This #Netgalley has been something I am looking forward to reading. Ready to dive in.

It‘s taken a while to get to this memoir. I am finding that it is like many stories of individuals who have had difficult circumstances yet have come out successfully but with scars. 75% through I am finding the juice is worth the squeeze.

Just starting this and a chapter in I am intrigued.

Loved Darznik‘s first novel, Song of a Captive Bird, making this an easy one to pick up. The Bohemians is very good and enjoyable. The story line follows Dorothea Lang from her landing in 1918 San Francisco through the 30‘s. she is known for her Photojournalism, but I found the most interesting characters to be Caroline. There are clear through lines in the historical & political climate of 100 years ago and today. A bit uneven, but I recommend.

Very excited to start this one, pre-ordered months ago.

Just getting into 1491 - it‘s been on my shelf staring at me since 2007? Can‘t be sure. It‘s been long enough that‘s for certain.

If you have not read Kristin Hannah - you should. The Four Winds is a great place to start. Historical Fiction that follows the life of Else in the Texas panhandle. Born just before the turn into the 20th century, just in time to come of age during the roaring 20‘s then the Great Depression into the center of the dust bowl. The novel is full of heart, but tears at your heart just the same. Thanks to Netgalley. Best fiction I‘ve read this year.

The first half of this book I could not put down. Was very good and has some great insight and data. As it moved to the second half of the book i became less interested. However, overall a very good read. I came away with some good knowledge.

Just getting started. I enjoy anything that has a sociological bent. Very interested in this subject matter.

Just beginning the new Kristen Hannah book. I‘ve been looking forward to this.

After digesting this definitive biography on Frederick Douglass I come away awed at his Legacy of work. His private life is a complicated one. At times I was not enamored with this facet of the man. However his words and actions on the world stage hold great sway. His unyielding attention towards equality and justice are still relevant today. Fortunately there are many who stand with the foundation Douglass set as we seek to meet his lofty goals.

Introduction was very interesting. Looking forward to reading through audible.

Hailed as on of the top 100 nonfiction books of all time by modern library Morris‘s Rise of Theodore Roosevelt does not disappoint. Thorough, detailed and highly readable. TR is a subject that injects enthusiasm in the reading. The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kerns Goodwin is also a favorite on Roosevelt. Look forward to Theodore Rex soon!

This has been a real treat for me. After several massive biographies in a row, I was feeling a bit burnt. However, Roosevelt does not disappoint. Heading to the end and look forward to the next two volumes. #History #Biography

Finally getting to Frederick Douglass. A couple chapters in and it‘s a keeper.

About 50% in. Fascinating 🧐. Loving it. #history #amreading.

Started two books today. Both holding my attention. #TheSoulofAmerica & #Factfulness. Cheers!

Very interesting. First chapter sets a paradigm shift in the way we see the world.

1974 and the answer to all her fathers PTSD issues after Vietnam is Alaska! Will it be, finally so? The Family enters their new life with hope and wonder. A story of a dysfunctional families attempt at Normalcy gone wrong. Told from the eyes of the young daughter. Some tough Material in packed in, but I am now a fan of this author after this and The Nightingale.

I am probably not the audience for this writing. It was a bit of a downer to me. The writing expressed with a mix of saccharin and melodrama. It read more like a memoir and the real challenges she faces and the faith challenges as well. For me it was a bit too much. I know so many love this book. I can‘t say any more than it was just not for me.

The jury is still out on this one. Some 30% through. The writing I cannot argue with. The social commentary is real. The uncomfortable feeling I get is the snapshot inside the lives of people that does not feel good for me. It may say more about personal taste than the content.

This was much better than I had expected. I‘m not sure what I had thought, a typical self help and retail philosophy? It actually is very sound and common sense advice that you can easily comprehend. Much can be easily gleaned from the material. One of the best books on how to have and keep a happy marriage I have had the pleasure to read.

While it is quite the massive undertaking, reading this was well worth the investment in time. Like other Chernow writings, it is thorough and intense. There seems to be nothing left to question with regards to Grant. Chernow has written the definitive biography.

So book 6 - Seems that just like most who become parents, especially those who have 6 kids, Our little Anne has taken a back seat to her children in this one. Still enjoying these as my daughter and I read along together.

Patrick DeWitt delivers a great western tail. Two brothers The infamous Sisters Brothers take a job to remove a man who their boss The Commodore wants killed and his secret recipe brought to him. Along the way the Brothers intersect with several scenes that have them question the motives and ethics of this job and wrestle with what to do. A wonderful journey. Funny and very readable. Coming to the big Screen.

Now having turned the corner on this amazing read, I can say that Chernow delivers once again. It reads very Thorough in detail and a fair and balanced look into the General and President who, in a few years, rises from failure to greatness and captures the public‘s fascinations.

I have been diverted to other titles while reading this and picked it back up this weekend. I have to say this is a fascinating read. Chernow does such a great job of informing and entertaining.

Getting ready for the pre-teens. Having raised four others already - Three wonderful boys and a beautiful young lady. This, My last was a late comer. I Would be an empty nester if not for her. This is Book is giving me some perspective that is very worth while.

Book Five of the series reading with my daughter. Love the reading time together, but this was neither of our favorites of the series. Captain Jim was a likable character. Books One-Four much better. On to book 6!

Made my best of last year. Last book I finished before the end of the year. My Daughter read it and loved it. So I picked it up. Not usually my thing. Magical Realism, but it was quite good. Classic plot line of good and evil mixed with misdirection.

An startling look at the life of the Poet Farugh Farrokhzad. A paradigm shift through the writing of Jasmin Darznik. Beautifully tragic. A cultural feast. A tour of Tehran from the 40‘s to 1968. Through the eyes of a poet that become the voice of a generation. A fantastic Historical Fiction hitting stands this month. #mustread #SongofaCaptiveBird #Poet #Farugh

This Historical Fiction read about the Iranian Poet Forugh Farrokhzad, by the author of The Good Daughter: A Memoir If my Mother‘s Hidden Life, has started strong. 1940‘s Tehran was no picnic for a young woman.

Some #booktomovie reads coming in 2018. The Sisters Brothers, Where‘d You Go, Bernadette and James Baldwin‘s If Beale Street Could Talk. Thanks #AnnapurnaPictures.

#Bookhaul for Christmas. The Three lives of James Madison, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Great War

Next galley in queue on my Kindle. Sounds good, love the cover.

Just now starting this one. My eleven year old highly recommended it. ☺️

#7GoodThings - reposting this end of year list 1. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins 2. Wilkie Collins 3. Uncle Tom‘s Cabin 😅 4. Anne of Green Gables 5. Becoming Earth 6 & 7. Sing, Unburied, Sing and Reading with Patrick

Christmas came early! 🎄 📚- Blessed to have a Son and Daughter-in-Law that nailed it this year. So awesome to have this handed to my by the mailman today! 👏🏻📦📪

I loved the short story “The Get Away Car” heard about this book of essays and so here I landed. However, after reading this I come away with mixed feelings. The writing is great, but as the author states herself, sometimes you should just appreciate the work and separate the author. Some of it just rubs me wrong. Story of her dog. How she came to own it. Well I‘ll enjoy her stories, I‘ll leave it at that.

Reading the series with my daughter. #4 had us both looking at each other trying to take each other temperature on it. The style was different. Letters of correspondence, but it grew on us. Anne growing up. A little less of the magic, compared to the first three, it‘s good, but not as great. On to Anne‘s House of Dreams #5.

Very Nice. I work as a Film Exhibitor and have been on the Exhibition side since I was young. So this storytelling of the lives of two pioneers of the production side of the business was fascinating. Mary Pickford- the first “America‘s Sweet Heart,” and Frances Marion “scenarist,” writer, producer, Two-Time Academy Award Winner are friends that come together at the inception of the “flickers” and have a complicated and life long friendship.

I have found that I have a love hate relationship with historical fiction. I love the history, but have to always check myself as it is also fiction. Where do the facts stop and the fiction begin. Enjoying learning about early history of these two women pioneers. I will have to find some non-fiction on them to really appreciate there historical significance. Their story really draws me in. January 18 release.

I read this many years ago and it has stayed with me. I return to it it often as it has many great points on leadership. It is also a fantastic memoir in my opinion.

Just started reading this today. I had read, The Get Away Car before. Even so, I enjoyed it a second time. Along with the first, How to read a Christmas Story. Good stuff. These essays seem to both inform and hold a spot light on her that is very entertaining and personal.

Four chapters into this Galley Read. Historical Fiction on early film business. Pioneer Women Marion Frances and Mary Pickford friendship is the center so far. Interesting.

My local B&N did not have in stock so had to go on-line for this. I‘ve heard good things.

Picked up the updated 4th Edition. Looking forward to getting into this. What can I say. I enjoy History and non-fiction.

About half through this slim read. Recommend by a dear friend. I am finding some of the truths hard. I‘ll admit, I enjoy the Grace much more.

The title speaks to the current environment of complex social and political issues. The author delivers a detailed history of the relations between Christian and Muslim existence in the Netherlands as a sketch pointing out the dual arguments of the right and left - High Wall & Open Door policies of both that ultimately fail. In seeking to find the answer this book is heavy. He ultimately delivers a way. A path that will not be quick or easy.

A pretty slow boil that builds till the last page. My first go with Lehane. Not much of a suspense reader, but I really enjoyed this. He has a way of delving into characters that keeps you interested. Lots of twisty in this one. I would recommend borrowing this from you library. It won‘t disappoint. I could see it as a film.