Half Broke Horses, Jeannette Walls

I loved The Glass Castle, but wasn't sure what I would think about the new Jeannette Walls, a story of her grandmother as a first person narrative. I ended up loving the book, even though I often get so depressed reading about the depression, the dust bowl, poverty, etc.

Walls does a fabulous job, as in Castle of showing and not telling. I didn't particularly like the main character, and often despised how she treated some people, especially the emotional development of her daughter (now i know how Rosemary ended up the mother she was portrayed in Castle.) I didn't agree with many of her philosophies in life, or some of the conclusions she came to or assumed about everyone. But i definitely got to know her, I felt as if I met a real person with an intriguing story, and recommend taking the time to read the story (and Walls memoir!)Tawn

Tomorrow's Treasure, by Linda Lee Chaikin

This book is the first in a trilogy about the late 1800s when South Africa was being explored for its diamond and gold mines. The story follows a family heavily involved in diamonds and the scandals and society that surrounded the mines. The main character in this book is a girl who was orphaned during a Zulu uprising and then sent to England to grow up as a vicar's daughter.

This is another author from the Christian genre that is worth reading. A very interesting story line, lots of intrigue, etc--left me wanting to read the rest of the books in the series (I'm now in the middle of the second book, Yesterday's Promise.

Mrs. Mike

Benedick & Nancy Freedman originally published this book in the 40s. It's about a girl from Boston who left home at age 16 and married a Canadian mountie, who took her to live in the far north of Canada.

The story tells of all sorts of harrowing experiences in very untamed country at the turn of the century. The style of writing was interesting in that it didn't take much time for reflection until the very end, so the book moves quickly. It's a sweet love story but is also filled with tragedy. I recommend reading it.

Hmmm this isn't a very good review either, but it's a book worth reading (if you can find it, since it's probably been out of print since the 70s).

The Red Necklace

This is a novel by Sally Gardner about the French Revolution. I listened to it in short bursts over the last month, so I didn't retain a lot of it. But it was good enough to keep listening to in spite of being so broken up. It's a bit of a mystery, some drama, history and a little romance thrown in. Listening to it was especially entertaining because all the dialogue was in French and English accents. This is a pitiful review, but suffice it to say that it was a good book.

A good book and a cup of tea

Hasn't anyone been reading anything lately?!? I haven't read anything besides my Bible, cooking records, and recipes for the last several weeks, so I'm sorry I can't contribute much beyond recommending Hebrews 11 as a great preps study. Plus I have a good recipe for Shrimp Fettuchini (except I really can't recommend it yet, since I haven't actually tried it, plus the recipe is geared for 200 people). Maybe someday I'll have time to read books again.......

The Goodbye Season

I just listened to The Goodbye Season by Marian Hale, and recommend it. I wish I had read it, simply because I kept getting distracted while I was listening so didn't pay quite enough attention.

It's about a girl who loses her family to the Spanish flu, and she goes around trying to find work. One of her main hopes in life is to not end up like her mother, trapped in a marriage instead of living her dream, so that desire shapes her decisions.

From the Christian Genre

Having found myself in a home with shelf upon shelf of Amish/Christian books and plenty of time on my hands to read, I'd like to announce that with the exception of being clean, a lot of these books are poorly written and not worth reading. So of the four authors I've read in the last several days, here's how I rate them, worst to best:

I won't bother to read another of Wanda E Brunstetter's books. I read Going Home and the plot was totally predictable and the dialogue was horrible.

Even though I only skimmed the second half of B.J. Hoff's A Distant Music, I was just curious enough to read/skim the second book in the series. But I didn't bother with the third.

Beverly Lewis is a pretty decent author, with an intriguing insight into Amish culture in the book I read, The Parting.

I was about to give up on the shelf of books when I read When the Heart Cries, by Cindy Woodsmall. And then I stayed up too late last night finishing it. The plot was in-depth and heart-wrenching, and made me cry. Today I'm almost through the second in the series, When the Morning Comes, so except for the titles that shout pretty loudly that they are Christian books, I do recommend them. They aren't your typical "everything works out in the end because of their faith" books.