Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution’s Women: A Review

November 14, 2019

Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution’s Women by Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, Sophie Perinot, Heather Webb, and E. Knight

Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, French Revolution, France

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Summary:

Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!

Six masterful storytellers collaborate to share the experiences of seven unforgettable women of The French Revolution. During the Revolution, these courageous and determined women felt compelled to speak up and exert their influence wherever they could. Even though these are six separate stories, some passionate convictions and ideas connect them.

My Thoughts:

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The Women of the Copper Country: A Review

October 10, 2019

Annie Clements is called “America’s Joan of Arc”

The Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell

Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, Michigan, Mining, Activism, Biographical, Union

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Summary:

In July of 1913, twenty-five-year-cold Annie Clements has seen enough of the unfair working conditions in the mining town of Calumet, Michigan and decides it’s time to fight for a change. The men who work in the copper mines endure long hours, dangerous conditions, and low wages. Annie organizes and encourages the women to support a strike, but she also faces possible imprisonment, her husband’s anger, and personal threats. The Women of the Copper Country is a fictionalized account of the courageous efforts of women to organize a strike in the early history of the labor movement.

My Thoughts:

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The Vanished Bride: A Review

September 10, 2019

The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis

Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, Mystery

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Thank you #netgalley #berkleypublishinggroup for the free e-copy of #thevanishedbride by @brontemysteries (Bella Ellis) in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Summary:

The Vanished Bride is the highly imagined story of the famous Bronte Sisters before they were authors. In 1845, when all four Bronte siblings return home to live with their father (for various reasons), Charlotte, Emily, and Anne hear about the disappearance and suspected murder of a young neighbor woman, they decide to become lady detectors and embark on an ambitious endeavor to solve the mystery. Relying on their resourcefulness, determination, energy, wits, cleverness, and creativity, they investigate, interrogate, analyze clues, and follow leads. The sisters need to pursue these activities without drawing attention to themselves because of the expectations for women and their roles at that time. Since they are already intrigued by the idea of becoming authors in a male-dominated field, they are already thinking outside the box and challenging boundaries. Although at times they need to involve their brother, most of the investigation is accomplished without the knowledge of their protective father. Will they solve the mystery of the vanished bride?

My Thoughts:

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Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love: A Review

March 27, 2019

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro

Genre/Categories: Non Fiction, Memoir, Ancestry, Bioethics, Jewish

Family secrets….bioethics…..if you send in a DNA sample to Ancestry on a lark, be prepared for truth.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Summary:

Receiving DNA results from Ancestry propels a determined and persistent Dani Shapiro into a quest for identity and paternity. Shapiro thoughtfully unravels family secrets as she explores the meaning of love versus biology, a new cultural heritage, and family bonds. The story behind Shapiro’s discovery is not what you might expect and I won’t spoil that part of the story for you. You will want to know, though, that the ethical considerations that she brings up are worthy of discussion and careful thought.

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Leadership in Turbulent Times: A Review

February 15, 2019

In recognition of the Presidents’ Birthday Holidays in the United States….

Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Genre/Categories: Non Fiction, Biographical, U.S. Presidents, U.S. History, Government/Politics

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Summary:

In Leadership in Turbulent Times, Pulitzer Prize winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin explores the topic of leadership. Goodwin provides case studies of four presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson. As she describes their early lives and follows them into adulthood, she explains how they faced challenges and difficult circumstances and became noted leaders. What traits or skills did they share that helped them become leaders in their time?

Amazon Star Rating (February): 4.7 Stars

My Thoughts:

Leadership. Goodwin sets out to compare and contrast the leadership of four U.S. presidents, but the challenge of studying four vastly different men living in different times and facing unique circumstances is a monumental task. From her material, I gained some insights. Each of the four presidents faced challenges in childhood and their personal lives that might have discouraged them from pursuing their dreams. So the first traits I notice are resilience, determination, and risk taking. Each one had a feeling that he was destined to do more and be more than what his present circumstances would suggest was attainable. It is interesting to me that in our county’s early history, ambitious young men decided that politics was their best opportunity for achievement. In addition, they each cared deeply about the welfare of individual folks and the nation. They each were driven to make a difference and to be remembered for something. Finally, it struck me how each president was gifted in interpersonal communication, exhibited an affable personality, and was an excellent communicator. Overall, each of the presidents was visionary, an innovative problem solver, and thought outside the box. Although they had more differences than similarities, the similarities I mention are a significant part of their leadership traits. I think young people who study these presidents can be encouraged that a difficult childhood or challenging personal circumstances do not have to determine the course of their lives or their leadership potential.

The Presidents. Each president studied is a unique person with a dissimilar background and skill set from the others, yet each became a leader. Noted here are a few facts and insights I gained from the reading. Hopefully, the following details will whet your appetite for reading more about these interesting and famous presidents.

Abraham Lincoln was self educated with a great resolve to succeed, sensitive, and deeply empathetic. He is remembered for his ability to promote teamwork and for the Emancipation Proclamation.
Even though Theodore Roosevelt was privately educated, privileged, and sheltered, he was extremely self disciplined, ambitious, and grew in his ability to work well with others. He is remembered for being a rancher who took risks to build courage, a “rough rider,” for his leadership to resolve the coal miner strike, and for The Square Deal.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, a late bloomer, exhibited warmth and charm and verbal skills, had an optimistic temperament, had a desire to please, was a quick decision maker and masterful problem solver, and demonstrated adaptability. He was known for his leadership during the Depression, his efforts in the banking crisis, Fireside Chats, and The New Deal. Eleanor Roosevelt was a great partner with FDR as she traveled the country taking the pulse of the people (FDR: “Don’t confuse what people in Washington are saying with what people in the country are feeling.”). Women in journalism owe Eleanor a nod of appreciation as she declared that only women journalists were allowed at her press conferences which sent newspapers across the nation scrambling to hire women journalists!
Lyndon Johnson, never satisfied and always pushing forward, was driven by the lure of power. It’s thought provoking to compare Lincoln, driven by affiliation and teamwork, and Johnson, driven by power and control. Johnson is known for the Great Society (legislation in Civil Rights, federal aid to education, Medicare, voting rights, etc.). His greatest failure was Viet Nam which laid the foundation for future mistrust of government that we experience today.

All four presidents felt called to public service, and each experienced personal and professional setbacks. While some people quit under these circumstances and others recover somewhat and plod along in life, still others adapt, change, and grow like our four presidents.

Recommended. Leadership in Turbulent Times is highly recommended for all citizens of the U.S. because understanding our history informs our present and affects our future. It is especially recommended for those who enjoy inspiring stories of resilient and determined individuals, for history buffs, and for readers who enjoy personality studies and case studies.

Rating. I can see this is really good, and I know that for others it might be a 5 star read. For a person like myself who didn’t major in history, it’s wonderfully readable, thoughtfully presented, and engaging. I particularly appreciate that Goodwin includes reflective analysis as well as detailed historical facts. For readers like my husband who have read her other individual biographies of these presidents, some of the material in Leadership will be familiar and might seem repetitive. For me, it was informative and enjoyable, and it put random facts and acquired knowledge into a meaningful context.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Leadership in Turbulent Times

Meet the Author, Doris Kearns Goodwin

DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN’s interest in leadership began more than half a century ago as a professor at Harvard. Her experiences working for LBJ in the White House and later assisting him on his memoirs led to her bestselling Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. She followed up with the Pulitzer Prize–winning No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. Goodwin earned the Lincoln Prize for the runaway bestseller Team of Rivals, the basis for Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning film Lincoln, and the Carnegie Medal for The Bully Pulpit, the New York Times bestselling chronicle of the friendship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. She lives in Concord, Massachusetts, with her husband, the writer Richard N. Goodwin. More at http://www.doriskearnsgoodwin.com @DorisKGoodwin

See my review of Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Let’s Discuss!

Have you read any work of Doris Kearn Goodwin? I’ve read Wait Till Next Year (her memoir) and my husband has read several of her works…. Team of Rivals is a favorite.

What non fiction have you read so far this year? I just finished In Pieces by Sally Field (memoir).

Happy Reading Book Buddies!

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke

“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes

“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text

Looking Ahead:

Look at all these books I’ve read that will be reviewed on the blog in the next few weeks! The Beautiful Strangers by Camille Di Maio, In Pieces by Sally Field, Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly, Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris, and Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina (MG).

Links

The Secret Library Book Blog always has great weekly links! Please check out this reading resource!

I’ll be updating my Winter TBR as I read and review selections. So check back often!

SoCal residents: If you live in or near the Orange or Riverside Counties of Southern California, you might be interested in the Corona Library Author Brunch on April 13.

In Movie News….

For Fredrik Backman fans, Britt-Marie Was Here will be a movie! (I also heard that a Beartown series is being produced for Europe HBO…so maybe soon in the US?)

Reese Witherspoon to produce “Where the Crawdads Sing” and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

And….here’s the trailer for Where’d You Go Bernadette starring Cate Blanchette.

(You might consider adding these four books to your ‘want to read list’ in preparation!)

Sharing is Caring

Thank you for reading today! I’d be honored and thrilled if you choose to enjoy and follow along, promote, and/or share my blog. Every share helps us grow.

***Blogs posts may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price.

Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.

Book Cover and author photo are credited to Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website.

Learning To See: A Review

*this post contains affiliate links

January 11, 2019

Learning To See by Elise Hooper

Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, Fictionalized Biography, Photography, Internment Camps

Thanks to #WilliamMorrowPB #WilliamMorrowBooks #HarperCollins for my free copy of #LearningtoSee by Elise Hooper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

“It takes a lot of practice to see things are they are, not as you want them to be.”
(P 121)