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KRYSTAL'S 50 READ IN 2013
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January 20131)
by
Frank McCourtFinish date: Jan 04
Genre: Memoir
Rating:A
Review: I liked this book because it gave me a look at one of the poorest countries that suffered through the great depression. The story follows Francis McCourt's journey from young boy(aged four to eighteen) to manhood as he and is family suffer through the great depression and his father's alcoholism. When the story starts off it tells of McCourt as a four year old when a few relatives come to his house and see Angela(his mother) in bed not taking care of the children(just diapers on the two youngest; at the time) first Margret dies as an infant. Then they travel back to Ireland from America. Frankie says we were the only Irish to be going away from the statue of Liberty. Then just after arriving little Oliver(one of the twins) dies. As time goes on the surviving twin keeps calling out for Oliver by saying Ollie, Ollie and Frank and Malachy (2nd oldest) try to keep him happy. while at the park Frank sees some fruit on a cart and steals it because there is no food in the house there usually isn't much food and they always go hungry. The mother tries to line up at the St. Vincent De Paul society but they can only do so much for her. It gets confusing so I'm going to name the children in order and status
Frank-survives and returns to America
Malachy- survives and was part of a band with an army
Oliver and Eugene(twins)- both decease but Ollie dies first
Margret- dies as an infant in America
Michael-survives
Alphonsus- survives known as Alphie.
Each time she has a new baby she asks for more help and sometimes the people from the society have to come and check on her and find that the family lives in terrible conditions. So Frank grows up and when they go to school they don't have proper shoes so his father takes an old bike tire cuts it and fits it to the sole of the shoe, but Frank and Malachy are embarrassed by the shoes so they try to hide them but get whipped by the teacher for not wearing there shoes. Frank does everything he can for the family because he is the oldest but can only do so much. When Frank has his first communion he goes to church and then his grandmother makes him a breakfast right after he finishes he gets sick and so his parents and grandmother are mad at him so they drag him back to church for confession. But when his grandmother makes him go ask the priest another question the priest gets mad and tells him to leave. As he grows up he gets picked on by the other kids because he is small. A few years go by and his mother makes him take dance lessons he goes to one lesson but never returns and when his parents find out he gets into a lot of trouble. Then the war comes and his father goes off to England and is suppose to send money but never does because he drinks the wages so at a young age he starts helping an older man but then his eyes get bad. At one point while in church he passes out and is taken to the hospital. He is diagnosed with typhoid. He misses school because of it and is placed a year back with his little brother but then after praying and writing a composition he is taken to the Head Master and the headmaster loves his story so much that he gets put back with his classmates. He grows up and causes some trouble with friends. Such as spying on his friends sisters while there bathing. They call it the excitement. During the war they get evicted from the place they were living at and so the grandma takes them to some guy who she knows has room and if Angela and the boys behave they can stay. But after awhile Frank leaves never to return to that house but instead lives with relatives. Then he helps his uncle with selling papers and there he mets people who invite him and make him read to them. But after awhile it doesn't work out so he can't sell papers any more. Then he grows up to become a messenger delivering telegrams to people. Then one day this lady tells him to come in and he works for her and writes threatening letters to clients who don't pay for there clothes; she's some kind of clothing designer. After a few days of getting the letters delivered she gets paid so she gives Frank money. While being a messenger he mets a girl and together they do the excitement. But then she dies of consumption. Then the women dies and he steals money from her because he discovers her when he was bringing her sherry. Then he saw in her book of clients that his mother owed money so he steals the book and throws it in to the river. He saves the money from being a messenger and makes enough to sail back to America. He sails to America and then goes to a house party where the boat is docked and the story ends there.
Just wondering does it matter what order I have Genre and Rating? There both there. JW so i know for future reference.
Krystal......genre first, rating second. It keeps entries consistent for all readers.Great review of a great book!! Good way to start the year.
kk I'll remember that for the next ones. I'll make a template of it to remember. I'm going to write my reviews when I have time. I just don't have energy tonight.
Mod
Be on the lookout next couple days for more reviews. There is going to be quite a few but I'm going to write them all first. Then post them. so write the review out first then post then write the next one. I have 4 reviews to do already started one before my old computer died on me. Just bought a new one today. So be on the lookout it's taken all day to fix the computer the way I like it. and I'm going to have to get use to it. Its a W8 so it's very different.
2.
by
Jamie FordFinish date:Jan 6
Rating:B
Genre: HF
Review:
1940's
It's a sweet story one that i would of never picked up for myself. It only took me two days to read the book and it's not that I thought it was super interesting(I like my books to be a bit more and have more to the story. It was just that it was an easy read) so I might not remember everything.This is the story of Henry a young boy who is a Chinese American. His parents want him to be American but all the other Chinese kids call him white devil because he's "scholarshipping" at a white school. It's a story of forbidden love really. Soon after Henry starts working in the school cafeteria a new girl comes in who is Japanese, since they are the only two non-whites in the school they form a friendship. Together they sneak into a club to see Oscar Holden because Henry starts a friendship with a guy named Sheldon who plays Saxophone on the street and then Henry and Kieko Okabe (Kay-ko) go to the store to buy the album but gets hassled by store clerk because she Japanese so then Henry buys and they let them go. But then the Japanese are rounded up and taken to camps. So one day the cafeteria lady asks Henry if she wants to work with him at the camp he jumps at the opportunity because he might see Kieko. When Henry gets to the camp and starts serving food, he starts asking around for Keiko's family name and the father who is in the line at the time says why you asking about us and then realizes it's Henry and then says Keiko will be by shortly.(The book is set partly in the past and future, it's easier to write about the past then bring it to the future for me so it doesn't confuse people who read my review). The Japanese are rounded up because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. At first they are moved a few miles out of the city and the first time Henry went to see Kieko he had to lie to his parents but then gets the job with the cafeteria lady on the weekends and is able to see Keiko more. There are blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids in the city and still Henry and Keiko are able to form a friendship. When Henry is no longer able to work at the camp because the inmates were being brought to a location further in land, Henry sent letters to Keiko saying he'd wait for but his father was able to some how stop them. When the families knew they there were being rounded up they put their belongings in the basement of the Panama Hotel.
40 years later
Henry comes upon a crowd that has gathered outside the hotel, it's been boarded up for decades and the new owner has made remarkable discoveries of the belonging's of personal belonging's. The owner opens up a parasol and Henry is certain that it belonged to Keiko. So Henry puts his name down on a list so he can search the basement and find the Okabe's belonging's. Henry is a recent widow. His wife Ethel died shortly before the discovery. She worked at the postal office where Henry would send his letter to Keiko. He also has a son from the marriage and when the discovery is made of the belongings of Japanese families he tells his son about it and together they search through the belongings with his son's girlfriend.
I think this is a good enough review i don't want to give the whole thing away nor can I because I can't remember all of it.
3.
by
Jodi Picoult and
Samantha van LeerFinish Date: Jan 16 2013
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Rating: B
Review:
This is Jodi Picoult's first dip into YA. She co-wrote this book with her daughter Samantha Van Leer. I like Jodi's usual realistic fiction put in court-room drama. For this book it's a about a girl named Delilah who is somewhat of a loner. The girl no one pays attention to really. One day while in the school library she picks up an old book which is a fairytale called Between the Lines. Ask yourself what if characters from the book could jump right out at you or even talk to the person reading the book? Nothing is too crazy when your thinking of a fairy-tale. yes the main character of the book actually has a mind of his own and can talk to his readers, weird right? Delilah doesn't think so. Every week she takes the book and falls in love with Oliver. Oliver believes that the world on the outside is what he is looking for in life. See before the story began, his father fought with a dragon and lost, so he grew up with no father and lives with his mother Queen Maureen.Delilah thinks she relates to Oliver because they both didn't grow up with a father. Oliver is not very brave and can sometimes be seen as weak. (note there were photos included it's like your truly reading a fairytale.) He is really looking for a way to escape. Delilah is actually just a real normal teenager. She goes to school to get good grades, shes on the swim team and in her spare time she reads. She only has one best friend named Jules and her mom. I have to agree with other reviews here. The characters at times are laughable. Now of course I begged my mom to get me the book for my birthday and didn't get to read it till Jan but oh well. I actually was expecting it to be different. I'm not sure how different or what kind of different but just seemed childish to me. Oliver best friend is a dog, but really a boy because the evil wizard did something to make him a dog. one reader calls our Delilah a heroine. She is not a heroine, she is just another character in the book, she's the reader of Oliver's story there is only a hero but a weak one at that. Just like any other fairy-tale, the prince has to take a long journey to rescue the princess, but Oliver doesn't love Seraphima. Actually Frump(Oliver's best friend turned dog) is in love with Seraphima. The story goes back and forth between Delilah reading the story and Oliver's view of events. I love good books and I couldn't put down but this book didn't want me wanting more once it was done I was kind of glad.
4.
by
Lisa GenovaFinish Date: Jan 29 2013
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Psychology (my first time reading something like this but I love reading psychology articles and what not)
Rating: B
Review:
I don't think I can give it a perfect A rating because it was sad. The book kept me wanting to read what happened next with Alice. The first sign of her entering the early stage of Alzheimer disease is when Alice gets lost in Harvard square. She knows the place by heart because she mostly walks to and from work which is one of Harvard's campuses. Alice is a Harvard psychology professor and at the age of 50 slowly starts losing her memory. Slowly family members are alerted when their mom, wife can't even follow simply conversation. At one point Alice forgets her youngest child's name and even her husband. She starts losing touch with reality forgetting things, misplacing things. At one point she forgot to catch her flight to seminar where she was suppose to speak. She was a leading psychology specialist in her field of language.(I can relate to this because English is a strong point for me and I can read simple Italian, French and Croatian, and don't know what I would do if I suddenly didn't know how to read the simple English) But as the book progress she slowly can't form the proper words. She has to highlight what she's read, but even then she forgets what she read five minutes earlier (It's like a commercial I see on my TV about a girl talking about her ADHD, but this not simple ADHD this is an educated women who simply can't remember things)
Mod
February5.
by
Michael ScottFinish Date: Feb 13 2013
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating: A
Review:
I always knew which one was going to save the world and which one would destroy it. Although I'm confused with some characters. Did the Flammels die? How are Saint-Germaine and Joan, what about Scathach and the list goes on. The author left a lot of loose ends. I have been a fan of the series since it came out maybe not right when it came out but one day I was searching through the teen section when i picked up another book(this was a few years back), I picked up the other book and though next time I"m at the store I will take a look at the this book(which was the first in the series called The Alcheymst.) and from there on I enjoyed the books. The ending of each book was a preview of the new one which always made me want more. Now the series is finished and I just need to finish up reading the e-books but I really don't know if e-books are worth the money? Sorry getting sidetracked here. The epic battle begins the twins have disappeared into the past on the lost island of Danu Talis. Probably the best part of this whole series is it's not about LOVE. Finally a YA novel not about Love you have to give props for that. We see many characters with changing alliances. From the good side to the bad and then back. Nicholas, Perenelle are stuck facing the monsters in San Francisco as there trapped on Alcatraz with a few enemies. Scathach, Prometheus, Palamedes, Shakespeare, Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc are also on the island. And no one is sure what—or who—the twins will be fighting for. The book is really a closer and we find that some people are not really who we thought they were. The TWINS might not be twins after all but just pawns in their parents scheme or are they really people at all, well no they are actually Osiris and Isis (Earthlords) even their Aunt Agnes doesn't like them. But was the twins ultimate care giver in our world. Aunt Agnes also had a big part in this book as well as she helped the Flammels from San Francisco. Each chapter jumped from place to place so sorry if it gets confusing. Flammel used to much of his Aura to save Areop-Enap on the island. It's too bad he got stuck in San Francisco and wasn't on Danu Talis for it's end.(view spoiler)
March6.
by
Thrity UmrigarFinish Date: March 9 2013.
Genre: Cultural> India
Rating: C
Review:
This book was for bookclub and I'm surprised I even finished it.
I found the book very boring until the maybe last 5 chapters. It's just didn't spark my interest. I guess I like to relate to my books and I don't think I could relate to this one. I like my European culture, it's easier to relate to it or find interesting. The story kept going back and forth between Sera and Bhima. Sera is a wealthy women who hires Bhima as a servant as is common in India. I think the only relate able character for me was Bhima's granddaughter Maya. Maya becomes pregnant but ultimately lies to her grandmother to protect the identity of the child's father. Maya wants Sera to come with her when she gets the abortion, in the end we find out why. I actually found the past more interesting then the future. The part of Bhima's life before her husband left her because he lost his job after an industrial accident. Then starts drinking and can't keep down jobs or provide for his family so he returns to his brother's farm and takes his son with him. Bhima and Gopal had two children, a girl and a boy; the girl was older and is Maya's mother. Bhima never sees her son again after the father kidnaps him(I don't know what else to call it, and in my mind it is kidnap) Maya's mother dies of AIDS when she is young so that is why Bhima cares for her. Maya was going to be the first person in Bhima's family to get an education but that all ends when she becomes pregnant. As Maya grows older, she works for Sera's mother in-law. One day Sera's son-in-law is at his grandmother-in-laws house while Maya is working, that is when he forcible assault on Maya making her end up pregnant. In the end this is where Bhima tells Sera after she really beats it out of Maya. That is when Sera fires Bhima.
Thanks Ben at the start of the year I was ahead of schedule and now it's as if I'm behind. I have one book to finish off which I'll try to do tomorrow at the doctor's office. Life just basically gets in the way. When I first start a book it's like I'm really interested in it and then when I get either towards the middle or end I start losing interest and it takes me awhile to finish it then.
I am so bad with reviews. I have two books not reviewed yet and still reading one which is taking way too long. I don't want type to much right now because my fingers are hurting from the guitar pracitse that I just did earlier. and also I just want to savour all the music i can on this victoria day(bought demi's new album on the weekend so im just listening to all her stuff)
Mod
April7)
by Mark Mazower(no photo)Finish Date: April 10 2013
Genre: Non-Fiction, History> European>Eastern European
Rating: C
Review: This is a good book if you want to look up facts. I was enjoying it but at the end it was getting dry and *gasp* I pretty much skimmed the last chapter, because I wanted to finish it before I left the library after my book club when we were reviewing (The Space Between Us-see above). It was a good book because it didn't just focus on one part of the area's history. It didn't ju)st focus on one country but all of them in the Eastern Bloc. Like Croatia (which was part of the Austria-Hungary empire, Serbia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and most of the other countries in the Eastern Bloc. This is part of my history so this is the type I enjoy reading but then it gets dry. I wish there were more stories like Goodbye Sarajevo (the e-book I bought last summer). In order to understand a people's history you can't go without talking about the religion that divides us all. Talk of the Ottomans, Christians, Orthodox. Others reviews on the book are mixed but I say what do you expect from a 240 page book titled The Balkans. I wouldn't of expected anything less than what I got because this book is just an introduction to a region's history. It doesn't say Oh History of Croatia or whatever country, it's just a broad book and is good for someone who isn't looking for a full report on a certain country's rule. If you want that go find a book dealing with that country. So in all it's a good book reason for rating it a C is, it doesn't hold the reader's attention for the most part.
I know I know this one is long over due and I haven't started any of the others yet. I"ve actually lost count. I should spend less time on Swagbucks and more on here too get caught up. 8)
by
Diane ChamberlainFinish Date: April 26 2013
Genre: Women's Fiction> Chic Lit> Drama
Rating: A
Review: The good father what can I say. It was super enjoyable. It gets confusing. Travis is Bella's father. Bella's mother was very sick. Travis and Robin were high school sweethearts who were very much in love but because Robin was sick with a heart defect or problem her Father forbid it. But Robin gets pregnant and decides not to abort the child, with the child nearly killing her. When Bella is born she was going to give the child up for adoption without talking to Travis but because she put Travis as the dad, he came to claim Bella. Now several years later Travis is taking care of four year old Bella. But when Travis loses his house, his mother and job. All the security he's had is gone. But then a job opening in Raleigh, North Carolina changes everything. When Travis loses everything it leaves him and Bella penniless and homeless; desperate to provide a better home than the back of his truck or trailer park home. Travis meets Savannah, his neighbor at the trailer park. Savannah hooks Travis up with Roy. Unknowingly Travis gets sucked into a one time drug deal. When Travis arrives in Raleigh to wait for Roy, he leaves Bella with another women that he's met in the Coffee shop near a shopping outlet center. While he goes to do the work for Roy. He leaves Bella with Erin, the women they met at the coffee shop. He leaves without saying a word. Erin is a women dealing with her own troubles must now take care of Bella who is the same age as her would be daughter. Caroline; Erin's daughter drowned in an accident. So Erin takes care of Bella for the night almost wanting to hand her over to Child Protection but then has this urge to protect the little girl she has come to adore. Erin sets out to find Bella's mother(Bella keeps a pink purse with her at all time, in it she carries the photo of her mother who she has never known, and a doll). Who lives hours away and has no idea that Bella is within reach. So while Travis is trying to get away from Roy and Savannah after the drug bust goes wrong. Erin is now trying to protect Bella as well as find Bella's mother. Roy and Savannah get to Erin and Bella first and kidnap them. While all this goes on Robin is living with the guy who will next be Mayor of the city she now lives in. Robin's fiancé doesn't know anything about Travis or Bella. She grows fond of her new sister in law and her baby. But being with that baby brings up the painful memory of the baby she lost (by having the father take her away). But then by chance everyone ends up in the same town is finally united with who they are suppose to be with. When Robin finds that her fiancé did the exact same thing her dad did to her in Travis she gets upset. Her fiancé is paying off his sister's baby daddy to keep him away from his sister and niece. When Robin sees the cheques after she confronts the father. She wants to find her daughter again. She even went as far as threatening her fiancé that she would tell the press so the family quietly pays her off and gets Travis's charges dropped because now all those involved in the drug bust are being questioned.
*Note: Pretty much every story by this author is set in Raleigh*
May9)
by
Adriana TrigianiFinish Date: May 28 2013
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: The story starts off with Ciro and his brother who are left in an orphanage by their mother. Their Father was killed in America in Coal Mine Disaster. They grow up working in the orphanage. But then they are banished by the local priest because Ciro caught him behaving inappropriately with a village girl. One day Ciro mets Enza. Enza lives in a nearby town a little down the mountain, Ciro digs up her sister's grave and they fall in love on the carriage back to the orphanage. Then one day Ciro leaves without explanation leaving Enza devastated. Unknown to each other they both flee to America. Ciro goes to America as a shoemaker's apprentice. One day while working in the shop he hurts himself and the family he is apprenticing with takes him to the same hospital as Enza ends up after she lands in America. She gets very seasick and almost dies on the boat ride to America and when the met they think it chance really. They are surprised at meeting each other there in New Jersey because Enza went looking for Ciro shortly after he left. Soon after arriving in America Enza takes up a job at a factory in Hobroken and works for a lady who has lots of daughters and grandkids and is forced to do there housework. After they both leave the hospital they don't see each other for awhile and Enza has to forget about him because when they met up again it's too late Ciro has volunteered as an American Solider and Enza is now engaged to a man from the Opera house. Where she got a job as a seamstress, because back home in Italy as she grew up before she left she was helping a seamstress in Italy then went to America with her father when they had enough money saved. Enza and her father find jobs in America and both send it to their wife/mother so that the family can build there very own house. But once again after the war faith brings them together and Ciro almost marries another girl. After the war Ciro and Enza met again just before Enza marries the guy from the Opera house and her father was looking forward to his daughter marrying that guy because he wrote to both Enza's parents telling them how much he loved Enza but at the last minute Enza changes her mind and says she's in love with Ciro. Soon Ciro leaves New Jersey/New York to make a name in Minnesota as a shoemaker. I should mention that Ciro made a friend on his way to America his name was Luigi and they both marry the girl of their dreams and both girls become good friends and help each other out. Enza finally get pregnant and it is a hard pregnancy. They have a boy who they call Anthony. When he grows up he is handsome, intelligent, and sportsman. He gets a scholarship. Soon after he grows and is ready for college and the real world they learn the devastate news that Ciro has Cancer due to the fact that he was exposed to mustard gas in the great war. Anthony and Ciro go to the doctor when the doctor gives Anthony a clean bill of health the doctor receives a phone call and tells Anthony to tell his mother that Pappina(Luigi's wife) is now in the hospital. Everyone was shocked to learn of Pappina becoming pregnant again after going through menopause and as a result for some reason she doesn't make it. Angela(Luigi and Pappina's) only daughter is devastated. So when Anthony goes to school Enza becomes lonely and takes Pappina in because by now Ciro was only given about a year to live and has now died. Also in the middle of the night Enza gets a phone call from one of her sisters saying that her mother has died. So Angela lives with Enza for awhile but then when she goes to college she moves in with Laura(Laura is Enza's best friend, who taught Enza to read,write and speak English) So Angela stays with Laura while in school and when Anthony comes home from World War II he first goes to Laura and Angela gets mad that he doesn't recognize her, but when they return to Minnesota. Anthony tells his mother that he is engaged and his mother wonders who it is so when Anthony calls down to Angela and there eyes met they are so happy with each other. Then they all go back to Italy so that Enza can met her brother in law and her mother in law and Angela can visit her brothers and father because after Pappina died they returned to Italy to make a another new life for themselves and all got remarried.
June10)
by
Michelle MoranFinish Date: June 15
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: This was the June book club read for my actual book club. It was finally a book that I could enjoy because I mostly read Historical Fiction. But then when I heard it was this book I had to groan a little bit because I've already read this book last year. I guess each time you read a book that you've already read you either find that you missed something before or you discover something new. Well this time is no different. After reading the book or maybe it was while I was reading it that I actually looked up the characters of the book. It's hard for me to believe that Cleopatra and Marc Anthony had children and that Anthony had affairs with other women and had children with them as well. Also when we think of those times they would of had to travel for weeks by boat to get to where they wanted to be? In today's world it's easy to just hop on a plane and get there. Here I thought Marc Anthony was Greek/Macedonian, Cleopatra was Egyptian and her children taken to Rome. From Egypt to Rome it doesn't look so far away, but for the children who were all just entering their teens at the time the story takes place it must of felt like a long journey. I like books with strong characters. The Red Eagle was a strong character as well as Selene. For me Selene didn't care that being an architect was a man's job. I'm making this short and sweet since I've already reviewed this book before please check my 2012 thread to see the actual review.
11)
by Tracy Borman,
,
and
(no image for Borman)Finish Date: June 23
Genre: Non-Fiction/English History.
Rating: B
Review: This book here gives an overview of all the weddings that have taken place in England from the 10th Century to 20th Century. Each of the four writers for this book were given different dates to work with and put them together. It was really hard to choose which book to take home during one of my book club nights. At my library they have a spotlight shelve where they put different books on the shelves and for some reason they had all kinds of things of England and royalty(I guess we've all got the royal baby on our minds, I know I do). So anyway I picked this one up. Hoping to educate myself on not just recent royal marriages but all of England's more popular marriages. Weir focused on The Tudor and Stuart marriages. I know a lot on Tudor era but Stuart era wasn't too familiar with that era. Allison Weir starts off with medieval marriages. She goes on to talk about William the Conquers marriage to Matilda. Then goes on to explain the wedding's of Prince Arthur and Isabel of Castille, then on to Henry VIII marriages. Then she goes on to explain Mary I marriage to her cousin Phillip of Spain. Then on to the Stuart Era. (For the life of me I can't remember this part).Kate Williams goes on to explain the Georgians and Victorians(I love the Victorian Era) By going into this era we head almost into the modern era because this was the start of Hanover rule in Britain. The Hanover rule ended with Queen Victoria(Victorian Era). Sarah Gristwood takes up the story in 1919 to the modern era. We are shown Queen Victoria's wedding. We are shown the many marriages of Victoria's children. She even documents some of the more scandalized marriages(*cough* Sara Ferguson) . I enjoyed all the marriages but I liked the more modern stuff because I didn't know anything of Charles and Diana's wedding. In one of the more important photos it was somewhat blurry. (Cant remember it if it was current queen's or within her family or not). Of course the last royal marriage was The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It was lovely. I know it was important to include Henry Vicki's weddings but I quickly scanned through that stuff. I didn't find the beginning interesting like the era before the Tudor's didn't really concern me. But it was a good book overall. I can't give it a full A as it didn't grab my full attention. But no matter how unimportant the marriage was it was included so this was really just a generalization book. It's always good to read those to find what you like and don't like so you can study it more in-depth if you wish.
Mod
July12)
by
Philippa GregoryFinish Date: July 16 (my birthday) I got this book on June 12 after book club and just finished it.
Genre: Historical Fiction.
Rating: A because it's from my fave author and fave genre.
Review:
1430-?
The only reason I was reading this one for a second time was because I am reading the whole series again to lead into The King Maker's Daughter which is the last book of the series that is published for now. There will be two more books in this series. The White Princess is actually coming out on July 23(A week after my birthday) and The Red Rose is To Be Announced(so I can't put a link if it's not published yet) But it was important to state that. So I really enjoyed reading it again because Philippa Gregory is my favorite author. The beginning of the book starts with Jacquetta of Luxembourg meeting the doomed Joan Of Arcadia. Jacquetta sees her self in Joan and learns to keep her thoughts to herself. But when the Duke of Bedford(English Regent in France) meets Jacquetta he wants her for himself and makes her his second wife. His wife shortly dying after they originally meet at her uncle's palace. The duke thrusts Jacquetta into alchemy and forbidden arts and asks her to foretell events. But one thing that she keeps seeing is a battle on white snow she can not see any one's standards so she can't tell if this is a battle in the near or far future. Turns out it's in the far future because she foresees this vision again after she is remarried with kids to Richard Woodville (Her first husband's squire, and her only friend). The story of course is told by Jacquetta, her love of Richard and their children and her service to the king(the sleeping king) and his queen Margret Of Anjou. When Margret firsts arrives in England, Jacquetta's first husband wants her to befriend Margret because they are kinswomen because they both came from French families and therefore spoke the same language. Margret and Jacquetta over time become great friends and the queen confides to Jacquetta quiet often. On Margret's wedding day she forces Jacquetta to tell her fortune or she will not marry Henry VI because she wants to know what is in store for them. Will they be happy together or will things end badly. Jacquetta sees what happens to women who dabble in forbidden magic with the arrest and death of Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester. When Jacquetta marries Richard she marries beneath herself but is in love with Richard. Through everything of her first marriage Richard was there and they fall in love. So twice Jacquetta uses herbs to her advantage, once so she doesn't become pregnant and the other to beget a child so that Richard is forced to married her when Richard learns of this he is mad at first but then asks if any one else knows but only her and the herbalist that her first husband hired know. Jacquetta was an astonishing women who gave birth fourteen times with 13 surviving. The book is mostly based on the start of The War Of The Roses and Witchcraft. Since this is the second time I"m writing a review I think I'll stop here. I pretty much summed up the book.
August13)
by
Philippa GregoryFinish Date: Aug 03 2013
Genre: HF
Rating: A
Review:
Approximately 1452-?
The series continues with the white queen. Jacquetta's oldest daughter Elizabeth has lost her first husband and attracts the young prince of York. They fall madly in love and are married very quickly. Elizabeth is also the mother of The princess in the tower. I always forget that the author doesn't write the books in order. The series order is The White Queen, Lady of The Rivers, The Red Queen. But if your reading in chronological order(The actual events) it's Lady Of The Rivers, The White Queen and then The Red Queen, The Kingmaker's Daughter and The White Princesses. The White Queen starts off with Elizabeth Woodville taking care of her sons from her first marriage from John Grey. Grey is killed in the battle of St.Albans. Her lands are taken from her because he died a traitor. Elizabeth stands by an oak tree waiting for the new Prince of York to pass by so she can plead with him to restore her lands. They were secretly married at her family home with few in attendance. She was then crowned queen. It's very uncommon for a commoner to rise to that of a queen. Witchcraft is still prominent in the story. With Jacquetta teaching Elizabeth everything she knows, then Elizabeth passes her skills onto her first-born daughter(from Edward IV). Many times throughout the story Jacquetta and Elizabeth use witchcraft against there enemies. Elizabeth more so by taking her father's very last letter and tearing a piece of writes down two names and puts in a locket and wishes her enemies death. Twice Elizabeth hides out in sanctuary, first when her first couple of girls are really small and her newborn son is born in sanctuary because Edward is fighting the Lancaster's for the right of the throne.(Hence the reason it's called War Of The Roses-Battle of The Cousins). He finally comes home to find his new born son born and in good health around the new year. The second time is after Edward is dead and Richard Neville has taken the Princes to the tower. A lot of goodreads users didn't like the book but to me sometimes authenticity doesn't matter to me, if its a good story and keeps my attention I don't care that the facts are jumbled. Why is it called Historical Fiction if some things aren't true. You want the facts go read a Non-Fiction book is my opinion!
The next book won't be a part of the series because I"m reading the July bookclub read for my actual bookclub. Yes I know its August but I had to put the book on hold, and I'm getting throught the book at a medium pace.
14) 
by
Cathy Marie BuchananFinish Date: Aug 25 2013
Genre: HF
Rating: Alphabet rating: B
Review: I will start off by saying these 2 things. 1) This was the July on-line book club read. Instead of having the book club take place at the library it was on-line. I was suppose to read it in July but it took me awhile to get the book(I had to place it on-hold, then wait till i was in the area to actually pick it up). And even longer too read. I've gotten 2 notices saying that it's late good thing I'm not having to pay fines just my account is blocked until i return it(this is how my library now deals with over due charges). 2) I felt like I was re-reading the same book almost from a few years back. It felt like a copy-cat and then I found out why when i was searching for Edgar Degas. Another book called Marie Dancing was about the same group of girls or well in this case about her family and how Degas went on to capture her presence in a sculpture by calling it Little Dancer Aged 14. I enjoyed both books. But at times this one was dull. I guess it was because the author used so many sources. Like actual clippings from papers about the boys that Antoinette(the oldest of the Van Goethem sisters) hangs around with. She wants Marie to tell Antoniette's lover's lawyer the truth of x's marked on a calendar. Those x's were so she didn't get pregnant. After Antoinette is kicked out of the opera. She brings her sisters Marie and Charlotte. Charlotte is a very minor character because the book goes back and forth only to Marie and Antoinette and their takes on their, and their families lives. Mama is an alcoholic who drinks all her wages. She's a laundress. Marie at one point finds a job baking. So while she works the opera at nights on the stage, she has to go to bed late and wake early in the morning to make the dough and put it bake before going back to class. There is never enough food in the house with the wages that Mama and Marie earn. Antoinette does her own thing and won't help out. Antoinette hangs with boys and then in the middle of the book she works at some saloon. The prettier the clothes the higher the men pay her. While in class one day Degas watches the girls and for some reason chooses Marie out of all of them. She is one of the skinniest because there is never enough food. So when Degas paints her, he pays her. But then another artist also paints her. After of course Degas is through with her but this painter is more aggressive, but she still gets paid by the other painter as well. I've left stuff out but again i only rated it a B because I wasn't interested in the cases against the boys. There should of been more on how the dancers felt being on the stage, maybe even have what the dancer was thinking while dancing in front of the audience.
I'm at 47% of my goal. My goal is 30 and I'm only at book number 15. I am reading a memoir right now then I go back to reading HF for a couple of books then a paranormal, fantasy, HF all those categories describe it. 1. Memoir/Crime
2. HF
3. HF
4. Fantasy
5. HF(start series)
6. HF
7. HF
8. HF
9. HF(End series)
10.HF
listed as genre to not give away the books.
Mod
oh yes and I won't start anything until I have book number 2 or else it will ruin my whole reading schedule. I was just about to ask if people actually cared about my reviews? since I'm the only one who posts about them.
I'm not one for commenting on other's reviews unless it's a book I've read or want to read. But I admire you for sticking with your schedule and wish you well. Maybe you'll motivate me to read more historical fiction, which I usually enjoy but don't read enough.
Mod
Bentley wrote: "Well 143 people have read your thread and the counter only counts unique new visitors so 143 of us do."How do you know how many people have read a thread? Is this info on the thread somewhere?
Mod
When you click on yours - it says - This topic has been viewed by 146 unique people.
So let us get back to the reviews (smile)
oh I never knew that I just tho because people never comment that I was starting to not like doing reviews in here. and Ok my next post will be a review I just have to write up in Evernote first.
Mod
15)
by Amanda KnoxFinish Date: Aug 29 2013
Genre: Biography, Crime
Rating: A
Review: This is the memoir of Amanda Marie Knox accused American girl of killing her British Flatmate in Perugia, Italy. Let's make one thing clear in my opinion I believe that she is innocent. Amanda hadn't even been in Italy long when it was discovered that her British flat mate had been murdered. Meredith Kercher was discovered by Amanda on November 1 2007. The book talks about Amanda's home life and how her parents split when she was really young. She has 1 younger sister. Then she has a lot of step-sisters because both her parents remarried when she was little. She got a long with her father but felt more comfortable with her mother. So Amanda starts her senior year. While working as a baristas in a cafe she asks her parents to meet with her. It was really hard for her to do this because the way she knows both her parents are. One parent said go for it, sure go to Italy and see how you like it. The book is split into 3 parts. Each chapter talks about a certain day. Chapter 1 April-August 2007, chapter 4 is about October 2007, Chapter 6 Morning November 2 2007 Day One of the hell she endured. You get the idea.
Part 1: Amanda took a lot of time preparing for her studies in Italy. It was a big deal for her to have her parents share a meal together since they split when Amanda was only a year old and her mom was pregnant with her little sister Deanna. Her mother was born in Germany and moved to Seattle when she was a child. " It wasn't until my freshman year in college that I realized I had a knack for languages and started playing around with the idea of becoming a translator Or if only a writer" quote page 6. She was going to choose Germany but then decided to find a country and language she didn't know anything about. Amanda had been fascinated with Roman and Italian history in middle school. Her family had visited Italy while they were on a two week vacation visiting her mom's family in Germany and Austria. That was a month and a half after 9/11 and all the Italians were warm and sympathetic. So she said " Dad I'd like to spend next year learning Italian in a city called Perugia. It's about half way between Florence and Rome, but better than either because I won't be part of a herd of American students its a quiet town and I'll be with serious scholars. And all of my credits will transfer to UW". To her relief her father was OK with it. The only thing her dad was worried about was what if something happen? Not ever knowing that this event would change their lives. This would be the first time she truly away from home. So the time came for her to pack she got her climbing gear, hiking boots, and a teapot were among the essentials everyone went to a send off party and gave her little presents, and gag gifts. Her friend Brett brought me a small pink bunny shaped vibrator I had never used one and her friend said for when you meet your Italian Stallion. So it's August 30th- September 1st 2007. She hooked up with Cristino. She met Meredith on her return to Perugia from Germany. Meredith and Amanda got along and looked out for each other, but later prosecutors would say that their friendship soured after a tiny little plumbing incident. Where Meredith had to explain that Italian plumbing wasn't very good and that you need to clean out the toilet after each use. October 25-November 1 2007. Amanda met Raffaele Sollecito by chance. Meredith and Amanda had went to concert by the university of Foreigners to hear quintetto bottesini. When Meredith left to meet with friends Raffaele introduced himself to Amanda. For that whole week leading up to Meredith's murder Amanda would hang with Raffaele and have casual sex with him, cook with him and watched movies. They communicated in English, Italian and their other common language German. They hung together at every chance. Halloween that year fell on a Wednesday. So Amanda dressed as a black cat. All saints day is the day after Halloween in Italy and is a national holiday a day to honour the dead. Around 4 or 5pm they went back to Raffaele's place and downloaded a movie after a friend of his popped by to ask a favour. Around 8:30pm, Amanda realized it was Thursday and that she'd have to go to work in a few hours, but she checked her phone and saw that her boss texted her to say she didn't need to come in. So she texted back in Italian "See you later, have a good evening." Italians take everything literally, so the prosecutor asked her what it meant. They thought see you later, have a good evening meant I'll see you in maybe a few hours. No this is wrong, in English especially American culture it really means ok I'll see you later as in a few days maybe or even the next day not in a few hours. Raffele's friend came back and told him that he didn't need to bother with a ride because her mother had missed the bus. While the two were chilling out the conversation went to his mother and how she had died. He said that people suspected that she killed herself. the next morning Amanda left Raffaele's to sleep and walked home to take a shower. Nov 2 2007- the nightmare begins. Amanda comes home to find the front door open, she thought it was easily explained, the door had trouble locking sometimes. So she called to her other house mates and no one answered. Nobody was home all the doors were closed. she wasn't alarmed by some specks of blood in the bathroom sink. But as she started noticing more and more things wrong at the house. About block from her house she calls her mom to tell her she thinks something is wrong. Her mother tells her go to Raffele's house, call her roommates. So Amanda calls her roommate Filomena, who tells her to call Meredith, she doesn't pick up by this time she is back at Raffele's and together they go back to the house and call the police. The Italian police thought Amanda's behaviour was strange, so she immediately became their prime suspect once they discovered Meredith's body in her bedroom. They discovered that someone had broken in. The window shattered. Then she called out to Meredith who didn't answer. Amanda couldn't figure why her door was locked. Meredith usually locked her door when she was changing or she was going out for the weekend. Raffele tried jamming the door in but it didn't work. She called her mom back to tell her that someone had broken, so her stepfather got on the phone and told her to go outside and call the police. Amanda realized that while they were in there that the toilet had been flushed because the stuff she saw in the toilet was gone, what the police said though was that it was still there, it just sunk lower into the bowl. When the police got there they said that some phones had been turned in to them. One belonging to Filomena, how's that when Amanda had just talked to her and the other was one of Meredith's phones. That explains it, Filomena let Meredith borrow her SIM card for local Italian calls. The police seemed satisfied with the answer. Amanda tried to explain and then Filomena said that Meredith never locked her door, who was right? Wouldn't be Amanda who was closer to Meredith than Filomena and Laura. Luca a friend of Filomena's kicked the door down and started shouting "a foot, a foot" real loud in Italian. Then the police ordered everyone out of the house. They called for backup from the Perugian police. Amanda not understanding what was going on. In the days after discovering Meredith, Amanda pieced together the facts a naked blue tinged foot poking out from underneath Meredith's comforter, blood splattered all over the floor. Everything Amanda did from that point on alarmed the police. Making her their prime suspect. But Amanda wasn't one to show her feelings in public because it was what she was taught. Amanda had no idea how horrible the killer had really been. Throughout her trial did she discover that the killer had slashed Meredith's throat, she was naked from the waist down. They interrogated Amanda relentlessly. The police questioned everyone but really kept an eye on Amanda. For the first hour they tried talking to Amanda in Italian at that time she didn't fully grasp the language so they brought in a translator, but the translator didn't do their job. They pulled up Amanda's phone records and questioned her about the text she received from her boss she tried to explain that it just meant see you at a later day and time to not take it literally. So under the extreme stress she named her boss Patrick. At the police station Laura told Amanda to not say anything about them smoking pot. At first it didn't occur to anyone especially not Amanda to call a lawyer. Every little movement that Amanda made seemed suspicious to the police, the way she didn't cry, the way she hugged people etc. Everyone in Amanda's family thought Raffele was being good to Amanda but then that all changed when they were arrested for the murder. The police told Amanda that Raffele said that she had left after they had watched the movie. At one point the police interrogated Amanda so much that she wasn't allowed to use her phone, go the bathroom, her mom was trying to call her and the police wouldn't let her pick up the phone. At one point a detective struck her on the head thinking that it will make Amanda think who the killer was. Her family thought it'd be a good idea if she stayed with her aunt Dolly for awhile in Germany but nope she wasn't allowed to leave. They questioned Amanda for 5 days then finally decided that they either needed to let her go or arrest her, they did the latter.
Part 2: Amanda's family hired two lawyers. On Nov 9 2007. Amanda was now formally charged with the murder. she lawyers told her not to speak when the judge asked her if she had anything to say. In part 2 we learn about life in prison for Amanda. She was constantly switched cells and roommates again. For the first 2 nights in lock up they had her on suicidal watch. There are two kinds of watches 1) The person has a history of suicidal idea's 2) No history and needed more looking after because they are at greater risk of suicide. They kept making Amanda sign all these documents without her lawyers present that was a mistake because at one point they almost tricked her into signing that she said she was guilty. She was to be in custody for one year while the police put together their case. Amanda tried twice to write a memoriali which was an explanation of the things she said during her interrogation. The person she wanted most was her mother but it took a long time before they let Amanda and her mother reconnect. During the trial a lot of things were brought up. A knife that was in Raffele's kitchen was explained to be the murder weapon but it was too big to really be it. The blood count on the blade, Meredith's bra clasp had Raffele's hair on it. The rest of part two is about the whole trial and how Amanda was actually convicted of the murder. The Italian police made a lot of mistakes and when Amanda's lawyer finally got the documents they were after so that their experts could look at it. They were relieved and asked for a new trial. In this part and the next she find solace in Don Saulo. After she is able to finally be with most of the prison population she finds Don Saulo and finds comfort talking to him even though she isn't religious. She helps write letters for other prisoners and does other things to help people. She was starting to learn more Italian as time went on. She was in prison for 4 years before her nightmare ended. She was also subjected to daily visits to the doctor and at one point told that she had HIV. she also got a lot of things confiscated like her diary, clothes and other things. The TV was also declared off limits for the first little while in prison.
Part two(ran out of room)The TV was also declared off limits for the first little while in prison. The media found on Amanda's MySpace page that she called herself Foxy Knoxy, it was nickname given to her as a kid on the soccer field. It didn't mean anything but everything is under the microscope with the media. They pick things apart and twist people's words. Her parents put their lives on hold the minute Amanda was arrested. Her mom was a teacher at an elementary school and pretty soon used up all her sick and vacation days to be in Italy and had no choice but to go back. One day while watching the TV the police had come up with a fourth name. Rudy Guede An African immigrant. His prints were on file because he had a green card. That's when it hit her. That was the guy she talked about at her integration. Amanda was sentence to twenty-six years, Raffele was sentenced to twenty-five and Rudy was given sixteen years in a fast track trial.
part 3: Is about Amanda's acquittal. After her sentence she asked to move in to a 2 person cell instead of a 5 person cell. Since she was the only prisoner who had now been there the longest she had seniority. Each week she was allowed a phone call home. But at one point, when it was time for her phone call she yelled for guards but no one heard her. The reason cut backs and now one guard had to monitor 2 floors. The phone calls home were all she had. So once she was sentenced she was moved in with Laura another American from Ecuador who got caught smuggling drugs. She didn't know because her boyfriend had sealed the drugs in her suitcase. After her conviction she kept the promise to herself that she'd cut her hair. So she cut it into like a boy's cut. She kept being told that she should take an anti-depressant and fought till the end to never given to them. She was accused of slander and almost signed the document that would agree with more charges but she refused to sign it when she realized what it was. After her conviction she and her lawyers fought for a new trial. She thought if the trial doesn't go well I need to write letters to those I love. so she wrote one to her mom saying that bad things happen to good people and that the family needed to let her go if things didn't go well. Her friend from Seattle moved all the way to Italy just to be with her. The prosecution knew they were using unreliable witnesses. People were testifying that they saw Amanda and Raffele with Rudy. Like some Albanian guy and a homeless guy who was now in jail for drug dealing. When the new evidence surfaced and exonerated Amanda. In the end she spoke up about everything in court, tried to explain why she had said something. Even wanted to tell Meredith's parents she was sorry and that Meredith was a good person. It took so long to go through court because the courts often took breaks during the summer. October 3 2011 was verdict day. She gave a speech near the end. After that she was taken back to Capanne. It wasn't till the wee morning hours that the verdict had finally come in. She was taken upstairs and told that she was free. So she yelled at the guards and said she wanted to see Don Saulo even though she had just seen him. When the agreed she was brought to the room he was in and she ran up to him and told him the news. Before she left the prison she didn't make her bed and remember to rub her right foot against the gravel meant for good luck and freedom to the next prisoner. Then it would be a few days of dodging journalist to get on to the flight home to Seattle. They stayed with a supporter of Amanda's for the night. Also for good luck she broke her old tooth brush and threw it out. Then her mom gave her another one. Then they met with other family and friends at the hotel and then once back in Seattle she made a speech thanking everyone at home.
It took all day and night to do this review. Started it maybe 4pm, and it's now 1am. But then again I had to go eat, then I watched a movie for 3 hours. So I can finally go to sleep now.
Wow I really am behind in reviews. I have 16,17,18 and number 19 I'm 93% done. It's nearly 1am so I cant finish the review for 16 right now.
September16)
by
Diane ChamberlainFinish Date: Sept 8
Genre: Drama
Rating: B
Review: I actually liked the book but don't know if the title fit. I actually had no intention of reading any book before book club or before I got my hands on the first book on my immediate to read list. But I didn't want to go without reading something. So I picked this one up because i had liked two of her other books. The lies we told is about how to sisters lost their parents when they were teens. Rebbecca was 18 and Maya was just 14 when their parents were murdered by Rebecca's ex-boyfriend. Who actually got Maya pregnant and the dad and Maya went to go get an abortion( maybe this is why it's hard for Maya to carry full-term) Now they are both doctors. Maya likes the safety of her practice as a child orthopedic surgeon. She marries Adam an anesthesiologist. Rebbecca becomes a doctor with DIDA the fictional name of the organization who helps survivors after horrible natural disasters, sort of like the Red Cross. When a devastating hurricane hits North Carolina. Rebbecca is the first one to go because she lives with the DIDA founder and hopes to one day take over DIDA. Maya is now dealing with the loss of yet another miscarriage, her third. Maya and Rebbecca don't live in the same city any more so when Maya is out for a walk with the dogs late at night and feels that she is having the miscarriage she calls her sister in a panic. Rebbecca wants to be there but Maya tells her it's OK she isn't the fragile little girl that she use to be and that she can just have her neighbor help her. Maya feels left out with her friends because they all have kids and she can't have any. Soon both Adam(Maya's husband) and Maya go to be with Rebbecca (who is working for DIDA at a disaster site) Things are going good until Maya is forced on to a small plane with the pilot, a patient and one other doctor. They crash and Maya is the only survivor. Adam and Rebbecca don't think there is any hope for finding Maya. Maya is taken in by a very small community. She tries to tell them that she needs to find her way back but they don't let her go. Adam and Rebbecca turn to each other. Thinking that Maya is gone. Maya is then forced to live with a couple. The real reason this couple won't let her go is because he is really a felon and got this girl pregnant and they need Maya to deliver the baby but the girl wants the women she's known all her life to help. Soon this man kills the older women's son and he almost gets away with it but Maya has finally found a boat and the girl and Maya escape. Soon Maya becomes the girl's ward, she adopts a child on her own and Adam and Rebbecca's love has grown stronger and they finally have a family together.
17)
by
Philippa GregoryFinish Date: Sept 15
Genre: HF
Rating: B
Review: I will keep this short, since I read and reviewed this book before(looks like I never gave a review which is weird). Margaret Beaufort was a very pious women, she is Henry VII mother. This book chronicles her life as she goes from a girl trying to follow her destiny of being on the throne of England to having her son live her dream. She is the child bride of Edmund Tudor. She's really a ruthless women. She will stop at nothing to have her son on the throne. I didn't like her character. Also Margaret Beaufort has an obsession with Joan Of Arc. This is not the only reason you will grow to hate Margaret she really speaks low of the people who are higher than her. She hates the Woodvilles and believes that they do not deserve the throne that the Yorks don't deserve it and that the only true heir is her son because she is a Lancastrian. As I read others reviews on the book they all hate her and say that Gregory didn't do a very good job. They say the book was horrible, it was repeative and this and that. I may not have realized that, the representativeness I mean but I just found Margaret boring! She can never do anything but pray. The only real juice you will from this is the two mother's plotting to put their children on the throne. So Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth Woodville make a deal that Henry Tudor(who later becomes Henry VII) and Elizabeth of York (Later Henry VIII mother) I did not realize this. I got confused and thought that Henry VII and Henry VIII had no relations to each other but they are Father and Son. Also Henry ultimately beats Richard III on the battle fields and claims Elizabeth of York as his bride. This book may be about Margaret but she doesn't make for a good character the others around her somewhat outshine her. When the last book in this series comes out I won't be reading the whole series again I will just read the last one from the series, just to avoid reading the same book over and over again because this is not when that I could truly enjoy.
I'm going to go back and edit the start of the series but it won't be super accurate. I just want to put some of the dates in. I'm going to guess that the first in the series will start in 1430. Then when I figure out the other dates I can put those in. So if there is a question mark between dates I was trying to be as accurate as possible. But I just realized now that I should of put dates but didn't.If I ever randomly come across the books within the library I can jott the dates down and really go back and edit them.
Would you recommend the series for beginners to the time period?
Yes Bryan I would actually and sorry for deleting a post I accidently posted the same thing twice. I can't think of a better way to kick off learning about it instead of going into a boring non-fiction, read HF about the period is perfect and I now find that Lady Jane Grey was related to Thomas Grey (one of Elizabeth Woodville's children from first marriage).Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (22 June 1477 – 22 June 1530), who married firstly Eleanor Saint John, by whom he had no issue, and secondly Margaret Wotton, widow of William Medley, esquire, and daughter of Sir Robert Wotton by Anne Belknap, daughter of Henry Belknap esquire, by whom he had four sons, including Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, father of Lady Jane Grey, and four daughters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_G...
So his 3rd son from 2nd marriage resulted in being grandfather too Lady Jane Grey.(The Nine Day Queen)
October18)
by
Philippa GregoryFinish Date: Oct 3
Genre: HF
Rating: A
Review:
1465-1485
The King Maker's daughter chronicles the live of Richard of Warwick the King maker. Richard is all for York whenever one York has a scandal looming over his head Richard tries and puts another on the throne. I'm trying to give a time-line but I haven't been keeping track of the years which is now proving difficult but since I own The King Maker's Daughter I can just pull it off the shelve. Neville's daughters are political pawns. Isabel who is the older sister almost becomes queen. But really in the end it is Anne who shines. Anne being younger always had to trail behind her sister. The story is told from Anne's point of view. When she walks into Elizabeth Woodville's coronation she has to follow behind her sister and make sure she doesn't step on her sister's train. The order in which they must enter is Richard Neville's wife, Isabel the older sister and Anne the younger sister. The sister's believe that Elizabeth is a witch and caused the storm in which Isabel lost her first born because they were traveling to Calais. Anne is then to be married to the Prince of Wales little Margret of Anjou's son Henry. But when he dies, that hope is abandoned and her second husband becomes Richard III. The Duchess Cecily is there aunt. Edward married Elizabeth Woodville secretly, then George Duke of Clarence marries Isabel Neville and then Richard marries Anne. So all of Cecily's children marry secretly without her knowing it but George was her favorite. Through the whole novel Isabel and Anne fear the queen Elizabeth. Isabel fears that the queen has poisoned her, Her husband is committed of crimes and leaves their kids orphans. But before that Anne is forced in to the house-hold of her sister and kept captive, but when she finally escapes with Richard they finally get married. Her father dead, widowed at fourteen, her mother in Sanctuary. Her sister is married to the enemy. When Isabel dies, George accuses one of her ladies of poisoning and because George accused and killed a women who had clearance from the King he is killed by mulled wine his favorite drink. Then Anne and Richard asks permission to take her niece and nephew into keeping as a favor to her sister. Near the end Anne loses her beloved boy. Richard starts falling in love with his niece Princess Elizabeth of York. I will say this though I don't see why everyone hates PG's books. When I read the reviews it's always distaste for them, but yet the keep reviewing them. For this reason I will not comment on the actual books page.
OK there really is a lot more I could say but I wait to long to do reviews or I start and then don't come back to it. I know my reviews could be better. It's just that I'm so busy in the day, then I get on the computer and instead of doing reviews I am playing on a few other sites. Next will be The White Queen. But Not tonight I now need to write for an hour for NaNoWriMo.
19)
by
Philippa GregoryFinish Date: Oct 20 2013
Genre: HF
Rating: A
Note: I refuse to write a review on the books page, why? Well everyone thinks PG is boring and makes her characters dull. In every single book I've read from her I've been nothing but pleased and wanting more? What does everyone expect? A perfect Historically Accurate novel and just boring facts? Then why are they reading PG go read a non-fiction on the time period and the characters. It's called an HF for that reason it's somewhat fictional.
Review: 1485-1499
The White Princess starts where the last book ended. The White Princess is now told from the point of view of Elizabeth of York; Edward IV's daughter. She has fallen for Richard III. But when he is killed in battle and the winner is Henry VII. Who ever wins the battle of Bosworth will marry Elizabeth a princess by birth. So she has no choice but to marry Henry VII. So in comes Marget Beaufort we all know she said that she was destined to be queen or her son was destined to be king. She and her son spend much time together ruling the country. Elizabeth of course has now lost the man she loves and doesn't want to marry Henry but both Elizabeth and Henry's mother have made this match and the wedding goes on. This union unites the two disputing houses together. Elizabeth by birth was York and Marget, Henry's mother was a Lancastrian.
Now Henry fears that a son of York will come in and invade his newly won country. All it takes is for a son of York or a pretender to claim that he is a lost son of York either Richard or Edward. Many come forward claiming to be Richard. One boy comes in claiming to be Richard and instead of killing him Henry makes him a kitchen lad. When another invader comes in claiming to be Richard of York, Elizabeth must decide if she will recognize this pretender or deny him for her husband's love. All the while Henry knows that Elizabeth is divided. In the beginning Elizabeth in person around Henry denies the boy, but in secretly she some what recognizes him as her brother. I believe it was Richard III who killed the boys in the tower. But it's such a big debate that we will never know. Henry is always fearful and believes his wife is a witch just like her mother. But she never gets put to death or put on trial like her mother. This is pretty much the whole novel.
November20)
by Jeanne Cooper (no photo which is surprising)Finish Date: Nov 2 2013
Genre: Memoir
Rating: A
Review: I have nothing bad to say about this book, this is probably my favourite memoir that I've read out of the now 4th(this one) that I've read. Not Young Still Restless is the memoir of Jeanne Cooper(aka: Katherine Chancellor) longest running cast member of The Young And The Restless hands down my favourite show since I was 12 years old. Sadly Jeanne passed away this year on May 8th 2013. I was shocked and saddened by her death and every evening 4:30-5:30pm EST I am on the couch watching the TV. Until they had her funeral I kept yelling at the TV saying "When are you guys going to have Katherine's funeral?" I was honestly getting mad. We buy the soap magazines once every 2-3 months I say and one night we were at Walmart and I was made to buy both of the soap books so we could learn everything about what was going on and what will happen. It took me till this year to realize that Katherine's real life son Corbin Bernsen was Katherine's real son. Corbin plays Det. Paul Williams brother who is a pastor on Y&R. When Corbin finally presided over Katherine's funeral on Y&R he says something along the lines "You don't want to disappoint the duchess, she asked for me and only me to preside over her funeral".Jeanne or Katherine on Y&R was sometimes called the Duchess of Y&R. It really was a beautiful scene the whole thing. Dehlia Chloe and Billy's daughter wrote a poem for Chloe to read at Katherine's funeral(Katherine was Dehlia's great-grandmother, who also helped deliver Chloe a long time ago-Chloe is Katherine's maids daughter) sorry I know confusing, but that's what soaps are. I think my favourite chapter from the whole book was all about the relationships she's had with cast mates(it was even rumored she was having an affair with her on screen son Brock). The book starts with Jeanne's memory of her childhood. Her first love and how he broke her heart. How in her final year of High school she had to stay where she was to finish school while her dad went off to work in Western Canada. Her mother died of cancer. She had brother's and sisters. Both her parents were part Cherokee, her father English and Cherokee and her mother Irish and Cherokee. Growing up she was sexually abused twice, her father was never home, her mother died of Cancer and then just her and her father went to visit relatives having to take the train. meeting future husband Harry Bernsen and all the ups and downs that brought. She didn't end on good terms with Harry. But he gave her three kids and 9 grandchildren. Starting on Y&R and how she wasn't suppose to be there for long. My favourite chapter, meeting all the people from the show, behind the scenes, rumors some true and some not so true. I found it really funny that she would pinch the younger guys to lighten up the scene if i had known that i would of paid more attention to it to see if I could catch her doing it especially to Kevin(Gregg Rikaart), her face-lift which was a story arch on Y&R, All the drama about winning and not winning awards. Her publicist left her hanging when she won a daytime soap award because he was handling another client Michelle Stafford(aka-Phyllis Summers Abbott Newman). Battling bad news about some health scares. Where are they know former cast mates and other friends in the business. Last but not least working on non-charitable organizations, helping others; family included. She also has a star on the hollywood walk of fame which is another thing I didn't know.
I have one more book to review(book club) Then I can finally start all the books that I bought over the summer that have been waiting to be read. There are still 7 books of my own to be read, plus I will be adding the Nov book club read to the list. Plus I'm doing NaNoWriMo-National Novel Writing Month this year and it's been challenging but I'm on track somewhat not up to par with the word count that they set but it's going to be fun writing it.
21)
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Lisa GenovaFinish Date: Nov 10
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Rating: A
Review: This is another one of those books that make you think. Or it did in my case at least. In 3 months it will be the 7 year anniversary of my accident. I am thankful that I wasn't paralyzed or faced the challenges that Sara did. Sara had it all a high demanding job-VP of Human resources company of consultants where she had to travel back and forth, a husband and three children Charlie, Lucy and Linus. Throughout the book there are these kind of like dream sequences you could say they would be in Italics and I didn't quite get them, I didn't think they were necessary. One day during a gridlock on the way home from work she went to try grab her laptop from her bag, not looking at the road caused her to not react fast enough and soon she was slipping on ice slick ground which then caused the car to hydro-planing. So she crashed her car. When she woke up, they realized that she couldn't see on her left side. Her body completely neglected everything on her left, it was as if her brain did not realize it was there. Sara faced many challenges with the neglect and her husband called her mother, who she didn't have a very good relationship to begin with. Her mother blamed herself for Sara's brother's death. He drowned in a pool when they were younger. After Nate died, Sara's mother completely withdrew from everyone and neglected Sara. So Sara isn't too pleased with her mother showing up. Not only does Sara face challenges of her own but Bob and Sara have to help their son because they learned that he has ADHD and needs to be put on medication. They go to speak with Charlie's teacher who tells them that he isn't doing well with school and that they should maybe take him to the doctor. Sara goes through rehab to try to train her brain that there is a left side. So it's a lot of doing puzzles, drawing and placing beads into a bowl. Well when insurance runs out Sara can no longer stay in hospital and has to attend out of patient rehab, but soon that runs out as well. So now with only Bob working it's putting a strain on the relationship because the bills for all the expenses keep piling up, they also have two houses one in Welmont(fictional town just outside of Boston) and one up on a mountain as a weekend house. They take the kids skiing, snowboarding and soon Sara finally gets the courage to try Skiing with NEHSA which is a real organization that helps people like Sara. With Charlie they try all sort of interventions kind of like what Sara does, one day Sara gets the idea that because her son can't focus on all the questions to cut each separately so that Charlie only has to do one at a time at school this causes a bit of a problem but the teacher finds a solution by using a yellow bookmark to cover the rest of the questions. Sara was suppose to return to Berkly but decides she doesn't want to do it any more and commits her time to NEHSA- The New England Handicapped Sports Association.
22)
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Zlata FilipovićFinish Date: Nov
Genre: Memoir
Rating: B
Review: Zlata's diary is the story of the "Anne Frank of Sarajevo" the name given to Zlata Filipović by the media. Zlata lived through the horrors of the civil war against Serbia and Bosnia. Her diary chronicles her life through the siege of Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia. Her diary is very real. She speaks to her diary just as Anne did calling her diary Mimy. Her diary takes us through shelling, food shortage and best friends getting killed just for simply walking around. There is an innocence about Zlata she doesn't understand the politics behind the war and the "kids" as she calls them should get there act together to resolve their issues. We of course as adults and the adults around her realize it's not that simple. I first discovered this book in High School and read it. But I really wanted to read this book during Nov because of my National Novel Writing Month project- Dear Canada: Torn Apart By War; The Refugee Diary of Danica Kovac. The horrors of war surround Zlata and her family. She is cut off from family and the outside world. Birthdays are not hugely celebrated during the war but they make the best of it. power is scarce. Zlata will take you on a journey through her life. I"m giving it a B because this book could of maybe went into more detail this book is only just over 100 pages and if you compare it to Anne Frank's which had more than 400 pages you can see where some readers may disappointed Anne and Zlata are the same age experiencing war. There are so many similarities to them.
I have one more book to review for 2013. I'm working as much as I can on personal pieces that it's taking all my attention I should have the last review done by the first couple days of Jan 2014 so please don't close the thread.
The thread will remain up for a while, Krystal. You had a great year of reading! We will be setting up the 2014 challenge very soon. Thanks for participating.
23)
by
Ransom RiggsFinish Date: Nov 20
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: B
Review: I know it says I finished the book in Nov and that is true. I was sitting in the doctors office when I finished so I had nothing to do on the way home the appointment was out of town. So I finished it and I was rather confused at first. I was like how is it that he's traveling back in time and how are the kids still kids. When they go out of the time-pocket they age greatly so it's better for them to stay in the time pocket. Jacob's grandfather decided to leave and thus aged greatly and he always thought something was after him. He was right. Something did finally get to him and kill him at the beginning of the book. So Jacob is searching for answers and travels all the way too Wales to Miss. Peregrines home. Her home is for children who are different. It was for children who could do things with their mind or body. Some could levitate, some had enormous strength. Miss.P is also still there taking after her children. She protects them and doesn't like it when they sneak out and leave the time pocket. Jacob's father doesn't like it when he disappears. It's a fast paced book. It's a book that everyone wants to read so I'm going to try keep it vague, also I sometimes can't remember everything. Near the end of the book these other people(the ones that came after Jacob's grandfather) finally get through the time pocket and get to Miss.P but first they get to her friend. Her friend travels to the island off of Wales and dies and Miss.P almost dies as well because of these creatures(shouldn't really say people), Miss.P can also turn herself into a bird. In the end all the children and Jacob escape after having a close call with the creature. This where the book ends and it will pick up with the sequel Hollow City. Gave it a B because it was fast paced and at first didn't understand it until I asked someone online about it.
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (other topics)Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo (other topics)
Left Neglected (other topics)
Not Young, Still Restless (other topics)
The White Princess (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ransom Riggs (other topics)Zlata Filipović (other topics)
Lisa Genova (other topics)
Jeanne Cooper (other topics)
Philippa Gregory (other topics)
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Our Format:
JANUARY
1.
Finish date: March 2008
Genre: (whatever genre the book happens to be)
Rating: A
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