An Amish Christmas: A Novel
by Cynthia Keller
An Amish Christmas (9/8/2010)
This was a charming book. A little corny in some places, but the message was there. This family, suddenly, finding themselves broke and stranded, ended up as guests of an Amish family. The message is while we all think we need the big house, the fancy fixings that go along with it, the crabby teenagers and,above all, keeping up with the Jonses, we find that the important things are the simple things.
Things like hard word, trust, honesty and ,above all, love that finally brings us together.It should be read by all the "nouveau riche", social climbing people who populate our country today. Don't worry, it's easy read.
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici: A Novel
by C.W. Gortner
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici (5/7/2010)
I loved this book. I've told everyone to watch for it. It is very readable and grabbed me from the first page, and went very fast as it is so well written. Catherine de Medici became very real to me. I became her champion at times and her foe at others. An excellent book.
The Fifth Servant
by Kenneth Wishnia
The fifth servant (11/16/2009)
This book was very difficult to read as it is written for a specific audience. As advertised, I was looking forward to a history of the period and the Inquisition. The story line also sounded interesting. These two themes are very thin. The book is actually about rabbinical teachings, quotes from the Talmud Torah and other readings. For those interested in this area and its teachings, it may be an interesting book. I cannot recommend for general audiences.
Sweeping Up Glass
by Carolyn Wall
Sweeping up glass (8/10/2009)
This is a powerful book containing many facets. The book speaks of devotion, love and hatred, of secrets, bigotry and mystery. Sounds like a lot, but the author with great facility delivers all of this with sensitivity and insight uncommon to a debut novel. I found myself drawn in more and more as I read and wanting more when it ended. I look forward to Ms. Wall's next book.
Kissing Games of the World
by Sandi Kahn Shelton
Kissing Games (9/10/2008)
Although you know from the very beginning where this story is going, it is a very pleasant read. It has scenes that are very humorous and is light throughout. No ogres, no spies, no murderers. It is delightful story. The writing moves the story along very well as I could not stop at the end of a chapter, but had to keep reading. The characters, for the most part, did ring true, although I thought Nate's life perspective came about more quickly than it should because it was a such a big change. I found the book was a good read.
Green Monster: A Sam Skarda Mystery
by Rick Shefchik
Green Monster (7/2/2008)
Unfortunately, Green Monster is a standard mystery with different players. It is advertised as being about the Red Sox. Not quite. The extortion note and signed Babe Ruth (no less) is about owner of the Red Sox and the fact he thinks that not only the Red Sox, but all of baseball will be crushed forever if this gets out (some how this sounds familiar).
The note proclaims that the 2004 World Series (that the Red Sox won) was fixed.
Sam, the private eye, is trying to find the real author of the note and whether the game was actually fixed, He says he doesn't know who to trust, then meets the every big-shot mobster he can find.
There are many parts of the book which simply do not ring true. I will not say more in case someone actually wants to read this. I cannot, in good conscience recommend this, even for the beach.
The House at Riverton: A Novel
by Kate Morton
The House at Riverton (5/7/2008)
I was interested in the societal changes in England basically between and post WW1. There are three main characters. Grace, who started to work at Riverton at 14 years of age (approx 1914) as a housemaid. At the time, society was deeply split by classes and societal rules. She narrates the story as an unopinionated housemaid of that period (or at least tries to; succeeding most of the time) Hannah, the older of two daughters, wishes she were a boy so she could discuss politics and business. Emmeline, the younger, loves dresses, parties and flirting. The novel shows how their characters change with the changing times. The book grows in suspense as it moves through the story. I could not put this book down right to the end. The only exception was the many, many characters which I finally made a list of so I could keep them straight.
Kate Morton, a debut novelist, has a great career ahead of her. It is rare to find a book that can keep the suspense moving to the very end. I am sure that book clubs would find this an interesting book to discuss with its many facets. There are books written that discuss societal changes and how the characters react to them, but this one is one of the best I have read. Highly recommended.
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