Carol's Suggestions for our December 2, Meeting

   Please note: All descriptions are from reviewers on Amazon.

         

“THE TIME TRAVELERS GUIDE TO MEDIEVAL ENGLAND “  352 pages, 2008 nonfiction

  Now in paperback, a literary time machine that takes readers into the sights, smells, and tastes of the fourteenth century—a book that is revolutionary in its concept and startling in its portrayal of humanity. Edward III and Henry IV. He makes the fourteenth century so accessible and easy to understand that even those with little knowledge of medieval England will be captivated.

"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." -- L. P. Hartley

Take this book along on your next trip to Medieval England to help ensure your travel experience is a smooth one. Some things you might need to know for your journey:
-- Hospitals are for the sick, but also travelers. If you stay there you might get the fun experience of sleeping in the same bed as someone with leprosy.

..fast paced and fun book.

The author has a way of making you feel like you are time traveling. And there is just so very much information here

 

. I wanted to know things like: how did they wash their clothes, how they used "bathrooms" (per se), what kind of houses they built, what "medical science" was at that time-the kinds of ways and means of how people lived in their day-to-day lives. Seldom do historical novels mention those things. THIS BOOK DOES!! Mr. Mortimer has extensively studied all possible references about the living conditions in the 14th century, so his book is based on facts. WHAT AN INTERESTING READ!!! if I were to travel back in time, the only way I would survive is to bring this book with me!

 

 

“BRAVING THE WILDERNESS”  BY BENE BROWN  nonfiction  208 pages 2017
“The book's theme is "true belonging", which the author defines as: "...the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging doesn't require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are." This might sound a bit unusual, but the book unfolds this idea in beautiful ways that truly will appeal to every reader--no matter what your ideology (including religious and political), no matter what your race, gender, or background”.

“Read this book; I cannot convey in a review how much it has the potential to change your life for the better. I read it yesterday and today in two sittings and am going back again and again to the writing, the ideas, and the inspiration to me to live more authentically and to be able to connect with others in deeper and braver ways.”
“Highly recommended”.

 

          “THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE”  by Neil Gaiman  fiction 2016, 178 pages  Genre : Magical Realism

          “Remarkable . . . wrenchingly, gorgeously elegiac. . . . [I]n The Ocean at the End of the Lane, [Gaiman] summons up childhood magic and adventure while acknowledging their irrevocable loss, and he stitches the elegiac contradictions together so tightly that you won’t see the seams.” (Star Tribune (Minneapolis) on THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE)

“Gaiman has crafted an achingly beautiful memoir of an imagination and a spellbinding story that sets three women at the center of everything. . . .[I]t’s a meditation on memory and mortality, a creative reflection on how the defining moments of childhood can inhabit the worlds we imagine.” (Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI))

 

        “FASCISM: A WARNING”        BY  Madeline Albright Nonfiction    

“Fascism: A Warning is dedicated to victims of fascism, but also to “all who fight fascism in others and in themselves”. Mrs Albright has earned the right to that ambitious mission-statement. At a moment when the question “Is this how it begins?” haunts Western democracies, she writes with rare authority.... [Yet] if her learning is to be expected, her way with words is a happy surprise, as is her wisdom about human nature. Free of geopolitical jargon, her deceptively simple prose is sprinkled with shrewd observations about the emotions that underpin bad or wicked political decisions.” (Economist)

“Besides providing an overview of the careers of Mussolini and Hitler, Albright looks at leaders such as Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, Turkey’s Recep Erdogan, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.... Sage advice in perilous times.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

“Incisive… [Albright] offers cogent insights on worrisome political trends.” (Publishers Weekly)

          

   “SMALL WONDERS”  BY BARBARA KINGSOLVER

          A book of Essays. both of Barbara Kingsolver's books of essays (this one and "High Tide in Tucson") are priceless. Especially "Small Wonders", I felt like she was speaking my thoughts, with my heart. I love so much how she writes and how she thinks.

 

    “THE CUCKOO’S CALLING”  by Robert Galbraith (alias JK Rowling)  2014

It's hard to put your finger on exactly what it is that makes The Cuckoo's Calling such a terrific new Private Investigator crime fiction debut. On the surface it seems straightforward, unexceptional and unambitious, everything fits the established conventions, there's nothing immediately new that stands out, and yet it's an utterly compelling read with strong characters that wraps you up completely and thrillingly into the investigation.