~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My ratings and reviews:
* (1 star) It was okay. If not my cup of tea, maybe it's yours.
** (2 stars) Good. One to borrow from a friend or the library.
*** (3 stars) Very good. Well-written. Definately worth your time.
**** (4 stars) Excellent. On all levels. One for your personal library.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME by Ron Hall and Denver Moore***
A great, faith-inspiring, truelife story of two men literally from two different worlds, and the woman who encouraged their friendship. It challenged my worldview, and caused me to consider my thoughts/attitudes/responses towards those who are homeless--and why I have next to no contact with them.
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen**
I really liked vast portions of this book, but a few dicey scenes left a bad taste in my mouth, hence the 2 stars. Overall, it educated me as to what life aboard a traveling circus during the Great Depression era might have been like, and was an engaging story. Jacob Jankowski flashes back and forth between his present day existence as a 90 something year old living in a nursing home and his memories as a youth, riding the rails as a vet for the circus.
MY LIFE IN FRANCE by Julia Child***
Loved this book! We had recently enjoyed the film JULIE & JULIA (yes, even Pete liked it!) which is about a 30 yr. old woman named Julie who decides she is going to cook her way through Julia Child's THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING cookbook in a years time, AND Julia Child's story at the same time. (Meryl Streep is pure genius as Child!) Anyway, I already was interested in learning Julia's story firsthand, and so this memoir of her life and love of la belle France was like a fine meal.
ROOFTOPS OF TEHRAN by Mahbod Seraji***
Like KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini, (but set in Iran instead of Afghanistan) this coming-of-age story is about two teenage friends, Pasha and Ahmed, hanging out on the rooftop terrace dreaming about life, love and what the future holds. What makes this story different is that it is 1973, and Iran is under the harsh reign of the shah. Their idyllic summer comes to an abrupt end when a close friend is abducted by the not-so-secret police, and further acts of transgression lead to tragic results. Seraji writes an emotional and thought-provoking portrait of Persian culture and life during this period of Iran's history.
JUST JANE by Nancy Moser****
A thoroughly delightful novel in which the real Jane Austen is fictionalized. I have the film MISS AUSTEN REGRETS put out by Masterpiece Theatre included on another Austen DVD, and Olivia Williams plays the part of Jane. Her face and voice have taken on another life form as I've read this book. While the book deals mainly with her life prior to being published and the film her later life, they are both simply wonderful.
6 comments:
I love your recommendations...need to head to the library!
Do you recommend Julie and Julia or the book first? I haven't done either.
Annette,
For me, watching Julie and Julia peaked my interest in reading Child's memoir. It helped me to "hear" her as I read, since I was not really familiar with her beforehand.
You have inspired me to read more!! I didn't care for Water for Elephants either for the same reasons!! Why do authors have to ruin perfectly good books?! Same Kind of Different as Me is on the top of my to-read list! Thanks for all of the reviews!
Ooo, Same Kind of Different as Me is also on my to-read list, along with My Life in France. Glad you liked them!
I put SKoD on hold at the library over a week ago. I'm sixth in queue, so I guess I'll have to just wait my turn.
I think I'd enjoy My Life in France, as I love anything French and cooking as a necessary hobby. I think I'll try to discover my inner "Child" with the movie first and then read this.
Thanks for the review. Always a joy to see who likes what, and why.
I always love reading your reviews.
Post a Comment