31. Confessions of a Pagan Nun

By: Kate Horsley
Rated 4 Stars
From: Library

This moving and subtle tale both embodies and confirms the enduring power of language. Gwynneve (Gwi-NEEV) is raised in a village of fishermen and pigkeepers at the height of Ireland's transition from Paganism to Christianity. All around her the new doctrines of Patrick and the "tonsured men" are inexorably driving out the old Druid ways. When Gwynneve loses the two figures she loved the most—her mother succumbing to disease, her outspoken Druid teacher abducted by his enemies—she leaves her village and finally takes refuge in the convent of Saint Brigit. Of her past life and loves she retains only intangibles: her mother's love of nature and independent mind, her teacher's gift of literacy and addiction to truth. Clinging to the one constant and comforting force in her life—the power of words, and their offer of immortality to those who set them down—she records her memories surreptitiously, interrupting her assigned tasks of transcribing Patrick and Augustine. But disturbing events from the present keep intervening. Finally, her headstrong ways and growing criticism of the monastery's new abbot lead to the accusation that she consorts with demons. The story's tragic conclusion confirms both Gwynneve's fears and her powers: centuries after she and her tormentors sink back into the Irish earth, her words remain to haunt and inspire us.

27. The Mapping of Love and Death

By: Jacqueline Winspear
Rated 4.5 Stars
From: Library

I think this is my favorite book in the series thus far.    The mystery plots in this series have always been excellent and carried a heroine that I wasn't always sympathetic with.  She could come across cold and way, way too uptight.  Sometimes I wanted to shout "for heaven's sake girl, lighten up!" at the book.

I have read so many books both fiction and non fiction that were set in this time period that I took as a given that men who had served in the war would go through a period of depression or would have been changed forever by there experiences.  I had never thought to apply the same behaviors to the women who had been through  many of the same experiences.  So now I am wondering if the author is becoming more comfortable with her characters or has done a very clever job of aging her characters.  Maisie has indeed "lightened up" as this series has progressed.

It took her a long time to get over Simon and I sincerely hope her relationship with James will survive the future.  With WWII looming and the broad hints thrown out about future demands from the Foreign Office it looks like busy times are ahead for everyone.

PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION:

The sixth Maisie Dobbs mystery, set in England between the wars, is based on a true story about the discovery of a collapsed dugout from World War I containing the bodies of a cartography team and their equipment. The American parents of the dead cartographer hire Maisie to find "the English Nurse," the young man's mysterious lover—and possibly his killer, as the autopsy evidence points to his having been murdered shortly before the dugout collapsed. Only a few hours after having hired Maisie, the Americans are attacked and badly beaten, prompting Maisie to take it upon herself to discover their attacker. Maisie and her assistant, Billy, take on the case in their usual careful and contemplative style, even as difficulties in Maisie's personal life challenge her concentration. Readers who preferred the earlier novels in the series will be pleased with this entry and those waiting for Maisie to finally find a love interest will have something to cheer about.

26. The Street of a Thousand Blossums

By: Gail Tsukiyama
Rated: 5 Stars
From Library

Thank you Connie for bringing this book to my attention. It was, as they say, right up my alley.

PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION

“Just remember,” Yoshio said quietly to his grandsons. “Every day of your lives, you must always be sure what you’re fighting for.”

It is Tokyo in 1939. On the Street of a Thousand Blossoms, two orphaned brothers are growing up with their loving grandparents, who inspire them to dream of a future firmly rooted in tradition. The older boy, Hiroshi, shows unusual skill at the national obsession of sumo wrestling, while Kenji is fascinated by the art of creating hard-carved masks for actors in the Noh theater.

Across town, a renowned sumo master, Sho Tanaka, lives with his wife and their two young daughters: the delicate, daydreaming Aki and her independent sister, Haru. Life seems full of promise as Kenji begins an informal apprenticeship with the most famous mask-maker in Japan and Hiroshi receives a coveted invitation to train with Tanaka. But then Pearl Harbor changes everything. As the ripples of war spread to both families’ quiet neighborhoods, all of the generations must put their dreams on hold---and then find their way in a new Japan.

In an exquisitely moving story that spans almost thirty years, Gail Tsukiyama draws us irresistibly into the world of the brothers and the women who love them. It is a world of tradition and change, of heartbreaking loss and surprising hope, and of the impact of events beyond their control on ordinary, decent men and women.

25. Brooklyn

By: Colm Toibin

Rated 3.5 Stars

From Library

This book was a very quick read - took me less than a day. :-0 It was OK, It was very well written but there wasn't a lot of story to it and what there was was superficial. I had the niggling feeling that Ellis was so uptight and locked into doing what was expected of her that she would never have had the courage to give Tony the time of day had his hair been dark and his eyes blue no matter how much she was attracted to him.

And then the way it ended was pretty much a moral lesson "see what happens if you dare to step outside the nice safe little box."

PUBLISHERS SUMMARY:

Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn to sponsor Eilis in America -- to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland" -- she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.
Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

24. Blackout

By:  Connie Willis
Rated: 4 Stars
From:  Library

If I had not read several of Connie Willis's books before I would have given up on this book within the first 50 pages.  It got off to a very slow start.  There was way to much dithering about the preparations for the characters drop into war time England. But once the story moved on it started sucking me in.  It bothered me a little that there was so much confusion and inefficiency concerning the characters inability to communicate with the agency who were responsible for their safety but then I remembered that they were dealing with a bureaucracy and I decided that it wasn't as implausible as I first thought. *sigh*

The actual adventures of the characters were exciting and believable and Willis did a wonderful job of creating the atmosphere of war time london and some excellent secondary characters. My only serious criticism is that it's the first part of a 2 part novel.  My advice is that if you intend to read this book wait until October because the second part will be released in November 2010.

PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION:
Three young historians travel from 2060 to early 1940s Britain for firsthand research. As Eileen handles a measles outbreak during the children's evacuation and Polly struggles to work as a London shopgirl, hints of trouble with the time-travel equipment barely register on their radar. Historians aren't supposed to be able to change the course of history, but Mike's actions at Dunkirk may disrupt both the past and the future. Willis uses detail and period language exquisitely well, creating an engaging, exciting tale that cuts off abruptly on the last page. Readers allergic to cliffhangers may want to wait until the second volume comes out in November 2010.

23. One Amazing Thing

by Chitra Banarjee Divakaruni.
Rated 4 Stars
From:  Library

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

When an earthquake hits, nine men and women of diverse ages and backgrounds are trapped in an Indian consulate. Cameron, an African American Vietnam vet, takes charge, striving to keep them safe. College student Uma, who brought along The Canterbury Tales to read while waiting for clerk Malathi and her boss Mangalam to process her papers, suggests that they each tell an “important story” from their lives. Their tales of heartbreak and revelation are nuanced and riveting as Divakaruni takes fresh measure of the transcendent power of stories and the pilgrimage tradition. True, the nine, including an older couple, a young Muslim man, and a Chinese Indian grandmother and her granddaughter, are captives of a disaster, but they are also pilgrims of the spirit, seeking “one amazing thing” affirming that life, for all its pain, is miraculous. A storyteller of exquisite lyricism and compassion, Divakaruni weaves a suspenseful, astute, and unforgettable

22. Mornings on Horseback

The Story of an Extraordinary Family, and the Unique Child who Became Theodore Roosevelt

By:David McCullough
Rated 4.5

AUDIO BOOK

I didn't know much about Theodore Roosevelt but was inclined to admire him because of his love of natural history and his foresight in establishing the National Parks system and thereby saving a lot of beautiful places from developers.  Now after listening to this bio I think he was an upright, moral person, very much a product of his upbringing by an upper class NY family. The Civil war was a defining event during his childhood. His Father was an attorney who worked with the family firm, an abolitionist and social reformer. His Mother, a daughter of slave owning Georgia plantation owners and a Southern sympathizer. In spite of that his family a loving one. Oh, and Theodore suffered from asthma as a child and became something of a physical fitness nut in an effort to overcome this. I admire him and found the bio very interesting.

Publisher's Summary

Winner of the 1982 National Book Award for Biography, Mornings on Horseback is the brilliant biography of the young Theodore Roosevelt. Hailed as a masterpiece, it is the story of a remarkable little boy, seriously handicapped by recurrent and nearly fatal attacks of asthma, and his struggle to manhood.His father, the first Theodore Roosevelt, "Greatheart", is a figure of unbounded energy, enormously attractive and selfless, a god in the eyes of his small, frail namesake. His mother, Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt, is a Southerner and celebrated beauty. Mornings on Horseback spans 17 years, from 1869 when little "Teedie" is 10, to 1886 when he returns from the West a "real life cowboy" to pick up the pieces of a shattered life and begin anew, a grown man, whole in body and spirit. This is a tale about family love and family loyalty; about courtship, childbirth and death, fathers and sons; about gutter politics and the tumultuous Republican Convention of 1884; about grizzly bears, grief and courage, and "blessed" mornings on horseback at Oyster Bay or beneath the limitless skies of the Badlands.

21. The Housekeeper and the Professor

By: Yko Ogawa
Rated 5 Stars
From: Library

The was a lovely little book. Very sweet, very sad.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION:
Ogawa (The Diving Pool) weaves a poignant tale of beauty, heart and sorrow in her exquisite new novel. Narrated by the Housekeeper, the characters are known only as the Professor and Root, the Housekeepers 10-year-old son, nicknamed by the Professor because the shape of his hair and head remind the Professor of the square root symbol. A brilliant mathematician, the Professor was seriously injured in a car accident and his short-term memory only lasts for 80 minutes. He can remember his theorems and favorite baseball players, but the Housekeeper must reintroduce herself every morning, sometimes several times a day. The Professor, who adores Root, is able to connect with the child through baseball, and the Housekeeper learns how to work with him through the memory lapses until they can come together on common ground, at least for 80 minutes. In this gorgeous tale, Ogawa lifts the window shade to allow readers to observe the characters for a short while, then closes the shade.

22. But Wait . . There's More

By:  Tony Robbins
Rated 4 starsFrom:  Library

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION:
Whether it was a Ginsu knife, George Foreman Grill, Tony Robbins' motivational book, kitchen device by Ron Popeil, or any of the countless other famous products that have been marketed on infomercials over the years, admit it: you or someone you know has bought one—and you're not alone. Last year, one out of every three Americans picked up the phone and ordered a product from a television infomercial or home shopping network, and in But Wait . . . There's More! journalist (and infomercial addict) Remy Stern offers a lively, behind-the-scenes exploration of this enormous business—one that markets the world's most outrageous products using the most outrageous tactics.

Don't let the kitschy exterior fool you: behind the laughable demonstrations, goofy grins, and cheesy dialogue lies an industry larger than the film and music industries combined. The first book of its kind, But Wait . . . There's More! exposes the never-before-told story of the infomercial and home shopping phenomenon in all its excessive glory and its meteoric rise to become one of the most profitable businesses in America.

Along the way, Stern details the history behind the classic products and introduces readers to some of the most famous (and infamous) pitchmen and personalities in the business, including Tony Robbins, Billy Mays, Ron Popeil, Tony Little, Suzanne Somers, Kevin Trudeau, and Joe Francis. He also presents an in-depth look at the business behind the camera—the canny sales strategies, clever psychological tools, and occasionally questionable tactics marketers have used to get us to open up our wallets and spend, spend, spend.

Stern's eye-opening account also offers a penetrating look at how late-night television conquered the American consumer and provides insight into modern American culture: our rampant consumerism, our desire for instant riches, and our collective dream of perfect abs, unblemished skin, and gleaming white teeth. Both a compelling business story and a thoroughly entertaining piece of investigative journalism (with a touch of muckraking and social satire), But Wait . . . There's More! will ensure that you never look at those too-good-to-be-true deals the same way again.

20. The Crimson Rooms

By: Katharine McMahon
Rated 4.5 Stars
Library

I am hoping the author writes a sequel to this. In fact I e-mailed and asked her if one was in the works. She replied and said that while she didn't write it with a sequel in mind she had gotten a lot of positive feed back and was thinking about it. I will keep an eye out. I really liked the characters and felt that there was a lot still left to tell about.

LIBRARY SUMMARY
Still haunted by the death of her only brother, James, in the Great War, Evelyn Gifford is completely unprepared when a young nurse and her six-year-old son appear on the Giffords' doorstep one night. The child, the nurse claims, is James's, conceived in a battlefield hospital. The grief-stricken Giffords take them both in; but Evelyn, a struggling attorney, must now support her entire family-at a time when work for women lawyers is almost nonexistent.

Suddenly a new case falls in Evelyn's lap: Seemingly hopeless, it's been abandoned by her male coworkers. The accused-a veteran charged with murdering his young wife- is almost certain to die on the gallows. . . . And yet, Evelyn believes he is truly innocent, just as she suspects there may be more to the story of her "nephew" than meets the eye. . .

19. The Crime at Black Dudley

by Margaret Allingham
Rated 4 Stars
From Library

SUMMARY:
A house-party with a glittering guest list. An imposing country estate with endless shadowy staircases and unused rooms. The breathless period between the two world wars. It’s the ideal setting for the classic English murder mystery, and bringing it to perfection is the introduction—in a supporting role for the first and last time—of Albert Campion, the consummate (if compulsively quipping) Gentleman Sleuth. The guests take some time to be grateful for Campion’s presence; he is a bit peculiar, and they have more than enough distractions, what with various complicated love affairs, a curious ritual involving a jeweled dagger, and a deadly game of hide-and-seek. But the savvy reader will be singing hosannas from Campion’s first appearance, knowing that it marks the beginning of one of the most intelligent and delightful series in the history of crime fiction.

18. Alfred the Great: the man who made England

By: Justin Pollard

Rated 5 Stars

From: Library

I was as looking for a biography of Alfred The Great that would come as close as possible to give some feel for what the real man must have been like. The man behind the legend so to speak. This book is an intriguing interpretation of what documents have survived and is probably as near as anyone is likely to come to capturing the essence of who he was as a person.

Between Cornwell's sour take and Joan Wolf's highly romantized one I wanted to know if any one had taken a scholarly approach. The really funny thing is that each one used the same sources and all three had the documented events spot on. It was when they started interpreting them that they all took off in different directions. A lesson to us all in how history can be spun without telling even a single lie.

The author is very straightforward in pointing out that the only real evidence that has survived consists of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, some charters (which Pollard reminds us more often that not have a good likelihood of having been forged), some of Alfred's own writings and translations and Asser's biography of Alfred on which he has relied heavily. Nevertheless Pollard has produced a very well written book that is not only credible (at least to me) but one that is so readable it's hard to put down. This is an author I will follow

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Alfred was England's first king, and his rule spanned troubled times. As his shores sat under constant threat from Viking marauders, his life was similarly imperiled by conspiracies in his own court. He was an extraordinary character—a soldier, scholar, and statesman like no other in English history—and out of adversity he forged a new kind of nation. Justin Pollard's enthralling account strips back centuries of myth to reveal the individual behind the legend. He offers a radical new interpretation of what inspired Alfred to create England and how it has colored the nation's history to the present day.

Sharpe's Company - VIDEO

Rated 5 stars
From Netflix


This is the most exciting so far.  I had to watch it twice because the first time I got distracted trying to remember what I had seen Maj. Windham (Clive Francis) in before and then after some major stewing I finally remembered that I had seen him in Strong Poison, another BBC production.


Then there was Sgt. Hakeswill (Pete Postlewaite) who reminded me so much of the very villainous indian Magua (Wes Studi) in The Last of the Mohicans.  I had to put the video on pause and go check and make sure they were not the same person.  Then I had lost the thread of the story and had to start the video over.  *g*


PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Sharpe discovers that he is a father and desperately attempts to rescue his spanish lover teresa and their daughter from the enemy.

Sharpe and his men are fighting not only the French in this tale but an evil and devious sergeant as well who has some history with Sharpe.The battle and action scenes are top notch again and the characters are grand and heroic. The settings and costumes make it all very colorful and real.

The actors again do a great job with Sean Bean, Asumpta Serna and Daragh O'Malley giving us wonderful heroic performances. Special mention has to go to Pete Postlethwaite who delivers a scenery chewing performance as the evil Sergeant Hakeswill. Marvelous!

17. Daughter of Time

By Josephine Tey
Rated 5 stars
Audio book

I have read this book before but I am finding out that listening is an entirely different experience.  It's become very clear this month that I read way too fast and do a lot of skimming.  By listening I am picking up on many nuances that zipped right past me.  For one thing the parallels in the story of how Richard III became such a villain by manipulation of events or out right lies for political gains and how the political pundits operate today is startling.  When you think about it, politicians have been devious and largely corrupt and the general public largely gullible probably since the first humans roamed the earth.

PRODUCT INFORMATION:

Josephine Tey is often referred to as the mystery writer for people who don't like mysteries. Her skills at character development and mood setting, and her tendency to focus on themes not usually touched upon by mystery writers, have earned her a vast and appreciative audience. In Daughter of Time, Tey focuses on the legend of Richard III, the evil hunchback of British history accused of murdering his young nephews. While at a London hospital recuperating from a fall, Inspector Alan Grant becomes fascinated by a portrait of King Richard. A student of human faces, Grant cannot believe that the man in the picture would kill his own nephews. With an American researcher's help, Grant delves into his country's history to discover just what kind of man Richard Plantagenet was and who really killed the little princes

Sharpe's Eagle - VIDEO

Rated 5 stars

Video

Excellently done. This really is a quality series. And I'm not quite as put out about the kissy face stuff since it has started to make a little more sense. Love interest I can handle. Wandering Lothario I really could not as I think it would cheapen a series of this type. Just MO.

Product Description

Sharpe commands a band of war-hardened riflemen behind enemy lines. Determined to capture the french mascot a carved eagle which is carried into combat sharpe brings to the screen the continued action danger and romance that surround the british officer & his chosen men

16. The Burning Land

By Bernard Cornwell
Rated 4.9 stars
From Library
Audio Book

I loved this book but it sure was bloody.  I also have my ongoing whine about Cornwell's vision of Alfred but this is, after all a book of fiction so he is perfectly entitled to portray him any way he pleases even when he is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! Alfred, who was the only English king in history to have "The Great" tacked on to his name could not have achieved what he did if he was the sour, uncharismatic  religious zealot Cornwall portrays.   My other complaint is that the reader consistently mispronounced Uther's side kick Finan's name wrong  Since that's my surname it jarred ever time he mispronounced it.

But these are minor quibbles.  Bernard Cornwall is a wonderful story teller and I have been solidly hooked on this series since 2004 when book one, The Last kingdom came out.  These books are must reads for me.


PRODUCT INFORMATION:

In a clash of heroes, the kingdom is born.
At the end of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in ill health; his heir, an untested youth. His enemy, the Danes, having failed to conquer Wessex, now see their chance for victory. Led by the sword of savage warrior Harald Bloodhair, the Viking hordes attack. But Uhtred, Alfred's reluctant warlord, proves his worth, outwitting Harald and handing the Vikings one of their greatest defeats.

For Uhtred, the sweetness of victory is soon overshadowed by tragedy. Breaking with Alfred, he joins the Vikings, swearing never again to serve the Saxon king. Instead, he will reclaim his ancestral fortress on the Northumbrian coast. Allied with his old friend Ragnar—and his old foe Haesten—he aims to invade and conquer Wessex itself.

Yet fate has different plans. The Danes of East Anglia and the Vikings of Northumbria are plotting the conquest of all Britain. When Alfred's daughter pleads with Uhtred for help, he cannot refuse her request. In a desperate gamble, he takes command of a demoralized Mercian army, leading them in an unforgettable battle on a blood-soaked field beside the Thames.

In The Burning Land, Bernard Cornwell, "the reigning king of historical fiction" (USA Today), delivers a rousing saga of Anglo-Saxon England—an irresistible new chapter in his thrilling Saxon Tales, the epic story of the birth of England and the legendary king who made it possible.

6-14 Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes Mysteries

Laurie King
Rated (see Below
From Library

In preparation for the new book coming out in April, The God of the Hive, and also because it required little to no concentration I spent most of this month listening/dozing through these. I am so grateful for my wonderful library system for having all of these in unabridged audio format.

6. The Beekeeper's Apprentice (1994) 5 stars

Sherlock Holmes takes on a young, female apprentice in this delightful and well-wrought addition to the master detective's casework. In the early years of WW I, 15-year-old American Mary Russell encounters Holmes, retired in Sussex Downs where Conan Doyle left him raising bees. Mary, an orphan rebelling against her guardian aunt's strictures, impresses the sleuth with her intelligence and acumen. Holmes initiates her into the mysteries of detection, allowing her to participate in a few cases when she comes home from her studies at Oxford.

7. A Monstrous Regiment of Women (1995) 4.5 stars

Mary Russell's adventures as a student of the famous detective continue. A series of murders claims members of a strange suffrage organization's wealthy young female volunteers, and Mary, with Holmes in the background, investigates, little knowing what danger she personally faces.

8. A Letter of Mary (1996) 4.5 stars

Sherlock Holmes and his scholarly companion Mary Russell are caught up in an exciting mystery when an archaeologist leaves them with a treasured find, a papyrus supposedly written by Mary Magdalene. When the archaeoligist winds up dead and someone attempts to make off with the artifact, Holmes and Russel become embroiled in a rollicking story filled with political intrigue and highbrow sleuthing.

9. The Moor (1998) 3.5 stars

The Moor, fourth in the series, Holmes and Russell are summoned to Devonshire to solve a tin miner's mysterious death. Lonely Dartmoor provides plenty of opportunities for King to both relate the haunting legends of that part of the world and offer some amusing revisions to one of Holmes's most famous cases, The Hound of the Baskervilles.

10. O Jerusalem (1999) 4 stars

It's 1918. Nineteen-year-old Mary and her fiftysomething mentor are forced to flee England to escape a deadly adversary. Sherlock's well-connected brother Mycroft sends them to Palestine to do some international sleuthing. Here, a series of murders threatens the fragile peace.

11. Justice Hall (2002) 5+ stars

A lost heir, murder most foul, and the unexpected return of two old friends start Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes--spouses and intellectual equals--on an investigation that takes them from the trenches of World War I France to the heights of English society. In this sixth entry in Laurie King's award-winning series, fans will find the Baker Street sleuth mellowed by age and marriage yet still in possession of his deductive abilities and acerbic wit, and, in Mary Russell, a surprisingly apt companion for the legendary detective.

12. The Game (2004) 5 stars

The seventh Mary Russell adventure (after 2002's Justice Hall) may well be the best King has yet devised for her strong-willed heroine. It's 1924, and Kimball O'Hara, the "Kim" of the famous Rudyard Kipling novel, has disappeared. Fearing some kind of geopolitical crisis in the making, Mycroft Holmes sends his brother and Mary to India to uncover what happened.

13. Locked Rooms (2005) 4.5 stars

set in San Francisco in 1924, Russell undertakes a far more personal investigation. Since she began her journey back to her hometown—ostensibly to deal with her father's estate—Russell has been tormented by strange dreams, one of which involves the "locked rooms" of the title, and the sight of her San Francisco childhood home opens a flood of memories and emotions, most of which she's loathe to allow into her über-rational mind. When someone takes a shot at her, Holmes enlists the help of Pinkerton agent Dashiell Hammett and Russell tries to unlock her past, in particular the "accident" that killed her family and left her an orphan in 1914.

14. The Language of Bees 4.5 stars

For Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, returning to the Sussex coast after seven months abroad was especially sweet. There was even a mystery to solve--the unexplained disappearance of an entire colony of bees from one of Holmes’s beloved hives.

But the anticipated sweetness of their homecoming is quickly tempered by a galling memory from her husband’s past. Mary had met Damian Adler only once before, when the promising surrealist painter had been charged with--and exonerated from--murder. Now the talented and troubled young man was enlisting their help again, this time in a desperate search for his missing wife and child.

15. The Lace Reader

By: Brunonia Barry
Rated 4 stars
From: Library
AUDIO BOOK


Tis is not a book I would have picked up on my own but I'm glad I did. It was a good, if puzzling read. Kathleen and Justine, a couple of long time DDers asked me if I had read this book because they had a question. Well, now that I have read the book I have the same question. I have a wild guess but I'm not sure if its right.


A friend on anorher list wrote this: "There were many times that I wanted to put this book down, the middle bogs down with such boring repetitiveness I was beginning to wonder what the author was thinking. Then the last 100 or so pages hits you with such force you can’t get through the book fast enough. Great story with a stunning conclusion that has you spinning and thinking back to the clues that you missed.
For me this book wouldn't have worked as an audio. The ending is confusing and you have to go back and reread parts to make sure you are on track."


I agree with her completely.

Amazon Best of the Month, August 2008: Brunonia Barry dreamt she saw a prophecy in a piece of lace, a vision so potent she spun it into a novel. The Lace Reader retains the strange magic of a vivid dream, though Barry's portrayal of modern-day Salem, Massachusetts--with its fascinating cast of eccentrics--is reportedly spot-on. Some of its stranger residents include generations of Whitney women, with a gift for seeing the future in the lace they make. Towner Whitney, back to Salem from self-imposed exile on the West Coast, has plans for recuperation that evaporate with her great-aunt Eva's mysterious drowning. Fighting fear from a traumatic adolescence she can barely remember, Towner digs in for answers. But questions compound with the disappearance of a young woman under the thrall of a local fire-and-brimstone preacher, whose history of violence against Whitney women makes the situation personal for Towner. Her role in cop John Rafferty's investigation sparks a tentative romance. And as they scramble to avert disaster, the past that had slipped through the gaps in Towner's memory explodes into the present with a violence that capsizes her concept of truth. Readers will look back at the story in a new light, picking out the clues in this complex, lovely piece of work. --Mari Malcolm --This text refers to theHardcover edition.

3-5, Amelia Peabody Mysteries

The Mummy Case
Amelia and Emerson bring their young son Ramses along in Egypt in 1894. Denied permission to dig at the lovely pyramids of Dashoor, they are assigned to the decrepit mounds of rubble that pass for the pyramids of Mazghunah. Nothing in this barren stretch of land seems of interest until an illegal antiquities dealer gets killed. Before long, mummy cases start appearing and disappearing, and a second murder complicates the mystery. When it becomes clear that a Master Criminal is behind these goings on, Amelia starts digging -- for facts.

The Curse of the Pharaohs
Published 1981 It's 1892, and Amelia and Emerson, who is now her husband, are back in England raising their young son Ramses, when they are approached by a damsel in distress. Lady Baskerville's husband, Sir Henry, has died after uncovering what may have been royal tomb in Luxor. Amid rumors of a curse haunting all those involved with the dig, Amelia and Emerson proceed to Egypt and begin to suspect that Sir Henry did not die a natural death. The accidents plaguing the dig appear to be caused by a sinister human element, not a pharaoh's curse.

Crocodile on the Sandbank
Published 1975 Set in 1884, this is the first installment in what has become a beloved bestselling series. At thirty-two, strong-willed Amelia Peabody, a self-proclaimed spinster, decides to use her ample inheritance to indulge her passion, Egyptology. On her way to Egypt, Amelia encounters a young woman named Evelyn Barton-Forbes. The two become fast friends and travel on together, encountering mysteries, missing mummies, and Radcliffe Emerson, a dashing and opinionated archaeologist who doesn't need a woman's help -- or so he thinks.

Sharpe's Rifles - VIDEO

Rated 4.5
From Netflix

I just finished watching the first episode. EXCELLENT. However I have a few comments. Lots of swashing and buckling, some violence - this about war after all-but not none of it was the in-your-face kind. Little bits of very funny dry humor popped in when you were least expecting it. The acting and filmography was really, really good. Sean Bean couldn't have been better

BUT

I hated that they threw in Sharpe and the Spanish girl playing kissy face and then when they starting rolling around in the hay with her half dressed that pretty much tore it for me. Have you ever rolled around in the hay? I have had a passing acquaintances with hay lofts in my life when and the last thing you would do in one was take half your clothes off and roll around in it. Hay is very scratchy. They just tossed that in and it didn't add a thing to the story except make the ending a little silly. Luckily it was at the very end so it didn't distract from the story. 

Other than that I have no complaints. Oh wait, I forgot. The French Army hats. I can't imagine any one designing such a stupid looking hat at any time in history. I thought the French were supposed to have a sense of style. Obviously that is not always the case.


PRUDUCT DESCRIPTION:


Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean), a maverick British army officer fighting against Napoleon in 19th century Spain. In Sharpe's Rifles, the first movie of the series, Sharpe saves Sir Arthur Wellesley's life and is promoted to lieutenant. But when he's put in charge of a company that doesn't respect him, his dangerous mission behind enemy lines could be compromised.