Cyndy’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2015)

Cyndy’s comments from the 2017 Reading Challenge group.

Enjoyable read from a fan of the Haley Mills movie. There are several big differences between the two. I highly recommend both the movie and the book.

WOW, just WOW. I didn't read this when the movie came out - while I thought the movie was very good, I seem to recall having a little bit of trouble following how the characters were related / fit together. There are very difficult topics in this book - but it is so good - this should be on the TOP of your too read list!

Considered an American classic, Mr. Baldwin wrote this when he was 29. It was a good book and I would recommend it for those interested in classics. I was not a fan of fire and brimstone preaching / daily praying at the tabernacle - especially not when the preacher is not a decent person. Definitely an interesting read - more so considering that is sort of a memoir.

I read this book in this category as well. I also really enjoyed it. I would have preferred a different ending, but I doubt a different ending would have improved the book.

Child 44 is the first book of a trilogy. It's about a serial killer in Russia. I posted it under - number in the title - but I think I will read the other two and move it to this category.

This is a novella with Alex Hawke as the main character. He is looking into the death of a banker whose body was found high on the mountain referred to as White Death. Of course Alex has to climb the mountain - although it is more than mountain climbing - there is rock and ice climbing as well. It's at times gripping yet enjoyable interim story while patiently awaiting the next novel by Mr. Bell.

If I was one to reread books, this would go on that shelf. I have seen the John Wayne movie, but not the more recent movie. The movie was good, but the book is so much better.

My favorite Ladybird book when I was little was Dick Whittington and His Cat. It was a rewrite of this 1800's children's book, which was a rewrite of a early 1600's tale according to Wikipedia. This version is old English and was difficult for me to understand in spots - even though I still remember the Ladybird story line.

I stretched the topic a little here - the non-human characters in this book are birds. Miss Julia is The Bird Woman and part of "the year" is Miss Julia leaving her husband and going to Florida to fight plume hunters. Ms. Radish's books are uplifting. I had a little trouble getting into this book and I haven't been able to put my finger on anything specific about why that happened. But once I passed that, I fell into a trance with Miss Julia and her birds. There were things left hanging about Miss Julia's life after "the year" - and while the book left me wanting to know more about that, it did not detract from its uplifting messages: be you, be what you want to be, and enjoy your life

I have been reading off of the list. As books come out for any of my "go-to" authors, I read them and if they fit into a category, fine, and if they don't fit, I don't worry about it. It's a stretch, but Kris Radish's latest is going to count as a book with non-human characters, the protagonist is campaigning against plumage used in hats in 1904. Birds are the non-human characters. - A stretch, but the challenge is for me, not a contest against others!

I started to place this in the Pulitzer Prize category, but decided that I would use it here, because I bought the paperback when the 50th anniversary edition was published. I watched the movie a few months ago - for the first time and decided it was about time I read the book. I enjoyed that it was from the perspective of a little girl - to me it made all the difference in my enjoyment. I'm very glad I read it - I should have read it years ago!

As I was looking for a book by an author with my initials I came across Ms. Pelletier. I now plan to read True Grit under the initials category, but this book's cover caught my eye. For some reason the moose mailbox made me laugh. Definitely worth the read - a variety of characters in this small Maine town, some you will like and some you will learn to like. Lots of conversation points for a book club - Viet Nam, mailmen, socializing, divorce, marijuana, Viagra - lots of topics!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend all of Mr. DeMille's novels. What scared me about this book wasn't the story it was the premise of the novel - the idea that a nuclear device could be detonated in the US scares me. Thank goodness that my fears don't consume me, if they did I would be cursing Mr. DeMille!

I'm still not sure how, but I missed reading this book when it was originally released. Mr. Coonts novels are always great. The only negative is there haven't been enough of them!

I highly recommend all of Mr. Gilstrap's books. Most have (as this one does) Jonthan Grave as the protagonist. Mr. Graves and Digger generally rescue "PC" or precious cargo. In this book, they are trying to find out if a friend and fellow combat vet has or hasn't gone bad. They stumble on a conspiracy of gigantic proportions and the page-turner is born. The only complaint I have about this book is that it seemed to push a conservative agenda a little more than necessary. Other than that another great Graves tale.

I am not a horror fan, so I haven't read any other books by Mr. King. I read this one at my cousin's insistence during the summer of 1978. It was sooooooo good. I couldn't out it down. As good as it was, it didn't talk me into any other books written by Mr. King though.

When I was in 1st, 2nd, and a little bit of 3rd grade my Dad was stationed in England. We visited London several times by train and I have wanted to go back and visit for a very long time.
I enjoyed the book, but haven't seen the British tv show or the American tv show. If you can understand the workings of Parliament, I highly recommend the novel.

I have truly enjoyed all of Mr. Baldacci's books and would recommend him to anyone. NOTE: I say all, but I should rephrase that as I haven't read any of his graphic novels. The main character, Amos Decker, lost his family - he came home one day to find them murdered. The Memory Man picks up much later when someone confessed to the crime. Amos Decker doesn't believe the man that confessed committed the crime and investigates. Not a tear jerker of a novel, but there are spots that made me cry.

I read this book in late 2012. I really liked it and the other two memoirs by Ms. Walls - Half Broke Horses and The Silver Star.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Mr. Berry's books. The main character Cotton Malone owns a book store in Copenhagen, but the books spend limited time in Copenhagen. The true story in this novel deals with the IRS and it's inception through state ratification. The intricate thriller portion crosses the conspiracy theory that the IRS isn't properly ratified along with an American traitor/whistle blower and a North Korean "royal" that wants back in the good graces of the dictator. I highly recommend Mr. Berry's books.