Another self-help book about not letting yourself become your experiences. After finishing the book I found myself wondering the author's religious beliefs. However it may be my religious beliefs that sway the book to my understanding; to me he is writing about how to allow the spirit to control the body rather than the body to control the spirit. As we do this we become closer to God and therefore evolve into a God-like state of being.
Historical fiction based on an African American woman passing off as white as she builds J. P. Morgan's personal library. I enjoyed the story but found the afterwards by both authors fascinating. Highly recommendable.
History of the digs and all the religious contention they caused at and around Jerusalem. It's a fascinating book and I'm pretty sure I followed just over half of it.
I started this book months ago, got a few hours into it and decided I wasn't going to read it; but my cousin suggested she loved it just as much as another book we both loved so I gave it another shot. I'm pretty glad I did. Not the best thing I've ever read but it was pretty good.
The story of the Coltilda - the last ship to carry slaves to America. Apparently once it was illegal to bring slaves to America a few wealthy people bet they could still do it regardless. Completely fascinating. Also of interest was the difference in these Africans who were brought and the African Americans who had been born slaves. Fascinating book.
Very interesting lecture series concerning the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Not my favorite lecturer. He tended to repeat himself a lot; for example he'd say, "...And no one knew. No one knew." But perhaps he did that to give students who were taking notes a chance to catch up, or perhaps repeating it helps the student remember. Either way, the repetition was highly noticeable and slightly annoying. Having said that the lectures were quite interesting and worth while.
Historical fiction concerning Korea during the early 1900's through the 1970's. It was good but not a favorite.
Well done middle grade fiction concerning growing up and the "mean girl" mentality. I don't usually rate things on Goodreads but I considered giving this 5 stars. I loved the thought process of the main character as she learns what's important to her and how to stand up for her self. I also loved that although the parents were good parents they still had to learn to listen and trust. Highly recommendable.
Middle grade fiction that addresses refugees, war and its effects on the soldiers as well as the people involved, friends learning and growing in different directions, and even parents learning how to get along. Honestly, not my favorite but it was okay.
My mother in law gave this to me to read. It's highly rated on Goodreads and I admire Dolly, but honestly I didn't care too much for the book. It's somewhat cliche. If you're a Dolly fan, a country music fan, and a fan of this type of genre it's definitely for you.
Yet another arctic exploration gone bad. Although this one had interesting moments, it was mostly just horrible narration without having any true redeeming qualities.
And speaking of no redeeming qualities, this one was a fail in my estimation; so unless you want to hear how corrupt things were and are, with massive amounts of pessimism and so forth, I'd choose something other than this account. The author herself states during the prologue that the book may come across like gossip, but it's not really gossip, its information. Sounded like a bunch of gossipy accounts to me. However it would have been more acceptable if there was a "but this is how we change it..." or "but this is what can happen..." so the author didn't leave the reader with gloom and doom.
I was amazed at how good this historical fiction was. It's a great young reader introduction to communism and all its effects. Story follows a young boy in Romania during the late 1980's. Highly recommendable, although it's still a harsh account (communism is not pretty) it's not as detailed and overwhelming as more adult historical fiction books.
Historical fiction account from the point of view of a German girl. In the story her father is one of those Nazi doctors who had no rules. It goes a little into the concentration camps but it seems it's more about what the father did to the girl (turns out she was a prisoner of war and not actually his daughter) and the girl's revenge. It's okay but nothing I would go out of my way to recommend.
Don's daughter recommended this to us for the Bee. It's actually pretty helpful. Not sure any book will simply fix everything but this was written at a great level for her. The author suggests you read it out loud together and do the suggested activities.
I had high hopes for this historical fiction book about a little island above Scandinavia, however I was greatly disappointed. It started out a bit harsh but I overlooked it and continued on. It did not get better. It was suppose to be about a man who lives away from civilization and finds purpose and meaning in life. It seems it was more about how society degenerates when living outside of community.
Got this one thinking about Rebekah, however once I started reading it and therefore realized the shadow on the cover was a mermaid set upon revenge.... It's an okay story about a girl living on an island called St. Rita with her family, recovering from her mother's death. It then goes into sci-fi when she finds a comb (belonging to a mermaid) in a forbidden cave, wishes her mother back to life, and is chased by the revengeful mermaid. So if that sounds good to you then go ahead and check it out.
Historical fiction about the compilation of a dictionary. It was hard to get into and I was somewhat lost trying to figure out the plot and where the book was going at first, but it ended well. The main character collects words from women, soldiers, homeless people, etc so their lives are remembered. There's a lot more too it, and while not my favorite, it was good. Got to make it to the end for it to be worth while though.
Middle grade fiction about a boy who's dad committed suicide. There's not a lot of books in this genre that cover this subject. I think the author did it well. Not one that I would just hand to my daughter though, but maybe if there are questions or if she sees others going through something like the situation in the book, it may be a starting point to gain empathy.
