DNF - Walking the Trail :

One Man's Journey along the Cherokee Trail of Tears 

By Jerry Ellis
Rated - DNF

There was just  something about this guys writing style that really put me off.  On top of that it was mostly about himself, what he was thinking and feeling and not enough about the actual experience of hiking this historic trail.  This was a shame because I was really looking forward to reading this book.

LIBRARY SUMMARY:  One fall morning Jerry Ellis donned a backpack and began a long, lonely walk: retracing the Cherokee Trail of Tears, the nine hundred miles his ancestors had walked in 1838. The trail was the agonizing path of exile the Cherokees had been forced to take when they were torn from their southeastern homeland and relocated to Indian Territory. Following in their footsteps, Ellis traveled through small southern towns, along winding roads, amid quiet forests, encountering a memorable array of people who live along the trail today. Along the way he also came to glimpse the pain his ancestors endured and to learn about the true beauty of modern rural life and the worth of a man's character.

60. The Forgotten Garden

By:  Kate Morton
Rated 4 Stars
From:  Library

LIBRARY SUMMARY:  In 1913, a little girl arrives in Brisbane, Australia, and is taken in by a dockmaster and his wife. She doesn't know her name, and the only clue to her identity is a book of fairy tales tucked inside a white suitcase.  When the girl, called Nell, grows up, she starts to piece together bits of her story, but just as she's on the verge of going to England to trace the mystery to its source, her grandaughter, Cassandra, is left in her care. When Nell dies, Cassandra finds herself the owner of a cottage in Cornwall, and makes the journey to England to finally solve the puzzle of Nell's origins. Shifting back and forth over a span of nearly 100 years, this is a sprawling, old-fashioned novel, as well-cushioned as a Victorian country house, replete with family secrets, stories-within-stories, even a maze and a Dickensian rag-and-bone shop. All the pieces don't quite mesh, but it's a satisfying read overall but it's still a good read.

59. The Accidental Time Machine

By Joe Haldeman
Rated 5 Stars
From:  Library

Science fiction is another one of those genres that I am fond of saying I never read.  I need to learn to keep my mouth shut since this is the second book I have read in that genre this month, both of which I enjoyed.  It's getting to where I can't believe a word I say anymore. *sigh*

LIBRARY SUMMARY:  "Since H. G. Wells' heyday, the time travel scenario has undergone so much variation that it's easy to envision the river of ideas finally running dry. But here the ever-inventive Haldeman offers a new twist: a device that travels in one direction only, to the future. Lowly MIT research assistant Matt Fuller toils away in a physics lab until one day he makes an odd discovery. A sensitive quantum calibrator keeps disappearing and reappearing moments later when he hits the reset button. With a little tinkering, Matt realizes that the device functions as a crude, forward-traveling time machine. With visions of Nobel Prizes dancing in his head, he latches it to a car and leaps into the future. The interesting wrinkle here is that each jump ahead is 12 times longer than the last. Matt's successive futures involve jail time, unwelcome celebrity, and assorted holocausts in the earth's climate. He begins to long for his native era. As usual, Haldeman's ingenuity delivers cutting-edge technological speculation and irresistibly compelling reading."--"Hays, Carl" Copyright 2007 Booklist

58. Seducing an Angel

By Mary Balogh
Rated: 3.5
From Library

Mary Balogh is my fall back light reading author.  She generally writes plesant. feel good regency romance books that are well writen and make me smile.  This particular series, not so much.  This is the fourth book in this latest series and only two of them have been remotely readable.  I abandoned the one before this one because It was so silly that I could not finish it.  This one is marginally better.  I am looking forward to the fifth one however as it is supposed to address the story of Constantine, the only really interesting secondary character in the series.  Lets hope Balogh gets her grove back.

LIBRARY SUMMARY:  "Here Stephen will risk his reputation and his heart as he enters a scandalous liaison with the infamous beauty intent on seduction. But when passion turns the tables on them both, who can say who has seduced whom? He must be wealthy, wellborn, and want her more than he wants any other woman. Those are the conditions that must be met by the man Cassandra Belmont chooses for her lover. Marriage is out of the question for the destitute widow who stands accused of murdering her husband and must now barter her beauty in order to survive. With seduction in mind, she sets her sights on Stephen Huxtable, the irresistibly attractive Earl of Merton and London’s most eligible bachelor. But Stephen’s first intriguing glimpse of the mysterious, alluring Lady Paget convinces him that he has found the ideal woman to share his bed. There is only one caveat. This relationship fueled by mutual pleasure must be onhisterms. As the two warily circle each other in a sensual dance of attack and retreat, a single night of passion alters all the rules. Cassandra, whose reputation is already in tatters, is now in danger of losing the one thing she vowed never to give. And Stephen, who wants Cassandra more than he has ever wanted any woman, won’t rest until she has surrendered everything—not as his mistress—but as his lover and wife. . . ."

57. Replay

By Ken Grimwood
Rated 5 Stars
From:  Library

This was a re read for me.  I first read it about 5 years ago and recently someone on one of the groups mentioned they were reading it and I decided it would make a nice change of pace for me to "Replay" for myself.

LIBRARY SUMMARY:  The possibility of traveling back in time to relive one's life has long fascinated science fiction writers. Without a single gesture toward an explanation, this mainstream novel recounts the story of a man and a woman mysteriously given the ability to live their lives over. Each dies in 1988 only to awaken as a teenager in 1963 with adult knowledge and wisdom intact and the ability to make a new set of choices. Different spouses, lovers, children, careers, await them in each go-round of the past 25 years, as well as slightly altered versions of world events. Their deep commitment to one another continues through the centuries of their many lifetimes. This delightful and completely engrossing story will appeal to a wide variety of readers

56. Silent on the Moor

By Deanna Raybourn
Rated 4 Stars
From:  Library

This is the third book I have read by this author in a continuing series in which she uses Lady Julia Rayburn as an accidental amateur detective to solve crimes set in 19th century England.  She has a very tongue-in-cheek writing style and they are, to me at least, very entertaining.  However I do have to wonder where she is going to go next since she has resolved a major and continuing plot device from the stories.  Guess I will just have to read the next one and find out.

FROM AMAZON:  Despite his admonitions to stay away, Lady Julia arrives in Yorkshire to find Brisbane as remote and maddeningly attractive as ever. Cloistered together, they share the moldering house with the proud but impoverished remnants of an ancient family--the sort that keeps their bloodline pure and their secrets close. Lady Allenby and her daughters, dependent upon Brisbane and devastated by their fall in society, seem adrift on the moor winds, powerless to change their fortunes. But poison does not discriminate between classes... .A mystery unfolds from the rotten heart of Grimsgrave, one Lady Julia may have to solve alone, as Brisbane appears inextricably tangled in its heinous twists and turns. But blood will out, and before spring touches the craggy northern landscape, Lady Julia will have uncovered a Gypsy witch, a dark rider and a long-buried legacy of malevolence and evil.

55. Among the Mad

By Jacqueline Winspear
Rated 4 Stars
From:  Library

LIBRARY SUMMARY:  Maisie Dobbs must catch a madman before he commits murder on an unimaginable scale. It's Christmas Eve 1931, on the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the prime minister's office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if certain demands are not met and the writer mentions Maisie by name. After being questioned and cleared by Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane of Scotland Yard's elite Special Branch, she is drawn into MacFarlane's personal fiefdom as a special adviser on the case. Meanwhile, Billy Beale, Maisie's trusted assistant, is once again facing tragedy as his wife, who has never recovered from the death of their young daughter, slips further into melancholia's abyss. Soon Maisie becomes involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict death and destruction on thousands of innocent people. And before this harrowing case is over, Maisie must navigate a darkness not encountered since she was a nurse in wards filled with shell-shocked men.

54. Bill Bryson's African Diary

Rated 4 Stars
From:  Amazon

Thank you Beth for recommending this book.  I would not of known it existed otherwise.

All royalties and profits from this book go   to CARE International.  It's short, only 49 pages and in parts it is genuinely funny and in other parts genuinely moving.

FROM AMAZON:  Bryson visits Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to eradicating poverty. Kenya is a land of contrasts, with famous game reserves and a vibrant culture. It also provides plenty to worry a traveller like Bill Bryson, fixated as he is on the dangers posed by snakes, insects and large predators. It is also a country with many serious problems: refugees, AIDS, drought, and grinding poverty. The resultant diary, though short in length, contains the trademark Bryson stamp of wry observation and curious insight.

53. Jesus Interrupted

By Bart D. Ehrman
Rated 5 Stars
From:  Library

I'm not quite sure what to make of this book but it certainly was interesting. I do know though that I need to get off this religious reading kick that I have been on this month.  For someone who claims not to read books with a Christian theme it seems like that's all I've been reading lately.

LIBRARY SUMMARY:  Jesus, Interrupted addresses the larger issue of what the New Testament actually teaches-and it's not what most people think. Here Ehrman reveals what scholars have unearthed: The authors of the New Testament have diverging views about who Jesus was and how salvation works. The New Testament contains books that were forged in the names of the apostles by Christian writers who lived decades later. Jesus, Paul, Matthew, and John all represented fundamentally different religions. Established Christian doctrines-such as the suffering messiah, the divinity of Jesus, and the trinity-were the inventions of still later theologians. These are not idiosyncratic perspectives of just one modern scholar. As Ehrman skillfully demonstrates, they have been the standard and widespread views of critical scholars across a full spectrum of denominations and traditions. Why is it most people have never heard such things? This is the book that pastors, educators, and anyone interested in the Bible have been waiting for-a clear and compelling account of the central challenges we face when attempting to reconstruct the life and message of Jesus.

52. Ultimate Prizes

By Susan Howatch
Rated 5+ Stars
From:  My keeper shelf

This is the third book of Howatch's six book Church of England series but it is the second one I have picked up in my eratic re read of these books.  That Neville is a piece of work. *sigh*  The next book I am going to read will be Scandalous Risks which is actually book four in the series.  I know I am going to start being furious with Neville all over again.  Stay tuned.

BOOK SUMMARY:  Neville Aysgarth, an ambitious archdeacon takes center stage in this book to narrate the story of his lifetime quest for the "ultimate prizes." WW II has started, and Neville's marriage to Grace, the perfect wife and mother, is cracking under the pressure of being worthy of her perfection. After Grace dies, Neville marries socialite Dido Tallent, but when their first child dies at birth, his faith in both God and his own motives is rocked. In crisis, Neville asks his colleague Jon Darrow (narrator of Glamorous Powers ) for spiritual first aid and, guided by a wise abbot friend of Jon's, is forced to an honest appraisal of himself and his ambition--which has its roots in his early life. He struggles back to spiritual health and eventually emerges a wiser man, more honest and loving toward his family and his flock.

This is the third in Howatch's incomparable series about the Church of England in the 20th century; it's a measure of her achievement that, besides telling a fascinating story boldly and well, she illuminates often quite abstruse religious and ecclesiastical questions. Here, Neville's ministry to captured Germans in a local prisoner-of-war camp leads to the discussion of Christian--ethical, moral--behavior during war, a topic that can never be out of date.

51. People of the Book

By:  Geraldine Brooks
Rated 4 Stars
From Library, Audio Book

This is another one of those split into time books.  In a way this is very similar to The Source by James Mitchner in that it is a journey back in time.  This book traces the history of a sacred 500 year old Jewish prayer book.  I loved that part of it.

What I didn't love so much were the contemporary characters of Hannah the rare book expert and  Ozrem the librarian who saved the book from being destroyed in the siege of Sarajevo.  Hannah was way to abrasive for me to be able to muster up any sympathy for her personally although I had plenty of it for her cause.  Ozrem was a whiner who came across as a person who had a flash of courage and integrity every once in a while but didn't have enough character to sustain it over the long haul.  So my rating for this book is actually split, 5 for the history of the book, 3 for the parts of the story involving Hannah and Ozram.  In my mind that averaged out to a 4.


One of the earliest Jewish religious volumes to be illuminated with images, the Sarajevo Haggadah survived centuries of purges and wars thanks to people of all faiths who risked their lives to safeguard it. Geraldine Brooks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, has turned the intriguing but sparely detailed history of this precious volume into an emotionally rich, thrilling fictionalization that retraces its turbulent journey. In the hands of Hanna Heath, an impassioned rare-book expert restoring the manuscript in 1996 Sarajevo, it yields clues to its guardians and whereabouts: an insect wing, a wine stain, salt crystals, and a white hair. While readers experience crucial moments in the book's history through a series of fascinating, fleshed-out short stories, Hanna pursues its secrets scientifically, and finds that some interests will still risk everything in the name of protecting this treasure.

50. The Devlin Diary

By Christi Phillips
Rated 4.5 Stars
From:  Jani

I really liked this book in spite of the problems I always have when an author jumps back and forth in time or POV.  That just a personal thing with me.  But this book is very well written and I can't thank Jani enough for sending me the books she reviews that she knows I will like.  This book is off to Texas next week.

FROM  AMAZON : London, 1672. The past twelve years have brought momentous changes: the restoration of the monarchy, a devastating plague and fire. Yet the city remains a teeming, thriving metropolis, energized by the lusty decadence of Charles II's court and burgeoning scientific inquiry. Although women enjoy greater freedom, they are not allowed to practice medicine, a restriction that physician Hannah Devlin evades by treating patients that most other doctors shun: the city's poor.

But Hannah has a special knowledge that Secretary of State Lord Arlington desperately needs. At the king's Machiavellian court, Hannah attracts the attention of two men, charming courtier Ralph Montagu and anatomist Dr. Edward Strathern, as well as the attention of the powerful College of Physicians, which views her work as criminal. When two influential courtiers are found brutally murdered, their bodies inscribed with arcane symbols, Hannah is drawn into a dangerous investigation by Dr. Strathern, who believes the murders conceal a far-reaching conspiracy that may include Hannah's late father and the king himself.

Cambridge, 2008. Teaching history at Trinity College is Claire Donovan's dream come true -- until one of her colleagues is found dead on the banks of the River Cam. The only key to the professor's unsolved murder is a seventeenthcentury diary kept by his last research subject, Hannah Devlin, physician to the king's mistress. With help from the eclectic collections of Cambridge's renowned libraries, Claire and historian Andrew Kent follow the clues Devlin left behind, uncovering secrets of London's dark past and Cambridge's equally murky present, and discovering that events of three hundred years ago may still have consequences today...