The History Book Club discussion

Krystal, here is your new thread for 2012.

Our Format:

JANUARY

1. Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: March 2008
Genre: (whatever genre the book happens to be)
Rating: A
Review or a Few Words about book: You can add text from a review you have written but no links to any review elsewhere even goodreads. And that is about it. Just make sure to number consecutively and just add the months.

Note: I will delete required format post once you get started.

Thanks. I won't add until the new year. I usually put the start to finish date,always the end date sometimes can't remember the start date. alot of books in the TBR. I'll check my library catalouge to see what they have and don't have.

January
1) by Michelle Zink
Start to Finish date:Dec 31-Jan 1
Genre: Fantasy
Rating:A
Review: So the last book in the prophecy of the sisters. Lia knows that she grows weaker by the day and must find the missing key(there are four and they have 3-Sonia,Luisa and Helene)When Lia comes back from Altus they go to masquere ball and she and Demetriti dance together. After the ball Lia goes to some acciquaces house and he helps her find what she needs to find this stone and possibly the last key. To close the gate forever or let Samuel take over the world. Once they discover the location of the stone they head to Ireland and find it. They lodge with an old guy and his daughter. When they are really close to discovering the stone. The old man and his daughter reveal that they knew Lia would one day come and find the stone and it is revealed that the daughter is the last key. So the daughter travels back with Demetriti and Lia. Once they are home they tell everyone that Bridgette is the last key and that they must get Alice on their side to close the gate. Lia knows that she grows weaker and will not survive til the next Beltane day. so with the keys and Aunt Virginia's help they travel to Beltane and set up the stone and everyone gathers. When Sameul realizes that the Guardian is missing Lia tells him i've come to stop you myself but then Alice shows up and they close the gate forever.(view spoiler)[But because Alice has done that Samuel kills her because she has always been in leauge with Samuel and now went behind his back. (hide spoiler)] There is alot more to it but I wanted to get the most important parts of it down before i go reeturn the book to the library today.

Like that put the month in bold and then onto the usual format? I'm not done the current book that im reading Im half way done.

Terrific, you only have to put the month in before the first book completed in that month. You are off to a great start and you have added the month perfectly (smile).

2) by Nina Burleigh(no photo even though there was one in the back of the book)
Finish date:I believe I finished on Jan 10(Please forgive me, I've had exams,I've been sick and have alot of projects all at once and can only read when I'm either on the bus or just trying to relax)
Genre: True Crime
Rating:B
Review:I give this book a B because the author's facts are good, she tells of what she heard and saw and does everything right by giving the reader the information that everyone wanted to know. But the stuff about Migini's theories on an ancient religion(the officer in charge of the case) and the early history of the city was just bland it didn't fit in. I didn't need to read the unimportant facts about that history it wasn't relevant to this story. If i was reading a book on the city of Purgia and Italy that is where that information would of been relevant but not here. I still believe that Amanda was innocent because of the evidence produced and they took time to collect the evidene waiting for it to get contaiminated and they didn't use the proper lab to conduct there results. Good story just that some information didn't to be in there. Also they say that there was a low DNA count and that it was sufficent to make an accurate result.

OK, don't forget.

Onto book 3 in my list before I forget because I just finished my 3rd book about an hour ago.

3) by Michelle Moran

Finish Date:Jan 27

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating:A I love any historical fiction so I always give it a top rating when it holds my attention and I can't put it down but have to.

Review:This is my second look at Egyptian history,(note:there is one last one that will be book 4 of my reading list)I had no idea that Cleopatra and Marc Anthony had children. Marc Anthony had other children by a women named Fulvia-(I'm adding a link because I'm confused by which are his children and which are his grandchildren http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ant....) But he lived with his children by Cleopatra,his children are Alexander Helios,Cleopatra Selene,who were twins(who this story is mostly told by)and a younger brother Ptolemy Philadelphus. When the Ceasaer of Rome invades Egypt. Cleopatra and her husband Anthony kill themseleves. First their maids were killed and then they had no where to turn so they killed themselves. The Ceasear of Rome is taking them back to Rome when little Ptolemy dies of fever. So only two of the children survive. The twins grow up in Rome and Selene as she was mostly called so as not to confuse her with her mother was a good student. She disliked her captors as she referred to them because she knew she would never return to Alexandria(she hoped she would but she never did.)Alot of the things happen. The Ceasear of Rome wins many battles and has many relatives who are in the book and there lives are mixed with Selene's. Selene is a good student and studies with the Architect. She helps design some of the buildings and even gets her hands a little dirty to actually build the buildings. She helps Julia, Ceasears daughter prepare for her wedding, they go shopping and they buy everything Julia needs when Julia can't figure out a veil Selene finally comes up with an idea she gives Julia something of her mother's. Mostly Selene doesn't like th women in her life because they sometimes mistreat her. They watch the mistreatment of slaves who have a trial for killing their master and one of Ceasear's friends likes to scare his slaves by saying that he will feed them to his eels that a slave caught for him. Ceasears friend had a wife who was a childhood friend of Ceasears chidlren and the night they are there celebrating a hoilday the wife goes into labour and the husband doesn't care and then makes the wife give the child up by putting in the place where unwanted children go to die(the newborn turned out to be a girl and the husband didn't want her but the wife pleaded to no avail) A lot stuff happens but the suicide of Kleopatra(thats how her family spelled her name)and Marc Anthony is a big event. You should know that Ceasear orders the killing of Alexander(the twin)and he had a lover Lucius.and that Selene becomes queen of a foreign country(she was secretly in love with Marceullus who wedded Julia.)She married Juba on the orders of the Ceasear on his death bed and Juba was a personal guard to the Ceasear he also happened to be the only fictional character(Juba was really but he disguised himself as The Red Eagle who caused trouble through out the book)and the first appears when the Prince and Princess of Egypt arrive(the twins)

Krystal, you have to follow the format in one. No shortcuts allowed.

I've started the reviews and I'll try to get them up shortly but I've had so much going on its proving to be difficult. I'm very behind in my reviews.

That is OK; but just put them up as you have time to follow the format. There is no rush.

Feburary

Note: because I have taken so long to do an update I’ve had a lot of stuff going on so I haven’t had a chance to do updates. My library now lets you review a timeline of which book you have read. So it makes it easier for me to see the date I returned them. So I’m actually going to put the end date to the date I returned the book. If you see the same date twice this will be the reason.



4) by Michelle Moran
Finish date: Feb 3rd
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: This is the story of Nefertari daughter of Mutnodjment and General Nakatim. Who we first met in Nefertiti. The story tells of how hard Nefertari had to work in order to become chief wife to her husband Ramses. Nefertari is unpopular with the people because they believe her family was a bunch of heretics because of how Nefetertiti raised Amun as chief god in Egypt. The book is about daily palace life, politics and how Nefertari uses her gifts to help her husband. Another woman is also trying to become Ramses wife Kiya but Kiya only becomes second wife. Nefertari and Ramses were childhood friends and so in order to make Ramses want more of Nefertari she goes away for year, pretending to think that she might become a priestess of Hathor and Kiya is also doing the same thing with another priestess.

5) by Jaycee Dugard
Start to Finish Date: Feb 3rd-Feb 7th
Genre: Biography
Rating: A
Review: How would you feel if you were held captive for 18 years? Your family only hopes that you’re still alive this is the true horror story that the brave Jaycee Lee Dugard went through. Kidnapped at 11 years old by Philip and Nancy Garrido held secretly captive for 18 years in their back yard. Forced to have sex with Phillip and not understanding what was happening. Jaycee gave birth to two daughters with no help from a doctor or a nurse. Philip was already a convicted sex offender, so why didn’t the police dig deeper when they came for home visits, if they had Jaycee would have been saved sooner. She kept notes of what was going on when she could, she was given animals to keep her busy but they soon disappeared. She had a TV and other things but to imagine the horror she went through was heart-wrenching to even read. At one point Philip had to go to jail for a long time, but still Nancy kept her captive when she could of let her go. The way she was rescued is an amazing story of how the officers at Berkley University were quick to think something was amiss and act on it.

6) by Jodi Picoult
Finish Date: Feb 20th (This is an estimate because this is one of my own books; it was the 2nd book that was a Christmas gift.)
Genre: Religion
Rating: B
Review: This book was a little out there for me. Not something I’d normally read. What would you do if your daughter suddenly started seeing god? But said god was a woman? This is what Mariah White asks herself when her seven year old daughter Faith claims to be seeing God after her parent’s recent divorce. This topic can be touchy for some people and it explores not just one religion but three different ones. First we have an agnostic believer by the name of Ian Fisher, Mariah and her mother are non-practicing Jews and then we have a Father Macleod and others who follow the Catholic religion. All these religions come into play when Faith starts hearing divine voices (such as Joan of Arc), is able to recite biblical passages, and develops stigmata. At one point it becomes bad because Faith is constantly in the hospital because she has these wounds that won’t heal themselves. She brought her grandmother back to life; she heals a baby suffering from aids. People think she performs miracles and there not sure why it’s happening.

I know the reviews 4-6 are crappy but if you read the note at the beginning of number 4 it will explain what happen. I'm trying to finish one book then i have 3 more lined up after that, but i have soo much going on i hope i can reach my goal this year of 50.

I sadly did not finish the book 7 that I read I returned it to the library. I became to busy and kept renewing it. The same thing happened with the book I'm about to review. Also note that I'm writing this late at night and I was somewhat tired today so it might not be a great review.

April
7) Philippa Gregory

Start to finish date(I remember this clearly because of an event that happened on the start date):April 2-May 6

Genre:Historical fiction(as always with me I rarely ever go out this genre)

Rating:A(I give almost every single book an A because I love them all)

Review: So I always get confused in this time period. About who comes first before The Tudors. Who is who when it comes to kids. Like I still can't remember who Henry VIII's mother and father are. Is it The Red Queen Margret Beaufourt(or however her name is spelled) by Philippa Gregory

so back to the review. Lady of the Rivers is the story of Jacquetta of Luxembourg a descendent of Muselina. At the age of 17 she marries her first husband John of Lancaster(her family had always been to the Lancaster cause until her second husband and son, change over to York in one final battle). Jacquetta's lives with her aunt and her aunt Jehanne gives her, her playing cards that tell fortunes and some charms. At a young age Jaquetta befriends the young girl Joan of Arc because it is her aunt and uncle who house her until she is taken prisoner in Rouen and burned there. Next John of Lancaster Jaquetta's first husband takes a liking to her and marries her(he only marries her for her gifts,the gift of seeing and tries to help him with his little projects or shall i say illegal sorecry [scrying]). He is very old and so they don't actually do any real love-making. When John of Lancaster dies Jaquetta waits awhile and then secretly marries her husbands chamberlain.They have to pay a fine for that.They have a very long and fruitful realtionship 13/14 children survive from that union. With exception of Lewis who died at age 12 from fever. There are times when Richard and Jaquetta have to be seperated because he is posted at the garrison of Calais. It was the last of English holdings on the continent. Jaquetta is the mother of Elizabeth Woodville who married King Henry IV and the grandmother of their two children(The princes in the tower).Jacquetta was the maternal grandmother of Elizabeth of York, Queen of Henry VII. Jaquetta is the queen's favourite lady in waiting and they are very close friends and both help each other in need.

Krystal, you should only be listing books that you actually finished.

Are you talking about the part I add about The Red Queen?

Yes, you marked it as 7.

no number 7 is by Philippa Gregory. The only reason I mentioned The Red Queen is because it ties in with the book.

May

8) by Robert Scott(no photo)

Finish date: May 23

Genre:True crime

Rating: B

Review: the unspeakable that should of never happened. (I wanted to put a quote in here but now i can't find it. I waited too long to write the review). This book is about reporter Robert Scott talking about everything that happen with Jaycee Lee Dugard. Everything about what happen with her abductor before Philip Garrido went and kidnapped Jaycee. He was arrested and convicted of a sexual crime that happen in Nevada. But since he was from Southern California he was charged in both States in 1976 for kidnapping and rape of Katie Calloway. He managed to get out of 50 year prison sentence for that crime.

Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped from her bus stop on June 10 1991 at 11 years old on her way to school. Held captive for 18 years. Had two daughters A and S. In the book I finally learned only part of there names(The author still didn't use their real names but he used a variation of them, I don't like that he did that because Jaycee never revealed their names so the author to not respect her privacy didn't sit well with me and so for that reason i will also respect their privacy.)

The author towards the end of the book started talking of other cases that i found were some what irrelvenant such as other children who went missing on a certain highway. They never found the killer in those cases. But it was suspected that Philip Garrido had something to do with them but it turns out he didn't in the end so i found it irrevelnant.

June 2012
9) by Pat Lowery Collins

Finish date:Im getting terrible with when i finish books. i can't really say I know it was maybe early June. I just get busy and hate typing at night when it's daark because sometimes i need to go back through the books to put detail in but can't when im not allowed to have the light on after dark. so then the book gets put back on my shelve forgotten until a long time has passed.

Rating: B

Genre:(wasn't sure how to classify this one, so going with the rest of the readers on goodreads have named it historical fiction because of the date,So im going to say its a...)Historical fiction. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51... at where it says genre's to the right)

Review: The 3 main characters are Anetta(I guess it's a shorter form of the name Antonia my mother's name),Lusia and Rosalba are Orphans all living at the Ospedale della Pietà. This is a girl's only Orphange(When infants who are male are left they leave the orphange by the age of 10 to attend the male Orphange close to the girls.)The girls all play at least one to two instruments but some also use their extrodinary vocal abilites to play at the concert's that are given every week. Rosalba a hopeless Romantic in the middle of the book meets with the wig-maker's assistant after she writes him notes while she is out on a field trip with the other girls. She sneaks out in the middle of the night and on the second night he rapes her and she is found by a guy who takes him to his mother and brother from then on she is forced to play with them. Anetta became very ill and is sent to the country side to recover falls for the farm hand in the country. she is sent along with Catina a younger girl who suffers from breathing problems(Anetta isn't like the other girls though, her mother visits her very infrequently as a child,she calls for her mother during her sickness in the winter and the nurse says child you have no mother, but then in the end her mother takes Anetta away to start a musical career, I can only speculate because it is never proven that Anetta's mother is a mistress to many influential Dukes)Luisa is left all alone when Anetta is gone to the country and with Rosalba never seen again. Luisa likes to practise late at night and on a few occasions has found a baby at the front of a turning wheel, mothers leave newborns at this kinda of chute thing and those children are then taken in by the Ospedale. She names one Concerta and after Rosalba has what we learn is a duaghter she leaves a clue(her festival mask that she made before she disappeared with the child, when she leaves it at the wheel)So Luisa names the child after her lost friend and then awhle later Rosalba wonders what they named her child. I should mention that this is the Orphange where Father Vivaldi writes his music and concerts. I found the book too be slow thats why im giving it a B rating. It took me forever to read so i can't give my start to finish date. What drew me to the book in the first place was the cover sort of it has a picture of sad looking girl. and it was a cheap book(a bargain read! that i bought in March)I envied the girls that showed vocal abilites.

I do not think I will get to 50 reads again. My life is just too complicated. Maybe when the summer is over and I'm not in school(I'm taking a personal break from school it's a long story)Then maybe I'll be able to catch up. I read books that I call research but if I don't read them from start to finish I don't write the review for them like at the moment Im reading one book that I call a pleasure read and one book for research I start a class tomorrow(July 3rd) that I have always wanted to take. Im finally taking ASL I'm so excited. So my research books at the moment are on Deaf culture, ASL dictonaries and biographies.

Thank you Krystal for following the required format. I can understand that everybody will not reach 50 books - life is full of so much other stuff (smile). It is just a goal and nothing more.

Take your time and reviews are required - so when you get back into fun reading, then just start up again. But you are doing a great job so far.

I'm behind in reviews. I've read 2 books since my last review and on a 3rd. I should put a reminder to myself. I actually didn't finish a book that i really wanted to it got really boring but it was suppose to be interesting(I tried to finish by Helen Keller (but didn't finish it)

It happens, Krystal, I start a lot of books and never finish them, or pick them up again later on.

Don't forget to add a author link:
Helen Keller

Sorry about that forgot that part. I'm going to do two reviews at the moment even tho I read these books like over month ago.

July

10) by Michelle Zink

Rating:A

Genre: Steampunk Lit/Fantasy.

Finish Date: July 7(estimate)

Review: This is Michelle Zink first stand alone book. It is currently not known if this will be a series or not. This book is about a girl named Helen Cartwright who's family dies in a fire and she is the sole survivor because people are after her family. So one night her mother comes and awakes her from a deep sleep and shoves her into a door hidden in the wall. From there using her pendant as her only night she follows the directions to a mysterious house. The house belongs to two brothers. From there Helen learns through the brothers and a friend of a secret society called the dicata that she has been trained her whole life for her role in this world. She is one of the guardians of the world. She learns all the various tricks that comes with being left as a guardian, like like light jumping and how to handle certain weapons. At each site of a killing someone has been leaving unfinished keys. It is later revealed that it was a childhood friend of Helens. ON the night of her parents killings she mets two brothers and then the next day they go to Galizar who is their helper. Galizar has alot of inventions that help the keepers understand what they are up against. Someone is trying to access a certain set of records. People are killing the parents of the keepers and keepers to get a hold of a special key. As the story progresses we find that Helen's friend Raum is in contact with who killed Helen's parents and the Channing brothers. Victor Alsorta is in with the legion of angels. He is a dangerous man and not even really a man. Helen, the channing brothers and Helen's friend Raum have to rethink of their strategy to get rid of Alsorta. Who is really Alastor is some kind of demon who is trying to gain acess to records so he can control the world. If he ends up taking power at a Summit. If Alsorta takes control at this Summit he could end up ruling the mortal world(our world). It would give him control of the past,present and future. Someone has killed their friend Galizar and now the keepers will have to fend for themselves. On to destroying Alastor. Helen, Raum and the brothers must find an entrance that is safe enough to get close to the house, once inside they will have to cut off all the light suppply(so that simple demons can not lightjump and find them and try killing them), then at sunrise someone will have to find Alastor and kill him. He can only be killed by a sword pierced at his heart at exactly sunrise not an easy task. Does the killing party escape, yes but barely. It is here that Helen learned she is in fact keeper of the key. since they were able to kill Alastor all was well.


I'm going to have to do the last review tomorrow.

Don't forget the genre, thanks :)

shoot i always forget something these days. Sorry guys.

11) byAkta Reid (no photo)

Finish Date: July 15-18 2012

Genre: Historical fiction, Memoir, War

Rating: A+

Review: This review is long over due. I had this book on my tablet as a preview book until I decided in mid-July a few days before my birthday that i really wanted the book. I was told i was allowed to purchase one book and so i did along with another book called Assignment Bosnia. It didn't take me long to finish the book as i was so engrossed with it. While reading the book I made notes to check spellings and meanings of words since some I didn't reconginze. I laughed at the good parts and cried at the parts where people were dying and getting wounded or when something happened within the family. The book is told from two sisters points of view one is Atka the oldest who marries a good New Zealand reporter. They met at a party that Atka went to while she was working as a translator. Before the war Atka was at University but it closed when the JNA(Yugoslav's People's Army-Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija) sieged Bosnia. War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1 March 1992 and 14 December 1995 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_War

There family was huge it consisted of 10 children(**Children are in order of birth) Atka, Mesha, Lela, Nadia, Hana, Selma, Jana, Tarik and the twins(unsure of names) the parents, the father's mother, and the mother's mother i believe. The grandmother on the mom's side lives with the family and the dad usually had to go back and forth to see his mother, but at times the shelling was so terrible that he often had to stay with his mother for the night. There were also aunts and uncles who were spread out along Bosnia,Croatia and Serbia.

Hana
Only two children are allowed to leave. The middle children Nadia and Hana. They are are of an age where they understand what is going on but would not be help at home or with their mother and sister who are in Austria trying to get funding for Mother's of Bosnia. When the JNA took over the Bosnian Army the brother Mesha was caught in the middle and had no way to escape but he does. In the middle. Nadia and Hana are on their way to Croatia where they are to search for a business partner of their father's and/or uncle. While on the bus ride they are being targeted and when they come to a Serbian checkpoint they are made fun of; the officer says you won't be able to have cevapcici a traditional Eastern European dish which i had a pleasure of eating in mid-August for the first time. In English it's simply called Cevaps. A lot happens to Nadia and Hana while in Croatia. First they are treated as refugees when the arrive and have no money when a women approaches them asking if they would like to board with her. Since they have no money they are directed to a bus going to a stadium that has a camp full of refugees. Once they leave the sports center they walk to a hotel where an associate of their father is staying but he has gone to Germany for some time. An English man has helped them when the manager started giving them trouble. So the foreigner Christopher and Mladlena help them; they go to Rijeka until family friends return to Zagreb.(***reading this book gave me so much pleasure, I'm finally able to share a story that could of been my story had my mother and her family stayed in Croatia; back in the 70's there was a threat of war then, it didn't happen for another 23 years).

Atka
Back in Sarajevo the family lives on poor rations and packed in the basement when shelling is heavy. So the ones still at home are The Dad,Grandma, Atka,Selma, Jana, Tarik and the twins. During Atka's life Sarajevo had been a multicultural city that accepted all people Bosnian Muslims, Orthodox Serbians, Catholic Croatians and other foreigners. In May of 1993 the first massacre occured killing 22 people who were lined up for bread. One day Atka gets a job as a translator at a local radio station. She has to listen to newscast on tv that are in English and then translate them to Bosnian and report them live on the air. One day while she is at a party she mets a guy and he takes her all over the place so she translates for him. The program she translate is Voices of America. Mesha finally calls during a time when the shelling is heavy and Atka has to tell him to not do anything rash. He's escaped from the Army and will be in big trouble when he gets back to Sarajevo, escaping from the JNA is a very hard thing to do; it nearly gets you killed all able-bodied men over 18 are obligated to join the Army. In my evernote account this review is 3 pages long, I could add more but then I'd be giving the whole thing away. Any questions or if i didn't format something right let me know.


Note: *Above I was simply showing the translation of the title it was written in English. But it might be translated to other languages.
**Children are in order of birth.
*** A personal touch

Very detailed review Krystal

oh I could of done more believe me but that would of spoiled the whole book. Sometimes I amaze myself when I write reviews but then again. I don't know if you want to call it cheating when I look in the book again to make sure I have details right. But yeah this was just an amazing book.

Terrific.

I'm bored so I might as well just do this review right now. could of watched a movie or listened to more music but nah i'd rather get this out of the way.

September
12) by Alison Weir

Finish date: Sept 12 kinda scary that it taken me a month to review this and my memory is so bad. might not actually be the date i finished thats just the date it was returned to the library.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: A

Review: I really enjoyed the book. It tells of the life of Jane Grey the 9 day queen as history knows her. She is an unwanted girl from the start but then as she grows older her parents see her as pawn in there little schemes. They wanted her to be Prince Edward's wife. But he gets bethroted to a little French princess. Jane's parents are very cruel to her when she is a young girl. Her mother always beats her and one day while they are hunting they make Jane kill a doe and then smear the blood on Jane herself. As she grows older Queen Catherine Parr(I'm going to share how to remember the queen's in order-Divorced,Beheaded,Died,Divorced,Beheaded,Survived-Catherine,Anne,Jane,Anne,Catherine Howard(Boleyn cousin),Catherine Parr(was named after his first queen).)(meaning C.Parr) Takes in the child after the king dies and brings her up. All young girls of noble birth do this to continue their education.But soon stuff happens and Jane is forced to move back with her parents, she doesn't want to go but has no where else that can take her because her parents are not very well liked.(Jane is a 2nd niece of Henry's, Jane's mother was King Henry's Sister's Daughter Frances Brandon)why does history have to be so confusing, i can never remember orders of kings or queens when Jane spends time with her cousin Mary who is a devout Catholic, Jane is appaled when Mary and her ladies claim that when the wine is blessed it becomes god's blood(as the bible wants us to see)I believe that the bread and wine are merely symbols just like Jane sees things(which is making me rethink of which religion i am, i know i'd be severly punished for wanting to switch religions, so im waiting til I am out of the house to make my choice, i am suppose to be a devout Catholic but my view is changing toward Protestant). i think this is the reason why i liked the book so much. When her parents can't marry her to the new king after Henry VIII dies, she is married to Guildford Dudley who's father is on the council together Jane and Guildford's parents scheme to put Jane on the throne since her mother has a claim she gives the claim up and passes to her eldest daughter.Jane has two younger sisters named Katherine and Mary. Since Edward's half-sisters are deemed Bastards way before the events of the book he names Jane as his sucessor because she is after-all a blood realtive with a weak claim. At first her life is spared but then when a plot is found out that not her but her parents were plotting against, Mary her cousin has no choice but to execute Jane. During Jane's time with the Dowager Queen Catherine Parr she has a very excellent education, she is almost raised as a princess(because she needed to match Edward's intelligence if she was to be his queen)She dies because of the Wyatt rebelion. A quote from Jane in the book "I am now a condemned traitor . . . I am to die when I have hardly begun to live." http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...
She is only 15 and has already endured so much in her short life. In the end she lives very poorly, and is not permitted to see her husband very much, she is told her life will be spared if she is found to be with a child but she claims she hasn't slept with her husband so no examination of midwives are needed but she is forced to and they find she is telling the truth so she will be executed on schedule after her husband. Her father is killed shortly after her. Her execution is very detailed. The exeutor is given a small purse by Jane as is the custom and he kneels before her begging for forgiveness and her clothes since they are expesive will be given to him and he can then sell it. The book ends right about here.

Note: please don't consider it cheating i don't have the book in front of me so im reading a review to jog my memory and plus wikipedia because it has proper spellings and sorts.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Jan...

Thre was one book that i dind't finish in the summer so im not even adding it to my finished list and then there was a book from last month that i didn't finish only got two page 80 on it before i quit(because my bookclub meeting discussing the book was on Wedesday) I hopefully will force myself to read the next one. But I won't write the title here until I actually finish it. I just really want to read this one book but its all mostly older adults at the club and they have very different taste from me.

Good Krystal - glad you found the time to right the review - but in your case where you are calling it a review of your own - just at the bottom - cite the source - the review of the book that you are taking information from - then nobody can fault you.

Where did you get it from - just let us know.

kk i'll edit it but just so you know it was only to jog my memory. It's fixed now because the quote i used was from goodreads i forgot i put that in there. and if i had the book with me i pro wouldn't of been able to remember the exact pg number it was on tho.

Maybe my To-Read list will be more managable now that I deleted 12 books. They were viewed as YA books by Goodreads users so they had to go I'm going to write my review for the book i finished today, Tomorrow because i don't have much time left on here. Thanks Ben for helping me with that.

You are welcome Krystal. Just keep making progress every day.

October
13) Emma Donoghue
Start to Finish:Oct 11-Oct 21(I know i finished on a Sunday and so I estimate that I finished the 21st because my last status update was on Oct 18.)
Genre:Realistic Fiction
Rating:A- (In the end I did end up liking this book but it took over 51pgs for me to finally like and understand it.)
Review: Pg 51:To me i feel like im reading a script the book isnt going any where. Its rather annoying to me that they dont go out at all, its really child abuse in my mind the kid needs room to run around and he isnt getting that.

pg 159:Finally the story moves forward. I was starting to get tired of them just staying in one spot. But now I understand why they were trapped in Room. So I"m really glad they've been rescued.

Meet Jack he's five and he and Ma live in Room. To Jack; Room is everything but for Ma it's a prison. Together Jack and Ma have lived in Room all of Jack's life, they play, eat and sleep in Room. Room is prison to Ma because Old Nick took her away from her family seven years ago. She never had any contact with her family since being kidnapped. There is a whole scary world that Jack doesn't know about and when they make the great escape. He is scared of everything; the cars, people, unfamilar noises. The story is told from Jack's POV. In the beginning it was just Jack and Ma I didn't feel that the story was moving anywhere. Then once Old Nick started coming in I didn't know what to think, but then when Ma explained to Jack that there was another baby that didn't live, I realized that this was like a Jaycee Dugard story to me. Although Ma was in college it was very Dugard like. Then Ma and Jack come up with a plan to escape. They tell old Nick that Jack is sick, but because Old Nick doesn't get medicine fast enough they make him believe Jack is dead, Ma wraps him in the rug and Old Nick was suppose to take him away, and Jack was suppose to jump out of the truck as soon as it slowed but he got stuck and it took a little longer but he manges to free himselve and somehow runs and gets help.The police are able to track down Ma with Jack's description of how they moved around in the truck and the police use a statelite image to try and locate her and they do really fast. Ma and Jack finally meet back at the police station. and Ma has to go into a seperate room for awhile but Jack doesn't want to be alone. Then Ma is reunited with her parents and brother who is married with a girl close to Jack's age. Together Ma and Jack stay at a hospital(it's like a mental hospital, but we know that they are not crazy, its just the best hospital for there situation). Ma doesn't leave the hospital for awhile but Jack goes out and explores the whole world that he didn't know existed. He goes to a shopping mall, the park and then when it is safe enough for him to leave the hospital, he goes and lives with his grandma and step-pa(yea Ma's, mother got remarried after she seperated from her husband because of the strain it put on their marriage from losing Ma)While they were still in Room, they watched very little tv but Jack likes Dora and spongebob, and he sleeps in the closet. I visted the booksite and when I explored Room I could not believe they survived there that long, no wonder she had enough one day and decided to come up with a plan. Once Ma comes for Jack they move into an apartment for community living where people live in the building until they get back on there feet and learn social skills. Ma and her old friends start meeting up, once she gets out of the hospital in the end Jack really wants to see Room,but Ma doesnt want to but finally gives in and when Jack sees it he says this can't be Room and Ma says he was seeing it from an outsiders view.

I def will not be getting to 50 again :'(. I know it's just a goal but i was hoping to reach it.

November

14) byOntario Ministry of Transportation
Start to finish:Oct 28-Nov 10
Rating:C
Genre:Non-Fiction, Manual
Review:I will keep this simple since this is my provinces handbook on driving. We all know that instructional manuals and what not are boring. This book is no exception. I know this book will help me with my driving course, so I need to read it. I start next weekend(Nov 17)I give it a C because at some parts it's confusing to read and difficult to follow and makes some things look difficult. But if i read it and take notes the 2nd time around then I should be fine.

Now that I finished those two books above i can't wait til Wed to find out what were reading next. I need to check the list to make a rec.

15) , Tatiana de Rosnay

Start to finished 15-Nov 20(I wanted to write the review right away since I have one other book club book to read but i forget the name of)and plus a bio that i took out.

Rating: A

Genre:I think from now when I write that its a Historical Fiction i will just put HF for short

Review: I have missed reading this kind of HF. Since leaving HS I have found myself reading HF on England. I haven't read much on WWII. Sarah's Key helped me realized the tragedy of the events. Two reasons I was so drawn to this story 1)I was born 49 years to the date that Sarah and her family were arrested(Arrested July 16 1942;I was born July 16 1991) and 2)because of her Slavic relations(I am Slavic-Croatian, altho neither of my grandparents or great-grandparents were arrested)We are Catholic not Jewish but to think if we have been a Jewish Slav my family would of been affected. Back to the story.
Sarah is a ten year old girl with a brother who is about 6 years old. On the night of July 16 1942 there is a knock on the door, Sarah wakes her mother and together they answer the door, Sarah hides her brother in a secret cupboard and tells him I will be back. The girl and mother pretend that the father and brother had left but then the father comes out of his hiding place and is arrested. He mouths were is your brother; Sarah shows the key and he nods in understanding. They are taken to a garage with other families, then on to a train to a stadium. The Father tries to plead with an officer to come with him to get his son but it is no use. From the stadium they are taken to the Drancy internment camp and then to Beaune-la-Rolande(Used for correct spellings- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah%27... and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentr......
section 2.)
From there the men are separated from the women and children. A week later the mother's and children are torn apart from each other in a brutal beating if the women and children resist and they do. I read the book and then saw the movie last night(Nov 26) In the book Sarah does not fall ill after she is taken from her mother, in the movie she is sick and a girl named Rachel helps her. They then escape. While Sarah was sick she kept going on about getting back to her brother and Rachel asks her and Sarah shows the key. Together with the help of a guard they escape. They then end up at a Farmer's house. Rachel then falls ill and dies of Diphtheria. While the Dr. examines Rachel they hide Sarah, she then finally tells them her real name and that she needs to get back to Paris. She tells them they can't stop her from trying to get back to Paris so they follow her. On the train ride they are asked for papers and because there is no picture for Sarah(or now some boy name) they give the officer money. Sarah runs all the way back to her apartment, a little boy lets her in, after of course knocking on the door banging and shouting for her brother. When the boy answers the door she pushes him out of the way, she runs to the room and pushes the bed out of the way, and unlocks the door, she then screams(and the farmer takes her kicking and screaming out of the room), The little boy who answered the door happens to be Julia Jarmond's Father In-Law. Julia is searching for what happen to Sarah's family after she learns the family moved there right after Sarah's family was taken in the round up of the Vel d' hiv ( http://massviolence.org/the-vel-d-hiv... ) Two families intertwined together by the story of one girl. Julia searches for Sarah and learns that Sarah took a new name( Dufore after the war) and then her married name. As Julia searches for Sarah she learns that Sarah killed her self after she went to America, Julia then tracks down Sarah's son but he deny's everything, then his father tells/ shows him Sarah's belongings. He then looks for Julia to get the whole story.

Why is Julia so concerned for Sarah? She feels sorry for Sarah and wants to tell Sarah that her great father in law helped her (He sent money to Sarah without her knowledge and that he is sorry for not realizing that the boy was locked in that cupboard, they tried getting rid of the smell but didn't realize that a boy was in the cupboard) But only finds Sarah's son(William). Julia frequently visits her husband's grandmother who everyone calls Meme(Everyone thought Meme didn't know, about the boy, but she did because of her son's nightmares and Meme tells Zoe-Julia's daughter she is proud of the mother). Meme says to Julia where is that good for nothing husband of yours, he never visits his grandmother like he should. No one likes Betrand (Julia's husband, talking about readers) and I didn't either, he was whiny and for as long as he was married he was having an affair and his wife knew but didn't say anything. When Julia tells her husband she is again pregnant he wants her to get an abortion because he does not want another child because he is too old for another child. Julia does the right thing by keeping the baby. They are remodeling the apartment that Betrand grew up in (Sarah's apartment) after Julia and Zoe the older daughter really know what happen in that apartment they really don't want to move in. That is why Julia wants to know about Sarah because she is going to live there. As Julia searches for Sarah and learns more of her story the book/movie flashes back and forth between then and now, to show how it looked during the war and modern times. It is a dark day in France's history a time not many are willing to talk about. Kristen Scott Thomas(Julia) did amazing with being bi-lingual(but the subtitles were poorly translated, ungrammatical) Julia almost gets an abortion but when she gets a call from someone who knew or lead her to getting closer to Sarah she rushes out of the hospital. She then goes all over New York to find Sarah, finally the last house brings her finally to Sarah's husband who remarried and had a second child and the step-mom of Sarah's son, informs Julia that he lives in Italy, so Julia travels to Italy and finds Sarah's son(William) he denies that his mother is a Jew until he is shown a picture of Sarah (her Identity picture showing that she was a Jew) he gets angry and leaves. two years later he finds Julia and she brings along the child (that her husband didn't want) and Julia tells William all about Sarah. Then William asks, so the child's name is Lucy and Julia says non that's the girfaffe's name(The little girl's toy), then what is her name- Julia pauses and says Sarah. Then William starts crying and says thank you. The story ends there. Julia moves back to New York after she learns about the apartment and Sarah. But Zoe doesn't like it and wants to go back to Paris.

Note: In order to have correct spellings I am researching. So I guess I will link everything when I find each correct spelling. I hate formatting. Also it just makes sense for this review to tell Sarah's story and then blend into Julia.

Thanks Krystal for the review. HF is fine.

Just went through all the threads I've posted in the past and see that I did not reach my goal this year of reading more than last year I need to write two reviews tomorrow and then I have 9 books in que. Bought some books over this past hoilday season, still haven't read the book i recieved for my birthday.Crazy no more buying books until all of the others are done and i don't have any more room and it's sad.

I read 2 books in Dec but haven't reviews them do I review them in this thread or the new one if there is a thread for me. Some nights I don't get on the laptop so I can't write reviews but I will do my best to do it later today

Krystal, if you finished reading the book in 2012 your review should go on this thread. We will be leaving up the 2012 threads for a little while longer to let folks get caught up. We hope to have the 2013 threads up soon and we'll put up one for you.

Decemember

16) by Shania Twain

Finish: Dec 16th 2012(goodreads-my books)

Rating:A

Genre:Memoir

Review:
Eilleen Reginia Edwards better known as Shania Twain was born in Northern Ontario and is one of the most sucessful country/popstars from the 90's. Her family moved around alot because they lived in poverty. She never knew her real dad and her mom married an abusive husband was with him for over 25 years until they were both killed in a car crash. Shania did well in school and had to walk to and from school on most days with her brothers and sisters and in Northern Ontario it gets really cold that you can get frostbite. At the age of 8 she was singing in bars and sometimes her mom would use food money to afford gas to bring her daughter to perform all over. Her family was inter-racial family, with her mother white and her father Indian. He did have the odd job and when he got a job working for Indian affairs so that the people on reserves could get new sports equipment for school he had to say yes to it even when he saw that there were some kids with drunk mothers who didn't take care of their kids but he wasn't able to do anything about it. Her family mostly lived in Timmins. When she was 13 she got stuck on the wrong train on her way to perform on the Tommy Hunter show and almost didn't make it on time. She almost ended up in Alberta. Shania as a young girl was a Tomboy she loved playing sports and loved helping her father when she could but then when she started middle school it got harder to play sports because of body changes.

Note:thinking if i listen to her music i'll be more movtivated to get this review done. not sure why i just can't remember all of it. i don't want to miss anything though.

So she'd often go hungry at school because there wasn't enough food at home and she didn't want to report it to school officals for fear of being torn from her family. When she had friends over she would portion the milk and that surprised her friend. At one point her mother moved herselve and children away from the father but then went back to him a short time later it never got better. In her last year of high school she did a few concerts and got really nervous at one point and had an embrassing moment on stage. she also use to sneak into the music room and there was a soundproof room in the room(we had secret rooms like that in my HS too) where she'd stay in there all class so she'd skip class but never got caught because she had a parent's note(of course it was forged)and she'd write songs. Sometimes she'd skip two classes at once. When she lived at this one house the family across the alley always had food that you would smell because they would leave the window and the food smells would linger through the air. As a teenager when they were living in a basement apartment she would sneak out of her window to be with her boyfriend and her father use to come in drunk and say filthy names to her when he thought she was sleeping. In the summer in 80's she worked as a treeplanter which her father owned and they had a 98% sucess rate with the tree growing and maturing. To be cut down later for paper. I'm going to fast forward here because I do want to finish this before the nights over i've been at this for hours because i get distracted easily. I do want to add that after graduating high school she was in a band called Longshot and they would sing Top40 songs at bars and then they went on tour for awhile. There was also a 2nd band that she went to because something happened to there female lead. So after her parents die she is the family bread winner at the time of her parents she was living with a boy in Toronto(Every Canadian girls dream be in Toronto) So she worked in this lodge as a cabret singer. and earned enough money and went to Nashville. When she was working at the Lodge (her manager was one of her mother's long time friends) she said that when they wanted to change her name she was going to honour her father by keeping her name so she kept Twain. But someone at the lodge was named Shania and so that's what she named herself. When she lived close to the lodge she didn't have running water or anything and yet she was paying for it but for some reason never got turned on. she had dog for protection but a crazy neigbour killed it with his car. Then when she got to Nashville they were telling her to go home country girl but she stayed and became the 90's country queen. She became sucessful and married Robert John "Mutt" Lange on Dec 28 1993. Who also became her song writing partner they were married for 14 years before ending in divorce. They have one son named Eja prounced Asia born August 12 2001. The reason for divorce is because her husband cheated on her with her bestfriend and also her husband's assistant, she then married her former ex-bestfriends husband. They were both hurt by the same person the ex-bestfriend. When she worked on the video for That Don't Impress Me Much she had a German Shephrad who kept breaking lose of his leash and would ruin the shot. While working on her album UP! she was nursing her son Eja and sometimes when he'd make baby sounds it would leak into the mic. This album actually has about 3 or 4 different versions Red,Blue and Green.

ok there is problay alot that I'm missing and I keep going back and forth so I think I'll end there this book is over 400pgs so it's alot to review. I did my best though. One last thing(srry keep editing) this is the first time I remember seeing a Index at the back of a biography. Forgot one of my favourite songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HLZlQ...

Was in the middle of my last review and was doing pretty good to until i accidently clicked out of it. and I'm too tired to restart so i have the format now saved with just the review to fill in for tomorrow to copy and paste.

Can finally add the last review.

17) Michelle Moran

Finish date: Dec 28 2012

Rating: A

Genre: HF

Review: This is my first look at Marie Louise of Austria; Napoleon's second wife. Marie-Louise is only 19 when Napoleon chooses her to be his next bride because he needs an heir to the throne. He has step kids by Josephine but he needs a real heir. So Marie Louise travels from Austria to France just as her great aunt did 20 years prior; not with Pauline of course (Napoleon's sister and one other companion) and Pauline tells Marie Louise that she must leave everything behind even her beloved dog sigi. Pauline expects that Marie had already been with Von Neppierg but has no proof so she can't proof anything and thus is the feud between Pauline and Marie. Pauline wants to rule France just as the early Egyptians did like Cleopatra and Anthony they were brother and sister first and husband and wife second.Then Napoleon makes his step daughter Hortense be Marie's mistress of the wardrobe and takes away her title of Queen of Holland. While Napoleon is out on campaigns or wars he leaves Marie Louise in charge of the empire. Together they have one son Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte who is titled as King Of Rome from birth. Then about year after Marie Louise arrived in France The Count Von Neppierg brought sigi back to Marie-Louise. Marie was an obedient wife not like Josephine who had extramarital affairs. The story is told from Marie-Louise, Pauline's and Paul- Pauline's personal servant from what is now called Haiti. When Napoleon is out fighting wars Marie Louise is in charge of there son's education which pleases Marie because if it were up to Napoleon his son would never have exercise or be out doors. As time goes on people are not liking Napoleon and so first he is exiled to Elba but as he goes from port to port on his way to Elba he gathers up forces and marches back in to France but then they capture him again and exile him to an even smaller island called St.Helena and he is there for six years until his death. After Marie Louise flees back to Austria she divorces Napoleon and marries Von Neppierg together they have three children.

Thanks Krystal - great job.