My foray into the world of Pottermore several months ago inspired me to do a serious and slow re-reading of all of the Harry Potter novels. I’m not one for reading slowly, especially when the book is exciting and the action is moving me along. After seeing the movies several times (which I love), I [...]
“Living well and being happy is the best revenge on those who bully us.” “As you go through life, you will realize that there are a lot more of ‘us’ holding you up than ‘them’ putting you down!” Letters to a Bullied Girl is a collection of some of the thousands of letters sent to [...]
It’s rather rare for me to see a movie before I read the book but I happened upon the movie Freakonomics on Netflix streaming several months ago and enjoyed the broad connections and thought-provoking discussions. Having finally read the book, I can say that I enjoyed the additional depth offered by the book. I’m a [...]
I love mysteries and historical fiction so The Face of a Stranger, the first William Monk novel by Anne Perry, was an excellent read for me. Monk is a police detective in Victorian London who suffers a severe case of amnesia after an accident. He goes back to work, pretending to be fine, and attempts [...]
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I found the young adult novel Beswitched by Kate Saunders to be a fun, interesting read. While the main character Flora was a little whiny and spoiled, I enjoyed the mix of modern day life with life in the past, dabbling in magic and inter-generational relationships. Flora is sent away to boarding school while her [...]
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The much more than chick-lit novel The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale was a fun, thought-provoking read. Becky is a happily married Mormon housewife who inexplicably befriends Felix, a well-known British actor, while she is in Hollywood. Throughout the book we wonder why they are friends and if perhaps the friendship should become [...]
Transforming Abuse: Nonviolent Resistance and Recovery by K. Louise Schmidt uses a synthesis of feminist theory and nonviolent practice as the springboard for understanding violence toward women and children, our place in the system, which perpetuates the violence, and suggestions for societal change through personal action. Schmidt offers us a vision of a non-enemy ethic [...]