Lord Macaulay, History of England, Vol. 2 - This volume takes England's history through William and Mary's takeover and ascension to the throne, and follows the vagaries of King James as he flailed about losing his throne and trying to retake it. Macaulay makes no secret of his distaste for James throughout, but manages to be relatively even-handed when it comes to the people of England and their ever-shifting support.
Ann Brashares, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - This is a rare case where I saw the movie first, then read the book, and was touched by both. I find the story, of four very different girls who are nevertheless close friends and their travails during a complicated summer, to be sweet and tender and compassionate, and the addition of the magical pair of pants that somehow fits them all perfectly adds the right amount of humor and whimsy.
Shaun C. Grenan, So You Want to Be a Soldier - A how-to booklet on how to get into re-enacting. It was a bit on the dated side, but still had some interesting information.
Robert Kraus, How Spider Saved Christmas - A childhood favorite, refound by my in-house internet detective (thanks, honey!). It's a simple story about Spider being invited to a Christmas party, not knowing what to bring, bringing something foolish, and then having the foolish gift be just what was needed. Always nice to see someone awkward turn into the hero of the hour!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
book reviews
Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - This was a rare impulse buy at the bookstore, and more successful than many impulse buys. It's a story built around unusual old-time pictures, about a set of children with rare talents lost in a time-loop. It was an inventive and interesting story, well-told, and definitely a keeper.
Markus Zusak, The Book Thief - This was a book group selection. When I got about 150 pages in and realized I was still waiting for the book to start, that was a bad sign. I really couldn't get a handle on the characters and didn't care about them particularly. I understand why this rather unusual style of narrated storytelling, chopped up with emphatically bolded sentences and chatty asides from Death himself, caught the imaginations of many, but it went right past me and left me uninterested.
Ann Parker, Silver Lies - Another unfortunate failure. I couldn't get interested in the characters, the period flavor (it's a mystery set during the 19th century) was off, and overall I wasn't impressed by the writing.
Judith Warner, Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety - An unusual choice for me (it was a recommendation from a friend), but I found the book resonated with me strongly. I dislike the anxiety and the paranoia of modern motherhood, and I agreed with many of the book's points about the insanity of our lives spent devoted utterly to the raising of children, often to our own detriment. A wee bit dated, but still relevant.
Markus Zusak, The Book Thief - This was a book group selection. When I got about 150 pages in and realized I was still waiting for the book to start, that was a bad sign. I really couldn't get a handle on the characters and didn't care about them particularly. I understand why this rather unusual style of narrated storytelling, chopped up with emphatically bolded sentences and chatty asides from Death himself, caught the imaginations of many, but it went right past me and left me uninterested.
Ann Parker, Silver Lies - Another unfortunate failure. I couldn't get interested in the characters, the period flavor (it's a mystery set during the 19th century) was off, and overall I wasn't impressed by the writing.
Judith Warner, Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety - An unusual choice for me (it was a recommendation from a friend), but I found the book resonated with me strongly. I dislike the anxiety and the paranoia of modern motherhood, and I agreed with many of the book's points about the insanity of our lives spent devoted utterly to the raising of children, often to our own detriment. A wee bit dated, but still relevant.
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