American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans by Eve LaPlante
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fantastic exploration of the political and religious issues of Anne Hutchinson and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. LaPlante delves into the religious conflict between the emerging Protestants and the Anglican Church in England and then continues the story in America, with the conflict between the different beliefs and values of the men in power. Anne Hutchinson’s story is a remarkable story about faith in oneself and living by your conviction. It’s also a fantastic exploration of the not-so-nice realities of living in Massachusetts in the 1640′s.
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The Heretics Daughter by Kathleen Kent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Haunting and hopeful, ths book is well researched and well written. Though factionalized, the characters are real, and this makes the telling more important: the suffering, fear and death surrounding those imprisoned and murdered during the hysteria of the Salem witch trials is laid bare.
I read this book in one sitting, often pacing with pain and despair at man’s inhumanity to man. There is hope here, too, and a fierce reminder that we must always chose.
Brilliant
The Bedlam Detective: A Novel by Stephen Gallagher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Talk about a tough case; our detective is put to test trying to assess the mental health of a Peer of the Realm. Two girls are murdered on the Peer’s estate and the Peer is suffering a break with reality following a harrowing journey down an Amazon tributary.
The story is compelling and the characters are rich and dimensional, but at times the random breaks into fantasy are a bit hard to follow. I like the former Pinkerton man turned investigator for the Office of Lunacy and I like his son Robert, a savant that appears to suffer from some form of autism, although that’s not spelled out.
It feels like the author is pushing too much into this first book, but I am game for another in the series.
Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Though at times I found my mind wandering as I listened to the tale of John Brown and The Raid That Sparked the Civil War, Horwitz provides the context and color so important to understanding why one man decided to raid the armory at Harper’s Ferry.
Horwitz knits together the threads of strain between the North and South that plagued the country for decades before erupting at Fort Sumter. A devout Calvinist and strident abolitionist, Brown plots and plans his attack for years before utterly failing and causing the loss of all his men, save one.
But did Brown really fail? What was his true intent? Horwitz explores these larger questions in an attempt to provide a richer, more complex view of the Brown’s raid.
My understanding is richer and deeper than I had expected when I started the book.
Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Deep characters, rich period details, complex political intrigue and compelling plots are the trademark of C.S. Harris’ Sebastian St. Cyr series. I never know where we’re going to go in pursuit of truth, honor and justice.
It’s 1812. King George III is insane and England is at war. St. Cyr and his friend Dr. Paul Gibson must find out who stuck the stiletto in the skull of a rising star in the Foreign Office. And why. Crossing continents and making political enemies, St. Cyr is also negotiating with Jarvis Hero to make her his wife but soon enough, she is drawn into the chaos and must fight to save her life and the lift of their unborn child.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and stayed up all night, as usual, to finish it.
My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
My Dear, I don’t care what you want to tell me.
I’ve tried to care, really I have. But, I don’t. Your self-indulgent characters don’t interest me. Your predictable forays into the terrors of WW1 French battlefields are so, well, predictable.
I wish I could say we can still be friends; but alas, this breakup is of the permanent variety.
Signed,
No longer interested.
Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great by Jim Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Be prepared to shake up your thinking! Defining your hedgehogs, priming the flywheel, and getting the right people on the bus are only part of the success equation for great companies and great social organizations.
In this monograph Collins spells out how to go for greatness by focusing on outcomes not inputs and helps clarify the challenge of defining non-monetary outcomes. What does it mean to empower middle-school girls? how do you know you’ve succeeded at being a world-class orchestra?
The insights into leadership and into the discipline around developing and leading great teams helped me 1 hour after I read this monograph to frame a critical decision that the whole team ended up saying ‘yup’ this is what we need to do.
Powerful thinking for business or social organizations.
The Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Medicine, Madness & the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Terrific. I knew absolutely nothing about President Garfield, nor his 6 month term of office. This is a riveting and compelling book about the science of the 1880′s, the politics of reconstruction, and the people who shaped our republic. I was captivated by the madness of the assassin and the arrogance and desperation of Garfield’s doctor — both of them needed to actually kill President Garfield.
In this well written and illuminating account, I learned so much about the reconstruction of the south and of the 1880′s in America.
Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
George Bush mis-quotes inspire this fantastic new Cotterill character, Jimm Juree. A would-be famous journalist uncovers a sinister and inhumane plot while trying to adjust to the family’s recent move to a little town in rural Thailand. Juree moves through the world with grace and humor and comes to understand both herself and her family. Cotterill uses his sense of the absurd and his knowledge that we all want to be accepted and to do something that matters to drive this book to a wonderful conclusion. I look forward to more of Jimm Juree and her sidekicks.
American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic by Joseph J. Ellis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fantastic! The American Revolution brought to us by flawed individuals. Joseph Eliss details the triumphs, tragedies, successes and failures of the founding fathers. I “read” this book as an audio book and I was enthralled with each vignette as Ellis delved into the details of the Louisiana Purchase, the writing of our Declaration of Independence and the ratification of our constitution. How close we came to not being a Republic is made clear through the letters and speeches of our founding fathers, Adams, Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe. This is a terrific look at the real men behind our country’s founding.
Val: If you haven’t already, read “On Chesil Beach” by Ian McEwan. It’s a small, good, book.
hey val!
don’t forget The Kite Flyer! (paint’s wrong….)
hope ya’ll are well!
hey val!
as i’d bet you know, it’s The Kite RUNNER!
(speaking of WRONG…but i do know a good book…)
Thanks, Sue!
Time to Archive this page and start anew. Please give me this year’s favorite reads.
Some of my favorite reads of 2009:
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Vitner’s Luck by Elizabeth Knox
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Berry
The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
(Not sure why they all started with “The”)
Thanks, Rachelle! I’ll have to get my own list out.
Great list, Rachelle. I have only read one of them and tried to read the 19th Wife, but just couldn’t get there. But I found ‘The Secret Scripture’ to be haunting and engaging. Things are not always what they seem to us.