Bronwyn
More fluff. A bit better than the first though. I liked that Miss Charming was back and more developed. The mystery wasn't great though.
This book has everything I love in Ann Rinaldi's books. History, intrigue, interesting characters, and then her author's note telling you what's true or not. Really great. Will have to reread some others here soon.
This is still a fun read. I probably wouldn't give it five stars today, but I'll leave it. On to the sequel.
I also listened to the 372 Pages podcast covering the book. Overall I disagree with them [obviously], but they had some good points. Mainly - the time in which Wade has had available to learn everything vs the amount of time it would take just... doesn't work. If you didn't like the book, or even if you did, you might enjoy the podcast.
Another we've read a lot and I've never logged! I like this one a lot. It has fun rhymes and counting to ten (and a little backwards from seven).
This is a good book that will hopefully help with my kids own gimmies. Brother and Sister get a little smug at the end, but the main story and message is good.
My son loves Elmo and loves these little lift the flap books. They're a big hit over here!
If this book had been titled anything but what it was, I wouldn't really have any complaints. As it is though, I feel the title is misleading. I'd say only about half the book is about Hedy Lamarr, the rest about George Antheil and their invention. I understand that the invention having two creators means you have to talk about them both, but then don't make the book sound like it's about Hedy Lamarr only and her inventions. It's a joint biography, and really only one invention is discussed in depth (others are mentioned in passing).
That all being said, the book was easy to read and very interesting. My only other complaints are that it got bogged down a bit in all the technical information and the way the author sometimes writes. (Really, “A historian wrote”, or some such? Call the historian by name, don't make me go hunting in the notes for every reference.) I'd recommend this book, but don't go into it thinking it's just about Hedy Lamarr.
This is a fun book. Mitford is such an easy, amusing writer, but it's not just fluff. I'm glad I reread these. (I can't help by picture Cedric and Lady Montdore from the miniseries during the whole “brush” bit.)
(Previous review, now defunct-
Please see my article at: http://www.suite101.com/content/nancy-mitfords-most-famous-novels-a381486)
I enjoyed this quite a bit. I think I prefer Forster's A Room With a View overall, but the Schlegels and Wilcoxs are interesting characters. Forster certainly writes well and you get a real sense of the place.
I'm so glad I finally reread this. (A new adaptation will do that to ya.) I love this. It's so beautiful and nostalgic but also very present. It's funny and heartbreaking.
(Previous review, which I wish I could read again, now defunct:
Please see my article at: http://www.suite101.com/content/nancy-mitfords-most-famous-novels-a381486)
More like 3.5 but I'll be nice. ;)
I really enjoyed the stories about the family and Kick Kennedy. I less enjoyed the mining stuff, but definitely understand its place in the story.
I love weird British families.
I'm starting the American Girls podcast, so I'm rereading my AG books before I listen to the episodes.
Not my favorite book, but I do like how the Revolution is getting closer, with all that means. It seemed a bit simple and quiet otherwise though.
About to start the American Girls podcast, so I'm rereading my AG books before I listen to the episodes.
I really enjoyed this one. For some reason, I remembered the opening scene of the book before I even read it again. I remember really liking Elizabeth and I still do. The “lesson” Felicity learns is well done, Mother is wonderful, and the book brings more of the Revolutionary themes into the stories.
(My mom made me Felicity's school dress for fifth grade colonial days and it was basically the best thing ever.)
Overall this is a good collection of DuMaurier's “lost” short stories (most were previously published in magazines but not since). As with so many short story collections it's a bit uneven, but you can't really go wrong with DuMaurier. She really does like unnamed narrators, doesn't she?
My favorites/the most memorable would be The Doll, And Now To God The Father, Tame Cat, The Happy Valley, and The Limpet.
My thought that NYRBs are worth reading even if it's not your thing, continues. I'm not big on these sort of travel/adventure stories, but I'm glad I read this. Orm and his adventures were really interesting to read about. I loved meeting all the different people he met. So, while not my thing, still worth reading.
I didn't really care for this. Part of it was my fault: it's the fourth book in a series and I didn't know, so I haven't read the others. Most of it wasn't really though. I felt that the narrator did not sound like a twelve year old and was rarely treated like one. I didn't buy that all these adults were hanging out with Emma so much and enjoying it, or they were giving her a hard time. I felt like we were going in circles the whole time too, place-wise in the book but also with the information Emma gathered. The hotel, the cab, the garage. The baby kidnapping, Emma's almost being killed, the Devereau sisters. Etc. Bleh. It would also be interesting to count how many doughnuts Emma ate in this book. I think the only proper food she ate was breakfast once or twice. It was all cookies and brownies and so many doughnuts. I don't know. Maybe it's me and having started on book four. However, given that I didn't really care for the writing or the narrator, I probably won't be checking out the rest of Grimes's books. I do still love the cover though.
I didn't not like this, I just didn't really like it. All the funny bits are in the second half, which makes the first half rather slow going.
I really enjoyed this book. Going into it I knew little about any of the women. I'd previously read some about Zelda Fitzgerald and Diana (Manners) Cooper, and recognized Tamara de Lempicka's paintings, but that was about it. This book expanded on the little I knew, and gave me great starting points on the other women.
Flappers covers the lives of Diana Manners Cooper, Nancy Cunard, Tamara de Lempicka, Tallulah Bankhead, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Josephine Baker. Mackrell has two chapters on each woman, one each in the first half and second half of the book. We learn about the woman's early life, how/why they became famous or infamous, and what happened to them afterwards. Many of the women had fairly sad lives after the 20s, it seemed, never being able to live up to or shed their image of the Flapper in the 20s. What was fun and appealing in the 20s was less so after the Depression hit and the world moved towards war again. The only woman who came out seeming to have had an overall happy life was Diana; the others all were eclipsed by who they had been.
This is a great jumping off point to learning more about both the women covered and the times in which they lived.
What an excellent book. Hadley was a fascinating woman, with or without Ernest. She had such an interesting life. My only complaint would be that the book was so heavy on her time with Ernest, when she lived so much after their marriage. I can't complain too much though since they had such an intense relationship. It was wonderful reading the excerpts from their letters. It will be interesting to read The Paris Wife now that I've read an actual account of Hadley's life, and to reread A Moveable Feast. I highly recommend this book; it's very vivid and reads very easily.
So many feelings about the end of this book. Right on to the last book.
Better review to come.