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A Book Review SIte from Jan McClintock
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Archive for LibraryThing

Touched By Fire cover

Review: Touched By Fire

By Jan
 on November 16, 2013

Touched By Fire by Irene N. Watts

Touched By Fire coverHistorical fiction
Published September, 2013 by Tundra Books
Hardcover, 206 pages

This is the story of a young woman named Miriam Markovitz, whose family lived in Russia in the early part of the last century. Wanting to escape the horrible conditions under which they lived and the persecutions of the Jews, they moved to Germany and then to America.

I enjoyed the story and especially the fact that it told the tale of so many immigrants. It didn’t go into any details of the pogroms or anti-Semitism in Europe, but there are plenty of other places to find that. What it did tell was about the waiting, working, and separation of families for years in order to live a better life elsewhere. That is the basis of so many of our lives now, and a large part of the history of our country.

The book is written for young people and the writing is simple and clear. I would have liked a little more depth from Miriam’s character, but otherwise the book includes interesting and authentic people.

Although the cover and the back blurb make it seem as if the story is based on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, that is only a single incident in this story and occurs at the end. The real story is the emigration of Miriam and her family, and specifically her adjustment to her new places and friends.

Recommended for fans of historical fiction, especial YA.

The publisher sent a free copy of this book for a fair review. I will now be passing it on to other readers through my book club.
In categories Book Review, Historical Novel Tagged with anti-Semitism, Goodreads, historical fiction, LibraryThing, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, YA
List of books

List of Book Lists and a fun post

By Jan
 on September 2, 2013

Today I’m pointing to a fun post from Half Price Books that will bring back some memories and hopefully make some new ones. 50 Greatest Love Stories Ever Told (in a book) by Meredith celebrated “Kiss and Make Up” Day on August 25.

I like book lists. It’s fun to look through them and pick the ones you’ve read and want to read, or to wonder how in the world the author came up with that one to add to the list. Although they are usually somewhat subjective, sometimes I wonder, “What were they thinking?” It’s interesting to read the comments, too, and either chuckle, growl, or nod my virtual head at ‘omissions’ and ‘additions.’

  • I love the “Have You Read?” section in Bookmarks Magazine, which includes themed lists sent in by readers.
  • I adore Flashlight Worthy Books, a web site full of handpicked book recommendations by readers; it’s a terrific resource.
  • The Listmania feature on Amazon.com is touch and go, but contains some real gems.
  • I don’t use the Library Thing Zeigeist feature as much as I used to, but it can be extremely handy for finding books, authors, genres, and users in several different ways.
  • Goodreads has its own version of Listopia that is a very effective tool for finding old favorites and new possibilities.

Have fun with the lists, and please let me know if you have more to add.

From “50 Greatest Love Stories Ever Told (in a book)” on the HPB blog

© Jan McClintock of We Need More Shelves

In categories List Tagged with amazon.com, Goodreads, LibraryThing

Review: Caveat Emptor

By Jan
 on June 8, 2012

Caveat Emptor: A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie;

Caveat Emptor coverBloomsbury USA (2010), Hardcover, 352 pages;

This fourth volume in the series finds Ruso back in Britain and reluctantly as usual on the case of a missing tax collector. I say as usual because he seldom has his way with anything, it seems, and for a Roman citizen with a trade is rarely pleased with the way his life is going. His discontent is wearing off on me as a reader, and I slogged through this book like a legionnaire does mud.

Downie makes the atmosphere feel real, and her descriptions are usually right on. The cast of co-stars is rather large, something I don’t enjoy, but most of the major players were well-identified. I don’t like the fact that Ruso is left in the dark for so long while he bumbles about looking like a amateur. Tilla is constantly causing more trouble, which I realize is fuel for the fire.

I would like something more positive from this series in order to continue. Ruso as the inept detective may have been fun at the beginning, but has now worn off as a plot device.

[I received this book gratis as part of the Early Reviewers program from LibraryThing.]

© Jan McClintock of We Need More Shelves

In categories Book Review, Historical Mystery Tagged with LibraryThing, roman empire

I’m Tired of Depressing Subjects

By Jan
 on August 9, 2009
Is it just me, or are the subjects of books more depressing than ever these days? As examples, listed below are the descriptions — from the publishers — for some of the Early Reviewer books from LibraryThing for August 2009. These books will be released either at the end of the month or soon after.

“…Leaford, Ontario — home of Rose and Ruby Darlen, the sorrowing parents of Larry Merkel, and not far from Rusholme where Addy Shadd once looked after an abandoned child — love and grief combine to awaken an obese woman from her loneliness. When her husband doesn’t come home on the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary, Mary Gooch, who has never learned to be self-sufficient, sets out on a truly remarkable journey of self-discovery that takes her first to the big city and then to another country.”

“…a haunting tale of love and tragedy. Marly is a young woman struggling to deal with her emotions and depression in a small, grey town. She longs to be anywhere else, retreating into daytime tv and her idyllic childhood dream-world of horses and white cottages by the sea. For her devoted fiancée David, this means a life of hard work, supporting the love of his life financially and emotionally. But as Marly begins to find her feet in reality and hope for a brighter future, time may be running out for David.”

“In this inventive collection of stories, Chris Adrian treads the terrain of human suffering—illness, regret, mourning, sympathy—in the most unusual ways. A bereaved twin starts a friendship with a homicidal fifth grader in the hope that she can somehow lead him back to his dead brother. A boy tries to contact the spirit of his dead father and finds himself talking to the Devil instead. A ne’er-do-well pediatrician returns home to take care of his dying father, all the while under the scrutiny of an easily-disappointed heavenly agent. With A Better Angel’s cast of living and dead characters, at once otherworldly and painfully human, Adrian has created a haunting work of spectral beauty and wit.”

“The definitive history of the self-destructive lives—and tragic deaths—of rock and roll’s greatest icons: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, and Jerry Garcia. The Rock & Roll Book of the Dead show there’s more hell than heaven in real stardom. Drawing on extensive research and groundbreaking details of these icons’ deaths, David Comfort’s exposé sheds new light on the tragic price of fame. Each chapter traces one of these seven artists’ lives, from their childhood traumas to their fatal attractions, and shows how much they had in common, as if cast in the same essential mythic legend.”

“Her body was found in a Dumpster. But one look at the victim told Hart and Tain that this would be no ordinary investigation. There were details eerily similar to the first case that they had worked on together, a search for a terrifying murderer called the Missing Killer. And when they saw the victim’s face they realized something else—this woman was the only one to escape the Missing Killer with her life. But Hart, Tain and Nolan solved that case almost two years ago. The killer is dead. Isn’t he? Is someone out to finish what the Missing Killer started? Or did they get the wrong man?”

Now, honestly, do you REALLY want to read any of these? I actually had a difficult time finding any on the entire page of 64 books — with the exception of children’s books — that were upbeat and positive. Amoung the vampire, murder, Holocaust, and teen pregnancy stories, there were a few shining examples of optimism: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba (HarperCollins), Nappily In Bloom by Trisha R. Thomas (St. Martin’s Griffin), and especially Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls by Marybeth Maida and Debbie Kiederer (Citadel Press), a beauty book for chemotherapy patients, which I suppose could be considered the epitome of optimism.

I realize that human nature wires us to be entertained by the macabre, but I also like to be reminded of the beauty in the world and the happiness in life, and even to escape to other places and times. Not that my own life is miserable, by any means, but why focus on the negative all the time?

I’m not hiding my head in the sand, either. I agree that it’s important to be aware of current events and human faults. As a history fan, I realize not all stories have happy endings, and although I despair of people (in general) ever learning from their past, I still have hope.

My eclectic taste in books is proof of my vast interest in life. But new books are concentrating on the dark side a little too much for me.

© Jan McClintock of We Need More Shelves

In categories Reading Tagged with LibraryThing

Reviews I’ve Written; LibraryThing

By Jan
 on November 1, 2008

I’ve written a few very small reviews of some of the books I’ve read, mostly mysteries, of course. Instead of duplicating, I’ll just give the link for those on LibThing and let you read them there.

If you haven’t checked out LibThing, I urge you to take a look. It’s more than a book cataloging web site, because you can find so many possible volumes to add to your TBR pile that you will have to get a second job to finance it. Unless you already have a second job to pay for the books you already read…
One way to begin is with Groups. Select that tab at the top of the home page and take a look at the many choices. Pick one that interests you and peruse the messages. You will find posts from readers who enjoy the same genre (for example), and who suggest many titles and/or authors.
A few of the many, many groups: Writer-Readers; Chick Lit; Science-Fiction Fans; Bloggers; Christianity; Books that made me think; Cookbookers; Genealogy@LT; Children’s Literature; I See Dead People’s Books; Gardening; Audiobooks; Fforde Ffans; Classical Music; Mac Users at LibraryThing.

© Jan McClintock of We Need More Shelves

In categories Book Review Tagged with LibraryThing