Tag Archives: library

A Wedding Quilt for Ella by Jerry S. Eicher

Posted on July 19, 2011 | 5 Comments

Word Lily review

A Wedding Quilt for Ella by Jerry S. Eicher, book 1 in the Little Valley series (Harvest House, February 1, 2011), 288 pages

Summary
It’s mere months until Ella Yoder’s wedding to the man of her dreams, and from her perspective, nothing can go wrong. But then it does. Aden’s appendix bursts, and he dies. How will Ella deal with her grief and move on?

Thoughts
This was, I think, the second Amish book I’ve read since the category exploded. I may have read some before that, but it was a really long time ago, if I did. If you like Amish books, this is probably one you’d enjoy.

I myself was straining against the strictures and confines — real or imagined (and it wasn’t entirely clear on that point) — of the community, nearly all the way through. Specifically, these: only certain life/career paths are acceptable, particularly for women; art and beauty have no value except possibly a negative one; and it’s not acceptable to question God, to even wonder why things happen a certain way.

None of these are exactly surprising in an Amish book, I suppose; perhaps this is why I’ve not read more of them.

For what it is (and what I expected), it’s not bad. It’s just not what I love.

Book 2 in the Little Valley series, Ella’s Wish, was released in May. Book 3, Ella Finds Love Again, is due out September 1. [Aside: I'm cringing about that last title, because it feels like a huge spoiler for me.]

Rating: 2.5 stars

About the author
Jerry S. Eicher taught for two terms in parochial Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. He is involved in church renewal, preaching and conducting weekend meetings of in-depth Bible teaching. As a boy, he spent eight years in Honduras, where his grandfather helped found an Amish community outreach. He and his family live in Virginia.

Other reviews
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Posted in books, Christian Fiction, fiction, review

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The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom

Posted on October 11, 2010 | 1 Comment

The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom, a Mobile Library Mystery (book 1) (Harper, 2005), 352 pages

Summary
Israel Armstrong, of North London, has just arrived in the rural Northern Ireland community of Tumdrum to be the new librarian. Except the library has been closed, according to a notice on the door.

Thoughts
Mostly, I found this book to be a pretty OK comedy of errors. If you can think of a setback, a problem, a mishap, a roadblock, it quite possibly happens in this book. So very pathetic. And yet it’s funny. Sometimes when, at the beginning, everything that happens is bad, it makes a story irredeemable for me, but that wasn’t the case here.

As a mystery, it wasn’t all that great. Armstrong is bumbling. All the other characters basically don’t care about the outcome. And the ending felt anti-climactic to me, on several levels.

Still, it kept me laughing pretty much throughout, and it was a nice, light respite, which is why I picked it up. Plus: It’s about books, and several of the characters really care about books and reading. But somehow this wasn’t the draw for me it usually is.

I’ve read a couple places that the series improves as it goes along, so I might continue with this series.

About the author
Ian Sansom is from Essex; he’s written several books, including subsequent books in this Mobile Library Mysteries series.

Other reviews
My Cozy Book Nook
We Be Reading
Jules’ Book Reviews

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I did not receive this book from the publisher. I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small commission on sales through my affiliate links.

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Posted in books, fiction, mystery, review

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The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Posted on July 27, 2010 | 6 Comments

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (1993; translated by Lucia Graves; Little, Brown; May 4, 2010), 224 pages

Summary
Max’s family leaves the city for the quieter, safer life of a small coastal town in 1943. But Max notices strange things about the town, and the Carvers’ new house, right off.

Thoughts
I’m so glad to see more of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s work being translated into English! After loving The Shadow of the Wind and even not loving The Angel’s Game I’ve been longing for more from this author to read.

I would classify The Prince of Mist as more horror than the others I’ve read by him. Still, it felt more like I was reading a book that was scary than that I was being scared by the book. Does that make sense? I’m guessing it’s because it’s a YA title.

The writing in this book doesn’t seem as vibrant to me as in the other two books I’ve read of his. I’m not sure if that’s because this was his first book, or if, perhaps, it’s because it’s for a younger audience.

I thought the way the author gets the adults out of the way for most of the action was great. The main characters are able to have a well-adjusted family but the danger-fraught story line isn’t hindered by their presence.

As much as I was happy to read this book, it’s not my favorite from him; that position is still firmly held by The Shadow of the Wind. That’s due in part to the story (this one isn’t book-centric, and it’s also a bit on the scary side for my taste, which is funny to say because it really feels like a YA book in this respect) and in part to the writing (which wasn’t bad in this case, but really shines in the other titles of his I’ve read). I’ll still jump at the next Ruiz Zafón book I can get in English, though.

The book’s trailer:
[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2dX56mc8Rg]

About the author
Carlos Ruiz Zafón doesn’t write fast enough for my taste; he’s the author of 6 books.

Other reviews
Alison’s Book Marks
The Introverted Reader
Fantasy Book Critic
A Dribble of Ink

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I received this book from the publisher.

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Posted in books, fantasy, fiction, historical, review, speculative, YA

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Still Life by Louise Penny

Posted on April 12, 2010 | 15 Comments

Still Life: A Mystery by Louise Penny (St. Martin’s, 2005), 320 pages

Summary
In the quiet burg of Three Pines, vandalism is pretty much as exciting as it gets. Selections have also been made for the next juried art show, but that’s about it. And then an old lady is found dead.

Thoughts
Still Life is the first book in a series; the sixth, Bury Your Dead, is due out in September 2010.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is pretty much the quintessential detective. I love how he teaches and trains, empowers. I adore his relationship with his wife (he tells her everything). I also love that he listens and observes, and how Penny portrays that. And I love that he’s flawed — he makes mistakes.

Other than practically falling in love with Gamache, I also love the other people we meet in this book, in particular the population of Three Pines (Clara and Peter, to mention two). I didn’t feel nearly as connected with Gamache’s staff — his trainee Agent Yvette Nichol in particular was annoying, but then, I think she was to the characters, too.

I also loved the place of prominence given to the visual arts. And I enjoyed getting a glimpse into small-town Quebec.

I look forward to reading the rest of this series! I was glad for the excuse to begin a series I’d been wanting to read for quite some time.

About the author
Louise Penny lives outside a small village south of Montreal, quite close to the American border with her husband, Michael. Prior to becoming a novelist, she worked as a journalist and radio host with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, specializing in hard news and current affairs. Her blog is http://louisepenny.blogspot.com.

Other reviews
Devourer of Books
Page 247
Geranium Cat’s Bookshelf
Jen’s Book Thoughts
My Random Acts of Reading

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I checked this book out from my local library.

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The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Posted on February 18, 2010 | 16 Comments

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books, a Putnam imprint, 2009), 464 pages

Summary
Through the alternating viewpoints of Skeeter, a recent college graduate who’s back at home and struggling to find her place; Aibileen, who works as house help for Skeeter’s friend Elizabeth; and Aibileen’s sass-mouthed friend Minny (also a maid), we get a picture of Jackson, Mississippi, 1962-1964. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement as it’s taught in schools — Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, sit-ins at the Woolworth’s lunch counter — The Help paints the situation from a different perspective.

Thoughts
Like The Book Thief, this is one I’ve known I wanted to read for ages. I’ve heard amazing things about it, but unfortunately it took me awhile to get my hands on it and read it. Once again, I wasn’t disappointed by the hype.

I love this book. This isn’t really surprising to me, since it has so many elements that I frequently love in a book. Certainly, some very tough situations are presented to the reader. I love this book enough that I’m having trouble putting my praise into words. I have no complaints. An awesome book.

Filled with triumphs and moments of deep sadness, The Help is ultimately a hope-filled story.

If you haven’t read The Help yet, why not? If you have read it, how do you feel about it now, a little more removed from it?

About the author
The Help is Stockett’s debut novel. Kathryn Stockett grew up in Jackson, Mississippi and received a degree in English and creative writing from the University of Alabama. She lives in Atlanta.

Other reviews (more raves!)
The Book Lady’s Blog
At Home with Books
S. Krishna’s Books
Maw Books
One Person’s Journey through a World of Books

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I checked this book out from the library. I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small commission on sales through my affiliate links.

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Posted in books, fiction, historical, review

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Posted on January 31, 2010 | 17 Comments

The Book ThiefThe Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Alfred A. Knopf, 2006), 576 pages

Summary
The Book Thief is narrated by Death. It’s set in Germany, opening in 1939. Yes, that’s World War II. Liesel Meminger, at age 9, is taken (by her mother) to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family. On the journey, she steals her first book, even though she can’t yet read. She’s haunted by nightmares of her younger brother’s death.

Among other awards, The Book Thief was a Printz Honor Book in 2007.

Thoughts
I knew I was missing out by having not yet read this book. I started reading it in 2008, but it was during the read-a-thon, in the middle of the night, and I just wasn’t capable of reading a book narrated by Death in the middle of the night and still appreciating it. Alas, it’s taken me nearly two years to get back to it, but at least I finally have.

I found the voice of this book to be wholly unique. While most of the material wasn’t new to me (although a bit of the perspective I hadn’t read before), this was *not* just another Holocaust book. The writing is superb, achingly beautiful. (I feel like I use that phrase way too much …) I also found it quite interesting how most things are fully disclosed before they actually happen — the narrator “spoils” himself.

The characters, the bookish elements, the writing — all excellent. A gorgeous book with a heinous setting. I say setting because war is not really what the book is about. It’s a backdrop, sure, and hardly a page goes by without mention of it, but the book is about Liesel, about words.

My only complaint (and it’s a small one): The prologue doesn’t really fit the book. After I’d read the prologue, I was sort of dreading this book. But once I got past that, the story sucked me in and the pages flew by.

Although this book was first published in just 2006, I’d call it a classic. This is a book that will endure. If you haven’t read it yet, why not? Sure, it’s not exactly short, but it’s also a young adult book, so the pages fly by (well, the fact that it’s a great story helps that, too). You have no excuse. Read it.

I definitely want to read more of Zusak’s work — I’m particularly intrigued by his I Am the Messenger.

About the author
Markus Zusak lives in Sydney, Australia. Read an interview with Zusak at the Random House website.

Other reviews
Filling My Patch of Sky
Maw Books
So Many Books
At Home with Books
In the Shadow of Mt. TBR
Musings of a Bookish Kitty
A Chair, a Fireplace & and Tea Cozy
My Two Blessings
The Book Lady’s Blog
CaribousMom
Bibliofreakblog

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I checked this book out from the library. I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small commission on sales through my affiliate links.

My impetus for finally picking this book up was the Social Justice Challenge; the January theme has been religious freedom. It’s certainly not a stretch to see how this book fits that theme.

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Posted in books, fiction, review, YA

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Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang

Posted on December 18, 2009 | 4 Comments

Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang translated by Bao Pu, Renee Chiang, and Adi Ignatius (Simon & Schuster, May 19, 2009), 336 pages

Summary
Zhao Ziyang was China’s premier during the Tiananmen Square protests. He acted to prevent the massacre and was forcibly removed from power — and lived the rest of his life under house arrest — because of his actions. He was also instrumental in choreographing and instituting economic reform in the years leading up to what he calls the July Fourth incident. Zhao grew to believe that continued economic reforms and success required political reforms and further openness from the government, in addition to a free press.

In these secret journals, which he recorded around 2000, he not only recounts these events and his economic and political strategies and actions, he also addresses misconceptions and misinformation and accepts responsibility for his own mistakes. The journals were uncovered after Zhao’s death in 2005.

Thoughts
I haven’t read a book that had the word bourgeois in it so many times in a very long time, certainly not since college. I was struck by the huge challenge attempting reforms and instituting a free market would be where the other leaders don’t speak freely to each other.

I was glad for an excuse to learn more about this period of China’s history. I don’t remember the Tiananmen Square massacre (I was still a child), although I’ve heard them referenced probably ever since they first happened.

For a book about economics and politics, I really enjoyed this book. The writing is not overly academic (I’m guessing the conversational tone is because the book is translated from oral journals.) but rather quite approachable. My love for all things China may have smoothed my path through the book, though.

I would have loved to read more about the (notably absent from this book) cultural and religious elements of the story. I would also have loved to read about leading up to and during/after the Beijing Olympics.

I read this book as part of a collaborative effort on the part of many bloggers to collective read and review all 50 of the books Newsweek listed as Books of our Times. The list as a whole was daunting, so we split it up! Great idea, Amy! All 50 books were claimed pretty quickly, and many of the titles have more than one person reviewing them.

The epilogue argues that the China portrayed in this book is today’s China. Whether that’s the case or not, this book is certainly relevant to us, today. China is growing so quickly, in so many sectors. We must pay attention.

See other reviews of books from the Newsweek list.

Other reviews
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Posted in books, nonfiction, review

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Female fact of life

Posted on August 23, 2009 | 2 Comments

“I detected instantly that she didn’t like me. It’s a fact of life that a girl can tell in a flash if another girl likes her. Feely says that there is a broken telephone connection between men and women, and we can never know which of us rang off. With a boy you can never know whether he’s smitten or gagging, but with a girl you can tell in the first three seconds. Between girls there is a silent and unending flow of invisible signals, like the high-frequency wireless messages between the shore and the ships at sea, and this secret flow of dots and dashes was signaling that Mary detested me.”

—From The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, page 85

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Posted in books, fiction

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