Jump to content

Anna Begins

Advanced Member
  • Posts

    4,317
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Anna Begins

  1. I didn't know that! Remember Young Guns? I think we are about the same age
  2. Prague Winter by Madeline Albright (750 pages) "Whatever power the Germans may have over the persons and property of the Czechs, they have little influence over their souls." -Czech resistance leader Madeleine Albright has long been one of my most admired women. Ambassador to the U.N. and my country's first female Secretary of State, she has fought against racism and for democracy her entire adult life. Prague Winter: A Story of Remembrance and War 1937- 1948 follows Albright's early childhood in Prague, early years spent in London during the Blitz and living in Belgrade as communism descended on Eastern Europe. Albright tells a little of the history of Czechoslovakia, but mostly life under occupation. Before becoming Secretary of State, The Washington Post traced her ancestry and found Jewish roots. Albright tells the story of her family, most of them killed in Theresienstadt. The book is extremely readable and fascinating to read about these years from the Czech point of view. Albright follows in the footsteps of her Ambassador father, who dedicated his life to democracy. Prague Winter doesn't touch on her work as a fighter for freedom and against oppression -it's about her family and the lives of those who suffered - but it does show why she chose her path and why she subscribes to her beliefs. 5/5
  3. Oh yes, isn't the bar the Red Pony? His friend is Native American? I really want to read the book!
  4. 124 pages in Prague Winter and As I Lay Dying on Saturday the 7th.
  5. I finished Prague Winter by Madeline Albright and started on William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. What the heck am I reading??
  6. I know we have a topic about abandoned books, but mine is a little different. What are your criteria for abandonment? I picked up Everything I Never Told You by Celeste NG, it's the first book off my 2017 TBR list. It is terribly written and not very good. But it's only the 8th of January! Abandon or not? I'm at page 107 of 293. It's also slowing me down, I've been reading over 100 pages a day. When do you decide enough is enough??
  7. I read 240 pages in Prague Winter Friday the 6th.
  8. For Whom the Bell Tolls is tied with The Good Earth for my second favorite book of all time! The Martian is great too. I've been waiting for your blog Happy New Year!
  9. Thanks Frankie I keep hearing how great The Joy Luck Club is! How is the Longmire show?
  10. Omg it's so good, I have 100 pages left of 750 and it's only been 3 days! It's called Prague Winter. I think my next book will either be As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner or Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. My mom and I want to start 1984 on the 10th.
  11. I've started an autobiography of Madeleine Albright's childhood living through WWII. It's 750 pages, but very good and I've admired her for a long time. I'm 200 pages in. I'm also reading Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. The writing is terrible!
  12. Thanks! I'm not going to. I don't really like the cold war period. And I lived through some of it I'm going to read a book about Ronald Reagan, I think that's all I can take!
  13. To Hell and Back: Europe 1914- 1949 by Ian Kershaw (594 pages) "History resists an ending as surely as nature abhors a vacuum; the narrative of our days is a run- on sentence, every full stop a comma in embryo." -Mark Slouka, Essays From the Nick of Time Starting with "The Golden Age" or "Gilded Age" before the first world war, Ian Kershaw begins a telling of 35 years of European history. Social change and economic prosperity were in a hey day, worries carefree. Lingering in the background - or rather, simmering- were the presence of early socialism and the beginnings of communism. A British historian, Kershaw focuses on the English role in the 35 year time period, which I liked, having read mostly US history of these years. Some of that was understandable, however to find no mention of Hiroshima or Nagasaki was astounding. Especially when the last 100 pages are devoted to the US/ Soviet struggle in the beginnings of the cold war, with little to no mention of the British. A tremendous undertaking and a well done job, To Hell and Back is the first of a two part series of modern day Europe.
  14. I finished a terrific book by Ian Kershaw on the history of Europe from 1914- 1949. Mammoth book. I read 230 pages yesterday! Now I've started Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.
  15. Moonglow is on my TBR for this year, high priority, for sure.
  16. How is it I have not wished you a happy New Year yet?? You must get to Anais Nin What fun! Or what an... experience he he Happy New Year!
  17. I haven't read The Cold Dish (yet) but it's about an aging cop in a small Wyoming town. There's a murder and his deputy is a young woman. It was a Netflix series too.
  18. It's so good to see you around! P!ease come back more I'm happy your first book of 2017 was a good one. Have you heard of The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire Mystery)? Happy New Year!
  19. Well, I mostly read history, so none of them are small- I want to read Victoria: The Queen by Julia Barid... that's a good 750. I do read historical fiction too though. Roots should be on my list, at 600. I do want to re-read Gone With the Wind again this year also. Thanks for stepping in and Happy New Year to you
  20. It's great to see you around! Happy New Year, Brian
  21. You read such diverse books! Happy New Year - I look forward to more great reviews
  22. *gasp* You haven't read The Humans yet?? I dunno, the U.S. Might not be here in four years California would love to have you!
  23. Despite my goal of reading fewer history books, I'm in the middle of The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir and To Hell and Back by the amazing British historian Ian Kershaw. I also have Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle, a graphic novel.
×
×
  • Create New...