Paris by Edward Rutherford
This was suggested to me by a friend and coworker. She knew that I went to France this past autumn and am going back again this summer, and thought that I would enjoy this because many of the places mentioned, I had been to. She was correct. I loved when they mentioned Montmartre and the Lapin Agile, Pont Neuf, Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, the Louvre, Versailles, and so many more places. It's also no secret that I am a sucker for history, and this book is full of history.
What I loved about this book is that it is about the same families over the centuries and how those families interacted in the various time periods in this book. I was partial to the de Cygne family as I was reading, and hated the Le Sourd's. I so wanted Marie Blanchard to end up with Roland de Cygne in the early twentieth century, and it broke my heart when his father died and he wouldn't be able to see her again. I was especially taken with the history of the building of the Eiffel tower, and the intricacies of that amazing landmark.
In truth, the only parts that I didn't love were the chapters that took place during World War I and the ones during the occupation in World War II. Comparatively, those were such a small part of the book, that it was ok that I didn't love it, and didn't take away from my enthrallment.
I had no idea how long this was when I bought it. The day I started reading it, I looked at the time left in the book and it said 29 hours. That was a little daunting, but only a little--I have no fear of long books. This was one I couldn't put down during Spring Break, and didn't want to put down when I went back to my real life as a teacher. I know that this is a author I will revisit soon.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Inner Mermaid
the mermaid's voice returns in this one by Amanda Lovelace
I have said it before, and I will say it again: Ms. Lovelace's poetry speaks to me in a way that most poetry doesn't. It is entirely to relatable in ways that I hate (because I hate that those things happened to both of us) but helps me remember that I am not alone. If nothing else, I find her poetry empowering.
Another thing I love about this poetry is that by the time you get to the end, things don't seem quite as bad, which is exactly how I feel about this thing called life. Mine hasn't always been sunshine and roses, in fact, there are parts I would never wish on anyone, but it doesn't mean that things can't end up on a good note.
I have said it before, and I will say it again: Ms. Lovelace's poetry speaks to me in a way that most poetry doesn't. It is entirely to relatable in ways that I hate (because I hate that those things happened to both of us) but helps me remember that I am not alone. If nothing else, I find her poetry empowering.
Another thing I love about this poetry is that by the time you get to the end, things don't seem quite as bad, which is exactly how I feel about this thing called life. Mine hasn't always been sunshine and roses, in fact, there are parts I would never wish on anyone, but it doesn't mean that things can't end up on a good note.
Monday, March 11, 2019
Not What I Thought It Was Going To Be
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
I read this for a couple of reasons. First, my son, who has similar reading interests to mine suggested this to me because he liked it. Second, it is being made into a series on either Netflix or Hulu, so I thought I should read it.
This is one of those books that has more details than I need, and not enough dialogue to move the story along. Also, despite being told that this is equal in subject matter (the Chicago World's Fair and H.H. Holmes), it is not. There is far more devoted to the intricacies of the World's Fair than there was to the famous murderer. You might get five pages about Holmes and ten to fifteen about the Fair. I just didn't care that much about the Fair.
Also, I ended up having to listen to the audiobook and follow along with my print copy because I couldn't get very far into the book without wanting to go to sleep. I blame all the descriptions and lack of dialogue.
There are whole pages on the audiobook that don't appear in the print copy, so there's some confusion when following along. There are also sections of the book that are irrelevant to both the Fair and Holmes. For example, what was the point of including the part about the HMS Victoria? It had NOTHING to do with the rest of the story.
This was less than 400 pages, and should have been a piece of cake to read. It was not. Part of me wants the time I invested in this back.
I read this for a couple of reasons. First, my son, who has similar reading interests to mine suggested this to me because he liked it. Second, it is being made into a series on either Netflix or Hulu, so I thought I should read it.
This is one of those books that has more details than I need, and not enough dialogue to move the story along. Also, despite being told that this is equal in subject matter (the Chicago World's Fair and H.H. Holmes), it is not. There is far more devoted to the intricacies of the World's Fair than there was to the famous murderer. You might get five pages about Holmes and ten to fifteen about the Fair. I just didn't care that much about the Fair.
Also, I ended up having to listen to the audiobook and follow along with my print copy because I couldn't get very far into the book without wanting to go to sleep. I blame all the descriptions and lack of dialogue.
There are whole pages on the audiobook that don't appear in the print copy, so there's some confusion when following along. There are also sections of the book that are irrelevant to both the Fair and Holmes. For example, what was the point of including the part about the HMS Victoria? It had NOTHING to do with the rest of the story.
This was less than 400 pages, and should have been a piece of cake to read. It was not. Part of me wants the time I invested in this back.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
TAYSHAS 2019 #15
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez
I can't believe it has been two weeks since I finished a book! Holy cow, that is so unlike me. To be fair, I have been busy with both my jobs, and my son came home for a visit, so reading has taken a backseat.
This one I put on hold a couple of months ago, and anxiously awaited being able to read it, as I had heard good things. Unfortunately, I didn't get as much time to read it as I wanted to, as the online library service I used did not notify me when the book was available and I lost a week. I finished with minutes to spare, and it was worth every minute I spent reading it.
Julia is fifteen and a junior in high school in Chicago. She speaks her mind, which often gets her into trouble. This was the case the day her older sister, Olga, died. Olga would not have had to ride the bus, had it not been for Julia getting into trouble at school and having to be picked up.
Julia's perception is that Olga was the perfect Mexican daughter. She didn't have much of a social life, she cooked and cleaned, and spent time with their parents. Julia is the opposite. She is very much wanting to get away from home, which is an environment that stifles her. Unfortunately, with her sister's death, more is expected of Julia.
On top of the things going on in her own life, Julia discovers some secrets about Olga. She feels like she needs to know more, but is having a hard time making headway, what with our privacy laws. Additionally, her mother continues to be hard on her, which leads to a breakdown.
Will Julia ever learn the secrets about her sainted sister, and will she ever get to just be who she is instead of who her mother wants her to be?
I can't believe it has been two weeks since I finished a book! Holy cow, that is so unlike me. To be fair, I have been busy with both my jobs, and my son came home for a visit, so reading has taken a backseat.
This one I put on hold a couple of months ago, and anxiously awaited being able to read it, as I had heard good things. Unfortunately, I didn't get as much time to read it as I wanted to, as the online library service I used did not notify me when the book was available and I lost a week. I finished with minutes to spare, and it was worth every minute I spent reading it.
Julia is fifteen and a junior in high school in Chicago. She speaks her mind, which often gets her into trouble. This was the case the day her older sister, Olga, died. Olga would not have had to ride the bus, had it not been for Julia getting into trouble at school and having to be picked up.
Julia's perception is that Olga was the perfect Mexican daughter. She didn't have much of a social life, she cooked and cleaned, and spent time with their parents. Julia is the opposite. She is very much wanting to get away from home, which is an environment that stifles her. Unfortunately, with her sister's death, more is expected of Julia.
On top of the things going on in her own life, Julia discovers some secrets about Olga. She feels like she needs to know more, but is having a hard time making headway, what with our privacy laws. Additionally, her mother continues to be hard on her, which leads to a breakdown.
Will Julia ever learn the secrets about her sainted sister, and will she ever get to just be who she is instead of who her mother wants her to be?
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