Susan's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 10 Apr 2025 16:28:22 -0700 60 Susan's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Island of the World 2084211 850 Michael D. O'Brien 1586172166 Susan 0 to-read 4.71 2007 Island of the World
author: Michael D. O'Brien
name: Susan
average rating: 4.71
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wild Geese Flying 5974374
"In another fine contemporary story for this age group, Cornelia Meigs proves herself a writer deeply concerned with moral values and capable of building an excellent narrative around them. The central character is 12 year old Dick Milton who has come with his mother and young brothers and sisters to Jefferson, a small New England town, while Mr. Milton is in South America. Dick's grandfather, Roger Devons, had been a much beloved and respected man in the community. But a feeling of antipathy among the neighbors, is evident from the start. At a loss to explain it, Dick talks to a new friend, Jerry Stewart, who has just returned to Jefferson from navy duty and who promises to help. The mystery is ordinary, involving Jerry and the dead Roger Devons in unexpected ways. But the solving also reveals the social temper of a town, its families and a boy growing up." (Kirkus)]]> 194 Cornelia Meigs Susan 0 currently-reading 3.84 1957 Wild Geese Flying
author: Cornelia Meigs
name: Susan
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1957
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Rainbow Garden 444475
From Patricia St. John—nurse, missionary, relief worker, and writer of many books for children.


Ěý±Ő±Ő> 168 Patricia St. John Susan 4 4.10 1960 Rainbow Garden
author: Patricia St. John
name: Susan
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1960
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: christian, christian-fiction, favorite-authors, feel-good-books, juvenille, 2025, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)]]> 5043 Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century; the place feudal England; and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape.

Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life.

The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

For the TV tie-in edition with the same ISBN go to this Alternate Cover Edition
]]> 976 Ken Follett 045122213X Susan 5 currently-reading 4.34 1989 The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)
author: Ken Follett
name: Susan
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> A Blow for Liberty 6266541 Stephen W. Meader Susan 4 4.29 2006 A Blow for Liberty
author: Stephen W. Meader
name: Susan
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Smoky-House 1847197 Elizabeth Goudge Susan 0 currently-reading 4.05 1940 Smoky-House
author: Elizabeth Goudge
name: Susan
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1940
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Follow the Science: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails]]> 181109963 336 Sharyl Attkisson 0063314916 Susan 0 to-read 4.04 2024 Follow the Science: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails
author: Sharyl Attkisson
name: Susan
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Come On, Seabiscuit! 15743
Seabiscuit was an unlikely hero. Considered lazy by his trainer, he was overraced, broken down, and in the lowest ranks of racehorses by the age of two. Then in 1936, old-time cowboy trainer Tom Smith�who saw something in Seabiscuit, despite the colt's reputation�convinced businessman Charles Howard to buy the horse. Howard did, for practically nothing, and hired jockey Jack "Red" Pollard to ride him. Smith and Pollard were as down-and-out as Seabiscuit at the time, but together the threesome made history!

With great courage and stamina, and an even greater heart, Seabiscuit overcame injuries in the course of his career that would have killed a lesser horse, and in his four years of racing topped the Thoroughbred earnings record of his time. The story of Seabiscuit's life�now a major motion picture starring Tobey Maguire�is in turn thrilling, heartbreaking and incredibly inspiring.

Ralph Moody, the second of six children, was born on December 16, 1898, in East Rochester, New Hampshire. In 1950, when he was fifty-two years old, Ralph enrolled in a short-story writing class. Encouraged by his teacher, he turned a class paper into a book, Little Britches, describing his childhood days living on a ranch in Colorado. Ralph wrote nineteen books, all based on his life. He died at age eighty-three in New England, at the home of his sister Elizabeth.

Robert Riger was born in Manhattan in 1924 and graduated from Pratt Art Institute. His distinctive sepia sketches appeared in the first issue of Sports Illustrated in 1954 and became a regular and familiar feature in the magazine for many years afterward. In 1963 Robert joined ABC's Wide World of Sports, where he became a producer/director of many groundbreaking and award-winning programs. Among his prizes are nine Emmy Awards. Other children's titles illustrated by Robert include Ralph Moody's Riders of the Pony Express; Sequoyah: Leader of the Cherokees by Alice Marriott; and Wren by Marie Killilea. He died in 1995 in Huntington Beach, California.]]> 0 Ralph Moody 0760754306 Susan 5 4.17 1963 Come On, Seabiscuit!
author: Ralph Moody
name: Susan
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1963
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/03/29
shelves: 2025, american-history, audiobooks, feel-good-books, juvenille, made-into-a-movie
review:

]]> A Gentleman in Moscow 29430012 He can't leave. You won't want to.

With his breakout novel Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late-1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov.

When, in 1922, the thirty-year-old Count is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, he is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. An indomitable man of erudition and wit, Rostov must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors.

Unexpectedly, the Count's reduced circumstances provide him entry to a much larger world of emotional discovery as he forges friendships with the hotel's other denizens, including a willful actress, a shrewd Kremlinite, a gregarious American, and a temperamental chef. But when fate suddenly puts the life of a young girl in his hands, he must draw on all his ingenuity to protect the future she so deserves.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the Count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.]]> 462 Amor Towles Susan 5 Count Rostov was a man of character - kind, wise, loving, discerning, content, noble, patient, a man of integrity, and oh so endearing. His story is rich and satisfying. I highly recommend this book.]]> 4.33 2016 A Gentleman in Moscow
author: Amor Towles
name: Susan
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/27
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: 2025, favorites, historical-fiction, re-read
review:
This book was phenomenal, and is definitely one of my favorites! I will certainly be reading it again, and am looking forward to reading the author’s other book, “Rules of Civility�.
Count Rostov was a man of character - kind, wise, loving, discerning, content, noble, patient, a man of integrity, and oh so endearing. His story is rich and satisfying. I highly recommend this book.
]]> Snow Treasure 34601 All Aboard for Freedom. Originally published in 1942.]]> 196 Marie McSwigan 0142402249 Susan 4 4.01 1942 Snow Treasure
author: Marie McSwigan
name: Susan
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1942
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: audiobooks, based-on-true-events-and-people, childrens-classic, juvenille, re-read, wwii-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Things We Couldn't Say: A Dramatic Account of Christian Resistance in Holland During World War II]]> 4186686 347 Diet Eman 097913157X Susan 3 4.49 1994 Things We Couldn't Say: A Dramatic Account of Christian Resistance in Holland During World War II
author: Diet Eman
name: Susan
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at: 2013/03/16
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: biographies, christian, wwii-books
review:
This is the true story of Diet Eman, a young Christian woman who joined the Christian resistance movement in the Netherlands during WWII. Together with her fiancé, Hein Sietsma, and many other Dutch men and women, they risked their lives to save the lives of numerous Jews once the Germans occupied their beloved country. Diet and her fellow compatriots tried to stand for what was right in the midst of great evil and danger, doing so by the grace and power of God. Before the war ends, Eman, her fiancé, and several members of their resistance group are arrested and sent to concentration camps. Even in the face of fear and deprivation they remained faithful to the Lord and to their cause. This is a true story of courage and deep, abiding faith that will inspire you. It is a story that I will never forget and am grateful to have read.
]]> The War on the West 58838847 An Instant New York Times Bestseller!

China has concentration camps now. Why do Westerners claim our sins are unique?

It is now in vogue to celebrate non-Western cultures and disparage Western ones. Some of this is a much-needed reckoning, but much of it fatally undermines the very things that created the greatest, most humane civilization in the world.

In The War on the West, Douglas Murray shows how many well-meaning people have been fooled by hypocritical and inconsistent anti-West rhetoric. After all, if we must discard the ideas of Kant, Hume, and Mill for their opinions on race, shouldn't we discard Marx, whose work is peppered with racial slurs and anti-Semitism? Embers of racism remain to be stamped out in America, but what about the raging racist inferno in the Middle East and Asia?

It's not just dishonest scholars who benefit from this intellectual fraud but hostile nations and human rights abusers hoping to distract from their own ongoing villainy. Dictators who slaughter their own people are happy to jump on the "America is a racist country" bandwagon and mimic the language of antiracism and "pro-justice" movements as PR while making authoritarian conquests.

If the West is to survive, it must be defended. The War on the West is not only an incisive takedown of foolish anti-Western arguments but also a rigorous new apologetic for civilization itself.]]> 308 Douglas Murray 0063162024 Susan 5 4.23 2022 The War on the West
author: Douglas Murray
name: Susan
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: 2025, brain-enriching, history, non-fiction, politics
review:

]]> A Summertime Song 1797470 A taxi driven by Baby Bird, who is afraid to fly, picks Lucy up to take her to the party. On the way, they stop for Madame Mouse, wearing a brand new hat she's made; an inch-worm determined to get to the party in time to have some birthday cake; and a tiny tattered old doll whose owner, for whom he still longs, had lost him in the shadows of moonlight long ago. But suddenly, a huge owl blocks their way -- and he wants them all for his supper! Will they escape? Will they get to the party? Will the tiny doll ever be reunited with his beloved owner?
In a lovely, lyrical text, the story unfolds to its happy ending. The magical pictures, painted with intricate detail and subtle colors, bring the moonlit garden world to life. This is an extraordinary book of great beauty and vivid imagination that small children and adults will look at again and again, discovering new wonders and surprises as they look. It is a treasure by the widely known and loved author/artist of The Maggie B.]]> 32 Irene Haas 0689505493 Susan 2 3.97 1997 A Summertime Song
author: Irene Haas
name: Susan
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1997
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: 2025, childrens-picture-books, fantasy, picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> Three Go Searching 543487 128 Patricia St. John 0802487483 Susan 4 3.83 1966 Three Go Searching
author: Patricia St. John
name: Susan
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1966
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: 2025, christian-fiction, favorite-authors, feel-good-books, juvenille
review:

]]> Verdict of Twelve 1715321 208 Raymond W. Postgate 0897331982 Susan 0 to-read 3.69 1940 Verdict of Twelve
author: Raymond W. Postgate
name: Susan
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1940
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Treasures of the Snow 543495 A story of vicious revenge and hard repentance

Annette and Lucien are enemies. After Annette gets Lucien into trouble at school, he decides to get back at her by threatening the most precious thing in the world to her: her little brother Dani. But tragedy strikes. Annette is so filled with rage thatĚýshe sets out to alienate and humiliate Lucien at every turn. As Lucien seeks to repent and restore, light floods both of their dark hearts and Christ proves that He makes all things new.]]> 228 Patricia St. John 0802465757 Susan 5 4.26 1950 Treasures of the Snow
author: Patricia St. John
name: Susan
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1950
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/04
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves:
review:

]]> Home (Gilead, #2) 2924318 Home parallels the story told in Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead. It is a moving and healing book about families, family secrets, and the passing of the generations, about love and death and faith.

Hundreds of thousands were enthralled by the luminous voice of John Ames in Gilead, Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. Home is an entirely independent, deeply affecting novel that takes place concurrently in the same locale, this time in the household of Reverend Robert Boughton, Ames’s closest friend.

Glory Boughton, aged thirty-eight, has returned to Gilead to care for her dying father. Soon her brother, Jack—the prodigal son of the family, gone for twenty years—comes home too, looking for refuge and trying to make peace with a past littered with tormenting trouble and pain.

Jack is one of the great characters in recent literature. A bad boy from childhood, an alcoholic who cannot hold a job, he is perpetually at odds with his surroundings and with his traditionalist father, though he remains Boughton’s most beloved child. Brilliant, lovable, and wayward, Jack forges an intense bond with Glory and engages painfully with Ames, his godfather and namesake.

Home is a moving and healing book about families, family secrets, and the passing of the generations, about love and death and faith. It is Robinson’s greatest work, an unforgettable embodiment of the deepest and most universal emotions.]]> 325 Marilynne Robinson 0374299102 Susan 0 to-read 4.04 2008 Home (Gilead, #2)
author: Marilynne Robinson
name: Susan
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill]]> 25241653 From New York Times bestselling author of Destiny of the Republic and The River of Doubt, a thrilling narrative of Winston Churchill's extraordinary and little-known exploits during the Boer War

At age twenty-four, Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England one day, despite the fact he had just lost his first election campaign for Parliament. He believed that to achieve his goal he must do something spectacular on the battlefield. Despite deliberately putting himself in extreme danger as a British Army officer in colonial wars in India and Sudan, and as a journalist covering a Cuban uprising against the Spanish, glory and fame had eluded him.

Churchill arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, there to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels. But just two weeks after his arrival, the soldiers he was accompanying on an armored train were ambushed, and Churchill was taken prisoner. Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape--but then had to traverse hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits to guide him.

The story of his escape is incredible enough, but then Churchill enlisted, returned to South Africa, fought in several battles, and ultimately liberated the men with whom he had been imprisoned.

Churchill would later remark that this period, "could I have seen my future, was to lay the foundations of my later life." Millard spins an epic story of bravery, savagery, and chance encounters with a cast of historical characters--including Rudyard Kipling, Lord Kitchener, and Mohandas Gandhi--with whom he would later share the world stage. But Hero of the Empire is more than an adventure story, for the lessons Churchill took from the Boer War would profoundly affect 20th century history.

From the Hardcover edition.]]> 416 Candice Millard 0804194890 Susan 0 to-read 4.02 2016 Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
author: Candice Millard
name: Susan
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (George Smiley, #5; Karla Trilogy, #1)]]> 10073506 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy begins George Smiley's chess match of wills and wits with Karla, his Soviet counterpart.

It is now beyond a doubt that a mole, implanted decades ago by Moscow Centre, has burrowed his way into the highest echelons of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of its most vital operations and its best networks. It is clear that the double agent is one of its own kind. But which one? George Smiley is assigned to identify him. And once identified, the traitor must be destroyed.]]> 381 John Le Carré Susan 0 to-read 4.07 1974 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (George Smiley, #5; Karla Trilogy, #1)
author: John Le Carré
name: Susan
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1974
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Buckboard Stranger 5160132 0 Stephen W. Meader 0152128514 Susan 4 4.27 1954 Buckboard Stranger
author: Stephen W. Meader
name: Susan
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1954
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: 2025, favorite-authors, juvenille
review:

]]> Stephen Foster: His Life 76344396 Stephen Foster His Life 94 Catherine Owens Peare 1258375338 Susan 4 2025, biographies, juvenille 4.00 Stephen Foster: His Life
author: Catherine Owens Peare
name: Susan
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: 2025, biographies, juvenille
review:

]]> The Winged Watchman 56079
Holland, 1940's
RL4.9
Of read-aloud interest ages 9-up]]> 191 Hilda van Stockum 1883937078 Susan 4 4.25 1962 The Winged Watchman
author: Hilda van Stockum
name: Susan
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1962
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/26
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves: 2025, based-on-true-events-and-people, historical-fiction, juvenille, podcast-possibilities, wwii-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion]]> 210454061 A sharp Christian voice makes a bold when politics are driven by empathy rather than truth, innocent people pay the price.We are told that empathy is the highest virtue—the key to being a good person. Is that true? Or has “empathy,â€� like so many other words of our dayâ€� “tolerance,â€� “justice,â€� “acceptance”—been hijacked by bad actors who exploit compassion for their own political ends?ĚýIn Toxic Empathy, Allie Beth Stuckey argues that empathy has become a tool of manipulation by left-wing activists who bully people into believing that they must adopt progressive positions to be loving. She explores the five most heated issues through which toxic empathy is abortion, gender, sexuality, immigration, and social justice. Progressives use catchy mantras to present their perspective as empathetic, like “abortion is healthcare,â€� “love is love,â€� or “no human being is illegal,â€� but in each case, they ignore the other side of the moral equation. For example, abortion is presented as compassionate for the woman, but what about the human life the procedure kills?This book isn’t about killing empathy; it’s about submitting our empathy to God’s definitions of love, goodness, and justice. Stuckey exposes theĚýlogical pitfalls and moral consequences of toxic empathy, equipping Christians with research-backed, Biblical truths to dismantle the progressive lies that have permeated our cultureâ€� and our church.]]> 224 Allie Beth Stuckey 0593541944 Susan 5 4.47 2024 Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion
author: Allie Beth Stuckey
name: Susan
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/20
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves: 2025, christian, christian-non-fiction, non-fiction, politics
review:

]]> Snowflake Bentley 348489 "Of all the forms of water the tiny six-pointed crystals of ice called snow are incomparably the most beautiful and varied."
� Wilson Bentley (1865�1931)

Snow in Vermont is as common as dirt. Why would anyone want to photograph it? But from the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley thinks of the icy crystals as small miracles, and he determines that one day his camera will capture for others their extraordinary beauty.

Often misunderstood in his time, Wilson Bentley took pictures that even today reveal two important truths about snowflakes: first, that no two are alike, and second, that each one is startlingly beautiful. His story, gracefully told by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and brought to life in Mary Azarian's lovely woodcuts, gives children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist's vision and perseverance, but a clear passion for the wonders of nature.

Snowflake Bentley won the 1999 Caldecott Medal.

Edition ISBN: 9780395861622
Edition MSRP: $16â°â° USD]]> 32 Jacqueline Briggs Martin 0395861624 Susan 4 4.13 1998 Snowflake Bentley
author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin
name: Susan
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/19
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: 2025, based-on-true-events-and-people, caldecott-medal, childrens-picture-books, juvenille, non-fiction, picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> Tree Wagon 1754200 239 Evelyn Sibley Lampman 0385071167 Susan 3 4.24 1953 Tree Wagon
author: Evelyn Sibley Lampman
name: Susan
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1953
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves: 2025, historical-fiction, juvenille
review:

]]> The House on the Strand 50246
Alternate cover is available here.]]> 329 Daphne du Maurier Susan 0 to-read 3.85 1969 The House on the Strand
author: Daphne du Maurier
name: Susan
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1969
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Eye of the Needle 92364 One enemy spy knows the secret to the Allies' greatest deception, a brilliant aristocrat and ruthless assassin -- code name: "The Needle" -- who holds the key to ultimate Nazi victory.

Only one person stands in his way: a lonely Englishwoman on an isolated island, who is beginning to love the killer who has mysteriously entered her life.

All will come to a terrifying conclusion in Ken Follett's unsurpassed and unforgettable masterwork of suspense, intrigue, and the dangerous machinations of the human heart.

]]> 368 Ken Follett 006074815X Susan 0 to-read 4.19 1978 Eye of the Needle
author: Ken Follett
name: Susan
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1978
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Night Over Water 5055 448 Ken Follett 0451211472 Susan 0 to-read 3.83 1991 Night Over Water
author: Ken Follett
name: Susan
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Jackdaws 5062
But when Flick and her Resistance-leader husband try a direct, head-on assault that goes horribly wrong, her world turns upside down. Her group destroyed, her husband missing, her superiors unsure of her, her own confidence badly shaken, she has one last chance at the target, but the challenge, once daunting, is now near impossible. The new plan requires an all-woman team, none of them professionals, to be assembled and trained within days. Code-named the Jackdaws, they will attempt to infiltrate the exchange under the noses of the Germans—but the Germans are waiting for them now and have plans of their own. There are secrets Flick does not know—secrets within the German ranks, secrets among her hastily recruited team, secrets among those she trusts the most. And as the hours tick down to the point of no return, most daunting of all, there are secrets within herself. . . .]]> 432 Ken Follett 0451219597 Susan 0 to-read 3.98 2001 Jackdaws
author: Ken Follett
name: Susan
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Trail Through Danger 121828 186 William O. Steele 0152896619 Susan 3 3.90 1965 Trail Through Danger
author: William O. Steele
name: Susan
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1965
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves: 2025, historical-fiction, juvenille
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Silent Night: The Song and Its Story by Margaret Hodges (September 03,1997)]]> 127694825 0 Margaret Hodges Susan 5 5.00 1997 Silent Night: The Song and Its Story by Margaret Hodges (September 03,1997)
author: Margaret Hodges
name: Susan
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: 2025, based-on-true-events-and-people, biographies, childrens-picture-books, christmas, history, juvenille, picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> The Jumping-Off Place 5670616 321 Marian Hurd McNeely 0979894042 Susan 4 2025 4.04 1929 The Jumping-Off Place
author: Marian Hurd McNeely
name: Susan
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1929
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: 2025
review:

]]> We Were the Lucky Ones 30267929
As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere.

An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century’s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.]]> 403 Georgia Hunter 0399563083 Susan 5 4.39 2017 We Were the Lucky Ones
author: Georgia Hunter
name: Susan
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/21
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: historical-fiction, immigrant-stories, wwii-books, based-on-true-events-and-people, holocaust, survival, 2025
review:

]]> Winter Danger 121817 144 William O. Steele 0152052062 Susan 4 3.89 1954 Winter Danger
author: William O. Steele
name: Susan
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1954
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: 2025, adventure, historical-fiction, juvenille, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement]]> 203956674 America’s favorite government teacher offers thrilling, heartfelt stories of ordinary American heroes.Most pundits and historians sell a dangerously naĂŻve version of the American story—either praising its most consequential figures uncritically or criticizing them unfairly.ĚýSharon McMahon believes the truth is more human. In her debut book The Small and the Mighty, she tells the inpiring stories of twelve Americans--regular people with human foibles--whose extraordinary heroism in the face of mounting trials created the character of our country.ĚýWith the same clarity and candor that's earned her millions of fans, McMahon follows the daughter of formerly enslaved parents who sparked a reformation in Black education, a Japanese immigrant who nearly died in combat and became a consequential Senator, and even the electrician who saved her husband’s life. Her unforgettable prose and meticulous research tell the story of America from the perspective of the unsung heroes whose devotion to their country will restore your faith in the American dream.The portraits of our nation’s most improbable champions, innovators, and rebels in this book celebrate the United States and reveal our common humanity. The Small and the Mighty is the encouragement we all need in an age of doomscrolling and division.]]> 320 Sharon McMahon 0593541677 Susan 2 4.45 2024 The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement
author: Sharon McMahon
name: Susan
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: american-history, history, 2025, book-club-2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cowboy-Artist: Charles M. Russell]]> 15777678 185 Shannon Garst Susan 4 4.00 1963 Cowboy-Artist: Charles M. Russell
author: Shannon Garst
name: Susan
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1963
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: 2025, american-history, biographies, nature-true-adventure, westerns
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention� and How to Think Deeply Again]]> 57933306 Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. From the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections comes a groundbreaking examination of why this is happening--and how to get our attention back.

In the United States, teenagers can focus on one task for only sixty-five seconds at a time, and office workers average only three minutes. Like so many of us, Johann Hari was finding that constantly switching from device to device and tab to tab was a diminishing and depressing way to live. He tried all sorts of self-help solutions--even abandoning his phone for three months--but nothing seemed to work. So Hari went on an epic journey across the world to interview the leading experts on human attention--and he discovered that everything we think we know about this crisis is wrong.

We think our inability to focus is a personal failure to exert enough willpower over our devices. The truth is even more disturbing: our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces that have left us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. Hari found that there are twelve deep causes of this crisis, from the decline of mind-wandering to rising pollution, all of which have robbed some of our attention. In Stolen Focus, he introduces readers to Silicon Valley dissidents who learned to hack human attention, and veterinarians who diagnose dogs with ADHD. He explores a favela in Rio de Janeiro where everyone lost their attention in a particularly surreal way, and an office in New Zealand that discovered a remarkable technique to restore workers' productivity.

Crucially, Hari learned how we can reclaim our focus--as individuals, and as a society--if we are determined to fight for it. Stolen Focus will transform the debate about attention and finally show us how to get it back.]]> 357 Johann Hari 0593138511 Susan 0 to-read 4.22 2022 Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention— and How to Think Deeply Again
author: Johann Hari
name: Susan
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> In This House of Brede 80977 672 Rumer Godden 0829421289 Susan 4 4.35 1969 In This House of Brede
author: Rumer Godden
name: Susan
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1969
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: 2025, book-club-2025, book-club-reads, made-into-a-movie
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Truth For Life - Volume 2: 365 Daily Devotions (A Gospel-Saturated Gift Devotional for the Entire Year - Includes a Yearly Bible Reading Plan)]]> 62880581 A second volume of 365 Christ-centered daily devotions from renowned Bible teacher Alistair Begg.

Start with the gospel each and every day with this second volume of 365 Christ-centred daily devotions from renowned Bible teacher Alistair Begg.

Each daily devotion

reflections from renowned Bible teacher Alistair Beggprompts for real-life applicationrelevant Scripture passagesa yearly Bible-reading plan]]> 1088 Alistair Begg Susan 0 currently-reading 4.68 Truth For Life - Volume 2: 365 Daily Devotions (A Gospel-Saturated Gift Devotional for the Entire Year - Includes a Yearly Bible Reading Plan)
author: Alistair Begg
name: Susan
average rating: 4.68
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> A Long Road on a Short Day 48946893 64 Gary D. Schmidt 0544888367 Susan 5 4.10 2020 A Long Road on a Short Day
author: Gary D. Schmidt
name: Susan
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: 2025, childrens-picture-books, feel-good-books, juvenille, picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair]]> 228195 40 Patricia Polacco 0399229434 Susan 5 4.18 1996 Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair
author: Patricia Polacco
name: Susan
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: 2025, childrens-picture-books, juvenille, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books]]> 99267
In a tiny log cabin a boy listened with delight to the storytelling of his ma and pa. He traced letters in sand, snow, and dust. He borrowed books and walked miles to bring them back.

When he grew up, he became the sixteenth president of the United States. His name was Abraham Lincoln.

He loved books.
They changed his life.
He changed the world.]]> 40 Kay Winters 1416912681 Susan 4 4.05 2003 Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books
author: Kay Winters
name: Susan
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: 2025, american-history, based-on-true-events-and-people, childrens-picture-books, juvenille, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> The Blind Colt 1829115 80 Glen Rounds 0590323008 Susan 4 3.90 1941 The Blind Colt
author: Glen Rounds
name: Susan
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1941
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: 2025, based-on-true-events-and-people, heartwarming, historical-fiction, juvenille, westerns, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Adventures of Taxi Dog (Picture Puffins)]]> 207212
Maxi, a homeless mutt in New York City, has always fended for himself. Then one day a kind taxi driver named Jim offers him friendship, a home, and a place in the front seat! From that moment on, Maxi and Jim revel in the sights and sounds of the city, and share all sorts of wild adventures-from rushing two clowns and a chimp to the circus, to singing duets with an opera diva! These and other adventures are brilliantly depicted in Mark Buehner's witty, detail-packed oil paintings.]]> 32 Debra Barracca 0140566651 Susan 4 4.10 1990 The Adventures of Taxi Dog (Picture Puffins)
author: Debra Barracca
name: Susan
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: 2025, childrens-picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> Owl Moon 228696
But there is no answer.

Wordlessly the two companions walk along, for when you go owling you don't need words. You don't need anything but hope. Sometimes there isn't an owl, but sometimes there is.

Distinguished author Jane Yolen has created a gentle, poetic story that lovingly depicts the special companionship of a young child and her father as well as humankind's close relationship to the natural world. Wonderfully complemented by award-winning John Schoenherr's soft, exquisite watercolor illustrations, this is a verbal and visual treasure, perfect for reading aloud and sharing at bedtime.]]> 32 Jane Yolen 0399214577 Susan 5 4.22 1987 Owl Moon
author: Jane Yolen
name: Susan
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: 2025, caldecott-medal, childrens-picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mousekin's Easter Basket (Mousekin, #13)]]> 3808321 32 Edna Miller 067166803X Susan 4 3.77 1986 Mousekin's Easter Basket (Mousekin, #13)
author: Edna Miller
name: Susan
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: 2025, childrens-picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Storm (The Lighthouse Family, #1)]]> 18862 But one day, the sea did something It brought Pandora and Seabold together! And even better, the sea gave them the ingredients for an adventure that neither of them had considered before-an adventure called "family."]]> 80 Cynthia Rylant 068984882X Susan 4 4.32 2002 The Storm (The Lighthouse Family, #1)
author: Cynthia Rylant
name: Susan
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: 2025, childrens-picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> Crow Boy 97488 40 Taro Yashima 014050172X Susan 5 3.92 1955 Crow Boy
author: Taro Yashima
name: Susan
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1955
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: 2025, caldecott-medal, childrens-picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Winter Story (Brambly Hedge, #4)]]> 421615
"There's enough for a Snow Ball!" cried the mice with glee, and they set to work in the time-honoured way to make an Ice Hall for the festivities.

The little mice watched wide-eyed as all the preparations were made. Then at last everything was ready, and the Ball could begin...]]> 32 Jill Barklem 0689830572 Susan 4 4.48 1980 Winter Story (Brambly Hedge, #4)
author: Jill Barklem
name: Susan
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1980
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: 2025, childrens-picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> Just Plain Fancy 835014
Naomi lives with her farming family in an Amish village in Pennsylvania. As part of her household chores, Naomi looks after the chickens with her little sister, Ruth.

One day Naomi and Ruth find an abandoned egg near the road. Naomi decides this special egg must be hatched. And when it is, it's plain to see that this is no ordinary chick!

The girls keep the chick, named Fancy, a secret . . . until the day of their family's community working bee. On this day, Naomi is to receive a white organdy cap, an Amish tradition, as a reward for her hard work and responsibility. But on this day, too, Fancy the chick decides to introduce himself to the community!

The results are a sheer delight, pure and simple. Accompanied by Patricia Polacco'sĚýbeautiful artwork, this story of discovery and growing up will stay in the hearts of all who turn its pages.]]> 32 Patricia Polacco 0440409373 Susan 5 4.11 1990 Just Plain Fancy
author: Patricia Polacco
name: Susan
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: 2025, childrens-picture-books, podcast-possibilities
review:

]]> Keep 'Em Rolling 33564557 Stephen W. Meader 0152421955 Susan 4 4.20 1967 Keep 'Em Rolling
author: Stephen W. Meader
name: Susan
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1967
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: favorite-authors, historical-fiction, juvenille, 2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Letters of a Woman Homesteader (Dover Books on Americana)]]> 685737 Spring and summers were hard, she concedes, and were taken up with branding, farming, doctoring cattle, and other chores. But with the arrival of fall, Pruitt found time to take her young daughter on camping trips and serve her neighbors as midwife, doctor, teacher, Santa Claus, and friend. She provides a candid portrait of these and other experiences in twenty-six letters written to a friend back in Denver.
Described by the Wall Street Journal as "warmly delightful, vigorously affirmative," this unsurpassed classic of American frontier life � enhanced with original illustrations by N. C. Wyeth � will charm today's audience as much as it fascinated readers when it was first published in 1914.]]> 144 Elinore Pruitt Stewart 0486451429 Susan 0 to-read 4.05 1914 Letters of a Woman Homesteader (Dover Books on Americana)
author: Elinore Pruitt Stewart
name: Susan
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1914
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Buffalo and Beaver 11389818
Jeff thrived on these hardships and became a true mountain man. Equally important, his natural talent for art found expression in the paintings he made on deerskin canvases of the wilderness scenes. When he returned to St. Louis, the sale of his deerskin pictures helped ensure his future study as an artist.

Authentic and exciting, Buffalo And Beaver is another of Stephen Meader’s outstanding stories which gives the reader a sense of the superb natural beauties of this country and of history in the making.]]> Stephen W. Meader Susan 0 to-read 4.58 1960 Buffalo and Beaver
author: Stephen W. Meader
name: Susan
average rating: 4.58
book published: 1960
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Treasury of Christmas Miracles: True Stories of God's Presence Today]]> 1384741 #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury's classic collection of true stories that celebrates the wonder of Christmas is now available with an updated cover. An incredible chance encounter that changes everything...help that suddenly appears from nowhere...kindness handed to us when it is least expected. We have all experienced miracles in our lives. In A TREASURY OF CHRISTMAS MIRACLES, Karen Kingsbury presents a collection of real-life stories about people whose lives were changed by the mystery of Christmas. With an uplifting voice, she shares undeniable proof of God's presence in our lives and gives us a joyous reminder of the true meaning of Christmas: the greatest miracle of all is opening our hearts to love.]]> 176 Karen Kingsbury 0446193925 Susan 4 2025 4.25 2001 A Treasury of Christmas Miracles: True Stories of God's Presence Today
author: Karen Kingsbury
name: Susan
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/08
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: 2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Christmas in My Heart, Vol. 13 (Christmas in My Heart, 13)]]> 2579228 288 Joe L. Wheeler 0842371273 Susan 5 3.84 2004 Christmas in My Heart, Vol. 13 (Christmas in My Heart, 13)
author: Joe L. Wheeler
name: Susan
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/06
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: christian-fiction, christmas, christmas-stories, heartwarming, series-books, short-stories, 2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harbour Street (Vera Stanhope, #6)]]> 18743339
But when the train is stopped due to the bad weather, and the other passengers fade into the swirling snow, Jessie notices that an old lady hasn't left the train: Margaret Krukowski has been fatally stabbed as she sat on the crowded train. Nobody, including the policeman himself, sees the stabbing take place. Margaret's murderer is seemingly invisible; her killing motiveless. Why would anyone want to harm this reserved, elegant lady?

Arriving at the scene, DI Vera Stanhope is relieved to have an excuse to escape the holiday festivities. As she's standing on the silent, snow-covered station platform, Vera feels a familiar buzz of anticipation, sensing that this will be a complex and unusual case. Soon Vera and Joe are on their way to the south Northumberland town of Mardle, where Margaret lived, to begin their inquiry.

Then, just days later, a second woman is murdered. Vera knows that to find the key to this new killing she needs to understand what had been troubling Margaret so deeply before she died - before another life is lost. She can feel in her bones that there's a link. Retracing Margaret's final steps, Vera finds herself searching deep into the hidden past of this seemingly innocent neighbourhood, led by clues that keep revolving around one street... Why are the residents of Harbour Street so reluctant to speak?

Told with piercing prose and a forensic eye, Harbour Street explores what happens when a community closes ranks to protect their own - and at what point silent witnesses become complicit.]]> 400 Ann Cleeves 1447254465 Susan 0 to-read 4.04 2014 Harbour Street (Vera Stanhope, #6)
author: Ann Cleeves
name: Susan
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Grace: A Bigger View of God's Love]]> 26634989 224 Randy Alcorn 073696746X Susan 0 currently-reading 4.12 2016 Grace: A Bigger View of God's Love
author: Randy Alcorn
name: Susan
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz]]> 51187948
On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold the country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally-and willing to fight to the end.

In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless." It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London.

Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports-some released only recently-Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the cadre of close advisers who comprised Churchill's "Secret Circle," including his lovestruck private secretary, John Colville; newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook; and the Rasputin-like Frederick Lindemann.

The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today's political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when-in the face of unrelenting horror-Churchill's eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together."--]]> 546 Erik Larson 038534872X Susan 0 to-read 4.30 2020 The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
author: Erik Larson
name: Susan
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cliff's Edge 2511599 Meg Tilly returns with a second gripping romantic suspense novel set on the idyllic Solace Island in the Pacific Northwest.

Eve Harris is all set to house-sit and run the bakery she shares with her sister while Maggie goes on her honeymoon, but there's one problem--the house is already occupied. By a movie star. He claims to be her brother-in-law's friend, and not only does he insist on staying, he also offers to help. Playing house has never been so tempting...

Rhys Thomas is looking for a place to lie low after wrapping up his latest film, so when Luke offers up his house as a safe haven, Rhys sees the perfect opportunity for a little R & R. But rest is the last thing on his mind as he and Eve grow close.Ěý

But Eve and Rhys are not as alone as they think. And as danger trails Eve, it will take everything Rhys has to save the woman he loves.]]> 336 Meg Tilly Susan 0 to-read 3.53 2019 Cliff's Edge
author: Meg Tilly
name: Susan
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)]]> 186074
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.]]> 662 Patrick Rothfuss 075640407X Susan 0 to-read 4.52 2007 The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Susan
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Reluctant Dragon 2190742 58 Kenneth Grahame 082340093X Susan 0 to-read 3.95 1898 The Reluctant Dragon
author: Kenneth Grahame
name: Susan
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1898
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wormwood Abbey (The Secrets of Ormdale, #1)]]> 198096255
Wormwood Abbey isn't just full of curious beasts and ancient family secrets: there’s also a tall, dark, and entirely too handsome neighbour who is strangely reluctant for her to leave.

An unexpected bond with her prickly cousin Gwendolyn gives Edith a reason to stay in this strange world � especially when it turns out that Edith herself may have a role in guarding her family's legacy.

But not all of the mysteries of Ormdale are small enough to fit in her lap...and some of them have teeth.

WORMWOOD ABBEY, Book 1 of The Secrets of Ormdale, is a cosy gothic novel of mystery, dragons, and the perils of friendship, perfect for fans of EMILY WILDE'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES and Maria Grace.

Preorder today to explore the hidden valley of Ormdale, the first in a new 5 book series!]]> 208 Christina Baehr Susan 0 to-read 4.21 2023 Wormwood Abbey (The Secrets of Ormdale, #1)
author: Christina Baehr
name: Susan
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> My India 1860759 163 Jim Corbett 0196623413 Susan 0 to-read 4.30 1952 My India
author: Jim Corbett
name: Susan
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1952
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[In the Lord I Take Refuge: 150 Daily Devotions Through the Psalms]]> 56849585 416 Dane C. Ortlund 1433577704 Susan 0 to-read 4.66 In the Lord I Take Refuge: 150 Daily Devotions Through the Psalms
author: Dane C. Ortlund
name: Susan
average rating: 4.66
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hannah's Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth]]> 176443237
In the midst of a historic "birth dearth," why do some 5 percent of American women choose to defy the demographic norm by bearing five or more children? Hannah’s Children is a compelling portrait of these overlooked but fascinating mothers who, like the biblical Hannah, see their children as their purpose, their contribution, and their greatest blessing.

The social scientist Catherine Pakaluk, herself the mother of eight, traveled across the United States and interviewed fifty-five college-educated women who were raising five or more children. Through open-ended questions, she sought to understand who these women are, why and when they chose to have a large family, and what this choice means for them, their families, and the nation.

Hannah’s Children is more than interesting stories of extraordinary women. It presents information that is urgently relevant for the future of American prosperity. Many countries have experimented with aggressively pro-natalist public policies, and all of them have failed. Pakaluk finds that the quantitative methods to which the social sciences limit themselves overlook important questions of meaning and identity in their inquiries into fertility rates. Her book is a pathbreaking foray into questions of purpose, religion, transcendence, healing, and growth—questions that ought to inform economic inquiry in the future.]]> 400 Catherine Pakaluk 1684514576 Susan 0 to-read 4.40 2024 Hannah's Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth
author: Catherine Pakaluk
name: Susan
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day]]> 35405026

Year of Wonder is a unique celebration of classical music by an author who wants to share its diverse wonders with others and to encourage a love for this genre in all readers, whether complete novices or lifetime enthusiasts.

Clemency chooses one piece of music for each day of the year, with a short explanation about the composer to put it into context, and brings the music alive in a modern and playful way, while also extolling the positive mindfulness element of giving yourself some time every day to listen to something uplifting or beautiful. Thoughtfully curated and expertly researched, this is a book of classical music to keep you company: whoever you are, wherever you're from.

'The only requirements for enjoying classical music are open ears and an open mind.'
Clemency Burton-Hill


Playlists are available on most streaming music platforms including Apple Music.]]> 416 Clemency Burton-Hill 1472251822 Susan 0 to-read 4.46 2017 Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day
author: Clemency Burton-Hill
name: Susan
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion]]> 54998264 The definitive inside story of WeWork, its audacious founder, and what the company's epic unraveling exposes about Silicon Valley's delusions and the financial system's desperate hunger to cash in--from the Wall Street Journal reporters whose scoops hastened the company's downfall.

In 2001, Adam Neumann arrived in New York after five years as a conscript in the Israeli navy. Just over fifteen years later, he had transformed himself into the charismatic CEO of a company worth $47 billion--at least on paper. With his long hair and feel-good mantras, the 6-foot-five Neumann, who grew up in part on a kibbutz, looked the part of a messianic Silicon Valley entrepreneur. The vision he offered was mesmerizing: a radical reimagining of work space for a new generation, with its fluid jobs and lax office culture. He called it WeWork. Though the company was merely subleasing amenity-filled office space to freelancers and small startups, Neumann marketed it like a revolutionary product--and investors swooned.

As billions of funding dollars poured in, Neumann's ambitions grew limitless. WeWork wasn't just an office space provider, he boasted. It would build schools, create WeWork cities, even colonize Mars. Could he, Neumann wondered from the ice bath he'd installed in his office, become the first trillionaire or a world leader? In pursuit of its founder's grandiose vision, the company spent money faster than it could bring it in. From his private jet, sometimes clouded with marijuana smoke, the CEO scoured the globe for more capital. In late 2019, just weeks before WeWork's highly publicized IPO, a Hail Mary effort to raise cash, everything fell apart. Neumann was ousted from his company--but still was poised to walk away a billionaire.

Calling to mind the recent demise of Theranos and the hubris of the dotcom era bust, WeWork's extraordinary rise and staggering implosion were fueled by disparate characters in a financial system blind to its risks, from a Japanese billionaire with designs on becoming the Warren Buffet of tech, to leaders at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs who seemed intoxicated by a Silicon Valley culture where sensible business models lost out to youthful CEOs who promised disruption. Why did some of the biggest names in banking and venture capital buy the hype? And what does the future hold for Silicon Valley unicorns? Wall Street Journal reporters Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell explore these questions in this definitive account of WeWork's unraveling.]]> 464 Eliot Brown 0593237110 Susan 3 4.24 2021 The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion
author: Eliot Brown
name: Susan
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2022/02/20
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: economics-financial, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup]]> 37976541 The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face of pressure and threats from the CEO and her lawyers.

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup "unicorn" promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood tests significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at $9 billion, putting Holmes's worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn't work.

For years, Holmes had been misleading investors, FDA officials, and her own employees. When Carreyrou, working at The Wall Street Journal, got a tip from a former Theranos employee and started asking questions, both Carreyrou and the Journal were threatened with lawsuits. Undaunted, the newspaper ran the first of dozens of Theranos articles in late 2015. By early 2017, the company's value was zero and Holmes faced potential legal action from the government and her investors. Here is the riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a disturbing cautionary tale set amid the bold promises and gold-rush frenzy of Silicon Valley.]]> 339 John Carreyrou Susan 5 4.38 2018 Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
author: John Carreyrou
name: Susan
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2020/01/03
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: non-fiction, economics-financial, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders]]> 105992 687 Vincent Bugliosi 0393322238 Susan 3 true-crime 4.05 1974 Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
author: Vincent Bugliosi
name: Susan
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1974
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: true-crime
review:

]]> The Devil in the White City 21996
Erik Larson's gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.

Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America's rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair's brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country's most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his "World's Fair Hotel" just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.

The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.]]> 496 Erik Larson 0739303406 Susan 4 non-fiction, true-crime 3.99 2003 The Devil in the White City
author: Erik Larson
name: Susan
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/20
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: non-fiction, true-crime
review:
I really enjoyed this book which was recommended to me by a dear friend. Erik Larson brings to life Chicago during the time of the 1983 World's Fair. It is actually the true story of two individuals: a brilliant architect who was the mastermind behind the amazing World's Columbian Exposition and a calculating serial killer who used the fair to his benefit. The stories intertwine and Larson does a wonderful job of bringing the era of the late 1800's to life. This book reads like fiction despite the fact that is all true. I was totally engrossed while reading this story, and amazed at how much I learned.
]]> <![CDATA[Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI]]> 29496076 Ěý
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes such as Al Spencer, “the Phantom Terror,� roamed � virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations. But the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Eventually the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau. They infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. The book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward Native Americans that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly riveting, but also emotionally devastating.]]> 359 David Grann 0385534256 Susan 5 non-fiction, true-crime Then, quite suddenly, the Osage began dying off one by one. At first, some of the deaths were attributed to natural causes or considered the result of a mysterious “wasting disease�. But, as more and more tribal members began to die by various means, and the investigations into several murders went nowhere, the Bureau of Investigation (the forerunner to our nations FBI), took over. Thanks to a former Texas Ranger, named Tom White, who put together an investigative team, they were eventually able to figure out the mystery behind the large number of deaths. What they discovered was a cold-blooded conspiracy that encompassed leaders in Oklahoma’s government and businesses. This true story of the insidious web of corruption that led to the murder of more than 24 Osage, is compelling and tragic.]]> 4.12 2017 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
author: David Grann
name: Susan
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/18
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: non-fiction, true-crime
review:
I learned so many things from reading this riveting account of the Osage Indians and their history during the early decades of the 20th century. Unbeknownst to me, during the 1920’s, the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma had some of the wealthiest people per capita living there. The oil that was discovered beneath their land turned many Osage into millionaires overnight. They built mansions and rode around in chauffeured vehicles.
Then, quite suddenly, the Osage began dying off one by one. At first, some of the deaths were attributed to natural causes or considered the result of a mysterious “wasting disease�. But, as more and more tribal members began to die by various means, and the investigations into several murders went nowhere, the Bureau of Investigation (the forerunner to our nations FBI), took over. Thanks to a former Texas Ranger, named Tom White, who put together an investigative team, they were eventually able to figure out the mystery behind the large number of deaths. What they discovered was a cold-blooded conspiracy that encompassed leaders in Oklahoma’s government and businesses. This true story of the insidious web of corruption that led to the murder of more than 24 Osage, is compelling and tragic.
]]> I'll Be Gone in the Dark 35271190
A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer—the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade—from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case.

"You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark."

For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area.

Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called "the Golden State Killer." McNamara pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was.

At the time of the crimes, the Golden State Killer was between the ages of eighteen and thirty, Caucasian, and athletic—capable of vaulting tall fences. He always wore a mask. After choosing a victim—he favored suburban couples—he often entered their home when no one was there, studying family pictures, mastering the layout. He attacked while they slept, using a flashlight to awaken and blind them. Though they could not recognize him, his victims recalled his voice: a guttural whisper through clenched teeth, abrupt and threatening.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark—the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death—offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind. It is also a portrait of a woman’s obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and an afterword by her husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by McNamara's lead researcher and a close colleague. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic—and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.]]> 328 Michelle McNamara Susan 4 4.10 2018 I'll Be Gone in the Dark
author: Michelle McNamara
name: Susan
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/02/16
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: non-fiction, reading-challenge-2019, mysteries, true-crime
review:
Wow! Can I just say that this was a compelling read? I knew nothing about the Golden State Killer prior to reading this. Have I been living under a rock for the past 40+ years since this serial rapist/murderer/burglar began his chilling crime spree? Apparently so. The author did a remarkable job laying out the time line of the attacks which took place from 1976 until 1988, along with the investigations sparked by this unsolved crime spree. What is sad is that the author never lived to see the culmination of her years of work pursuing the truth and seeking justice on behalf of so many victims. Michelle McNamara passed away in 2016 quite suddenly and the book was completed by her lead researcher and colleague. This was a totally engrossing story with an ending that is still being written.
]]> <![CDATA[The Solitary Summer (Elizabeth)]]> 2999223 Elizabeth and Her German Garden is a witty, lyrical account of a rejuvenating summer. Descriptions of magnificent larkspurs and burning nasturtiums give way to those of cooling forest walks, and of clambering up the mud bank when the miller is not in view. Rainy days prompt a little philanthropy, until the sun returns the gardener to the refuge of her beloved plants. Yet the months are not as solitary as she'd planned—there's the Man of Wrath to pacify and the April, May, and June babies to amuse. Here, with the pleasing astringency for which she is noted, Elizabeth von Arnim returns to the heroine and the garden she immortalized.]]> 190 Elizabeth von Arnim 1853815535 Susan 0 to-read 3.88 1899 The Solitary Summer (Elizabeth)
author: Elizabeth von Arnim
name: Susan
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1899
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Comfort of Ghosts (Maisie Dobbs, #18)]]> 199703402
The Comfort of Ghosts completes Jacqueline Winspear’s ground-breaking and internationally bestselling series.

“An outstanding historical series.”—The New York Times

“Winspear is a brilliant writer, mixing the history and the mystery with the psychology of criminals and victims.”—The Historical Novel Society

Psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs unravels a profound mystery from her past in a war-torn nation grappling with its future.

London, 1945: Four adolescent orphans with a dark wartime history are squatting in a vacant Belgravia mansion—the owners having fled London under heavy Luftwaffe bombing. Psychologist and Investigator Maisie Dobbs visits the mansion on behalf of the owners and discovers that a demobilized soldier, gravely ill and reeling from his experiences overseas, has taken shelter with the group.

Maisie’s quest to bring comfort to the youngsters and the ailing soldier brings to light a decades-old mystery concerning Maisie’s first husband, James Compton, who was killed while piloting an experimental fighter aircraft. As Maisie unravels the threads of her dead husband’s life, she is forced to examine her own painful past and question beliefs she has always accepted as true.

The award-winning Maisie Dobbs series has garnered hundreds of thousands of followers, readers drawn to a woman who is of her time, yet familiar in ours—and who inspires with her resilience and capacity for endurance. This final assignment of her own choosing not only opens a new future for Maisie and her family, but serves as a fascinating portrayal of the challenges facing the people of Britain at the close of the Second World War.]]> 342 Jacqueline Winspear 1641296062 Susan 5 4.26 2024 The Comfort of Ghosts (Maisie Dobbs, #18)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Susan
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/21
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: favorite-authors, favorites, historical-fiction, mysteries, series-books
review:

]]> The Christmas Train 1845793 1 Ivan Gantschev 0670815233 Susan 5 4.00 1984 The Christmas Train
author: Ivan Gantschev
name: Susan
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1984
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: based-on-true-events-and-people, childrens-picture-books, christmas, christmas-stories, feel-good-books, heartwarming, juvenille, picture-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story]]> 639532 32 Cynthia Rylant 0439313279 Susan 5 4.30 1987 Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story
author: Cynthia Rylant
name: Susan
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: childrens-picture-books, christmas, christmas-stories, favorite-authors, feel-good-books, heartwarming, juvenille, picture-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Christmas in My Heart #12 (Christmas in My Heart Series #12)]]> 2041082 288 Joe L. Wheeler 0842371265 Susan 5 3.94 1997 Christmas in My Heart #12 (Christmas in My Heart Series #12)
author: Joe L. Wheeler
name: Susan
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves: christmas-stories, favorites, christian, christian-fiction, heartwarming, short-stories
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Truth for Life - Volume 1: 365 Daily Devotions]]> 59407920 387 Alistair Begg 1784985864 Susan 5 4.72 Truth for Life - Volume 1: 365 Daily Devotions
author: Alistair Begg
name: Susan
average rating: 4.72
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/30
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Jotham's Journey: A Storybook for Advent]]> 1256825 176 Arnold Ytreeide 1569550204 Susan 5 4.35 1997 Jotham's Journey: A Storybook for Advent
author: Arnold Ytreeide
name: Susan
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: advent-devotional, childrens-classic, christian, christmas, christmas-stories, favorites, juvenille, re-read, series-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Christmas in My Heart, Vol. 10 (Focus on the Family Presents)]]> 2579230 272 Joe L. Wheeler 0842353801 Susan 5 4.22 2001 Christmas in My Heart, Vol. 10 (Focus on the Family Presents)
author: Joe L. Wheeler
name: Susan
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: christian, christian-fiction, christmas, christmas-stories, feel-good-books, heartwarming, series-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Christmas in My Heart, Vol. 9: A Treasury of Timeless Christmas Stories (Focus on the Family Presents)]]> 2055171 256 Joe L. Wheeler 0842351892 Susan 5 4.11 2000 Christmas in My Heart, Vol. 9: A Treasury of Timeless Christmas Stories (Focus on the Family Presents)
author: Joe L. Wheeler
name: Susan
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: christian, christian-fiction, christmas, christmas-stories, heartwarming, feel-good-books, series-books
review:

]]> The Magic Christmas Tree 3931688 48 Lee Kingman 0192795430 Susan 5 4.78 1956 The Magic Christmas Tree
author: Lee Kingman
name: Susan
average rating: 4.78
book published: 1956
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: christmas, christmas-stories, favorites, feel-good-books, heartwarming, childrens-picture-books, juvenille, picture-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland]]> 40163119
Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders.

Patrick Radden Keefe writes an intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions.]]> 441 Patrick Radden Keefe 0385521316 Susan 0 to-read 4.47 2018 Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
author: Patrick Radden Keefe
name: Susan
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Jonathan Goes West 5617231 Jonathan Goes West Stephen W. Meader Susan 4 historical-fiction, juvenille 4.60 1946 Jonathan Goes West
author: Stephen W. Meader
name: Susan
average rating: 4.60
book published: 1946
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/19
date added: 2024/12/19
shelves: historical-fiction, juvenille
review:

]]> Christmas Tapestry 835027
This timely tale of love and generosity between people of different religious faiths is a wonderful showcase for Polacco's art. It features snowy holiday scenes and a colorful tapestry that is almost a character in itself.]]> 48 Patricia Polacco 0399239553 Susan 5 4.39 2002 Christmas Tapestry
author: Patricia Polacco
name: Susan
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves: childrens-picture-books, christmas, christmas-stories, juvenille, picture-books
review:

]]> The Bells of Christmas 741525
Twelve-year-old Jason Bell waits impatiently for Christmas 1890. Set against the carefully researched background life of a middle-class black family in Ohio a century ago, “Hamilton’s story moves along at an elegant pace, giving readers time to savor the holiday preparations.�-- School Library Journal]]> 64 Virginia Hamilton 0152015507 Susan 3 3.73 1989 The Bells of Christmas
author: Virginia Hamilton
name: Susan
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/15
shelves: childrens-picture-books, juvenille, picture-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Our Simple Gifts: Civil War Christmas Tales]]> 257168 149 Owen Parry 0060013788 Susan 4 3.77 2009 Our Simple Gifts: Civil War Christmas Tales
author: Owen Parry
name: Susan
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/15
shelves: christmas, christmas-stories, civil-war-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Christmastime 1939 (Christmastime, #0.5)]]> 42273384
Christmastime 1939 introduces the reader to the Christmastime Series. Set in Brooklyn, we meet the young widow Lillian Hapsey and her two sons, Tommy and Gabriel. Even though the Christmas season is just around the corner, Lillian has no Christmas spirit. Alone, unhappy with her job, and plagued by financial concerns, Christmas has become a burden to her.

Overshadowing everything is the war in Europe. Despite the setbacks, Lillian is determined to give her sons a happy Christmas. Can she rekindle her girlhood love for the holiday season? Rediscovering her touchstone just might be the key to unlocking the excitement and magic of Christmas.]]> 158 Linda Mahkovec Susan 4 4.19 Christmastime 1939 (Christmastime, #0.5)
author: Linda Mahkovec
name: Susan
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: christmas, christmas-stories, heartwarming
review:

]]> The Legend of the Candy Cane 720849 32 Lori Walburg 0310212472 Susan 5 4.30 1997 The Legend of the Candy Cane
author: Lori Walburg
name: Susan
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: childrens-picture-books, christmas, picture-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Gate Keeper (Inspector Ian Rutledge, #20)]]> 35101877
Hours after his sister’s wedding, a restless Ian Rutledge drives aimlessly, haunted by the past, and narrowly misses a motorcar stopped in the middle of a desolate road. Standing beside the vehicle is a woman with blood on her hands and a dead man at her feet.

She swears she didn’t kill Stephen Wentworth. A stranger stepped out in front of their motorcar, and without warning, fired a single shot before vanishing into the night. But there is no trace of him. And the shaken woman insists it all happened so quickly, she never saw the man’s face.

Although he is a witness after the fact, Rutledge persuades the Yard to give him the inquiry, since he’s on the scene. But is he seeking justice—or fleeing painful memories in London?

Wentworth was well-liked, yet his bitter family paint a malevolent portrait, calling him a murderer. But who did Wentworth kill? Is his death retribution? Or has his companion lied? Wolf Pit, his village, has a notorious in Medieval times, the last wolf in England was killed there. When a second suspicious death occurs, the evidence suggests that a dangerous predator is on the loose, and that death is closer than Rutledge knows.]]> 313 Charles Todd Susan 4 mysteries, series-books 4.18 2018 The Gate Keeper (Inspector Ian Rutledge, #20)
author: Charles Todd
name: Susan
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: mysteries, series-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[At Bertram's Hotel (Miss Marple, #10)]]> 16333
When Miss Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she's looking for at Bertram's: traditional décor and impeccable service. But she senses an unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly polished veneer. Not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion when an eccentric hotel guest makes his way to the airport one day late!

Librarian's note: this entry is for the novel, "At Bertram's Hotel." Collections and other Miss Marple stories are located elsewhere on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ. The series includes 12 novels and 20 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."]]> 223 Agatha Christie Susan 4 3.72 1965 At Bertram's Hotel (Miss Marple, #10)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Susan
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1965
rating: 4
read at: 2021/07/14
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves: audiobooks, favorite-authors, mysteries
review:

]]> The Railway Children 164531
The youngsters' days are filled with adventure and excitement, including their successful attempt to avert a horrible train disaster; but the mysterious disappearance of their father continues to haunt them.

The solution to that painful puzzle and many other details and events of the children's lives come to vivid life in this perennial favorite, a story that has captivated generations of readers and, more recently, delighted television and movie audiences. In this inexpensive, unabridged edition, it will charm a whole new audience of young readers with its warmth and appeal.]]> 188 E. Nesbit 0486410226 Susan 5 4.01 1906 The Railway Children
author: E. Nesbit
name: Susan
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1906
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/28
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: audiobooks, childrens-classic, favorite-authors, feel-good-books, juvenille, re-read, favorites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Sunlit Weapon (Maisie Dobbs, #17)]]> 58444861 In the latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series, a series of possible attacks on British pilots leads Jacqueline Winspear's beloved heroine Maisie Dobbs into a mystery involving First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

October 1942. Jo Hardy, a 22-year-old ferry pilot, is delivering a Supermarine Spitfire--the fastest fighter aircraft in the world--to Biggin Hill Aerodrome, when she realizes someone is shooting at her aircraft from the ground. Returning to the location on foot, she finds an American serviceman in a barn, bound and gagged. She rescues the man, who is handed over to the American military police; it quickly emerges that he is considered a suspect in the disappearance of a fellow soldier who is missing.

Tragedy strikes two days later, when another ferry pilot crashes in the same area where Jo's plane was attacked. At the suggestion of one of her colleagues, Jo seeks the help of psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs. Meanwhile, Maisie's husband, a high-ranking political attach� based at the American embassy, is in the thick of ensuring security is tight for the first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt, during her visit to the Britain. There's already evidence that German agents have been circling: the wife of a president represents a high value target. Mrs. Roosevelt is clearly in danger, and there may well be a direct connection to the death of the woman ferry pilot and the recent activities of two American servicemen.

To guarantee the safety of the First Lady--and of the soldier being held in police custody--Maisie must uncover that connection. At the same time, she faces difficulties of an entirely different nature with her young daughter, Anna, who is experiencing wartime struggles of her own.]]> 358 Jacqueline Winspear 0063142260 Susan 5 4.13 2022 A Sunlit Weapon (Maisie Dobbs, #17)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Susan
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/18
date added: 2024/11/23
shelves: favorite-authors, historical-fiction, mysteries, series-books
review:

]]> Turkey for Christmas 7963997 48 Marguerite de Angeli Susan 5 3.96 1944 Turkey for Christmas
author: Marguerite de Angeli
name: Susan
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1944
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/20
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: christmas-stories, feel-good-books, childrens-classic, christmas, favorite-authors, juvenille, re-read, childrens-picture-books, heartwarming
review:

]]> The Story of Holly & Ivy 3802 32 Rumer Godden 0670062197 Susan 5 4.25 1958 The Story of Holly & Ivy
author: Rumer Godden
name: Susan
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1958
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/20
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: christmas-stories, childrens-classic, childrens-picture-books, christmas, heartwarming, juvenille, re-read
review:

]]> The Lion in the Box 8133130 63 Marguerite de Angeli 0385033273 Susan 5 4.29 1975 The Lion in the Box
author: Marguerite de Angeli
name: Susan
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/20
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: christmas-stories, feel-good-books, christmas, favorite-authors, heartwarming, juvenille, re-read
review:

]]> By the Great Horn Spoon! 596246
When Jack's aunt is forced to sell her beloved mansion but is still unable to raise enough money to pay her debts, the twelve-year-old goes to California in search of gold to help her. Joined by his trusty butler, Praiseworthy, Jack finds adventure and trouble at every turn. Will Jack strike gold in San Francisco or come home empty-handed?]]> 224 Sid Fleischman 0316286125 Susan 4 4.10 1963 By the Great Horn Spoon!
author: Sid Fleischman
name: Susan
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1963
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/13
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: feel-good-books, historical-fiction, juvenille, made-into-a-movie
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lulu's Christmas Story: A True Story of Faith and Hope During the Great Depression]]> 18971311 256 Ludmilla Bollow 0991193857 Susan 4 4.00 2014 Lulu's Christmas Story: A True Story of Faith and Hope During the Great Depression
author: Ludmilla Bollow
name: Susan
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/01/24
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: autobiographical, christmas-stories, christmas
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation]]> 59028610 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

FOX News host Pete Hegseth is back with what he says is his most important book yet: A revolutionary road map to saving our children from leftist indoctrination.

Behind a smokescreen of "preparing students for the new industrial economy," early progressives had political control in mind. America's original schools didn't just make kids memorize facts or learn skills; they taught them to think freely and arrive at wisdom. They assigned the classics, inspired love of God and country, and raised future citizens that changed the world forever.

Today, after 16,000 hours of K-12 indoctrination, our kids come out of government schools hating America. They roll their eyes at religion and disdain our history. We spend more money on education than ever, but kids can barely read and write--let alone reason with discernment. Western culture is on the ropes. Kids are bored and aimless, flailing for purpose in a system that says racial and gender identity is everything.

Battle for the American Mind is the untold story of the Progressive plan to neutralize the basis of our Republic - by removing the one ingredient that had sustained Western Civilization for thousands of years. Pete Hegseth and David Goodwin explain why, no matter what political skirmishes conservatives win, progressives are winning the war--and control the "supply lines" of future citizens. Reversing this reality will require parents to radically reorient their children's education; even most homeschooling and Christian schooling are infused with progressive assumptions. We need to recover a lost philosophy of education - grounded in virtue and excellence - that can arm future generations to fight for freedom. It's called classical Christian education. Never heard of it? You're not alone.

Battle for the American Mind is more than a book; it's a field guide for remaking school in the United States. We've ceded our kids' minds to the left for far too long--this book gives patriotic parents the ammunition to join an insurgency that gives America a fighting chance.]]> 288 Pete Hegseth 0063215071 Susan 0 to-read 3.94 2022 Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation
author: Pete Hegseth
name: Susan
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free]]> 200436851
Pete Hegseth joined the Army to fight extremists. Then that same Army called him one. The military Pete joined twenty years ago was fiercely focused on lethality, competency, and color blindness. Today our brass are following the rest of our country off the cliff of cultural chaos and weakness.

Americans with common sense are fighting this on many fronts, but if we can’t save the meritocracy of our military, we’re definitely going to lose everywhere else.

The War on Warriors uncovers the deep roots of our dysfunction—a society that has forgotten the men who take risks, cut through red tape, and get their hands dirty. The only kind of men prepared to face the dan­gers that the Left pretends don’t exist. Unlike issues of education or taxes or crime, this problem doesn’t have a zip code solution. We can’t move away from it. We can’t avoid it. We have only one Pentagon. Either we take it back or surrender it altogether.

Combining his own war experiences, tales of outrage, and an incisive look at how the chain of com­mand got so kinked, this book is the key to saving our warriors—and winning future wars. The War on War­riors must be won by the good guys, because when the shooting really starts, they’re the only ones who can save us.]]> 250 Pete Hegseth 0063389444 Susan 0 to-read 4.26 2024 The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free
author: Pete Hegseth
name: Susan
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves: to-read
review:

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