Adult Book Reviews

This is a CD. It is a total waste of time and money. You will learn some numbers and days of the week. The majority of time is used to teach you how to sleep and think about "learning". Summary: if you want to learn
Spanish DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.

After reading the classic Sherlock Holmes stories, Laurie R. King wondered what would a woman with a mind like Sherlock Holmes be like? Then she wondered what would happen if they met each other? And so the Mary Russell series of mysteries was born.... The story begins with Holmes retired from London and keeping bees in the country. Russell is walking across the fields with her face in a book, preparing for her university entrance exams. She very nearly steps on him. This is a wonderful book for anyone who enjoyed the original stories, but would like to consider how Holmes would function during the years before, during, and after World War I.

First in the Mary Russell series. Mystery--Historical Mystery--Psychological Suspense.

I loved this memoir of a young girl growing up in Berlin in World War II. It is told in a way that makes you feel that you were there, running for the shelters during raids, watching the city you loved decimated by bombs, working in the hospitals and seeing the advance of the Russians. She even spent time in a Russian gulag for reasons unknown, she and her mother were just trying to get to safety. It is a different perspective from many World War II-era books that I've read, and it was an interesting insight into what the German citizens were thinking and feeling.

I appreciated the way that the story was told - it felt like I was sitting next to someone and having them just tell me their life history. The author did a wonderful job transcribing her mother's story, adding little footnotes when necessary and pictures throughout.

Timely in publication date if not when I read it, Taft explores politics and the state of America as seen through the eyes of a freshly woken William Howard Taft. The alternate reality aspects of the story are glossed over, which I was disappointed by, and the author seems to have a personal vendetta against processed foods, which seemed shoehorned into a story where it didn't belong, but overall, I don't want the time it took me to read this story back, which is fairly high praise.

This book was full of twist and turns. Held my attention and couldn't wait to pick it up again.
Highly recomended.

Many readers may have seen Edward Curtis's turn-of-the-last-century sepia photographs of Native Americans--the photograph of Chief Joseph or that of a line of Indians on horseback, small in comparison with the monumental rock formations of the southwest, traversing Canyon de Chelly in Arizona.
Born in 1868, Edward Curtis devoted his life to documenting in photographs and text the life of the North American Indian--in the end, producing a twenty-volume collection of books. Egan's fascinating and informative book narrates the story of Curtis's life and life work, time spent with Indians of the southwest, the northern plains, the northwest coast, and Alaska. Egan relates Curtis's association with, among other well-known Americans, Teddy Roosevelt and J. P. Morgan. Readers interested in the history of photography, in the history of the United States, and in the history of Native Americans would enjoy this book.

Explore an uncharted tributary of the Amazon River with President Theodore Roosevelt in The River of Doubt by Candice Millard. The adventure encompasses United States history, South American politics, native populations along the Amazon, and the relationship that President Roosevelt had with his son. Learn about the animals and plants along the dangerous Amazon and the near death of the President.

This is a non-fiction book about explorer Percy Fawcett who, along with his son, disappeared in the Amazon while looking for “Z.” Using information from journals and other sources, the author makes his own trip to the Amazon in an attempt to figure out what happened to Fawcett. I really enjoyed reading this book. Along with being entertaining, I found it very educational. I definitely recommend it!

Tina Fey's account of her journey to become a successful writer/comic/actress is funny and interesting. With sincerity, warmth and wit, she tells about her life without glossing over the awkward and challenging moments. BTW, she's awesome!

Very encouraging book. Lots of examples from her life and the Bible about trusting God about the future and hope for the hard times.

A very funny portrait of a son's relationship with his eccentric father. I loved that the author was able to draw out the love his father had for him through these ridiculous things he said. A clever book and a quick read.

This was an interesting book. I liked that it takes place in Colorado Springs. Nancy Saltzman is a very resilient woman. I'm not sure I would have the kind of strength she had if the unthinkable ever happened to me. I guess I was expecting more of a direct 'how to' on grief and loss, but instead the book was more of a teach by example. That's not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting.

Great book , I love all the references to the 1980 and 1990.

This is my all time favorite book. To quote the book. plots with in plots. Every time I read it (6 times) I find more and more subtly plot lines.

I wanted to like this book. Rowling is a good writer and there are some interesting plot lines. However, there were too many stories, with no central story or character to root the reader. I also found myself either not liking or being apathetic toward most of the characters. The common factor to all the characters and plot threads is the shared geographical location; it doesn't seem to be enough to pull it all together. It felt like a slice-of-life account rather than a novel. The Casual Vacancy would be a good read for a book group--perhaps discussion with more enlightened readers would help make sense of it.

This epistolary novel is a quick read. At the beginning of 1946 a young newspaper columnist named Juliet receives a letter from a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. She soon finds herself on the Channel Island of Guernsey meeting the members in person to learn about their island and find out the impact the recent German occupation has had on each of their lives.

Stephanie is at it again – blowing up cars, breaking and entering, being pursued by a lunatic, landing in a grave, and being rescued by Ranger among other things. She and Lula, once again, are searching for someone who has mysteriously disappeared, while at the same time are dealing with some of the nut-jobs from the Trenton area. Steph does have a tender heart toward them though. Grandma Mazur is once again instrumental in her successful sleuthing. Stephanie is slightly less conflicted this time about Ranger and Morelli. Hmm…

It’s a fun and easy read, and some parts made me laugh out loud

LOVING FRANK is the dramatic story of architect Frank Lloyd Wright's affair with a married woman in the early 1900s. Based on real facts, the novel explores their love and motivations. The ending is jolting and unexpected...gripping, but true.

The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception by John MacArthur is a must-read for Christians concerned with truth. In a politically correct world, “truth” tends to be described as relative to each person. Whether a person believes that gravity is “true” or not, the apple WILL fall from the tree. With the same certainty, MacArthur states that the Bible is God’s unambiguous truth - whether one believes that or not.

His introduction is titled “Why the Truth is Worth Fighting For.” The following eight chapters describe aspects of what is happening in our world today, especially with regards to Postmodernism, the Emergent Church Movement, and False Teachers.

I found John MacArthur’s book refreshingly honest, courageous, and like a drink of cool water. The book reminded me that Christianity is all about truth, not personal opinion. After reading this book, I am resolved that truth will always be important, and worthy to defend.

Maine towns are always a quaint setting for an adventurous tale and this book delivers. The remodeling situations that arise are hilarious and the book has useful "tool time" like hints sprinkled in at the beginning of most of the chapters. I found myself really looking forward to reading the next hint. There are quirky characters that you get to know, care about, and even want to emulate. The plot moves forward at a steady pace but sometimes for me mysteries throw in too many details and drag on just a little too long.