D.P.

Half Mystery Half Adventure

Reviewed: 01-11-25

A twisty tale of one woman’s journey to find herself and a place to call home. With vivid descriptions of the Alaskan landscape this is the perfect story for people who love adventure and nature and a tough gal who won’t let secrets stay hidden.

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Fantastic Beginning Course

Reviewed: 08-13-24

If you want to quickly master some basic French, this course can’t be beat. We are planning to move to France in a couple of years. My husband is taking classes at the community college, but I am only doing these lessons. I already speak more than he does and on our last trip with just a few lessons I was able to speak more.

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A Most Appropriate Narrator

Reviewed: 05-01-24

To clarify a misconception by a previous reviewer, it should be noted that the distinguished actor and narrator, Will Patton, is not someone trying to imitate a southern accent. Mr. Patton was born in Charleston, SC, which I believe identifies him as a genuine southerner. Though I do not recollect meeting him, I recall seeing him out and about when I lived in Chapel Hill, NC many years ago. It may be fair for someone not to like his narration but it’s way off the mark to label him as a pretender of southern heritage. If interested, check out his Wikipedia page.

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11 people found this helpful

Great Introduction to Blake

Reviewed: 01-26-23

A wonderful introduction to one of Albion’s aesthetic champions. Extremely well read by the author. This book places Blake within the context of his times as well as makes a powerful case for his continued relevance.

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1 person found this helpful

Wow - what a fun adventure

Reviewed: 03-30-22

My favorite experience is to encounter a book that I know nothing about and to be delighted. That was this book. Bought as a daily deal after reading the summary, Good Eggs deals with serious subject matter in a way that makes you want to keep reading and enjoying. Not too heavy and not too light. Just a lovely read.

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1 person found this helpful

Another Reason to Stay Indoors

Reviewed: 03-07-22

I got this because it was the daily deal and my best friend is an avid solo hiker (read: nutball) who does crazy things like trek the AT as a solo female. I'm more the indoorsy-type and this book reminded me why. That being said, Billman treads carefully and respectfully through stories about the missing. I understand a lot better the complications and complexities that impact searching. I'm not sure listening to this book was ideal because occasionally it became hard to follow but overall a good and informative read.

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Unexpectedly Insightful

Reviewed: 03-07-22

I prefer to read books knowing very little about them. I knew this won the Booker Prize but not much else when I started. I was a little startled at first by the style because I was expecting a novel rather than a collection of stories or vignettes. Once I realized the style, I enjoyed this book immensely. What I appreciated most was how it wonderfully covers so many POVs and perspectives on situations. It gives one extreme of a situation and then another person's story starts with a completely different view. My favorite was grandma and her farm and her total acceptance of her non-binary granddaughter and her partner, while at the same time declining to be bothered to figure out which pronouns to use.

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Enjoyable Coming-of-Age Tale

Reviewed: 02-14-22

A relatively light but extremely enjoyable story of two worlds crashing into each other with a young teen caught in the middle. A wonderful representation of “proper” society versus the wild side. I only bought it because it was the daily deal but it was one of the best reads I’ve had in a while.

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A Writer’s Life

Reviewed: 11-27-21

More than simply a biography of Hillerman, this exceptionally researched work is a portrait of the writing life as it changes and evolves over time. Certainly a must-read for Hillerman fans but engaging for those, like myself, who aspire to the writing life or those interested in the Southwest.

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1 person found this helpful

Not even sure what it was about (spoilers?)

Reviewed: 09-17-21

I wanted to like this book. I read the first pages in a bookstore and was taken by Beatty's witty language and what appeared to be an interesting set-up: a man whose case got all the way to the supreme court. But there is basically very little story in the book. My husband asked me what it was about and I said, an African American man who's on trial for segregating his city.

Then I had to add, but that makes it sound like that's actually the central story, which it's not. There is no central story. Most of the scenes aren't about that central premise. He doesn't actually segregate his city; he has no power to do so. He puts up a couple of signs and convinces some that a fake school is coming. He doesn't actually own a slave. His crazy friend hangs out, doesn't do a whole heck of a lot, and calls himself a slave. It seemed more like he'd be on trial for questionable performance art. The principal who actually tries to prevent white children is the person who violates the law. And all that stuff makes up a tiny bit of what is on the page.

The majority of the novel is crazy scenes that are all connected to the main character and his rather unrealistic life not the actual "plot". The book really skirts between so hyperbolic that it is clearly unreal and the real. Half the time I was wondering, Am I supposed to believe this is real? Or is this supposed to be a joke? Since everyone calls it satire, I guess it was supposed to be a joke. It was definitely funny at times (but only intermittently so) and Beatty certainly has an amazing way with words but mostly I was left wondering what I was supposed to get from this story.

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