Book Reviews

  There is good advice for living found in this book that I hope to remember. “Rejoice! Revel in the funny business.” That’s one of my favorites. A great reminder to stay in the moment & cherish the day. I happen to read this book during my thanksgiving break and thought it was the perfect book for this holiday. Very touching, sweet, emotional. A must-read. 

Dark Tides - Philippa Gregory  This is book two of a series, “Tidelands” being the first book.  I have read an ARC print copy (Thank you to Goodreads) as well as an ARC of the e-book (Thank you to Netgalley.com, Simon and Schuster, and Philippa Gregory).  I’m excited to also hear the audiobook narrated by Louise Brealey. Simply put, I loved this book.  Philippa is a masterful storyteller, her scenes truly come to life. Her vivid portrait of London, Venice, and New England are remarkable. You will find yourself cheering and hoping for the Tidelands family and cursing those who do them harm. The Tidelands family is a hardworking, honest, loyal and caring family.  Cross them, and you will not be given a second chance at their love and admiration. This book has Alinor, Alys and her adult children living in London. Alinor is ailing from her (no spoilers!) cruel previously employed punishment in Tidelands. Alinor’s brother, Ned, is surviving as a Ferryman in New Engla...

A book from the community point of view during WWII. This book shows how the opposing points of Italian Fascism and German Nazism divide and destroy a village.  This book is based on the the history of the village of Curon, the province of South Tyrol (Northern Italy) previously Tyrol the Austin-Hungarian County a farming community where most spoke German prior to being annexed by Italy in 1919. It’s focus on those who lived there at the start of WWII, the Germans whose language was banned, and the struggle to stay in their home or flee. The book is uniquely written from a mother’s point of view regarding her life in the village during the war. The story is structured as a retelling to her daughter who left the village at a very young age and never returned. Thank you to Edelweiss and Abovethetreeline.com for the download of the book in exchange for an honest review. 

 If you enjoyed the Seinfeld show openers, showing Jerry on stage expressing a brief thought of nothing on varying topics, then you’ll enjoy this book.  I listened to the audiobook version. Jerry was narrator, it couldn’t work any other way - could it? The introduction to the book in which he explained who he admired, how he chose to follow his ambitions, and how he built up his catalog of material was a bit snoozy for me because it felt very much scripted. It became obvious throughout the audio that the most popular bits of his material came out smoothly with more of the expected inflection in his voice, whereas other pieces seemed like he was simply reading aloud. With that said, I found this book pretty humorous and fans of the show will definitely appreciate hearing or reading his first book in 25 years.

  Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything is a really good audiobook. The narrator, Soneela Nankani, is wonderful with her abilities to create many different voices for several characters, women, children, and males in this fun story. She’s very talented and delivers a very fun story. Agatha is a woman with 2 young boys, a husband, a home, and a career. Agatha has many fears, from beans to severe weather. When she discovers her husband having an affair, it’s time to face and conquer her fears. As with many women, Agatha doesn’t give herself enough credit and because of this isn’t quite living her best life. Agatha doesn’t think twice about climbing trees, confronting skunks, calling it likes she sees it, and not caring what others think. She’s a funny lady and a good mom and this book had me laughing quite a bit.  Thank you to @netgalley and dreamscape media for the opportunity to preview this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.