Rebecca Moll's Blog, page 25
November 14, 2016
Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948
Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948 by Madeleine K. AlbrightMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
It is in times of trial and great hardship, despair and grievous conditions that our true character is revealed. Or in other words, how you deal with the bad shows your measure of good.
WWII was a true test of humanity and library shelves are proof with countless works of fiction and non-fiction telling the personal and world-wide stories of much that needs to be said.
Yet, Madeline Albright's Prague Winter offers not a duplication of such works, but a unique and personal insight into the politics and peril of the Czech people and their undying dedication to democracy. The daughter of Joseph Korbel, an integral member of the Czech democratic leadership, her first-hand account as well as extensive research gives the reader a true connection to her story. Add in the unbelievable discovery late in life of her families' Jewish ancestry and you have a unique perspective on the events between 1937 and 1948. Told with a double lens, one as she recalls and the other as she considers her new place in this story, Prague Winter is a heart wrenching story, one of love and hate, hope and despair and everything in between.
View all my reviews
November 11, 2016
The Alchemist's Daughter
The Alchemist's Daughter by Katharine McMahonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have turned over this book numerous times, yet just recently committed to reading. Part of the title piqued my interest, alchemist. A former chemist, I was curious about the thinking behind alchemy, not inseparable from the time period and emerging understanding of science and our world during the early 1700's.
However, in considering the title, one must remember a sum of the parts does equal the whole and must include the word Daughter.
The Alchemist's Daughter is a love story of man and nature, father and daughter, man and woman, mother and babe, and even the love born among women in friendship. Mysterious, amorphous and ever changing, this love is not unlike alchemy, rooted in the mystic of life, the desire for survival and the hope of resurrection.
And just like love and alchemy, it is in the motions or process that understanding is found, a realization that only familiarity and repetition, a steadfast commitment will afford the tiniest details so necessary, so essential.
And in the fall, we begin again...palingensis.
One go, you'll never know. Stay true, see something new.
With this understanding we can see our errors, make adjustments and try again.
In the end, what really matters comes down to the details, the minute, our substance, our quantum.
The Alchemist's Daughter ends with birth, a tiny baby, new life, promise, and hope.
Alchemy, the transformation of matter.
Love, the transformation of lives.
It's a warm read, enjoy:)
View all my reviews
November 10, 2016
Free e-book Offer
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am offering my first 2 e-books, Free, on Amazon as a way to say Thank You for your faithful readership!
When: Wed. 11/23 - Sun. 11/27
Where: Amazon.com
How: Visit my author page & download (to your phone, iPad, tablet, computer, kindle, etc.) for Free
Follow me on Amazon's Author page:
https://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Moll/e...
When: Wed. 11/23 - Sun. 11/27
Where: Amazon.com
How: Visit my author page & download (to your phone, iPad, tablet, computer, kindle, etc.) for Free
Follow me on Amazon's Author page:
https://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Moll/e...
November 8, 2016
The Historian
The Historian by Elizabeth KostovaIt took a long time to finish this book. Life kept getting in the way. Yet, my seamless comprehension, despite large gaps of time in reading, is a true testament to the skill of Elizabeth Kostova's crafting of this complex and difficult tale. The slow and soothing pace in the beginning, soon gives way to a flurry of activity and an eager reader. The pages do not turn fast enough.
Beautifully written, Kostova's characters are like old friends, good neighbors, beloved relatives. Kostova's characters stay with you. Even the antagonist, more horrible than our worst nightmare, invokes our admiration and curiosity, though not without the pang of guilt. Kostova gives Dracula greater dimension, a character who crosses the line of good and evil in the name of honor and vengeance, a love of history, respect for the past. It is hard to completely hate one, in whom we see ourselves, yet, such horror and cruelty....
If you love history, find anything and everything about ancient empires compelling, and crave stories that dive deep and reach wide, this is a must read. I know I will return to Kostova's, The Historian, in thoughts to come, words to write, and with relish, a tale worthy of rereading.
View all my reviews
September 29, 2016
What's your favorite book?
What is your favorite book?
First of all, I find this question short-sighted. If you love books, how can you choose? So, let me rephrase, what book is most significant to you?
I have many favorite books, but when I think about those I have read and their significance, I must choose, The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje.
It was late on a weeknight about fifteen years ago. My husband was working late and the kids were all asleep. With three under the age of five and an apartment of no more than 800 square feet, personal time was very limited. The library, a weekly visit for our growing family, was more for the children. Should I have a moment to peruse the adult section, provided John was not climbing the shelves and pasting the walls with pages and pages of precious library books, it was short lived. Ultimately, our library time ended with a hasty retreat, my grabbing a book without opening it, and said book remaining so until it was due back.
However, this night was different. Planets aligned, stars were born, oceans calmed, and whatever forces that were always out of my control and so necessary to a little quiet time, coincided at just the right moment for me to find myself reaching for that week's last minute grab. To top it all off, I was wide awake. It was a "Big Bang" moment.
Taking notice of the improbability of my situation, I poured a glass of red wine, sat back in the recliner, and opened The English Patient,
“She stands up in the garden where she has been working and looks into the distance. She has sensed of a shift in the weather.”
Beautiful, haunting, poetic, the words resonated in a way never before. It was the first time I ventured out of the American author realm and I found Ondaatje's use of language, his word choice, the rhythm of his sentences soothing, almost dream-like. Throughout the next few weeks I looked forward to the next chapter, the next glass of wine, the next few stolen moments. This was a turning point for me.
Up until that night, my reading choices were more like victimization. Books others suggested, those closest the exit doors at the library, and some leftover from years ago. I had grown and changed as an adult, but my reading choices had not. Educated in science and research, my educational exposure to literature was minimal, an Appalachian fiction course, creative writing 101, and a poetry class. I knew little about genres, let alone characterization, theme, symbolization, or conflict. I was a novice reader by default.
The English Patient flipped a switch, illuminating vast possibilities for reading and learning that led to many different pathways over the years, reawakening a love of writing and now, this year, my fourth publication. I experiment with styles by writing short-stories, am inspired by nature (human or otherwise) to write poetry, and find myself falling in love with cultures and creatures that without the love of books, I would never even consider.
I am sure Michael Ondaatje never considered the influence his work would have on a young mother in Michigan, but, all the same, I was forever changed.
So, what's your English Patient? What is the most significant book you've read and if you're like me and have trouble with staying under the word count, please, please tell me, why?
Rebecca
First of all, I find this question short-sighted. If you love books, how can you choose? So, let me rephrase, what book is most significant to you?
I have many favorite books, but when I think about those I have read and their significance, I must choose, The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje.
It was late on a weeknight about fifteen years ago. My husband was working late and the kids were all asleep. With three under the age of five and an apartment of no more than 800 square feet, personal time was very limited. The library, a weekly visit for our growing family, was more for the children. Should I have a moment to peruse the adult section, provided John was not climbing the shelves and pasting the walls with pages and pages of precious library books, it was short lived. Ultimately, our library time ended with a hasty retreat, my grabbing a book without opening it, and said book remaining so until it was due back.
However, this night was different. Planets aligned, stars were born, oceans calmed, and whatever forces that were always out of my control and so necessary to a little quiet time, coincided at just the right moment for me to find myself reaching for that week's last minute grab. To top it all off, I was wide awake. It was a "Big Bang" moment.
Taking notice of the improbability of my situation, I poured a glass of red wine, sat back in the recliner, and opened The English Patient,
“She stands up in the garden where she has been working and looks into the distance. She has sensed of a shift in the weather.”
Beautiful, haunting, poetic, the words resonated in a way never before. It was the first time I ventured out of the American author realm and I found Ondaatje's use of language, his word choice, the rhythm of his sentences soothing, almost dream-like. Throughout the next few weeks I looked forward to the next chapter, the next glass of wine, the next few stolen moments. This was a turning point for me.
Up until that night, my reading choices were more like victimization. Books others suggested, those closest the exit doors at the library, and some leftover from years ago. I had grown and changed as an adult, but my reading choices had not. Educated in science and research, my educational exposure to literature was minimal, an Appalachian fiction course, creative writing 101, and a poetry class. I knew little about genres, let alone characterization, theme, symbolization, or conflict. I was a novice reader by default.
The English Patient flipped a switch, illuminating vast possibilities for reading and learning that led to many different pathways over the years, reawakening a love of writing and now, this year, my fourth publication. I experiment with styles by writing short-stories, am inspired by nature (human or otherwise) to write poetry, and find myself falling in love with cultures and creatures that without the love of books, I would never even consider.
I am sure Michael Ondaatje never considered the influence his work would have on a young mother in Michigan, but, all the same, I was forever changed.
So, what's your English Patient? What is the most significant book you've read and if you're like me and have trouble with staying under the word count, please, please tell me, why?
Rebecca
September 23, 2016
Goodreads Giveaway Contest!
So, the contest begins! The official has fired the gun and the race is on.....
Welcome to the Goodreads Giveaway for The Beauty of Digging Deep, my latest publication and 1st full length fictional novel.
Enter to win 1 of 25 copies from now until October 20th.
As I anxiously await the winners, I have a few things on my mind...
"The right to write is a privledge."
"If you don't put pen to paper, your thoughts die with you."
With that said, it is good to keep in mind:
"The
Power of Proving your Proof."
Welcome to the Goodreads Giveaway for The Beauty of Digging Deep, my latest publication and 1st full length fictional novel.
Enter to win 1 of 25 copies from now until October 20th.
As I anxiously await the winners, I have a few things on my mind...
"The right to write is a privledge."
"If you don't put pen to paper, your thoughts die with you."
With that said, it is good to keep in mind:
"The
Power of Proving your Proof."
