Thanks to Anna at Hachette, i got to read Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory. I liked the book, not just for the fun story, but also for the historyThanks to Anna at Hachette, i got to read Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory. I liked the book, not just for the fun story, but also for the history lesson about a piece of time involving the English kings Henry IV and V. It is a time of war between the Welsh and the English. What? I've read lots of novels about the Scottish vs the English but the Welsh. So i had to go from the light reading for pleasure into some quick on line research into the two kings and the Welsh Tudors. Those side line bits made the reading even more fun for me.
If you are like a good love story with your bits of history (or you just like the trials a tribulations of a love story), go get Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory....more
this was an audio book. it is very long but i a great listen. lots of good history about the time. i would try to only listen to a bit before going tothis was an audio book. it is very long but i a great listen. lots of good history about the time. i would try to only listen to a bit before going to sleep but ended up listening longer than i should. the reader was good! i loved all the recurring characters as well as the known ones like thomas becket. does everyone get their "just deserts? mostly. i will probably listen to it again. ...more
i got this from audible.com. sir ian mckellan...originally as a podcast which led me to her and the series which i am following quite closely. i don'ti got this from audible.com. sir ian mckellan...originally as a podcast which led me to her and the series which i am following quite closely. i don't know why it hasn't garnered more interest over here. it is good fun and who would not like a story read to them by sir ian? it is basically a good story plot wise, with well developed characters. while it is direct at kids, this little old lady and her husband have muchly enjoy the stories. i think each can stand alone. there is mystery and magic and strange beliefs and cultures and suspense and all sorts of thrills. ...more
i heard originally the first book as a podcast which led me to Ms Paver and the series. i don't know why it hasn't garnered more interest over here. ii heard originally the first book as a podcast which led me to Ms Paver and the series. i don't know why it hasn't garnered more interest over here. it is good fun and who would not like a story read to them by sir ian? it is basically a good story plot wise, with well developed characters. while it is direct at kids, this little old lady and her husband have muchly enjoy the stories. i think each can stand alone. there is mystery and magic and strange beliefs and cultures and suspense and all sorts of thrills....more
i heard originally the first book as a podcast which led me to Ms Paver and the series. i don't know why it hasn't garnered more interest over here. ii heard originally the first book as a podcast which led me to Ms Paver and the series. i don't know why it hasn't garnered more interest over here. it is good fun and who would not like a story read to them by sir ian? it is basically a good story plot wise, with well developed characters. while it is direct at kids, this little old lady and her husband have muchly enjoy the stories. i think each can stand alone. there is mystery and magic and strange beliefs and cultures and suspense and all sorts of thrills....more
From its start with a map and a note to the reader, to end with another note to the reader, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I enjoyed this view into thFrom its start with a map and a note to the reader, to end with another note to the reader, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I enjoyed this view into the past. I loved the sweetness and intelligence of Jenny. The determination and cleverness of Hugh. The crassness of Reid. The canniness of The Joculator. All the members of the troupe and Archie the Grim. What a great cast of characters!
If you want a good read, I highly recommend this book...but keep your dictionary handy for some of the arcane words and do enjoy the dialect. I sure did! ...more
I have to agree with the critic. Hearing this read, I felt she was right here beside me. I started this book late at night when I could not go to sleeI have to agree with the critic. Hearing this read, I felt she was right here beside me. I started this book late at night when I could not go to sleep. I then found myself fighting sleep to hear her story. It is not just about what happened to her and her family but about the people around her, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Like my worn copy of Ann Frank, this will be a story I will want to hear again and again.
The Painted Veil UNABRIDGED By W. Somerset Maugham Narrated by Kate Reading My husband picked this one out. He is a great fan of Maugham's. I was only awThe Painted Veil UNABRIDGED By W. Somerset Maugham Narrated by Kate Reading My husband picked this one out. He is a great fan of Maugham's. I was only aware of him from old movies made from his books. I liked this pick. I found his characters real and relatable even from this time period. Kitty is very believable as are her situations. It's not a light read (or listen) but definitely well worth your time!
ps As a rule i only listen to unabridged books as i have found i don't like the way some things are cut in the abridged versions (plus i want all of the author's words...his/her voice)!...more
Sophie, the Duchess of Calton, has finally moved on. After seven years mourning the loss of her husband, Garrett,CAUGHT BETWEEN DUTY AND DESIRE . . .
Sophie, the Duchess of Calton, has finally moved on. After seven years mourning the loss of her husband, Garrett, at Waterloo, she has married his best friend and heir, Tristan. Sophie gives herself to him body and soul. . . until the day Garrett returns from the Continent, demanding his title, his lands-and his wife.
TORN BETWEEN TWO HUSBANDS . . .
Now Sophie must choose between her first love and her new love, knowing that no matter what, her choice will destroy one of the men she adores. Will it be Garrett, her childhood sweetheart, whose loss nearly destroyed her once already? Or will it be Tristan, beloved friend turned lover, who supported her through the last, dark years and introduced her to a passion she had never known? As her two husbands battle for her heart, Sophie finds herself immersed in a dangerous game-where the stakes are not only love . . . but life and death.
now i get to find out what she decided and how she decided it. what would you or i do in the restrictiveness of the times?
this one i won from carrie of seductive musings. she has a lovely blog that is easy to read, well laid out, good reviews and book giveaways. do go visit her at her site and see what is good to read and vi for.
thank you carrie, expect to see more of me!
i know the answer...but i'll never tell. i really loved the book right up tp the end which to me seemed rather quick and with too many loose ends. that's just me. i guess i just want it wrapped up with a bow instead of just wrapped. ...more
I started reading yesterday afternoon and finished it this morning. Oh yes I did! I stayed up all night reading it. What does that tell you? That is iI started reading yesterday afternoon and finished it this morning. Oh yes I did! I stayed up all night reading it. What does that tell you? That is is a good book? Yes. The characters are interesting? Yes. Well developed? Yes. There are good romantic scenes? Yes, definitely! It is a good mystery? Yes. The story pulls you along? Yes. OK. We get it; it's a good book.
But....
But, what?
Do not start reading this when you get home for work. Wait until Saturday morning. Why? Because if you are where I was at bed time, you will want to get to the happy ending for fear that if you don't, you will have nightmares. The bad guy is like Dr. Frankenstein trying to recreate his love.
This is definitely a romantic thriller; not I would call a "cozy mystery".
The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. TheThe Story: A Tale of Jutice and Accountabilitys
The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. The town’s top detective, perplexed by a complete lack of leads, calls in FBI agent Leia Bines, an expert in cases involving children.
Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury’s hospital, searches desperately for the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings’s devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya’s parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope.
The situations confronting Leia and Peter converge when Naya begins drawing chilling images of murder after being bombarded by the disturbing images in her dreams. Amazingly, her sketches are the only clues to the crime that has panicked Newbury residents. Against her better judgment, Leia explores the clues in Naya’s crude drawings, only to set off an alarming chain of events.
In this stunning psychological thriller, innocence gives way to evil, and trust lies forgotten in a web of deceit, fear, and murder.
What's a "slaaf"? That was the first thing I had to find out. I had heard of the trickster.... who i knew about from the American Indian tale of the coyote but did not know that of India's spider. But i found out. These things added so much to the story for me. As did his view of what a child psych ward should be like and what kind of patients you might see there.
I was sure I knew "who done it"; only to find out I was the one caught in Dr. Grandhi's web.
I liked the way he did his chapters, coming at you from one direction and then another. Those story lines had to come together but how and when?
I knew Dr. Grandhi was a child psychiatrist going into the reading. I wonder if he has ever experienced any of "paranormal kind of thing" in his practice. My dad was a doctor. He once said, "I've been a doctor too long not to believe in God." By that one statement, I knew he had seen things he could not explain. Does this happen to all or most doctors.
I wonder if ... well, let's just say that if the good Dr. Grandhi were closer, I would have lots of questions for him.
It is a really good read and moves quite quickly. I do so hope you get to read it soon. I also hope this this debut novel is not a "one of" so that there is another novel coming from him. Soon.
Oh, did you know his wife is a writer too? She has a cook book out. She is Bindu Grandhi. Her book is "Spice up your life the flexitarian way." No, I can't review it, but Emerial Lagasse liked it enough to give it a thumps up!
I asked our writer a few questions and here are his answers.:
Hi Sandy, I do think paranormal experiences do happen, I haven't had one personally but have always been fascinated by it.
The concept of the "seeked one" is from south Indian Astrology, I did not know it had a name until recently and it was my personal experience that I put into the book and the way it was explained to me by an aunt of mine. Here's a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadi_ast...
Every detail of the children's psychiatric unit is real and that's the way its is. Those are all experiences that I have collected since my fellowship days and the realities with managed care.
I have to write my next one. It's in my head and I have no time to write between the hospital, private practice and trying to get this one off the ground. Hopefully should start soon.(...more
this is the video from schoolhouse press. it is a wonderful addition to video library as you can follow along with her...something you sometimes missthis is the video from schoolhouse press. it is a wonderful addition to video library as you can follow along with her...something you sometimes miss when reading her....more
This was one of the tons of books recovered from my husband's mother's apartment. It was a old copy but the cover drew something within me. So it wasThis was one of the tons of books recovered from my husband's mother's apartment. It was a old copy but the cover drew something within me. So it was one of the ones we shipped from England back to Texas. I'm glad we did as you can see by the rating I gave it.
If you, or someone you know, is interested in the time of the masted ship, one window into what life might have been like, or just a good yarn, see if you can find yourself a copy and enjoy it by yourself or with a young friend! ...more
A Lucky Child A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy
Where can I purchase this bookDownload Cover ImageRead an Excerpt I must first thank Anna BA Lucky Child A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy
Where can I purchase this bookDownload Cover ImageRead an Excerpt I must first thank Anna Balasi of Hachette Book Group for allowing me the privilege of reading the remarkable story of Thomas Buergenthal. The following is how Hachette described the book:
Thomas Buergenthal, now a Judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, tells his astonishing experiences as a young boy in his memoir A LUCKY CHILD. He arrived at Auschwitz at age 10 after surviving two ghettos and a labor camp. Separated first from his mother and then his father, Buergenthal managed by his wits and some remarkable strokes of luck to survive on his own. Almost two years after his liberation, Buergenthal was miraculously reunited with his mother and in 1951 arrived in the U.S. to start a new life.
A lot of people might skip a forward or preface of a book because they want to get right "into the story". Don't you do it! The forward is written by writer, Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel. His words have weight. As are those in Thomas' preface to the story of Tommy, the child. A child who one day will turn responsibility for his survival back to his mother as he returns to being a child. Not a vengeful child, but a thoughtful one.
"...I began to think it was important that individuals like Nansen and the rest of us who had been subjected to terrible suffering at the hands of the Germans treat them with humanity...simply because our experience should have taught us to empathize with human beings in need, regardless of who they were. ..."
Part of me was afraid to read this book. Afraid to see what horrors he had been subjected to. Mr. Buergenthal wrote his story in such a way that my fears proved groundless as he did not dramatize them. It was like he was telling me the story as he would his children. A story that needs telling, needs remembering, but does not need to give us nightmares.
A Lucky Child is a good book about a bad time but Thomas will hold your hand as he tells you of Tommy's life during those times....more
The Slaves' War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves UNABRIDGED By Andrew Ward Narrated by Richard Allen This is the first narrative of the CiviThe Slaves' War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves UNABRIDGED By Andrew Ward Narrated by Richard Allen This is the first narrative of the Civil War told by the very people that it freed. Groundbreaking, compelling, and poignant, The Slaves' War delivers an unprecedented vision of the nation's bloodiest conflict.
An acclaimed historian of 19th-century and African American history, Andrew Ward gives us the first narrative of the Civil War told from the perspective of those whose destiny it decided. Woven together from interviews, diaries, letters, and memoirs, here is the Civil War as seen not only from battlefields and camps but also from slave quarters, kitchens, roadsides, and fields.
Speaking in a quintessentially American language of biblical power and intensity, body servants, army cooks and launderers, runaways, teamsters, and gravediggers bring the war to life.
From slaves' theories about the war's causes to their frank assessments of such figures as Lincoln, Davis, Lee, and Grant; from their searing memories of the carnage of battle to their often startling attitudes toward masters and liberators alike; and from their initial jubilation at the Yankee invasion of the slave South to the crushing disappointment of freedom's promise unfulfilled, The Slaves' War is an engrossing vision of America's Second Revolution.
This is such a good book that comes to me from a new direction...that of the slaves and freemen. I have relatives that fought in the war between the states. (that is the way my mother says it..."There was nothing civil about it!" she says very forcefully.) I think I am happier that I got this as an audio book as the reader has a has just the right voice for it. Maybe this is the right time for people to hear these voices. To hear the words of people we didn't hear from in school. Consider it well, my friends....more
A dead girl's body is dredged from Sweden's beautiful Lake Vättern. After an eternity, she is identified as Roseanna from Nebraska. But who did it andA dead girl's body is dredged from Sweden's beautiful Lake Vättern. After an eternity, she is identified as Roseanna from Nebraska. But who did it and why? That's what Police Inspector Martin Beck wants to know. He must sort through about 100 people to find the killer. Unlike most mysteries, this one plods along like the way true life investigations probably do. When he finally zeros in on the killer, he has to trap him. Again, it takes time but he will get his man.
For those who like less plodding and more action, it may seem to drag. But trust me, the ending will speed up delightfully. ...more
i heard originally the first book as a podcast which led me to Ms Paver and the series. i don't know why it hasn't garnered more interest over here. ii heard originally the first book as a podcast which led me to Ms Paver and the series. i don't know why it hasn't garnered more interest over here. it is good fun and who would not like a story read to them by sir ian? it is basically a good story plot wise, with well developed characters. while it is direct at kids, this little old lady and her husband have muchly enjoy the stories. i think each can stand alone. there is mystery and magic and strange beliefs and cultures and suspense and all sorts of thrills....more
If you saw the movie, wipe it from your mind and then read this trilogy!
All the characters are so real. You may not know what they are going to do buIf you saw the movie, wipe it from your mind and then read this trilogy!
All the characters are so real. You may not know what they are going to do but it sure makes sense when they do it. In the beginning you meet 2 young West Point cadets. These men and their families you will follow from before, during, and after the Civil War. And be glad you are getting them now. I tried not to read them until I had all three,
I thought i had learned my lesson from the Kent Family Chronicles...but no! I had to start reading as soon as i got the 2nd book. And I ended up frustrated when I finished the 2nd vol. and the last was not out yet!
I don't know if parents would allow it because of some of the sexual scenes but if I had a class of mature students, I would have it on the recommended reading list.
Before you get started, you have to remember, West Point of today is not the West Point of the 1800s. You will read a lot of history but it goes down well with this, one of my favorite authors, John Jakes. ...more
(The Kent Family Chronicles 8-Volume Set: The Bastard, The Rebels, The Seekers, The Furies, The Titans, The Warriors, The Lawless, The Americans (Kent(The Kent Family Chronicles 8-Volume Set: The Bastard, The Rebels, The Seekers, The Furies, The Titans, The Warriors, The Lawless, The Americans (Kent Family Chronicles, Volumes 1 thru 8) (Hardcover) by John Jakes (Author))
In the beginning there is a bastard who meet some well known historical people in England. He follows them back to the Americas. This is before the war for independence.
This was my first introduction to John Jakes. I fell in love with this writer's style and characters. I was lent the first 4 vol. of the series, which i read within 5 days while working about an eight hour day. Add a hour for driving to and from work and that leave 9 hours you can't spend reading. I didn't get much sleep because once I started this book, I could not put it down or it's followups until I had finished them.
As I understood it, the books were supposed to go from 1776 to 1976. He didn't make it. The last vol. went to Teddy Roosevelt. But trust me, he covered a hell of a lot on history through a lot of relatives across the continent in those books! Here's the grand thing about the series, by using all these relatives, he takes us back and forth and all over the United States of America. So you get a panoramic view of history instead of the chopped up version I got in high school and in college.
If you like well documented history, a good read with well developed characters, pick them up, take a week off, lock yourself in a room, and enjoy the ride!
(Oh, I forgot to tell you the lesson I learned. My best friend Cathy lent me the first 4 books. I finished only to discover there was another book in the series. I was so mad at her. It was after 10 p.m. I didn't care. I called her up demanding to know why she had not given it to me. She had to gaul to tell me, "It's not out yet." So I had to wait and wait until each one came out. Get as many as you can so you don't get stuck having to wait for the next one when you are ready for it now!)
ps. This one review is for all 8 the books in the series....more
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