Monthly Archives: April 2015

April 30, 2015 · 3:31 pm

Call the Nurse by Mary J. MacLeod

In the 1970s, Mary J. MacLeod and her family decided they wanted to move away from the hustle and bustle of the city and to somewhere quiet. They chose an island in the Scottish Hebrides to be their new home. Ms. MacLeod became the district nurse serving the people and tourists of the island. Call the Nurse tells many stories of their adventures. Every chapter focuses on something different, but they all intertwine together. She had a tendency to ramble and I wish she had written more about the healthcare she provided as the nurse and less about the random (non-medical) comings and goings of the island inhabitants. I also felt a couple stories were never really completed (Biddy’s son Johnny and Jaynie and her baby Janet).

3 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 36
Pages Read in 2015: 9480
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Applied to Category for Special Reading Challenge: A book set in a different country

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April 29, 2015 · 3:51 pm

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery follows about 5 years in the life of Anne Shirley from the point where a mistake is made and she comes to live with brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert (they were expecting an orphan boy instead of a girl) to just before she becomes a school teacher. Anne worms her way into everyone’s hearts and mellows Marilla quite a bit over the years. The story is sweet and heartwarming. The speeches made by the characters were often overly long. The ending was a bit of a surprise and quite unfair as it was coming to a nice, happy ending when bad things suddenly happened to change everything all around.

4 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 35
Pages Read in 2015: 9160
Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks (more book reviews!)
Applied to Category for Special Reading Challenge: A book more than 100 years old

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April 24, 2015 · 4:29 pm

Grace Space by Robin Merrill

Darcy is an unemployed 24-year-old teacher living with her parents when she attends a Grace Space “celebration.” She is taken in by the idea of making $40 an hour selling MLM make-up. She signs up, buys the lilac suit, and gets to work attending “family meetings” and trying to make the big bucks. When she meets (and really likes) Luke, the son of her Grace Space “great-grandmother,” she is baffled as to why he hates the company so much and feels torn between him and the potential to make lots of money. If you have ever sold anything through direct sales, attended a home party, or been hounded by your essential oil, fancy nail, weight loss wrap selling friends on Facebook, read this book! Grace Space is a fast and very funny escape for your brain.

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 34
Pages Read in 2015: 8953
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Applied to Category for Special Reading Challenge: A funny book

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April 24, 2015 · 4:17 pm

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The animals of Manor Farm decide to take control of their own land and banish the humans. Life will be perfect on their own. After a rebellion, they change the name of the farm to Animal Farm and create seven commandments. Somehow, though, over time, those commandments seem to change just a little bit (must be their faulty memories) and stories of battles change (definitely their faulty memories). Work is increased, rations are cut, and, suddenly, the pigs are in charge.

Orwell did a truly amazing job when he crafted Animal Farm. It is in actuality the story of Russia, from the Russian Revolution on through the Stalin era. It is funny because all the action is done by animals (I am sure it is no accident that the leaders – Orwell was very critical of Stalin – are portrayed by pigs). It is just completely absurd. It is sad because the action really happened – to humans. Especially poignant is how the animals (humans) accepted whatever the leaders told them, even if their own memories contradicted the stories being told. A great, quick read on its own or to go along with a study of the rise of communism for older teens or adults.

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 33
Pages Read in 2015: 8839
Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks (more book reviews!)
Applied to Category for Special Reading Challenge: A book with non-human characters

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April 22, 2015 · 1:31 pm

The Moffats by Eleanor Estes

About a year of life in Cranbury is chronicled through the eyes of 9 to 10 year old Jane Moffat in The Moffats by Eleanor Estes. Each chapter focuses on a different event from having a for sale sign put up on the house where they live to Rufus (her 5 year old brother) ending up in a freight car to dance lessons and recital to moving when the house is finally sold. It’s a sweet book set in a long ago, slower time. I recommend it for all ages!

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 32
Pages Read in 2015: 8685
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April 21, 2015 · 12:01 pm

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis

Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy are in for a great adventure when they walk into a wardrobe and out into Narnia. They meet a lion named Aslan among many other woodland creatures. They battle the White Witch and are finally crowned kings and queens of Narnia.

I never read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe growing up. I was never interested in fantasy stories. This one is very enjoyable and a very sweet story. I recommend it for all ages.

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 31
Pages Read in 2015: 8463
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Applied to Category for Special Reading Challenge: A book that became a movie

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April 20, 2015 · 12:43 pm

The Power of Everyday Missionaries by Clayton M. Christensen

I really didn’t want to read The Power of Everyday Missionaries by Clayton M. Christensen because I am just really not into doing missionary work. They asked everyone in our ward to read it a few months ago and I put it off and put it off. I finally read it because the Relief Society is planning to start a book club and this is the first book chosen. After all that resisting, I’m glad I read it. It gives good tips for sharing the Gospel with absolutely no expectation of baptism – just sharing to share, because we love it. The book covers sharing with friends, sharing on-line, and more. Lots of great stories (some that led to baptism, some that didn’t – but all are successes – because just sharing is a success) are included. My only problem with the book is how the author laid it out like an academic paper with the telling what you are going to tell them, telling them, telling them what you told them pattern. I found the intro and sum up both to be rather irritating and felt they most definitely could have been dispensed with. It’s a quick read and I do agree with my ward leaders… it’s a must read for all members!

4 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 30
Pages Read in 2015: 8274
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April 16, 2015 · 3:13 pm

Mafia to Mormon by Mario Falcione

Mario Facione was living the high life in Detroit, Michigan, running scams and making tons of money quite illegally. He was skeptical when two missionaries showed up at his door wanting to share the gospel with him, but he was curious, too. He kept those missionaries out way too late getting his questions answered. He joined the church, but soon knew he had to give up the Church or the mob. Of course no one leaves the mob alive, but that was okay. He was willing to die, though the thought made him sad only because it meant he’d never get to go to the temple if his former business associates killed him. And he really, really wanted to get to the temple. Amazingly, they let him leave the mafia. Mafia to Mormon is Mario’s incredible conversion story and amazing testimony. This is a must-read for all Church members. It’s an amazing story of God’s hand in one man’s life both to bring him into the Church and to get him to the temple at the right place at the right time.

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 29
Pages Read in 2015: 8114
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April 14, 2015 · 6:33 pm

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey is a collection of six stories in the life of Homer Price, a boy growing up in the town of Centerburg a few decades ago. The Case of the Sensational Scent involves a skunk, aftershave lotion, and robbers. The Case of the Cosmic Comic involves The Super Duper (superhero) and the discovery that maybe he’s not quite what they thought he was. The Doughnuts is about a modern contraption that automatically makes doughnuts and what happens if you put way too much batter (and a diamond bracelet) in it. Mystery Yarn involves Homer’s Uncle Telly and three big balls of string. Nothing New Under the Sun (Hardly) is about a hermit who really did build a better mousetrap. Wheels of Progress involves putting up 100 brand new, identical pre-fab houses and creating a whole suburb in just a few days. The stories are fun and fantastic. It’s a quick read and enjoyable by kids and adults alike.

5 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 28
Pages Read in 2015: 7999
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April 9, 2015 · 2:46 pm

The House of Whispers by William Le Queux

Gabrielle, blind Henry’s devoted daughter and personal secretary, is implicated when someone steals Henry’s important private papers. She is quite suddenly sent away from her beloved Glencardine. Meanwhile, Henry’s wife and her friend Flockart have information they are holding over Gabrielle’s head which makes her do whatever they want. By the end, Gabrielle doesn’t know whether to tell the truth as she knows it or to commit suicide, a “logical” course of action since she has heard the mysterious whispers in the castle ruins at Glencardine and these whispers always foretell the impending death of the hearer.

I really didn’t like the first 90% of The House of Whispers by William Le Queux. It was often dreadfully boring. The dialogue goes in circles needlessly and repeatedly, making it quite tedious to read. That it was a mystery was repeated regularly because, without those reminders, the reader would likely forget. I found it utterly and completely unbelievable that Sir Henry would listen to a man he very recently had thought of as his enemy and turn on his devoted daughter. It just plain didn’t make sense or seem in character. The last few pages do redeem the book a bit, though the solution to the “mystery” is apparent long before the big reveal (or, rather, two big reveals).

2 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2015: 26
Pages Read in 2015: 7744
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