false 4 39 36 true 5729633 read 1 true 14301 currently-reading 2 true 14300 to-read 24 false 33689 novels 7 false 144929 biographymemoir 5 false 14310 history 1 false 96024 miscnon-fiction http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3129554 to: A Foreign Field (Paperback) by Ben MacIntyre
bookshelves: biographymemoir

Nine British soldiers are trapped behind the German line after the series of advances and retreats at the beginning of the war that preceded the laying down of trenches.

Forced to hide in a tiny French village until they could make it back across the trenches to the Allied forces, Robert Digby and his comrades disguise themselves as Picardy peasants, growing long mustaches and learning the local patois. Digby takes the disguise even further, falling in love with a local girl and fathering a child.

After four years of hiding in the village, someone betrays the soldiers to the German Kommadant, with grisly consequences.

Such a fascinating read, that I forgot it was non-fiction.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2031608 to: The Shield of Three Lions (Paperback) by Pamela Kaufman
bookshelves: novels
Set at the time of King Richard the Lionheart's reign and the Crusades, this book follows Alix, a young orphaned girl trying to win back her family's castle and estate. Forced to disguise herself as a boy for safety, she becomes Richard's page and travels with him to the Holy Land. She has to wrestle with puberty and the budding feelings of love, while trying to keep her disguise intact.

Bawdy, crass, and coarse in its language, this book brings to mind the Canterbury Tales. And, reading it as an adult, it's a lot of fun to see the vulgarity medieval life through Alix's completely innocent eyes. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2031573 to: A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers: A Novel (Hardcover) by Xiaolu Guo
bookshelves: novels

A young Chinese woman comes to London to study English for a year. As she learns the language, she also learns about love and independence. The language in the book changes, starting with very poor, stilted English, peppered with errors, to near-fluent English at the end.

I really liked the concept of the book and it was a lot of fun to read the main characters language at the beginning, as she tries to learn English. Although I liked the style, I didn't care much for the story or for the character herself. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2031521 to: Peat Fire Memories: Life in Lewis in the Early Twentieth Century (Flashbacks) by Kenneth MacDonald
bookshelves: biographymemoir
Interesting account of life on the Isle of Lewis, in the Hebrides, in the very beginning of the 20th century. The book is very well-organized, with chapters devoted to the structure of a traditional thatched black house, road and transport, food, courtship, and fun and games, to name a few. Naturally, there are also chapters devoted to those two quintessential Scottish items: oatmeal and whisky. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1487719 to: The Hidden City (The Tamuli, #3) by David Eddings
bookshelves: novels
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