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"Amazons--fierce warrior women dwelling on the fringes of the known world--were the mythic archenemies of the ancient Greeks. Heracles and Achilles displayed their valor in duels with Amazon queens, and the Athenians reveled in their victory over a powerful Amazon army. In historical times, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and the Roman general Pompey tangled with Amazons. But just who were these bold barbarian archers on horseback who gloried in fighting, hunting, and sexual freedom? Were Amazons real? In this deeply researched, wide-ranging, and lavishly illustrated book, National Book Award finalist Adrienne Mayor presents the Amazons as they have never been seen before. This is the first comprehensive account of warrior women in myth and history across the ancient world, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Great Wall of China. Mayor tells how amazing new archaeological discoveries of battle-scarred female skeletons buried with their weapons prove that women warriors were not merely figments of the Greek imagination. Combining classical myth and art, nomad traditions, and scientific archaeology, she reveals intimate, surprising details and original insights about the lives and legends of the women known as Amazons. Provocatively arguing that a timeless search for a balance between the sexes explains the allure of the Amazons, Mayor reminds us that there were as many Amazon love stories as there were war stories. The Greeks were not the only people enchanted by Amazons--Mayor shows that warlike women of nomadic cultures inspired exciting tales in ancient Egypt, Persia, India, Central Asia, and China. Driven by a detective's curiosity, Mayor unearths long-buried evidence and sifts fact from fiction to show how flesh-and-blood women of the Eurasian steppes were mythologized as Amazons, the equals of men."
I loved this book...all the details and information were organized and presented well and it wasn't dry and boring like so much non-fiction history.
I ran across a post by @jonathanbfine while I was "doom-scrolling" on X today in which he suggested that people in general were better-read in the past. His observation, with which I agree, led me to question the time I waste "doom-scrolling" on X, Instagram, and other social media sites, time which usually results in my having a headache and feeling depressed and irritable.
I'm closing the X and Instagram apps right now on all my devices and I won't open them again until I've read 100 real books: non-fiction books and fiction books, long books and short books, challenging books and easy books, softcover and hardcover and spiral-bound and maybe even some comic books.
Thanx for the inspiration, Random Online Guy I've Never Met!
I'll still pop in to Flickr (gotta keep up with my daily photo challenge), but I'll try not to waste too much time here.
I'll post a list of what I've read when I'm finished.
I'm setting an ambitious goal to read 100 books in under 100 days -- so yeah, some of 'em will definitely be short books! (Realistically... how about 120 days? So... by the beginning of July?)
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School, to launch the expansion of the Reading Challenge, a scheme to encourage literacy and a love of reading in young people.
The First Minister’s Reading Challenge will now be piloted up to S3 in six schools across Scotland.
Research shows reading for pleasure drops off as young people reach secondary school and the expansion of the scheme is designed to ensure young adults continue to enjoy reading long after they have left primary school.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School, to launch the expansion of the Reading Challenge, a scheme to encourage literacy and a love of reading in young people.
The First Minister’s Reading Challenge will now be piloted up to S3 in six schools across Scotland.
Research shows reading for pleasure drops off as young people reach secondary school and the expansion of the scheme is designed to ensure young adults continue to enjoy reading long after they have left primary school.
Sworn To Silence -- "When a serial killer strikes bucolic Painters Mill, Ohio, the killer's signature—Roman numerals ritualistically carved into each victim's abdomen—matches the MO of four unsolved murders from 16 years earlier. Police chief Kate Burkholder, who's reluctant to dredge up the past, must keep secret that she knows why the old murders stopped. Not satisfied with the case's progress, local politicos set up a multijurisdictional task force to assist, including a law-enforcement agent battling his own demons. The added scrutiny and the rising body count threaten to push the chief over the edge." -- from www.amazon.com
Breaking Silence -- "Kate Burkholder, police chief of Painter's Creek, Ohio, finds a gruesome crime scene at a farm. Solly and Rachael Slabaugh, and Solly's brother, Abel, have drowned in a poorly ventilated manure pit, succumbing to methane gas asphyxiation. But the deaths are no accident and may be related to a recent string of hate crimes against the Amish. The hate crimes designation brings in John Tomasetti, an agent with the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and Kate's sometimes lover. Kate becomes close with the four orphaned Slabaugh children, especially with the daughter, 15-year-old Salome. Kate, who was raised Amish, understands the difficulties an ambitious Amish teenager faces. Escalating hate crimes are uncovered, but the investigation is stymied because the Amish resist help from outsiders." -- from www.amazon.com
Really nice thrillers...good characters, well developed plots, and the conclusions were well thought out and realistic.
Sworn To Silence -- Started: July 26, 2013 Finished: July 27, 2013
Breaking Silence -- Started: July 27, 2013 Finished: July 28, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Books #61 & #62
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School, to launch the expansion of the Reading Challenge, a scheme to encourage literacy and a love of reading in young people.
The First Minister’s Reading Challenge will now be piloted up to S3 in six schools across Scotland.
Research shows reading for pleasure drops off as young people reach secondary school and the expansion of the scheme is designed to ensure young adults continue to enjoy reading long after they have left primary school.
Elizabeth I -- "Personal and political conflicts among such larger-than-life historical figures as Francis Bacon, Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake, and Will Shakespeare intertwine in George's meticulously envisioned portrait of Elizabeth I during the last 25 years of her reign. Unlike most contemporary depictions of the Virgin Queen, this one is actually a virgin; she's married to England, whose interests she pursues with shrewdness, courage, and wisdom borne of surviving the deaths of her family. Readers see the queen through her own eyes and those of her cousin, Lettice Knollys, wife of Elizabethan heartthrob Robert Dudley, aka the earl of Leicester. Elizabeth's antithesis, thrice-married and much-bedded Lettice, is driven by passion and self-interest, easily evidenced by the story's beginnings: it's 1588, and Elizabeth meets the threat of the Spanish Armada head-on while Lettice calculates how her son might benefit." -- from www.amazon.com
I enjoyed this book, especially in the second half, when the plot began to pick up and the two narrator's tales came together more.
Elizabeth I -- Started: Apr. 8, 2011 Finished: Apr. 22, 2011
25 Book Challenge 2011 Book #32
Constant Princess -- "Katherine of Aragon. Known to history as the Queen who was pushed off her throne by Anne Boleyn, here is a Katherine the world has forgotten: the enchanting princess that all England loved. First married to Henry VIII's older brother, Arthur, Katherine's passion turns their arranged marriage into a love match; but when Arthur dies, the merciless English court and her ambitious parents -- the crusading King and Queen of Spain -- have to find a new role for the widow. Ultimately, it is Katherine herself who takes control of her own life by telling the most audacious lie in English history, leading her to the very pinnacle of power in England." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a good book...I enjoyed learning more about Catherine of Aragon and her first marriage, especially as there has been so much attention paid to Henry VIII, it's nice too learn about some of the other important historical figures of that time period.
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Dark Satanic -- "Barbara is determined to protect her husband, Jamie Melford, from the power forces that will stop at nothing to prevent him from publishing a book that reveals the secrets of the occult." -- from www.amazon.com
Kind of a cheesy, shallow occult thriller...I know that this is an earlier work of hers but, honestly, it reads like a fifteen year old girl wrote it and not an experienced adult author. Characters were stereotypical and underdeveloped. The plot was overwrought with cliches and badly used plot devices. If you want to read anything by MZB, stick to Mists of Avalon and avoid this book.
The Constant Princess -- Started: July 24, 2012 Finished: Aug. 7, 2012
Dark Satanic -- Started: July 26, 2012 Finished: July 26, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Books #50 & #51
Picking Bones -- "...the narration alternates between Satomi, a Japanese girl pushed by her mother to make her mark on the world, and Rumi, Satomi's American daughter who grows up in the mid-late 1960s believing her mother is dead. The novel is strongest at the beginning, as Satomi tells of her postwar childhood in a small Japanese village, the only girl without a father and the only girl with a talent: she is going to be a world-famous concert pianist. After her mother remarries, Satomi goes away to music school and, later, to Paris to perfect her craft. In Paris and back in Japan, Satomi falls in with the Western antique dealers who will eventually take her to the United States after her mother dies. The second half switches between the stories of Satomi and Rumi, who develops a skill at reading Asian antiques and begins to wonder about her mother when an old friend of her parents re-enters her life." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a very good book although, in the second half, the story started to take some very bizzare turns and I thought it was rather sad and pathetic how one of the main characters turns out.
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Nefertiti -- "This fictionalized life of the notorious queen is told from the point of view of her younger sister, Mutnodjmet. In 1351 B.C., Prince Amunhotep secretly kills his older brother and becomes next in line to Egypt's throne: he's 17, and the 15-year-old Nefertiti soon becomes his chief wife. He already has a wife, but Kiya's blood is not as royal, nor is she as bewitching as Nefertiti. As Mutnodjmet, two years younger than her sister, looks on (and falls in love), Amunhotep and the equally ambitious Nefertiti worship a different main god, displace the priests who control Egypt's wealth and begin building a city that boasts the royal likenesses chiseled in stone. Things get tense when Kiya has sons and the popular Nefertiti has only daughters, and they come to a boil when the army is used to build temples to the pharaoh and his queen instead of protecting Egypt's borders." -- from www.amazon.com
I really liked this book even though I was a little sad because I knew already from reading the sequel first what was going to happen to the characters. It was a little slow in the beginning, but the story picked up about halfway through.
Picking Bones from Ash -- Started: Dec. 24, 2009 Finished: Dec. 25, 2009
Nefertiti -- Started: Dec. 25, 2009 Finished: Dec. 30, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Books #69 & #70
Children from across Scotland are participating in the first celebration event for an initiative that fosters a lifelong love of reading amongst Scotland’s young people.
Around 600 Schoolchildren in primary 4 to 7 joined First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the inaugural First Minister’s Reading Challenge ceremony in Edinburgh.
Kingdom Keepers -- "In this fantastical thriller, five young teens tapped as models for theme park "guides" find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls. Using a cutting-edge technology called DHI--which stands for both Disney Host Interactive and Daylight Hologram Imaging--Finn Whitman, an Orlando teen, and four other kids are transformed into hologram projections that guide guests through the park. The new technology turns out, however, to have unexpected effects that are both thrilling and scary. Soon Finn finds himself transported in his DHI form into the Magic Kingdom at night. Is it real? Is he dreaming? Finn's confusion only increases when he encounters Wayne, an elderly Imagineer who tells him that the park is in grave danger. Led by the scheming witch, Maleficent, a mysterious group of characters called the Overtakers is plotting to destroy Disney's beloved realm, and maybe more." -- from www.amazon.com
I admit it, I went to the young adult section just to get this book. It was a fun and interesting read and a good counterpoint to the book "Realityland", that I was reading around the same time.
The Kingdom Keepers -- Started: Feb. 24, 2012 Finished: Feb. 26, 2012
25 Book Challenge Book #14
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School, to launch the expansion of the Reading Challenge, a scheme to encourage literacy and a love of reading in young people.
The First Minister’s Reading Challenge will now be piloted up to S3 in six schools across Scotland.
Research shows reading for pleasure drops off as young people reach secondary school and the expansion of the scheme is designed to ensure young adults continue to enjoy reading long after they have left primary school.
"Houses of Stone" is another Barbara Michaels mystery/romance/ghost story. The plot revolves around a mysterious manuscript by an unknown 19th century female author who calls herself 'Ismene'. The protagonist is an English professor who becomes obsessed with discovering who the author is and how much of the manuscript is fiction and how much is biographical.
I finished this one today. I liked it, up until the ending. The characters were very well developed and the story was full of great twists and turns. Unfortunately, the ending was rather anti-climatic. I think she needed a few more chapters to really round out the plot and bring everything together.
I'm about halfway through "The Neverending Story" and I love it so far. I always liked the movie but I have to say, the book is SO much better. It's descriptive without being long-winded and the story moves at a good pace. It's one of those children's books that's really an "everybody should read" kind of book.
For those who aren't familiar with story, it's about a shy & awkward little boy named Bastian who finds himself drawn to (and drawn into) a book -- appropriately titled "The Neverending Story" -- that he swipes from a bookstore. He shares the adventures of the characters and ends up having his own adventures in the world of Fantastica.
Houses of Stone -- Started: Feb. 12, 2009 Finished: Feb. 14, 2009
The Neverending Story -- Started: Feb. 13, 2009 Finished: Feb. 25, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Books #10 & #11
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Finally finished Frank Joseph's "The Destruction of Atlantis" after a month or so...unfortunately, I just couldn't get into Dan Simmons' "Drood". I tried really hard (I swear!!) but I ended up giving up around page 70...so back to the library it went.
The Lost Tomb -- "For centuries, people have speculated about the fabled lost libraries of antiquity. If one were found, what marvels would it contain? Now a fearless team of adventurers is about to unearth that long-hidden secret, and it will lead them to the most astonishing discovery ever made.
In the treacherous waters off the rugged Sicilian coast, marine archaeologist Jack Howard and his team of scientific experts and ex-Special Forces commandos make a shocking find while searching for the legendary shipwreck of the apostle Paul. And when a second artifact is uncovered in the ruins of a buried city, Jack is on the verge of a discovery that could shake the world to its foundations: the handwritten words of Jesus Christ himself.
As he follows a hunch from the dying confession of an emperor to the burial crypt of a medieval pagan queen, Jack is chasing a conspiracy whose web stretches to the highest levels of international power–and he will have to risk everything to stop the controversial document from falling into the hands of a shadowy brotherhood determined to fulfill their murderous vows." -- from www.amazon.com
I actually liked this one better than I liked "Atlantis". This book was a lot more about the history and a lot fewer descriptions of diving protocol and equipment. I was a little let down by the ending...I think he could have done more than he did during the showdown with the 'bad guys'. All in all, though, a good book.
The Destruction of Atlantis -- Started: May 8, 2009 Finished: June 16, 2009
The Lost Tomb -- Started: June 17, 2009 Finished: June 22, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Books #29 & #33
Exodus -- "American archaeologist Daniel Knox, introduced in The Alexander Cipher (2009), is closing in on a magnificent find, a previously unknown Dead Sea Scroll. Instead, he stumbles on something even more startling: an ancient temple near Alexandria. Soon Daniel finds himself on the hook for a murder he didn’t commit; meanwhile, his partner is being held captive hundreds of miles away, and Daniel is her only hope of rescue." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a pretty good book...Will Adams is a lot like James Rollins, David Gibbins, Steve Berry, etc. There's always an amazing historical discovery, a nasty enemy and a heart-pounding climactic scene where someone dies or comes very close to it. It's entertaining, but over pretty quickly.
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Incantation -- "The opposing forces of love and hate, loyalty and betrayal underscore this brief but rich tale set during the Spanish Inquisition. Told by 16-year-old Estrella deMadrigal, the novel shows how gruesome beliefs nourished by ignorance and prejudice destroyed the lives of countless people...a tale of a close friendship between two teens, Estrella and Catalina. Both envision that their lives will be intertwined forever. However, there is a secret about Estrella and her family that unfolds in spurts. The deMadrigals are Jews who follow their religion in secret, appearing to the world as good Catholics in order to escape persecution...Estrella develops incredible strength as she tries to save herself and her grandmother. Ultimately, it is the love of a Christian, Catalina's cousin Andres, that saves her." -- from www.amazon.com
This was very good book...short, but extremely moving and powerful. I've read this one and one of her other YA novels, The Fortelling and I think I'm really coming to like the YA stories better than most of her adult novels.
The Exodus Quest -- Started: July 11, 2010 Finished: July 12, 2010
Incantation -- Started: July 12, 2010 Finished: July 13, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Books #49 & #50
Sarah's Key -- "Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life." -- from www.amazon.com
I thought this was the best of the three books I've read by this author. The story was well-written and moving, the characters interesting, and the story was more complete than her other two novels. Definitely recommend.
Sarah's Key -- Started: July 18, 2013 Finished: July 20, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #59
When The Emperor -- "On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her home, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family's possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, virtually overnight, as enemy aliens and are about to be uprooted from their home and sent to a dusty internment camp in the Utah desert...tells their story from five flawlessly realized points of view and conveys the exact emotional texture of their experience: the thin-walled barracks and barbed-wire fences, the omnipresent fear and loneliness, the unheralded feats of heroism." -- from www.amazon.com
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Buddha In The Attic -- "...tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” nearly a century ago. In eight unforgettable sections, The Buddha in the Attic traces the extraordinary lives of these women, from their arduous journeys by boat, to their arrival in San Francisco and their tremulous first nights as new wives; from their experiences raising children who would later reject their culture and language, to the deracinating arrival of war." -- from www.amazon.com
When The Emperor Was Divine -- Started: Jan. 19, 2013 Finished: Jan. 21, 2013
The Buddha In The Attic -- Started: Jan. 22, 2013 Finished: Jan. 28, 2013
Both were very interesting books. However, they were far less character driven than I expected them to be. They read more like epic poems than novels. Many characters were never named, their experiences were referred to with poetic vagueness and generality rather than described in detail. Not really the style I typically enjoy reading, but they were a good change of pace.
25 Book Challenge 2013 Books #8 & #9
Water Witch -- "After casting out a dark spirit, Callie McFay, a professor of gothic literature, has at last restored a semblance of calm to her rambling Victorian house. But in the nearby thicket of the honeysuckle forest, and in the currents of the rushing Undine stream, more trouble is stirring. . . .
The enchanted town of Fairwick’s dazzling mix of mythical creatures has come under siege from the Grove: a sinister group of witches determined to banish the fey back to their ancestral land. With factions turning on one another, all are cruelly forced to take sides. Callie’s grandmother, a prominent Grove member, demands her granddaughter’s compliance, but half-witch/half-fey Callie can hardly betray her friends and colleagues at the college. To stave off disaster, Callie enlists Duncan Laird, an alluring seductive academic who cultivates her vast magical potential, but to what end? Deeply conflicted, Callie struggles to save her beloved Fairwick, dangerously pushing her extraordinary powers to the limit—risking all, even the needs of her own passionate heart." -- from www.amazon.com
Unlike the first book in the series, "Demon Lover", this book was less "fifty shades of grey" and more similar to the author's books under her real name, Carol Goodman. More fantasy/mystery and less erotica, which was a definite improvement in my opinion.
The Water Witch -- Started: June 7, 2013 Finished: June 17, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #40
Off Balance -- "AT FOURTEEN YEARS OLD, Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of the 1996 U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team, the first and only American women’s team to take gold at the Olympics. Her pixyish appearance and ferocious competitive drive quickly earned her the status of media darling. But behind the fame, the flawless floor routines, and the million-dollar smile, her life was a series of challenges and hardships.
Off Balance vividly delineates each of the dominating characters who contributed to Moceanu’s rise to the top, from her stubborn father and long-suffering mother to her mercurial coach, Bela Karolyi. Here, Moceanu finally shares the haunting stories of competition, her years of hiding injuries and pain out of fear of retribution from her coaches, and how she hit rock bottom after a public battle with her parents.
But medals, murder plots, drugs, and daring escapes aside (all of which figure into Moceanu’s incredible journey), the most unique aspect of her life is the family secret that Moceanu discovers, opening a new and unexpected chapter in her adult life. A mysterious letter from a stranger reveals that she has a second sister—born with a physical disability and given away at birth—who has nonetheless followed in Moceanu’s footsteps in an astonishing way." -- from www.amazon.com
An interesting memoir...I never really realized the extent of the abuse Dominique and her family suffered at the hands of her father...not to mention the abuse heaped on her by her former coaches...until reading this...I am glad she was able -- as an adult -- to forgive them and make a good life for herself.
Off Balance -- Started: Aug. 9, 2012 Finished: Aug. 10, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #54
The Devil's Queen -- "Confidante of Nostradamus, scheming mother-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots, and architect of the bloody St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Catherine de Medici is brought to life by Jeanne Kalogridis, the bestselling author of I, Mona Lisa and The Borgia Bride.
Born into one of Florence's most powerful families, Catherine was soon left a fabulously rich orphan. Violent conflict tore apart the city state and she found herself imprisoned before finally being released and married off to the handsome Prince Henri of France.
Overshadowed by her husband's mistress, the gorgeous, conniving Diane de Poitiers, and unable to bear children, Catherine resorted to the dark arts of sorcery to win Henri's love and enhance her fertility--for which she would pay a price. Against the lavish and decadent backdrop of the French court, and Catherine's blood-soaked visions of the future, Kalogridis reveals the great love and desire Catherine bore for her husband, Henri, and her stark determination to keep her sons on the throne." -- from www.amazon.com
This was pretty good historical fiction. A little long-winded at times and a tendency to focus a little too much on the sex and not enough on the political intrigue but worth the time it took to read.
The Devil's Queen -- Started: Feb. 4, 2013 Finished: Feb. 10, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #13
Pharaoh -- "1351 BC: Akhenaten the Sun-Pharaoh rules supreme in Egypt . . . until the day he casts off his crown and mysteriously disappears into the desert, his legacy seemingly swallowed up by the remote sands beneath the Great Pyramids of Giza.
AD 1884: A British soldier serving in the Sudan stumbles upon an incredible discovery—a submerged temple containing evidence of a terrifying religion whose god was fed by human sacrifice. The soldier is on a mission to reach General Gordon before Khartoum falls. But he hides a secret of his own.
Present day: Jack Howard and his team are excavating one of the most amazing underwater sites they have ever encountered, but dark forces are watching to see what they will find. Diving into the Nile, they enter a world three thousand years back in history, inhabited by a people who have sworn to guard the greatest secret of all time." -- from www.amazon.com
Not the best in the series, but definitely readable and enjoyable.
Pharaoh -- Started: Nov. 17, 2013 Finished: Dec. 1, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #97
The Day The Falls Stood Still -- "1915. The dawn of the hydroelectric power era in Niagara Falls. Seventeen-year-old Bess Heath has led a sheltered existence as the youngest daughter of the director of the Niagara Power Company. After graduation day at her boarding school, she is impatient to return to her picturesque family home near Niagara Falls. But when she arrives, nothing is as she had left it. Her father has lost his job at the power company, her mother is reduced to taking in sewing from the society ladies she once entertained, and Isabel, her vivacious older sister, is a shadow of her former self. She has shut herself in her bedroom, barely eating--and harboring a secret.
The night of her return, Bess meets Tom Cole by chance on a trolley platform. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to him--against her family's strong objections. He is not from their world. Rough-hewn and fearless, he lives off what the river provides and has an uncanny ability to predict the whims of the falls. His daring river rescues render him a local hero and cast him as a threat to the power companies that seek to harness the power of the falls for themselves. As their lives become more fully entwined, Bess is forced to make a painful choice between what she wants and what is best for her family and her future." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a great book but I pretty much love any novel having to do with Niagara Falls (one of my favorite places) so I may be a little prejudiced :) The story moved really well and even though some of the characters could have been fleshed out a little more, no one is really a caricature or stereotype...would definitely recommend this book.
The Day the Falls Stood Still -- Started: Dec. 31, 2009 Finished: Jan. 1, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #1
I, Mona Lisa -- "Florence, April 1478: The handsome Giuliano de' Medici is brutally assassinated in Florence's magnificent Duomo. The shock of the murder ripples throughout the great city, from the most renowned artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to a wealthy wool merchant and his extraordinarily beautiful daughter, Madonna Lisa.
More than a decade later, Florence falls under the dark spell of the preacher Savonarola, a fanatic who burns paintings and books as easily as he sends men to their deaths. Lisa, now grown into an alluring woman, captures the heart of Giuliano's nephew and namesake. But when Guiliano, her love, meets a tragic end, Lisa must gather all her courage and cunning to untangle a sinister web of illicit love, treachery, and dangerous secrets that threatens her life" -- from www.amazon.com
Burning Times -- "Mother Marie Françoise, born Sybille, is a midwife with a precocious gift for magic -- a gift that makes her a prime target for persecution at the hands of the Church. She flees her village and takes refuge in a Franciscan sisterhood. Before long, Sybille's unusual powers bring her under the scrutiny of the Inquisition. Michel, a pious and compassionate monk sent to hear her confession, finds himself drawn more intimately into Sybille's life and destiny than either of them could have imagined" -- from www.amazon.com
Two really good historical fiction novels both set in times of extreme religious turmoil. The characters were interesting...especially Mother Marie Francoise in "The Burning Times". The plots were well written and the novels well paced overall. Definitely recommend.
I, Mona Lisa -- Started: Aug. 8, 2013 Finished: Aug. 12, 2013
The Burning Times -- Started: Aug. 8, 2013 Finished: Aug. 12, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Books #69 & #70
Threads Of The Heart -- "They say Frasquita knows magic, that she is a healer with occult powers, that perhaps she is a sorcerer. She does indeed posses a remarkable gift, one that has been passed down to the women in her family for generations. From rags, off-cuts, and rough fabric she can create gowns and other garments so magnificent, so alive, that they are capable of masking any kind defect or deformity (and pregnancies!). They bestow a breathtaking and blinding beauty on whoever wears them.
But Fasquita's gift makes others in her small Andalusian village jealous. And to make matters worse, Frasquita is an adulteress (it matters not that her betrayal came at her husband's behest after he gambled on her honor, and lost, at a cock fight). She is hounded and eventually banished from her home. What follows is an extraordinary adventure as she travels across southern Spain all the way to Africa with her five children in tow. Her exile becomes a quest for a better, for herself and her daughters, whom she hopes can escape the ironclad fate of her family of sorcerers., whom she hopes will life for her daughters, one in which the family in an attempt to give her daughters a chance at living another kind of life." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
I loved this book...the story was amazing and the writing was wonderful...I was sorry when the book ended.
The Threads Of The Heart -- Started: Apr. 27, 2013 Finished: May 3, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #30
House That Death Built -- "The Dark Manor isn't just any old haunted house. Built on the site of a stone circle, from bricks saturated with pain and agony, windows that have seen terror beyond insanity, and doors that would scream if the wood from which they were fashioned could voice the appalling acts to which they have been witness, the house was designed with evil in mind and deliberately constructed to bring William Marx, the wealthy industrialist who built it, into contact with the spirit world.
But Marx hasn't been seen since he entered the repository of death and madness that is The Dark Manor, and neither have any of the people who have gone looking for him. Now Sir Anthony Calverton has purchased it and needs the place investigating properly, which of course calls for some proper supernatural investigators.
You are cordially invited to join Mr Massene Henderson and Miss Samantha Jephcott, specialists in paranormal adventure, as they embark on their most perilous case to date" -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
I made a random pick off a library shelf and ended up really enjoying this book. It was creepy and funny at the same time. I liked the characters and the ways they interacted together.
The House That Death Built -- Started: June 30, 2013 Finished: June 30, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #48
Valley Of Amazement -- "Shanghai, 1912. Violet Minturn is the daughter of the American madam of the city's most exclusive courtesan house. When political upheaval separates Violet from her mother, she is forced to become a "virgin courtesan." Half-Chinese, half-American, Violet grapples with her place in the worlds of East and West—until she merges her two identities to become a shrewd courtesan, though privately she still struggles to understand who she is. San Francisco, 1897. Violet's mother chooses a disastrous course as a sixteen-year-old, following a Chinese painter to Shanghai, where she finds herself shocked by her lover's adherence to Chinese traditions.
Fueled by betrayals, both women refuse to submit to fate, persisting in their quests to recover what was taken from them: respect; a secure future; and love, from their parents, husbands, and children." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
A wonderfully written book...sad but beautiful.
The Valley Of Amazement -- Started: Dec. 15, 2013 Finished: Dec. 26, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #103
Madame Tussaud -- "Marie Tussaud, she of the wax museum, lived a long and colorful life, but the focus here is on 1788-94, when she was a young woman in Paris. Under the tutelage of a Swiss doctor whom she calls her uncle, she has become an accomplished artist as well as an astute businesswoman, helping to run the family firm, the Salon de Cire, with its changing array of exhibits of historical and contemporary figures in wax. Hired as a wax tutor by the king's sister, Madame Elisabeth, she gains an entree into Versailles. Her uncle's home, meanwhile, serves as a regular meeting place for Robespierre and other revolutionaries. First and foremost a survivor, during the Revolution Marie makes models of its heroes and its victims alike." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a good read...I liked the book very much. The plot moved pretty well, the characters were nicely developed...the only thing I wished she had done is described the atmosphere and physical setting of the novel more...it would have enhanced the mood of the story.
Madame Tussaud -- Started: Feb. 25, 2011 Finished: Mar. 3, 2011
25 Book Challenge 2011 Book #21
Under The Tuscan Sun -- "In this memoir of her buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy...She revels in the sunlight and the color, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow paced days, the vigor of working her garden, and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting are never chores, but skills to be learned, arts to be practiced, and above all to be enjoyed." -- from www.amazon.com
After watching the movie quite a few times, I thought I would read the book it was based...thinking a would find it, if not exactly the same, than at least close to the charm of the movie. I was extremely disappointed. The "Frances Mayes" in the movie is sweet, kind and a little naive. The "Frances Mayes" in the book is a self-absorbed, self-pitying snob. In between dramatic descriptions of the sensual, voluptuous landscape/food of Italy, were pages and pages describing Frances' woes. Apparently, I was supposed to feel extremely bad for her when it proved difficult to decide on which ancient, beautiful and extremely expensive Italian villa to buy. If only we were all burdened with such troubles! Her snobbery is outrageous. She writes a great deal about the locals but most of her descriptions are more about what they do for her than who they are as individuals. She expresses frustration at a houseguest who constantly compares everything in Italy to it's apparent superior equivalent in the US. Yet Frances does the same thing in reverse. Nothing in America is ever as wonderful/fantastic/sensual/voluptuous/fabulous as things are in Italy...but that doesn't mean Frances is willing to give up her high paying job in California to become one of the marvelous farmers in Italy. Doing so might mean selling their expensive cars, taking fewer vacations (yes, vacations from their fabulous villa in Tuscany!) or cut down on their massive consumption of alcohol. If you want to read a book about the woes of an overpriced, self-pitying "have" who's not satisfied with the many gifts given to her, than this is a book for you. If you're looking for a nice book about the culture of Tuscany, stay away from this book.
Under The Tuscan Sun -- Started: July 17, 2013 Finished: July 26, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #58
Imperium -- "When Tiro, the confidential secretary (and slave) of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events that will eventually propel his master into one of the most suspenseful courtroom dramas in history. The stranger is a Sicilian, a victim of the island's corrupt Roman governor, Verres. The senator is Marcus Cicero -- an ambitious young lawyer and spellbinding orator, who at the age of twenty-seven is determined to attain "imperium" -- supreme power in the state.
Of all the great figures of the Roman world, none was more fascinating or charismatic than Cicero. And Tiro -- the inventor of shorthand and author of numerous books, including a celebrated biography of his master (which was lost in the Dark Ages) -- was always by his side.
Compellingly written in Tiro's voice, "Imperium" is the re-creation of his vanished masterpiece, recounting in vivid detail the story of Cicero's quest for glory, competing with some of the most powerful and intimidating figures of his -- or any other -- age: Pompey, Caesar, Crassus, and the many other powerful Romans who changed history." -- from www.goodreads.com
A little boring at times and a little too heavy on the ancient Roman legalese, but otherwise a decent read.
Imperium -- Started: June 4, 2013 Finished: June 17, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #39
"In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her."
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"One choice can transform you — or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself — while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grow. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable — and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. As she has left the city and gone beyond the gates that Dauntless protects."
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"Edith Prior's tape blew the lid off the secret history of the factions and how they evolved to be the organizing force in society. Now, one group shouts "Death to the factions!" while the other writes the Allegiant Manifesto, declaring that factions are the way society was meant to be. Divergents like Tris are no longer considered rejects, but instead are declared Genetically Pure. Tobias, once a proud Dauntless leader, now struggles with the knowledge he is Genetically Damaged and a second-class citizen in the eyes of many."
Amazing books...well written with an intricate and well thought out back story. I was quite saddened by the end but struck by the realistic play out of the events set in motion in the first two books.
Pompeii -- "All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.
But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried. The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has disappeared. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta’s sixty-mile main line—somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.
Attilius—decent, practical, and incorruptible—promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. His plan is to travel to Pompeii and put together an expedition, then head out to the place where he believes the fault lies. But Pompeii proves to be a corrupt and violent town, and Attilius soon discovers that there are powerful forces at work—both natural and man-made—threatening to destroy him." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
This was a great novel. I had seen it at bookstores and the library before, but I hadn't really thought about picking it up until now...the story was well-paced, detailed and interesting, and the characters were well-developed.
Pompeii -- Started: May 8, 2013 Finished: May 9, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #33
The Wolf Gift -- "A young reporter on assignment from the San Francisco Observer . . . An older woman welcoming him into her magnificent family home that he has been sent to write about and that she must sell with some urgency . . . A chance encounter between two unlikely people . . . An idyllic night—shattered by horrific unimaginable violence, the young man inexplicably attacked—bitten—by a beast he cannot see in the rural darkness . . . A violent episode that sets in motion a terrifying yet seductive transformation, as the young man, caught between ecstasy and horror, between embracing who he is evolving into and fearing what he will become, soon experiences the thrill of the wolf gift.
As he resists the paradoxical pleasure and enthrallment of his wolfen savagery and delights in the power and (surprising) capacity for good, he is caught up in a strange and dangerous rescue and is desperately hunted as “the Man Wolf” by authorities, the media, and scientists (evidence of DNA threatens to reveal his dual existence) . . . As a new and profound love enfolds him, questions emerge that propel him deeper into his mysterious new world: questions of why and how he has been given this gift; of its true nature and the curious but satisfying pull towards goodness; of the profound realization that there may be others like him who are watching—guardian creatures who have existed throughout time who possess ancient secrets and alchemical knowledge. And throughout it all, the search for salvation for a soul tormented by a new realm of temptations, and the fraught, exhilarating journey, still to come, of being and becoming, fully, both wolf and man." -- from www.amazon.com
A very vivid and well-written werewolf story that I really enjoyed. The ending was a little open, leaving me wondering if she plans to (hopefully) revisit some of these characters.
The Wolf Gift -- Started: Apr. 7, 2012 Finished: Apr. 9, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #26
Alice -- "Benjamin draws on one of the most enduring relationships in children's literature in her excellent debut, spinning out the heartbreaking story of Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Her research into the lives of Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) and the family of Alice Liddell is apparent as she takes circumstances shrouded in mystery and colors in the spaces to reveal a vibrant and passionate Alice. Born into a Victorian family of privilege, free-spirited Alice catches the attention of family friend Dodgson and serves as the muse for both his photography and writing. Their bond, however, is misunderstood by Alice's family, and though she is forced to sever their friendship, she is forever haunted by their connection as her life becomes something of a chain of heartbreaks. As an adult, Alice tries to escape her past, but it is only when she finally embraces it that she truly finds the happiness that eluded her." -- from www.amazon.com
I really liked this book. I had read Katie Roiphe's book "Still She Haunts Me" a few years ago, which is about the same subject but I think that Melanie Benjamin did a much better job handling it.
note: due to the lack of white rabbits in my house, the bunny in the pic is a brown stuffed rabbit with as color as I could leached out of it...somehow these more creative pics don't always turn out the way I pictured them :)
Alice I Have Been -- Started: Feb. 12, 2010 Finished: Feb. 15, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #14
Road to Dune -- "Frank Herbert's Dune is widely known as the science fiction equivalent of The Lord of the Rings, and The Road to Dune is a companion work comparable to The Silmarillion, shedding light on and following the remarkable development of the bestselling science fiction novel of all time.
Herein, the world's millions of Dune fans can now read---at long last---the unpublished chapters and scenes from Dune and Dune Messiah. The Road to Dune also includes the original correspondence between Frank Herbert and famed editor John W. Campbell, Jr.; excerpts from Herbert's correspondence during his years-long struggle to get his innovative work published; and the article "They Stopped the Moving Sands," Herbert's original inspiration for Dune.
The Road to Dune features newly discovered papers and manuscripts of Frank Herbert, and also "Spice Planet," an original sixty-thousand-word short novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, based on a detailed outline left by Frank Herbert." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
I really found "The Road to Dune" interesting...I knew that there had been some difficulty in finding a publisher for the original novel but I never realized what a truly long and drawn-out process it actually was for Frank Herbert. The "Spice Planet" short novel was quite good and a lot more good old-fashioned "sci-fi" than "Dune" actually ended up being.
Road to Dune -- Started: Aug. 11, 2010 Finished: Aug. 12, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #56
Second Empress -- "After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war.
Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection, including Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the only woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to many, Pauline is fiercely loyal to her brother. She is also convinced that Napoleon is destined to become the modern Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her greatest hope is to rule alongside him as his queen—a brother-sister marriage just as the ancient Egyptian royals practiced. Determined to see this dream come to pass, Pauline embarks on a campaign to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise.
As Pauline’s insightful Haitian servant, Paul, watches these two women clash, he is torn between his love for Pauline and his sympathy for Marie-Louise. But there are greater concerns than Pauline’s jealousy plaguing the court of France. While Napoleon becomes increasingly desperate for an heir, the empire’s peace looks increasingly unstable. When war once again sweeps the continent and bloodshed threatens Marie-Louise’s family in Austria, the second Empress is forced to make choices that will determine her place in history—and change the course of her life." -- from www.amazon.com
A good book, not as good as some of her earlier work, but definitely a decent read.
The Second Empress -- Started: Aug. 22, 2012 Finished: Sept. 4, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #56
Saving Miss Oliver's -- "The prestigious New England boarding school, Miss Oliver's School for Girls, is on the cusp of going under. The trustees have just fired Marjorie Boyd, headmistress for the last thirty-five years, because she's derelict as a financial manager. But she is a brilliant educator, beloved of the alumnae and students, who are angry and rebellious and will hate her successor. Nevertheless, if her successor, Fred Kindler, can get the support of the legendary senior teacher, Francis Plummer, he has a fighting chance to save the school. But to Plummer, anyone who replaces Marjorie represents disaster. His wife, Peggy Plummer, the librarian, thinks differently. She understands why the board of trustees had to save the school from the flaws of the very woman who had made it so worth saving. As passsionately loyal to Kindler as Francis is to Marjorie, Peggy steps forward to help the new head, usurping her husband's position at the head's right hand. The school's survival, Fred Kindler's career, and the Plummer's marriage are now all at risk." (taken from the back cover of the book)
I went to a private all-girls high school that nearly closed due to financial reasons and also hired a less-than-desirable head of school to help keep things running, so a lot of the situations in this book are eerily familiar to me. I can understand the fears and conflicts of characters very well and I'm hoping the book has as good an ending as my own alma mater's troubles did :)
Saving Miss Oliver's -- Started: Mar. 1, 2010 Finished: Mar. 5, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #19
Feast for Crows -- "The Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne. The war in the Seven Kingdoms has burned itself out, but in its bitter aftermath new conflicts spark to life. The
Martells of Dorne and the Starks of Winterfell seek vengeance for their dead. Euron Crow's Eye, as black a pirate as ever raised a sail, returns from the smoking ruins of Valyria to claim the Iron Isles. From the icy north, where Others threaten the Wall, apprentice Maester Samwell Tarly brings a mysterious babe in arms to the Citadel. As plots, intrigue and battle threaten to engulf Westeros, victory will go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel and the coldest hearts." -- from www.amazon.com
Interesting, but long-winded and frustrating as only half of the characters' stories are told.
Feast For Crows -- Started: July 10, 2012 Finished: July 19, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #48
Cassandra -- "From Mount Olympus, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, yawned. Even perfection can be tedious.
“My Lord,” she called to Apollo, “Sun God and brother. Let us play a game with mortals—my power against yours.”
And so Cassandra, the goldenhaired princess cursed with the gift of prophecy, and Diomenes, the Achaean with the healing hands, become puppets of the gods. Their passions are thwarted, their loves betrayed, their gifts rendered useless for the sake of a wager between the immortals.
Doomed, magnificent Troy is the stage, and Cassandra and Diomenes the leading players in this compelling story of the city’s fall. Both have found love before, and lost it.
Will they find each other in the light of the burning city? And, if they do, can their love survive the machinations of malicious gods and men?" -- from www.amazon.com
I didn't find this book quite as intriguing as her book about Medea, but then again I've read far more about Cassandra and the Trojan War so maybe my personal prejudices got in the way a bit. A great novel though and I can't wait to read the third book in the Delphic Women trilogy.
Cassandra -- Started: Jan. 5, 2014 Finished: Jan. 16, 2014
25 Book Challenge 2014 Book #1
"That's Entertainment" was playing on Turner Classic Movies late one night and so I ended up looking up some facts on my favorite golden age starlets and I found a reference to this book and I decided to give it a read. It's a series of bios on famous MGM stars like Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, etc. It's really very interesting although it's very easy to tell from the tone of the writing which stars are the author's favorites. A good read for anyone wanting to know some of stories behind stars of the '30's, '40's & '50's. And an eye-opener for anyone who thinks that the current Hollywood generation has a monopoly on scandal.
The Golden Girls of MGM -- Started: Jan. 3, 2009 Finished: Jan. 11, 2009
25 Book Challenge Book 2009 #2
Hand That First Held Mine -- "Lexie Sinclair is plotting an extraordinary life for herself.
Hedged in by her parents' genteel country life, she plans her escape to London. There, she takes up with Innes Kent, a magazine editor who wears duck-egg blue ties and introduces her to the thrilling, underground world of bohemian, post-war Soho. She learns to be a reporter, to know art and artists, to embrace her life fully and with a deep love at the center of it. She creates many lives--all of them unconventional. And when she finds herself pregnant, she doesn't hesitate to have the baby on her own terms.
Later, in present-day London, a young painter named Elina dizzily navigates the first weeks of motherhood. She doesn't recognize herself: she finds herself walking outside with no shoes; she goes to the restaurant for lunch at nine in the morning; she can't recall the small matter of giving birth. But for her boyfriend, Ted, fatherhood is calling up lost memories, with images he cannot place.
As Ted's memories become more disconcerting and more frequent, it seems that something might connect these two stories-- these two women-- something that becomes all the more heartbreaking and beautiful as they all hurtle toward its revelation." -- from www.amazon.com
A wonderful book. I really enjoyed the entire story...it was well thought out and very well written...definitely recommend.
The Hand That First Held Mine -- Started: Aug. 7, 2012 Finished: Aug. 8, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #53
A Charmed Life -- "Liza Campbell was the last child to be born at the impressive and renowned Cawdor Castle, the family seat of the Campbells, as featured in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Liza’s father Hugh, the twenty-fifth Thane, inherited dashing good looks, brains, immense wealth, an ancient and revered title, three stately homes, and 100,000 acres of land. A Charmed Life tells the story of Liza’s idyllic childhood with her four siblings in Wales in the 1960s, until Hugh inherited Cawdor Castle and moved his family up to the Scottish Highlands. It was at the historical ancestral home that the fairytale began to resemble a nightmare.
Increasingly overwhelmed by his enormous responsibilities, Hugh tipped into madness fuelled by drink, drugs, and extramarital affairs. Over the years, the castle was transformed into an arena of reckless extravagance and terrifying domestic violence, leading to the abrupt termination of a legacy that had been passed down through the family for six hundred years." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a really good book. It was never one of those really whiny "my life is sooo hard" type of memoirs that I really hate. It was, at different times, sad and strangely amusing. She also, interspersed with her own childhood memories, added in a great deal of Campbell family history which was very interesting.
A Charmed Life -- Started: Feb. 22, 2010 Finished: Feb. 24, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #17
Book of Names -- "Within each generation, there are thirty-six righteous souls. Their lives hold the key to the fate of the world. Now someone wants them dead.
When a childhood tragedy comes back to haunt Professor David Shepherd, he finds himself in possession of knowledge that holds the world in a delicate balance. He uncovers the Book of Names---an ancient text originating with the biblical Adam, and thought lost to history forever. By Kabbalistic tradition, the book contains the names of each generation's thirty-six righteous souls---the Hidden Ones---by whose merits alone the world continues to exist. Legend holds that if all thirty-six Hidden Ones were eliminated, the world would meet its end.
When the Hidden Ones start dying of unnatural causes, the world grows increasingly unstable: war in Afghanistan, massive flooding in New York, brutal terrorist attacks in Melbourne, a tanker explosion in Iran. David finds himself battling against the Gnoseos, a secret religious sect whose goal is to destroy the world by eliminating all of the righteous souls. David's involvement quickly turns personal when his stepdaughter's name is discovered to be one of the endangered. With the help of a brilliant and beautiful Israeli ancient texts expert, David races to decipher the traditions of the Kabbalah to save the righteous souls, his stepdaughter, and perhaps the world." -- from www.amazon.com
This was an okay thriller...interesting, but nothing spectacular. A very "Judaism vs. the World" viewpoint. All the heroes are Jewish and all the villians are not. Not sure I agree with the recasting of the Gnostics from a group of knowledge-seeking early Christians to an apocalypse/revelation-awaiting group of murderers, but this was a decent read.
The Book of Names -- Started: Feb. 26, 2012 Finished: Mar. 4, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #15
Lost Hero -- "After saving Olympus from the evil Titan lord, Kronos, Percy and friends have rebuilt their beloved Camp Half-Blood, where the next generation of demigods must now prepare for a chilling prophecy of their own...Jason, Piper, and Leo, three students at a wilderness school for troubled teens, are transported to Camp Half-Blood after an unexpected encounter with evil storm spirits on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Not only do they discover that they are the offspring of ancient gods, but they also learn that they are three of seven demigods mentioned in the Great Prophecy uttered by Rachel in The Last Olympian. Wasting little time acclimating to their new lives, the three embark upon a quest to preserve Mt. Olympus and the divine status quo, by rescuing an erstwhile enemy." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
I really enjoyed this book. After I finished all the Percy Jackson books, I was really hoping that there would be more books written about Camp Half-Blood...so I was very happy when this book came out...eagerly awaiting the next "Heroes of Olympus" novel :)
The Lost Hero -- Started: Oct. 13, 2010 Finished: Oct. 16, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #71
Balzac -- "...two hapless city boys are exiled to a remote mountain village for re-education during China's infamous Cultural Revolution. There they meet the daughter of the local tailor and discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation. As they flirt with the seamstress and secretly devour these banned works, they find transit from their grim surrounding to worlds they never imagined." (taken from the back cover of the book)
This was an okay book. The description makes it sound like a lot more than it was. It was more like a novella or short story than a full novel. I think the story could have been fleshed out more -- the ending came too soon and I felt like I had missed part of the story when I really hadn't. Not a horrible book and I don't regret reading it but glad I checked this one out from the library instead of buying it.
Balzac...Little Chinese Seamstress -- Started: Dec. 18, 2009 Finished: Dec. 23, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Book #68
Prizewinners of the shoebox circus competition, 1st Eleanor Darley (front left) 2nd Rosy Morelli (front right) and online prize draw Thomas Morelli (front centre) receiving their prizes from Councillors Colin Spence (rear left) and John Sayers (rear right).
True Strength -- "On television, Kevin Sorbo portrayed an invincible demigod; in his real life, a sudden health crisis left him partially blind and incapacitated at just thirty-eight years old. Yet since appearances are everything in Hollywood, he hid the full details about his condition from the press and continued to film Hercules, which was the number one TV series in the world. In this inspiring memoir, Sorbo shares the story of the crisis that ultimately redefined his measure of success.
True Strength is the story of transformation, persistence, and hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Sorbo reflects on his childhood in Minnesota and his early acting days in Hollywood, to his charmed life as television’s beloved Hercules, and where he is today. He recounts the onset of his symptoms, his frightening hospitalization, and his arduous path to recovery." -- from www.amazon.com
I knew that Kevin Sorbo had gotten sick during his Hercules days, but I never realized the extent of his illness or how close he came to dying until I read this book. A wonderful story about a great person.
True Strength -- Started: Dec. 6, 2013 Finished: Dec. 7, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #101
Conspirata -- "On the eve of Cicero’s inauguration as consul of Rome, a grisly discovery sends fear rippling through a city already racked by unrest. A young slave boy has been felled by a hammer, his throat slit and his organs removed, apparently as a human sacrifice. For Cicero, the ill omens of this hideous murder only increase his dangerous situation: elected leader by the people but despised by the heads of the two rival political camps. Caught in a shell game that leaves him forever putting out fires only to have them ignite elsewhere, Cicero plays for the future of the republic . . . and his life. There is a plot to assassinate him, abetted by a rising young star of the Roman senate named Gaius Julius Caesar—and it will take all the embattled consul’s wit, strength, and force of will to stop the plot and keep Rome from becoming a dictatorship." -- from www.amazon.com
Less legalese-centered than the first novel in the trilogy -- "Imperium" -- with more action and a much better ending...Good book.
Conspirata -- Started: June 17, 2013 Finished: June 25, 2013
25 Book Challenge Book #43
Winter's Tale -- "New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake--orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side.
Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the love between Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar, and Beverly Penn, a young girl, who is dying.
Peter Lake, a simple, uneducated man, because of a love that, at first he does not fully understand, is driven to stop time and bring back the dead." -- from www.amazon.com
A really vivid, esoteric and unexpected novel. Certainly not what I expected when I first picked the book. The writing was beautiful, the story was confusing and interesting, boring and funny. Having finished the book, I'm still not any more certain of how to feel about than I did when I started.
Winter's Tale -- Started: Jan. 24, 2014 Finished: Feb. 6, 2014
25 Book Challenge 2014 Book #4
Blasphemy -- "Like Isabella, a giant superconducting supercollider particle accelerator...The ostensible goal of Isabella's creator, physicist Gregory North Hazelius, is to discover new forms of energy, but what he really wants is to talk to God. The project, located inside Red Mesa (a five-hundred-square-mile tableland on the Navajo Indian Reservation), is behind schedule, so presidential science adviser Stanton Lockwood hires ex-CIA man Wyman Ford to go to Red Mesa and find out what's causing the holdup. Meanwhile, a Navajo medicine man, a televangelist and a pastor who runs a failed mission on the reservation are gearing up to pull the plug on Isabella before she destroys the earth." -- from www.amazon.com
I'm about halfway through this book and so far, it's pretty good. The action has dragged a little but it's starting pick up in the second half. I do love Douglas Preston's work, so this one is pretty much automatically on my 'books I like' list :)
Blasphemy -- Started: Feb. 25, 2010 Finished: Mar. 6, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #18