If you are a fan of Poldark, either the original 1970's series or the one being shown currently (Ah, Aida Turner!), and you enjoy historical fiction, I can guarantee that you will love Ross Poldark. If you haven't seen either series but like historical fiction, you will also love it! I decided to read it because of the TV series, especially since I had also heard excerpts, read by Graham's son on PBS.
Set in the 1780's, Poldark (for those of you who are not familiar with it) is the story of a young British man who went to America to fight the rebels after getting into trouble at home one too many times. He returns in 1783 to find his late father's house and land in a shambles and his true love, Elizabeth Chynoweth, engaged to his cousin. Ross Poldark, despite his past, is a man of honor and integrity, a hard worker, and sympathetic to the plight of the poor. He despairs over the starving masses and does his best to alleviate suffering. He's a great, if troubled guy, the perfect flawed hero.
I have to admit that I was surprised at how this novel captured my interest. I plan to read the whole series and look forward to it.
BIBLIOPHILY
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Thursday, October 19, 2017
BEACH HOUSE FOR RENT (Mary Alice Monroe)
I have mixed feeling about Monroe's latest, perhaps because I've read too many similar books lately, or maybe it's because the characters seemed just a tiny bit off. That being said, I would recommend giving it a look. It's not a bad novel; in fact, I quite enjoyed it most of the time.
Fifty-year-old Cara Rutledge has been happily married for 10 years to Brett, the love of her life. Together they run a struggling tour boat business in Isle of Palms, South Carolina and rent out her beach house to help augment their income. This year Cara has rented the house, inherited from her beloved mother, for the whole summer to Heather Wyatt, a 26-year-old artist suffering from anxiety disorder. Heather has been commissioned to paint seabirds for the USPS and will be living alone for the first time in her life in Cara's beach house.
When unexpected tragedy strikes Cara's life she is forced to re-evaluate everything, including her finances and her living arrangements, but Heather refuses to move out of the beach house so Cara can move in. Eventually, the 2 women come to share a close friendship, discovering along the way the strength that they need to move forward with their lives.
Please don't judge this novel based on my initial comments. While I would not award it 5 stars, many people have. We all evaluate what we read based on our own experiences and emotions and I may love it next year! Check it out!
Fifty-year-old Cara Rutledge has been happily married for 10 years to Brett, the love of her life. Together they run a struggling tour boat business in Isle of Palms, South Carolina and rent out her beach house to help augment their income. This year Cara has rented the house, inherited from her beloved mother, for the whole summer to Heather Wyatt, a 26-year-old artist suffering from anxiety disorder. Heather has been commissioned to paint seabirds for the USPS and will be living alone for the first time in her life in Cara's beach house.
When unexpected tragedy strikes Cara's life she is forced to re-evaluate everything, including her finances and her living arrangements, but Heather refuses to move out of the beach house so Cara can move in. Eventually, the 2 women come to share a close friendship, discovering along the way the strength that they need to move forward with their lives.
Please don't judge this novel based on my initial comments. While I would not award it 5 stars, many people have. We all evaluate what we read based on our own experiences and emotions and I may love it next year! Check it out!
THE SECRET ADVERSARY (Agatha Christie)
Tommy and Tuppence are old friends, perpetually short of cash in post-World-War-I England. They decide to post an ad offering their services as adventurers, willing to take on any (legal) job, and end up working for some branch of British Intelligence, helping to track down the mysterious Jane Finn. Jane was handed a treaty vital to British national security and asked to deliver it to the American Embassy in London just as the Lusitania, on which she was a passenger, was sinking. Unfortunately, Jane hasn't been heard from since.
The Secret Adversary is a wonderful, imaginative story involving Russian spies, kidnapping, murder, a mysterious American millionaire who claims to be Jane Finn's cousin, and, best of all, two characters who are incredibly endearing. I enjoyed the non-stop action so much that I watched the TV version starring Francesca Annis and James Warwick as Tuppence and Tommy. The TV version was very good, but disappointing in some ways because both characters were about 15 years too old and physically very unlike the Tommy and Tuppence created by Christie. My advice: read it!
The Secret Adversary is a wonderful, imaginative story involving Russian spies, kidnapping, murder, a mysterious American millionaire who claims to be Jane Finn's cousin, and, best of all, two characters who are incredibly endearing. I enjoyed the non-stop action so much that I watched the TV version starring Francesca Annis and James Warwick as Tuppence and Tommy. The TV version was very good, but disappointing in some ways because both characters were about 15 years too old and physically very unlike the Tommy and Tuppence created by Christie. My advice: read it!
CATCHER IN THE RYE (J.D. Salinger)
It has been years since I read Salinger's oft-maligned novel, the frequent target of challenges and book banning attempts. I have to say that I still love it! I think that while many of us read it as teens with a particular interest in the bad language and references to sex, it turns out that as adults we have a whole new perspective.
Holden Caulfield is a very troubled young man but driven primarily by a system of ethics that override everything else in his life and make him extremely judgmental of almost everyone and everything he encounters. He is intensely critical, unable to focus, and frustrated by the great gap between his physical and emotional maturity, yet he is also often immensely sympathetic and thoughtful. His dream is to "catch" (save) children like the ones he imagines running through a rye field towards inevitable death over a cliff. His vision is a bit twisted since it is based on a stranger's mistake in singing the song "Comin' through the Rye" as
Like Salinger, the author, Holden has attended several schools. In Holden's case, he flunks every subject but English. After being told that he will not be allowed to return to his current school after the Christmas break, he decides to board a train and return to New York City early and without his parents' knowledge, thus beginning his adventures. What strikes me most about Holden, aside from his obviously untreated mental problems and confusion over impending adulthood, is his empathy for some of the people he encounters.
Take some time to reread this short novel. You'll be pleasantly surprised by what a difference 20 or 30 years of life experience make in how you view Holden Caulfield and his story.
Holden Caulfield is a very troubled young man but driven primarily by a system of ethics that override everything else in his life and make him extremely judgmental of almost everyone and everything he encounters. He is intensely critical, unable to focus, and frustrated by the great gap between his physical and emotional maturity, yet he is also often immensely sympathetic and thoughtful. His dream is to "catch" (save) children like the ones he imagines running through a rye field towards inevitable death over a cliff. His vision is a bit twisted since it is based on a stranger's mistake in singing the song "Comin' through the Rye" as
Like Salinger, the author, Holden has attended several schools. In Holden's case, he flunks every subject but English. After being told that he will not be allowed to return to his current school after the Christmas break, he decides to board a train and return to New York City early and without his parents' knowledge, thus beginning his adventures. What strikes me most about Holden, aside from his obviously untreated mental problems and confusion over impending adulthood, is his empathy for some of the people he encounters.
Take some time to reread this short novel. You'll be pleasantly surprised by what a difference 20 or 30 years of life experience make in how you view Holden Caulfield and his story.
THE WITCH'S TREE (M.C. Beaton)
Agatha has actually matured over the course of this series. Her softer, more vulnerable side is becoming more prevalent, although she often continues to ignore the long-developing love that is right under her nose. I really hope that when MC Beaton ends this series it is with a wedding between Agatha and Sir Charles!
Agatha gets involved in a series of murders after the new vicar of the village of Sumpton Harcourt and his wife discover the body of local spinster Margaret Darby hanging from the witch's tree near their home. As the police investigate, Agatha is hired by Sir Edward, a bored local aristocrat, to work on the case. Beaton uses her usual crew of quirky associates and locals to create a satisfying little mystery. Reading this is a great way to spend a rainy weekend or just to relax and get away from reality for a while!
Agatha gets involved in a series of murders after the new vicar of the village of Sumpton Harcourt and his wife discover the body of local spinster Margaret Darby hanging from the witch's tree near their home. As the police investigate, Agatha is hired by Sir Edward, a bored local aristocrat, to work on the case. Beaton uses her usual crew of quirky associates and locals to create a satisfying little mystery. Reading this is a great way to spend a rainy weekend or just to relax and get away from reality for a while!
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
PORCH LIGHTS (Dorothea Benton Frank)
I usually try to avoid reading two of a particular author's novels in a row, but sometimes you just get in the mood to binge!
I adore the title of this book. Porch lights to me represent welcoming, safety, and sanctuary from the outside world and that is exactly what they represent here for many of the characters. When recent widow Jackie McMullen travels home to Sullivan's Island with her 10-year-old son, Charlie, the porch lights are blazing for her, literally and figuratively. Her mother, Annie Britt, long separated from Buster, Annie's father, longs for her daughter and grandson to move back home from New York to start a new life.
Jackie, an army nurse and veteran of several deployments in Afghanistan, is grieving the loss of Jimmy, her firefighter husband, and can't imagine leaving the home where they lived and raised their son, nor can she bear to leave his grave behind. As her summer visit to Sullivan's Island goes on she begins to learn that grief can be bearable with the love of family and friends and that life can actually go on after a devastating loss. You'll love this one!
I adore the title of this book. Porch lights to me represent welcoming, safety, and sanctuary from the outside world and that is exactly what they represent here for many of the characters. When recent widow Jackie McMullen travels home to Sullivan's Island with her 10-year-old son, Charlie, the porch lights are blazing for her, literally and figuratively. Her mother, Annie Britt, long separated from Buster, Annie's father, longs for her daughter and grandson to move back home from New York to start a new life.
Jackie, an army nurse and veteran of several deployments in Afghanistan, is grieving the loss of Jimmy, her firefighter husband, and can't imagine leaving the home where they lived and raised their son, nor can she bear to leave his grave behind. As her summer visit to Sullivan's Island goes on she begins to learn that grief can be bearable with the love of family and friends and that life can actually go on after a devastating loss. You'll love this one!
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