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dtrpath27

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Everything posted by dtrpath27

  1. Finished Mr. Owita's Guide to Gardening. Not at all what I expected!
  2. Prolific American author, but not generally regarded as a children's author.
  3. March 2014 Mr. Owita's Guide to Gardening by Carol Wall Publishing Information: ©2014 by Penguin Group Pages: 287 Genre: Non-fiction Memoir Setting: Present day Virginia, United States Main Characters: Carol Wall, Dr. Giles Owita, his wife Bienta Synopsis: This is the memoir of how an unexpected, life-changing friendship with an unlikely person brought hope and healing amid suffering and loss. Impressions: This was a lovely book! It was not at all what I expected, not that I'm sure what I expected. I think it was how relatable Mrs. Wall was. She was so open and honest; she didn't try to paint herself any certain way, but laid it all bare, the good and the bad. Mr. Owita is very much the kind of person that everyone wants to count among their friends, but is such a rare person that so few would ever have the chance. The story is told on the framework of transforming a garden, but this real physical transformation is also a metaphor for the emotional transformation in these people's lives. On a more technical note, I often find memoirs to be poorly written, either due to the fact that it is an inexperienced writer telling his or her own story or a ghost writer who lacks the emotional connection to clearly relate the story. This book, however, was truly well-written making it that much more enjoyable! I truly recommend it!
  4. March 2014 On the Beach by Nevil Shute Publishing Information: ©1957 by William Morrow Pages: 312 Genre: Fiction Setting: Post-World War III Australia Main Characters: Lt. Commander Peter Holmes of the Royal Australian Navy, his wife Mary, their friend Moira, and Commander Dwight Towers of the U.S. Navy Partial synopsis from back of book: After a nuclear WWIII has destroyed most of the globe, the few remaining survivors in southern Australia await the radioactive cloud that is heading their way and bringing certain death to everyone in its path...On the Beach is a remarkably convincing portrait of how ordinary people might face the most unimaginable nightmare. Impressions: This book left quite an impression on me. It was so poignant, so real. Watching not just the end of these people, but the end of humanity was so incredibly sad to me, that I could only bear to read it a few dozen pages at a time. I'm not really sure how else to explain it. It was a wonderful book with incredible attention to detail. Even the smallest character was beautifully written, giving a truth and humanity to the story that was absolutely captivating to me. I couldn't recommend it more strongly.
  5. Good to know! I've been rather off with my reading time these past couple weeks, but seem to have been able to carve out some time the past two days. I hope to knock out my small TBR list this weekend and be ready find some fresh selections for next weekend's read-a-thon. Maybe I'll be able to add that one for next weekend. I also have several reviews to catch up with...I think I'll just plug away a little at a time on that.
  6. The Cardinals, always and forever!
  7. Classic children's literature, but appropriate and entertaining for adults.
  8. "He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it -- namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain."
  9. Why don't you go? I don't think Athena will mind.
  10. Raold Dahl is mainly known for his children's books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda. They're all really fantastical and really original. He also wrote a slew of rather dark, mysterious short stories for adults, many of which were adapted for TV and film. A couple were used for Alfred Hitchcock episodes and one was used in Quentin Tarantino's film Four Rooms. His work, even the children's stories, is definitely worth a read.
  11. My dearest filled out his bracket and seems to be doing well so far. I don't really follow, though; I'm a baseball fan through and through.
  12. I was going to make gyoza, but I don't think I'm up to standing for that long. I'm going to see if my dearest will fix some ribs and baked potatoes. If not, then cereal for all! Eta: I fell asleep shortly after I posted and just woke up a little after 11:00 PM. Some quick nap! Everyone is sound asleep and I have no clue what happened for dinner. I assume they rummaged around and found something.
  13. Thank you very much, sir! My favorite hint was the Goliath one. That made me chuckle.
  14. It doesn't seem like many...maybe five? Someone else might know better as I just joined in. Give it a go! Any old quote will do. We can always ask for hints. I think it will be more fun with more people.
  15. It's the first line from one of his Thursday Next books, The First Among Sequels. Anyway...sorry about that! His books are very original and clever with quite a cult following. If I described it, it would probably sound weird, but it's so funny and great, but basically, it takes place in a reality where one can actually read oneself into books. He is the same person who writes The Last Dragonslayer series, but the Thursday Next series is not a children's series. Anyway...let's call it good. Chesil said she didn't have time to do one, so Athena, do you want to go next? As long as you promise to read The Eyre Affair, that is.
  16. Remains of the Day seems like it should be such a good book! It definitely fits right into this category.
  17. Yay!!! There is another Fforde ffan on here! Now it's only a matter of time... I really thought I picked one that a lot of people would get. Oops!
  18. I'm rather sad no one knows. When I joined this site I was assured there were plenty ffans of this series around here. Hmm...what day is it? Wednesday? Maybe we just need to wait until tomorrow. Other characters include Miss Havisham, Emperor Zhark and Mycroft. Mycroft is responsible for such wonderful inventions as the ovinator and the entroposcope. This series is also home to the greatest library in literary history.
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