1. The last book I gave up on - probably The Underground Railroad for my book group. I am sure it is well written and compelling but the first chapter was so violent and depressing I put it down until it was due at the lib.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Last Books
Simon from Stuck in a Book started this but I couldn't stop with 10!
1. The last book I gave up on - probably The Underground Railroad for my book group. I am sure it is well written and compelling but the first chapter was so violent and depressing I put it down until it was due at the lib.
1. The last book I gave up on - probably The Underground Railroad for my book group. I am sure it is well written and compelling but the first chapter was so violent and depressing I put it down until it was due at the lib.
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Virtual Advent Calendar
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| Katherine reads the enclosed note to Winona |
As an adult, my favorite holiday tradition is the Betsy-Tacy ornament exchange. Every year, the fans of Maud Hart Lovelace’s beloved Betsy-Tacy series, set in turn of the century Minnesota, participate in secret ornament exchange to honor a Christmas shopping expedition our heroines made in 1903 or so with their friend Winona Root:
There on a long table Christmas tree ornaments were set out for sale. There were boxes and boxes full of them, their colors mingling in bewildering iridescence. There were large fragile balls of vivid hues, there were gold and silver balls; there were tinsel angels, shining harps and trumpets, gleaming stars.
“Here,” said Betsy, “here we buy.”She looked at Winona, bright-eyed, and Winona looked from her to the resplendent table.“Nothing,” Tacy tried to explain, “is so much like Christmas as a Christmas-tree ornament.” “You get a lot for ten cents,” said Tib.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Christmas on the Island (Book Review)
Title: Christmas on the Island
Author: Jenny Colgan
Publication: William Morrow,
trade paperback, October 2018
Genre: Fiction
Plot: On the remote
Scottish island of Mure, winter is stark, windy, and icy—yet the
Christmas season is warm and festive . . .
It’s a time for getting cozy
in front of a fire and spending time in the one pub on the island with the
people you love—unless, of course, you’ve accidentally gotten pregnant by your
ex-boss, and don’t know how to tell him. In the season for peace and good
cheer, will Flora find the nerve to reveal the truth to her nearest and
dearest? Will handsome but troubled future-father Joel think she’s the bearer
of glad tidings—or is this Christmas going to be as bleak as the
Highlands in midwinter?
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Message from Absalom (Book Review)
Title: Message from Absalom
Author: Anne Armstrong Thompson
Publication: Simon & Schuster, hardcover, 1975 (available as an ebook from Endeavor Press)
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Plot: Susannah Clarke is former CIA, now safely in the antiques business. On an extended group tour of Bulgaria, she encounters John Novak, once a colleague but now operating under cover. He recognizes Susannah and secretly visits her, arranging for her to receive a secret message relating to the operation he is running which must be hand delivered to the President. When Novak is killed outside her hotel, every American tourist in the vicinity is under suspicion by Novak’s enemies, which include local Bulgarians and their Russian masters. In fact, Susannah falls under dangerous suspicion and must try to outwit the brutal KGB in order to finish her vacation without further incident - if she wants to see her home again . . .
Audience: Fans of Helen MacInnes, Evelyn Anthony, Mary Stewart, Anne Stuart
My Impressions: I requested Message from Absalom from the library when I saw it had been recommended by Susanna Kearsley, an author I have enjoyed for many years (in fact, since I read about her book, Mariana and persuaded someone to get me a copy from Transworld in London nearly 30 years ago). It reminded me a lot of the best work of Helen MacInnes, whose books I started reading in high school (another author introduced to me by my mother). MacInnes wrote 25 books from 1941 to 1984 (four of which were made into movies) about smart, attractive women who find themselves caught up in espionage and use their ingenuity to live (mostly) to tell the tale. My favorite is While Still We Live which is set in Poland (and which I just recommended to a coworker today). As mentioned above, this book by Anne Armstrong Thompson is reminiscent of MacInnes. Thompson is an American who earned a graduate degree at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy just outside Boston. I don't know if she actually had espionage experience but clearly she was very interested in international affairs and that is why she applied to Fletcher.
Susannah is an intrepid heroine but this is a very scary book, set primarily in Bulgaria, which at the time was a communist country, and I was on edge the entire time I was reading it. The fearful locals don’t interfere with the Bulgarian security police and they don’t interfere with the KGB. There are a number of men who wish Susannah ill and the reader knows, chillingly, that they could make her disappear painfully and effectively. Ironically enough, one of the threats to Susannah is an American traveling with her who thinks she can be blackmailed into sleeping with him. There are some plot developments that seem like overkill but reveal one of the book’s most interesting characters, a man involved with Israeli Intelligence, who at first seems like a possible love interest for Susannah (by this time she really needs someone on her side!). I can see why this book is a favorite of many - the chemistry between Susannah and one of the main characters is very well done, as is the ongoing tension - and I will keep my eyes open for a copy to own, as well as pursuing some of Thompson's other books (easier now that several appear to be available in ebook format).
Off the Blog: This is the week I mail (and receive) mysterious packages in the annual Betsy-Tacy Ornament Exchange! Stay tuned!
Source: InterLibrary Loan. Thank you to the Rockland Memorial Library!
Map image copyright to https://www.countryreports.org/canada/Bulgaria.htm
Author: Anne Armstrong Thompson
Publication: Simon & Schuster, hardcover, 1975 (available as an ebook from Endeavor Press)
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Audience: Fans of Helen MacInnes, Evelyn Anthony, Mary Stewart, Anne Stuart
My Impressions: I requested Message from Absalom from the library when I saw it had been recommended by Susanna Kearsley, an author I have enjoyed for many years (in fact, since I read about her book, Mariana and persuaded someone to get me a copy from Transworld in London nearly 30 years ago). It reminded me a lot of the best work of Helen MacInnes, whose books I started reading in high school (another author introduced to me by my mother). MacInnes wrote 25 books from 1941 to 1984 (four of which were made into movies) about smart, attractive women who find themselves caught up in espionage and use their ingenuity to live (mostly) to tell the tale. My favorite is While Still We Live which is set in Poland (and which I just recommended to a coworker today). As mentioned above, this book by Anne Armstrong Thompson is reminiscent of MacInnes. Thompson is an American who earned a graduate degree at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy just outside Boston. I don't know if she actually had espionage experience but clearly she was very interested in international affairs and that is why she applied to Fletcher.
 |
| Anne Armstrong Thompson |
Susannah is an intrepid heroine but this is a very scary book, set primarily in Bulgaria, which at the time was a communist country, and I was on edge the entire time I was reading it. The fearful locals don’t interfere with the Bulgarian security police and they don’t interfere with the KGB. There are a number of men who wish Susannah ill and the reader knows, chillingly, that they could make her disappear painfully and effectively. Ironically enough, one of the threats to Susannah is an American traveling with her who thinks she can be blackmailed into sleeping with him. There are some plot developments that seem like overkill but reveal one of the book’s most interesting characters, a man involved with Israeli Intelligence, who at first seems like a possible love interest for Susannah (by this time she really needs someone on her side!). I can see why this book is a favorite of many - the chemistry between Susannah and one of the main characters is very well done, as is the ongoing tension - and I will keep my eyes open for a copy to own, as well as pursuing some of Thompson's other books (easier now that several appear to be available in ebook format).
Off the Blog: This is the week I mail (and receive) mysterious packages in the annual Betsy-Tacy Ornament Exchange! Stay tuned!
Source: InterLibrary Loan. Thank you to the Rockland Memorial Library!
Map image copyright to https://www.countryreports.org/canada/Bulgaria.htm
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Once a Midwife (Book Review)
Title: Once a Midwife, a Hope River Novel
Author: Patricia Harman
Publication: William Morrow, trade paperback, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Welcome to Hope River, West Virginia as midwife Patience Hester, along with her family and friends, face the challenges of the home front during World War II, in Patricia Harman's latest novel.
Author: Patricia Harman
Publication: William Morrow, trade paperback, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction
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