Unknown Women - December 21, 2016

Not Just Jane: Rediscovering Seven Amazing Women Writers Who Transformed British Literature
By Shelley DeWees
4 stars



In the collected works of famous female authors of the late eighteenth through nineteenth century Britain, there are a handful of names that everyone recognizes; Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and George Eliot are the major ones.  What happened to the other female writers who emerged during this time?  That is what this book aims to explore by providing a biography of seven other women who wrote poetry, novels and plays at a time when women did not usually work.  Describing their early life and their entry into the writing career, this book highlights the way these women chafed against the prescribed feminine roles of the time in order to fulfill their passion to write and why they are not read today.  This is a well written book and I enjoyed reading about these woman's life and the choices they made.  At times, the struggle they all had against the expectations of the time became repetitive as really none wanted to accept the role of married mother.  Overall, this was fascinating and I wrote down several of the names so that I can explore their work in the future which was the stated purpose of this book.  I received this book from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. 

Friday Review - December 16, 2016

The Girl from Venice by Martin Cruz Smith
3 stars



A fisherman named Cenzo drags a young woman, who he believes is dead, out of the lagoons near Venice.  He is surprised to discover a plucky Jewish woman on the run from the Third Reich and the man who betrayed her family.  As Cenzo tries to help her escape, he works with an interesting cast of characters including a film star brother awash in betrayal.  The best parts of this book deal with the family dynamics that surround Cenzo.  Cenzo, himself, is a strong character who simply wants to be a quiet fisherman, even amidst all the craziness surround him.  It did feel like the book was rushed and parts skimmed over so that I felt like I didn't always get what was happening.  These are good characters that deserve more in depth stories so while I mostly enjoyed this book, I think that it could have used more substance.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


Public Library: and Other Stories by Ali Smith
3 stars



This collection of stories was written in response to the declining existence of public libraries in the U.K.  I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw its description but after reading it, my reaction is a bit more tepid.  There were a couple of stories that I really enjoyed about reading, writing and the difficult of connection in a tech world.  There were also lovely vignettes included between each story with a different writer's experience growing up in the library.  I actually could have read an entire book of just that.  Most of the stories, however, were written more experimentally with stream of conscious narrative and lots of descriptors.  I'm just not a fan of that kind of writing which is why I could not connect as much to the majority of these stories.  I am glad that this book exists, though, as a tribute to the importance of libraries even if it just wasn't really for me.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Let There Be Light - December 13, 2016

The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore
4.5 stars



For some reason, I have put off reading this book since I got it this summer and I have no idea why.  This is a fabulous book about the invention of electricity and the giants of the industry.  The main character, Paul Cravath, is a lawyer for George Westinghouse who is an entrepreneur and one of the inventors behind the generators and light bulbs that facilitated early electricity.  The race for the perfect light bulb has created hundreds of lawsuits between Westinghouse and Thomas Edison and the young, new lawyer, Paul, has been hired to sort out the mess.  Based on actual historical events, the book explores the importance of invention and of the differing personalities that have to exist in order for technological progress.  Each chapter opens with a quote from a different inventor including more current tech titans, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.  The chapters are short and the book reads quickly.  Paul proves to be a quick-minded but realistic young narrator who is sometimes set adrift amongst these powerful and ruthless men.  I really liked this one and this author is someone that I am definitely going to read in the future.  I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Friday Reviews - December 9, 2016

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin
3.5 stars



This fictional account covers the first years of Queen Victoria's reign, as she attempts to escape her mother's suffocating hold and seeks professional and personal encouragement from her Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne.  I always enjoyed Daisy Goodwin's novels and while I did certainly like this, I found it often cringe-worthy.  Victoria is portrayed as naïve, immature, and completely selfish.  Granted, she was only eighteen at the time she became queen, so this could all be very true, however it didn't make it any less uncomfortable as she made immature decisions while pining over her fifty year old Prime Minister.  The book did compel me to pick up a nonfiction account of her life and I found that I liked her more when I wasn't inside her mind.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 



Victoria: The Queen by Julia Baird
4 stars



I picked this up immediately following Daisy Goodwin's Victoria, just to get a real feel for her life as queen.  I enjoyed this book immensely and it was incredibly easy to read.  Victoria reigned for over sixty years during a time when the role of women was limited.  Many of her inherited roles were ones that normal women could not even imagine.  Yet, Victoria remained very traditional in her own views. She believed that woman's role was in the home, raising children and serving her husband even when her role as queen forced her to step outside those traditional roles.  She dutifully had nine children but felt resentful that she should spend so many months in confinement while Prince Albert completed her duties.  She was such a dichotomy and this book is a fascinating exploration of her life.  I often felt frustrated by her but also really related to her as a woman and mother.  Overall, this is an interesting take on this long serving monarch during such a tumultuous time in Europe.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 



A Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh
3.5 stars



I've had to take some time to digest my feelings about this book.  On one hand, the descriptions of 1950's Kenya are breathtakingly beautiful and descriptive enough to feel realistic.  The country was beginning to chafe against the inherent racism of colonial rule and native Africans were beginning to rebel in violent ways.  The story centers on eighteen year old Rachel who has returned home to Kenya after attending school in England following the death of her mother.  She finds her home much changed because of the complicated political situation and because of the new woman, Sara, who lives with her father.  All of my problems and frustration in this book lay in the characters.  Rachel is extremely observant but also incredibly passive.  The "bad guys" are so incredibly racist and horrible but there is no complexity behind their behavior to explain it.  This book is really beautifully written which makes the exasperating characters detract from the story a bit.  Overall, though, this book is really worth reading for a well-written account of Kenya during this time period.  I received this book through Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for an honest review. 

Sweet Romance - December 10, 2016

The Accidental Elopement by Maggie Dallen
3 stars



When Ryan notices Lucia, upset and nervous, walk into his bar, he assumes she's there to interview for the waitress position.  Lucia has just lost her job with a fashion designer and will be forced to return to Italy and her extremely wealthy, but controlling family.  Although there to beg her friend, the hotel's owner, for help, she decides to take the waitress job and the spark begin to fly between the two immediately.  Ryan, however, has secrets of his own and when Lucia unwittingly gives him the opportunity to enact revenge on an old enemy, he accepts her proposal.  This is a quick, fun read.  The chemistry is good between the two characters but the story and the character's dilemmas were mostly unrealistic.  This is the second book of this series that I have read and they are good books to fall into after a bad day.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Reading Life - December 5, 2016

Am I Alone Here: Notes on Living to Read and Reading to Live by Peter Orner
4.5 stars



There exists no greater delight to a reader than a book on the joy, and necessity, of books and reading.  The author here, writes about the books that have sustained him through difficult times in his life, such as the death of his father.  First of all, this book is nicely put together with a beautiful cover, sturdy flaps and nice illustrations of each book discussed.  Divided into chapters discussing a particular book, mostly short story collections, there is a diverse array to read about, many that I had never read.  Wonderfully written and full of great observations on the power of a good story, I recommend this to all passionate readers.  I received this book from the LibraryThing giveaway in exchange for an honest review. 

Friday Review - December 2, 2016

Lady Lost by Jane Goodyear
3.5 stars



This book starts off slowly as Marcus Granton deals with having not only Lillian but also a sweet little girl invade the privacy and isolation of his home at the same time.  Marcus's first marriage ended horribly and he is not at all excited about his unwanted feelings toward both of his new visitors.  Lillian has been living a fearful existence in her lecherous brother-in-law's home and when he is murdered, she is the number one suspect.  The first half moves almost too slowly and I found myself abandoning it frequently and while Marcus is an interesting character, Lillian is maybe too perfect and somewhat flat.  The second half of the book, though, really picks up, as does the chemistry between the two characters.  Overall, I did end up enjoying this book and am curious to see if Marcus's brother Stephen will be in a future addition to the series.  I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

A View From Space - December 1, 2016

Spaceman:  An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
By Mike Massimino
5 stars


Mike Massimino decided he wanted to be an astronaut after watching the first moon landing.  Like many boys and girls of the age, he was mesmerized by the brave men who dared to walk where no one else had ever ventured.  Unlike other boys his age, he actually became an astronaut traveling in space twice to fix the Hubble Telescope, spacewalking 350 miles above Earth.  The first third of this book reads like a pretty run of the mill memoir with many stories about hard work and persistence.  It is when Massimino finally makes it into space that this book becomes something really incredible.  I felt chills reading about his experiences seeing Earth from that perspective and the insights that he gained the moment that he actually saw how Earth fits into the whole of the universe.  This is the story of a genuinely nice man who worked hard, overcame obstacles, relentlessly pursued his passion and got to experience something that almost no one else in the world gets the chance to experience.  I'm not sure this is the most eloquently written memoir, but it doesn't matter.  Read it to be inspired, to feel better about our planet and be reminded how small we all are in the universe.  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.