Green Heart by Alice Hoffman

I have no idea how I came to be in possession of this book.  It is not labeled as being from our vendor, nor is it in my personal Amazon account.  I simply found it in my "to read" pile.  

This is actually two short novellas, of about 125 pages each.  It is a very quick read.

The first story is about a young woman who loses her entire family--parents and little sister--in a fire.  She and her dog are all that is left in their small village home.  The city they visited burned to the ground, with many people within its walls.  Green's gardens are raided by looters shortly thereafter.  She must learn to survive on her own, befriending another dog, a hawk, several small birds, and a few human along the way.  It was kinda like The Hunger Games meets Snow White.  It becomes clear Green has supernatural powers, although she doesn't seem to understand how or why or what her purpose is.  She tattoos herself with nature imagery, and a heart when she falls in love.

The second story further explains the fire--caused by a marauding horde looking to revert the city to more conservative/traditional roles and values.  Green must visit other women who have other supernatural powers to write their stories in order to understand her own.  I don't want to spoil too much, by I do not believe Green actually finds herself, although the story's ending is happy.

In summation, a quick read that held my interest, but nothing spectacular. 

A reminder that all opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The House of Gucci by Sarah Gay Forden

As you all know, I have a rule to read the book before I see the movie.  In this case, I didn't know House of Gucci was a book first. 

Now, let's get a few things straight.  I am not a Lady Gaga fan.  Her music gets the channel changed.  I was not excited by Adam Driver as Ben/Kylo in Star Wars.  I do not even own one Gucci item.  But, I do remember the murder of Maurizio Gucci by his soon to be ex wife Patrizia Reggiani Gucci.  I might have gone to see just what a train wreck the movie might be.  However, just like Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett in Neon Angels/The Runaways, Lady Gaga blew me away as Patrizia.  She deserves an Oscar. 

Of course, after seeing the movie, I ordered the book!  The book goes way more into the history of both the Gucci family (for example, there are other brothers besides Aldo and Rodolfo, played by Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons respectively, both phenomenal!).  And Aldo had a ton of other kids besides Paolo (Jared Leto should earn at least a nomination for his performance!).  Perhaps the biggest omission was that Maurizio and Patrizia had a 2nd daughter who was left out.  I am guessing this was for simplicity and streamlining what is already at 2.5 hour movie (hit the bathroom BEFORE it starts...).  There is also a LOT of complicated math and tax law discussed, as Gucci falls under both American law and Italian law.  Patrizia is merely a supporting character in the book.

I have to say, in this case, the movie is better than the book for me!  But, if fashion or true crime is an interest for you, definitely check this out.

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely mine. 

La Belle Creole: The Cuban Countess by Alina Garcia LaPuerta

In looking for non-fiction featuring Latinas, this was recommended by our book vendor.  The description reminded me of The Murder of Helen Jewett, one of my all time favorite books, in that it was a true historical account of a woman ahead of her time, making waves in a society she didn't belong in, who needs her story told.

Maria de las Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo was born in Cuba in 1789, left for Spain at age 13, and married French General Antoine Merlin making her Countess Merlin.  She used her position of authority in upper class society to promote the arts--theater, music, visual, literary.  Eventually she traveled back to Havana, detailing her trip and becoming an author herself.      

The problem with this book, for me, was that is was name and family tree heavy in the beginning.  There were soooooo many names and dates and places it was difficult to keep straight.  And that point, I had no idea who Countess Merlin was or why I should even care about her story.  As a result, I found myself bored and skipping details.  Once I got to the "meat and potatoes", I went back to read the drier points in the beginning.  I wish the author had put her accomplishments or historical significance at the forefront, so that I would WANT to know her background.

Although I was not a fan, I am glad we are able to add this to our collection and add more Latina voices to our history. 

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian by Phil Szostak

I think just about everyone knows my Star Wars obsession and my absolute love for the little green guy Grogu aka Baby Yoda.  I also think you are aware of my staunch support of the arts in schools.  So of course I jumped at the chance to order this and add it to our collection!

If you are at all interested in Star Wars, this is a book for you.  Interested in animation?  For you.  Film and television?  For you.  

The book takes the reader/viewer on a journey through Season 1 of The Mandalorian, from conception to finished product.  There are hand sketches of the story board, notes on different scenery, progressions of costumes, and lots of behind the scenes anecdotes.  

Definitely one to check out!  Find it on display soon!

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin

This is review #2 for today, November 8th.

I think you all know I love to cook.  After the Teachers' Book Club read Where the Crawdads Sing, we held our meeting at Hook and Reel, and now I am obsessed with making the perfect seafood boil and Cajun culture.  Amazon knows ALL THE THINGS and recommended this to me.  

Mosquito Supper Club is mostly a cookbook of Southern Cajun recipes interspersed with vignettes from the author's family history and local culture.  

Martin lost nearly everything in Hurricane Katrina.  She and her son were homeless with nothing but a few suitcases of clothing to their name.  She headed west where a friend offered hospitality and worked in their winery.  She refined techniques and set out to duplicate the recipes from home she loved.  Of course, like many women of the past, the creators of these recipes never wrote anything down.  In addition, urban sprawl and rising water are threatening the bayou and its culture.  Opening her restaurant Mosquito Supper Club in 2014 was her way to help keep the recipes alive.  

Now that I've copied a bunch of the recipes, I will be donating this.  Find it on our next display.

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog or the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Cousins by Karen McManus

I know, I know.  I've been slacking.  It's been a few weeks of crazy, lemme just say.  So today will be a two-fer.

First, the latest from Karen McManus--The Cousins.

So, I'm sure many of you have seen the new series One of Us is Lying based on her first bestseller, which I reviewed here. It will actually be the Teachers' Book Club selection in January along with its sequel.  The Cousins is another murder mystery with alternating viewpoints and flashbacks.  

The Cousins is set on a fictitious island near Nantucket.  I honestly kept picturing Amity Island from Jaws.  The sleepy island welcomes hundreds of tourists in the summer.  One elderly widow, Mildred Story, owns most of the hotels on the island.  Twenty-four years ago, Mildred disinherited her three sons and daughter for no reason with a one sentence letter from her lawyer.  Now, seemingly having a change of heart, she has invited her three grandchildren to work at her resort for the summer and get to know her.  Of course, with a fortune on the line, all three's parents require them to go.

Jonah, Aubrey, and Milly meet on the ferry after a few group texts, but find their family is the stuff of local legends, not all of it good.  Everyone knows everyone on the island, and not all are happy the Story grandchildren have reappeared.

I don't want to spoil too much, but I was way wrong in my guess of whodunit.

Find this on our next display.

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W.

The Break Up Book Club by Wendy Wax

I hope you all did well on the PSATs yesterday!  It was very strange having testing here in the Library, but with the space crunch and all grades except seniors taking some form of the exam, I guess it's a necessity.

Anyway.

This is the teachers' book club selection for October.  Unfortunately I cannot attend this month's meeting due to a family event.  My family and I always get together for a fall "something" (corn maze, pumpkin picking, etc.) in honor of my mom.  Her birthday was October 23rd and she loved fall and Halloween. We have to work around everyone's schedule, especially my sister as a nurse!  Thus, I have to skip, or at the very least be late to, the gathering for book club. 

Now, let's be honest, before I even talk about this, based on title and cover, you all know this is not my cup of tea.  But, I have really been trying to read outside my usual genres for this group, and this is way outside what I'd choose!  Premise is 4 unlikely friends form a book club, have a lot of wine, and learn about each other but more about themselves.  Think Joy Luck Club, The Baby Sitter's Club, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  I do like to portrayal of strong female friendship in a positive tone--no mean girl toxic frenemy stuff.  Often we, as women, do not see close friendship between women in the media in positive tones.  I guess our own book club is representative of such a strong group of friends (although both male and female).  That being said, there was too much...I don't know...fluff?  

I will be donating this to the collection and putting it on display in the next rotation.  

Remember that all opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Billy Summers by Stephen King

Most of you know I love horror and Stephen King.  So of course I bought this off Amazon.

The author is listed as Stephen King, but this was more John Grisham than anything else!

This is a mob/mafia crime drama whodunit. I kept waiting for something supernatural, occult, or anything that would make it a King thriller.  

Remember my review of The Eyes of the Dragon?  That King's fans hated the fantasy so much he wrote Misery as a response?  That's how I felt!

Now, this wasn't bad.  It was actually a good book if mafia crime/ordered hits are your thing.  It's just not what I expected.  Billy Summers is a former marine who now works as a hired sniper hitman.  He's very good, excellent.  But now he wants to retire.  He befriends a young woman after she is sexually assaulted, and the two form an unlikely bond trying to solve who set Billy up on his last job.  

Definitely not what I was looking to read in choosing this book, but a worthwhile read.

Remember that all opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Bodies in the Library, a short story collection

A few weeks ago, my family and I attended Schemitzun, the New England Pow Wow hosted by the Mashantucket Pequot Nation, just outside Foxwoods.  It was an awesome experience.  The event is held every other year and should've been 2020. We last attended in 2016, so we were very excited to go!  Our plan was to eat after at Jealous Monk in Mystic Village.  So, OF COURSE, a stop at the new Cloak & Wand shop!

Now, let's be honest here, Cloak & Wand is a total tourist trap, down to the $12 "magic potions" that are just cream soda and hot chocolate. But when I saw this book, literally BODIES IN THE LIBRARY, I HAD to buy it.  

This is a short story collection of horror, set in old mansion, hotels, and libraries.  I LOVED IT.

Now for the bad news.  I WON'T be donating this.  Every Halloween I put out a "bookcase" of haunted and horror books at home. I am planning to add this to my display.  I am, however, sending the info to my Coordinator to hopefully get this added, along with several others in the series.  

Remember that all opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Witches of BlackBrook Trilogy by Tish Thawer

Earlier this month I bought a t-shirt with the quote "we are the granddaughters of the witches you could not burn."  I decided to search for the origin of this quote.  It appears the original author is unknown, but the quote appears as the introductory hook to the first book in this trilogy The Witches of BlackBrook.  So I purchased it along with the two sequels, The Daughters of Maine and The Sisters of Salem, on the recommendation of Amazon.

The first novel alternates between the present day in a small town in upstate New York and the past, particularly Ipswich, Massachusetts in the 1600s.  Of course, we know that time period includes the Salem Witch Trials.  The main character, Trin, is a witch who was to be burned at the stake.  She performed a spell intended to transport herself and her sisters to a safe place.  Instead, all true witches present were sent to the future, dispersed among the Northeast.  Trin and her two sisters spend each lifetime searching for each other, but only two succeed each time until now.

I don't want to spoil too much in the plot, as this is a kinda whodunit.  And then there are two sequels which further develop the story.  In all honesty though, the 3 could have been one longer book instead of 3 overlapping ones.    

Greatest trilogy I've ever read?  No.  Terrible?  Also no.  A good series to get lost in when you need to escape to reality?  Yep.  I'll be donating the three to our collection and adding them once I have a working label printer again.

Remember all opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This is review #2 for today 9/7/21.

Full disclosure, I actually read this in 2019 for another purpose (one of my former side gigs), so I could not review it here.  This is the Teachers' Book Club selection for September 2021, and since I no longer have said side gig, I figure after two years I can review it here.  

I. Love. This. Book.  

And apparently so do many of you, because I can't keep it on the shelf.  Thus, once we decided to make this a selection, I bought it again to donate a second copy.  You KNOW a book has to be good for me to dedicate space to a 2nd!  I read this over this weekend to prepare.  I'm eagerly awaiting our club's meeting!

Kya is a small child, the youngest in a poor family living on the marshy coast of North Carolina.  Her older siblings and mother leave to escape her abusive alcoholic father, who eventually leaves her too.  Kya learns to survive on her own, harvesting mussels and smoking fish and tending a garden. A young man named Tate teaches her to read, but she is also pursued by Chase, the star quarterback (moreso as the wild Marsh Girl than actual love).  

in 1969, Chase is found murdered in the marsh, and Kya (poor, uneducated) is the primary suspect. 

I don't want to spoil any more.  You HAVE to read this, and you HAVE to keep reading until the very end.  I can tell you that Ms. Marcella jumped up off her couch accidentally flinging one of her cats she was so shocked.  I cried the first time and I cried again Sunday.  

I will be adding this to our collection as soon as my printer is fixed and I can make labels again.

Remember that all opinions expressed on this blog or the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus

Good morning! First, a happy new year to our Jewish faculty, staff, and students! Today will be a two-fer of a book I didn't care for and a book I really loved! Let's start with the one I really didn't like.

I am usually a fan of the odd, weird, and strange.  So a coming of age story that blends with an alien abduction story sounded great, which I was I put this on last year's order.  Over the past few months, I've started, stopped, restarted, and tried again, but I simply could NOT get into this.  This weekend my son biked the Tour de Lyme (26 miles!), so I had a lot of time to kill.  This was one of the 2 books I brought.  I finally gave up for good about 1/2 of the way in.

Liv is a high school senior in a small town.  Her father was one of the school's English teachers and drama/theater advisor.  A few years ago he disappeared, then reappeared naked and crazed on the main road.  Claiming he had been abducted by aliens, he descends into madness in an effort to trap said aliens.  He is fired from his teaching job and then disappears again.

Another teen, Doug, whom I'd call a survivalist had been Liv's father's understudy in trying to trap the aliens, but Liv has had enough pretending to be nice and keep trying.  OF COURSE the day she decides to tell Doug off, they catch one.

I couldn't keep going. I honestly felt no sympathy for Liv, no empathy for Doug, no hope for her father.  

Now, what does not interest me enough to keep reading doesn't mean it won't interest you.  This will still be part of our collection and available to check out.

Stay tuned for the next review.

Remember that all opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it, are solely those of Mrs. W.

The Poetry of r.h. Sin

Hello again.  This the 2nd review for today.

I have two "books" from New York based poet r.h. Sin to talk about today.  I use books in quotes because these poems first appeared as tweets, limited by the characters on Twitter then those that could fit in a frame on Instagram.  The ones I have here today are Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel I and Planting Gardens in Graves I.  There are several volumes in each series, and the series add together to be a blog of sorts of Sin's life, beginning the with the end of his previous relationship on to his marriage to his wife Samantha.  We have several of the volumes, requested by a former student. 

Sin (real name Reuben Holmes) has been labelled a Black Straight Male Urban Feminist.  I do not think he set out to be labelled as such, but alas the labels Human and Good Man got him treated poorly.  He wanted his previous girlfriend to see him as Good Man, but her education as a woman in the 2000s meant not so good men have hurt her in ways he, someone labelled a "male feminist" cannot get her to see beyond.

young woman

do not compromise yourself

for someone who refuses

to do right by you 

("inconsiderate", 117)

These poems hurt.  As a woman, to read how this man values women, hurts.  It hurts that so many men do not place value on certain traits, instead objectifying. Just today, a women's team is penalized for covering their legs.  In a month, will a female student be sent to the office for showing too much leg?  We can't win:

women are made 

to appear crazy

by the very men

who drive them

to the place of insanity 

("insanity driven", 45)

This is a personal journey, from the death of one relationship to the blossoming of another (shovel, bury, flowers...) and how both Sin and Samantha grow.  These poems are NOW as two Black Americans during a tumultuous time (2015-18): 

my brown skin

will not be a burden

my brown skin

will not be my enemy

I love me

regardless of their hate

("pride in brown", 108)

They, both the couple and the poems, are modern relationships with social media, instant communication, and never ending news getting in the way of being fully present with the other human sitting right next to you. I am guilty of this too.  I'll be sitting right next to my husband while we are both on our phones, instead of "being" together.

All opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

Good Last Thursday of July!  This summer is really flying by!

This review is the first of two today, in case you are reading or watching in any sort of order.

Now, before you go hitting the back button or the pause button depending on how you view these simply because it's Stephen King, let me stop you.  This isn't horror.  It's not even really thriller.  This is medieval fantasy (as an aside, King's horror fans initially hated it; this reaction became the basis for his next book about an author, Misery). There's kings and queens and princes, the poor riff raff of the kingdom, an evil wizard/sorcerer/magician, true love, revenge, escape...actually I'm sounding a lot like the Grandpa in The Princess Bride trying to convince the sick kid to listen to the book!  Which, if you'll permit me, is kinda how I found this.

I have read this probably a dozen or more times.  I first read it in 1994, when I was a freshman myself (point here: my son will be a freshman in a month's time).  My Dad had grabbed the paperback on sale at Walden (the book store that used to be in the mall) on a whim.  After he read it, knowing I loved The Princess Bride, he handed it over.  I fell in total love with it.

So why read a book over and over?  This book is like a comfort.  I can safely escape to the Kingdom of Delain when I don't need to be fully present.  Thus, Friday, facing the aforementioned son's 3+ hour 3rd Degree Black Belt test (and screaming younger siblings and awkward parents attempting small-talk), this was my "please don't bother me, I'm reading" excuse.  

Roland is an aging King, a widower who lost his beloved wife Sasha in childbirth of their second son Thomas.  Roland dies of poison, and his oldest son Peter is convicted and sentenced to life in prison.  The reader knows very early on the King's advisor (magician, wizard, etc.) Flagg is really to blame.  That's all I'm giving on the plot.  You just have to trust me you will NOT want to put this down.  If you are a true Stephen King follower, you recognize our villain--he appears in The Stand and The Dark Tower.

And, Stephen King certainly leaves the door open to a sequel, but there hasn't been one...yet.  Oh, and the rights to the movie where optioned in 2019...

All opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah

Hello! My family and I are back from our vacation and staycation.  We postponed our West Coast trip AGAIN! This was the book I took with us to read during down time. 

This was recommended by a colleague, another teacher at WHHS.  

My feelings about it are mixed.  First, it's VERY long.  There are 3 distinct parts within the story, and honestly each portion could have been a much shorter novella that might've made chunking it out easier.  Second, I found the two leads', Loreda (a teen) and her mother Elsa, relationship way too cliche and predictable.  

So, those 3 parts: 

A. Elsa is the ugly duckling among her high society parents' daughters.  Doomed to a life of spinsterhood, she has a passing fling with an Italian (which is scandalous in 1921 Texas), resulting in pregnancy.  Shunned, Elsa moves in with her new husband Rafe's parents and does everything possible to become the perfect daughter-in-law.  But Rafe is never happy with their lives as poor farmers and disappears in the middle of the night.

B. Fast forward to 1934.  The Depression, combined with a Great Drought, have decimated the farm.  Elsa, her parents-in-law, and her two children live in poverty, barely alive.  Elsa makes the choice to migrate to California, where are jobs are supposed to be plenty.

C. Elsa and her kids Loreda and Tony are at the mercy of farm and camp owners, stuck in a vicious cycle of debt, work, credit and become involved in the workers' rights movement.  Lucky to have even survived living in a tent, they face discrimination as poor migrants.

This is most definitely NOT a happy story, although I did smile at the ending.  Also, as all libraries look to build inclusive, diverse, and equitable collections, I think this novel is a qualified addition in speaking to the experiences of migrant farm workers, poor and immigrant but white families, working women of the 20s and 30s, and union activism.

I will be donating this when we return.

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog or a video version of it, are solely mine. 

Sadie by Courtney Summers

 What would you do to protect your siblings or child?  

How far would you go to get revenge on someone who hurt your sibling or child?

For me, my sisters are 7 and 10 years younger than me.  They are my babies.  I would do anything to protect them.  I am a mother too of my own child.  

Sadie and Mattie were raised in a trailer park in the boondocks of Colorado.  Their mother Claire would disappear for days and even weeks, suffering from mental illness and an addict, with a string of useless boyfriends, some kinder than others.  The girls were in essence raised by the trailer park owner, a grandmotherly figure named May Beth.  

When she is 13, Mattie is brutally murdered.  Sadie is convinced their mother's ex Keith is who killed Mattie.  It also becomes clear Keith had been sexually abusing at least Sadie, who may have taken more abuse in a deal to leave Mattie alone.

Sadie sets out on a mission to kill Keith, but her belongings and car are found with no trace of Sadie.

That is where a reporter picks up her story in a serialized podcast.

I don't want to spoil too much, but this story will not let you put it down.  I HAD to finish it and know if Sadie gets her revenge.  This isn't an "easy" read, and I was angry to the point of shaking at some of the vignettes of flashback Sadie has as memories with her abuser. 

Find this on display when we go back in August.

All opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely mine.

No Rain, No Flowers by Aianna Thomas & Summer Reading

Hellllllooooooo!

Yes, I know it has been super long since I've posted a review or a video version of one.  Things got just a wee bit crazy towards the end of the school year, and doing so was just not in the cards.

BUT!

I am really going to try to do at least one review a weekish during the summer 2021.  And I knew when I started my summer reading pile (pic below), this would be first!

Aianna Thomas is a student at WHHS.  She approached me asking if we wanted a copy of her book No Rain, No Flowers...which of course I said YES!  We had to wait a bit for Amazon to get them to us, but Aianna donated one to us and one to WHPL.

Now, I do have to say there are some errors in this self-published book.  I noticed some typos that missed the proofreader, but none really impact meaning.

This is a collection of poetry in a stream of consciousness format.  There are only three definitive breaks in the work, with prose interspersed.  The content is strongly Christian-leaning, but despite my lack of religion, I was not "put off" as I see this as a personal journey that includes faith and talking to one's deity, whoever that might be.  I was reminded of Prince's The Beautiful Ones mixed with the poetry of bell hooks and E.E. Cummings.

I plan to have this front and center in the first display of our 21-22 school year!

Remember all opinions expressed on this review blog and the video version of it are solely mine. 

 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Hey everyone.  It's April 21st, 2021.  We're home on an emergency Distance Learning day.  At about 6:10 this morning, my lights went off but came right back on (for reference, I live on the border between the Center District and Allingtown). I headed off the WHHS (which, as you know is in West Shore).  When I got to the parking lot, I noticed every single light in the building was on.  Odd.  I happen to look at the scoreboard and saw it was off.  Even odder.  Not a minute later Dana/Mrs. Paredes called to say we are remote due to a power outage.  All those lights were on generator.  Being that I'm usually the first teacher in, I did as Mrs. P. asked and posted on social media, then hung around to direct my colleagues home.  When I got home myself, I went on Facebook to see the power was back on in West Shore. Oy.

So, I haven't been reviewing a lot lately, mainly because half the school was on Distance Learning.  However, many of you are coming back, and we return to an almost full day come May.  I know it's tough to get new books into DLs hands, which I guess made me feel "some kinda way" as Cassie/Ms. Marcella says. 

Today's review is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.  I have mixed feelings.  In rural France circa 1714, Adeline, a young free spirit, makes a "Devil and Daniel Webster" type deal with the spirits.  She does not want to get married, so she asks to be forgotten.  Of course, as we know the plot with any such deal, there's a catch.  She will live forever, but no one will remember her in even the slightest way.  As soon as she is out of sight, people she encounter forget her.  The story is told from her living in the art world in New York City in the present day flashing back to her "lives" through history.  Every so often, a placard from an art piece appears introducing a new time period. In the present day, an art student named Bea is connecting each piece as the same woman (art, imitation, etc.). It is Bea's best friend Henry who will change Addie's deal.  Henry has made his own deal--to be liked--and he can remember Addie.  But of course Henry's deal has a trick too.  I will not spoil any more.  

Actually, I will.  Not of the plot, but the literary elements I guess.  I know I have said this before, but...I hate the "so I wrote this book" as an ending.  I hated it in The Outsiders, and I've hated it since.  I think it's a a lousy way to end a story.  I absolutely hate that this method or whatever you want to call it is how this book ends.  I won't say what happens to Addie, Henry, or Bea, but...just ugh.

Anyway, I will be donating this to the collection when we get back.

Please remember all opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely mine.

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Morning!

I know it has been a while.  With half the school out on DL, the writing and recording of reviews seemed a bit futile.  However, after what transpired with this particular book...

To recap: first, in order for me to watch the movie (or TV show in this case), I have to read the book first.  Just a thing with me.  Second, you know I donate every book I buy and read to the WHHS Library.  Because I have been fighting, er, I mean, in aggressive negotiations with the DEVOS video server lately, my "to add to the Library circulation catalog" pile has gotten a bit large.  This was sitting on top.  THREE teachers walking by to use the faculty bathroom within my space asked about it.  Mrs. Poff actually got her hands on it, and took it to read over the long weekend.   

We know everyone is talking about the Bridgerton series on Netflix.  I haven't watched it yet, but I've heard the costuming and music are fantastic.  Yeah, let's be honest, everyone is talking about the "romantic" scenes.  I say romantic in quotes.  There's that ONE SCENE everyone has been discussing.    

This is typical "beach read": it's rather formulaic trashy romance set in the era of Dukes and Ladies and balls, etc.  Soap opera in a book type stuff, not exactly my cup of tea anyway.  I do not really think it would be such a bestseller had it not been for the show.  It's one of hundreds of the same.  If this is YOUR THING, I suggest you check out Christi Caldwell, whose real name is Christina Novak.  She graduated with me in 1998, and I have copy-edited a few of her books.  (Here's her website.  The first of her books I proofread is For Love of a Duke http://christicaldwell.com/books/#heartofaduke)

Now, Mrs. Poff just returned the book with an interesting review.  She has seen the show, and she gave it high marks.  But, she did not say the same for the book--that reading it wouldn't have led her to watch.  So I guess this is a case of the movie version actually being better than the book!

I'll be adding this to the collection as soon as I can get these DVD uploads into DEVOS done!

Remember that any opinions expressed on this blog or vlog are solely those of Mrs. W.