Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser

December 18, 2013 by Christina

Nonfiction — print. Delta, 1993. Originally published 1969. 613 pgs. Library copy. Because I am so interested in Tudor history, particularly that of Anne Boleyn and her daughter Queen Elizabeth I, I have often encountered Mary, Queen of Scots in readings and film adaptations, but it wasn’t until I saw the latest television adaptation of her life — and I use the term adaptation loosely — that I became interested in her life beyond the small blurbs included in biographies […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Chunkster, Europe, Nonfiction, United Kingdom • Tags: Antonia Fraser

A Simple Faith by Rosalind Lauer

December 8, 2013 by Christina

Fiction — print. Ballantine Books, 2013. 370 pgs. Review copy. Being the first responder on the scene of a tragic highway collision gives nursing student Haley Donovan the confidence she needs to be the kind of nurse she has always wanted to be. The experience introduces her to Lancaster County’s tight-knit Amish community of Halfway and allows her and psychologist Dylan Monroe to bring counseling services to the community torn apart by following this accident. Elsie Lapp, owner of Halfway’s […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Amish, Fiction, North America, United States • Tags: Rosalind Lauer

The Secret Keeper by Beverly Lewis

December 7, 2013 by Christina

Fiction — print. Bethany House, 2013. 238 pgs. Advanced review copy. Like many of us who enjoy reading about the Amish, Jenny Burns has contemplated what it would be like to live amongst the Old Order Amish. Jenny, however, has taken steps to make this dream a reality — trading letters with a member of the Hickory Hollow Amish community to establish a connection, selling all her worldly possessions and leaving her job before moving to Hickory Hollow to join […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Amish, Fiction, North America, United States • Tags: Beverly Lewis

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

November 24, 2013 by Christina

Fiction — print. Bantam Books, 2011. 1016 pgs. Borrowed from a friend. Running concurrent to A Feast for Crows, the fifth book in Martin’s series follows the characters traveling and living outside of Westeros. Daenerys Targaryen, in the land to the east, rules over the city she conquered with her Unsullies and her three dragons but is finding how difficult it is to reign rather than defeat in battle. Tyrion Lannister leaves King’s Landing following the murder of his nephew, […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Chunkster, Fantasy, Fiction • Tags: George R.R. Martin

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

November 9, 2013 by Christina

Fiction — print. Bantam Books, 2011. Originally published 2000. 1060 pgs. Borrowed from a friend. Eight-year-old Tommen Baratheon is now the king of the Seven Kingdoms, but his reign is mere puppetry because his mother Cersi Lannister rules in all but name. Without her father, Tywin, or her brother, Tyrion, to guide her, Cersei has become paranoid about the influence House Tyrell is trying to inject into her rule through the marriage of Tommen and Margaery Tyrell, which alienates the […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Chunkster, Fantasy, Fiction • Tags: George R.R. Martin

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

November 2, 2013 by Christina

Fiction — print. Bantam Books, 2011. Originally published 2000. 1177 pgs. Borrowed from a friend. This book, the third in Martin’s fantasy epic, covers all of the third season of “Game of Thrones” (including the infamous Red Wedding) and then delves into all new territory. Of the five contenders for the Iron Throne introduced in the second book, one is dead, another is near defeat, and the others continue to wage war, make and break alliances, and scheme within their […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Chunkster, Fantasy, Fiction • Tags: George R.R. Martin

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

October 31, 2013 by Christina

Fiction — print. Bantam Books, 2011. Originally published 1999. 1009 pgs. Borrowed from a friend. The second book in Martin’s fantasy epic series titled A Song of Ice and Fire depicts the war and strife as the four men who claimed the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms are joined by a fifth — Balon Greyjoy, father of Theon the former ward of Ned Stark and the self-declared king of the Iron Islands. Theon, for his part, wages war on the […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Chunkster, Fantasy, Fiction • Tags: George R.R. Martin

Prophet’s Prey by Sam Brower

October 18, 2013 by Christina

Nonfiction — print. Bloomsbury, 2011. 323 pgs. Purchased. Subtitled “My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter-Day Saints”, Brower details the years leading up to the raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch (YFZ Ranch) in Eldorado, Texas he spent as a private investigator working for those expelled from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) embroiled in a civil dispute over property rights. The FLDS holds all the land around their original home of […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Nonfiction, North America, Religion, United States • Tags: Sam Brower

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

October 7, 2013 by Christina

To be honest, I started this book expecting to hate it. Most of the buzz I heard surrounding this book was negative criticisms — what does the wealthy, Harvard-educated Chief Operating Officer of Facebook know about being the average working mom? (Of course, what do I know about being a working mom?) But a close friend asked me to attend a community discussion on Sandburg’s book subtitled “Women, Work, and the Will to Lead”. Unfortunately, neither of us were able […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Nonfiction, North America, United States • Tags: Sheryl Sandburg

Bananas by Peter Chapman

September 30, 2013 by Christina

Nonfiction — print. Canongate, 2009. Originally published 2007. 240 pgs. Received from PaperBackSwap. I should preface this review by stating my bias against bananas. They taste rather like how I imagine cardboard would taste, and I can barely tolerate them in smoothies let alone in baked goods. But bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the United States and this book, subtitled “How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World”, ended up on the list of books I […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Food, Nonfiction, South America • Tags: Peter Chapman

Storm Front by Richard Castle

September 28, 2013 by Christina

Fiction — print. Hyperion, 2013. 314 pgs. Library copy. Presumed dead, Derrick Storm returns to the CIA to help catch his old nemesis, Gregor Volkov, before he can torture and kill another wealthy currency trader. With the help of a beautiful agent from China’s intelligence agency, Storm discovers the motivation behind Volkov’s scheme — devalue the United States’ currency in half sending the global economy into turmoil all while position himself and his cronies to recoup their losses and restore […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Crime, Fiction, New York, North America, United States • Tags: Richard Castle

Recent Acquisitions

September 27, 2013 by Christina

Have I really not shared a post of my recent acquisitions since May? Well, given how little reading I’ve been doing over the past few months, I suppose it is good that I managed to slow down my acquisitions as well. Yesterday and today were the on campus library’s used book sale and I could resist pursuing the available titles. I was fortunate to pick up two titles I’ve wanted to read for awhile, and a friend was nice enough […]

Categories: 2013 Reads, Bookish Notes