julie

The Midwife 's Revolt I'll give this book 3 stars, for two reasons : the story seemed a little too predictable and the other is that I usually don't like books with much romance in them . It doesn't have a lot, but leaned more in that direction than I usually like, although I'm sure others would really enjoy it . I liked the time the story was told from ( Revolutionary War times), and liked the ending ,so all in all, it was a good story . People who like Historical Fiction with a little romance tossed in would really enjoy it I think .

The Barton Murder This was a very "quickie" true crime about a murdered lady from back in the early 1900's who was found by 3 little boys under a tree . The lady was never identified and neither was her killer . It would have been more interesting if it would have been included in a book of shirt stories about several cold cases , but it was ok if you like true crime books .

Whiskey and Charlie This book was a stunningly beautiful portrayal of twin brothers , Whiskey and Charley ,who are best friends when they are small , but as they grow older, they begin to drift apart and have very different personalities . It seems the gap widens as they become adults ,and eventually, they have almost drifted completely apart . A freak accident , an unexpected reunion, and many other ups and downs occur throughout the book. There are parts that are heartbreakingly sad ,and a cliffhanger towards the end . This book definitely earned my 5 Star Rating. What a GEM !

Thanks Chrissy ! Good to see you too

The Morning and the Evening It's been quite a long while since I've read a good Southern book ,but I found one today . A very melancholy story about a small town in Mississippi , in which the main character, Jake , is mentally disabled to some extent, but no one really knows how much he understands, since he is mute . The book seems to bring out many emotions in the telling . You are saddened by the treatment he receives by most of the townsfolk, and the betrayal that is done to him ,but in the end, you feel that maybe some of them learned their lesson the hard way . A very good but yet very sorrowful story . Thank you to Net Galley for the free copy of this in return for a review .

I Am Sophie Tucker - ***** I have to admit, before reading this book , I had never heard of Sophie Tucker. I am so glad to have found this book! What a treat it was . It was quite refreshing to see that a "plus-sized" girl with a bigger than life voice could make it so big in the entertainment world. The book was interesting, as it also showed many photos of Sophie and many other famous people of the time mentioned throughout the book . If you enjoy memoirs, read this book . You won't be disappointed !

Happy Valley : The Story of the English in Kenya *** I enjoyed this book ,since I've read a few others on the same subject and have more to read. It's mainly about the settling of Kenya and the rich English families who came there to build Vacation Homes, some of them staying year round. It was interesting to hear how much more wild and different it probably was back in those days compared to now. The English also had some wild parties, even a murder that was never officially solved.

The Gatton Murders ** In the late 1890's, there was a settlement of farmers and merchants in Australia .Most had big families to work the land. Their main forms of entertainment for the younger crown were dances, and one night, 3 youngsters from one family went together to a dance ,with none coming back home safely that night. The book is pretty confusing ,as there were so many people in the family, and a huge number of suspects . It was an ok book, but not the best true crime I've read .

Murder on Rouse Hill *** I really enjoyed this book ,as I like reading about really old true crime cases that I've never herd of before. This one was well written ,but not hard to find out very quickly who would be murdered and who did it . I liked the work the author put into all the research ,which made it a good story , even telling about all the people in the end and what happened to them . Good story !

Our Little Secret *** I had seen this on one of the tv true crime shows, so it was a familiar story before reading it, but still interesting . Surprising the number of people who knew who the killer was but kept silent for decades before the police figured it out . Interesting story .

Death of a Pinehurst Princess This was a quick read about the murder of a rich socialite, newly married ,who was found in her garage with the motor running .She was deceased . It went into detail about her life and her husband ,but by the end, you aren't really sure whether it was murder or suicide ,and no ne else ever really knew either. Definitely a cold case, and interesting story .

Travels With Judy- In Search of Steinbeck's America *** The author decides to retrace Steinbeck's trip he made for his book Travels With Charley. She took her pup and made the same journey, telling how much things had stayed the same, yet some were different. I like reading travel books, so I enjoyed this one a lot .

True Story : Murder, Memory , Mea Culpa ** A very unusual true crime story ,where 2 very unlikely people come together that normally never would have. The author had hit the big time in the writing world by writing articles for a huge newspaper ,but he wrote an article in which he "stretched the truth " somewhat, was caught for it, and lost his job. He had a difficult time adjusting to his situation . During this same time, he was contacted by another reporter about being in Mexico and being involved in multiple murders. Come to find out,someone had been using his ID while there . He and the killer become penpals ,and each one ends up helping the other in an odd sort of arrangement.

Edge of Dark Water I really like Lansdale's writing ,so far. I've only read 2 of his books but liked both of them a lot. Lots of suspense, likeable characters, and very well written stories. I think you'd call them "nail-biters" because you need to keep reading to find out what will happen next . Well worth giving them a try !

Finding Bethany **** An Alaska policeman wrote this story, which mirrored his own sister's murder ,many decades previously. It was in danger of becoming a cold case, but it pretty much took over his life trying to bring the killer or killers to justice. Very well written story .

Murder on a Lonely Road *** A very interesting true crime case which could easily have been a cold case ,and actually was for several years, although the police never gave up. By the time they were able to link the killer to their crime, they found that he had been involved in several others too. Good story if you like true crime .

Homer Price- Robert McCloskey ***** My all time favorite book as a kid. I don't even know how many times I read it all those years ago, but decided to revisit it this year and so glad I did. It's actually a series of a few short stories all about the same boy in the same small town, but very humorous and well written . I think the kids of today would like it just as much !

Revolution - Deborah Wiles ***** The second Documentary novel written by this author ,with one more to follow ( I can't wait ! ) . This one links to the first in a small way but they can be read separately . This is the story of a young girl in Mississippi when a lot of racial issues were going on in her home town , along with a lot of uproar in her own family life as well. This author does a wonderful job of portraying a time that I grew up in, bringing back lots of good (and sad ) memories of those years in the early 60's . Excellent book !

Countdown- Deborah Wiles ***** This is a YA book, but I enjoyed it greatly, since it was set during my growing up years, telling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and what we were told to do back then to protect ourselves . The girl in the story was 7 years older than I would have been, so I learned a lot more about it all by reading her book, since I was really young when it was all happening, I don't think I paid as much attention to it as an older girl would have . It was called a Documentary Novel, which was a new type of book for me,and very good ! This was part one of a trilogy .

Dare I Call It Murder : A Memoir of Violent Loss **** The author's parents were murdered on board their sailboat, which they planned on taking on a long journey . When the author finds out who he thinks was involved, it changed his life drastically. You will go along with him on this journey and understand at least a little bit of how he must have felt (and still feels ). Read the book to find out the rest. I don't want to give anything away . Very good book .

Carter Beats the Devil ***** When you begin this book, you sorta wonder how good it could be ,since it mentions President Warren Harding in the beginning. I didn't know much about the guy ,but his photo makes him look like a fuddy-duddy ,so I'm thinking, good grief, how good could THIS be ? I'm really glad I kept reading, as this book had a bit of everything thrown in : a magician, always trying to outdo himself, several famous people, a possible murder plot, a couple of romances thrown into the mix, a mystery, and a very exciting finish . I'm SO glad I kept reading !

The World of PostSecret *** If you've read any of the other Post Secret books, this is the final (?) one I do believe. It sounds as if the author has done this for so many years that he is ready to give it up or hand it off to someone else now. He originally got the idea to ask random strangers to send him a decorated postcard with a one sentence SECRET about themselves that no one else knows about them. Maybe a secret desire, secret in the family, a secret event they may have done, or a feeling they may have had that no one ever knew before. They were to keep them anonymous, just write this one sentence on the postcard and mail it back to the author. He never thought he'd get the response he has. It's like the whole world had a secret .. the cards just keep coming. After this first book, it was just an avalanche of postcards ! Interesting reading .

To Serve Them All My Days ***** This was a second reading of the book for me, and every bit as good as the first time . It's the story of the main character, a young man in his early 20's , who is released from WW I ,after suffering from shell shock . He is very jittery in the beginning of the book ,both mentally and physically. He goes to a small boy's school in England to teach .He has a hard time fitting in with the other instructors in the beginning. The boys also try giving him a rough time, but he puts them in their places from the start, and learns how to gain their respect and affection after awhile. Some of the boys are close to the age where they will be sent to War, so David grapples with that fact. also, several boys have lost family members to the War. It's just a very good book about what War can do to a person and how to try to recover from it and live as full a life as possible afterwards. There is a romance as the book progresses ,but it's not a gushy , overly done one. The books seems to concentrate more on the main them, which is a country and a small slice of people that are enduring through war time . Very good book !

Mrs. Poe ** I suppose this book was ok . I'm not much into anything that has romance in it ,and this had too much for my liking . The main character is Frances, who is a writer of small acclaim. She is friends with more famous writers of the time, and happens to meet Edgar Alan Poe at one of the small literary gatherings she attended. They apparently have an immediate attraction to each other, although they are both married. Frances is married to a philandering husband, who has left her ,and she is not sure whether he will ever return. She knows of his dalliances .He also left her in the lurch, because he was a portrait painter, but made very little to contribute to the budget ,so the book finds her living with a friend . Edgar's marriage is a little harder to read. He seemed an odd type of character to "read". He also lived in pretty compromised situation due to not enough funding. He was a writer and had just started becoming more of a household word, but not making enough money to live off in a comfortable position. He is trying to support his wife and her mother also . Anyhow, he and Frances begin a relationship ...like I said, too much romance for my liking.] Bring out the guns and swords and something more interesting .

Here is Where Discovering America's Great Forgotten History Unfortunately, for me, this book SOUNDED much better than it was. There were parts that were interesting, and others that were mind-numbingly boring. I love history ,especially American History. It had short stories of famous places in which important events took place in our country. Good writing, but parts of it weren't that interesting, thus the lower rating .