If you are a lover of Little Women you will want to read this book. Patrica O'Brine has written a novel about Louisa Mae Alcott and Clara Barton. Although it is a book of fiction, she has included a lot of factual information.
When I started to read the book I thought it was just going to repeat the story of Little Women, but that soon changed into a story of mystery, romance, and the gory story of working in a hospital during the Civil War.
The story is told through the eyes of her cousin, Susan Gray(aka Patrica O'Brien) I thought it was fascinating and if the character of Clara Barton was fact, I learned a lot about her too.
I always say if a book makes me laugh or cry it is usually a great book. In the last third of this novel I cried three times.
What can I say..........? GREAT READ
O'Brien gives a Bibliography at the end as well as questions to be used by book club readers
Until next time,
Be kind to one another
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Drums of Autumn
Drums of Autumn, by Diana Gabaldon is the fourth book in the Outlander series. It can be read without reading the first three books, but if I had known it was part of a series, I would have liked to start at the beginning
This novel has been categorized as Science-fiction, Romance, Historical, Fantasy, Mystery, Militar4y History, Gay and Lesbian Fiction and Horror. I think some of these descriptions are really reaching for a category.
The story begins in Charleston in 1767 in a Scottish Stone circle where a selected few are allowed to go back in time. Claire Randall has been able to go back twice. Her daughter Brianna also goes back to try to change history.
My two favorite charters are Claire and Jamie, her husband. To me, they represent true love. The author makes them so true to life you feel more like you are reading a real person's diary rather than a novel.
Gabaldon's books are long. This one over 1000 pages. She is also great at description. She goes into great detail and for someone who doesn't like everything described to them, this may be a problem. Personally, I lovedescriptions, however, even I felt that she went a little overboard. She could have left out a few and also eliminated a few minor characters.
I really liked the book and intend to read the whole series. For you who are interested, here is a list in order:\
1. The Outlander
2. Dragon Fly in Amber
3. Voyager
4. Drums of Autumn
5. The Fiery Cross
6. A Breath of Snow and Ashes
7. An echo in the Bone
She also has another series, but we will leave that for another time. If you read these book, I would love to know what you think of them.
Until next time,
Be kind to one another
This novel has been categorized as Science-fiction, Romance, Historical, Fantasy, Mystery, Militar4y History, Gay and Lesbian Fiction and Horror. I think some of these descriptions are really reaching for a category.
The story begins in Charleston in 1767 in a Scottish Stone circle where a selected few are allowed to go back in time. Claire Randall has been able to go back twice. Her daughter Brianna also goes back to try to change history.
My two favorite charters are Claire and Jamie, her husband. To me, they represent true love. The author makes them so true to life you feel more like you are reading a real person's diary rather than a novel.
Gabaldon's books are long. This one over 1000 pages. She is also great at description. She goes into great detail and for someone who doesn't like everything described to them, this may be a problem. Personally, I lovedescriptions, however, even I felt that she went a little overboard. She could have left out a few and also eliminated a few minor characters.
I really liked the book and intend to read the whole series. For you who are interested, here is a list in order:\
1. The Outlander
2. Dragon Fly in Amber
3. Voyager
4. Drums of Autumn
5. The Fiery Cross
6. A Breath of Snow and Ashes
7. An echo in the Bone
She also has another series, but we will leave that for another time. If you read these book, I would love to know what you think of them.
Until next time,
Be kind to one another
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The Help
The Help by Kathryn Stockett, is about Skeeter Phalan, a girl who has little confidence in her appearance and thinks she is just the opposite of her beautiful mother.
The story takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963. Skeeter back home again, meets with her friends to play bridge once a month. She questions some of the practices these white, elite women have with their black maids. She decides to write a book from the maid's point of view and tries to get some of them to tell her how they feel about their situation. This is a dangerous subject and could cause the death of a maid who would speak out, as well as putting Skeeter herself in danger.
Some critics have questioned how Stockett could know how these maids feel. I think an author has the right to make her characters feel however she wants them to feel. The best thing she does, in my opinion, is bring to a new generation of people what it was really like in 1963,
I lived in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 50"s and I can say I remember the black and white water fountains, black and white bathrooms etc. "Being a Western girl, I got on a bus and sat in the back seat. At once the driver informed me I couldn't sit there as that was for the "colored." I was shocked at this difference.
A reviewer on the Internet said there were issues that tarnished "The Help.{ One of the comments said the black male was a stereotype , downgrading black males. I agree, she didn't show one good black man. In the movie, I don't think men were even mentioned.
She also wrote a dialect for the black, but not for the white. Katie Couric's interview with the author,(CBS-Katie Couric: Katheryn Stockett on the Internet) Katie asked her why. Stockett replied she could hear the differences. I'm not a Southerner so maybe I'm not as in tune as the author, but to me the black and white both sounded the same to me when I lived in the South.
In the Vancouver, Washington daily "Columbian ", newspaper, an article by Leonard Pitts, a black man, said, "The Help stirred up complicated feelings. He pointed out that a black woman in those times was more than just a maid, she was "a fully formed human being with a life, and dreams and dread of her own."
I think the book was well written, included some humor which really made me laugh, and a story that certainly made one think/ We are all God's children. some he made black and some he made white. After all, people are like houses, if we were all the same color it would be pretty boring.
I would highly recommend this book. It's one of my favorites.
Until next time,
Be kind to one another
PS. If you are on my face book, I have posted Kattie Couric's video.
The story takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963. Skeeter back home again, meets with her friends to play bridge once a month. She questions some of the practices these white, elite women have with their black maids. She decides to write a book from the maid's point of view and tries to get some of them to tell her how they feel about their situation. This is a dangerous subject and could cause the death of a maid who would speak out, as well as putting Skeeter herself in danger.
Some critics have questioned how Stockett could know how these maids feel. I think an author has the right to make her characters feel however she wants them to feel. The best thing she does, in my opinion, is bring to a new generation of people what it was really like in 1963,
I lived in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 50"s and I can say I remember the black and white water fountains, black and white bathrooms etc. "Being a Western girl, I got on a bus and sat in the back seat. At once the driver informed me I couldn't sit there as that was for the "colored." I was shocked at this difference.
A reviewer on the Internet said there were issues that tarnished "The Help.{ One of the comments said the black male was a stereotype , downgrading black males. I agree, she didn't show one good black man. In the movie, I don't think men were even mentioned.
She also wrote a dialect for the black, but not for the white. Katie Couric's interview with the author,(CBS-Katie Couric: Katheryn Stockett on the Internet) Katie asked her why. Stockett replied she could hear the differences. I'm not a Southerner so maybe I'm not as in tune as the author, but to me the black and white both sounded the same to me when I lived in the South.
In the Vancouver, Washington daily "Columbian ", newspaper, an article by Leonard Pitts, a black man, said, "The Help stirred up complicated feelings. He pointed out that a black woman in those times was more than just a maid, she was "a fully formed human being with a life, and dreams and dread of her own."
I think the book was well written, included some humor which really made me laugh, and a story that certainly made one think/ We are all God's children. some he made black and some he made white. After all, people are like houses, if we were all the same color it would be pretty boring.
I would highly recommend this book. It's one of my favorites.
Until next time,
Be kind to one another
PS. If you are on my face book, I have posted Kattie Couric's video.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Stieg Larsson wrote the millennium trilogy and I would suggest that if you are going to read them you begin with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I read it a couple of years ago not realizing that the same characters go on with their lives in the next book. Now I have just finished The Girl Who Played With Fire and I am aware that I needed to know what happened in the first book, which I have forgotten. I might also mention that the final book, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest will not be out in paper back until Fall.(unless you can get a British copy).
However,today we are discussing The Girl Who Played With Fire. I am finding that I really like mystery stories. This one has some gory scenes and if that bothers you, you may not like it. It is, however, a story that you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. Lisbeth Salander is a brilliant computer hacker and she is being hunted by the police, the reporters and her friends as she is considered a murderer of three people.
The biggest problem I have with the book is that Stieg Larsson was Swedish and all his characters and all the locations in the book are Swedish. Reg Keeland translated the book from Swedish and did a great job, except he used the Swedish names. This is where I was confused. When you have the name of a place like "Handelsbarken on Hoensgatan" and a lot of other long names , it seems to slow the reading immensely.
If I ever wrote a novel, I would be sure to give each character a name that ,started with a different letter of the alphabet. "Why?: you ask. Just look at the names of a few characters in this book. Blonkvist, Berger, Bublinski,
Bjorck,Bjurman, Bodin. Half the time I wasn't sure who did what to whom, but I kept reading because it was interesting
Let me say, though, other than a name problem, i really enjoyed the book and perhaps the names wont be such a problem for you. Give it a try.
Until next time.
Be kind to one another.
However,today we are discussing The Girl Who Played With Fire. I am finding that I really like mystery stories. This one has some gory scenes and if that bothers you, you may not like it. It is, however, a story that you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. Lisbeth Salander is a brilliant computer hacker and she is being hunted by the police, the reporters and her friends as she is considered a murderer of three people.
The biggest problem I have with the book is that Stieg Larsson was Swedish and all his characters and all the locations in the book are Swedish. Reg Keeland translated the book from Swedish and did a great job, except he used the Swedish names. This is where I was confused. When you have the name of a place like "Handelsbarken on Hoensgatan" and a lot of other long names , it seems to slow the reading immensely.
If I ever wrote a novel, I would be sure to give each character a name that ,started with a different letter of the alphabet. "Why?: you ask. Just look at the names of a few characters in this book. Blonkvist, Berger, Bublinski,
Bjorck,Bjurman, Bodin. Half the time I wasn't sure who did what to whom, but I kept reading because it was interesting
Let me say, though, other than a name problem, i really enjoyed the book and perhaps the names wont be such a problem for you. Give it a try.
Until next time.
Be kind to one another.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilks
The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilks by Diane Chamberlain is going to be a hard one to discuss, because it is a mystery and I am afraid to say anything for fear I will disclose a secret that you need to find for yourself.
I have never been a reader of mysteries until now. This is a book I couldn't put down and I think I may like mysteries after all.
There is a murder involved, a young sixteen year old CeeCee whose mother died when CeeCee was only twelve, the mistakes young people often make all in the name of love, there is also Eve who lives a life that is a lie, Cory, who isn't sure why she feels so out of the family and finally Jack, the loving perfect husband.
The old cliche "What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive," certainly plays a huge part in this fantastic tale. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a mystery.
Until next time,
Be kind to one another.
I have never been a reader of mysteries until now. This is a book I couldn't put down and I think I may like mysteries after all.
There is a murder involved, a young sixteen year old CeeCee whose mother died when CeeCee was only twelve, the mistakes young people often make all in the name of love, there is also Eve who lives a life that is a lie, Cory, who isn't sure why she feels so out of the family and finally Jack, the loving perfect husband.
The old cliche "What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive," certainly plays a huge part in this fantastic tale. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a mystery.
Until next time,
Be kind to one another.
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Girls from Ames
The New York Times says of The Girls from Ames: "Using scrapbooks, photo albums and the women's own memories, Mr. Zaslow chronicles how their close friendship shaped their lives and continue to sustain them. The role of friendship in their health and well being is evident in almost every chapter."
This true story penned by the writer of The Last Lecture, is a story of eleven girls who have been friends since kindergarten. At the beginning of the book he has included photos of the girls in a series of three. Childhood, High School graduation and current.
The first four chapters deal with each girl individually. He then tells various tales throughout their lives. The girls have moved to various parts of the country, but keep in touch by email, phone and reunions. They comfort each other in times of distress and celebrate the many joys in life.
It is a great book to understand true friendship and to take a peek in other peoples lives. It has been on a number of best seller lists and most of the people in my book club loved it.
I don't want to critize a great author's work, but one thing bothered me a lot. I could never keep track of who the girls were. I often refered back to the front photos, but that was distracting. I would have liked the book a lot more if Zaslow had had a larger picture of one girl at the beginning of each chapter. Then discussed her life. After he had covered each girl that way, then as he told us all the things they did, it would have been much easier to relate to the characters.
I liked the book, but it isn't one I would rave about or suggest it to my friends.
Until next time,
Be Kind to One Another
This true story penned by the writer of The Last Lecture, is a story of eleven girls who have been friends since kindergarten. At the beginning of the book he has included photos of the girls in a series of three. Childhood, High School graduation and current.
The first four chapters deal with each girl individually. He then tells various tales throughout their lives. The girls have moved to various parts of the country, but keep in touch by email, phone and reunions. They comfort each other in times of distress and celebrate the many joys in life.
It is a great book to understand true friendship and to take a peek in other peoples lives. It has been on a number of best seller lists and most of the people in my book club loved it.
I don't want to critize a great author's work, but one thing bothered me a lot. I could never keep track of who the girls were. I often refered back to the front photos, but that was distracting. I would have liked the book a lot more if Zaslow had had a larger picture of one girl at the beginning of each chapter. Then discussed her life. After he had covered each girl that way, then as he told us all the things they did, it would have been much easier to relate to the characters.
I liked the book, but it isn't one I would rave about or suggest it to my friends.
Until next time,
Be Kind to One Another
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Welcome
Welcome to Lets Talk Books.
I am looking forward to writing short reviews of books I have read or am now reading. My hope for the blog is to get others to respond, either about the book I have discussed or about one they are now reading.
I will welcome book suggestions that you think might be of interest to my book club. (perhaps a little summary would help.) In the next few days I will give you a little info. on a book I just finished reading. The Girls From Ames, by Jeffery Zaslow, the coauthor of The Last Lecture.
Until then,
Be Kind to one another.:)
I am looking forward to writing short reviews of books I have read or am now reading. My hope for the blog is to get others to respond, either about the book I have discussed or about one they are now reading.
I will welcome book suggestions that you think might be of interest to my book club. (perhaps a little summary would help.) In the next few days I will give you a little info. on a book I just finished reading. The Girls From Ames, by Jeffery Zaslow, the coauthor of The Last Lecture.
Until then,
Be Kind to one another.:)
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