The Twelve-Mile Straight: A Novel
by Eleanor Henderson
Great read. (5/2/2017)
This was a fantastic book of Cotton County, Georgia, during the sharecropper era. The writing is fantastic, sensitive, and daunting. Would love to be in a book group that discusses it. My own personal drawback, was the movement of the story back and forth, from present to past. When writers put the date of time, at the being of the chapter, one is able to put their mind quickly to the flow of the story. It maybe that I am 70 and I need the transition anchoring. Would recommend this book to my friends.
The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry
The Essex Serpent (2/19/2017)
Sarah Perry has created a novel with very visual descriptions of her characters and the environments they are in. The characters are all unique and most represent different value systems. The story shows how people can be influenced by rumor and tales of the unknown.
Rise: How a House Built a Family
by Cara Brookins
Overwhelming (10/20/2016)
Cara's book was overwhelming to me. Her story was probably well narrated. Hopefully, it gave her comfort to write it, and others in the same situation to read her narrative. It would be hard for me to recommend this book to someone because of all the emotion involved in reading it. It gave me a good insight into how abuse affects the whole family.
A Certain Age: A Novel
by Beatriz Williams
A Certain Age (3/17/2016)
This was my first Beatriz Williams book. I enjoy historical fiction. I was entertained by the 1920s era, the characters, the mystery, and the plot. A great vacation read, because the characters and plot were easy to follow, in spite of the twists and turns.
The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir
by Ruth Wariner
Survival (11/10/2015)
This memoir was amazing. Ruth was indeed a survivor. I tried to put myself in her situation and it scared me. It seemed that she was a special person to have such love for her mother and siblings. The family dynamics and tragedies were piled on top of each other. I had a hard time putting this book down once I had started. Would like to discuss this in a book group.
The Good Neighbor
by Amy Sue Nathan
Value of old friendships. (8/21/2015)
This book held many interesting threads. One thread was, the reaching out to cyberspace for friendship and connection. The other thread, was an old cherished relationship with an elderly surrogate mother. As I was reading this book, it came very apparent that today much of our social interaction in through social media.
The characters Izzy and Mrs. Feldman were well done. Would love to discuss this in a book group.
He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter's Quest to Know Him
by Mimi Baird with Eve Claxton
Very Personal (2/4/2015)
This book was a very personal journey for me. In the 60's I had a clinical rotation in a mental institution and observed the scenes that Dr. Baird described. Also, at that time, had a family member going through the same journey. With the introduction of lithium, this family member benefited from the biomedical research that Dr.
Baird was interested in.
I can see that this would be a special interest book for those interested in mental illness. I admire Mimi Baird for her courage to want and tell her story, however disturbing it may be.
The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell
by William Klaber
Independence (12/6/2014)
Klaber does an excellent job of portraying Lucy/Jo, in her struggle in the role as a female in the 1850's. The narrative was very engaging in the male dominance of the religious, social, and legal environment of the time. I probably would rather have read the afterword of the book as a preface to the story. As Nancy posted, I would enjoy discussing this book in a book group.
The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra
by Helen Rappaport
The Sisters (5/25/2014)
The Romanov Sisters was an outstanding narrative of history of Imperial Russia and the Revolution. Rapport's book flowed like a novel. She kept the characters to a minimum. I got to know each sister, Alexey, Alexandria, Nicholas, and Rasputin well. My interest in this book was stimulated by the historical novel "The True Memoirs of Little K" , by Adrienne Sharp
Doing Harm
by Kelly Parsons
Page Turner (10/29/2013)
A page turning read. The author is good about explaining medical jargon and computer applications. It makes one wonder if parts of this story haven't been reality, somewhere. His evaluation of doctor's personality traits are very accurate. Hope there is another book in the planning.
Song of the Spirits: In the Land of the Long White Cloud saga
by Sarah Lark
Information, family dynamics and intrigue. (7/27/2013)
Upon starting the book, I had to write a character list, so that I could keep track of who was who. When the main characters were introduced, I was not interested, but as the novel progressed so did they.
I learned a lot about the Maori, mining, sheep-herding, and the New Zealand landscape. A pleasant summer read.
A Thousand Pardons
by Jonathan Dee
A feel good read. (10/17/2012)
A Thousand Pardons, was about taking responsibility for your actions and then attemping to make changes. It covered a lot of social interactions of people and how they affect relationships. I was lost several times in the direction of the story, as well as disappointed in the feel good ending. In spite of this, I would recommend it to a friend for a beach read.
My Brilliant Friend
by Elena Ferrante
Two friends (6/6/2012)
A great novel, that starts with a phone call from Lila's son to Elena. He wanted to know where his mother was. The story, then follows Lila and Elena through their teens, in a poor neighborhood in Naples. It showcases their desire to learn. It is an emotional ride, with at times some humor. The down side was the multitude of characters, that I had to reference frequently in the front of the book. I am looking forward to reading the future book in the trilogy, because if need to know where Lila is.
The Sisters: A Novel
by Nancy Jensen
Everything is Broken (9/10/2011)
Sisters is a very interesting, complex story of what can go wrong because of secrets, life choices and misunderstandings in families. I was grateful for the family tree diagram, because the narrator, as well as the story line, shifted with each chapter.
Jensen was able to develop some great characters, while others were just mentioned. I would have like to see fewer characters.
I appreciated the opportunity to read this book. When I read a book, I always think, " Could I recommend this book to a friend as, a good read?"
My answer would be no, because for me it was a depressing read.
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