I’ll have to find Highest Duty. I loved the Tom Hanks movie about Captain Sullenberger, but I assume it was Hollyweirded up a bunch. I’d like to read the man’s personal account.
54: The Faber Book of Exploration edited by Benedict Allen. Compendium of excerpts from travellers’ books, journals and letters. Very interesting and wide-ranging. 3/5. (I seem to be on a bit of a travel kick, don’t I?)
55: Minor Hauntings edited by Jen Baker. A British Library Tales of the Weird compilation themed around child ghosts. There are a couple of very well known stories in here, but most of them were new to me. Very enjoyable and often touching. 4/5
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Mary - by Shannon McNear (releasing in October 2022)
Her second book in the Daughters of the Lost Colony series. Mary is a young Indian woman we first met in Elinor. This story is her struggle to become one of the first Indians to marry a European settler from the Roanoke colony, and what that entailed. I liked this book better than the first one in the series, and I enjoyed that one. Can’t wait to see what she does with book 3! -
Forge of Freedom - H. M. Hochstetler (releasing later this year)
This is the final book in her American Patriot Series. She asked me to read it for a possible endorsement. Her writing sucked me right in. Her research is obviously very thorough. I skimmed a lot of areas that are wrapping up from the previous books. Now I need to go back and read those books! I love this kind of a story, where fiction and history mix and mingle. The book is full of real people and real history without drowning out the fictional characters’ journey.
15, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
I am not sorry I read this book. However, I am not sure yet if I am a fan of this work. I understand his points, and the plot of the book. I also understand that at the time of his writing it nothing else similar had been written. I understand that things he wrote are being mirrored in today’s society. I guess I am left wondering too many things. Why didn’t John find a way to escape… Who is really in charge of the society, the world …It couldn’t just be the one man we met, could it? I did enjoy the forward by the author. I used the Spark Notes after I read this book and found it helpful to focus me on what others are paying attention to.
The reason I decided to read this one, was because I ran across quite a few people were bringing the book into their conversations. I am so glad I didn’t have my hormone crazy high school kids read this one. It would have been very hard to get them to focus on the main points of the story.
I’ve had a lot of people talk about this book as a mirror of modern times too, and I do agree with them - Huxley was incredibly farsighted. I do find his style a bit hard going, but I think it’s worth the effort. The movie Demolition Man (Sylvester Stallone) is another remarkably prophetic work, but it is much more violent. Fun, though.
56: Does Anything Eat Wasps by New Scientist. Compilation of science questions posed on the forums of New Scientist magazine, and their answers. Patchy, and in places dull, but some interesting stuff. 3/5
57; The Holy Thief by Ellis Peters. The 19th Brother Cadfael mystery. Entertaining, but I found it somewhat formulaic. 3/5
@Pegg Thomas - I finally received this book and have been “enjoying” it if that is a word we can use in these circumstances. I was born in the Netherlands, my mother survived the bombing of Rotterdam, they both endured the year of hunger, my grandmother was never the same, many of my great-uncles were “onderduikers” (hiding to avoid being sent to German work camps)l, my dad and his brother were shot at by Nazis for having a forbidden bike to go to the farms to beg for food, I have dad’s falsified (age) pass, etc. I don’t think we can comprehend the horrors of war. I remember living with a well-to-do family one summer in Ontario (Canada) and the grandmother bemoaning the fact that “we couldn’t even buy butter to make cakes.” I was too young and polite to snarl back that my parents we trying to find new ways of cooking tulip bulbs and sugar beets and literally not starve to death.
Wow, @annekepoot, then this one hit close to home for you. Do you think she got close to the truth in the book?
@Pegg Thomas - Yes, this really hit home - my parents never talked about the war and I only found out most of it when my dad wrote his memoirs. I thoroughly believe my mother’s cancer and subsequent death at age 47 was due to the extreme distress she experienced as a teen. She had a rough childhood (her mother died when she was 3 and then had the proverbial ugly stepmother who abused her) and I think the combination of the two were large contributing factors. I think this book has been well-researched and true to life and describes so well the emotions that must have been experienced by everyone.
58: Goodbye Mister Chips by James Hilton. Classic story of a teacher at a boys’ school in England. I’ve seen the movies with Peter O’Toole and Robert Donat, and I loved the tv series with Martin Clunes, but I never actually read the book. I’m very glad I did, even though I cried buckets. 4/5
- The Haunted Mesa by Louis L’amour 5/5
This is Not his usual old-west cowboy story. This is set in modern times, involves moving back and forth thru a portal/window into a different world. He was a great story teller. Not only do you feel like you are in this area of the world, you feel the emotions the main character is going through. He weaves the old tales of different worlds and where people vanished to into a great modern set novel. (I learned two things…lol. When the world is going crazy stand still. And, when in a complicated maze, leave a trail and go left.) I know my review isn’t doing this story justice. Here is the good reads link…
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89695.The_Haunted_Mesa
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The Poisoned Chocolates by Anthony Berkley 5/5
I loved this book. It’s been a long time since I read a book with this format. Solving the mystery was a team effort. This was so fun to listen to. I would read this authors work again. -
Study in Scarlet by Doyle I listened to an audio book version of this. Great fun.
I love Louis L’amour!
59: The Mammoth Book of More Bizarre Crimes edited by Robin Odell. True crime anthology. Some interesting stuff, but not much that really qualifies as bizarre. It also annoyed me that each chapter begins with a prologue basically spoiling all the stories in the chapter. 3/5
Why in the world did they put that prologue in there?
Do you think they needed a certain word count?
@hereami - I think they did do it to pad out the book. The trouble with calling your book ‘Mammoth’ is that people expect a lot of content, and in the case of true crime stuff that means a lot of research. Which obviously they were not prepared to do…
I often skip reading prologues in books because they are either a) unnecessary or b) tell too much of the story upfront. That said, I actually used a prologue when I wrote “Maggie’s Strength.” I wanted to show a scene from back in time but not as backstory. I wanted to set the reader in the action which was very intense. There is a time and a place for prologues if they are done well and used for a specific purpose.
I have decided to leave at the end of the week. I have very much enjoyed everyone’s participation in this thread, and have received some wonderful recommendations on books to read. However, I am trying to lessen my time online and devote more time to living in the real world. I may reconsider in the future, but for now, this is a good decision for where I’m at. Thanks for everything!
We will miss you, but I understand your decision; all the very best for the future, wherever it takes you.
@annekepoot I agree with what @Lemming13 said. Thank you for being here and participating. We enjoyed your company. Take care, and feel free to stop back by anytime.