by Betty Smith, 1943 A gift from Christie for my birthday last year, I finally read it and absolutely loved it. All of the characters are so lovable and endearing, and the setting and time (1912-1919 Brooklyn) are captivating. It’s 481 pages long but so well-written and engrossing, it was enjoyable and hard to put […]
Category: Favorites
Milkman
by Anna Burns, 2018 Fantastic book! So original! Never read anything like this! LOVED it! Learned what Ireland in the 1970s was like – brought home the problems. Written from the perspective of an 18 year old Irish girl, Middle Sister. We never learn her first name. She has a wonderful relationship with maybe-boyfriend but […]
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck, 1931 “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” This novel greatly illustrates what can happen when a man gets bored. It’s an amazing tale about Wang Lung (pronounced Wong Lung), a poor farmer in China, and what happens when he goes from poverty to wealth.
Moloka’i
by Alan Brennert, 2003 Historical fiction about the leprosy settlement on Kalaupapa, Moloka’i, from 1891 – 1970. Beautifully written, many details of Old Hawaii. Maui, especially, must have been a paradise! The delightful smell of silversword. Told from the point of view of Rachel Aouli Kalama Utagawa. She contracted leprosy in 1893 at the age […]
River of Stars
by Guy Gavriel Kay, 2013 632 pages! Great book about a fictionalized account of China before and during a Mongol invasion – the Song Dynasty. Although his China is called “Kita.” Loved the main character – Ren Daiyan – who grew up to become a brave, courageous military commander who is on the brink of […]
Roughing It
By Mark Twain, 1872 (I own this book) Hilarious account, especially in the beginning, about Mark Twain’s trip out West in the 1860’s. The stage coach trip took 20 days from St. Joseph, MO, to Carsono City, NV. It’s mostly hilarious! He talks about the Mormons and includes a history in the appendix – they’d […]
Jayber Crow
by Wendell Berry, 2000 Very sweet tale about a sweet man, the town barber, in Port William, Kentucky. Full of love and pain, the beauty of nature, hard-work, relationships, and faithfulness and steadfastness, forgiveness along life’s journey. Jayber’s life starts out by the river and ends by the river. He’s an orphan sent to live […]
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1892 LOVED IT! 12 stories of cases told by Dr. Watson. Loved the interplay between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Loved how incredibly smart Sherlock Holmes is. He can look at someone and tell where they’ve been recently and what they’ve done as well as their whole life story. He’s […]
The Accidental Tourist
by Anne Tyler, 1985 Excellent Book – could not put it down! Who and what would Macon choose? His wife, Sarah, who he adores but they just are not right for each other? Or Muriel Pritchett, the young, skinny, colorful, poor but oh so rich in spirit young lady who gently but definitely forces herself […]
The Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1343-1400 (translated by David Wright) He wrote the Canterbury Tales, an unfinished poem, starting in 1387. It is a delightful series of stories told by 29 members of a party traveling to Canterbury. The “Host” decides it will be fun for each member to tell a tale, making the journey fun. […]
A Caribbean Mystery
by Agatha Christie, 1964 Quick read – set on Caribbean Island, St. Honore, where Miss Marple has gone for her health. Ends up solving a murder mystery. Fun, quick read – nice setting – English-type socializing at a Caribbean resort. Eccentric characters, lots of conversation, getting to know one another, figuring out who-dun-it. Miss Marple […]
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
by Mark Twain, 1889 A Colt Arms foreman in 1800’s Connecticut gets knocked silly and ends up in 6th Century England with a knight in armor. He goes from being about to be burned at the stake to being The Boss, supplanting Merlin as the greatest magician, because he made the sun disappear (he knew […]
The Fever Tree
by Jennifer McVeigh, 2013 Historical Fiction. Great Book. Late 1800’s England, South Africa, diamond mines, smallpox epidemic. Young woman, Frances Irvine, left with no options when her father dies, travels to South Africa to marry Edwin Matthews, a young doctor. On the ship on the way down, she meets and falls in love with William […]
Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus
by Mary Shelley, Published anonymously in 1818 (The Mother of Gothic Horror) Young Victor Frankenstein grew up in an ideal loving environment in Geneva, Switzerland. His childhood companions were Henry Clerval and Elizabeth. He loses his mother, tragically, to scarlet fever. Her dying wish were that Victor and Elizabeth would marry. He goes away to […]
State of Wonder
by Ann Patchett, 2011 Anders Eckman & Marina Singh are doctors who work together in Minnesota doing pharmaceutical research. Anders is sent to the Amazon jungle to try and coax back Dr. Annick Swenson who has been doing research on developing a drug to extend fertility. The Lakashi Tribe in Brazil can have babies into […]
Open: Autobiography of Andre Agassi
by Andre Agassi with J.R. Moehringer, 2009 Born in 1970, played professional tennis 20 years, 1986-2006. His father was a monster: violent, mean, used to drill him constantly with the Dragon – a souped-up ball machine, when he was 7. Sent him to Florida to Nick Bollettiere Academy in Florida when he was 11 or […]
The Light Between Oceans
by M.L. Stedman, 2012 (her first novel) Page-turner, set in early 1900’s after WWI in Western Australia, on Janus Rock, an island 100 miles from the western coast of Australia. Tom Sherbourne, newly back from WWI, takes a job as the lighthouse keeper for Janus Rock. On the way there, he meets Isabel, a local […]
The Round House
by Louise Erdrich, 2012 National Book Award Finalist Page-Turner, Mystery, set in North Dakota on an Indian Reservation. Set in 1988 and lots of Star Trek, the Next Generation references because Joe and his buddies LOVE Star Trek, esp. Worf. Told through the eyes of 13 year old, Joe, Indian, only child of 2 wonderful […]
Beneath a Marble Sky
by John Shors, 2004 Beautiful historical fiction about the Taj Mahal. An Emperor loses his beloved wife in childbirth and hires Isa, an architect, to build her a mausoleum that epitomizes her beauty. He uses her daughter, Jahanara, to be the model. They fall in love and have a daughter (Arjumand). It is a clandestine […]
Gone with the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell, 1936 North Georgia, Civil War, Scarlett O’Hara, 16 year-old belle of the county, 18″ waist, steals everyone’s boyfriends but not the one she “loves,” Ashley Wilkes. Melanie marries Ashley. So Scarlett marries Charles Hamilton (Melanie’s brother). Civil War starts – Charlie dies 3 months later (not in battle; got sick in camp). […]