, well-connected bigwigs, movers and shakers, and so many talented people who were tops in their field. This book gives a peek into that strata of society. A nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

Another angle to the book was that it provided a peek into the publishing world and the work of an editor, including all the choices that must be made before we see the finished product. Mind boggling! Just dealing with so many different people with different opinions must be an enormous task. Too much pressure, if you ask me!

5/8/16
Below is an excerpt from Wall Street Journal review at:
"Mr. Kuhn and Mr. Lawrence make it clear that she [Jackie-"Mrs. Onassis"] was a tireless and imaginative acquirer of compelling if sometimes esoteric books, an editor who nurtured her writers and fought like a lioness for her projects with the suits on the business side. "

5/11/16
I keep coming back to this book. In fact I've ordered a hard copy and I've also bought a digital copy for my Amazon Kindle Cloud. I was even inspired to buy a Kindle Fire HD Tablet at Amazon so that I can read the digital book at my leisure anywhere I go. It's that kind of book... so full of information and references. And it's the literary world after all, a world I am drawn to. I hope the enjoyment will last.

Below are some quotes (about "FASHION") from the book which interested me and changed my thinking. Up to now I had considered fashion a useless and superficial part of our culture. However the quotes below have made me see it another way:
==============================
KINDLE LOCATION 636, 641: “Do not be too hard on vanity," Vreeland* said. "Some may think it vain to look into a mirror, but I consider it an identification of self." She observed further, "The feel of a perfect piece of silk to a woman is a very exciting thing. It's the greatest projection of pleasure. And what's wrong with pleasure?" For Vreeland, fashion was also about the exquisite craftmanship of women's clothes, itself an art, not inferior to painting or writing or photography. It was important for women of means to sustain this art..."

KINDLE LOCATION 646, 663: "Jackie took Vreeland's lesson and put it into words she chose herself. ... In writing this piece, Jackie learned something else. To collect and commission beautiful things -- whether it was beautiful dresses or beautiful books -- was itself a form of creation, of worthwhile knowledge, because it stimulated the work of other artists. Sartorial connoisseurship is a stimulus to creation in fashion."

LOCATION 2510: "Vreeland's biographer Eleanor Dwight argues that the movie ["Funny Face"] had a serious point to make, because it 'illustrated Vreeland's own conviction that fashion is an authentic art form, and is important because it makes life more beautiful.'"
==============================
*Diana Vreeland (1903-1989), was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and as a special consultant at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1964. FROM:
==============================
]]> <![CDATA[Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters]]> 6404803
On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed a remarkable emergency landing when Captain "Sully" Sullenberger skillfully glided US Airways Flight 1549 onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crew. His cool actions not only averted tragedy but made him a hero and an inspiration worldwide. His story is now a major motion picture from director / producer Clint Eastwood and stars Tom Hanks, Laura Linney and Aaron Eckhart.

Sully's story is one of dedication, hope, and preparedness, revealing the important lessons he learned through his life, in his military service, and in his work as an airline pilot. It reminds us all that, even in these days of conflict, tragedy and uncertainty, there are values still worth fighting for—that life's challenges can be met if we're ready for them.]]> 352 Chesley B. Sullenberger III 0061924687 Joy H. 0 By Chesley B. Sullenberger, Jeffrey Zaslow
Audio-version, narrated by: Michael McConnohie, Chesley B. Sullenberger
Audio-version: Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins



Publisher's Summary: "In this inspirational autobiography, Captain "Sully" Sullenberger, the airline pilot whose emergency landing on the Hudson River earned the world's admiration, tells his life story and talks about the essential qualities that he believes have been so vital to his success."
FROM: ]]> 4.12 2009 Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters
author: Chesley B. Sullenberger III
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/19
shelves: currently-listening, audio-version, autobiography, memoir, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, non-fiction, history, aviation, survival-stories, values, principles, adventure, hudson-river, inspirational
review:
Added October 9, 2019. (first published 2009)
By Chesley B. Sullenberger, Jeffrey Zaslow
Audio-version, narrated by: Michael McConnohie, Chesley B. Sullenberger
Audio-version: Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins



Publisher's Summary: "In this inspirational autobiography, Captain "Sully" Sullenberger, the airline pilot whose emergency landing on the Hudson River earned the world's admiration, tells his life story and talks about the essential qualities that he believes have been so vital to his success."
FROM:
]]> Anna Karenina 151
«Nos capĂ­tulos iniciais de Anna KarĂ©nina, somos conduzidos, uma e outra vez, a um sentido de analogia musical. HĂĄ efeitos de contraponto e harmonia no desenvolvimento das principais tramas do “prelĂșdio Oblonskiâ€� (o acidente na estação ferroviĂĄria, a zombadora discussĂŁo sobre o divĂłrcio entre Vronski e a baronesa Chilton, o deslumbramento do fogo vermelho diante dos olhos de Anna). O mĂ©todo de Tolstoi Ă© polifĂłnico; mas as harmonias principais desen- volvem-se com uma tremenda força e amplitude. As tĂ©cnicas musicais e linguĂ­sticas nĂŁo podem comparar-se de um modo exato. Mas como poderĂ­amos elucidar de outro modo o sentimento de que as novelas de Tolstoi surgem de um princĂ­pio interior de ordem e vitalidade, enquanto as dos escritores menos importantes parecem alinhavadas?»

«Anna KarĂ©nina morre no mundo do romance; mas cada vez que lemos o livro ela ressuscita, e mesmo depois de o termos acabado adquire outra vida na nossa recordação. Em cada personagem literĂĄria existe algo da FĂ©nix imortal. AtravĂ©s das vidas perdurĂĄveis das suas personagens, a prĂłpria existĂȘncia de Tolstoi teve a sua eternidade.» [George Steiner, Tolstoi ou Dostoievski]]]> 838 Leo Tolstoy 0143035002 Joy H. 0 I did not read the book. I saw only the film. (See notes below re the films.) The ending was a downer for me.

Whitaker, in his review, wrote:
"A word about the translation: the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation is easy on ear and well deserves the praise heaped on it. If you've tried reading Anna Karenina before and gave up, you were probably reading an earlier translation. Try again with this one. You might surprise yourself by loving it."
Above written by poster, Whitaker ()

4/19/12 - Addendum:
Whitaker's review said:
============================
"The thing about famous classics is that we all have these ideas in our head about what it's all about. We think we know all about this one: Russian novel about an adulterous woman. But no, it's not that. Or at least, not just that. It's not even just about Anna.

"It's about love and relationships. It's about how we lie to ourselves and destroy ourselves through pride and pettiness. It's about the richness of life lived with simplicity, love and integrity. An wonderful acutely observed and empathic novel about the human condition.

"A word about the translation: the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation is easy on ear and well deserves the praise heaped on it. If you've tried reading Anna Karenina before and gave up, you were probably reading an earlier translation. Try again with this one. You might surprise yourself by loving it."
FROM:
==============================

Edit: 1/19/13
ABOUT THE FILMS:
There are many film versions of Anna Karenina.
See the list at IMDb:

See the list at Netflix:
]]> 4.11 1878 Anna Karenina
author: Leo Tolstoy
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1878
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/29
shelves: watched-film-only, adapted-to-film
review:
Added 1/14/09.
I did not read the book. I saw only the film. (See notes below re the films.) The ending was a downer for me.

Whitaker, in his review, wrote:
"A word about the translation: the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation is easy on ear and well deserves the praise heaped on it. If you've tried reading Anna Karenina before and gave up, you were probably reading an earlier translation. Try again with this one. You might surprise yourself by loving it."
Above written by poster, Whitaker ()

4/19/12 - Addendum:
Whitaker's review said:
============================
"The thing about famous classics is that we all have these ideas in our head about what it's all about. We think we know all about this one: Russian novel about an adulterous woman. But no, it's not that. Or at least, not just that. It's not even just about Anna.

"It's about love and relationships. It's about how we lie to ourselves and destroy ourselves through pride and pettiness. It's about the richness of life lived with simplicity, love and integrity. An wonderful acutely observed and empathic novel about the human condition.

"A word about the translation: the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation is easy on ear and well deserves the praise heaped on it. If you've tried reading Anna Karenina before and gave up, you were probably reading an earlier translation. Try again with this one. You might surprise yourself by loving it."
FROM:
==============================

Edit: 1/19/13
ABOUT THE FILMS:
There are many film versions of Anna Karenina.
See the list at IMDb:

See the list at Netflix:

]]> <![CDATA[Arch of Triumph: A Novel of a Man Without a Country]]> 672948 Forbidden to return to his own country, and dodging the everyday dangers of jail and deportation, Ravic manages to hang on â€� all the while searching for the Nazi who tortured him back in Germany. And though he’s given up on the possibility of love, life has a curious way of taking a turn for the romantic, even during the worst of timesâ€�.]]> 464 Erich Maria Remarque Joy H. 0 I did not read this book but I saw the film adaptation.

I posted the following at my Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ group:
===================================
I streamed (via Amazon Prime) "Arch of Triumph" (1948) starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Charles Laughton.
...
?...
"Illegal refugees lead dark lives in pre-World War II Paris."
...
"To escape the Nazis, an Austrian doctor flees to Paris, where he practices medicine under an assumed name. When he prevents a nightclub singer from committing suicide, he develops a connection with her -- just as the war begins to tear Europe apart."

The movie was too long and too dark and the plot was too thin. However, I loved seeing Bergman and Boyer on the screen. So I stuck with it. Charles Boyer mesmerizes me with his voice and accent. Ingrid is always so beautiful. Charles Laughton had a very small part but the role was important to the plot. Louis Calhern was good in his role and added a lot to the movie.]]> 4.44 1945 Arch of Triumph: A Novel of a Man Without a Country
author: Erich Maria Remarque
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1945
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/04/17
shelves: watched-film-only, adapted-to-film, ww2
review:
Added 3/7/15.
I did not read this book but I saw the film adaptation.

I posted the following at my Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ group:
===================================
I streamed (via Amazon Prime) "Arch of Triumph" (1948) starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Charles Laughton.
...
?...
"Illegal refugees lead dark lives in pre-World War II Paris."
...
"To escape the Nazis, an Austrian doctor flees to Paris, where he practices medicine under an assumed name. When he prevents a nightclub singer from committing suicide, he develops a connection with her -- just as the war begins to tear Europe apart."

The movie was too long and too dark and the plot was too thin. However, I loved seeing Bergman and Boyer on the screen. So I stuck with it. Charles Boyer mesmerizes me with his voice and accent. Ingrid is always so beautiful. Charles Laughton had a very small part but the role was important to the plot. Louis Calhern was good in his role and added a lot to the movie.
]]> <![CDATA[The Women of the Copper Country]]> 42201959 In July 1913, twenty-five-year-old Annie Clements had seen enough of the world to know that it was unfair. She’s spent her whole life in the copper-mining town of Calumet, Michigan where men risk their lives for meager salaries—and had barely enough to put food on the table and clothes on their backs. The women labor in the houses of the elite, and send their husbands and sons deep underground each day, dreading the fateful call of the company man telling them their loved ones aren’t coming home. When Annie decides to stand up for herself, and the entire town of Calumet, nearly everyone believes she may have taken on more than she is prepared to handle.

In Annie’s hands lie the minersâ€� fortunes and their health, her husband’s wrath over her growing independence, and her own reputation as she faces the threat of prison and discovers a forbidden love. On her fierce quest for justice, Annie will discover just how much she is willing to sacrifice for her own independence and the families of Calumet.

From one of the most versatile writers in contemporary fiction, this novel is an authentic and moving historical portrait of the lives of the men and women of the early 20th century labor movement, and of a turbulent, violent political landscape that may feel startlingly relevant to today.]]> 352 Mary Doria Russell 1982109580 Joy H. 0 The group Constant Reader will start reading The Women of the Copper Country on Wednesday, January 15, 2020. ]]> 4.08 2019 The Women of the Copper Country
author: Mary Doria Russell
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/08
shelves: keep-in-mind, selection-of-the-constnt-rder-group
review:
Added Jan. 8, 2020
The group Constant Reader will start reading The Women of the Copper Country on Wednesday, January 15, 2020.
]]> They Came Like Swallows 125192 Alternative cover edition of isbn 9781860469282

They Came Like Swallows was William Maxwell's second novel. It tells of an ordinary American family overtaken by the devastating epidemic of the Spanish influenza of 1918. The book begins on the day before the armistice in a small midwestern town, and the events are seen from the perspective, in turn, of eight-year-old Peter Morison--called Bunny; of his older brother, Robert; and of their father. They are witnesses to a domestic tragedy that is written with beauty and a quite magnificent tenderness. William Maxwell has been described by The Washington Post as "one of America's most distinguished and distinctive stylists." John Updike has said that "Maxwell's voice is one of the wisest in American fiction; it is, as well, one of the kindest." The Times Literary Supplement declares that "Maxwell offers us scrupulously executed, moving landscapes of America's twentieth century, and they do not fade." The Saturday Review said,"They Came Like Swallows is one of those rare tales in which child-hood is reflected in the simplicity and intensity of its own experience."]]> 192 William Maxwell Joy H. 0 The group Constant Reader will start reading They Came Like Swallows on Wednesday, January 01, 2020. ]]> 4.04 1937 They Came Like Swallows
author: William Maxwell
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1937
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/25
shelves: keep-in-mind, selection-of-the-constnt-rder-group
review:
Added 12/25/19.
The group Constant Reader will start reading They Came Like Swallows on Wednesday, January 01, 2020.
]]> The Library Book 39507318
Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.

In The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, from their humble beginnings as a metropolitan charitable initiative to their current status as a cornerstone of national identity; brings each department of the library to vivid life through on-the-ground reporting; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; reflects on her own experiences in libraries; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.

Along the way, Orlean introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters from libraries past and present—from Mary Foy, who in 1880 at eighteen years old was named the head of the Los Angeles Public Library at a time when men still dominated the role, to Dr. C.J.K. Jones, a pastor, citrus farmer, and polymath known as “The Human Encyclopediaâ€� who roamed the library dispensing information; from Charles Lummis, a wildly eccentric journalist and adventurer who was determined to make the L.A. library one of the best in the world, to the current staff, who do heroic work every day to ensure that their institution remains a vital part of the city it serves.

Brimming with her signature wit, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, The Library Book is Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks that reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country. It is also a master journalist’s reminder that, perhaps especially in the digital era, they are more necessary than ever.]]> 317 Susan Orlean 1476740186 Joy H. 0 Constant Reader will start reading _The Library Book_ on Sunday, December 15, 2019. ]]> 3.88 2018 The Library Book
author: Susan Orlean
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/11
shelves: keep-in-mind, selection-of-the-constnt-rder-group
review:
Added Dec. 11, 2019.
Constant Reader will start reading _The Library Book_ on Sunday, December 15, 2019.
]]> The Princess Diarist 26068139 The Princess Diarist is Carrie Fisher's intimate, hilarious and revealing recollection of what happened behind the scenes on one of the most famous film sets of all time, the first Star Wars movie. *PEOPLE Magazine Best Book of Fall 2016 *New York Times Bestseller *

Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi, featuring Carrie Fisher, is scheduled for release on December 15, 2017. Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds debuted on HBO in January 2017.

When Carrie Fisher recently discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved-plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Today, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her costar, Harrison Ford.

With these excerpts from her handwritten notebooks, The Princess Diarist is Fisher's intimate and revealing recollection of what happened on one of the most famous film sets of all time-and what developed behind the scenes. Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity, and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty, only to be surpassed by her own outer-space royalty. Laugh-out-loud hilarious and endlessly quotable, The Princess Diarist brims with the candor and introspection of a diary while offering shrewd insight into the type of stardom that few will ever experience.]]> 6 Carrie Fisher 0399565566 Joy H. 0 Carrie Fisher: Author/Narrator

This is one of the funniest audio books I have ever listened to!
Carrie Fisher is a riot!

THE HAIR-DO:

BTW, part of the audio book isn't in the voice of Carrie Fisher. Those parts weren't so good. It's Fisher's delivery and expression that's so funny.

PS-SEE LINK:
]]> 3.59 2016 The Princess Diarist
author: Carrie Fisher
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/17
shelves: crandall-library-loan, overdrive, non-fiction, autobiography, memoir, humor, humorous-writing-style, star-wars, decided-not-to-continue
review:
Added 8/9/18. (Published October 18th 2016)
Carrie Fisher: Author/Narrator

This is one of the funniest audio books I have ever listened to!
Carrie Fisher is a riot!

THE HAIR-DO:

BTW, part of the audio book isn't in the voice of Carrie Fisher. Those parts weren't so good. It's Fisher's delivery and expression that's so funny.

PS-SEE LINK:

]]> Mr. Rochester 29773957 Jane Eyre--through the eyes of the dashing, mysterious Mr. Rochester himself.

"Reader, she married me."

For one hundred seventy years, Edward Fairfax Rochester has stood as one of literature's most romantic, most complex, and most mysterious heroes. Sometimes haughty, sometimes tender-professing his love for Jane Eyre in one breath and denying it in the next-Mr. Rochester has for generations mesmerized, beguiled, and, yes, baffled fans of Charlotte Brontë's masterpiece. But his own story has never been told.

Now, out of Sarah Shoemaker's rich and vibrant imagination, springs Edward: a vulnerable, brilliant, complicated man whom we first meet as a motherless, lonely little boy roaming the corridors and stable yards of Thornfield Hall. On the morning of Edward's eighth birthday, his father issues a decree: He is to be sent away to get an education, exiled from Thornfield and all he ever loved. As the determined young Edward begins his journey across England, making friends and enemies along the way, a series of eccentric mentors teach him more than he might have wished about the ways of the men-and women-who will someday be his peers.

But much as he longs to be accepted-and to return to the home where he was born-his father has made clear that Thornfield is reserved for his older brother, Rowland, and that Edward's inheritance lies instead on the warm, languid shores of faraway Jamaica. That island, however, holds secrets of its own, and not long after his arrival, Edward finds himself entangled in morally dubious business dealings and a passionate, whirlwind love affair with the town's ravishing heiress, Antoinetta Bertha Mason.

Eventually, after a devastating betrayal, Edward must return to England with his increasingly unstable wife to take over as master of Thornfield. And it is there, on a twilight ride, that he meets the stubborn, plain, young governess who will teach him how to love again.

It is impossible not to watch enthralled as this tender-hearted child grows into the tormented hero Brontë immortalized-and as Jane surprises them both by stealing his heart. Mr. Rochester is a great, sweeping, classic coming-of-age story, and a stirring tale of adventure, romance, and deceit. Faithful in every particular to Brontë's original yet full of unexpected twists and riveting behind-the-scenes drama, this novel will completely, deliciously, and forever change how we read and remember Jane Eyre.]]> 453 Sarah Shoemaker 1455569801 Joy H. 0 By: Sarah Shoemaker
Narrated by: Simon Shepherd

"A gorgeous, deft literary retelling of Charlotte Bronte's beloved Jane Eyre--through the eyes of the dashing, mysterious Mr. Rochester himself." [FROM GOODREADS DESCRIPTION]

Mr. Rochester is a likable character and that kept me reading.
However, some parts were very heart-wrenching.

SEE:


]]> 3.92 2017 Mr. Rochester
author: Sarah Shoemaker
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/16
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, audio-version, fiction, romance, jane-eyre
review:
Added Nov. 15, 2019. (Published May 9th 2017 by Grand Central Publishing.)
By: Sarah Shoemaker
Narrated by: Simon Shepherd

"A gorgeous, deft literary retelling of Charlotte Bronte's beloved Jane Eyre--through the eyes of the dashing, mysterious Mr. Rochester himself." [FROM GOODREADS DESCRIPTION]

Mr. Rochester is a likable character and that kept me reading.
However, some parts were very heart-wrenching.

SEE:



]]> <![CDATA[Cronkite's War: His World War II Letters Home]]> 15823459 352 Walter Cronkite IV 1426210191 Joy H. 0 Narrated by: Michael Prichard

I LISTENED TO _Cronkite's War - His World War II Letters Home_.
IT WAS LACKLUSTER. --- NOT COMPELLING.
SEE FOLLOWING LINK:
LINK: ]]> 3.77 2013 Cronkite's War: His World War II Letters Home
author: Walter Cronkite IV
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/15
shelves: listened-to-partially, salon-overdrive, audio-version, non-fiction, ww2, biography, memoir, history
review:
Added Nov. 15, 2019. (first published May 1st 2013)
Narrated by: Michael Prichard

I LISTENED TO _Cronkite's War - His World War II Letters Home_.
IT WAS LACKLUSTER. --- NOT COMPELLING.
SEE FOLLOWING LINK:
LINK:
]]> <![CDATA[Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of "The View"]]> 31450865 Like Fire & Fury, the gossipy real-life soap opera behind a serious show.

When Barbara Walters launched The View, network executives told her that hosting it would tarnish her reputation. Instead, within ten years, she’d revolutionized morning TV and made household names of her co-hosts: Joy Behar, Star Jones, Meredith Vieira and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. But the daily chatfest didn’t just comment on the news. It became the news. And the headlines barely scratched the surface.

Based on stunning interviews with nearly every host and unprecedented access, award-winning journalist Ramin Setoodeh takes you backstage where the stars really spoke their minds. Here's the full story of how Star, then Rosie, then Whoopi tried to take over the show, while Barbara struggled to maintain control of it all, a modern-day Lear with her media-savvy daughters. You'll read about how so many co-hosts had a tough time fitting in, suffered humiliations at the table, then pushed themselves away, feeling betrayed—one nearly quitting during a commercial. Meanwhile, the director was being driven insane, especially by Rosie.

Setoodeh uncovers the truth about Star’s weight loss and wedding madness. Rosie’s feud with Trump. Whoopi’s toxic relationship with Rosie. Barbara’s difficulty stepping away. Plus, all the unseen hugs, snubs, tears—and one dead rodent.

Ladies Who Punch shows why The View can be mimicked and mocked, but it can never be matched.

]]> 336 Ramin Setoodeh 1250112095 Joy H. 0 By: Ramin Setoodeh
Narrated by: Ramin Setoodeh

DESCRIPTION FROM AUDIBLE.COM: ... "Ramin Setoodeh takes you backstage where the stars really spoke their minds. Here's the full story of how Star, then Rosie, then Whoopi tried to take over the show, while Barbara struggled to maintain control of it all, a modern-day Lear with her media-savvy daughters. You'll hear about how so many cohosts had a tough time fitting in, suffered humiliations at the table, then pushed themselves away, feeling betrayed - one nearly quitting during a commercial. Meanwhile, the director was being driven insane, especially by Rosie."
FROM: ]]> 3.71 2019 Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of "The View"
author: Ramin Setoodeh
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/09
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, non-fiction, television, celebrities, talk-show
review:
Added November 9, 2019. (Published April 2nd 2019 by Thomas Dunne Books)
By: Ramin Setoodeh
Narrated by: Ramin Setoodeh

DESCRIPTION FROM AUDIBLE.COM: ... "Ramin Setoodeh takes you backstage where the stars really spoke their minds. Here's the full story of how Star, then Rosie, then Whoopi tried to take over the show, while Barbara struggled to maintain control of it all, a modern-day Lear with her media-savvy daughters. You'll hear about how so many cohosts had a tough time fitting in, suffered humiliations at the table, then pushed themselves away, feeling betrayed - one nearly quitting during a commercial. Meanwhile, the director was being driven insane, especially by Rosie."
FROM:
]]> <![CDATA[American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee]]> 8488345 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

With the critically acclaimed Sin in the Second City, bestselling author Karen Abbott “pioneered sizzle historyâ€� (USA Today). Now she returns with the gripping and expansive story of America’s coming-of-age—told through the extraordinary life of Gypsy Rose Lee and the world she survived and conquered.

America in the Roaring Twenties. Vaudeville was king. Talking pictures were only a distant flicker. Speakeasies beckoned beyond dimly lit doorways; money flowed fast and free. But then, almost overnight, the Great Depression leveled everything. When the dust settled, Americans were primed for a star who could distract them from grim reality and excite them in new, unexpected ways. Enter Gypsy Rose Lee, a strutting, bawdy, erudite stripper who possessed a preternatural gift for delivering exactly what America needed.

With her superb narrative skills and eye for compelling detail, Karen Abbott brings to vivid life an era of ambition, glamour, struggle, and survival. Using exclusive interviews and never-before-published material, she vividly delves into Gypsy’s world, including her intensely dramatic triangle relationship with her sister, actress June Havoc, and their formidable mother, Rose, a petite but ferocious woman who seduced men and women alike and literally killed to get her daughters on the stage.

American Rose chronicles their story, as well as the story of the four scrappy and savvy showbiz brothers from New York City who would pave the way for Gypsy Rose Lee’s brand of burlesque. Modeling their shows after the glitzy, daring reviews staged in the theaters of Paris, the Minsky brothers relied on grit, determination, and a few tricks that fell just outside the law—and they would shape, and ultimately transform, the landscape of American entertainment.

With a supporting cast of such Jazz- and Depression-era heavyweights as Lucky Luciano, Harry Houdini, FDR, and Fanny Brice, Karen Abbott weaves a rich narrative of a woman who defied all odds to become a legend—and whose sensational tale of tragedy and triumph embodies the American Dream.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 0 Karen Abbott 0307877094 Joy H. 4 biography, show-business I listened to this audio-book during September 2012.

It was read by Bernadette Dunne who gave a lively presentation.
I found this biography very interesting and entertaining.

The only criticism I have is that was confusing at times because Gyspy was referred to using various names throughout the book, e.g., "Louise", "Gypsy", etc. Also, Gypsy's mother was referred to often and at times I couldn't figure out which person that was because I think she was referred to as "Rose". As you can see, I'm still confused. :) Perhaps if I had read the book instead of listening to the audio-version, things would have been clearer.]]> 3.26 2010 American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee
author: Karen Abbott
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/30
date added: 2019/11/08
shelves: biography, show-business
review:
Added 10/24/12. (First published January 1st 2010.)
I listened to this audio-book during September 2012.

It was read by Bernadette Dunne who gave a lively presentation.
I found this biography very interesting and entertaining.

The only criticism I have is that was confusing at times because Gyspy was referred to using various names throughout the book, e.g., "Louise", "Gypsy", etc. Also, Gypsy's mother was referred to often and at times I couldn't figure out which person that was because I think she was referred to as "Rose". As you can see, I'm still confused. :) Perhaps if I had read the book instead of listening to the audio-version, things would have been clearer.
]]> Chemistry 31684925 Lab Girl and Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You, a luminous coming-of-age novel about a young female scientist who must recalibrate her life when her academic career goes off track.

Three years into her graduate studies at a demanding Boston university, the unnamed narrator of this nimbly wry, concise debut finds her one-time love for chemistry is more hypothesis than reality. She's tormented by her failed research--and reminded of her delays by her peers, her advisor, and most of all by her Chinese parents, who have always expected nothing short of excellence from her throughout her life. But there's another, nonscientific question the marriage proposal from her devoted boyfriend, a fellow scientist, whose path through academia has been relatively free of obstacles, and with whom she can't make a life before finding success on her own.

Eventually, the pressure mounts so high that she must leave everything she thought she knew about her future, and herself, behind. And for the first time, she's confronted with a question she won't find the answer to in a What do I really want? Over the next two years, this winningly flawed, disarmingly insightful heroine learns the formulas and equations for a different kind of chemistry--one in which the reactions can't be quantified, measured, and analyzed; one that can be studied only in the mysterious language of the heart. Taking us deep inside her scattered, searching mind, here is a brilliant new literary voice that astutely juxtaposes the elegance of science, the anxieties of finding a place in the world, and the sacrifices made for love and family.]]> 224 Weike Wang 1524731757 Joy H. 0 The group Constant Reader will start reading _Chemistry_ on Friday, November 15, 2019. ]]> 3.74 2017 Chemistry
author: Weike Wang
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/08
shelves: keep-in-mind, selection-of-the-constnt-rder-group
review:
Added Nov. 8, 2019.
The group Constant Reader will start reading _Chemistry_ on Friday, November 15, 2019.
]]> <![CDATA[Uncle Fred Flits by (The Delightful World of P.G. Wodehouse)]]> 390943 P.G. Wodehouse 0916124894 Joy H. 0 On the cover of this book, it says: "J. Donald Walters reads The Delightful World of P.G. Wodehouse" - "Uncle Fred Flits By".
(It's hard to decipher from the small picture but that's what it says. See my "Further Notes" at the end of this review.)

I first heard the story, "Uncle Fred Flits By", referred to while listening to the audio-book: _Drama_, which is John Lithgow's autobiography.

SEE THE STORY AT YOUTUBE (with David Niven):

Four Star Playhouse - "Uncle Fred Flits By" (Colorized) by P.G. Wodehouse

LISTEN TO THE STORY AT:

(I discovered the above site by doing an exhaustive search of the Internet!)

===========================================
"Uncle Fred Flits By"
""Uncle Fred Flits By" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the July 1935 edition of Redbook, and in the United Kingdom in the December 1935 issue of the Strand. It was included in the collection Young Men in Spats (1936).
It marks the first appearances of Pongo Twistleton and his mischievous Uncle Fred, who would go on to appear in four novels, including two visits to Blandings Castle.
FROM:
===========================================

See the following links:
IMDb:

Review of John Lithgow's one-man show Stories by Heart

(This is Back Stage's review of the show's original run in spring 2008.)

Lithgow's Lincoln Center performance:



Comedy Playhouse:



LISTEN TO THE STORY AT:


FURTHER NOTES:
I found the following at Amazon:
Uncle Fred Flits by (The Delightful World of P.G. Wodehouse)
[Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]
P. G. Wodehouse (Author), J. Donald Walters (Narrator)
FROM:

The narrator named above, J. Donald Walters, is also known as Kriyananda, according to the following page at Wiki:

Wiki says: "Kriyananda, born James Donald Walters..."
Wiki also says that he "established a new Swami order..."
Therefore, I conclude that the name Swami Kriyananda is the narrator of the audio, "Uncle Fred Flits By", written by P.G. Wodehouse.]]> 4.39 1996 Uncle Fred Flits by (The Delightful World of P.G. Wodehouse)
author: P.G. Wodehouse
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/07
shelves: to-read, short-story, wodehouse, want-to-listen-to
review:
Added 2/5/13.
On the cover of this book, it says: "J. Donald Walters reads The Delightful World of P.G. Wodehouse" - "Uncle Fred Flits By".
(It's hard to decipher from the small picture but that's what it says. See my "Further Notes" at the end of this review.)

I first heard the story, "Uncle Fred Flits By", referred to while listening to the audio-book: _Drama_, which is John Lithgow's autobiography.

SEE THE STORY AT YOUTUBE (with David Niven):

Four Star Playhouse - "Uncle Fred Flits By" (Colorized) by P.G. Wodehouse

LISTEN TO THE STORY AT:

(I discovered the above site by doing an exhaustive search of the Internet!)

===========================================
"Uncle Fred Flits By"
""Uncle Fred Flits By" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the July 1935 edition of Redbook, and in the United Kingdom in the December 1935 issue of the Strand. It was included in the collection Young Men in Spats (1936).
It marks the first appearances of Pongo Twistleton and his mischievous Uncle Fred, who would go on to appear in four novels, including two visits to Blandings Castle.
FROM:
===========================================

See the following links:
IMDb:

Review of John Lithgow's one-man show Stories by Heart

(This is Back Stage's review of the show's original run in spring 2008.)

Lithgow's Lincoln Center performance:



Comedy Playhouse:



LISTEN TO THE STORY AT:


FURTHER NOTES:
I found the following at Amazon:
Uncle Fred Flits by (The Delightful World of P.G. Wodehouse)
[Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]
P. G. Wodehouse (Author), J. Donald Walters (Narrator)
FROM:

The narrator named above, J. Donald Walters, is also known as Kriyananda, according to the following page at Wiki:

Wiki says: "Kriyananda, born James Donald Walters..."
Wiki also says that he "established a new Swami order..."
Therefore, I conclude that the name Swami Kriyananda is the narrator of the audio, "Uncle Fred Flits By", written by P.G. Wodehouse.
]]> The Amazing Bone 25465417 and a hungry fox?]]> William Steig 0545830842 Joy H. 5 This is a short children's story (13 minutes) narrated by John Lithgow.
It's wonderful! don't miss it!

I FOUND IT VIA SALON OVERDRIVE AND LISTENED IN MY BROWSER. JOHN LITHGOW TELLS THE STORY SO WELL!





SEE WIKI:
"The story is about how Pearl the pig is walking home from school, and finds a magic bone on the ground, which has the ability to imitate any sound and speak in any language (It samples Spanish, Polish and German for her). Pearl takes it with her, and on the way home they have several misadventures, including an encounter with a hungry fox who wants to eat Pearl for dinner."

SEE ANIMATED VERSION HERE:

]]> 4.20 1976 The Amazing Bone
author: William Steig
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1976
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/11/06
shelves: finished-listening-to-it, salon-overdrive, audio-version, children-s-book, listened-in-my-browser
review:
Added November 6, 2019. (first published September 1st 1976)
This is a short children's story (13 minutes) narrated by John Lithgow.
It's wonderful! don't miss it!

I FOUND IT VIA SALON OVERDRIVE AND LISTENED IN MY BROWSER. JOHN LITHGOW TELLS THE STORY SO WELL!





SEE WIKI:
"The story is about how Pearl the pig is walking home from school, and finds a magic bone on the ground, which has the ability to imitate any sound and speak in any language (It samples Spanish, Polish and German for her). Pearl takes it with her, and on the way home they have several misadventures, including an encounter with a hungry fox who wants to eat Pearl for dinner."

SEE ANIMATED VERSION HERE:


]]> Being Jazz 28698224 I Am Jazz—making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults.

In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn't all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence—particularly high school—complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy—especially when you began your life in a boy's body.]]> 5 Jazz Jennings 0735207445 Joy H. 0 Narrated by: Jazz Jennings

I AM LISTENING TO THIS AUDIO BOOK CALLED:
_Being Jazz - My Life as a (Transgender) Teen_,
by Jazz Jennings



THE BOOK DESCRIPTION SAYS:
"At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl..."
SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK FOR A MORE COMPLETE BOOK DESCRIPTION:
LINK:
]]> 3.85 2016 Being Jazz
author: Jazz Jennings
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/06
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, audio-version, transgender, autobiography, non-fiction, lgbt, memoir, young-adult
review:
Added November 6, 2019. (Published June 7th 2016 by Listening Library.)
Narrated by: Jazz Jennings

I AM LISTENING TO THIS AUDIO BOOK CALLED:
_Being Jazz - My Life as a (Transgender) Teen_,
by Jazz Jennings



THE BOOK DESCRIPTION SAYS:
"At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl..."
SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK FOR A MORE COMPLETE BOOK DESCRIPTION:
LINK:

]]> Calypso 38348476
If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris's cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you're getting with Calypso. You'd be wrong.

When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself.

With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories are very, very funny--it's a book that can make you laugh 'til you snort, the way only family can. Sedaris's powers of observation have never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future.

This is beach reading for people who detest beaches, required reading for those who loathe small talk and love a good tumor joke. Calypso is simultaneously Sedaris's darkest and warmest book yet--and it just might be his very best.]]> 272 David Sedaris 0316392359 Joy H. 0 Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
Categories: Comedy, Memoirs

Literary Awards:
Grammy Award Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album (2019)
Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award Nominee for Humor (2018)

I'M LISTENING TO THIS AUDIOBOOK CALLED _Calypso_ - Essays - by David Sedaris.
SOMETIMES IT'S FUNNY AND OTHER TIMES IT'S INTERESTING.
BUT IT'S KEEPING MY ATTENTION.
SEE THE DESCRIPTION AT:
]]> 4.11 2018 Calypso
author: David Sedaris
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/05
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, audio-version, non-fiction, autobiography, memoir, essays
review:
ADDED NOVEMBER 5, 2019. (Published May 29th 2018 by Little, Brown and Company)
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
Categories: Comedy, Memoirs

Literary Awards:
Grammy Award Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album (2019)
Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award Nominee for Humor (2018)

I'M LISTENING TO THIS AUDIOBOOK CALLED _Calypso_ - Essays - by David Sedaris.
SOMETIMES IT'S FUNNY AND OTHER TIMES IT'S INTERESTING.
BUT IT'S KEEPING MY ATTENTION.
SEE THE DESCRIPTION AT:

]]> Wild Magic (Immortals, #1) 13836 362 Tamora Pierce 1416903437 Joy H. 0 (first published December 1st 1992)
By: Tamora Pierce
Narrated by: Tamora Pierce





]]> 4.31 1992 Wild Magic (Immortals, #1)
author: Tamora Pierce
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/04
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, fantasy, young-adult, audio-version, magic, fiction, animals
review:
Added Nov. 4, 2019.
(first published December 1st 1992)
By: Tamora Pierce
Narrated by: Tamora Pierce






]]> The Bicentennial Man 25611395 33 Isaac Asimov Joy H. 0
10/1/16 - I watched "BICENTENNIAL MAN" (1999) via a Netflix DVD. I enjoyed it very much. It kept my attention all the way through. Robin Williams was very appealing in this movie. I wondered about how they managed his robot costume. Very clever!



Of course it was based on Asimov's:
The Positronic Man (first published 1992) or maybe his short story/novelette:
"The Bicentennial Man".
The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories (first published 1976)
The Bicentennial Man (Published February 1976)]]> 4.33 1976 The Bicentennial Man
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/04
shelves: watched-film-only, adapted-to-film, robots, sci-fi, asimov
review:
Added 10/2/16. (first published 1976)

10/1/16 - I watched "BICENTENNIAL MAN" (1999) via a Netflix DVD. I enjoyed it very much. It kept my attention all the way through. Robin Williams was very appealing in this movie. I wondered about how they managed his robot costume. Very clever!



Of course it was based on Asimov's:
The Positronic Man (first published 1992) or maybe his short story/novelette:
"The Bicentennial Man".
The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories (first published 1976)
The Bicentennial Man (Published February 1976)
]]> The Orphan's Tale 36137178
A powerful novel of friendship set in a traveling circus during World War II, The Orphan's Tale introduces two extraordinary women and their harrowing stories of sacrifice and survival.

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep. When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.

Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another - or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.]]> 13 Pam Jenoff 1488202559 Joy H. 4 Narrated by: Jennifer Wydra, Kyla Garcia
I began listening 7/30/18. Finished 8/1/18.

This book kept my interest but it turned out to be a bit too long.
Some parts were too heart-wrenching.
Otherwise it was a good story with interesting characters.
The parts about circus-life were interesting.

[spoilers removed]

ABOVE SPOILER IS FROM: ]]> 3.87 2017 The Orphan's Tale
author: Pam Jenoff
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/08/01
date added: 2019/11/03
shelves: fiction-historical, historical-fiction, ww2, holocaust, circus-life, crandall-library-loan, overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, audio-version, finished-listening-to-it, heart-wrenching
review:
Added 7/31/18. (Published in 2017.)
Narrated by: Jennifer Wydra, Kyla Garcia
I began listening 7/30/18. Finished 8/1/18.

This book kept my interest but it turned out to be a bit too long.
Some parts were too heart-wrenching.
Otherwise it was a good story with interesting characters.
The parts about circus-life were interesting.

[spoilers removed]

ABOVE SPOILER IS FROM:
]]> Small Great Things 28587957
Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn't offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.]]> 480 Jodi Picoult 0345544951 Joy H. 0 Published October 11th 2016 by Ballantine Books
Narrated by: Audra McDonald, Cassandra Campbell, Ari Fliakos

NOV. 2, 2019 - I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO THE AUDIO BOOK, _Small Great Things_ by Jodi Picoult.
There is too much legal talk and too much medical talk.
I think I'm going to quit even though I'm almost 70% through the book.
See the following audible.com link for the book description:


[spoilers removed]

SPOILER IS FROM: ]]> 4.30 2016 Small Great Things
author: Jodi Picoult
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/02
shelves: decided-not-to-continue, salon-overdrive, audio-version, fiction, fiction-contemporary, racism, courtroom-drama, listened-in-my-browser, too-much-legal-talk, too-much-medical-talk
review:
Added 8/11/17.
Published October 11th 2016 by Ballantine Books
Narrated by: Audra McDonald, Cassandra Campbell, Ari Fliakos

NOV. 2, 2019 - I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO THE AUDIO BOOK, _Small Great Things_ by Jodi Picoult.
There is too much legal talk and too much medical talk.
I think I'm going to quit even though I'm almost 70% through the book.
See the following audible.com link for the book description:


[spoilers removed]

SPOILER IS FROM:
]]> The Other Woman 36212848 A deliciously disturbing, compulsively readable debut domestic suspense—prepare to meet The Other Woman: there’s nothing she won’t do to keep you away from her son...

Emily thinks Adam's perfect; the man she thought she'd never meet. But lurking in the shadows is a rival; a woman who shares a deep bond with the man she loves.

Emily chose Adam, but she didn’t choose his mother Pammie. There’s nothing a mother wouldn’t do for her son, and now Emily is about to find out just how far Pammie will go to get what she wants: Emily gone forever.

The Other Woman is an addictive, fast-paced psychological thriller about the destructive relationship between Emily, her boyfriend Adam, and his manipulative mother Pammie.]]> 304 Sandie Jones Joy H. 0 (first published March 29th 2018)
Narrated by: Clare Corbett



]]> 3.71 2018 The Other Woman
author: Sandie Jones
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/31
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, audio-version, fiction, thriller, suspense
review:
Added October 31, 2019.
(first published March 29th 2018)
Narrated by: Clare Corbett




]]> The Dressmaker 12384157 Titanic comes a vivid, romantic, and relentlessly compelling historical novel about a spirited young woman who survives the disaster only to find herself embroiled in the media frenzy left in the wake of the tragedy.

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.

Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others—including the gallant Midwestern tycoon—are not so lucky.

On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period's glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love.]]> 306 Kate Alcott 0385535589 Joy H. 0 Published February 21st 2012 by Doubleday.
Narrated by: Susan Duerden


============================
Publisher's Summary:
"Just in time for the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic comes a vivid, romantic, and relentlessly compelling historical novel about a spirited young woman who survives the disaster only to find herself embroiled in the media frenzy left in the wake of the tragedy.

"Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.

"Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others - including the gallant Midwestern tycoon - are not so lucky.

"On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period's glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love."
ABOVE IS FROM:
==============================
]]> 3.47 2012 The Dressmaker
author: Kate Alcott
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/31
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, audio-version, fiction, fiction-historical, romance, titanic
review:
Added October 31, 2019.
Published February 21st 2012 by Doubleday.
Narrated by: Susan Duerden


============================
Publisher's Summary:
"Just in time for the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic comes a vivid, romantic, and relentlessly compelling historical novel about a spirited young woman who survives the disaster only to find herself embroiled in the media frenzy left in the wake of the tragedy.

"Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.

"Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others - including the gallant Midwestern tycoon - are not so lucky.

"On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period's glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love."
ABOVE IS FROM:
==============================

]]> All the Stars in the Heavens 24723249 The Shoemaker’s Wife, returns with her biggest and boldest novel yet—a hypnotic tale, based on a true story—that dazzles with the signature elements of her previous work—family ties, artistry, romance, adventure—and introduces an unforgettable new heroine: Loretta Young, an ambitious starlet struggling to survive in Hollywood’s dream factory

In this spectacular saga as radiant, thrilling, and beguiling as Hollywood itself, Adriana Trigiani takes us back to Tinsel Town’s golden age—an era as brutal as it was resplendent—and into the complex and glamorous world of a young actress hungry for fame and success. With meticulous, beautiful detail, Trigiani paints a rich, historical landscape of 1930s Los Angeles, where European and American artisans flocked to pursue the ultimate dream: to tell stories on the silver screen.

The movie business is booming in 1935 when twenty-one-year-old Loretta Young meets thirty-four-year-old Clark Gable on the set of The Call of the Wild. Though he’s already married, Gable falls for the stunning and vivacious young actress instantly.

Far from the glittering lights of Hollywood, Sister Alda Ducci has been forced to leave her convent and begin a new journey that leads her to Loretta. Becoming Miss Young’s assistant, the innocent and pious young Alda must navigate the wild terrain of Hollywood with fierce determination and a moral code that derives from her Italian roots. Over the course of decades, she and Loretta encounter scandal and adventure, choose love and passion, and forge an enduring bond of love and loyalty that will be put to the test when they eventually face the greatest obstacle of their lives.

Anchored by Trigiani’s masterful storytelling that takes you on a worldwide ride of adventure from Hollywood to the shores of southern Italy, this mesmerizing epic is, at its heart, a luminous tale of the most cherished ties that bind. Brimming with larger-than-life characters both real and fictional—including stars Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy, David Niven, Hattie McDaniel and more—it is it is the unforgettable story of one of cinema’s greatest love affairs during the golden age of American movie making.]]> 447 Adriana Trigiani 0062319191 Joy H. 5 Published October 13th 2015 by Harper
Narrated by: Blair Brown




This book is historical fiction about actress, Loretta Young, and many other Hollywood stars, including Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable.

For example, the book talks about the time Loretta Young and Clark Gable were filming the movie, "Call of the Wild".
"Call of the Wild" (1935):
"During the Klondike Gold Rush, a traveler purchases a dog to lead the way toward the treasure, but reconsiders his journey when he finds a jilted married woman."
Director: William A. Wellman (as William Wellman)
Writers: Jack London (story), Gene Fowler (screenplay) and Leonard Praskins (screenplay)
Stars: Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Jack Oakie

It was an interesting read. 5 stars.]]> 3.48 2015 All the Stars in the Heavens
author: Adriana Trigiani
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/10/31
shelves: historical-fiction, romance, audio-version, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, listened-to-entire-audio-book, interesting, hollywood
review:
Added October 29, 2019.
Published October 13th 2015 by Harper
Narrated by: Blair Brown




This book is historical fiction about actress, Loretta Young, and many other Hollywood stars, including Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable.

For example, the book talks about the time Loretta Young and Clark Gable were filming the movie, "Call of the Wild".
"Call of the Wild" (1935):
"During the Klondike Gold Rush, a traveler purchases a dog to lead the way toward the treasure, but reconsiders his journey when he finds a jilted married woman."
Director: William A. Wellman (as William Wellman)
Writers: Jack London (story), Gene Fowler (screenplay) and Leonard Praskins (screenplay)
Stars: Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Jack Oakie

It was an interesting read. 5 stars.
]]> The President Is Missing 35097255 The President is Missing.

As the novel opens, a threat looms. Enemies are planning an attack of unprecedented scale on America. Uncertainty and fear grip Washington. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the cabinet. The President himself becomes a suspect, and then goes missing...

Set in real time, over the course of three days, The President Is Missing is one of the most dramatic thrillers in decades. And it could all really happen. The President Is Missing is Bill Clinton and James Patterson's totally authentic and spellbinding thriller.]]> 513 Bill Clinton Joy H. 0 Published June 4th 2018 by Little, Brown and Company and Knopf
Narrated by: Dennis Quaid, January LaVoy, Peter Ganim, Jeremy Davidson, Mozhan MarnĂČ




This is definitely a thriller, but like so many other books, I find that it's too long and drawn out.]]> 3.82 2018 The President Is Missing
author: Bill Clinton
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/29
shelves: currently-listening, fiction, thriller, salon-overdrive, audio-version, politics, suspense
review:
Added October 28, 2019.
Published June 4th 2018 by Little, Brown and Company and Knopf
Narrated by: Dennis Quaid, January LaVoy, Peter Ganim, Jeremy Davidson, Mozhan MarnĂČ




This is definitely a thriller, but like so many other books, I find that it's too long and drawn out.
]]> <![CDATA[A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1)]]> 33574273 It was a dark and stormy night.

Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure—one that will threaten their lives and our universe.

Winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal, A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic Time Quintet.]]> 218 Madeleine L'Engle 1250153271 Joy H. 0 Narrated by: Hope Davis, Ava DuVernay, Madeleine L'Engle, Charlotte Jones Voiklis



Adapted to film: "A Wrinkle in Time" (2003):
IMDb:
"A young girl and her genius kid brother are aided by three curious witches in their search for their missing scientist father, captive of an omnipotent otherworldly villain simply called 'It' whose evil is slowly infecting the universe."

"A Wrinkle in Time" (2018):
IMDb:
"After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him."

NOTE: Do not confuse with: "SOMEWHERE IN TIME" with Christopher Reeve
"Somewhere in Time" (1980)
IMDb: ]]> 3.91 1962 A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1)
author: Madeleine L'Engle
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1962
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/28
shelves: salon-overdrive, audio-version, fantasy, sci-fi, young-adult, listened-in-my-browser, adapted-to-film, currently-listening
review:
Added October 28, 2019. (First published 1962)
Narrated by: Hope Davis, Ava DuVernay, Madeleine L'Engle, Charlotte Jones Voiklis



Adapted to film: "A Wrinkle in Time" (2003):
IMDb:
"A young girl and her genius kid brother are aided by three curious witches in their search for their missing scientist father, captive of an omnipotent otherworldly villain simply called 'It' whose evil is slowly infecting the universe."

"A Wrinkle in Time" (2018):
IMDb:
"After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him."

NOTE: Do not confuse with: "SOMEWHERE IN TIME" with Christopher Reeve
"Somewhere in Time" (1980)
IMDb:
]]> <![CDATA[Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)]]> 16085481
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back.

Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should—and should not—marry.

Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.]]> 403 Kevin Kwan 0385536976 Joy H. 0 Published June 11th 2013 by Doubleday.
Narrated by Lynn Chen



GOODREADS DESCRIPTION: "Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season."

"The book is told from the perspective of five main characters: Rachel Chu, Nicholas (Nick) Young, Eleanor Young, Astrid Leong, and Edison Cheng. The story revolves around the grand wedding of Singapore's most eligible bachelor, Colin Khoo, and a fashion icon, Araminta Lee, which everyone calls the wedding of the year."
FROM WIKI:]]> 3.91 2013 Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)
author: Kevin Kwan
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/28
shelves: salon-overdrive, audio-version, listened-in-my-browser, romance, fiction-contemporary, fiction, singapore, decided-not-to-continue
review:
Added October 28, 2019.
Published June 11th 2013 by Doubleday.
Narrated by Lynn Chen



GOODREADS DESCRIPTION: "Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season."

"The book is told from the perspective of five main characters: Rachel Chu, Nicholas (Nick) Young, Eleanor Young, Astrid Leong, and Edison Cheng. The story revolves around the grand wedding of Singapore's most eligible bachelor, Colin Khoo, and a fashion icon, Araminta Lee, which everyone calls the wedding of the year."
FROM WIKI:
]]> Never Too Late 184851
But when a near-fatal car accident lands Clare in the hospital, her life takes another detour. While recovering, Clare realizes she has the power to choose her life's path. The wonderful younger police officer who witnessed her crash is over the moon for her. A man from her past stirs up long-buried feelings. Even her ex is pining for her. With enthusiasm and a little envy, her sisters watch her bloom.

Together, the sisters encourage each other to seek what they need to be happy. Along the way they all learn that it's never too late to begin again.]]> 352 Robyn Carr 0778322971 Joy H. 5 Published April 25th 2006 by Mira Books
Narrated by: Therese Plummer

This is a light romance, a welcome break from the dark books which are on the market nowadays.

This book kept my attention all the way to the end. 5 stars.]]> 3.84 2006 Never Too Late
author: Robyn Carr
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/10/27
shelves: salon-overdrive, fiction, romance, listened-in-my-browser, audio-version, adult, listened-to-entire-audio-book, good-read, good-story, 5-stars
review:
Added October 26, 2019.
Published April 25th 2006 by Mira Books
Narrated by: Therese Plummer

This is a light romance, a welcome break from the dark books which are on the market nowadays.

This book kept my attention all the way to the end. 5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[How Hard Can It Be? (Kate Reddy, #2)]]> 34964851 How Hard Can It Be? does so hands down.

Kate Reddy's comeback as a pushing-50 "Returner,â€� re-entering the workforce after a spell on the mommy track, is zesty, razor-sharp, and hilarious. With a robust absence of self-pity, she has defined the humiliating onset of "invisibility" that coincides with the onrushing pressures of parents, teenage kids, and a marriage gone flat, all while attempting to reinstate her perilous professional worth. It’s full of such quotable casual profundity on the female condition I couldn't read it without a pencil to underline the abundance of great lines. Get ready for Kate!â€� —Tina Brown

Allison Pearson's brilliant debut novel, I Don't Know How She Does It, was a New York Times bestseller with four million copies sold around the world. Called "the definitive social comedy of working motherhood" (The Washington Post) and "a hysterical look―in both the laughing and crying senses of the world―at the life of Supermom" (The New York Times), I Don't Know How She Does It introduced Kate Reddy, a woman as sharp as she was funny. As Oprah Winfrey put it, Kate's story became "the national anthem for working mothers."

Seven years later, Kate Reddy is facing her 50th birthday. Her children have turned into impossible teenagers; her mother and in-laws are in precarious health; and her husband is having a midlife crisis that leaves her desperate to restart her career after years away from the workplace. Once again, Kate is scrambling to keep all the balls in the air in a juggling act that an early review from the U.K. Express hailed as "sparkling, funny, and poignant...a triumphant return for Pearson."

Will Kate reclaim her rightful place at the very hedge fund she founded, or will she strangle in her new “shapingâ€� underwear? Will she rekindle an old flame, or will her house burn to the ground when a rowdy mob shows up for her daughter’s surprise (to her parents) Christmas party? Surely it will all work out in the end. After all, how hard can it be?]]> 352 Allison Pearson 1250086086 Joy H. 0 ]]> 3.60 2017 How Hard Can It Be? (Kate Reddy, #2)
author: Allison Pearson
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/27
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, audio-version, fiction, humor, contemporary
review:
Added October 27, 2019. (first published September 2017)

]]> <![CDATA[The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music]]> 2176660
But what Lopez begins to unearth about the mysterious street musician leaves an indelible impression." "More than thirty years earlier, Ayers had been a promising classical bass student at Juilliard - ambitious, charming, and one of the few African-Americans - until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by a mental breakdown. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is alone, suspicious of everyone, and deeply troubled, but glimmers of that brilliance are still there."

From an impromptu concert of Beethoven's Eighth in the Second Street tunnel to a performance of Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites on Skid Row, the two men learn to communicate through Ayers's music.

The Soloist is a story about unwavering commitment, artistic devotion, and the transformative magic of music.]]> 273 Steve LĂłpez 0399155066 Joy H. 3 Added 1/29/09
A very interesting book. Not compelling, but worth reading.

5/1/11 - Added comments:
I watched the movie too in August 2009.
MOVIE: "The Soloist" (2009)


"A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Julliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper."
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr. and Catherine Keener

ADDENDUM:
In the movie, Jamie Foxx played the part of the real NATHANIEL AYERS.
The following is a link to Wiki's page about Nathaniel Ayers:
WIKI:

Below is a link to the Wiki page about the film "The Soloist".
WIKI: ]]> 3.91 2008 The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
author: Steve LĂłpez
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2009/01/01
date added: 2019/10/26
shelves: non-fiction, selection-of-library-bk-group, biography, watched-film-too, adapted-to-film
review:
_The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music_ (2008) by Steve Lopez (Read Jan. 2009)
Added 1/29/09
A very interesting book. Not compelling, but worth reading.

5/1/11 - Added comments:
I watched the movie too in August 2009.
MOVIE: "The Soloist" (2009)


"A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Julliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper."
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr. and Catherine Keener

ADDENDUM:
In the movie, Jamie Foxx played the part of the real NATHANIEL AYERS.
The following is a link to Wiki's page about Nathaniel Ayers:
WIKI:

Below is a link to the Wiki page about the film "The Soloist".
WIKI:
]]> Dombey and Son 50827 880 Charles Dickens 0812967437 Joy H. 0 The group Constant Reader will start reading _Dombey_ and Son on Friday, November 01, 2019.
_Dombey and Son_ by Charles Dickens]]> 3.94 1848 Dombey and Son
author: Charles Dickens
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1848
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/25
shelves: keep-in-mind, classic, fiction, literary-fiction, charles-dickens, historical-fiction
review:
Added October 25, 2009. (first published 1848)
The group Constant Reader will start reading _Dombey_ and Son on Friday, November 01, 2019.
_Dombey and Son_ by Charles Dickens
]]> Charles Dickens 11202585 527 Claire Tomalin 1594203091 Joy H. 0 (first published 2011)
_Charles Dickens_ - A Life - by Claire Tomalin
Narrated by: Alex Jennings - Audiobook

=========================
ABOUT THE NICKNAME "BOZ" [from Wiki]:

[Dicken's] "journalism, in the form of sketches in periodicals, formed his first collection of pieces, published in 1836: "Sketches by Boz" - - Boz being a family nickname he employed as a pseudonym for some years.

Dickens apparently adopted it from the nickname "Moses", which he had given to his youngest brother Augustus Dickens, after a character in Oliver Goldsmith's "The Vicar of Wakefield". When pronounced by anyone with a head cold, "Moses" became "Boses"—later shortened to Boz.

ABOVE IS FROM:
=========================]]> 3.86 2011 Charles Dickens
author: Claire Tomalin
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/24
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, non-fiction, biography, charles-dickens, history, audio-version, listened-in-my-browser
review:
Added October 24, 2019.
(first published 2011)
_Charles Dickens_ - A Life - by Claire Tomalin
Narrated by: Alex Jennings - Audiobook

=========================
ABOUT THE NICKNAME "BOZ" [from Wiki]:

[Dicken's] "journalism, in the form of sketches in periodicals, formed his first collection of pieces, published in 1836: "Sketches by Boz" - - Boz being a family nickname he employed as a pseudonym for some years.

Dickens apparently adopted it from the nickname "Moses", which he had given to his youngest brother Augustus Dickens, after a character in Oliver Goldsmith's "The Vicar of Wakefield". When pronounced by anyone with a head cold, "Moses" became "Boses"—later shortened to Boz.

ABOVE IS FROM:
=========================
]]> <![CDATA[Major Pettigrews Last Stand (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers)]]> 9286769 588 Helen Simonson 1594134448 Joy H. 4 (first published 2010)
Narrated by Peter Altschuler

3/26/11 - I finished reading this book today. Major Pettigrew, an Englishman, is a memorable character with a droll, dry sense of humor. At times I laughed out loud at the things he said. In this story he is drawn to Mrs. Ali, a Pakistani shopkeeper, born in the UK. She is memorable too. They have both lost their spouses and are widower and widow. The problem is the cultural divide.

The plot moves slowly but the good writing kept me interested. The story has both humor and poignancy. There are funny moments and suspenseful moments. At times I felt there was too much detail in the descriptions, but most of the time I stayed interested. Helen Simonson writes with wisdom, wit, and sophistication. This is her first novel. I'm giving it 4 stars.

3/20/11 - This book is starting to remind me of another book I enjoyed: Simon's Night by Jon Hassler. Another reviewer compared _Simon's Night_ to Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler. See my reviews of the above-mentioned books at:



3/18/11 - I started reading this book today. I've read up to page 52. Major Pettigrew has a droll, dry sense of humor. So far, I'm enjoying the story.

2/15/11 - Nina, from my GR group, recommended this book to me. Sounds like a charming story.]]> 3.76 2010 Major Pettigrews Last Stand (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers)
author: Helen Simonson
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2011/03/26
date added: 2019/10/21
shelves: recommended-by-a-reader-friend, a-good-read, aging, romance, fiction-contemporary
review:
_Major Pettigrew's Last Stand_ (2010) by Helen Simonson
(first published 2010)
Narrated by Peter Altschuler

3/26/11 - I finished reading this book today. Major Pettigrew, an Englishman, is a memorable character with a droll, dry sense of humor. At times I laughed out loud at the things he said. In this story he is drawn to Mrs. Ali, a Pakistani shopkeeper, born in the UK. She is memorable too. They have both lost their spouses and are widower and widow. The problem is the cultural divide.

The plot moves slowly but the good writing kept me interested. The story has both humor and poignancy. There are funny moments and suspenseful moments. At times I felt there was too much detail in the descriptions, but most of the time I stayed interested. Helen Simonson writes with wisdom, wit, and sophistication. This is her first novel. I'm giving it 4 stars.

3/20/11 - This book is starting to remind me of another book I enjoyed: Simon's Night by Jon Hassler. Another reviewer compared _Simon's Night_ to Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler. See my reviews of the above-mentioned books at:



3/18/11 - I started reading this book today. I've read up to page 52. Major Pettigrew has a droll, dry sense of humor. So far, I'm enjoying the story.

2/15/11 - Nina, from my GR group, recommended this book to me. Sounds like a charming story.
]]> The Chaperone 13056159 The Chaperone is Ìęa captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both.
Ìę
Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever.
Ìę
For Cora, the city holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the core of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on a mission of her own. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of Cora’s relationship with Louise, her eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.
Ìę
Drawing on the rich history of the 1920s,â€�30s, and beyond—from the orphan trains to Prohibition, flappers, Ìęand the onset of the Great Depression to the burgeoning movement for equal rights and new opportunities for women—Laura Moriarty’s The Chaperone illustrates how rapidly everything, from fashion and hemlines to values and attitudes, was changing at this time and what a vast difference it all made for Louise Brooks, Cora Carlisle, and others like them.]]> 367 Laura Moriarty 1594487014 Joy H. 5 I enjoyed this book immensely. Didn't want it to end.

This book is mostly about the chaperone herself although it includes the fictionalized story of Louise Brooks, the real silent screen star.

8/16/18: PS - The audio version is narrated by: Elizabeth McGovern (very good narration) The audio version was my second time with this book. (My first was the hard copy.)

The real actress, "Louise Brooks, published her memoir, _Lulu in Hollywood_, in 1982; three years later she died of a heart attack at age 78."
FROM WIKI:

Lulu in Hollywood by Louise Brooks]]> 3.85 2012 The Chaperone
author: Laura Moriarty
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/01
date added: 2019/10/17
shelves: fiction, hollywood, good-story, historical-fiction, fiction-historical, well-written
review:
Added 2/24/15.
I enjoyed this book immensely. Didn't want it to end.

This book is mostly about the chaperone herself although it includes the fictionalized story of Louise Brooks, the real silent screen star.

8/16/18: PS - The audio version is narrated by: Elizabeth McGovern (very good narration) The audio version was my second time with this book. (My first was the hard copy.)

The real actress, "Louise Brooks, published her memoir, _Lulu in Hollywood_, in 1982; three years later she died of a heart attack at age 78."
FROM WIKI:

Lulu in Hollywood by Louise Brooks
]]> The Dressmaker's Gift 44285117 A Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts bestseller.

From the bestselling author of The Beekeeper’s Promise comes a gripping story of three young women faced with impossible choices. How will history—and their families—judge them?

Paris, 1940. With the city occupied by the Nazis, three young seamstresses go about their normal lives as best they can. But all three are hiding secrets. War-scarred Mireille is fighting with the Resistance; Claire has been seduced by a German officer; and Vivienne’s involvement is something she can’t reveal to either of them.

Two generations later, Claire’s English granddaughter Harriet arrives in Paris, rootless and adrift, desperate to find a connection with her past. Living and working in the same building on the Rue Cardinale, she learns the truth about her grandmother—and herself—and unravels a family history that is darker and more painful than she ever imagined.

In wartime, the three seamstresses face impossible choices when their secret activities put them in grave danger. Brought together by loyalty, threatened by betrayal, can they survive history’s darkest era without being torn apart?]]> 276 Fiona Valpy 1542005140 Joy H. 0 Nina of my GR group mentioned this book.]]> 4.24 2019 The Dressmaker's Gift
author: Fiona Valpy
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/17
shelves: keep-in-mind, recommended-by-nina-of-my-group, ww2, historical-fiction, fiction
review:
Added Oct. 17, 2019. Published October 1st 2019 by Lake Union Publishing.
Nina of my GR group mentioned this book.
]]> The Japanese Lover 25152052
Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco's charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.]]> 322 Isabel Allende 1501116975 Joy H. 0 _The Japanese Lover_ by Isabel Allende
Narrated by: Joanna Gleason
Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins



============================
"In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family's Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family - like thousands of other Japanese Americans - are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world.

"Decades later, [THIS IS WHERE THE STORY BEGINS] Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco's charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years."
ABOVE IS FROM:
=========================]]> 3.79 2015 The Japanese Lover
author: Isabel Allende
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/16
shelves: salon-overdrive, audio-version, listened-in-my-browser, fiction, fiction-historical, historical-fiction, romance, japanese, japanese-internment, decided-not-to-continue
review:
Added October 15, 2019. (first published May 2015)
_The Japanese Lover_ by Isabel Allende
Narrated by: Joanna Gleason
Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins



============================
"In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family's Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family - like thousands of other Japanese Americans - are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world.

"Decades later, [THIS IS WHERE THE STORY BEGINS] Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco's charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years."
ABOVE IS FROM:
=========================
]]> <![CDATA[True Believer (Make Lemonade, #2)]]> 827987 264 Virginia Euwer Wolff 0689852886 Joy H. 3 _True Believer_ by: Virginia Euwer Wolff
Series: Make Lemonade, Book 2
Narrated by: Heather Alicia Simms
Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
Categories: Teens, Family & Relationships

LONG BUT CUTE. I skipped parts but finally got to the end.
The voice of the narrator sounds like a very young girl.
Her name is LaVaughn (name of the character) and she is 15 years old.
She likes to tell you details of her life, its "ups and downs".
She uses a youthful conversational tone.]]> 3.85 2001 True Believer (Make Lemonade, #2)
author: Virginia Euwer Wolff
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/10/15
shelves: listened-to-entire-audio-book, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, young-adult, fiction
review:
Added September or October 2019 (first published February 1st 2001)
_True Believer_ by: Virginia Euwer Wolff
Series: Make Lemonade, Book 2
Narrated by: Heather Alicia Simms
Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
Categories: Teens, Family & Relationships

LONG BUT CUTE. I skipped parts but finally got to the end.
The voice of the narrator sounds like a very young girl.
Her name is LaVaughn (name of the character) and she is 15 years old.
She likes to tell you details of her life, its "ups and downs".
She uses a youthful conversational tone.
]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Lost Things (Mister Max, #1)]]> 17080054 374 Cynthia Voigt 0307976815 Joy H. 5 _The Book of Lost Things_ (Mister Max #1) by Cynthia Voigt
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins



I'm enjoying this well-told story with an unusual plot which keeps you listening. Twelve year old Max's parents have mysteriously disappeared. He is alone except for his grandmother. What happened to Max's parents? What will Max do?

There are 25 chapters and I'm only on Chapter 7. I hope I can keep my interest up. Sometimes I lose interest when a book is too long.

I fell asleep and missed some chapters but I finally got to the end.
It was a good story.]]> 3.73 2013 The Book of Lost Things (Mister Max, #1)
author: Cynthia Voigt
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/10/14
shelves: salon-overdrive, mystery, young-adult, audio-version, fiction, historical-fiction, adventure, listened-to-entire-audio-book
review:
Added October 13, 2019. (first published August 24, 2013)
_The Book of Lost Things_ (Mister Max #1) by Cynthia Voigt
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins



I'm enjoying this well-told story with an unusual plot which keeps you listening. Twelve year old Max's parents have mysteriously disappeared. He is alone except for his grandmother. What happened to Max's parents? What will Max do?

There are 25 chapters and I'm only on Chapter 7. I hope I can keep my interest up. Sometimes I lose interest when a book is too long.

I fell asleep and missed some chapters but I finally got to the end.
It was a good story.
]]> The Secret Chord 24611425
The Secret Chord provides new context for some of the best-known episodes of David’s life while also focusing on others, even more remarkable and emotionally intense, that have been neglected.Ìę We see David through the eyes of those who love him or fear him—from the prophet Natan, voice of his conscience, to his wives Mikhal, Avigail, and Batsheva, and finally to Solomon, the late-born son who redeems his Lear-like old age. Brooks has an uncanny ability to hear and transform characters from history, and this beautifully written, unvarnished saga of faith, desire, family, ambition, betrayal, and power will enthrall her many fans.]]> 302 Geraldine Brooks 0670025771 Joy H. 0 _The Secret Chord_ by Geraldine Brooks
Published October 6th, 2015 by Viking
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins


Publisher's Summary:
===========================
"A rich and utterly absorbing novel about the life of King David...
Brooks traces the arc of his journey from obscurity to fame, from shepherd to soldier, from hero to traitor, from beloved king to murderous despot and into his remorseful and diminished dotage.

"The Secret Chord provides new context for some of the best-known episodes of David's life while also focusing on others, even more remarkable and emotionally intense, that have been neglected. We see David through the eyes of those who love him or fear him - from the prophet Natan, voice of his conscience; to his wives, Mikhal, Avigail, and Batsheva; and finally to Solomon, the late-born son who redeems his Lear-like old age."
ABOVE IS FROM:
===========================]]> 3.57 2015 The Secret Chord
author: Geraldine Brooks
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/13
shelves: keep-in-mind, historical-fiction, religion, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, audio-version, biblical-fiction, israel, middle-east, fiction
review:
Added October 13, 2019
_The Secret Chord_ by Geraldine Brooks
Published October 6th, 2015 by Viking
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins


Publisher's Summary:
===========================
"A rich and utterly absorbing novel about the life of King David...
Brooks traces the arc of his journey from obscurity to fame, from shepherd to soldier, from hero to traitor, from beloved king to murderous despot and into his remorseful and diminished dotage.

"The Secret Chord provides new context for some of the best-known episodes of David's life while also focusing on others, even more remarkable and emotionally intense, that have been neglected. We see David through the eyes of those who love him or fear him - from the prophet Natan, voice of his conscience; to his wives, Mikhal, Avigail, and Batsheva; and finally to Solomon, the late-born son who redeems his Lear-like old age."
ABOVE IS FROM:
===========================
]]> Tikki Tikki Tembo 551876 Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-
chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo!

Three decades and more than one million copies later children still love hearing about the boy with the long name who fell down the well. Arlene Mosel and Blair Lent's classic re-creation of an ancient Chinese folktale has hooked legions of children, teachers, and parents, who return, generation after generation, to learn about the danger of having such an honorable name as Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo.]]> 48 Arlene Mosel 0312367481 Joy H. 5 by Arlene Mosel
Narrated by: Peter Thomas
Category: Kids, Ages 5-7
Length: 9 mins

This folktale explains why Chinese people no longer choose long names for their children.




Short and sweet. 5 stars out of 5.
(About little boys who fall into a well and have to be rescued.)]]> 4.20 1968 Tikki Tikki Tembo
author: Arlene Mosel
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1968
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/10/13
shelves: listened-to-entire-audio-book, salon-overdrive, juvenile-fiction, folktale, audio-version, listened-in-my-browser, children-s-book, chinese
review:
Added Oct. 13, 2019 (first published 1968)
by Arlene Mosel
Narrated by: Peter Thomas
Category: Kids, Ages 5-7
Length: 9 mins

This folktale explains why Chinese people no longer choose long names for their children.




Short and sweet. 5 stars out of 5.
(About little boys who fall into a well and have to be rescued.)
]]> Educated 35133922
Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.]]> 352 Tara Westover 0399590501 Joy H. 3 Narrated by: Julia Whelan



Publisher's Summary:
"Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home."
ABOVE IS FROM:

BELOW IS FROM THE GOODREADS DESCRIPTION:
"_Educated_ is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it."

COMMENT FROM A GOODREAD MEMBER:
"Where the book does succeed is as a portrait of physical and emotional abuse."
FROM: Emily May's Reviews:
/review/show...

Literary Awards:
Audie Award for Best Female Narrator (2019)
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Biography (2018)
ALA Alex Award (2019)
Wellcome Book Prize Nominee for Longlist (2019)
National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Autobiography (2018)
Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography (2018),
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Nominee for Shortlist (2019)
Reading Women Award for Nonfiction (2018)]]> 4.46 2018 Educated
author: Tara Westover
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/10/12
shelves: non-fiction, autobiography, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, audio-version, award-winner, listened-to-entire-audio-book
review:
Added Oct. 10, 2019 (Published February 20th 2018 by Random House)
Narrated by: Julia Whelan



Publisher's Summary:
"Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home."
ABOVE IS FROM:

BELOW IS FROM THE GOODREADS DESCRIPTION:
"_Educated_ is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it."

COMMENT FROM A GOODREAD MEMBER:
"Where the book does succeed is as a portrait of physical and emotional abuse."
FROM: Emily May's Reviews:
/review/show...

Literary Awards:
Audie Award for Best Female Narrator (2019)
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Biography (2018)
ALA Alex Award (2019)
Wellcome Book Prize Nominee for Longlist (2019)
National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Autobiography (2018)
Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography (2018),
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Nominee for Shortlist (2019)
Reading Women Award for Nonfiction (2018)
]]> Road Trip (Road Trip, #1) 13642646 114 Gary Paulsen 0375990313 Joy H. 4 (first published January 1st 2013)
Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain, John H. Mayer



GOODREADS DESCRIPTION: "Dad and Ben haven't been getting along recently and Dad hopes a road trip to rescue a border collie will help them reconnect. But Ben is on to Dad's plan and invites Ben's thuggish buddy, Theo. The family dog, Atticus, comes along too and the story is told by Ben and Atticus. When their truck breaks down, they commandeer an old school bus, along with its mechanic, Gus. Next, they pick up Mia, a waitress escaping a tense situation. Only sharp-eyed Atticus realizes that Theo is on the run—and someone is following them."

I'm attracted to this story because it's told in a humorous way. The narration is excellent. There's a good deal of natural dialogue which makes interesting listening.

This was a cute story, easy to listen to. The audio version is only 2 hrs and 48 minutes long. I gave it 4 stars out of 5.]]> 3.74 2013 Road Trip (Road Trip, #1)
author: Gary Paulsen
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/10/11
shelves: young-adult, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, fiction, realistic-fiction, dogs, adventure, friendship, audio-version, humor, fiction-contemporary, coming-of-age, listened-to-entire-audio-book
review:
Added Oct. 8, 2019.
(first published January 1st 2013)
Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain, John H. Mayer



GOODREADS DESCRIPTION: "Dad and Ben haven't been getting along recently and Dad hopes a road trip to rescue a border collie will help them reconnect. But Ben is on to Dad's plan and invites Ben's thuggish buddy, Theo. The family dog, Atticus, comes along too and the story is told by Ben and Atticus. When their truck breaks down, they commandeer an old school bus, along with its mechanic, Gus. Next, they pick up Mia, a waitress escaping a tense situation. Only sharp-eyed Atticus realizes that Theo is on the run—and someone is following them."

I'm attracted to this story because it's told in a humorous way. The narration is excellent. There's a good deal of natural dialogue which makes interesting listening.

This was a cute story, easy to listen to. The audio version is only 2 hrs and 48 minutes long. I gave it 4 stars out of 5.
]]> Becoming Mrs. Lewis 39189837 In a most improbable friendship, she found love. In a world where women were silenced, she found her voice.

From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.â€� When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice—and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story—a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.]]> 435 Patti Callahan Henry Joy H. 0
Characters: C.S. Lewis, Joy Davidman

Literary Award: Christy Award Nominee for Historical Romance (2019)

FROM THE GOODREADS DESCRIPTION:
"... an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.â€� When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love."

Nina of my GR group wrote the following at my group: "Reading a very good book, "Becoming Mrs. Lewis," by Callahan. ... Try this as the writing is excellent."

There's a film called "Shadowlands" (1993) with Anthony Hopkins.
DESCRIPTION: "C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned Christian theologian, writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham from the U.S."
Writers: William Nicholson (screenplay), William Nicholson (play)
IMDb LINK: ]]> 4.04 2018 Becoming Mrs. Lewis
author: Patti Callahan Henry
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/10
shelves: keep-in-mind, recommended-by-nina-of-my-group, historical-fiction, romance, adapted-to-film
review:
Added Oct. 10, 2019 (Published October 2nd 2018 by Thomas Nelson)

Characters: C.S. Lewis, Joy Davidman

Literary Award: Christy Award Nominee for Historical Romance (2019)

FROM THE GOODREADS DESCRIPTION:
"... an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.â€� When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love."

Nina of my GR group wrote the following at my group: "Reading a very good book, "Becoming Mrs. Lewis," by Callahan. ... Try this as the writing is excellent."

There's a film called "Shadowlands" (1993) with Anthony Hopkins.
DESCRIPTION: "C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned Christian theologian, writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham from the U.S."
Writers: William Nicholson (screenplay), William Nicholson (play)
IMDb LINK:
]]> Robin 36609155 From New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff, the definitive biography of Robin Williams â€� a compelling portrait of one of America’s most beloved and misunderstood entertainers.

From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture and politics while mixing in personal revelations � all with mercurial, tongue-twisting intensity as he inhabited and shed one character after another with lightning speed.

But as Dave Itzkoff shows in this revelatory biography, Williams’s comic brilliance masked a deep well of conflicting emotions and self-doubt, which he drew upon in his comedy and in celebrated films like Dead Poets Society; Good Morning, Vietnam; The Fisher King; Aladdin; and Mrs. Doubtfire, where he showcased his limitless gift for improvisation to bring to life a wide range of characters. And in Good Will Hunting he gave an intense and controlled performance that revealed the true range of his talent.

Itzkoff also shows how Williams struggled mightily with addiction and depression � topics he discussed openly while performing and during interviews � and with a debilitating condition at the end of his life that affected him in ways his fans never knew. Drawing on more than a hundred original interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, as well as extensive archival research, Robin is a fresh and original look at a man whose work touched so many lives.]]> 527 Dave Itzkoff 1627794255 Joy H. 0 Sept, 30, 2019 - began listening
Published May 15th 2018 by Henry Holt and Co.
Narrated by: Fred Berman

"From New York Timesculture reporter Dave Itzkoff, the definitive biography of Robin Williams â€� a compelling portrait of one of America’s most beloved and misunderstood entertainers."

I listened partially to this audio-book.]]> 4.10 2018 Robin
author: Dave Itzkoff
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/09
shelves: biography, non-fiction, listened-in-my-browser, crandall-library-loan, overdrive, audio-version, memoir, celebrity, comedian, salon-overdrive, listened-partially
review:
Added Sept. 26, 2018 [Biography of Robin Williams]
Sept, 30, 2019 - began listening
Published May 15th 2018 by Henry Holt and Co.
Narrated by: Fred Berman

"From New York Timesculture reporter Dave Itzkoff, the definitive biography of Robin Williams â€� a compelling portrait of one of America’s most beloved and misunderstood entertainers."

I listened partially to this audio-book.
]]> Belzhar 20821376
She certainly wouldn’t be at The WoodenÌęBarn, a therapeutic boarding school in ruralÌęVermont, living with a weird roommate, andÌęsigned up for an exclusive, mysterious classÌęcalled Special Topics in English.

But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead.

Until a journal-writing assignment leads JamÌęto Belzhar, where the untainted past is restored,Ìęand Jam can feel Reeve’s arms aroundÌęher once again. But there are hidden truths onÌęJam’s path to reclaim her loss.

From New York Times bestselling author MegÌęWolitzer comes a breathtaking and surprisingÌęstory about first love, deep sorrow, and theÌępower of acceptance.]]> 264 Meg Wolitzer 0525423052 Joy H. 2 First published January 1st 2014.
Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie

The book is called "Belzhar" (pronounced BEL-jhar in homage to Plath's “The Bell Jarâ€�).
An "elderly teacher assigns just one book a semester. This time, it’s Sylvia Plath’s 'The Bell Jar.' â€�
FROM:
============================
“Belzhar,â€� ... is narrated by 15-year-old Jam Gallahue [Jamaica* “Jamâ€� Gallahue]. For almost a year, she has been inconsolable over the death of her boyfriend, Reeve, an English exchange student. When the story opens, Jam has just arrived the Wooden Barn, a boarding school in rural Vermont that’s “sort of a halfway house between a hospital and a regular school. It’s like a big lily pad where you can linger before you have to make the frog-leap back to ordinary life.â€�

"The school eschews drugs for treating depression or other mental illnesses. Internet and cellphones are banned. Instead, Jam and four other students are subjected to what might be called the Plath Method. They’re chosen for a class called Special Topics in English, whose elderly teacher assigns just one book a semester. This time, it’s Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar.â€� She also gives each student a red leather journal. Their homework: Read Plath’s novel and write in the journal twice a week." ... "“Belzharâ€� finally demonstrates the power of words to heal."
ABOVE IS FROM A REVIEW AT:
=============================

*FOR STORY DETAILS SEE THE STUDY GUIDE AT:

and


[spoilers removed]]]> 3.46 2014 Belzhar
author: Meg Wolitzer
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2019/10/09
shelves: young-adult, fiction, magical-realism, fantasy, contemporary, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, audio-version, paranormal, boarding-school, mental-health, mental-illness, depression, mystery, coming-of-age, sylvia-plate, grief, disappointing-ending, finished-listening-to-it
review:
Added 9/9/19.
First published January 1st 2014.
Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie

The book is called "Belzhar" (pronounced BEL-jhar in homage to Plath's “The Bell Jarâ€�).
An "elderly teacher assigns just one book a semester. This time, it’s Sylvia Plath’s 'The Bell Jar.' â€�
FROM:
============================
“Belzhar,â€� ... is narrated by 15-year-old Jam Gallahue [Jamaica* “Jamâ€� Gallahue]. For almost a year, she has been inconsolable over the death of her boyfriend, Reeve, an English exchange student. When the story opens, Jam has just arrived the Wooden Barn, a boarding school in rural Vermont that’s “sort of a halfway house between a hospital and a regular school. It’s like a big lily pad where you can linger before you have to make the frog-leap back to ordinary life.â€�

"The school eschews drugs for treating depression or other mental illnesses. Internet and cellphones are banned. Instead, Jam and four other students are subjected to what might be called the Plath Method. They’re chosen for a class called Special Topics in English, whose elderly teacher assigns just one book a semester. This time, it’s Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar.â€� She also gives each student a red leather journal. Their homework: Read Plath’s novel and write in the journal twice a week." ... "“Belzharâ€� finally demonstrates the power of words to heal."
ABOVE IS FROM A REVIEW AT:
=============================

*FOR STORY DETAILS SEE THE STUDY GUIDE AT:

and


[spoilers removed]
]]> Stella Bain 17333237
When an American woman, Stella Bain, is found suffering from severe shell shock in an exclusive garden in London, surgeon August Bridge and his wife selflessly agree to take her in.

A gesture of goodwill turns into something more as Bridge quickly develops a clinical interest in his houseguest. Stella had been working as a nurse's aide near the front, but she can't remember anything prior to four months earlier when she was found wounded on a French battlefield.

In a narrative that takes us from London to America and back again, Shreve has created an engrossing and wrenching tale about love and the meaning of memory, set against the haunting backdrop of a war that destroyed an entire generation.]]> 272 Anita Shreve 0316098868 Joy H. 0 Narrated by: Hope Davis



DESCRIPTION: "When an American woman, Stella Bain, is found suffering from severe shell shock in an exclusive garden in London, residents August Bridge and his wife selflessly agree to take her in."

Stella Bain is a VAD nurse. (VAD = Voluntary Aid Detachment). "The VAD was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units were during World War I and World War II."
FROM WIKI:

The "Harvard Crimson" really panned this book. (_Stella Bain_ by Anita Shreve.)
You can read the article at the link below:

Also see my comments about this underneath my own review.]]> 3.43 2013 Stella Bain
author: Anita Shreve
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/09
shelves: salon-overdrive, audio-version, fiction, historical-fiction, ww1, romance, shell-shocked, british, england, amnesia, abuse, drama, listened-in-my-browser, listened-partially
review:
Added Oct. 3, 2019 (first published January 1st 2013)
Narrated by: Hope Davis



DESCRIPTION: "When an American woman, Stella Bain, is found suffering from severe shell shock in an exclusive garden in London, residents August Bridge and his wife selflessly agree to take her in."

Stella Bain is a VAD nurse. (VAD = Voluntary Aid Detachment). "The VAD was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units were during World War I and World War II."
FROM WIKI:

The "Harvard Crimson" really panned this book. (_Stella Bain_ by Anita Shreve.)
You can read the article at the link below:

Also see my comments about this underneath my own review.
]]> <![CDATA[Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child]]> 13531538
Now, in Bob Spitz’s definitive, wonderfully affectionate biography, the Julia we know and love comes vividly â€� and surprisingly â€� to life.Ìę In Dearie , Spitz employs the same skill he brought to his best-selling, critically acclaimed book The Beatles , providing a clear-eyed portrait of one of the most fascinating and influential Americans of our time â€� a woman known to all, yet known by only a few.

At its heart, Dearie is a story about a woman’s search for her own unique expression.Ìę Julia Child was a directionless, gawky young woman who ran off halfway around the world to join a spy agency during World War II.Ìę She eventually settled in Paris, where she learned to cook and collaborated on the writing of what would become Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a book that changed the food culture of America.ÌęÌę She was already fifty when The French Chef went on the air â€� Ìęat a time in our history when women weren’t making those leaps.Ìę Julia became the first educational TV star, virtually launching PBS as we know it today; her marriage to Paul Child formed a decades-long love story that was romantic, touching, and quite extraordinary.

A fearless, ambitious, supremely confident woman, Julia took on all the pretensions that embellished tony French cuisine and fricasseed them to a fare-thee-well, paving the way for everything that has happened since in American cooking, from TV dinners and Big Macs to sea urchin foam and the Food Channel.Ìę Julia Child’s story, however, is more than the tale of a talented woman and her sumptuous craft.Ìę It is also a saga of America’s coming of age and growing sophistication, from the Depression Era to the turbulent sixties and the excesses of the eighties to the greening of the American kitchen.Ìę Julia had an effect on and was equally affected by the baby boom, the sexual revolution, and the start of the women’s liberation movement.

On the centenary of her birth, Julia finally gets the biography she richly deserves.Ìę An in-depth, intimate narrative, full of fresh information and insights, Dearie is an entertaining, all-out adventure story of one of our most fascinating and beloved figures.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 1008 Bob Spitz 0307990834 Joy H. 0 (first published August 7th 2012)
Literary Awards:
Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award Nominee for History & Biography (2012)

This book has drawn me in from the very beginning. The description of Julia Child and her personality is interesting and amusing. How she got her start is interesting as well.

I hope I will continue to enjoy this non-fiction book.

I remember the film version starring Meryl Streep. It, too, was very entertaining.
The film was called: "Julie & Julia" (2009).
"Julia Child's story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book."

Stars: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina, Stanley Tucci ...
SEE:

TO READ A PREVIEW, CLICK ON THE WORD "Preview" at the book's Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ description page.]]> 3.85 2012 Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child
author: Bob Spitz
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/09
shelves: salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, non-fiction, biography, memoir, food, history, celebrity, audio-version, cooking, cookbooks, women, film-also-made, listened-partially
review:
Added Sept. 28, 2019
(first published August 7th 2012)
Literary Awards:
Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award Nominee for History & Biography (2012)

This book has drawn me in from the very beginning. The description of Julia Child and her personality is interesting and amusing. How she got her start is interesting as well.

I hope I will continue to enjoy this non-fiction book.

I remember the film version starring Meryl Streep. It, too, was very entertaining.
The film was called: "Julie & Julia" (2009).
"Julia Child's story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book."

Stars: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina, Stanley Tucci ...
SEE:

TO READ A PREVIEW, CLICK ON THE WORD "Preview" at the book's Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ description page.
]]> The Library of Lost and Found 39873227
All of that changes when a book of fairy tales arrives on her doorstep. Inside, Martha finds a dedication written to her by her best friend - her grandmother Zelda - who died under mysterious circumstances years earlier. When Martha discovers a clue within the book that her grandmother may still be alive, she becomes determined to discover the truth. As she delves deeper into Zelda's past, she unwittingly reveals a family secret that will change her life forever.

Filled with Phaedra Patrick's signature charm and vivid characters, The Library of Lost and Found is a heartwarming and poignant tale of how one woman must take control of her destiny to write her own happy ending.]]> 352 Phaedra Patrick 0778369358 Joy H. 0 Published March 26th 2019 by Park Row
Narrated by: Imogen Church



AUDIBLE.COM:


SHORT DESCRIPTION: Martha finds a book dedication written to her by her grandmother Zelda, who died under mysterious circumstances years earlier. When Martha discovers a clue within the book that her grandmother may still be alive, she becomes determined to discover the truth.

This book seems very promising. I'm at the beginning (on 10/1/19).
I hope it doesn't disappoint me.

October 2, 2019 - I'm at Chapter 9 of this book and it's very engaging. However, the book has 38 chapters and that seems much too long. I guess I'll keep listening but it's beginning to seem rather drawn out.]]> 3.66 2019 The Library of Lost and Found
author: Phaedra Patrick
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/09
shelves: fiction-contemporary, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, mystery, audio-version, british, about-books, book-related, listened-partially
review:
Added October 1, 2019
Published March 26th 2019 by Park Row
Narrated by: Imogen Church



AUDIBLE.COM:


SHORT DESCRIPTION: Martha finds a book dedication written to her by her grandmother Zelda, who died under mysterious circumstances years earlier. When Martha discovers a clue within the book that her grandmother may still be alive, she becomes determined to discover the truth.

This book seems very promising. I'm at the beginning (on 10/1/19).
I hope it doesn't disappoint me.

October 2, 2019 - I'm at Chapter 9 of this book and it's very engaging. However, the book has 38 chapters and that seems much too long. I guess I'll keep listening but it's beginning to seem rather drawn out.
]]> The Friend 40164365
When a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by the inexplicable disappearance of its master, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building.

While others worry that grief has made her a victim of magical thinking, the woman refuses to be separated from the dog except for brief periods of time. Isolated from the rest of the world, increasingly obsessed with the dog's care, determined to read its mind and fathom its heart, she comes dangerously close to unraveling. But while troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards lie in store for both of them.

Elegiac and searching, The Friend is both a meditation on loss and a celebration of human-canine devotion.]]> 212 Sigrid Nunez 0735219451 Joy H. 0 3.72 2018 The Friend
author: Sigrid Nunez
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/08
shelves: keep-in-mind, selection-of-the-constnt-rder-group
review:
The group Constant Reader will start reading The Friend on Tuesday, October 15, 2019.
]]> The Red Notebook 31363984 240 Antoine Laurain 1908313870 Joy H. 5 Set in France and translated from French.

The title attracted me.
On 7/11/18, I was despairing that I'd never find another good book. I was wrong.
I'm glad that I didn't give up searching. It's hard to find a book that doesn't center around crime or murder. It pays to keep on searching!

I loved this book and read it in one afternoon (7/11/18)!

I can't say enough good things about this book! It's one of the best I've ever read.

I didn't know much about it before I read it and I'm glad I didn't. It was that much more of a gift.

I'm going to look for more books by this author. He seems very clever and droll.

8/3/18 - PS - After reading this book as an ebook, I tried listening to it as an audio book. I've discovered that I enjoyed reading the book much more than I did listening to it.
I believe that's because, when I read, I understand more and am able to digest more of what I'm reading.]]> 3.78 2014 The Red Notebook
author: Antoine Laurain
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/11
date added: 2019/10/08
shelves: e-book, crandall-library-loan, romance, fiction, fiction-contemporary, paris-setting, good-read, light-hearted, light-reading, clever, favorite-book
review:
Added 7/11/18. (first published March 5th 2014)
Set in France and translated from French.

The title attracted me.
On 7/11/18, I was despairing that I'd never find another good book. I was wrong.
I'm glad that I didn't give up searching. It's hard to find a book that doesn't center around crime or murder. It pays to keep on searching!

I loved this book and read it in one afternoon (7/11/18)!

I can't say enough good things about this book! It's one of the best I've ever read.

I didn't know much about it before I read it and I'm glad I didn't. It was that much more of a gift.

I'm going to look for more books by this author. He seems very clever and droll.

8/3/18 - PS - After reading this book as an ebook, I tried listening to it as an audio book. I've discovered that I enjoyed reading the book much more than I did listening to it.
I believe that's because, when I read, I understand more and am able to digest more of what I'm reading.
]]> Truth & Beauty 3686 Autobiography of a Face, she wrote about losing part of her jaw to childhood cancer, years of chemotherapy and radiation, and endless reconstructive surgeries. In Truth and Beauty, the story isn’t Lucy’s life or Ann’s life but the parts of their lives they shared. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans twenty years, from the long winters of the Midwest to surgical wards to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this is what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined--and what happens when one is left behind.]]> 257 Ann Patchett 0060572159 Joy H. 0 NON FICTION-AUTOBIOGRAPY-MEMOIR
(first published May 1st 2004)
Narrated by: Ann Patchett



AUDIBLE.COM:
===================================
Publisher's Summary:
"The author of Bel Canto, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize, and long-running New York Times best seller, turns to nonfiction in a moving chronicle of her decades-long friendship with the critically acclaimed and recently deceased author, Lucy Grealy.

"What happens when the person who is your family is someone you aren't bound to by blood? What happens when that person is not your lover, but your best friend? In her frank and startlingly intimate first work of nonfiction, Truth & Beauty, Ann Patchett shines light on the little-explored world of women's friendships and shows us what it means to stand together.

"Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met in college in 1981, and after enrolling in the Iowa Writer's Workshop began a friendship that would be as defining to both of their lives as their work. In her critically acclaimed memoir, Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy wrote about the first half of her life. In Truth & Beauty, the story isn't Lucy's life or Ann's life but the parts of their lives they shared together. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans 20 years, from the long cold winters of the Midwest to surgical wards to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this is what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined.

"This is a tender, brutal book about loving the person we cannot save. It is about loyalty and about being lifted up by the sheer effervescence of someone who knew how to live life to the fullest."

FROM: AUDIBLE.COM-
=================================
]]> 3.97 2004 Truth & Beauty
author: Ann Patchett
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/05
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, audio-version, autobiography, memoir, non-fiction, friendship
review:
Added 10/5/19
NON FICTION-AUTOBIOGRAPY-MEMOIR
(first published May 1st 2004)
Narrated by: Ann Patchett



AUDIBLE.COM:
===================================
Publisher's Summary:
"The author of Bel Canto, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize, and long-running New York Times best seller, turns to nonfiction in a moving chronicle of her decades-long friendship with the critically acclaimed and recently deceased author, Lucy Grealy.

"What happens when the person who is your family is someone you aren't bound to by blood? What happens when that person is not your lover, but your best friend? In her frank and startlingly intimate first work of nonfiction, Truth & Beauty, Ann Patchett shines light on the little-explored world of women's friendships and shows us what it means to stand together.

"Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met in college in 1981, and after enrolling in the Iowa Writer's Workshop began a friendship that would be as defining to both of their lives as their work. In her critically acclaimed memoir, Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy wrote about the first half of her life. In Truth & Beauty, the story isn't Lucy's life or Ann's life but the parts of their lives they shared together. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans 20 years, from the long cold winters of the Midwest to surgical wards to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this is what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined.

"This is a tender, brutal book about loving the person we cannot save. It is about loyalty and about being lifted up by the sheer effervescence of someone who knew how to live life to the fullest."

FROM: AUDIBLE.COM-
=================================

]]> The Hotel Riviera 750106 American Lola Laforet is swept away in a whirlwind wedding to a handsome Frenchman and finds herself the chef/owner of the Hotel Riviera, a gemlike retreat snuggled up against the blue Mediterranean. In their first blissful year as newlyweds, her life seems to be a dream come true. But then charming Patrick Laforet disappears one day with nothing more than a wave goodbye...

...until real romance beckoned on France's Cote d'Azur!
Six months later, Jack Ferrar, an American expatriate living on his boat, drops anchor in Lola's harbor and teaches her the true meaning of attraction. Lola is very attracted yet wary. Is he another rogue, or a man to be trusted? When various shady people-all claiming ownership of the Hotel Riviera-and the police appear, Lola and Jack have to track down the mysterious Patrick. And along the way, they fall in love. With great food, wonderful sensuality, and lush scenery, Elizabeth Adler holds you under her spell and transports you to one of the most romantic places on earth.]]> 336 Elizabeth Adler 0312994796 Joy H. 0 (first published 2003)
Narrated by Carrington MacDuffie.

This book started out very nicely and I was enjoying it, but after a good while the story became darker and I decided it wasn't for me. So I decided not to continue.

SEE SUMMARY AT:

AND
]]> 3.59 2003 The Hotel Riviera
author: Elizabeth Adler
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/30
shelves: decided-not-to-continue, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, romance, fiction, mystery, contemporary, audio-version
review:
Added September 2019.
(first published 2003)
Narrated by Carrington MacDuffie.

This book started out very nicely and I was enjoying it, but after a good while the story became darker and I decided it wasn't for me. So I decided not to continue.

SEE SUMMARY AT:

AND

]]> <![CDATA[The New Girl (Gabriel Allon, #19)]]> 42791437
She was covered from head to toe in expensive wool and plaid, the sort of stuff one saw at the Burberry boutique in Harrods. She carried a leather bookbag rather than a nylon backpack. Her patent leather ballet slippers were glossy and bright. She was proper, the new girl, modest. But there was something else about her �

At an exclusive private school in Switzerland, mystery surrounds the identity of the beautiful raven-haired girl who arrives each morning in a motorcade fit for a head of state. She is said to be the daughter of a wealthy international businessman. In truth, her father is Khalid bin Mohammed, the much-maligned crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Once celebrated for his daring social and religious reforms, he is now reviled for his role in the murder of a dissident journalist. And when his only child is brutally kidnapped, he turns to the one man he can trust to find her before it is too late.

What’s done cannot be undone â€�

Gabriel Allon, the legendary chief of Israeli intelligence, has spent most of his life fighting terrorists, including the murderous jihadists financed by Saudi Arabia. Prince Khalid—or KBM, as he is known—has pledged to finally break the bond between the Kingdom and radical Islam. For that reason alone, Gabriel regards him as a valuable if flawed partner. Together they will become unlikely allies in a deadly secret war for control of the Middle East. The life of a child, and the throne of Saudi Arabia, hang in the balance. Both men have made their share of enemies. And both have everything to lose.

Filled with dark humor, breathtaking twists of plot, and an unforgettable cast of characters, The New Girl is both a thrilling, page-turning tale of entertainment and a sophisticated study of political alliances and great-power rivalries in a dangerous world. And it is once again proof that Gabriel Allon is “one of fiction’s greatest spiesâ€� (Kirkus) and Daniel Silva is “quite simply the bestâ€� (Kansas City Star) writer of foreign intrigue and suspense at work today.]]> 458 Daniel Silva Joy H. 0 decided-not-to-continue 4.29 2019 The New Girl (Gabriel Allon, #19)
author: Daniel Silva
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/27
shelves: decided-not-to-continue
review:

]]> Lamb in His Bosom 267478
Caroline Miller was fascinated by the other Old South—not the romantic inhabitants of Gone With the Wind, but rather the poor people of the south Georgia backwoods, who never owned a slave or planned to fight a war. The story of Cean and Lonzo, a young couple who begin their married lives two decades before the Civil War, Lamb in His Bosom is a fascinating account of social customs and material realities among settlers of the Georgia frontier. At the same time, Lamb in His Bosom transcends regional history as Miller's quietly lyrical prose style pays poignant tribute to a woman's life lived close to nature—the nature outside her and the nature within.]]> 357 Caroline Miller 156145074X Joy H. 0 keep-in-mind 3.83 1933 Lamb in His Bosom
author: Caroline Miller
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1933
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/24
shelves: keep-in-mind
review:
The group Constant Reader will start reading Lamb in His Bosom on Tuesday, October 01, 2019.
]]> Cutting for Stone 3591262
Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother’s death in childbirth and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Yet it will be love, not politics—their passion for the same woman—that will tear them apart and force Marion, fresh out of medical school, to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as an intern at an underfunded, overcrowded New York City hospital. When the past catches up to him—nearly destroying him—Marion must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him.

An unforgettable journey into one man’s remarkable life, and an epic story about the power, intimacy, and curious beauty of the work of healing others.
(front flap)]]> 560 Abraham Verghese 0375414495 Joy H. 5 Added 4/13/11:
NOTE ABOUT THE TITLE: For an explanation of the title of this book, see the end of this review.

4/13/11: I recently read a sample of this book at:
and now I can't wait to read the rest of it.

5/12/11: The book has finally come in at the library. What a wonderful writer Verghese is! The lyricism of his writing is compelling. I'm up to Chapter 5. The map in the book helps a lot since I'm not very familiar with that part of the world [Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), Yemen (Aden), Red Sea area, Madras, Indian Ocean, etc.] It's satisfying to increase my knowledge of geography at the same time that I'm enjoying a good story.

6/10/11 : I finished this book around June 10. It was such wonderful read that I hated to see it end. The story got better and better as as the reading progressed. The ending was compelling! I recommend this book highly.

I wish I had read this book when our library group read it. However, the title didn't appeal to me. Cutting for Stone? That doesn't seem interesting! "What does that mean?", I asked myself! Now I know, thanks to GR friend (Margaret) who explained it to me. See explanation of the title at end of this review.

One of my group members, Margaret, has written some good comments, as usual. Excerpts from her review:
======================================
" Part family saga, part fictionalized memoir, part bildungsroman..."
"Taking its title from a mandate in the Hippocratic Oath, the book tells the story of Marion Stone, a conjoined twin disjoined at birth from his brother Shiva, from his childhood on the grounds of a struggling charity hospital in Addis Ababa, through his flight from Ethiopia during the 1974 revolution, his medical studies in American, his search for the father he never knew, and his quest for a sense of self. Verghese’s style often seems to be tugging at its moorings in the direction of magic realism but never actually goes there, always circling back with a sort of rueful joy to the awareness that the only magic there is, and perhaps the only kind we need, lies in the circumstances and relationships life offers us and what we choose to do with them. Luminous, vivid, and so filled with compassion for humanity that the book almost glows in your hands - there was a point towards the end that I had to stop reading because I was crying too hard to see the words on the page â€� this is a beautiful and beautifully written personal exploration not only of what it means to be a surgeon, but what it means to be a brother, a son, a father, a man. Really special.
NOTE: The book features a number of highly detailed descriptions of surgical procedures, and though Verghese is careful to maintain a cool, practical tone at these moments to keep from freaking out the lay-person, they are nevertheless extremely graphic and may be challenging for the squeamish!"
ABOVE IS FROM the GR review at:

====================================================

Here is a SHORT SUMMARY of the story, but it's a spoiler for part of the story: [spoilers removed]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND HIS WRITING TALENT, FROM A REVIEW ONLINE: "It is no coincidence that Verghese was born and raised in Addis Ababa to Indian parents around the same time as his protagonist. Verghese’s own biography closely reflects that of the protagonist twins in his novel. ... There is no doubt about it; Verghese is a lyricist whose way with words rivals his mastery of the scalpel—though I cannot attest to this as I have never had the opportunity to be operated on by him. Indeed, he is a prose poet whose manipulation of words makes every minutia an event of Biblical and lyrical proportions. It is the sanctity of his syntax, the deliberate and precise choice of words and their order in the sentences in which they appear that sets his novel apart, forcing even the least interested reader to continue turning pages, trancelike and mystified. Simple sentences ... are rendered at once wholesome and cavernous by the depth and simplicity of his language."
-Chloe Malle at Tadias Magazine at: (A very interesting article!)

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR: "Abraham Verghese is a surgeon and a writer, but most importantly for me, he’s a teacher. He does in fact work as a Professor at Stanford Medical School, but I’m referring to the teaching he does in his book." -FROM another great article online.
See more at:

EXPLANATION OF THE TITLE:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Verghese, explaining his title in an interview�
“There is a line in the Hippocratic Oath that says: ‘I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest.â€� It stems from the days when bladder stones were epidemic, a cause of great suffering, probably from bad water and who knows what else. [
] There were itinerant stonecutters—lithologists—who could cut either into the bladder or the perineum and get the stone out, but because they cleaned the knife by wiping it on their blood-stiffened surgical aprons, patients usually died of infection the next day. Hence the proscription ‘Thou shall not cut for stone.â€� [
] It isn’t just that the main characters have the surname Stone; I was hoping the phrase would resonate for the reader just as it does for me, and that it would have several levels of meaning in the context of the narrative.â€�
FROM:
(See this quote in the ADDENDUM near the bottom of the above web page.)
PS-The above link doesn't seem to work anymore. Instead, see:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ALSO SEE REVIEW & DISCUSSION AT:

"... sheep grazed under the eye of a boy who sat polishing his teeth with a twig, his staff near by. He squinted at Matron and Ghosh and then waved. Just like in the days of David, he carried a slingshot. It was a goatherd like him, centuries before, who had noticed how frisky his animals became after chewing a particuar red berry. From that serendipitous discovery, the coffee habit and trade spread to Yemen, Amsterdam, the Caribbean, South America, and the world, but it had all begun in Ethiopia, in a field like this."
FROM _CUTTING FOR STONE_ by Abraham Verghese - CHAPTER 12 - [SEPT 13, 2019-SALON-LISTENING IN BROWSER.]]]> 4.32 2009 Cutting for Stone
author: Abraham Verghese
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2011/06/10
date added: 2019/09/13
shelves: fiction, selection-of-library-bk-group, sampled-at-my-ebooks, e-book-google, medical-content
review:
_Cutting for Stone_ by Abraham Verghese (first published 2009)
Added 4/13/11:
NOTE ABOUT THE TITLE: For an explanation of the title of this book, see the end of this review.

4/13/11: I recently read a sample of this book at:
and now I can't wait to read the rest of it.

5/12/11: The book has finally come in at the library. What a wonderful writer Verghese is! The lyricism of his writing is compelling. I'm up to Chapter 5. The map in the book helps a lot since I'm not very familiar with that part of the world [Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), Yemen (Aden), Red Sea area, Madras, Indian Ocean, etc.] It's satisfying to increase my knowledge of geography at the same time that I'm enjoying a good story.

6/10/11 : I finished this book around June 10. It was such wonderful read that I hated to see it end. The story got better and better as as the reading progressed. The ending was compelling! I recommend this book highly.

I wish I had read this book when our library group read it. However, the title didn't appeal to me. Cutting for Stone? That doesn't seem interesting! "What does that mean?", I asked myself! Now I know, thanks to GR friend (Margaret) who explained it to me. See explanation of the title at end of this review.

One of my group members, Margaret, has written some good comments, as usual. Excerpts from her review:
======================================
" Part family saga, part fictionalized memoir, part bildungsroman..."
"Taking its title from a mandate in the Hippocratic Oath, the book tells the story of Marion Stone, a conjoined twin disjoined at birth from his brother Shiva, from his childhood on the grounds of a struggling charity hospital in Addis Ababa, through his flight from Ethiopia during the 1974 revolution, his medical studies in American, his search for the father he never knew, and his quest for a sense of self. Verghese’s style often seems to be tugging at its moorings in the direction of magic realism but never actually goes there, always circling back with a sort of rueful joy to the awareness that the only magic there is, and perhaps the only kind we need, lies in the circumstances and relationships life offers us and what we choose to do with them. Luminous, vivid, and so filled with compassion for humanity that the book almost glows in your hands - there was a point towards the end that I had to stop reading because I was crying too hard to see the words on the page â€� this is a beautiful and beautifully written personal exploration not only of what it means to be a surgeon, but what it means to be a brother, a son, a father, a man. Really special.
NOTE: The book features a number of highly detailed descriptions of surgical procedures, and though Verghese is careful to maintain a cool, practical tone at these moments to keep from freaking out the lay-person, they are nevertheless extremely graphic and may be challenging for the squeamish!"
ABOVE IS FROM the GR review at:

====================================================

Here is a SHORT SUMMARY of the story, but it's a spoiler for part of the story: [spoilers removed]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND HIS WRITING TALENT, FROM A REVIEW ONLINE: "It is no coincidence that Verghese was born and raised in Addis Ababa to Indian parents around the same time as his protagonist. Verghese’s own biography closely reflects that of the protagonist twins in his novel. ... There is no doubt about it; Verghese is a lyricist whose way with words rivals his mastery of the scalpel—though I cannot attest to this as I have never had the opportunity to be operated on by him. Indeed, he is a prose poet whose manipulation of words makes every minutia an event of Biblical and lyrical proportions. It is the sanctity of his syntax, the deliberate and precise choice of words and their order in the sentences in which they appear that sets his novel apart, forcing even the least interested reader to continue turning pages, trancelike and mystified. Simple sentences ... are rendered at once wholesome and cavernous by the depth and simplicity of his language."
-Chloe Malle at Tadias Magazine at: (A very interesting article!)

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR: "Abraham Verghese is a surgeon and a writer, but most importantly for me, he’s a teacher. He does in fact work as a Professor at Stanford Medical School, but I’m referring to the teaching he does in his book." -FROM another great article online.
See more at:

EXPLANATION OF THE TITLE:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Verghese, explaining his title in an interview�
“There is a line in the Hippocratic Oath that says: ‘I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest.â€� It stems from the days when bladder stones were epidemic, a cause of great suffering, probably from bad water and who knows what else. [
] There were itinerant stonecutters—lithologists—who could cut either into the bladder or the perineum and get the stone out, but because they cleaned the knife by wiping it on their blood-stiffened surgical aprons, patients usually died of infection the next day. Hence the proscription ‘Thou shall not cut for stone.â€� [
] It isn’t just that the main characters have the surname Stone; I was hoping the phrase would resonate for the reader just as it does for me, and that it would have several levels of meaning in the context of the narrative.â€�
FROM:
(See this quote in the ADDENDUM near the bottom of the above web page.)
PS-The above link doesn't seem to work anymore. Instead, see:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ALSO SEE REVIEW & DISCUSSION AT:

"... sheep grazed under the eye of a boy who sat polishing his teeth with a twig, his staff near by. He squinted at Matron and Ghosh and then waved. Just like in the days of David, he carried a slingshot. It was a goatherd like him, centuries before, who had noticed how frisky his animals became after chewing a particuar red berry. From that serendipitous discovery, the coffee habit and trade spread to Yemen, Amsterdam, the Caribbean, South America, and the world, but it had all begun in Ethiopia, in a field like this."
FROM _CUTTING FOR STONE_ by Abraham Verghese - CHAPTER 12 - [SEPT 13, 2019-SALON-LISTENING IN BROWSER.]
]]> <![CDATA[Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet]]> 22792008 234 Clifford Garstang 1941209114 Joy H. 0 keep-in-mind, short-stories Published October 1st 2014 by Press 53

CONTAINS A STORY BY Rochelle Distelheim.

Years ago I found a wonderful poem by Rochelle Distelheim.
See it below:
======================
NO MUSE IS GOOD MUSE
-by Rochelle Distelheim
To be an Artist you need talent, as well as a wife
who washes the socks and the children,
and returns phone calls and library books and types.
In other words, the reason there are so many more
Men Geniuses than Women Geniuses is not Genius.
It is because Hemingway never joined the P.T.A.
And Arthur Rubinstein ignored Halloween.
Do you think Portnoy's creator sits through children's theater
matinees--on Saturdays?
Or that Norman Mailer faced 'driver's ed' failure,
chicken pox or chipped teeth?
Fitzgerald's night was so tender because the fender
his teen-ager dented happened when Papa was at a story conference.
Since Picasso does the painting, Mrs. Picasso did the toilet training.
And if Saul Bellow, National Book Award winner, invited thirty-three
for Thanksgiving Day dinner, I'll bet he had help.
I'm sure Henry Moore was never a Cub Scout leader,
and Leonard Bernstein never instructed a tricycler
On becoming a bicycler just before he conducted.
Tell me again my anatomy is not necessarily my destiny,
tell me my hang-up is a personal and not a universal quandary,
and I'll tell you no muse is a good muse
unless she also helps with the laundry.
-Rochelle Distelheim
============================
I wish I knew which magazine the poem was in. It might have
been "Redbook", but I'm not sure. [posted at aq july 2001]
============================]]> 4.39 2014 Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet
author: Clifford Garstang
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/11
shelves: keep-in-mind, short-stories
review:
Added 9/11/19.
Published October 1st 2014 by Press 53

CONTAINS A STORY BY Rochelle Distelheim.

Years ago I found a wonderful poem by Rochelle Distelheim.
See it below:
======================
NO MUSE IS GOOD MUSE
-by Rochelle Distelheim
To be an Artist you need talent, as well as a wife
who washes the socks and the children,
and returns phone calls and library books and types.
In other words, the reason there are so many more
Men Geniuses than Women Geniuses is not Genius.
It is because Hemingway never joined the P.T.A.
And Arthur Rubinstein ignored Halloween.
Do you think Portnoy's creator sits through children's theater
matinees--on Saturdays?
Or that Norman Mailer faced 'driver's ed' failure,
chicken pox or chipped teeth?
Fitzgerald's night was so tender because the fender
his teen-ager dented happened when Papa was at a story conference.
Since Picasso does the painting, Mrs. Picasso did the toilet training.
And if Saul Bellow, National Book Award winner, invited thirty-three
for Thanksgiving Day dinner, I'll bet he had help.
I'm sure Henry Moore was never a Cub Scout leader,
and Leonard Bernstein never instructed a tricycler
On becoming a bicycler just before he conducted.
Tell me again my anatomy is not necessarily my destiny,
tell me my hang-up is a personal and not a universal quandary,
and I'll tell you no muse is a good muse
unless she also helps with the laundry.
-Rochelle Distelheim
============================
I wish I knew which magazine the poem was in. It might have
been "Redbook", but I'm not sure. [posted at aq july 2001]
============================
]]> Sadie in Love 39022444
Sadie Schuster -- fortyish, plumpish, a suffragette, and recently widowed -- spends more time now talking to her late husband, Fivel, than when he was alive. Sadie keeps Fivel informed of her daily activities -- especially her pursuit of a husband -- because "An empty bed is a cold place for a hot-blooded woman." A lover of ballroom dancing, the moving pictures, and night school English words, Sadie's true talent lies in the magic love knots she artfully crafts for lonely, unwitting, immigrants willing to purchase hope wrapped in a schmattah for fifty cents.

Selling love knots while seeking love, Sadie consults with her magic spirits to woo Herschel -- the muscled ice peddler who reads poetry and pines for his newly departed wife. Her daughter, Yivvy, sells secondhand, possibly "pinched" tchotchkes in her antique shop and plans to marry the Irish cop on the beat. Enter, Ike Tabatnik, the "Dance King of Riga, Latvia," just off the boat and ready to take on America -- and Sadie's heartstrings. Comedy and chaos follow.

A stunning confession, following the wedding of one of her love knot clients -- which begins with one groom and ends with another -- pushes Sadie to make a surprising choice. She then throws herself at the mercy of her magic spirits, asking them to do quickly for her what they have been doing for her customers -- before it's too late.]]> 222 Rochelle Distelheim 0984549412 Joy H. 0 Published May 30th 2018 by Aubade Publishing

Years ago I found a wonderful poem by Rochelle Distelheim.
See it below:
======================
NO MUSE IS GOOD MUSE
-by Rochelle Distelheim
To be an Artist you need talent, as well as a wife
who washes the socks and the children,
and returns phone calls and library books and types.
In other words, the reason there are so many more
Men Geniuses than Women Geniuses is not Genius.
It is because Hemingway never joined the P.T.A.
And Arthur Rubinstein ignored Halloween.
Do you think Portnoy's creator sits through children's theater
matinees--on Saturdays?
Or that Norman Mailer faced 'driver's ed' failure,
chicken pox or chipped teeth?
Fitzgerald's night was so tender because the fender
his teen-ager dented happened when Papa was at a story conference.
Since Picasso does the painting, Mrs. Picasso did the toilet training.
And if Saul Bellow, National Book Award winner, invited thirty-three
for Thanksgiving Day dinner, I'll bet he had help.
I'm sure Henry Moore was never a Cub Scout leader,
and Leonard Bernstein never instructed a tricycler
On becoming a bicycler just before he conducted.
Tell me again my anatomy is not necessarily my destiny,
tell me my hang-up is a personal and not a universal quandary,
and I'll tell you no muse is a good muse
unless she also helps with the laundry.
-Rochelle Distelheim
==========================]]> 4.14 Sadie in Love
author: Rochelle Distelheim
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/11
shelves: keep-in-mind, jewish-immigrants
review:
Added 9/11/19.
Published May 30th 2018 by Aubade Publishing

Years ago I found a wonderful poem by Rochelle Distelheim.
See it below:
======================
NO MUSE IS GOOD MUSE
-by Rochelle Distelheim
To be an Artist you need talent, as well as a wife
who washes the socks and the children,
and returns phone calls and library books and types.
In other words, the reason there are so many more
Men Geniuses than Women Geniuses is not Genius.
It is because Hemingway never joined the P.T.A.
And Arthur Rubinstein ignored Halloween.
Do you think Portnoy's creator sits through children's theater
matinees--on Saturdays?
Or that Norman Mailer faced 'driver's ed' failure,
chicken pox or chipped teeth?
Fitzgerald's night was so tender because the fender
his teen-ager dented happened when Papa was at a story conference.
Since Picasso does the painting, Mrs. Picasso did the toilet training.
And if Saul Bellow, National Book Award winner, invited thirty-three
for Thanksgiving Day dinner, I'll bet he had help.
I'm sure Henry Moore was never a Cub Scout leader,
and Leonard Bernstein never instructed a tricycler
On becoming a bicycler just before he conducted.
Tell me again my anatomy is not necessarily my destiny,
tell me my hang-up is a personal and not a universal quandary,
and I'll tell you no muse is a good muse
unless she also helps with the laundry.
-Rochelle Distelheim
==========================
]]> The Tortilla Curtain 24731 355 T. Coraghessan Boyle Joy H. 4 Published 1995 by Penguin Books

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 - I've come back to this book, via SALON Overdrive and am listening in my browser. It's a very depressing book. I don't know how I was able to read the book and stay with it back in 2009.

This book, _The Tortilla Curtain_, kept me reading. I love a book which compels me to read it. It was not an uplifting book, but the author told the story well and I was curious to see how it would end. I agreed with the following Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ review which serves as a good reference:
.

June 21, 2019 - The theme of this story is very timely, even currently in 2019. Some things never change.]]> 3.65 1995 The Tortilla Curtain
author: T. Coraghessan Boyle
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 2009/06/30
date added: 2019/09/09
shelves: selection-of-library-bk-group, fiction, contemporary, immigrants, historical-fiction, mexico, poverty
review:
Added and read in June 2009.
Published 1995 by Penguin Books

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 - I've come back to this book, via SALON Overdrive and am listening in my browser. It's a very depressing book. I don't know how I was able to read the book and stay with it back in 2009.

This book, _The Tortilla Curtain_, kept me reading. I love a book which compels me to read it. It was not an uplifting book, but the author told the story well and I was curious to see how it would end. I agreed with the following Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ review which serves as a good reference:
.

June 21, 2019 - The theme of this story is very timely, even currently in 2019. Some things never change.
]]> The Virgin Blue 2873 The Virgin Blue is a novel of passion and intrigue that compels readers to the very last page.]]> 304 Tracy Chevalier 0452284449 Joy H. 0 Beginning didn't hook me.]]> 3.68 1997 The Virgin Blue
author: Tracy Chevalier
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/09
shelves: decided-not-to-read-it, historical-fiction, fiction-historical
review:
Added 4/19/15. Decided not to read it.
Beginning didn't hook me.
]]> Burning Bright 2871 Girl With a Pearl Earring, returns with another brilliantly rendered historical tale set in the waning days of eighteenth-century London.

Poet, artist, and printer William Blake works in obscurity as England is rocked by the shock waves of the French Revolution. Next door, the Kellaway family has just moved in, and country boy Jem Kellaway strikes up a tentative friendship with street–savvy Maggie Butterfield.

As their stories intertwine with Blake’s, the two children navigate the confusing and exhilarating path to adolescence, and inspire the poet to create the work that enshrined his genius.]]> 320 Tracy Chevalier 052594978X Joy H. 0
No hook.]]> 3.40 2007 Burning Bright
author: Tracy Chevalier
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/09
shelves: decided-not-to-read-it, historical-fiction, fiction-historical
review:
Added 4/19/15. Decided not to read it.

No hook.
]]> Remarkable Creatures 6457081
Remarkable Creatures is the story of Mary Anning, who has a talent for finding fossils, and whose discovery of ancient marine reptiles such as that ichthyosaur shakes the scientific community and leads to new ways of thinking about the creation of the world.

Working in an arena dominated by middle-class men, however, Mary finds herself out of step with her working-class background. In danger of being an outcast in her community, she takes solace in an unlikely friendship with Elizabeth Philpot, a prickly London spinster with her own passion for fossils.

The strong bond between Mary and Elizabeth sees them through struggles with poverty, rivalry and ostracism, as well as the physical dangers of their chosen obsession. It reminds us that friendship can outlast storms and landslides, anger and jealousy.]]> 352 Tracy Chevalier 0007178379 Joy H. 0 4/19/15 - Decided not to read it.

Too many references to fossils.
No hook.]]> 3.87 2009 Remarkable Creatures
author: Tracy Chevalier
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/09
shelves: selection-of-a-book-group, decided-not-to-read-it, fiction-historical, historical-fiction
review:
Added 2/18/11.
4/19/15 - Decided not to read it.

Too many references to fossils.
No hook.
]]> The Lady and the Unicorn 89788 The Lady and the Unicorn is Tracy Chevalier’s answer to the mystery behind one of the art world’s great masterpieces—a set of bewitching medieval tapestries that hangs today in the Cluny Museum in Paris. They appear to portray the seduction of a unicorn, but the story behind their making is unknown—until now.

Paris, 1490.Ìę A shrewd French nobleman commissions six lavish tapestries celebrating his rising status at Court. He hires the charismatic, arrogant, sublimely talented Nicolas des Innocents to design them. Nicolas creates havoc among the women in the house—mother and daughter, servant, and lady-in-waiting—before taking his designs north to the Brussels workshop where the tapestries are to be woven. There, master weaver Georges de la Chapelle risks everything he has to finish the tapestries—his finest, most intricate work—on time for his exacting French client. The results change all their lives—lives that have been captured in the tapestries, for those who know where to look.

In The Lady and the Unicorn, Tracy Chevalier weaves fact and fiction into a beautiful, timeless, and intriguing literary tapestry—an extraordinary story exquisitely told.]]> 250 Tracy Chevalier 0452285453 Joy H. 0 decided-not-to-read-it "Below is from the GR description:
A shrewd French nobleman commissions six lavish tapestries celebrating his rising status at Court. He hires the charismatic, arrogant, sublimely talented Nicolas des Innocents to design them."

No hook in the beginning.
Boring talk about tapestries.]]> 3.71 2003 The Lady and the Unicorn
author: Tracy Chevalier
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/09
shelves: decided-not-to-read-it
review:
Added 4/19/15. Decided not to read it.
"Below is from the GR description:
A shrewd French nobleman commissions six lavish tapestries celebrating his rising status at Court. He hires the charismatic, arrogant, sublimely talented Nicolas des Innocents to design them."

No hook in the beginning.
Boring talk about tapestries.
]]> Marina 19902088 From the bestselling author of The Shadow of the Wind comes the intriguing mystery that started it all...

"We all have a secret buried under lock and key in the attic of our soul. This is mine."

Fifteen-year-old Oscar Drai meets the strange Marina while he's exploring an old quarter of Barcelona. She leads Oscar to a cemetery, where they watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the last Sunday of each month. At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, a woman shrouded in a black velvet cloak descends from her carriage to place a single rose on an unmarked grave.

When Oscar and Marina decide to follow her, they begin a journey that transports them to a forgotten postwar Barcelona--a world of aristocrats and actresses, inventors and tycoons--an reveals a dark secret that lies waiting in the mysterious labyrinth beneath the city streets.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's haunting Marina has long been a cult classic in Spain and is now an international bestseller.]]> 337 Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn Joy H. 4 Published July 22nd 2014 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Translated by Lucia Graves
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
Setting: Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)
Characters: Marina Marchetti, German Blau, Oscar Drai

This story drew me in right away because it's suspenseful.
I hope I will continue to be drawn in.

Aside from the fact that it was a bit too long, it was a good story, well told.]]> 4.28 1999 Marina
author: Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/09/09
shelves: salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, mystery, gothis, horror, fiction-young-adult, fantasy, spanish, contemporary, thriller, paranormal, audio-version, romance, historical-fiction, magical-realism, skimmed-partially
review:
Added 9/8/19. (First published 1999)
Published July 22nd 2014 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Translated by Lucia Graves
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
Setting: Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)
Characters: Marina Marchetti, German Blau, Oscar Drai

This story drew me in right away because it's suspenseful.
I hope I will continue to be drawn in.

Aside from the fact that it was a bit too long, it was a good story, well told.
]]> Marina 4516
En la Barcelona de 1980 Oscar Drai suena despierto, deslumbrado por los placeres mocernistas cercanos al internado en el que estudia. En una de sus escapadas conoce a Marina, una chica audaz que comparte con oscar la aventura de adentrarse en un enigma doloroso del pasado de la ciudad. Un misterioso personaje de la posguerra se propuso el mayor desafio imaginable, pero su ambicion lo arrastro por sendas siniestras cucyas consecuencias debe pagar alguien todavia hoy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the bestselling author of The Shadow of the Wind comes the intriguing mystery that started it all...

"We all have a secret buried under lock and key in the attic of our soul. This is mine."

Fifteen-year-old Oscar Drai meets the strange Marina while he's exploring an old quarter of Barcelona. She leads Oscar to a cemetery, where they watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the last Sunday of each month. At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, a woman shrouded in a black velvet cloak descends from her carriage to place a single rose on an unmarked grave.

When Oscar and Marina decide to follow her, they begin a journey that transports them to a forgotten postwar Barcelona--a world of aristocrats and actresses, inventors and tycoons--an reveals a dark secret that lies waiting in the mysterious labyrinth beneath the city streets.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's haunting Marina has long been a cult classic in Spain and is now an international bestseller.]]> 238 Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn 8423648990 Joy H. 0 currently-listening 4.15 1999 Marina
author: Carlos Ruiz ZafĂłn
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/08
shelves: currently-listening
review:

]]> The Overstory 40180098 The Overstory is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of - and paean to - the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.

A New York Times Bestseller.]]> 502 Richard Powers 039335668X Joy H. 0 (first published April 3rd 2018)
The group Constant Reader will start reading The Overstory on Sunday, September 15, 2019.

Literary Awards:
Booker Prize Nominee (2018)
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2019)
Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2018)
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Nominee for Shortlist (2019)]]> 4.10 2018 The Overstory
author: Richard Powers
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/08
shelves: keep-in-mind, fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, selection-of-the-constnt-rder-group, environment-nature
review:
Added Sept. 8, 2019
(first published April 3rd 2018)
The group Constant Reader will start reading The Overstory on Sunday, September 15, 2019.

Literary Awards:
Booker Prize Nominee (2018)
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2019)
Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2018)
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Nominee for Shortlist (2019)
]]> Nevertheless: A Memoir 34647681
Over the past three decades, Alec Baldwin has established himself as one of Hollywood's most gifted, hilarious, and controversial leading men. From his work in popular movies, including Beetlejuice, Working Girl, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Cooler, and Martin Scorsese's The Departed to his role as Jack Donaghy on Tina Fey's irreverent series 30 Rock--for which he won two Emmys, three Golden Globes, and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards--and as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, he's both a household name and a deeply respected actor.

In Nevertheless, Baldwin transcends his public persona, making public facets of his life he has long kept private. In this honest, affecting memoir, he introduces us to the Long Island child who felt burdened by his family's financial strains and his parents' unhappy marriage; the Washington, DC, college student gearing up for a career in politics; the self-named Love Taxi who helped friends solve their romantic problems while neglecting his own; the young soap actor learning from giants of the theatre; the addict drawn to drugs and alcohol who struggles with sobriety; the husband and father who acknowledges his failings and battles to overcome them; and the consummate professional for whom the work is everything. Throughout Nevertheless, one constant emerges: the fearlessness that defines and drives Baldwin's life.

Told with his signature candor, astute observational savvy, and devastating wit, Nevertheless reveals an Alec Baldwin we have never fully seen before.]]> 1 Alec Baldwin 1538432803 Joy H. 3 LISTENING AGAIN SEPT 6, 2019.
Narrated by Alec Baldwin himself. This made it more interesting.
I began listening to this memoir a few days ago at the end of June 2018.
I borrowed it from my public library via Overdrive at Southern Adirondack Library on Demand (SALS). I'm listened to it in my browser and finished listening to it around July 5, 2018.
Alec Baldwin sounds very frank and has definite opinions about show business and its people. Interesting.]]> 3.47 2017 Nevertheless: A Memoir
author: Alec Baldwin
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2018/07/05
date added: 2019/09/07
shelves: crandall-library-loan, audio-version, non-fiction, memoir, autobiography, show-business, finished-listening-to-it, interesting, salon-overdrive
review:
Added July 2, 2018. (Published April 4th 2017 by HarperCollins)
LISTENING AGAIN SEPT 6, 2019.
Narrated by Alec Baldwin himself. This made it more interesting.
I began listening to this memoir a few days ago at the end of June 2018.
I borrowed it from my public library via Overdrive at Southern Adirondack Library on Demand (SALS). I'm listened to it in my browser and finished listening to it around July 5, 2018.
Alec Baldwin sounds very frank and has definite opinions about show business and its people. Interesting.
]]> <![CDATA[First Family: Abigail and John Adams]]> 8320280 John and Abigail Adams left an indelible and remarkably preserved portrait of their lives together in their personal correspondence: both Adamses were prolific letter writers (although John conceded that Abigail was clearly the more gifted of the two), and over the years they exchanged more than twelve hundred letters. Joseph J. Ellis distills this unprecedented and unsurpassed record to give us an account both intimate and panoramic; part biography, part political history, and part love story.
Ellis describes the first meeting between the two as inauspicious--John was twenty-four, Abigail just fifteen, and each was entirely unimpressed with the other. But they soon began a passionate correspondence that resulted in their marriage five years later.
Over the next decades, the couple were separated nearly as much as they were together. John's political career took him first to Philadelphia, where he became the boldest advocate for the measures that would lead to the Declaration of Independence. Yet in order to attend the Second Continental Congress, he left his wife and children in the middle of the war zone that had by then engulfed Massachusetts. Later he was sent to Paris, where he served as a minister to the court of France alongside Benjamin Franklin. These years apart stressed the Adamses' union almost beyond what it could bear: Abigail grew lonely, while the Adams children suffered from their father's absence.
John was elected the nation's first vice president, but by the time of his reelection, Abigail's health prevented her from joining him in Philadelphia, the interim capital. She no doubt had further reservations about moving to the swamp on the Potomac when John became president, although this time he persuaded her. President Adams inherited a weak and bitterly divided country from George Washington. The political situation was perilous at best, and he needed his closest advisor by his side: "I can do nothing," John told Abigail after his election, "without you."
In Ellis's rich and striking new history, John and Abigail's relationship unfolds in the context of America's birth as a nation.]]> 299 Joseph J. Ellis 0307269620 Joy H. 0 Audio CD.
Goes into detail about subjects I'm not interested in, like the politics and economics of the time in Europe. Very dry in parts. I may not finish listening to this CD or I'll just skim it.

9/7/19 - I'm listening to this book again via SALON OVERDRIVE - LISTENING VIA MY BROWSER.
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr]]> 4.03 2010 First Family: Abigail and John Adams
author: Joseph J. Ellis
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/07
shelves: non-fiction, biography, audio-cd, currently-listening, history, presidential-spouses, presidents-of-the-usa, american-revolution, founding-fathers-usa, audio-version, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser
review:
Added 11/16/16. (first published January 1st 2010)
Audio CD.
Goes into detail about subjects I'm not interested in, like the politics and economics of the time in Europe. Very dry in parts. I may not finish listening to this CD or I'll just skim it.

9/7/19 - I'm listening to this book again via SALON OVERDRIVE - LISTENING VIA MY BROWSER.
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
]]> <![CDATA[One Lucky Hero (Men in Uniform, #1)]]> 25989960 400 Codi Gary 0062372254 Joy H. 0 Published June 7th 2016 by Avon Impulse
Narrated by: Will Damron ]]> 3.84 2016 One Lucky Hero (Men in Uniform, #1)
author: Codi Gary
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/05
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, romance, fiction-military, contemporary, audio-version, part-of-a-series, war, adult
review:
Added Sept. 5, 2019
Published June 7th 2016 by Avon Impulse
Narrated by: Will Damron
]]> <![CDATA[Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford]]> 27221667 464 Clint Hill 1476794170 Joy H. 0 (Published May 3rd 2016 by Gallery Books)
Narrated by: George Newbern

I started reading this book July 12, 2018, as an ebook in my browser.
(It's an OverDrive library loan from SALS, the Southern Adirondack Library System.)

Sept 5, 2019 - I'm continuing to read this e-book.

Clint Hill "reflects on his seventeen years on the Secret Service for presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford." (from Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ description)

============================
Other books I have read of this nature are as follows:

The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents
My review: /review/show...

The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence
My review: /review/show...

In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect
My review: /review/show...

Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir BY Clint Hill
My review: /review/show...]]> 4.09 2016 Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford
author: Clint Hill
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/05
shelves: non-fiction, autobiography, memoir, presidents-of-the-usa, politics, history, secret-service, crandall-library-loan, read-in-browser, listened-to-partially, salon-overdrive, e-book
review:
Added July 12, 2018
(Published May 3rd 2016 by Gallery Books)
Narrated by: George Newbern

I started reading this book July 12, 2018, as an ebook in my browser.
(It's an OverDrive library loan from SALS, the Southern Adirondack Library System.)

Sept 5, 2019 - I'm continuing to read this e-book.

Clint Hill "reflects on his seventeen years on the Secret Service for presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford." (from Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ description)

============================
Other books I have read of this nature are as follows:

The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents
My review: /review/show...

The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence
My review: /review/show...

In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect
My review: /review/show...

Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir BY Clint Hill
My review: /review/show...
]]> <![CDATA[The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family]]> 3364462
In the mid-1700s the English captain of a trading ship that made runs between England and the Virginia colony fathered a child by an enslaved woman living near Williamsburg. The woman, whose name is unknown and who is believed to have been born in Africa, was owned by the Eppeses, a prominent Virginia family. The captain, whose surname was Hemings, and the woman had a daughter. They named her Elizabeth.

So begins The Hemingses of Monticello, Annette Gordon-Reed’s “riveting historyâ€� of the Hemings family, whose story comes to vivid life in this brilliantly researched and deeply moving work. Gordon-Reed, author of the highly acclaimed historiography Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy, unearths startling new information about the Hemingses, Jefferson, and his white family. Although the book presents the most detailed and richly drawn portrait ever written of Sarah Hemings, better known by her nickname Sally, who bore seven children by Jefferson over the course of their thirty-eight-year liaison, The Hemingses of Monticello tells more than the story of her life with Jefferson and their children. The Hemingses as a whole take their rightful place in the narrative of the family’s extraordinary engagement with one of history’s most important figures.

Not only do we meet Elizabeth Hemings—the family matriarch and mother to twelve children, six by John Wayles, a poor English immigrant who rose to great wealth in the Virginia colony—but we follow the Hemings family as they become the property of Jefferson through his marriage to Martha Wayles. The Hemings-Wayles children, siblings to Martha, played pivotal roles in the life at Jefferson’s estate.

We follow the Hemingses to Paris, where James Hemings trained as a chef in one of the most prestigious kitchens in France and where Sally arrived as a fourteen-year-old chaperone for Jefferson’s daughter Polly; to Philadelphia, where James Hemings acted as the major domo to the newly appointed secretary of state; to Charlottesville, where Mary Hemings lived with her partner, a prosperous white merchant who left her and their children a home and property; to Richmond, where Robert Hemings engineered a plan for his freedom; and finally to Monticello, that iconic home on the mountain, from where most of Jefferson’s slaves, many of them Hemings family members, were sold at auction six months after his death in 1826.

As The Hemingses of Monticello makes vividly clear, Monticello can no longer be known only as the home of a remarkable American leader, the author of the Declaration of Independence; nor can the story of the Hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president have been expunged from history until very recently, be left out of the telling of America’s story. With its empathetic and insightful consideration of human beings acting in almost unimaginably difficult and complicated family circumstances, The Hemingses of Monticello is history as great literature. It is a remarkable achievement.]]> 798 Annette Gordon-Reed 0393064778 Joy H. 0 (first published 2008)
Narrated by: Karen White

"This epic work tells the story of the Hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from American history until very recently. Now, historian and legal scholar Annette Gordon-Reed traces the Hemings family from its origins in Virginia in the 1700s to the family's dispersal after Jefferson's death in 1826. It brings to life not only Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson but also their children and Hemings's siblings, who shared a father with Jefferson's wife, Martha. The Hemingses of Monticello sets the family's compelling saga against the backdrop of Revolutionary America, Paris on the eve of its own revolution, 1790s Philadelphia, and plantation life at Monticello."
ABOVE IS A DESCRIPTION FROM:

Literary Awards"
---Pulitzer Prize for History (2009)
---National Book Award for Non-Fiction (2008)
---Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (2009)
---George Washington Book Prize (2009)
---National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Biography (2008)
---Frederick Douglass Book Prize (2009)
---SHEAR Book Prize
---Frank L. and Harriet C. Owsley Award (2009)]]> 4.01 2008 The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family
author: Annette Gordon-Reed
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/05
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, non-fiction, history, biography, cultural-african-american, slavery, jefferson, pulitzer-prize, history-african-american, listened-in-my-browser, audio-version
review:
Added Sept. 5, 2019
(first published 2008)
Narrated by: Karen White

"This epic work tells the story of the Hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from American history until very recently. Now, historian and legal scholar Annette Gordon-Reed traces the Hemings family from its origins in Virginia in the 1700s to the family's dispersal after Jefferson's death in 1826. It brings to life not only Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson but also their children and Hemings's siblings, who shared a father with Jefferson's wife, Martha. The Hemingses of Monticello sets the family's compelling saga against the backdrop of Revolutionary America, Paris on the eve of its own revolution, 1790s Philadelphia, and plantation life at Monticello."
ABOVE IS A DESCRIPTION FROM:

Literary Awards"
---Pulitzer Prize for History (2009)
---National Book Award for Non-Fiction (2008)
---Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (2009)
---George Washington Book Prize (2009)
---National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Biography (2008)
---Frederick Douglass Book Prize (2009)
---SHEAR Book Prize
---Frank L. and Harriet C. Owsley Award (2009)
]]> <![CDATA[Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries (Bridget Jones, #4)]]> 31540109 Bridget Jones, beloved Singleton and global phenomenon, is back with a bump in Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries.

8:45 P.M. Realize there have been so many times in my life when have fantasized about going to a scan with Mark or Daniel: just not both at the same time.

Before motherhood, before marriage, Bridget with biological clock ticking very, very loudly, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant at the eleventh hour: a joyful pregnancy which is dominated, however, by a crucial but terribly awkward question - who is the father? Mark Darcy: honourable, decent, notable human rights lawyer? Or Daniel Cleaver: charming, witty, notable fuckwit?

9:45 PM It's like they're two halves of the perfect man, who'll spend the rest of their lives each wanting to outdo the other one. And now it's all enacting itself in my stomach.

In this gloriously funny, touching story of baby-deadline panic, maternal bliss, and social, professional, technological, culinary and childbirth chaos, Bridget Jones - global phenomenon and the world's favorite Singleton - is back with a bump.]]> 219 Helen Fielding 1524732400 Joy H. 0 Published October 11th 2016 by Knopf Publishing Group

Narrated by: Morwenna Banks
Series: Bridget Jones, Book 4




"Bridget with biological clock ticking very, very loudly, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant at the eleventh hour: a joyful pregnancy which is dominated, however, by a crucial but terribly awkward question � who is the father? Mark Darcy: honourable, decent, notable human rights lawyer? Or Daniel Cleaver: charming, witty, notable fuckwit?" -FROM SALON DESCRPTION]]> 3.59 2016 Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries (Bridget Jones, #4)
author: Helen Fielding
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/05
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, fiction, romance, humor, contemporary, listened-in-my-browser, audio-version
review:
Added Sept. 5, 2019
Published October 11th 2016 by Knopf Publishing Group

Narrated by: Morwenna Banks
Series: Bridget Jones, Book 4




"Bridget with biological clock ticking very, very loudly, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant at the eleventh hour: a joyful pregnancy which is dominated, however, by a crucial but terribly awkward question � who is the father? Mark Darcy: honourable, decent, notable human rights lawyer? Or Daniel Cleaver: charming, witty, notable fuckwit?" -FROM SALON DESCRPTION
]]> Gone Girl 19288043 What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone.

So what did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?]]> 415 Gillian Flynn 0307588378 Joy H. 0
Adapted to film 2014 - Cast: Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris

STORYLINE FROM IMDB: Storyline: "On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?" Written by Twentieth Century Fox
FROM
]]> 4.22 2012 Gone Girl
author: Gillian Flynn
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/03
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, audio-version, listened-in-my-browser, fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, adult, contemporary, psychological-thriller, romance, infidelity, adapted-to-film
review:
Added Sept. 3, 2019 (first published May 24th 2012)

Adapted to film 2014 - Cast: Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris

STORYLINE FROM IMDB: Storyline: "On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?" Written by Twentieth Century Fox
FROM

]]> The Boy on the Wooden Box 17415480 especially in the darkest of times—there is room for strength and bravery. A remarkable memoir from Leon Leyson, one of the youngest children to survive the Holocaust on Oskar Schindler’s list.

Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson’s life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory—a list that became world renowned: Schindler’s List.

This, the only memoir published by a former Schindler’s List child, perfectly captures the innocence of a small boy who goes through the unthinkable. Most notable is the lack of rancor, the lack of venom, and the abundance of dignity in Mr. Leyson’s telling. The Boy on the Wooden Box is a legacy of hope, a memoir unlike anything you’ve ever read.]]> 240 Leon Leyson 1442497831 Joy H. 0 By: Leon Leyson, Marilyn J. Harran (contributor)
Narrated by: Danny Burstein

SEE:

SEE DESCRIPTION:
"This remarkable memoir from Leon Leyson, one of the youngest children to survive the Holocaust on Oskar Schindler's list, brings to readers a story of bravery and the fight for a chance to live"

Literary Awards:
---Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2015)
---Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2018)]]> 4.33 2013 The Boy on the Wooden Box
author: Leon Leyson
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/02
shelves: holocaust, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, non-fiction, autobiography, memoir, history, ww2, audio-version, currently-listening, juvenile-nonfiction, children-s-book
review:
Added Sept, 2, 2019 - Published August 27th 2013 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
By: Leon Leyson, Marilyn J. Harran (contributor)
Narrated by: Danny Burstein

SEE:

SEE DESCRIPTION:
"This remarkable memoir from Leon Leyson, one of the youngest children to survive the Holocaust on Oskar Schindler's list, brings to readers a story of bravery and the fight for a chance to live"

Literary Awards:
---Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2015)
---Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2018)
]]> Hamilton: The Revolution 26200563 Hamilton is as revolutionary as its subject, the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, reveals the storytelling power of rap, and claims our country's origins for a diverse new generation.

Hamilton: The Revolution gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages--"since before this was even a show," according to Miranda--trace its development from an improbable perfor­mance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here.

Their account features photos by the renowned Frank Ockenfels and veteran Broadway photographer Joan Marcus; exclusive looks at notebooks and emails; interviews with Questlove, Stephen Sond­heim, leading political commentators, and more than 40 people involved with the production; and multiple appearances by Presi­dent Obama himself. The book does more than tell the surprising story of how a Broadway musical became a national phenomenon: It demonstrates that America has always been renewed by the brash upstarts and brilliant outsiders, the men and women who don't throw away their shot.]]> 285 Lin-Manuel Miranda 1455539740 Joy H. 0 Published April 12th 2016 by Grand Central Publishing
I reserved this AUDIO BOOK at SALON OVERDRIVE.

---Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year (2017)
---Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award for Nonfiction (2016) ]]> 4.45 2015 Hamilton: The Revolution
author: Lin-Manuel Miranda
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/02
shelves: history, salon-overdrive, non-fiction, keep-in-mind, audio-version
review:
Added Sept. 2, 2019
Published April 12th 2016 by Grand Central Publishing
I reserved this AUDIO BOOK at SALON OVERDRIVE.

---Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year (2017)
---Ć·±ŠÓéÀÖ Choice Award for Nonfiction (2016)
]]> The Dirty Book Club 36044287 This is an updated cover edition of 9781451695977 .

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Clique series comes a novel about the importance of friendship, and, of course, the pleasure of a dirty book.

M.J. Stark’s life is picture-perfect—she has her dream job as a magazine editor, a sexy doctor boyfriend, and a glamorous life in New York City. But behind her success, there is a debilitating sense of loneliness. So when her boss betrays her and her boyfriend offers her a completely new life in California, she trades her cashmere for caftans and gives it a try.

Once there, M.J. is left to fend for herself in a small beach town, with only the company of her elderly neighbor, Gloria, and an ocean that won’t shut up. One afternoon, M.J. discovers that Gloria has suddenly moved to Paris with her friends to honor a fifty-year-old pact. And in lieu of a goodbye, she’s left a mysterious invitation to a secret club—one that only reads erotic books.

Curious, M.J. accepts and meets the three other hand-selected club members. As they bond over naughty bestsellers and the shocking letters they inherited from the original club members, the four strangers start to divulge the intimate details of their own lives� and as they open up, they learn that friendship might just be the key to rewriting their own stories: all they needed was to find each other first.]]> 320 Lisi Harrison Joy H. 0 Published October 10th 2017 by Gallery
Narrated by Joy Osmanski
Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
SEE:
SEE:

GOODREADS DESCRIPTION: "From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Clique series comes a novel about the importance of friendship, and, of course, the pleasure of a dirty book."

]]> 3.45 2017 The Dirty Book Club
author: Lisi Harrison
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/30
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, adult, fiction-contemporary, fiction, romance, friendship
review:
Added Aug. 30, 2019
Published October 10th 2017 by Gallery
Narrated by Joy Osmanski
Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
SEE:
SEE:

GOODREADS DESCRIPTION: "From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Clique series comes a novel about the importance of friendship, and, of course, the pleasure of a dirty book."


]]> <![CDATA[The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery]]> 8685554
Winner of the Boston Globe -Horn Book Award for Nonfiction
Winner of the YALSA-ALA Award for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction

Most people know that Benedict Arnold was America's first, most notorious traitor. Few know that he was also one of its greatest Revolutionary War heroes.

Steve Sheinkin's accessible biography, The Notorious Benedict Arnold , introduces young readers to the real reckless, heroic, and driven. Packed with first-person accounts, astonishing American Revolution battle scenes, and surprising twists, this is a gripping and true adventure tale from history.

“Sheinkin sees Arnold as America's ‘original action hero' and succeeds in writing a brilliant, fast-paced biography that reads like an adventure novel...The author's obvious mastery of his material, lively prose and abundant use of eyewitness accounts make this one of the most exciting biographies young readers will find.â€� â€� Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Several complex political, social, and military themes emerge, one of the most prominent being that within the Continental army, often simplistically depicted as single-minded patriots, beat hearts scheming with political machinations that are completely familiar today...Arnold's inexorable clash with Gates and his decision to turn traitor both chill and compel.â€� â€� Horn Book Magazine (starred review)

Also by Steve

The Race to Build―and Steal―the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights
Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team
Most Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War
Which Way to the Wild West?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About Westward Expansion
King What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution
Two Miserable Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War
Born to The First Women's Air Race Across America]]> 337 Steve Sheinkin 1596434864 Joy H. 0 (Published November 9th 2010 by Flash Point)
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

See Jim's interesting review:
/review/show...]]> 3.80 2010 The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery
author: Steve Sheinkin
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/28
shelves: listened-in-my-browser, salon-overdrive, non-fiction, history, biography, revolutionary-war, young-adult, listened-to-partially
review:
Added August 25, 2019
(Published November 9th 2010 by Flash Point)
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

See Jim's interesting review:
/review/show...
]]> Love May Fail 33049325 398 Matthew Quick Joy H. 4 I finished listening to this audiobook on Aug. 27, 2019.

“Love may fail, but courtesy will prevail.â€� ---Kurt Vonnegut
/quotes/3450...

"The title of this 'aching tale of love and redemption'â€� (as self-described in the narrative) is taken from Kurt Vonnegut’s Jailbird: “Love may fail, but courtesy will prevail.â€� "May" is the key here. Love might fail; it could fail. That it will fail is not suggested. It is an optimistic title in a story that opens with a scene in which love has died. "
FROM A BOOK REVIEW AT:

This audiobook was an interesting and poignant story. It kept my attention to the end. I liked the ending. (4 stars out of 5)

SEE THE BOOK REVIEW AT: ]]> 3.59 2015 Love May Fail
author: Matthew Quick
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/08/27
shelves: salon-overdrive, fiction-contemporary, romance, audio-version, adult, humor, finished-listening-to-it, kept-me-listening
review:
Added Aug. 25, 2019 --- (first published June 4th 2015)
I finished listening to this audiobook on Aug. 27, 2019.

“Love may fail, but courtesy will prevail.â€� ---Kurt Vonnegut
/quotes/3450...

"The title of this 'aching tale of love and redemption'â€� (as self-described in the narrative) is taken from Kurt Vonnegut’s Jailbird: “Love may fail, but courtesy will prevail.â€� "May" is the key here. Love might fail; it could fail. That it will fail is not suggested. It is an optimistic title in a story that opens with a scene in which love has died. "
FROM A BOOK REVIEW AT:

This audiobook was an interesting and poignant story. It kept my attention to the end. I liked the ending. (4 stars out of 5)

SEE THE BOOK REVIEW AT:
]]> <![CDATA[Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed]]> 13129879 New York Times investigative reporter whose mother and grandparents fled Germany in 1938 for France, where, as Jews, they spent four years as refugees, the last two under risk of Nazi deportation. In 1942 they made it onto the last boat to escape France before the Germans sealed its harbors. Then, barred from entering the United States, they lived in Cuba for almost two years before emigrating to New York. This sweeping account of one family’s escape from the turmoil of war-torn Europe hangs upon the intimate and deeply personal story of Maitland’s mother’s passionate romance with a Catholic Frenchman. Separated by war and her family’s disapproval, the young lovers—Janine and Roland—lose each other for fifty years. It is a testimony to both Maitland’s investigative skills and her devotion to her mother that she successfully traced the lost Roland and was able to reunite him with Janine. Unlike so many stories of love during wartime, theirs has a happy ending.]]> 544 Leslie Maitland 1590514963 Joy H. 0 First published January 1st 2011) ]]> 3.97 2011 Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed
author: Leslie Maitland
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/25
shelves: currently-listening, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, non-fiction, history, biography, holocaust
review:
Added August 25, 2019.
First published January 1st 2011)
]]> <![CDATA[Among the Mad (Maisie Dobbs, #6)]]> 3690427

In the thrilling new novel by the New York Times bestselling author of An Incomplete Revenge, Maisie Dobbs must catch a madman before he commits murder on an unimaginable scale

It’s Christmas Eve 1931. On the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the prime minister’s office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if certain demands are not met—and the writer mentions Maisie by name. After being questioned and cleared by Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane of Scotland Yard’s elite Special Branch, she is drawn into MacFarlane’s personal fiefdom as a special adviser on the case. Meanwhile, Billy Beale, Maisie’s trusted assistant, is once again facing tragedy as his wife, who has never recovered from the death of their young daughter, slips further into melancholia’s abyss. Soon Maisie becomes involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict death and destruction on thousands of innocent people. And before this harrowing case is over, Maisie must navigate a darkness not encountered since she was a nurse in wards filled with shell-shocked men.

In Among the Mad, Jacqueline Winspear combines a heart-stopping story with a rich evocation of a fascinating period to create her most compelling and satisfying novel yet.

]]> 0 Jacqueline Winspear 1427206058 Joy H. 3 August 25, 2019 - I finished listening the complete audio book .

I tried to follow the plot but after a while I found that it was hard for me to follow for several reasons. There are quite a few characters and names to keep track of. There is a lot of incidental conversation to plow through as Maisie does her job of detecting. After a while the story seemed long and drawn out. I kept trying to find the point of the story but got lost in details. I was glad when I finished listening but only because it was a good feeling that I hadn't given up and had listened to all of the book.

Maisie was interesting to listen to as she told her story, even though I felt a bit lost in the details.

Some of the story was a bit depressing for me as I heard about the unhappy things that had taken place as Maisie revealed the facts behind mystery.

I gave the audio book 3 stars. Maisie seems like a very likable and thoughtful person.]]> 4.09 2009 Among the Mad (Maisie Dobbs, #6)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Joy H.
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/08/25
shelves: salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, mystery, sad-in-parts, too-many-characters, too-many-details, interesting-but-not-compelling, finished-listening-to-it, likable-protagonist
review:
Added August 24, 2019 (first published January 1st 2009)
August 25, 2019 - I finished listening the complete audio book .

I tried to follow the plot but after a while I found that it was hard for me to follow for several reasons. There are quite a few characters and names to keep track of. There is a lot of incidental conversation to plow through as Maisie does her job of detecting. After a while the story seemed long and drawn out. I kept trying to find the point of the story but got lost in details. I was glad when I finished listening but only because it was a good feeling that I hadn't given up and had listened to all of the book.

Maisie was interesting to listen to as she told her story, even though I felt a bit lost in the details.

Some of the story was a bit depressing for me as I heard about the unhappy things that had taken place as Maisie revealed the facts behind mystery.

I gave the audio book 3 stars. Maisie seems like a very likable and thoughtful person.
]]> <![CDATA[Abraham Lincoln, Pro Wrestler (Time Twisters, #1)]]> 34475293 WARNING: DO NOT BELIEVE THE STORY YOU’RE ABOUT TO READ.
Well, you can believe some of it. There is some real history. But also hijinks. Time travel. And famous figures setting off on adventures that definitely never happened—till now. Time is getting twisted, and it’s up to two kids to straighten things out.

When Abraham Lincoln overhears a classroom of kids say “history is boring,â€� he decides to teach them a lesson. Lincoln escapes from 1860—to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler! Now siblings Doc and Abby have to convince Lincoln to go back to Springfield, Illinois, and accept the presidency . . . before everything spins out of control!]]> 160 Steve Sheinkin 125014891X Joy H. 5
FANTASY - HISTORICAL FICTION RE LINCOLN

Fun to listen to! --- 5 Stars!]]> 3.46 2018 Abraham Lincoln, Pro Wrestler (Time Twisters, #1)
author: Steve Sheinkin
name: Joy H.
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/08/24
shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy, children-s-book, salon-overdrive, listened-in-my-browser, presidents-of-the-usa, lincoln, fun-to-listen-to, finished-listening-to-it
review:
Added August 22, 2019 (Published January 9th 2018 by Roaring Brook Press)

FANTASY - HISTORICAL FICTION RE LINCOLN

Fun to listen to! --- 5 Stars!
]]>