The In-Betweens: The Spiritualists, Mediums, and Legends of Camp Etna
by Mira Ptacin
4 stars for writing; 2 stars for content pacing (10/23/2019)
I think I would describe my relationship to psychics and mediums as "curious with a healthy dose of skepticism". This book helped satisfy my curiosity and I think made me less of a skeptic - but I'm not running out to get my cards read anytime soon. Ptacin's strength is her personal interactions with the people of Camp Etna. She is intriguing, open minded and wonderfully engrossed by what she is learning, be it dousing or table tipping. I was captivated by these parts of the book and that's what kept me going to the end. Ptacin's segues into the history of Camp Etna and the religion of Spiritualism are also brilliant - seamlessly leaving the present and weaving into the past. However, it was the history parts where the book, for me, got weighed down and tedious. If you can plow through those parts, you are rewarded with another great personal interaction with a member of the Camp Etna crew. All in all, I thought it was a worthwhile read and I certainly learned a lot about Spiritualism as a religion.
Nothing to See Here
by Kevin Wilson
Normal weirdness (6/18/2019)
A longtime fan of The Family Fang, I had high expectations for Nothing to See Here and I wasn't disappointed. Each character was so well defined and all of their quirks and foibles served to enrich the story-telling. The pacing was excellent and it was easy to become engrossed and keep reading even though it was way past your bedtime. All in all, an excellent read.
D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II
by Sarah Rose
Women heroes of World War II (3/19/2019)
I'm not usually a reader of war stories, real or fiction, but I was captivated by this book and its stories of women fighting the Nazis - and I think any reader would be equally engrossed. The author, Sarah Rose, is both a historian and storyteller, effortlessly weaving facts into an illustrative story of the lives of women who worked for the British as spies in Nazi-occupied France. There, they risked their lives helping to organize the resistance in preparation for D-Day.
Rose is an author that shouldn't be missed. Her passion for her subjects comes through in the careful telling of their lives and contributions to the war effort. As she points out, "Historically, women's labor goes uncounted, and women's war work was also in the shadows." Rose does an admirable job of bringing that important work out of the shadows.
House of Stone
by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
The most wonderful anti-hero (12/19/2018)
Meet Zamani a conniving, passive-agressive narrator. Through his story, and his attempts to ingratiate himself in the lives of a family, the reader also sees the bloody and violent birth of Zimbabwe as it breaks free of colonial Rhodesia. At times humorous, at times hard to read because of the pain on the page, the plot moves along briskly and continuously engages the reader. A well-written book that would be excellent for book clubs as there is much to discuss!
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls
by Anissa Gray
5 Stars, You Should Read This Book! (10/17/2018)
Brilliant writing. One of the top 5 books I've read this year (I read around 100 books/yr for context). The character development, the story line, the choice of words are all excellent. The twists and turns of the plot keep you engrossed. This book would hold the interest of the young and old and provides plenty of fodder for book group discussions. I can't wait to read the next book by this author.
The Girl Before
by JP Delaney
If you want a suspenseful, page-turner book, look no further. (12/12/2016)
Two women's lives share the same path without them knowing each other. Sounds tricky to write so the reader can follow, but the author makes it easy. Plus, along the way, the author throws in quirks and unexpected turns in the plot so you have to keep reading to find out what happens. Such a crazy premise: the house - whose design is so minimalist that it would seem uncomfortable to live in - is the glue that binds all together and somehow it works. If you like the suspense/mystery genre you should read this book.
Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation
by Anne Sebba
A disappointment (7/27/2016)
I looked forward to reading this book as I thought it would be similar to Erik Larsen's style of telling an historical story. I was especially excited as it was a woman author expressing women's voices. I was moved to tears by the Forward and the author's recollection of attending a WWII surviving women's event in Paris. However, the book did not live up to my expectations. To me, the reading became tedious because we never really got to know any of the women quoted in the book. Instead, the reader was presented with short descriptions or quotes from so many woman it destroyed the continuity and I lost the thread of the story. I was hoping to learn more about women had to go through during the war, and I didn't learn anything that I didn't know already.
What Lies Between Us
by Nayomi Munaweera
Best book I've read this year (12/10/2015)
What Lies Between Us is the story of a woman (the narrator) growing up in Ski Lanka and eventually migrating to the United States. Throughout the book, water plays an important part and the imagery is fantastic. From the little girl getting cold well water dumped on her during a hot Sri Lankan summer, to the raging of a flooding river, to the sparkle of the San Francisco Bay on a sunny day, the author successfully winds water through the tale being told. The story line moves quickly maintaining the reader's interest with precise vocabulary that allows one to "see" what is happening. My only complaint, and it is a small one, is the spouse's reaction to the narrator's obvious mental illness which I found unrealistic in this day and age. However, that small piece did not keep me from loving this novel.
Lusitania: Triumph, Tragedy, and the End of the Edwardian Age
by Greg King, Penny Wilson
Loved it, wish it had photos (1/13/2015)
Usually when reading an advance copy, you're essentially reading the final version. Not so with Lusitania, as the 8 page photo insert was missing and I really missed it. Other than that minor glitch, this was a great read. The authors did their research and wove in interesting tidbits about the people on board the ship. Further, they presented illuminating information about the sinking - making it not easy for the reader to draw a conclusion about whether the ship was used as bait to draw the US into WWI. My only complaint (and it is a minor one) is that they covered so many passengers that at the end, I got many of the names jumbled and had to keep referring to the provided index of passengers. It made for jumpy reading in that one bit, while the rest of the book read almost like a novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone. You do not have to be a history buff to enjoy it.
Juliet's Nurse
by Lois Leveen
A Back Story of Romeo and Juliet (7/9/2014)
This is a well-written and well-researched book. The main characters are familiar to anyone that has read Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and the author does not change the ending to that tale. However, she takes a look at the birth and life of Juliet as told through her nurse's eyes. We also get to read of the nurse's life which shows what 14th century Verona was like. All in all an interesting read that held my attention throughout.
House of Bathory
by Linda Lafferty
House of Bathory - a great movie (1/1/2014)
I was totally engrossed in this book. The author's construct of moving the story line back and forth from the past to the present was well done and only built up this reader's interest in what was going to happen next. The plot was well thought out and the characters were fascinating - everything from a Goth to a historian to an evil countess - and it worked! Learning about Jungian psychology was an added plus. If you need a page-turner to take you away, this is the book for you.
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