Book 65 of my 2018 Reading Challenge
**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Summary (via Goodreads)
What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?
On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.
Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can - will she?
My Opinion
It flowed nicely which was good because I needed to read it pretty steadily to keep everything straight. I couldn't decide if it was getting old or not - how many restarts would there be? - but reading it over the holiday gave me forced breaks that helped because I think I'd be tired of all the restarts if I'd read the book straight through. It helped a lot that I found the characters to be very interesting so I didn't mind reliving parts of their lives.
A Few Quotes from the Book
*quotes from an ARC and may not be the same in the final version*
"One breath, that was all she needed, but it wouldn't come.
Darkness fell swiftly, at first an enemy, but then a friend."
"Ursula craved solitude but she hated loneliness, a conundrum that she couldn't even begin to solve."
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
When Beauty Tamed the Beast
Book 64 of my 2018 Reading Challenge
When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloise James
Summary (via Goodreads)
Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant, lives in a castle in Wales where, it is rumored, his bad temper flays everyone he crosses. And rumor also has it that a wound has left the earl immune to the charms of any woman.
Linnet is not just any woman.
She is more than merely lovely: her wit and charm brought a prince to his knees. She estimates the earl will fall madly in love—in just two weeks.
Yet Linnet has no idea of the danger posed to her own heart by a man who may never love her in return.
If she decides to be very wicked indeed . . . what price will she pay for taming his wild heart?
My Opinion
I was really surprised by the non-fluffiness (is that a word? It is to me) of this book. I still knew what was going to happen but it was tongue-in-cheek and really enjoyable to read.
I laughed a lot and didn't roll my eyes much at all.
When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloise James
Summary (via Goodreads)
Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant, lives in a castle in Wales where, it is rumored, his bad temper flays everyone he crosses. And rumor also has it that a wound has left the earl immune to the charms of any woman.
Linnet is not just any woman.
She is more than merely lovely: her wit and charm brought a prince to his knees. She estimates the earl will fall madly in love—in just two weeks.
Yet Linnet has no idea of the danger posed to her own heart by a man who may never love her in return.
If she decides to be very wicked indeed . . . what price will she pay for taming his wild heart?
My Opinion
I was really surprised by the non-fluffiness (is that a word? It is to me) of this book. I still knew what was going to happen but it was tongue-in-cheek and really enjoyable to read.
I laughed a lot and didn't roll my eyes much at all.
Home Town Tales
Book 63 of my 2018 Reading Challenge
Home Town Tales: Recollections of Kindness, Peace and Joy by Phillip Gulley
Summary
Travel back to a simpler time.
Life was uncomplicated and people knew each other by name. Folks cared for one another and were willing to do what was right - no matter the cost.
Philip Gulley takes you back to those simpler days in these tender stories. Inspired by his own hometown, each story unforgettably celebrates timeless values and enduring virtues.
My Opinion
I liked his distinction in the beginning about being a storyteller, not a historian. "The stories in this book are true, if by "true" you mean "honest to the human condition." If by "true" you mean "cold, hard fact," then this book is not always true. I can't always recall exactly what folks said, though the values they conveyed return to me crystal clear. I've changed some names, uprooted some folks and replanted them in my hometown, and once or twice made my life seem a little more interesting than it really is. Please forgive me, but that's the kind of thing we storytellers do."
I bet he's a good minister. These stories are like short little sermons that keep my attention and aren't heavy-handed with the message which is lucky for me; I normally avoid religious books but this one was slightly sneaky about it so I didn't know before starting.
Published in 1998, I laughed when he said he doesn't own a computer and has no intention of buying one because he has no interest in the "Information superhighway". I'm assuming that changed. It's also funny that the description says "travel back to a simpler time" when I would use that line now to describe the time this book came out...maybe everyone thinks of their youth as a "simpler time".
Best out-of-context line: "Sister Rosalie staggered out behind our cat, clutching her cross, her hosiery melted from her legs and hanging in shreds".
It may not be my cup of tea but it was a well-written, nice easy book and I can think of multiple people I'd pass my copy along to that would enjoy it.
A Few Quotes from the Book
"Kindness thrives. It's awareness that's on the wane."
"When some people disagree with me, I try to change their minds. When Harold disagrees with me, I rethink my position."
Home Town Tales: Recollections of Kindness, Peace and Joy by Phillip Gulley
Summary
Travel back to a simpler time.
Life was uncomplicated and people knew each other by name. Folks cared for one another and were willing to do what was right - no matter the cost.
Philip Gulley takes you back to those simpler days in these tender stories. Inspired by his own hometown, each story unforgettably celebrates timeless values and enduring virtues.
My Opinion
I liked his distinction in the beginning about being a storyteller, not a historian. "The stories in this book are true, if by "true" you mean "honest to the human condition." If by "true" you mean "cold, hard fact," then this book is not always true. I can't always recall exactly what folks said, though the values they conveyed return to me crystal clear. I've changed some names, uprooted some folks and replanted them in my hometown, and once or twice made my life seem a little more interesting than it really is. Please forgive me, but that's the kind of thing we storytellers do."
I bet he's a good minister. These stories are like short little sermons that keep my attention and aren't heavy-handed with the message which is lucky for me; I normally avoid religious books but this one was slightly sneaky about it so I didn't know before starting.
Published in 1998, I laughed when he said he doesn't own a computer and has no intention of buying one because he has no interest in the "Information superhighway". I'm assuming that changed. It's also funny that the description says "travel back to a simpler time" when I would use that line now to describe the time this book came out...maybe everyone thinks of their youth as a "simpler time".
Best out-of-context line: "Sister Rosalie staggered out behind our cat, clutching her cross, her hosiery melted from her legs and hanging in shreds".
It may not be my cup of tea but it was a well-written, nice easy book and I can think of multiple people I'd pass my copy along to that would enjoy it.
A Few Quotes from the Book
"Kindness thrives. It's awareness that's on the wane."
"When some people disagree with me, I try to change their minds. When Harold disagrees with me, I rethink my position."
Jubilee Manor
Book 62 of my 2018 Reading Challenge
Jubilee Manor by Bethany Hagen
Book 2 of the Landry Park series
Summary (via the book jacket)
When Madeline Landry uncovered the horrible truth behind her elite gentry family's legacy of wealth and influence - a legacy that came at the expense of the lower-class Rootless's freedom - she sacrificed everything to help the Rootless. Now Madeline is the only one who can possibly bring this divided society together, despite doubts and anger on both sides.
But when her gentry peers start turning up dead, even Madeline suspects a Rootless is behind it, putting her at odds with the boy she loves and the very people she's trying to lead. With life, love, and even a possible civil war at stake, Madeline must find the killer...before it's too late.
My Opinion
I was looking forward to reading this after enjoying the first book in the series. As I mentioned it that review, the first book could've been a standalone if someone wasn't interested in continuing (what a nice surprise!) but I liked the characters and wanted to see what happened next.
I liked it but it was more melodramatic with the romance than the first book, probably because the author had to fill in for the "will they or won't they" stuff that was answered in the first book. I get young love but kissing at a burial is a bit much.
I also felt so much happened "off screen" at the end that it felt rushed and wasn't as satisfying after all the buildup throughout the book.
Even thought this is listed as "The conclusion to Landry Park" (again, another surprise!) and there was a 3 page epilogue giving a pretty definitive ending, I would read more if the author happened to write another one. Actually, I'm mixed - I want to read more but I'm also so impressed with the author that I want her to keep her word and be done with this series.
Jubilee Manor by Bethany Hagen
Book 2 of the Landry Park series
Summary (via the book jacket)
When Madeline Landry uncovered the horrible truth behind her elite gentry family's legacy of wealth and influence - a legacy that came at the expense of the lower-class Rootless's freedom - she sacrificed everything to help the Rootless. Now Madeline is the only one who can possibly bring this divided society together, despite doubts and anger on both sides.
But when her gentry peers start turning up dead, even Madeline suspects a Rootless is behind it, putting her at odds with the boy she loves and the very people she's trying to lead. With life, love, and even a possible civil war at stake, Madeline must find the killer...before it's too late.
My Opinion
I was looking forward to reading this after enjoying the first book in the series. As I mentioned it that review, the first book could've been a standalone if someone wasn't interested in continuing (what a nice surprise!) but I liked the characters and wanted to see what happened next.
I liked it but it was more melodramatic with the romance than the first book, probably because the author had to fill in for the "will they or won't they" stuff that was answered in the first book. I get young love but kissing at a burial is a bit much.
I also felt so much happened "off screen" at the end that it felt rushed and wasn't as satisfying after all the buildup throughout the book.
Even thought this is listed as "The conclusion to Landry Park" (again, another surprise!) and there was a 3 page epilogue giving a pretty definitive ending, I would read more if the author happened to write another one. Actually, I'm mixed - I want to read more but I'm also so impressed with the author that I want her to keep her word and be done with this series.
A Wilder Rose
Book 61 of my 2018 Reading Challenge
**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**
A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert
Summary (via Goodreads)
The Little House books, which chronicled the pioneer adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, are among the most beloved books in the American literary canon. Lesser known is the secret, concealed for decades, of how they came to be. Now, bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert reimagines the fascinating story of Laura’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, an intrepid world traveler and writer who returned to her parents’ Ozark farm, Rocky Ridge, in 1928. There she began a collaboration with her mother on the pioneer stories that would captivate generations of readers around the world.
Despite the books’ success, Rose’s involvement would remain a secret long after both women died. A vivid account of a great literary deception, A Wilder Rose is a spellbinding tale of a complicated mother-daughter relationship set against the brutal backdrop of the Great Depression.
My Opinion
I'm shocked that even though I read the books, grew up in Iowa, and visited the sites listed in her books on a family vacation, I somehow completely missed that a) Rose was an author in her own right and b) this conspiracy theory is a real one (the only hint I had was the noticeable difference of The First Four Years from the rest of the series - I thought it was because it came out after Laura's death so it wasn't a fully fledged manuscript but was it because it came out after Laura and Rose's deaths and that's what the whole series would've looked like without Rose?).
However, this book is a work of fiction as the author notes in two different places; first when she makes the disclaimer that this book is a work of fiction so any conversations, events, etc. are either "products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously", and again in a note to the reader that "[the author] is exactly as true to the real events, settings, and people of A Wilder Rose as Rose and Laura were true to the real events, settings, and people of the Ingalls family's pioneer wanderings across the American plains. The books they wrote are fictional representations of Laura's life as a child growing into young womanhood; A Wilder Rose is a fictional representation of Rose's life in the 1930s and her struggle - not always successful - to make sense of it all." So now that it's been clearly established that this book is fictional, on to the review.
I really enjoyed it. I would read it before bed and it was perfect because it was intriguing enough to clear my mind and settle my body but not crazy enough to affect my dreams or keep me up late. The name recognition drew me to the book but it's good even without it as a look into the mother-daughter dynamic.
Rose speaking to Norma Lee was a good way to get the information shared but also felt a little clumsy. I much preferred the "flashback" scenes to the "current day" ones.
Laura was called "Bessie" by her husband and "Mama Bess" by her daughter and I have no idea why...nothing to do with the book, just a sidenote into how random nicknames can be sometimes.
After reading this book, I want to read Rose's work, the biography of Rose by William Holtz called The Ghost in the Little House (which the author credits as "establishing the factual basis on which her fiction is built"), and research this theory further. It won't impact how I look at the books but it will satisfy my curiosity.
Quote from the Book
*quote from an ARC and may be changed in the final version*
"The two of us had been fighting a battle of wills since I was old enough to realize how good it felt to be willful, if not willfully bad. She was afraid of what I would come to if she let me go, and I was afraid of what I would come to if she held on."
**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**
A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert
Summary (via Goodreads)
The Little House books, which chronicled the pioneer adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, are among the most beloved books in the American literary canon. Lesser known is the secret, concealed for decades, of how they came to be. Now, bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert reimagines the fascinating story of Laura’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, an intrepid world traveler and writer who returned to her parents’ Ozark farm, Rocky Ridge, in 1928. There she began a collaboration with her mother on the pioneer stories that would captivate generations of readers around the world.
Despite the books’ success, Rose’s involvement would remain a secret long after both women died. A vivid account of a great literary deception, A Wilder Rose is a spellbinding tale of a complicated mother-daughter relationship set against the brutal backdrop of the Great Depression.
My Opinion
I'm shocked that even though I read the books, grew up in Iowa, and visited the sites listed in her books on a family vacation, I somehow completely missed that a) Rose was an author in her own right and b) this conspiracy theory is a real one (the only hint I had was the noticeable difference of The First Four Years from the rest of the series - I thought it was because it came out after Laura's death so it wasn't a fully fledged manuscript but was it because it came out after Laura and Rose's deaths and that's what the whole series would've looked like without Rose?).
However, this book is a work of fiction as the author notes in two different places; first when she makes the disclaimer that this book is a work of fiction so any conversations, events, etc. are either "products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously", and again in a note to the reader that "[the author] is exactly as true to the real events, settings, and people of A Wilder Rose as Rose and Laura were true to the real events, settings, and people of the Ingalls family's pioneer wanderings across the American plains. The books they wrote are fictional representations of Laura's life as a child growing into young womanhood; A Wilder Rose is a fictional representation of Rose's life in the 1930s and her struggle - not always successful - to make sense of it all." So now that it's been clearly established that this book is fictional, on to the review.
I really enjoyed it. I would read it before bed and it was perfect because it was intriguing enough to clear my mind and settle my body but not crazy enough to affect my dreams or keep me up late. The name recognition drew me to the book but it's good even without it as a look into the mother-daughter dynamic.
Rose speaking to Norma Lee was a good way to get the information shared but also felt a little clumsy. I much preferred the "flashback" scenes to the "current day" ones.
Laura was called "Bessie" by her husband and "Mama Bess" by her daughter and I have no idea why...nothing to do with the book, just a sidenote into how random nicknames can be sometimes.
After reading this book, I want to read Rose's work, the biography of Rose by William Holtz called The Ghost in the Little House (which the author credits as "establishing the factual basis on which her fiction is built"), and research this theory further. It won't impact how I look at the books but it will satisfy my curiosity.
Quote from the Book
*quote from an ARC and may be changed in the final version*
"The two of us had been fighting a battle of wills since I was old enough to realize how good it felt to be willful, if not willfully bad. She was afraid of what I would come to if she let me go, and I was afraid of what I would come to if she held on."
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Tropic of Cancer
Book 60 of my 2018 Reading Challenge
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Summary (via Goodreads)
Now hailed as an American classic Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller’s masterpiece, was banned as obscene in this country for twenty-seven years after its first publication in Paris in 1934. Only a historic court ruling that changed American censorship standards, ushering in a new era of freedom and frankness in modern literature, permitted the publication of this first volume of Miller’s famed mixture of memoir and fiction, which chronicles with unapologetic gusto the bawdy adventures of a young expatriate writer, his friends, and the characters they meet in Paris in the 1930s. Tropic of Cancer is now considered, as Norman Mailer said, "one of the ten or twenty great novels of our century."
My Opinion
I didn't know what the book was about going into it, only that it's a banned book with a provocative cover. I couldn't take it anywhere because of the bare breast on the cover - I don't really care about women showing their nipples but didn't want to get strange looks while sitting at a cheer competition.
The intro (not by the author) was long-winded and pretentious so I was not off to a good start. The writing itself isn't bad but the character was all over the place. I can see why it was a big deal when it was written in 1934 but if someone wrote it today I would say they were writing shocking stuff solely for the sake of being shocking; maybe that's what the author was doing at the time as well.
A Few Quotes from the Book
"I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive."
"Paris is like a whore. From a distance she seem ravishing, you can't wait until you have her in your arms. And five minutes later you feel empty, disgusted with yourself. You feel tricked."
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Summary (via Goodreads)
Now hailed as an American classic Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller’s masterpiece, was banned as obscene in this country for twenty-seven years after its first publication in Paris in 1934. Only a historic court ruling that changed American censorship standards, ushering in a new era of freedom and frankness in modern literature, permitted the publication of this first volume of Miller’s famed mixture of memoir and fiction, which chronicles with unapologetic gusto the bawdy adventures of a young expatriate writer, his friends, and the characters they meet in Paris in the 1930s. Tropic of Cancer is now considered, as Norman Mailer said, "one of the ten or twenty great novels of our century."
My Opinion
I didn't know what the book was about going into it, only that it's a banned book with a provocative cover. I couldn't take it anywhere because of the bare breast on the cover - I don't really care about women showing their nipples but didn't want to get strange looks while sitting at a cheer competition.
The intro (not by the author) was long-winded and pretentious so I was not off to a good start. The writing itself isn't bad but the character was all over the place. I can see why it was a big deal when it was written in 1934 but if someone wrote it today I would say they were writing shocking stuff solely for the sake of being shocking; maybe that's what the author was doing at the time as well.
A Few Quotes from the Book
"I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive."
"Paris is like a whore. From a distance she seem ravishing, you can't wait until you have her in your arms. And five minutes later you feel empty, disgusted with yourself. You feel tricked."
The Outermost House
Book 59 of my 2018 Reading Challenge
The Outermost House by Henry Beston
Summary (via Goodreads)
A chronicle of a solitary year spent on a Cape Cod beach, The Outermost House has long been recognized as a classic of American nature writing. Henry Beston had originally planned to spend just two weeks in a seaside cottage, but was so possessed by the mysterious beauty of his surroundings that he found he "could not go."
Instead, he sat down to try and capture in words the wonders of the magical landscape he found himself in thrall to: the migrations of seabirds, the rhythms of the tide, the windblown dunes, and the scatter of stars in the changing sky. Beston argued that, "The world today is sick to its thin blood for the lack of elemental things, for fire before the hands, for water, for air, for the dear earth itself underfoot." Seventy-five years after they were first published, Beston's words are more true than ever.
My Opinion
I didn't realize it was written so long ago. This passage, written in 1928, is even more applicable today:
"Are modern folk, perhaps, afraid of night? Do they fear that vast serenity, the mystery of infinite space, the austerity of stars? Having made themselves at home in a civilization obsessed with power, which explains its whole world in terms of energy, do they fear at night for their acquiescence and the pattern of their beliefs? Be the answer what it will, to-day's civilization is full of people who have not the slightest notion of the character or the poetry of night, who have never even seen night. Yet to live thus, to know only artificial night, is as absurd and evil as to know only artificial day."
Quote from the Book
"A year indoors is a journey along a paper calendar; a year in outer nature is the accomplishment of a tremendous ritual."
The Outermost House by Henry Beston
Summary (via Goodreads)
A chronicle of a solitary year spent on a Cape Cod beach, The Outermost House has long been recognized as a classic of American nature writing. Henry Beston had originally planned to spend just two weeks in a seaside cottage, but was so possessed by the mysterious beauty of his surroundings that he found he "could not go."
Instead, he sat down to try and capture in words the wonders of the magical landscape he found himself in thrall to: the migrations of seabirds, the rhythms of the tide, the windblown dunes, and the scatter of stars in the changing sky. Beston argued that, "The world today is sick to its thin blood for the lack of elemental things, for fire before the hands, for water, for air, for the dear earth itself underfoot." Seventy-five years after they were first published, Beston's words are more true than ever.
My Opinion
I didn't realize it was written so long ago. This passage, written in 1928, is even more applicable today:
"Are modern folk, perhaps, afraid of night? Do they fear that vast serenity, the mystery of infinite space, the austerity of stars? Having made themselves at home in a civilization obsessed with power, which explains its whole world in terms of energy, do they fear at night for their acquiescence and the pattern of their beliefs? Be the answer what it will, to-day's civilization is full of people who have not the slightest notion of the character or the poetry of night, who have never even seen night. Yet to live thus, to know only artificial night, is as absurd and evil as to know only artificial day."
Quote from the Book
"A year indoors is a journey along a paper calendar; a year in outer nature is the accomplishment of a tremendous ritual."
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