Author, Author Shelf

LibraryCin plans to read a book. (see 7 more books added to shelf)

LibraryCin commented on a "Best of" list.

“Thanks, Megalion! I'll add that "officially" to my tbr, so I remember to start with it. :-)”

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“13-year old Brian's parents are recently divorced and his dad is working in Northern Canada. Brian is on a small plane, going to see his dad when the pilot has a heart attack and dies. The plane goes down somewhere in the Canadian wilderness and Brian survives the crash, but is on his own....”

“13-year old Brian's parents are recently divorced and his dad is working in Northern Canada. Brian is on a small plane, going to see his dad when the pilot has a heart attack and dies. The plane goes down somewhere in the Canadian wilderness and Brian survives the crash, but is on his own.

I thought this was really good. How would you survive a plane crash if you are left on your own in the wilderness? Who knows what to do to survive? Brian has to figure this all out. I thought the author did a good job of taking Brian through the steps of figuring these things out. I enjoyed “meeting” the various wildlife along the way, as well. It wasn't real fast paced, but I still found it interesting, and it was still quick to read, as it is a YA book.”

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“3.25 stars

The Good Earth follows Wang Lung, a farmer in China during the early 20th century, from his wedding day till the day he dies. He mostly follows what I assume is a fairly ordinary life of a Chinese farmer of his time, with ups and downs as he goes.

It was a simple...”

“3.25 stars

The Good Earth follows Wang Lung, a farmer in China during the early 20th century, from his wedding day till the day he dies. He mostly follows what I assume is a fairly ordinary life of a Chinese farmer of his time, with ups and downs as he goes.

It was a simple story, and I have to admit to getting annoyed plenty of times with some of the attitudes, due to the culture and time frame that the book encompasses. I listened to the audio. It fluctuated back and forth between simply ok or good, for me. ”

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“3.25 stars

Danielle (Cinderella), Talia (Sleeping Beauty) and Snow (White) are tossed into a new adventure when the undine and their leader Lirea (The Little Mermaid) want to wage war. With Lirea's sister (Lannadae)'s help, they find the girls' grandmother, Morveren, who they are hoping...”

“3.25 stars

Danielle (Cinderella), Talia (Sleeping Beauty) and Snow (White) are tossed into a new adventure when the undine and their leader Lirea (The Little Mermaid) want to wage war. With Lirea's sister (Lannadae)'s help, they find the girls' grandmother, Morveren, who they are hoping will be able to help. Beatrice, the queen, has taken ill and Morveren has an object that might help Beatrice recover.

It's been a few years since I read the first book in the series, but I don't think I liked this one as much. I'm odd with fantasy – I like some (more likely YA or urban, and usually fairy tales or retellings), but usually not the real “traditional” fantasy. This felt a little more like the traditional fantasy that I'm not as crazy about, mixed with adventure. I quite enjoyed some parts of this, but then lost a bit of interest in other parts. I will still probably try the third book in the series, at least, before giving up on it.”

LibraryCin plans to read a book. (see 4 more books added to shelf)

LibraryCin is now reading a book. (see 2 more books added to shelf)

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“3.5 stars. Danielle (a.k.a. Cinderella), Talia (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty), and Snow (White) band together to help Danielle save her husband, Armand, who has been kidnapped by her stepsisters.

It was a fun book, though for some reason (I’m not sure why), my mind did wander a bit, so I had...”

“3.5 stars. Danielle (a.k.a. Cinderella), Talia (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty), and Snow (White) band together to help Danielle save her husband, Armand, who has been kidnapped by her stepsisters.

It was a fun book, though for some reason (I’m not sure why), my mind did wander a bit, so I had to go back and reread parts. It may have been just me getting distracted. I liked the idea behind the book and it really was a fun read. I do plan to read the next book with the same three characters.”

LibraryCin is now following Susan T.

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“3.25 stars

Dr. Montague is a professor who wants to rent Hill House, which has a reputation for being haunted, to study it. He invites three people to join him in the house for a number of days. Eleanor, who has been taking care of her mother until she passed away a few months earlier,...”

“3.25 stars

Dr. Montague is a professor who wants to rent Hill House, which has a reputation for being haunted, to study it. He invites three people to join him in the house for a number of days. Eleanor, who has been taking care of her mother until she passed away a few months earlier, is quiet and lonely and does not get along well with her brother and sister-in-law, who she is currently living with. Theodora is invited because she seems to have some sort of extra-sensory perception. Luke will be inheriting the house eventually, and was asked by his family to be present.

I did read this once before, a little over 20 years ago. I decided to listen to the audio this time. I remember is being one of the books I liked reading in high school. It was good. I knew that it was not overtly “horror”, but more psychological. I did like the extra little musical effects at, what I presume to have been, the beginning of each chapter.”

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“3.5 stars

Rebekah Nathan (a pseudonym) was a 50-something year old anthropology professor who decided to do a one-academic-year (2002-2003) study of student life, as a student. She applied to the university she teaches at (what she calls AnyU, for anonymity), and even lived in the dorm,...”

“3.5 stars

Rebekah Nathan (a pseudonym) was a 50-something year old anthropology professor who decided to do a one-academic-year (2002-2003) study of student life, as a student. She applied to the university she teaches at (what she calls AnyU, for anonymity), and even lived in the dorm, anonymously as a student, to study the student culture. She also did some additional research, as well as interviews to add to her observational info.

I thought this was interesting. I do work at a very small university college (not as a professor, but in the library), so there was some interest there. I also have an undergraduate degree in anthropology. I also kept thinking back to my own experiences as an undergrad (though that was about 10 years earlier). There were some ethical issues with her being a prof and doing a study anonymously that she does discuss in the afterward. She did find some things about student life that wasn't so surprising and some things that were to me (the stats on the number of students who cheat! Whoa!). I found particularly interesting the interviews she did with international students and how they saw American student culture. For anyone interested in learning about student life, this is quite interesting (I think I need a new word...).”

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“3.25 stars

21-year old Jonas has been missing for a few days and his mother, Carol, is getting worried. Little does she know that Jonas has retreated from everyone he knows and loves because he has something planned in 31 hours.

That's the main plot in the book. We meet other...”

“3.25 stars

21-year old Jonas has been missing for a few days and his mother, Carol, is getting worried. Little does she know that Jonas has retreated from everyone he knows and loves because he has something planned in 31 hours.

That's the main plot in the book. We meet other characters as we go: Jonas's girlfriend, Vic and her family - her younger sister, Mara, and their parents, who have recently gotten divorced. Sonny is a homeless man, who spends all his time on the New York subway. He has a sister, though, who he visit on occasion, and has a shower while he's there.

It wasn't nearly as suspenseful as I thought it would be... as I thought it should be, given that you knew something big was going to happen in 31 hours. The first half of the book was set-up and introduction of the characters. It got better in the second half, though, and there was more suspense at the very end. ”

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“Modoc was an elephant born in a circus in Germany. Bram was born to the elephant trainer of that circus on the same day Modoc was born; they grew up together. When the circus is sold, Bram stows away to be with Modoc. This sets off a chain of adventures from Germany to India to the U.S. and...”

“Modoc was an elephant born in a circus in Germany. Bram was born to the elephant trainer of that circus on the same day Modoc was born; they grew up together. When the circus is sold, Bram stows away to be with Modoc. This sets off a chain of adventures from Germany to India to the U.S. and follows Modoc and Bram through their lives, almost eighty years.

It's a good story, but I'm not really sure how much of the story was real. It seems a little too much to happen to one boy and elephant for it to all be true. It was written as if fiction, as well. Which is fine – it's often easier to read as fiction. I really did enjoy the story, but I just have a hard time believing it all. I appreciate that there are trainers out there trying to train using a gentler approach and not abusing their animals, that's for sure. Overall, despite my negative-sounding review, I did really enjoy the story.”

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“3.25 stars

When Sivakami marries Hanumarathnam when she is 10 years old, they only have a few years together before he dies. She is left raising two children, a boy and a girl. They grow up and Thangam (the daughter) marries and has multiple children of her own; unfortunately, she...”

“3.25 stars

When Sivakami marries Hanumarathnam when she is 10 years old, they only have a few years together before he dies. She is left raising two children, a boy and a girl. They grow up and Thangam (the daughter) marries and has multiple children of her own; unfortunately, she doesn't seem to want them, nor does her husband seem to want to take much care of her or them. Sivakami ends up raising most of Thangam's children, as well. The son, Vairum, marries, and although they have trouble having children, Vairum is successful, financially. Sivakami is a Brahmin and there are very strict rules for her to follow as a widow. The book continues through Sivakami's life, as she watches her children and grandchildren grow up, marry, and have their own children.

This was ok, with moments of more interest. There are a lot of Indian characters and names to try to remember, so I had a bit of trouble with that. Also, had a bit of trouble with some words and phrases that I didn't quite understand – it's possible I missed some explanations, though, if my mind wandered. The story shifts viewpoints, but the only difficultly in following whose viewpoint it is, is remembering who's who with the names! ”

LibraryCin reviewed a book.

“3.25 stars

This is a fictional account of Rasputin (the Russian healer or womanizer, depending on the point of view), starting some time shortly before he was murdered, from the point of view his oldest daughter, Maria, a teenager. Also during this time, Maria finds her first...”

“3.25 stars

This is a fictional account of Rasputin (the Russian healer or womanizer, depending on the point of view), starting some time shortly before he was murdered, from the point of view his oldest daughter, Maria, a teenager. Also during this time, Maria finds her first love.

This didn't draw me in liked I'd hoped. I really liked The Kitchen Boy, but this one just didn't quite interest me nearly as much. Will also say that I listened to the audio, and it wasn't done very well. The sound wasn't that great, and it would occasionally cut off – it did that a few times. I do wonder if I would have liked it more if I'd read it in print. Overall, it was ok – there were some parts that held my attention and the last bit was probably the best.
”

LibraryCin is now reading a book.