First Impressions: Or, A Cautionary Tale of Pride and Prejudice
One of my favorite reads of 2014. The two story lines, moving between the past and current, was masterful. Kept me reading and guessing right until the end.
Jane Austen's Persuasion!
Shannon Winslow has created another wonderful book dealing with a favorite literary subject, Jane Austen. Persuasion was the last novel Jane Austen completed shortly before her death. Many feel it was her best work. It contains an unparalleled love story and, arguably, the best love letter in literature.
The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen encompasses two timelines: the one in Jane Austen's Persuasion which covers Anne Elliot and her lost love and reuniting with Captain Wentworth. The other timeline deals with Jane Austen and Phillipe Devereaux and in many respects is made to parallel the one of Elliot and Wentworth. The two timelines diverge later and the one Winslow envisions for Jane Austen is intriguing and would make for a happier one that the real life Austen experienced.
I heartily recommend The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen. Shannon Winslow is one of my favorite authors and this book will be enjoyed by anyone interested in Jane Austen or historical fiction.
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Artemis Fowl
Action driven rather than character driven. I could not sympathize with or become interested in any of the characters. Frankly, I didn't care what happened to them. The ending of the book was more of a relief than interest in finding out how it ended. This was Percy Jackson without Percy or Annabeth. A simple plot with simple characters.The only reason I picked up the book was one reviewer saying how much greater it was than Harry Potter. They are wrong. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and the Hunger Games are leagues above Artemis Fowl. If you are looking for mass market, Artemis Fowl may interest you. If you are looking for literary, you will be disappointed.
The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen
Shannon Winslow has created another wonderful book dealing with a favorite literary subject, Jane Austen. Persuasion was the last novel Jane Austen completed shortly before her death. Many feel it was her best work. It contains an unparalleled love story and, arguably, the best love letter in literature.The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen encompasses two timelines: the one in Jane Austen's Persuasion which covers Anne Elliot and her lost love and reuniting with Captain Wentworth. The other timeline deals with Jane Austen and Phillipe Devereaux and in many respects is made to parallel the one of Elliot and Wentworth. The two timelines diverge later and the one Winslow envisions for Jane Austen is intriguing and would make for a happier one that the real life Austen experienced.
I heartily recommend The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen. Shannon Winslow is one of my favorite authors and this book will be enjoyed by anyone interested in Jane Austen or historical fiction.
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
I've completed all ten of the Isabel Dalhousie novels. They were worth every minute I spent reading them.
Wuthering Heights
Every character was messed up in Wuthering Heights. EVERY ONE. There was no, zero, nada love in the book. It was obsession, possession, and psychosis.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman can write paragraphs but the subject matter and plot are boring. Will not be picking up another one of his books.
The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen
I enjoyed this book immensely until the last section. Not a happy ending.
The Fossil Hunter: Dinosaurs, Evolution, and the Woman Whose Discoveries Changed the World (MacSci)
"Probably", "possibly", "might", "likely", "may have" are used over and over throughout the book.
 - Shelley Emling)
Ashen Winter
Mike Mullin has done it again. Ashen Winter is a fitting and well-done sequel to Ashfall. Alex and Darla must survive in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption of Yellowstone which has wrought devastation on much of the United States. The way people and communities align themselves and behave is realistic. If you are interested in dystopian literature, Ashfall and Ashen Winter are must reads!
A Christmas Home
This is the second book I've read in the series. Both are excellent! There are not many Christmas books that I consider worth reading but Greg Kincaid's are on my good list.
A Room with a View is one of those few books that stayed in my mind long afterwards. Its insights are profound and caused me to consider the meanings it contained.
A Room with a View is the story of Miss Lucy Honeychurch. Her growing to maturity, breaking the shackles and conventions of youth into the maturity and freedom of adulthood. This one person represents the struggle of the age that was breaking away from the conventions of Victorian society and scruples.
Forster makes reference several times in the book to light and darkness.
Light = intimacy, freedom, knowledge.
Darkness = deception, not being true to oneself, allowing someone else to tell one how to live.
View - view of life; of love. Love and passion are the true view.
There were two VIEWS - one at home in Windy Corner overlooking the Weald; the other in Italy, both in a room in Florence and in Fiesco overlooking the city, representing the old and the new. The old and new ways of looking at life; youth and maturity; bondage and freedom.
Oryx and Crake
I enjoyed the book and it was well-written. The subject matter is not my first choice in reading so I likely won't read the other books in the series.
Murder at the Vicarage
It took 1/3 of the book to halfway get into it. After finishing, I wish I had stopped earlier. If a mystery like this one were submitted for publication today, I hope it would be rejected.
A Room with a View
A Room with a View is one of those few books that stayed in my mind long afterwards. Its insights are profound and caused me to consider the meanings it contained. A Room with a View is the story of Miss Lucy Honeychurch. Her growing to maturity, breaking the shackles and conventions of youth into the maturity and freedom of adulthood. This one person represents the struggle of the age that was breaking away from the conventions of Victorian society and scruples.
Forster makes reference several times in the book to light and darkness.
Light = intimacy, freedom, knowledge.
Darkness = deception, not being true to oneself, allowing someone else to tell one how to live.
View - view of life; of love. Love and passion are the true view.
There were two VIEWS - one at home in Windy Corner overlooking the Weald; the other in Italy, both in a room in Florence and in Fiesco overlooking the city, representing the old and the new. The old and new ways of looking at life; youth and maturity; bondage and freedom.
