false 21 284 275 true 5641664 read 5 true 1889225 currently-reading 4 true 1889224 to-read 70 false 3936575 paranormal 43 false 4502132 teen 23 false 4502133 mystery 10 false 4502197 children 7 false 5578060 romance 6 false 4502157 book-group 2 false 7457288 historical-fiction 2 false 5578148 cookbooks 1 false 5578055 crafts 1 false 6610166 suspense-thriller 1 false 5578097 biography http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79995910 The Illumination (Paperback) by Jill Gregory
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79995730 to: Push (Paperback) by Sapphire
Heartwrenchingly beautiful. Hard to imagine such a life. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79995715 to: The Unnameables (Hardcover) by Ellen Booraem
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76107102 to: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Paperback) by Jonathan Safran Foer
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76107069 The Lost Art of Gratitude (Sunday Philosophy Club, #6) by Alexander McCall Smith
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76106991 Pillar of Fire (Mass Market Paperback) by Judith Tarr
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76106961 The Virgin's Lover (Paperback) by Philippa Gregory
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76106902 To Pray As a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service (Paperback) by Hayim Halevy Donin
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75923243 to: Shadow of Colossus (Seven Wonders Novel, #1) by T.L. Higley
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/61651163 to: Prairie Tale: A Memoir (Hardcover) by Melissa Gilbert
bookshelves: biography
As a diehard LHOTP fan, I was eager to read Melissa Gilbert's biography. I expected it to be a typical Hollywood memoir filled with tales of backstage romance and alcohol laden binges. I was partially correct. There is plenty of backstage romance and alcohol laden binges but also there is tremendous respect for those actors that Ms. Gilbert worked with and a deep understanding of the impact of LHOTP. Ms. Gilbert doesn't gloss over her flaws or mistakes either. She lays it all out on the table. I came away feeling privileged to have been given a chance to get to know one of my childhood heroines a bit more.

A few weeks after I read this I was able to see a performance of "Little House on the Prairie: The Musical" at the Paper Mill Playhouse. While singing isn't Ms. Gilbert's forte, it was wonderful. When she appeared on stage as "Ma", the theatre erupted in applause. I was thrilled to have been able to watch her on stage. Whatever one thinks about her life and the choices (both bad and good) that she made, she is a spectacular actress. ]]>