New Orleans Legacy

Another one from my Mama!!!

New Orleans Legacy
Alexandria Ripley

My 83 year old mother, who is "anti-racy", anti-cussing, loved this
historical bodice ripper, so I bit. The history of New Orleans is very
interesting and critics say it is authentic
I've never read anything by Ripley before, so don't know how this compares
to her others. The story was OK, but probably when I'm 83, I won't rave
about it!

Abram's Daughters

A review from my Mama!!!

Abram's Daughters series by Beverly Lewis

This 4-5 book series provides a fascinating "insider" look at the Amish
lifestyle: the simple, yet universal, joys and the sorrows. I was amazed
at how harsh and cruel the Amish life can be to its followers, yet they
supposedly follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.
I felt that the number of books were a little too many, with perhaps the
author milking a good thing. Yet, the characters were well developed.
Lewis is able to keep the secrets all the way to the end of the series in a
masterful way. I would recommend.

Your Book?

So, what IS everybody reading right now? Has summer started fully for you? Swim team has started for us. I'm letting grumpy teen sleep in for the time, and let him have a couple days of slug fest. Middle, younger and I did that last week while I had my nose in Voyager. So, it's back to work for us, and on to the lazy days of summer, but my kids don't think so at this point.

Voyager

Right now I am reading Voyager by Dianna Gabaldon. It is the 3rd book in the Outlander series. I am revisiting an old friend. This time around I am paying closer attention to the history involved. Generally I glaze over the history for the "fun stuff" in books, but this opens up good dialog between my DH (dear husband) and I as he is a HUGE history buff and just "knows it all". He doesn't seem interested in reading this series for some reason. There are LOTS of men that read it, and find it just as facinating. I'm sure THEY skip the fun stuff for the history.
The opening of the book is the end of the battle at Culloden in Scottland. I'm still fuzzy about the history, but the Scots wanted to break away from England, and sadly, they failed miserably.
Now mind you, this is the 3rd book in the series so I don't want to give ANYTHING away. I'm thinking of posting more specifics in the comments section, so that "spoilers" can be discussed. So, how about that??? Sound like a good idea?

*** Update***
I've finished Voyager. It is a book that will explain some things from the previous books, and you do get to see some "old" characters. It is a very action packed book with much murderrrrr and mahem. You get a LOT of Jamie and Claire which you didn't get in Dragon Fly in Amber. My mom said that this book is very "Indiana Jonesish".

This blog is SEARCHABLE

If you go to the top left corner of the blog, it says search
type in the word or phrase you vagely remember, select "search this blog", and all relevant posts will come up!!!

YEAHHHHHH I was a bit worried I'd come up with this huge nonsensical list, and not be able to find anything!!!

My List

Shell Seekers (1st of 2 books)-Rosamund Pilcher
Joshua (series)-Jospeh Girzone
Wonderful parable for our time
At Home in Mitford (Series)-Jan Karon
Story about a confirmed Episcopal Priest and what happens when he gets a new next door neighbor. DELIGHTFUL read. She writes children's books too!!!
Abram's Daugher's Series-Beverly Lewis
This is about the life of the Amish in Lancaster County PA. GREAT read to find out what the community believes.
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas-James Patterson
Quick read. You could read this in an evening. But make sure you have your tissues handy, it is more than a tear jearker, sob alert!!!
Walk Across America-Peter Jenkins
A travel-log of a man that walked across America in the 70's. I've not read it in a while, but just remember that it was one that I really enjoyed.

Some Favorite Authors:
Nicholas Sparks-that man sure can make me CRY!!!
Laura Ingalls Wilder of the Little House fame
Maude Hart Lovelace-These are books for girls. My mother read them as a child, passed them on to me, and now I am reading them to my little girl. The first in the series is Betsy Tacy. It is a story about 2 best friends that live in a small town in Minnesota. The nice thing about this series is the reading level increases in the books as the girls get older. I don't know of another series like that. If you do, please let me know. I am a volunteer school librarian and would love to get something like that too for my kids at school!!!
Jeannette Oke-ANYTHING by her is great!!! She writes in series, and the Love Comes Softly series is wonderful. I found a TV movie of that title a few weeks back!!!
Patricia Cornwell-The only thing I've read by her is the Kay Scarpetta series. The series takes place mostly in Richmond VA. Kay is the Chief of Forensics (or what ever the heck it's called) for Richmond. This chronicles her life all allll the mess that goes along with murder and mahem!! I adore the idea that I've been to places that she writes about. It's fun to follow that path.
Joseph Girzone:His first book is "Joshua". It is a parable for today. Every time I read it I get a different message. There are others, and they are all charming, and have a message...but the first one was truly a magical read for me.
Marjorie Holmes:"Two From Gallilee", "Three From Gallilee", and "Jesus of Nazereth." This is the most delightful story of the love story of Mary and Joseph. Holmes is very precise in her study of history during the time of Jesus. As you read, you instantly are put back in Biblical times. Quite amazing. The "Jesus of Nazareth" however, strays quite a bit from what we read in the Bible, so that bothered me a bit. But the first book, a delight.

Outlander

I'll make a list right now of some of my favorite books and authors (If I can remember them).

By and FAR my favorite series, and really quite ruined reading ANYTHING for quite some time was Outlander by Dianna Gabaldon.

Claire and Frank are on their second honeymoon in Scotland after WWII. This story starts after a disturbing event. I have to warn you, you NEED to give it time to get into. But once you do, it is very very well worth it. I have quite litterally read this book 4 or 5 times now throughout the years, and I glean so much each time I read it. Romance is a big part of this series, but it is SO much more than that. Action, adventure, history, relationships, medicine are some of the few things this series touches on.

The list of books in the series are Outlander, Dragon Fly in Amber, Voyager, Drums in Autumn, Firey Cross, and a Breath of Snow and Ashes.

You can find information about these books at www.dianagabaldon.com and there are various Yahoo groups set up for the discussion of said books.

Introduction!!

Hi!!

Welcome to what hopes to be a great long list of great book reads!!! I've always wanted to consolidate my books in one place, and help others to find great books to read, and steer clear of books "not worth your time".

If you have suggestions for books for me to read, email me, and I'll add them to my list of Heather's Wish List!!!