a collection of tried and true
An 11 year old boy sails from Sri Lanka to England in 1950’s by himself. During the many weeks long journey he meets a cast of charachters and gets into all sorts of 11 year old trouble. The book goes back and forth relating how the journey has shaped the author as a man. By the Author of The English Patient. An enjoyable read.
PJH Rating: ****
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Interesting novel set during different times of the Balkan wars. The main charachters are a young woman physician and her father but there are numerous side stories involving the man who never dies and the Tiger’s wife that I liked best. I didn’t like the end very much, but enjoyed the book overall.
PJH rating: 4 stars
Chic lit at it’s worst. We were on a vacation so I was looking for a book to bring to the beach as I didn’t want to bring my ipad. I started reading this drivel and not sure why I kept reading iy. A London girl goes to live with an Irish family during WW2 and book goes on and on and on about them during the next twenty years. Worst ending of a book ever.
PJH Rating: *
History re-told with Abraham Lincoln as a vampire hunter. Lincoln growing up as a vampire hunter and the REAL reason why the civil war was fought…as well as the REAL reason why Lincon was assassinated. A fun, readable book that I picked up on a whim but was much better that I expected.
PJH Rating: ****
Anne Tyler is one of my favorites and I always look forward to reading her books when a new one comes out. The latest follows the usual happy go lucky guy in Baltimore whose wife recently died and he keeps meeting her ghost during the months after she died. Not too much substance in this novel, but a nice light summer read.
PJH rating: ***1/2
I must admit I read this book because I liked the cover. I’m happy to report I enjoyed the inside as well. Set in the old west in the mid 19th century, two brothers are long time hired assassins. The book follows them on their crazy adventures killing most everybody they meet. I enjoyed how the book was written, clear and succinct. A fun book to read.
PJH Rating: ****
Follows London family through three generations starting at the beginning of World War Two and ending in modern times. The first third of the book was very good but the rest was terrible. I’m surprised I finished it.
PJH Rating: **
A book you can’t put down and spend all day reading is always good. Thanks for the recommendation Stephanie. It was interesting that the same day I was reading this it showed up on the Plain Dealer top books of the Summer. Esch is a 14 year old dirt poor girl in Mississippi who finds herself pregnant and chronicles the days leading up to the hurricane Katrina. Very good.
PJH rating: ****1/2
Doc is a historical fiction novel about Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp before they became famous at Tombstone. Written by Cleveland native Mary Doria Russell, and much different than her other novels I have read, it is a great story that is beautifully written.
PJH Rating: ****
I picked the wrong book to get me out of my reading block. Although it is always interesting to read about the crazy Nazi’s and the unbelievable reality of not that long ago, I just can’t get too into it. I had trouble reading Larson’s other books, and don’t think I ever finished them, but I am happy that I did plow through this one. I didn’t like the pacing of this book. It seemed like some of the book went into minute details of days and weeks for chapters and chapters and then it quickly went over years at a time in several paragraphs. There really is not much plot to it besides the history behind it all. Yawn.
PJH Rating: **1/2
Eat On Edgecliff 