Category: Book Review

Book Review / Books and Reading

Classics Club #32: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevesky

Was it really the hag I killed? It was myself I killed, not her! I murdered myself in one fell blow, for all time! It has taken me many false starts to try and read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, but I finally managed to do the deed. I’m not sure why it has taken so much effort for me to read this Russian classic. The characters are well developed and believable. The plot is suspenseful and compelling. The issues it explores are timeless and significant. And...

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Book Review / Books and Reading

Classics Club #21: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I finished Little Women five months ago, but am only now getting around to writing this review. I have to admit that my memory of reading the book has faded into a vague sense of enjoyment with few details about what I liked or disliked. That may have nothing to do with the book, since I have been quite busy since then. However, I remember thinking that while the book was pleasant, I enjoyed it less than The Secret Garden but more than She: A History of Adventure, which were the last two...

She by H. Rider Haggard

Book Review / Books and Reading

Classics Club #20: She by H. Rider Haggard

She is the landmark fantasy/adventure novel by H. Rider Haggard that has influenced authors like J.R.R. Tolkien, Rudyard Kipling, and George R.R. Martin. It has appeared on lists like Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, Horror: The 100 Best Books, and Classics of Science Fiction. Serialized from 1886 to 1887, She was one of the first “lost world” stories, and laid the foundation for stories featuring characters like Doc Savage and Indiana Jones. In She, Horace Holly narrates the tale of his journey with his adoptive son Leo Vincey to the heart...

Notes from the Upside Down

Book Review / Books and Reading

Notes from the Upside Down by Guy Adams

If you’re a fan of the Netflix series Stranger Things and you want to know more about what inspired the creators, then you’ll probably like Guy Adams’ Notes from the Upside Down. Adams goes through each episode of the series and discuss the music, TV shows, and movies and that have made their way into the show. While the book does discuss the plot and characters of Stranger Things, it tends to focus more on introducing readers to the late 70s and early 80s sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. I grew up in...

Book Review / Books and Reading

Cries from the Earth by Terry C. Johnston

My wife’s family is from the Camas Prairie, a beautiful region in North Central Idaho that includes communities like Grangeville, Cottonwood, and Winchester. That same area is the setting for Terry C. Johnston’s Cries from the Earth: The Outbreak of the Nez Perce War and the Battle of White Bird Canyon June 17, 1877. I purchased Johnston’s fictionalized account of the beginning of the Nez Perce war mostly because of its setting, and I hoped the history would come alive because of my familiarity with the area. Unfortunately, the...

These High Green Hills by Jan Karon

Book Review / Books and Reading

These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon

These High, Green Hills is the third book in Jan Karon’s The Mitford Years series, and I have to admit that I really enjoy these books. I haven’t written about this series before, so rather than review this third book, I will simply say that each of the first three books have the same charm, humor, and uplifting themes. The stories center around Father Tim, pastor of a small Episcopal parish in the fictional village of Mitford, North Carolina. Father Tim is a good man and a good...

Madeleine and Candlesticks

Book Review / Twitter

#LesMisReadalong on Twitter: Week 9 Highlights

An agonizing decision, an enigmatic dream, a frantic carriage ride to a strange town–such was week nine of the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along. And here is what it looked like on Twitter: Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along: Happy 216th Birthday, Victor Hugo! #lesmisreadalong https://t.co/AOhYJuVxLA pic.twitter.com/kjC7RczHAY — Nick Senger (@nsenger) February 26, 2018 https://twitter.com/buttontapper/status/968153813491372032 https://twitter.com/kimpineapple/status/968219418722521088 #lesmisreadalong https://t.co/TObqroIaNi — AStrongBeliefWicker She/her 5 x VAXX 📚🤷‍♀️ (@AStrongBelief) February 27, 2018 …he looked, and he saw that these two stars were the lamps of a carriage. By the light which they emitted, he could...

The Red House Mystery

Book Review / Books and Reading

The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne

The Red House Mystery is a locked-room cozy mystery written by A.A. Milne, most famous for creating the lovable character Winnie-the-Pooh. It is the only mystery Milne ever wrote, and he explains why he wrote it in the dedication to his father, John Vine Milne: Like all really nice people, you have a weakness for detective stories, and feel that there are not enough of them. So, after all that you have done for me, the least that I can do for you is write you one. Here...

Captain Alatriste

Book Review / Books and Reading

Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

He was not the most honest or pious of men, but he was courageous. I first read Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte twelve years ago, and it didn’t make much of an impact on me then. It was the third book in a row I had read by Pérez-Reverte, following The Club Dumas and The Fencing Master, and I think I was anxious to move on to something else and didn’t give it a fair chance. So I was very happy to receive a paperback copy for Christmas as part of...

Book Review / Books and Reading

Rumpole and the Golden Thread by John Mortimer

I first heard of the TV series Rumpole of the Bailey about twenty years ago when my friend Mike and I were talking about one of my favorite 1980s movies, Ladyhawke. Mike told me that the cantankerous monk in Ladyhawke was played by one of his favorite actors, Leo McKern, who also played the cantankerous barrister Horace Rumpole. To this day, Mike is still a big fan of Rumpole of the Bailey, having watched all the episodes on VHS multiple times, and having read all the stories in print. I, on the...

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Book Review / Books and Reading

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. I first heard of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy during Nonfiction November 2016, and then again during Nonfiction November 2017. Both JoAnn at Lakeside Musing and Lory at The Emerald City Book Review were so enthusiastic in their recommendations that the book quickly rose to the top of my “want-to-read” list. Now, after reading Just Mercy myself, I have to say it most definitely was as good as they said it would be. Not only is it a compelling story well...

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Book Review / Books and Reading

Classics Club #19: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a gem of a book. It’s one of those magical stories that book lovers appreciate in a special way. Not that it’s about books or reading, but it’s the kind of story that reveals itself and its characters slowly and gently, as only a book can. It’s about growing up and discovering the healing power of life. It’s a book for children of all ages, like The Wind in the Willows or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The story centers...