Hello to my poor neglected blog! Apologies for the long silence ... I blame it all on summer. And writing; so many stories, so little time! Both are also why it's been so long since I finished enough books for a book review post. Alas, my reading rate has taken a big hit this year as the writing rate increases.
Marilyn Irvin Holt, The Orphan Trains. This is a history of the process of placing-out, by which charitable institutions sent orphans from Eastern cities into the farmlands of the Midwest for resettlement. It's very clearly a book put out by a small press, with the attendant issues of proofreading and depth of information, but it's a good overview of a little-studied phenomenon.
Lillian M. Gilbreth, As I Remember. I'm a huge fan of the Gilbreths, early twentieth-century industrial engineers who were pioneers in their field. (And incidentally, raised a tribe of 11 children, two of whom went on to write the lovely romp of their adventures, Cheaper by the Dozen.) This is Lillian Gilbreth's autobiography, which is notable among other things for having no chapters. It runs on relatively unbroken all through, but it flows well enough that it's not that hard to get used to the lack of breaks. It's also written in the third person. I very much enjoyed seeing her life in her own words - Lillian Gilbreth was an exceptional woman of great intelligence who broke a lot of barriers in her efforts to carry on her husband's life work and raise their children the way he would have wanted.
John Jakes, Heaven and Hell. It's an epic saga, a bit of a soap opera, but still a gripping tale with characters who are vivid and interesting. I've also read it a number of times since I was a teenager, so it has that piquant nostalgic flavor to it.
Tom Cotter, The Cobra in the Barn. This is a book I picked up at an antique car museum in Vegas, all about finding old cars hidden in barns and garages all over the country and fixing them up. It was fascinating to read about the different ways people came across old cars, the steps it sometimes took to acquire them, and the fates of the cars once found. Makes me look at old barns differently, wondering what secrets they hide.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
book reviews
Summer's a slow blogging time, apparently! And a slow reading time. Glad to finally have a short stack to review. (And it's been so long, I've forgotten how I usually format these things. Egad.)
Fog Magic, Julia L. Sauer - This is an oldie but a goodie - a simple story of a girl who finds the past come alive on foggy days. I enjoy the story, the carefully built worlds of the past and present and the girl who bridges them both.
Blue Moon Rising, Simon Green - One of Lou's recommendations when I decided I should read more fantasy. This one was particularly good. The tension wound tighter and tighter, the world darkening both figuratively and literally, but it wasn't oppressive. The characters themselves kept the world lit for the reader. There were some plot holes, some threads left hanging, and the identity of the final villain was obvious from the get-go, but overall it was a tightly and interestingly written book with a lot of action and great characters.
Mayflower, Nathaniel Philbrick - The complete story of the lives of those who came over on the famed ship. Not just what awaited them on land in the first year, where most tales stop, but in the years following as they developed their homes and dealt with those who were here first. It was tightly written but not overly dense. I didn't find a lot of depth, and the characters weren't particularly vivid, but I found it an informative and interesting read.
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Margaret Sidney - Truthfully, the Peppers don't translate into the modern age. The children are both far more capable and far more innocent than children of today, so many of their actions and reactions are nigh unbelievable. Minor incidents such as a stubbed toe are treated as the worst of disasters, while major incidents, such as the near death of a character from measles, are glossed over within a page. Still, there's always something fresh and attractive about these whole-hearted, sincere children and their refusal to be daunted by any challenge.
Fog Magic, Julia L. Sauer - This is an oldie but a goodie - a simple story of a girl who finds the past come alive on foggy days. I enjoy the story, the carefully built worlds of the past and present and the girl who bridges them both.
Blue Moon Rising, Simon Green - One of Lou's recommendations when I decided I should read more fantasy. This one was particularly good. The tension wound tighter and tighter, the world darkening both figuratively and literally, but it wasn't oppressive. The characters themselves kept the world lit for the reader. There were some plot holes, some threads left hanging, and the identity of the final villain was obvious from the get-go, but overall it was a tightly and interestingly written book with a lot of action and great characters.
Mayflower, Nathaniel Philbrick - The complete story of the lives of those who came over on the famed ship. Not just what awaited them on land in the first year, where most tales stop, but in the years following as they developed their homes and dealt with those who were here first. It was tightly written but not overly dense. I didn't find a lot of depth, and the characters weren't particularly vivid, but I found it an informative and interesting read.
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Margaret Sidney - Truthfully, the Peppers don't translate into the modern age. The children are both far more capable and far more innocent than children of today, so many of their actions and reactions are nigh unbelievable. Minor incidents such as a stubbed toe are treated as the worst of disasters, while major incidents, such as the near death of a character from measles, are glossed over within a page. Still, there's always something fresh and attractive about these whole-hearted, sincere children and their refusal to be daunted by any challenge.
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