by Alexander McCall Smith, 2006 Beautiful, beautiful book! Mma Ramotswe’s cases include a young chef who catches her boss stealing food for her husband and then is accused of blackmailing the boss. Mma Ramotswe discovers the person blackmailing the boss is Aunty Emang, a Dear Abby-type person who ends up being a tiny, purely evil […]
Author: bookhound
Tess of the D’urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy, 1891 Tess, beautiful beyond belief, eyes and lips especially, long dark hair. Her mom sends her to the D’urbervilles (fake ones) to maybe make them rich. Instead, she is raped by Alec D’urberville. She goes home, has a baby, which dies at age 1. She goes to work on a dairy farm. […]
Touch Not the Cat
by Mary Stewart, 1976 “bistered” lilies – bistered means brown “yesty” waves – yesty not in my dictionary Bryony Ashley’s father dies after being hit by a car. Bryony returns to England from Funchal, Madeira. She returns to Ashley Court, the mansion with a moat and a maze that has been in her family forever.
Death in Berlin
by M.M. Kaye, 1955 Miranda Brand goes to Berlin with cousin and his wife, Stella. Soon is involved in murder of Brigadier Brindley, who told story of stolen diamonds. Then the governess is murdered. Turns out it was Stella – she was going to murder Miranda – jealousy and wanted money. Miranda and Simon Lang, […]
1984
by George Orwell, 1949 “Big Brother is Watching You.” Winston Smith works in the Ministry of Truth for Big Brother, the Party of Oceania. He rewrites history constantly – that is his job. He knows that things are not as they want him to believe. He hates Big Brother. He falls in love with Julia, […]
The Woman in White
by Wilkie Collins, published in serial form 1859-1860 Walter Hartright runs into the woman in white on a road at night going towards London. She enters his life again while he is teaching painting to 2 young ladies in Fairlie’s Limmeridge House. Walter falls in love with Laura Fairlie, 1/2 sister of Marian Holcombe. But […]
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
by Alexander McCall Smith, 2004, Book #6 in The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series Moved me to tears! Mma Ramotswe has a man hiding under her bed. He escapes but loses his pants on a mattress spring. Never figure out who he was. The next day, the trousers are gone (she had hung them […]
Disappointment with God
by Philip Yancey, 1997 Is God unfair? Is God silent? Is God hidden? Reads Bible from cover to cover in 2 weeks. Analyzes it from those 3 questions. In O.T. God was not silent or hidden – didn’t result in faith or obedience. Jesus – God not unfair, silent, or hidden. Holy Spirit – in […]
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe, 1719 Robinson Crusoe decides to leave his safe, middle-class existence in York, England on 9/1/1651, against the advice of his father and mother and others. He takes a sea voyage to London. But the ship gets hit by a storm. They manage to get on another ship before their’s “founders” – sinks. […]
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883 (1850-1894, died in Samoa) An old pirate shows up at an inn in England. The Admiral Benbow Inn, owned by young Jim Hawkins’ father. The old pirate’s fellow pirates show up to steal his loot but Jim and his Mom get to it first and escape the Inn and hide. […]
Life of Pi
by Yann Martel, 2001 This book was recommended by Sara K. “I have a story that will make you believe in God.” Piscing Molitor Patel – named after a swimming pool – Pondicherry, India. His dad was a zookeeper. He grew up in a zoo. His Mom and Dad, fed up with Mrs. Ghandi, decide […]
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens, 1859 London and Paris, approximately 1770 to 1793 or 1794, French Revolution 1789 Wow! What an incredible story! Dr. Manette is rescued from 18 years in prison in France. His daughter, Lucie, now an adult, cares for him and makes him whole again. They participate in a trial of Charles Darnay, a […]
The Full Cupboard of Life
by Alexander McCall Smith, 2003 (5th book in the ‘No. 1 Ladies Detective’ series) Mma Ramotswe and Mr. JLB Matakoni finally get married! The orphan mgr, Mma Potokwane arranges it all (a surprise) after the parachute jump event, which she had trapped JLB Matakoni into, but Mma Ramotswe got Charlie, one of the apprentices, to […]
Christy
by Catherine Marshall, 1967 Christy Huddleston, 19 yrs. old, volunteers to teach in a mission school in Cutter Gap, Tennessee in 1912 (Appalachia). She learns to love God and the poor mountain people who have it so hard. Some are mean, cruel. But in the end, love conquers. She teaches 67 children in a one-room […]
The Surrendered
by Chang-Rae Lee, 2010 Graphic violence & sex, even lesbianism. Why?!! “Gratuitous” sex and violence. June, young Korean girl, loses her entire family one by one in aftermath and during Korean war. She is found by GI, Hector, on the road, follows him to orphanage. They both fall in love with Sylvie Tanner, minister’s wife, […]
Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo, 1862, translated by Norman Denny 1200 pages. What a great book!!! Recommended by Sandy Calhoun. Jean Val Jean – ex-convict, imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving nephews, who changes into a saint after Bishop Digne gives him his silver candlesticks too, rather than having him arrested for stealing […]
King Solomon’s Mines
by H. Rider Haggard, 1885 Three Englishmen go on an adventure to find King Solomon’s diamond mine. After nearly dying many times, and being in a war in Kukualand, they make it! Almost die in the mine, too. Gagool, the ancient witch, locks them in but they manage to get out with a few diamonds […]
The Other Boleyn Girl
by Philippa Gregory, 2001 Racy novel about 1500-1536 England with King Henry VIII. Mary Boleyn, the sweet one, is the only one to survive. Brother, George, and sister, Queen Anne, are beheaded in 1536, accused of adultery. Anne was evil, ambitious – ruined Queen Katherine – poisoned a man – would do anything to get […]
The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas, translated by Robin Buss, 1996, 2003, first published 1844-5 1243 pages – WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK! All human wisdom is contained in these two words: ‘wait’ and ‘hope’! Recommended by Tim Wolsey. Edmond Dantes, a fine young sailor, is thrown into prison in Chateau d’If for 14 long years. He befriends Abbe […]
A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini, 2007 Page turner! Set in Afghanistan from 1959 to present. Main characters: Mariam and Laila. Mariam was a harami, an illegitimate child. Yet her father (Jalil) set up her and her mom (Nana) in a nice little shack in the hills by a stream near Herat and visited Mariam every week. When […]