I actually read this one for a book club. No one is more surprised than me having assured myself that I don't do book clubs, however this one was a friend from Pendleton that I would like to have more of a relationship with so I read it. Although it's a fiction mystery which is not my favorite genre, it held my interest. The character development was fine. The story was okay. If you like this genre this would most likely be a good one.
Quick history lesson about William the Conquerer. Sometimes these professors can be hard to listen to. This one was not. Highly recommendable.
I've had this one on my to read list for a while. I have to admit that I was surprised when it turned into a compilation of stories not just the one story on which Disney did the animated movie. They are good stories suitable for a middle grade youth.
This was the best introduction to the Greek Myths I've read. However they are the Greek Myths so expect violence and adulterous relationship, etc. At the end of the book Stephen Fry writes an excellent explanation about the Greek Gods and the Greek people; my favorite part was the explanation the Greek people made their Gods in their own image. Very interesting.
Middle grade realistic fiction about a girl who loves and lives ballet but had an accident and can no longer participate. The story also goes through Native American history in Washington (state) area. I checked it out for the history and the author did a good job with that. The rest of the story was just okay.
This was a fun read. Rich man hides his fortune and makes it kind of a treasure hunt. Small town, small town radio station; all the side stories are interesting. Highly recommendable.
Interesting lecture series. It introduced me to many people I didn't know anything about and the some I did know I learned way more about. It's amazing how religious these people and this time period was; life in general all seems to rotate around religion in one way or another.
Okay middle grade fiction about a boy (and family) dealing with the death of a brother. Just okay.
This is part two to Mythos; both of these (Heroes and Mythos) are very good if you have any desire to delve into the Greek myths. But again, they are Greek myths so proceed with eyes wide open. I absolutely love the afterwards Fry writes about why the myths exist. Completely thought provoking.
Got this one for the Bee with high hopes but although it's a cute story about a girl who wants nothing more than a dog to love, there's really nothing here of substance that I would recommend.
This was like reading a painting; very colorful and visual with words. This is my first Virginia Woolf so I'm interested to see if her other books read like this. There's not much plot, more ideas and feelings.
A historical fiction story about a young boy named Hamnet however it's really about the people that surround him (mainly his parents) and grief. Oh yeah, and his dad happens to be Shakespeare. Seriously. (Wasn't fully expecting that although I figured Hamnet had something to do with Hamlet.) It's actually very good. Critics have said the author tends to describe too much, even one critic said the book could have been written by Friends character Joey Tribiani. Ha! I disagree. While there is a lot of description it creates a strong visual.
Rebekah had the following two books sitting around and I was looking for a quick read so I delved. The above is less effective. There are facts about Indiana but, for example, she spends much time on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War where while Abraham lived in Indiana for about the first13 years of his life (he was neither born nor lived here as a man) and very little of the Civil War happened in Indy; where as Benjamin Harrison lived here for much of his adult life and there is no mention made of him.
Although much of the rhyming left a lot to be desired, this one was much better educationally. Each page had explanations of why that letter was chosen and there were awesome pictures as well.
Have I mentioned I love the great Russian authors? This is my third Tolstoy, the first two being fiction. This was fiction as well but ventured more into philosophy. It's the story of a man who detaches himself from personal relationships and then has an accident which in turn causes his slow demise. It's thought provoking. At one point the main character ponders why he really fights to live the life he has made for himself when it provides very little happiness.
I have officially fallen in love with Medieval history. These last few books have stirred my desire to learn more. Dorsey Armstrong's lectures (from Purdue but don't tell Don) continue to be enlightening. This lecture series was great and highly recommendable. I find it fascinating how many things set other things into motion creating the more modern society we have now and even leading the way for the restoration of the gospel.
I really enjoyed this middle grade fiction about a girl who gets shifted around to extended family members; while at her aunts home meets a ghost and ghost dog. Sounded iffy but turned out really good. Semi more adult like themes: she talks about now that she's older having her dad pick up "necessary items" for her, and her dad's an alcoholic - stuff like that. It's well worth a read.
I'm still formulating my thoughts about this one. It suggests the American military and political leaders were so intent on keeping up with the Russians during the Cold War that we allowed and even taught out and brought Nazi criminals (those that were highly involved in Hitler's regime and killed many) to come into the safety of America and share their scientific knowledge with us so we could get a leg up in the race. The author spends much time talking about how bad these people were and how awful we are. Yes our past is not pristine.
