Barbara L.B. Storey

The Cottingley Secret

7:00 pm 17 August 2018

I really enjoyed this book - the story is fascinating and based on truth (my favourite kind of story), and the author creates an amazing and wonderful atmosphere that pulls you right into the experience of the characters. My only problem was that one of the story threads was - I felt - wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly. I would rather have seen it seep into the story earlier, be revealed more gradually. On the other hand, one of the threads was left open, deliberately, and I liked that very much. You knew what was going to happen next, but it was definitely okay that the actual development was not part of the book.

All in all, a beautifully written book, and highly recommended.

Written in My Own Heart's Blood

7:00 pm 13 May 2018

I DO like this series, but it's also gotten so long and drawn out that I have trouble remembering what happened at the the beginning of the book, once I get to the end. Not to mention what happened in earlier books! But I love Claire and Jamie, and I have to see their story through to the end - I just can't reread the whole thing again!

This is a good instalment, though a bit too heavy on the battle scenes for my taste - they got old fast. Gabaldon has a tendency to ramble/put in almost TOO much detail, and to fall in love with secondary and tertiary characters - a trait I could do without.

The Green Mile

7:00 pm 25 April 2017

One of my most favourite books of all time.

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

7:00 pm 5 March 2017

I had been planning on reading this for a long time, and I was afraid I'd be disappointed. It's such an inspirational classic, and I thought it couldn't live up to the hype. But I did like it, and found it both inspiring and a bit of a new perspective. I think it was just the right time for me to read it. I'd like to find the Companion book now, and delve into it a bit more.

A Wrinkle in Time (Time Series, #1)

7:00 pm 23 January 2017

I think I read this book when I was much younger, but I had forgotten almost everything about it. I enjoyed it, but it was not as . . . substantial as I remembered it. I read it in 2 or 3 nights, an hour or so at a time - good characters, an interesting premise, but I wished the book had been about twice as long. A classic, worth the read, but a tiny bit disappointing.

The Te Of Piglet (The Wisdom Of Pooh)

7:00 pm 24 September 2016

One of my favourite contemplative books ever - and I've always loved Piglet best of all the 100-Acres Wood residents. There's a lot to think about here, and to embrace.

Black Rabbit Hall

7:00 pm 28 February 2016

I loved this book! As per the comments on the back cover, it had a true Daphne du Maurier feel to it - Gothic mystery and doomed families and a wild setting in Cornwall. The story was well told, the characters so real I could picture them, and the atmosphere of Black Rabbit Hall and the Cornish coast were vivid and enchanting. I half-figured out some of the mystery before I finished, but not all of it. A great book, and highly recommended. I hope Eva Chase is working on another novel - she's very good.

Our Mother's House

7:00 pm 31 December 2015

I read this book when i was a kid, and I remember loving it. SO creepy, so scary! I would love to find a copy of it again, and see how it holds up!

The God of the Hive

7:00 pm 7 May 2014

Another book in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, which I love in general. This one was not as satisfying because the two main characters are separated for 90 percent of the book. The case is intriguing, and Sherlock's brother Mycroft's involvement is crucial, but the ending is a little rushed, and the villain's "resolution" is less than satisfying. A good book, nevertheless, with all the usual twists and turns and fascinating methods the series is famous for.

Gone Girl: A Novel

7:00 pm 2 May 2014

This book was not at all what I was expecting - less a suspense thriller (though it has those elements) than a psychological study of two very damaged people. Who ultimately deserve each other, but I had more sympathy for one than the other.

I can't really say much about the plot without giving too much away, but Gone Girl was smoothly and well written, kept me guessing in places, and had a shocking ending. I will be looking for more of Flynn's books.

Eat, Pray, Love

7:00 pm 1 May 2014

I loved this book - there is just something about the way Elizabeth Gilbert reveals herself and her search for peace that make you want to be her friend (excuse the cliché, but it's true). Her description of life in Italy made me want to go back there. Her time in an ashram in India did not make me want to go there (not my thing), but I appreciated her honest account of the difficulties of soul-searching. And Bali sounds like a odd, but exciting dream.

One of the best memoirs I have ever read - highly recommended.

Philomena

7:00 pm 7 April 2014

I picked this book up at the library mainly because I'd seen snippets of the movie and was curious. I don't think the movie is anything like the book, though - the latter is mainly a reconstruction of Philomena's son's life, after he was adopted, with very little of Philomena in it save for the first and last chapters.

It's a fascinating story, though, and one with lots of sadness and heartbreak. I can't go into too many details without giving a lot of the story away, but I will recommend the book as a good read, and one that only took me three days of nightly reading to get through. It's a story of loss, and luck, and determination, and ultimately, love.

Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy

7:00 pm 7 April 2014

A wonderful day book full of inspiration and small but wonderful ideas for growth, every day.

The Paperbark Shoe

7:00 pm 31 January 2014

An interesting book I picked up on a whim from a shelf in my library. Beautifully and brutally written novel about displacement in the Australian outback during WWII. The narrator, Gin - an albino; her husband, Toad - an odd dwarf of a man with repressed homosexual urges; the Italian POW, Antonio - longing for his family and fascinated by Gin. The three come together in a collision of wants and desires that are never going to be fulfilled.

It IS very well-written, though I was a bit confused by the last twenty pages or so, what the point was. I feel it was a weak ending, but otherwise, the book was amazing in its descriptions and characters and the sense of being in the middle of nowhere, with few options, in a time of desperation and confusion.

Recommended, but not five stars.

The Miracle of the Artist's Date: 52 Ideas for Activities that will Nourish Your Creative Soul: A Special from Tarcher/Penguin [Kindle Edition]

7:00 pm 14 January 2014

Great little e-book with ideas for Artist's Dates, and a deeper explanation of what they are, and what they're meant to do. Recommended!

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

7:00 pm 4 January 2014

This is the most awesome book ever. No one else is anything close to as fantastic as Allie Brosh - her humour, her keen ability to portray human weakness in the most accurate yet side-splitting way, her dogs are weird and wonderful, and I identify with her childhood passions for cake and parties. PARP!!

You must read this book. Seriously. Stop reading this and go find a copy now!