6. The flame trees of Thika : memories of an African childhood

By Edith Huxley

Rated 5 Stars

In 1913, at the age of six, Elspeth Huxley accompanied her parents from England to their recently acquired land in Kenya, "a bit of El Dorado my father had been fortunate enough to buy in the bar of the Norfolk hotel from a man wearing an Old Etonian tie." The land is not nearly what its seller claimed, but Elspeth's parents are undaunted and begin their coffee plantation. Her mother, a resourceful, adventurous woman, "eager always to extract from every moment its last drop of interest or pleasure," keeps an eye on Elspeth's education but also allows her extensive freedom. Through Elspeth Huxley's marvelous gift for description, early twentieth-century Kenya comes alive with all the excitement and naive insight of a child who watches with eyes wide open as coffee trees are planted, buffaloes are skinned, pythons are disemboweled, and cultures collide with all the grace of runaway trains. With a free-wheeling imagination and a dry wit, she describes the interactions of Kikuyus, Masais, Dutch Boers, Brits and Scots, mixing rapid-fire descriptions with philosophical musings. It is a mixture that suits her land of contrasts and unknowns, where vastly different peoples live and work side by side but rarely come together, like an egg beater whose "the two arms whirled independently and never touched, so that perhaps one arm never knew the other was there; yet they were together, turned by the same handle, and the cake was mixed by both."

5. Brothers in battle, best of friends

By Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron
Rated 3 Stars

I think this book was just "a bridge too far" for me. I have pretty much burned out on Easy Company. Still, it was interesting and I read it to the end.


"To single out one or two of [the] Screaming Eagles as the Most Super-Duper Paratrooper or the Best Source for a free beer on VE day would be a fool's errand. But to fail to single out Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron would overlook a grand entertainment and a stirring inspiration. "'Wild Bill' and 'Babe.' Even their names beg the telling of their tale, like great ball players from the 1920s, or legendary lawmen-or outlaws-of the Old West." Book jacket.

4. The Mercy of Thin Air

By Ronlyn Domingue
Rated 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book and so did Shaun. It was a very poignant, well written and the mystery kept me hanging until the very end.

In 1920s New Orleans, Raziela Nolan is in the throes of a magnificent love affair when she dies in a tragic accident. She narrages the story of her lost love, as well as the relationship of the couple whose house she haunts more than 75 years later. The couple's trials compel Razi to slowly unravel the mystery of what happened to her first and only love, and to confront a long hidden secret.

3. A House with Four Rooms

By Rumer Godden
Rated 4 Stars

In her second volume of memoirs, following a A Time to Dance, No Time to Weep , Godden provides a lively, engaging view of postwar literary and publishing trends as a backdrop to her own personal and creative development. In 1945, her marriage over, she returned home to England from India with two children and few possessions; however, with an unwavering commitment to her writing, she embarked on a career which brought international recognition and acclaim for her adult and children's books. She speaks lovingly of those who encouraged her over the years, including her sister Jon, London agent Spencer Curtis Brown, Viking publishing president Ben Huebsch (her "literary father"), and the late James Haynes-Dixon, with whom she enjoyed a sturdy second marriage. She also recounts in colorful detail her collaboration with French director Jean Renoir during the filming of her novel The River in California and on location in India. We part company with her in the late 1970s as she moves to Scotland. Godden's travels and experiences are related with warmth and insight, and she offers an interesting perspective on the major publishing figures of our time.

2. A time to dance, no time to weep

By Rumer Godden
Rated 4 Stars

This autobiography covers the first 40 years of the life of Rumer Godden who was one of the most prolific authors of her time.

Born in India, at the height of British colonial power, she lived there until the 1950s. Her career as a novelist began with "Black Narcissus", which became a bestseller on publication in 1939 - and like many of her novels - was adapted into a film. Her relationship with India, although passionate, was ultimately and perhaps inevitably ambivalent and this ambivalence came to a head in an incident when she and her children were living in Kashmir. A servant tried to poison them and the notoriety surrounding the case forced Godden to leave Kashmir and eventually India itself.

She belongs in that small and exclusive club of women - it includes Isak Dinesen and Beryl Markham - who could do pretty well anything they set their minds to: hunting tigers, bewitching men, throwing elegant dinner parties, winning literary fame.

1. Where is the Mango Princess

By Cathy Crimmins
Rated 4 1/2 Stars

This book was recommended by Kathryn, a poster in a group I belong to. It was published in 2001 and the injury that Crimmins described happened several years before that. At the time it was written the struggle's that the author had in order to get decent treatment for her husband was shocking. But since this book was written the war in Iraq has happened in which the causualty totals have exceeded 30,00 and according to the Brain Injury Association of America more than half of them involve a traumatic brain injury.

In this book Crimmins' describes how her husband Alan suffered a traumatic brain injury in a speedboat crash. This book tells the stories of Alan's slow and irregular return to a reasonably normal existence; of the changing relationships involved, especially that of Cathy and the Crimmins' daughter, Kelly; and of how an HMO impeded a patient's treatment and recovery by misguided attempts at cost cutting.

Both Crimmins' and her husband, both of whom were highly educated, successful professional people (both had a Ph.d,) were more mature than most people and were better equiped to navigate the massive red tape and negotiate with an HMO that was determined to provide as little care as they could legally get away with.

Imagine your average young soldier with such an injury, probably in his early twenties who joined up right out of high school to get money for college trying to deal with an underfunded, understaffed and overwhelmed Veterans care system to get the services needed.

Try to imagine also the families of these service men and women who are trying to cope with a family member who has been forever altered both physically and mentally and who suffers from results of their injury that include at best:

http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/content/symptoms/mildtbisymptoms.html

And in the more serious cases:

http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/content/symptoms/severetbisymptoms.html

This is one of those books that while I am glad I read it but I probably would have been happier if I hadn't.

116. The Coal Gatherer

By Janet Woods
Rated 3 1/2 Stars


This book is written in the style of Catherine Cookson Novel,.

Set in the North of Victorian England, Calandra Ingram known as Callie meets Patricia Lazarus and her brother James whilst gathering sea coal at the waters edge, they strike up a friendship that will last for ever, despite their different backgrounds. When Callie is offered the post of companion to Patricia, it is the first step in her journey to a better life ... very predictable ending but still kind of fun.

113. A Place Beyond Courage

By Elizabeth Chadwick
Rated 5++++++ Stars!

No one comes as close to putting the reader in the position of being a fly on the wall so to speak of their stories as Elizabeth Chadwick does.

What I think is particularly wonderful about A Place Beyond Courage is that John Marshall is really not a very heroic figure as hero's are defined in novels. Susan has managed to breath life and humanity as well as creating sympathy for a character whom I suspect was pretty much a self serving cold fish of a person.

The real life John Marshall changed sides far to often for me to get any sense of his having the code of honor that was prevalent in his time. Many men died trying to live up to their code of honor while John Marshall seems to have honored only his own self interest. Also the way he dumped Aline really bothered me. A man of honor would not have notified her by letter that she has become an inconvenience.

The only self serving thing he did that I even come close to understanding was a.) surrendering William as a hostage since that was common practice at the time and b.) giving that little hammer and anvil speech (never let them see you sweat) since I agree with the author's conclusion that it was in Williams interest that John not show how much (if it was indeed much) that William meant to him. I am sure that he cared some, because he was human after all.

The tender love story between him and Sybilla is, IMO, all from the author's imagination as I don't think there is any real evidence that they did other than get married and have children together. It's lovely to think of her version as fact but I guess I am just too much of a skeptic. But it sure made for great reading.

The fact that the author managed to spin such a wonderful story while incorporating all these facts is a true testament to her as a writer. I love the John Marshall of her story. But I suspect that very few, if anyone from his time would recognize the man he was as the man she was writing about.

Now his son William, (The Greatest Knight) that is another thing entirely. Every thing she wrote about him was absolutely, positively true. I know this because my heart tells me so.

112. Shakespeare, The world a stage

By Bill Bryson
Rated 5+++++ Stars

Bill Bryson is an author whose books really resonate with me. I am sure that he could write a book on the Influence of Politics and Religion in Common Earth Worm colonys and I would not only rush out to buy it but would then also rate it 5 stars. There is something about his take on things combined with the way he uses languages that really appeals to me as a reader.

In this book he starts off explaining that virtually nothing aside from his published works is really known about Shakespeare's life except that records have been found documenting that he was a) born and b) who his parents were, c) that he married Ann Hathaway and fathered three children, d) lived at some point in London and e) died and is buried in Stratford.

Copied from a review on amazon: And then, because he is the writer he is, takes close to 200 pages to cover it. One would think that 200 pages covering "nothing" would grow tedious. One would be wrong!!! (three exclamatio points, if you please.) So charmigly does Bryson write; so entertainingly does he explicate WHY nothing is known, and how to best understand that nothing, that the book is an unending source of knowledge and delight. ANY writer can write about SOMETHING. It takes the massive talents of the Thunderbolt Kid to write this well about nothing. He makes "Seinfeld" look loquacious.

111. World Without End

by Ken Follett
Rated 5 Stars

Every once in a while, like in a Blue Moon maybe, a book comes along that is clearly way out ahead of most other books.

World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death.

I went over to Amazon and looked closely at the reviews and noted that of 104 reviewers, 53% had given it 5 stars and 18 four stars. Obviously this is a love it or hate it kind of book.

There are a couple of things I think might be the reason for the bad reviews. One thing is that Folett is not primarily a historical fiction writer and a great many of his books have been thrillers. So his writing style tends to be pretty gritty. Also, while there is a strong love story (and a couple of minor ones) running through this book it is not a romance novel. It's the story of a 14th century community in a cathedral market town and at times his vision of 14 century life makes me a little uncomfortable. Plausible, but still a little uncomfortable. Especially what passed for justice and fairness.

I caught myself being sympathetic to be baddies in the book simply because it seemed to me that the only way someone of the "lower classes" might improve their circumstances was with either brawn and hopefully a few brains thrown in.Luck played a huge part in this and I found I couldn't really blame some of the characters who seized any and every opportunity that came their way, fair means or fowl. In fact, there is one female character who has, IMO, a definite Claire Frazer attitude towards survival.

One of the reviewers noted that Charis was a feminist and therefore out of place in the 14th century. Obviously this reviewer had never read anything about Eleanor of Aquitaine to name just one because there are many. She came immediately to mind because she is a particular favorite of mine. I think this reviewer was not much of a reader. Also there was a small incidence of lesbianism and as we all know the slightest whiff of anything homosexual drives the homophobes into an orgasmic frenzy.

110. Tomb of Zeus

By Barbara Cleverly
Rated 4 1/2 Stars

This is a new series for Cleverly and I am looking forward to reading the subsequent books. However I hope she doesn't abandon Inspector Joe Sandilands of Scotland Yard as I have become very fond of him. This book reminds me a tiny bit of Elizabeth Peter's heroine Vicky Bliss as I think there is more to her boyfriend than meets the eye.

--BOOK JACKET. "Born into a background of British privilege, Laetitia Talbot has been raised to believe there is no field in which she may not excel. She has chosen a career in the male-dominated world of archaeology, but she approaches her first assignment in Crete the only way she knows how - with dash and enthusiasm. Until she enters the Villa Europa, where something is clearly utterly amiss ..." "Her host, a charismatic archaeologist, is racing to dig up the fabled island's next great treasure - the tomb of the King of the Gods. But then a beautiful young woman is found hanged and a golden youth drives his Bugatti over a cliff. From out of the shadows come whispers of past loves, past jealousies, and ancient myths that sound an eerie discord with present events. Letty will need all her determination and knowledge to unravel the secrets beneath the Villa Europa's roof - and they will lead her into the darkest, most terrifying place of all."

109. License to Kill

By Robert Young Pelton
Rated 5 Chilling Stars

I got interested in this last book (here is where the boring part of this post starts) because as I may have complained about before, I have had a sleep disorder for a long time and have recently developed a sensitivity to my meds for it so I have been spending a lot of sleepless hours in the middle of the night. I have found this marvelous late night radio program called Coast to Coast AM that discusses all sorts of crazy stuff that is fun to listen to. Ghosts, Encounters with and abductions by extraterrestrial creatures, werewolves and anything paranormal in general. Lately they have started to discuss other topics as I think that even the seriously looney tunes folks have finally figured out that things in this country are maybe not going as well as they were led to believe.

The other night they had a serious duscussion with author and adventurer Robert Young Pelton discussed his latest book, Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror. Usually I kind of doze through the programs as they are 3 hours long but that night it was so interesting that I was wide awake the whole time. So I immediately requested the book from the library.

Between the program and the book I now have a much better understanding
on the private security companies like Blackwater. On the program they opened the phone lines and many of these contractors called in and gave their sides of
the story and what had motivated them to go to work for these contractors in the first place and how the contractors fit into the big picture. It was an amazing look into something I knew nothing about before and hearing it from real people has a lot more impact that just reading it. I didn't know that there were many other contracting firms besides Blackwater and not all of them were American firms. Britain, Germany and France also have contractors there and on the
other hand, all of these contractors operate all over the world not just in the middle east. I guess the fact that the US has been handing out money (between May of 2003 and June of 2004 393 tons of $100 bills were shipped to Iraq and have to this day not been accounted for) like it was candy is a major factor for the proliferation these companies.

There is a very disturbing thought that follows the logic of "Licensed To Kill". Back in the early 90's the U.S. government used sections of U.S. Code to prohibit militias from forming 'private armies'. Now Private companies can field a well equipped battalion at very short moment's notice. Since the U.S. Government is prohibited by law to use it's own militaries domestically could it then legally 'hire' a private force to quell a domestic disturbance? The question of what all can private armies be used for can be greatly expanded beyond foreign wars and conflicts. Can our own military be replaced by private contracts? How about our police forces across the country? I am not trying to sound conspiratorial here but I think that what the contractors have seen and what the author has written about is the very beginning of a long trend that will likely grow beyond what anyone thinks now. I am afraid that this particular "genie" that has been let out of the bottle might turn around and eat us.

So if you find you are getting too much sleep at night - Read This Book.