Archive for September, 2023
The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Okay, the truth is I am only 50% finished. And that was pushing it for a couple of nights.
No. Just no. I am not in the mood for little character discoveries. I am a deep-series person. Not getting to know my imaginary people any better than a pass on the street is not something I can handle.
Please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying YOU won’t like it. You may very well love it. Check out the reviews. They are so varied. It’s just not for me.
I must admit to loving the voices of Tess Gunty (Author and narrator), Scott Brick (Narrator), Suzanne Toren (Narrator), and others. But it was not enough for me. I need more story in my books than what they offered.
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I admit I wasn’t as in love with this one as Karen Cushman’s Midwife’s Apprentice. But maybe it is how that period was compared to how the main character portrayed her life. But had she not, the story would have been boring. And less educational. There was far more feminine leeway in what Catherine or Birdy did daily.
Still, as a read-aloud or read-along with middle-grade students, a teacher or parent could develop a considerable lesson plan incorporating everything from hygiene to the Crusades. In fact, as an adult, it was fascinating to learn all the crafts needed for survival that we engage in as hobbies now.
This was written diary form so that you could live the day-by-day of a young woman about to be married off. The abuses are blatant. The dangers of that time for newborns through older people are a given. That anyone lived through all this shows the human endurance of history.
So even though not as well-loved as a story, this is certainly worth the read and discussions that could develop.
I was able to read this on Libby. I will try to look up more of Karen Cushman’s work.
The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
About halfway into this book, I thought of what I wanted to say about this book. It is:
Improperly provocative done properly. Another I thought of since:Â Wickedly Proper
Witches, pirates, tea parties, and subtle romance keep this story going. So funny, I nearly spit my tea, yet subtle enough not to wake my husband with my guffaws.
Elizabeth Knowelden (Narrator) gave the proper voice to read this fun book.
I think I liked this one far more than India Holton’s first book, The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. The witches versus pirates made my day!
If you are looking for a fun diversion from everyday torture, this book might do the job. I was lucky to find this audio version on Libby.
to learn a fix.
In my world now, a run represents a dropped stitch in knitting. I’m still not very good at recovering the dropped stitch. I always look it up. Like at this YouTube:
Meanwhile, as our usual Saturday background noise goes, we spend the day watching disaster movies. The hoakier the better. Or the more watched, like Rampage and San Andreas.
The keyword of these shows is RUN! Usually the advice is far too late in an attempt to prevent panic. How do they think that will work? The actual disaster occurs and folks are running like chickens with their heads chopped off.
I think I’ll throw in yesterday’s Bitmoji:
Nearly forgot to give Linda credit for the prompt:
I don’t have a pattern for the Afghan. Just the basic Tunisian Crochet stitch. It is getting boring, but I think it’ll be warm.
This is what I’m using for the socks.
Have a great weekend!
The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial by David Lipsky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I am really not finished yet. I am at 99%, but I wanted to write this review before closing the laptop.
This is highly political, but David Lipsky seems to have no favorites. He has much to say about the denial on both sides of the aisle. I love science, but this proves how human ambition can kill science and the people who would benefit most from knowing the answers, however they proved.
Mike Chamberlain (Narrator) did a reasonably good job reading the book, but there wasn’t much to work with. It seemed the thing I hated most about this book was how the author chose to pretty up the story with words or illustrations that seemed to entertain him. I found these annoying, and it took me out of the story he was trying to tell. Not to say this is fiction. It was history in light of science and politics.
There are various opinions about this book in the reviews. Maybe you will love it? Or not? Try for yourself to see.
The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I wish books didn’t need tags like ‘middle grade’ or ‘young adult’ as this book had so much depth for all ages. Maybe somewhere, we could say, middle grades could read this. Young adults can relate. But I think this would make a great read-aloud to share. A teacher or parent could do the reading. There are a lot of conversation starters built in that people should enjoy.
For someone who entertained the occupation of midwifery, this called me as much as the show, ‘Call the Midwife.’ The miracle of birth and mothering are passions of mine.
This was a Libby Kindle that I was able to use text-to-speech. I think I would have loved a narrator, but the TTS did a great job all the way through. Can anyone tell me why TTS can’t say ‘finger’ but rather says ‘finJay’? That was the only word I had to take a moment to understand. But that was okay. Your brain adjusts to small inconsistencies like that.
Apparently, there are discussion booklets and book group helps. I would love to have been a part of one of those.
I am now a fan of Karen Cushman and can’t wait to read more of her books. I hope you like her, too.
Darswords 
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