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christianreader2015-11-04 11:26 pm
birdienl.livejournal.com) wrote in christianreader2015-11-04 11:26 pm
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My October reads
Thomas Locke - Emissary 3,5/5
All Hyam wants is to be a farmer. Though he spend five years learning to be a mage as a kid, he would like nothing better than to forget this gruelling time. But his mother's last wish is that he return to the Long Hall where the mages live. There, he hears things that change his life and set him on the path to becoming a hero and unearthing long-held secrets.
A well-written fantasy with interesting worldbuilding. Maybe the characters were a bit too much 'thirteen-in-a-dozen' typical fantasy characters: the beautiful and specially skilled young lady, the gruff older male who mentors the hero and the quirky, humorous side characters. But still, I liked it. Not everything has to be new and super creative to make an enjoyable story! I do wonder about the magic though. The book is marketed as Christian fiction and written by well-known Christian author T. Davis Bunn under another name, but the magic seems more pagan inspired. Hmmm... Still interested in the following parts though.
Jean Webster - Daddy Long Legs 4/5
Orphan Jerusha Abbot is informed that she is given a scholarship to go to college. All she has to do is update her mysterious benefactor through letters.
What a delightful book! Funny and happy, but also full of wisdom. I loved Jerusha and her obvious joy at discovering life and her enthusiasm for the 'little things'. I loved the discussion of books in this book. I just loved it! I wouldn't have minded if the ending was a little less abrupt, but I guess that would've been difficult without breaking out of the letter format.
Annie Barrows/Mary Ann Shafer - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 4/5
In 1946, as the UK is shaking of the shadows of WWII, writer Juliet Ashton is looking for a subject for her new book when she gets a letter from a farmer from Guernsey who found her name in a book he bought. Intrigued by the fate of the Guernsey residents during the German occupation, Juliet starts corresponding with Dawsey and his friends from the Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which leads to warm friendships.
I can't believe what took me so long to read this book! I heard so many good things about it and I now know them to be true, this is a wonderful book. It deals with quite a heavy subject and it doesn't shy away from describing painful things that happened in the war, but still it manages to be positive and hopefull and highlight the strength and goodness of people. And it's just laugh-out-loud funny in places! I love all the descriptions of Guernsey and I really want to go there now. If I want to be nitpicky, I would have loved a little longer ending (he, this seems to be a theme with my reading this month!) and I think there were perhaps somewhat too many characters to give all of them enough development, but all in all: a great book!
Carrie Turansky - The governess of Highland Hall 4/5
Julia Foster has returned from a missionary job in India to England because of her father's ilness and accepts a job as a governess at Highland Hall. Here, she not only has to teach the two young children of widower Sir William Ramsey, but also his two unruly teenage nieces.
This book borrows a lot from both Downton Abbey (the Great House location/servants vs masters) and Jane Eyre (the governess trope), maybe even too much (some scenes seem to be taken straight from Downton.) Still, I did really enjoy reading this, the background is just very interesting and making Julia a former missionary makes for an interesting change. Julia herself is a sweet character, maybe a little bit too much of a goody-two-shoes. I really liked Sir William Ramsey as a hero, but best of all characters was Sir William's sister Sarah.
Anne Mateer - Playing by heart 3/5
Lula Bowman has achieved what few early 20th century women do: a teaching and research position in mathematics. Then her sister's husband unexpectedly dies and Lula has to return home to help her sister and the children. In need of a job, she accepts a position as music teacher at a local high school and gets a girl's basketbal team in the bargain.
The weakest novel of this month, this book had very uninspiring characters and tried to cram way too much subjects and themes into one story. Character motivation were not developed very well, I especially found Lula rather a weak and all-over-the-place heroine. Hero Chet was a little better, but I didn't get very invested in their romance, it all felt too sudden for me: Chet is warding of other female teacher's attentions and he catches Lula's eyes once and suddenly he's in love with her? Oh well, at least I learned that even in the early 20th century, girls played basketball, which I never knew.
Books in October: 5
Books in 2015: 49
All Hyam wants is to be a farmer. Though he spend five years learning to be a mage as a kid, he would like nothing better than to forget this gruelling time. But his mother's last wish is that he return to the Long Hall where the mages live. There, he hears things that change his life and set him on the path to becoming a hero and unearthing long-held secrets.
A well-written fantasy with interesting worldbuilding. Maybe the characters were a bit too much 'thirteen-in-a-dozen' typical fantasy characters: the beautiful and specially skilled young lady, the gruff older male who mentors the hero and the quirky, humorous side characters. But still, I liked it. Not everything has to be new and super creative to make an enjoyable story! I do wonder about the magic though. The book is marketed as Christian fiction and written by well-known Christian author T. Davis Bunn under another name, but the magic seems more pagan inspired. Hmmm... Still interested in the following parts though.
Jean Webster - Daddy Long Legs 4/5
Orphan Jerusha Abbot is informed that she is given a scholarship to go to college. All she has to do is update her mysterious benefactor through letters.
What a delightful book! Funny and happy, but also full of wisdom. I loved Jerusha and her obvious joy at discovering life and her enthusiasm for the 'little things'. I loved the discussion of books in this book. I just loved it! I wouldn't have minded if the ending was a little less abrupt, but I guess that would've been difficult without breaking out of the letter format.
Annie Barrows/Mary Ann Shafer - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 4/5
In 1946, as the UK is shaking of the shadows of WWII, writer Juliet Ashton is looking for a subject for her new book when she gets a letter from a farmer from Guernsey who found her name in a book he bought. Intrigued by the fate of the Guernsey residents during the German occupation, Juliet starts corresponding with Dawsey and his friends from the Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which leads to warm friendships.
I can't believe what took me so long to read this book! I heard so many good things about it and I now know them to be true, this is a wonderful book. It deals with quite a heavy subject and it doesn't shy away from describing painful things that happened in the war, but still it manages to be positive and hopefull and highlight the strength and goodness of people. And it's just laugh-out-loud funny in places! I love all the descriptions of Guernsey and I really want to go there now. If I want to be nitpicky, I would have loved a little longer ending (he, this seems to be a theme with my reading this month!) and I think there were perhaps somewhat too many characters to give all of them enough development, but all in all: a great book!
Carrie Turansky - The governess of Highland Hall 4/5
Julia Foster has returned from a missionary job in India to England because of her father's ilness and accepts a job as a governess at Highland Hall. Here, she not only has to teach the two young children of widower Sir William Ramsey, but also his two unruly teenage nieces.
This book borrows a lot from both Downton Abbey (the Great House location/servants vs masters) and Jane Eyre (the governess trope), maybe even too much (some scenes seem to be taken straight from Downton.) Still, I did really enjoy reading this, the background is just very interesting and making Julia a former missionary makes for an interesting change. Julia herself is a sweet character, maybe a little bit too much of a goody-two-shoes. I really liked Sir William Ramsey as a hero, but best of all characters was Sir William's sister Sarah.
Anne Mateer - Playing by heart 3/5
Lula Bowman has achieved what few early 20th century women do: a teaching and research position in mathematics. Then her sister's husband unexpectedly dies and Lula has to return home to help her sister and the children. In need of a job, she accepts a position as music teacher at a local high school and gets a girl's basketbal team in the bargain.
The weakest novel of this month, this book had very uninspiring characters and tried to cram way too much subjects and themes into one story. Character motivation were not developed very well, I especially found Lula rather a weak and all-over-the-place heroine. Hero Chet was a little better, but I didn't get very invested in their romance, it all felt too sudden for me: Chet is warding of other female teacher's attentions and he catches Lula's eyes once and suddenly he's in love with her? Oh well, at least I learned that even in the early 20th century, girls played basketball, which I never knew.
Books in October: 5
Books in 2015: 49