Author: bookhound

The Time Traveler’s Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger, 2003 Clare waits for Henry, her time-traveling husband, never knowing when he’ll disappear or reappear. Clare always drives because Henry doesn’t-never knows when he’ll disappear. Henry cooks-Clare doesn’t know how since she had a cook, Nell, while growing up (rich girl). Henry recruits Dr. Kendrick, a geneticist, to try and find a […]

Hawaii

by James Michener, 1959 First 1/2 – excellent! Second 1/2 – hard to get through. First-Polynesians from Bora Bora. Then skipped to missionaries from New England. They were good people but prejudiced. Then the Chinese came to work in sugar. Learned about leprosy and Molokai. Then the Japanese came to work. Then WWII – Japanese […]

Memoirs of a Geisha

by Arthur Golden, 1997 Intricate tale about a young girl (Chiyo) with beautiful gray eyes, sold to be a geisha from her seaside home. Separated from her sister (Satsu) in Kyoto, raised in an “okiya” with Hatsumomo, an evil geisha who tries to ruin her life. Crying by the Sirakawa stream one day, she meets […]

The Shack

by William P. Young, 2007 I HATED this book! Here’s my book report from September 2008: Had a very hard time with this book but Jenifer said to not stop reading and it did turn around when Mack is led to “Sophia” (wisdom) and asked to judge his children – 3 to hell, 2 to […]

The Moonstone

by Wilkie Collins, 1868 Fantastic mystery published in 1868. Story takes place in 1840’s England. Herncastle steals an Indian diamond, the Moonstone, and wills it to his niece on her 18th birthday. Franklin Blake delivers it (her cousin). There is a curse associated with the Moontsone because it is guarded by 3 Indians in perpetuity. […]

The Kalahari Typing School for Men

by Alexander McCall Smith, 2002 A rival detective agency run by a man, The Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency, opens up. Mma Ramotswe is visited by a man who has deep regrets about 2 things he did as a young man: got a girl pregnant and stole a radio to sell so she would have an […]

Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen, 2006 Jacob Jankowski’s parents are killed in an automobile accident. He is forced to join a circus – couldn’t finish his vet school exams. Gets hired as the circus vet. Falls in love with Marlena, who is married to August, a cruel, psychotic, animal trainer. He (August) tries to have Jacob killed […]

Lord Jim

by Joseph Conrad, 1900 Jim, English sailor, on board a steamship bearing 800 pilgrims to Mecca. Ship runs over something, is bound to sink and storm rolling in. Jim jumps. Never forgives himself. Stands trial. His certificate is taken away. Befriends Marlowe, an old sea captain gentleman. Marlowe narrates most of the story. Jim finally […]

Emma

by Jane Austen, 1815 “Courtship Fiction” Emma, spoiled little rich girl, befriends illegitimate Harriet Smith, prevents her from marrying Robert Martin, a gentleman farmer, who truly loves Harriet and instead set her up to marry Mr. Elton, a rich-boy wanna-be who would never consider marrying Harriet. Then comes Frank Churchill, a very rich boy, who […]

Death in the Andamans

by M. M. Kaye, 1985 Murder mystery set in the Andamans, tropical islands in the Bay of Bengal off Burma. Copper visiting her friend Valerie on the tiny island of Ross. They go for a picnic on the bigger island, South Andaman, on Mount Harriet. While there, a hurricane blows in and they barely make […]

So Brave, Young, and Handsome

by Leif Enger, 2008 Monte Becket, a postman in Minnesota circa 1910, writes a best0selling novel, Martin Bligh, and then tries to write another one. He starts 7 novels, doesn’t finish any of them. He and his wife, Susannah, a painter, and son, Redstart, live by a river. One day out of the mist rows […]

The Winds of War

by Herman Wouk, 1971 Historical novel about the years 1939 to 1941 and the start of WWII as seen through the family of Pug and Rhoda Henry. Victor (Pug) is Navy attache in Germany and then Russia. He has 2 sons, Warren and Byron, and a daughter, Madeline. They are grown children. The 2 boys […]

The Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911 Sweet story about two 10 year-olds who turn from being ugly, hateful, unhealthy, spoiled creatures into beautiful, happy, healthy children by the Secret Garden. Mary, the girl, and Colin, the boy, are cousins. Mary is sent to live in the Misselthwaite Manor on the Moor of Yorkshire after her parents […]

The Pillars of the Earth

by Ken Follett, 1989 From Karma. Wow! What a book, 973 pages! It was set in England from the years 1123 to 1174. Ken Follett’s preface says this book was out of character – a story about building a church. “What’s more, I don’t believe in God.” He fell in love with Peterborough Cathedral. Took […]

The Last Battle

by C. S. Lewis, 1956 I LOVED THE NARNIA BOOKS!!! Here, in order of most favorite to least: A Horse and His Boy Voyage of the Dawn Treader (very close second to A Horse and His Boy) The Silver Chair The Last Battle The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe The Magician’s Nephew Prince Caspian […]

The Silver Chair

by C.S. Lewis, 1953 Eustace Scruggs and Jill Pole are at school, Experiment House, and are being chased by bullies. They go uphill to a gate that is usually locked but is open and find themselves on Aslan’s Mountain. Jill pushes Eustace off a huge high cliff, then meets Aslan as he blows Eustace safely […]