Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Review- Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani

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Children of the Jacaranda TreeChildren of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
ISBN-978-1-4767=0909-3
Atria Books
Published: 2013
Novel: History-Iran, post-revolutionary Iran, 1983-2011

This is one of the best books I have read this year!  Sahar Delijani has a poetically beautiful writing style. She is able to capture the smallest nuance of life. When you read Children of the Jacaranda Tree, you will be immersed in the lives of people caught up in ongoing conflict in Iran from 1979.  You will experience their lives as if a person is dictating it to those who can not see. The detail is spot on, the imagery is gorgeous.  As a reader, I felt connected to the lives of the characters in her book. Honestly, it was a visual movie in my mind. Such a talented writer. Don't mis this one.


View all my review on Goodreads

Disclosure: This book was sent to me for review and possible post by Atria Books.  I have written my unbiased personal reflection.

© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2014]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.


Friday, June 27, 2014

Enter to Win ….Book Giveaway!!!

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4th of July BOOK CONTEST….


WIN A COPY OF JAMES MADISON: A Live Reconsidered
by LYNNE CHENEY

  • Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (May 6, 2014)
  •   



Penguin Random House has asked me to host a book giveaway for Lynne Cheney's fascinating book, James Madison: A Life Reconsidered.  Just in time for the fireworks and celebrations for the   4th of July, this year, someone will be fortunate to win this treasure. 

I read this amazing history of James Madison and for those of you who devour American History you won't want to miss this biography.  Ms. Cheney, has studied Madison since the late 80's.  Her portrait of this dynamic political powerhouse will grasp your attention from the beginning.  I will post a review for viewers in the next few days, but until then take advantage of this generous giveaway sponsored by the publisher. ~WL

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Recommendation: Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick

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BUNKER HILL: A City, A Siege, A Revolution*

by Nathaniel Philbrick
  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Viking Adult; 1 edition (April 30, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0670025445
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670025442


*#2 on Amazon's Best Sellers for the Colonial Period  


My Comments:

If you have read any other books by Nathaniel Philbrick , than you know as I have discovered, his historical narratives are of the highest quality and utterly engaging.  Honestly, I have had this book in my sights since before its release date last year.  One thing about being an avid reader,  the TBR nightstand becomes a precarious pile teetering near collapse.  If not, then your bookshelves are perhaps meticulously organized, or perhaps crammed with two rows deep. One thing is certain, they all haunt this reader as they whisper "read me next."  Is it me, or are there just not enough hours…to savor each book, while new temptation beckons you to the next possibility ---when you have finished?  


Official Book Trailer-You Tube


I have to apologize to the author, as I purchased this book when it first came out.  I bought it because I knew Nathaniel Philbrick's reputation, his compelling narratives and I was anxious to read BUNKER HILL.  I love American History and particularly this period in our country's birth.  I call myself part sentimental, part historian and always part the curious cat. But for whatever reason, Bunker Hill is a riveting narrative about a city. A city which Philbrick calls his main character.  Within the city our history plays out with the famous people we know like,  Joseph Warren, John and Sam Adams, John Hancock, Revere, Washington, Gage and the loyalists and patriots.  The story begins and ends with the role played by a young seven year old witness to the Battle of Bunker Hill, John Quincy Adams.  With tears in his eyes the violence of the day and the death of his beloved family friend, Dr. Joseph Warren, would stay with him for his entire life.  BUNKER HILL:  A City, A Siege,  A Revolution is superb. It has become a best seller, and is now in paperback as well. I only regret that I had not read this one sooner. I have already skimmed back numerous times. A must read for readers of American History- Philbrick is a phenomenal storyteller supported with his dense research.  ~Wisteria Leigh (2014)


Disclosure:  I purchased the copy of Bunker Hill for this review. WL


© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2014]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.



Wednesday, June 4, 2014

ebookfriendly.com/free-public-domain-books-sources/

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Hi everyone!  I wanted to pass on this list of free-public-domain book sources to you and have it handy on my blog so that I can refer back to it.  Enjoy!
http://ebookfriendly.com/free-public-domain-books-sources/

Sunday, January 12, 2014

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness-Cover Reveal

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The cover of the last book in Deborah Harkness's, All Souls Trilogy, has been revealed. THE BOOK OF LIFE will be released by Viking on July 15th 2014. 


I have read the first two books in this trilogy and have eagerly awaited Ms. Harkness's concluding novel, The Book of Life.  The first two books A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and SHADOW OF NIGHT had me on the edge of my seat more than not. Sure to generate fright, anxious and edgy drama, the trilogy somehow is movie-like, imagery forms in the mind induced by this writer's exceptional story in print.

Harkness has conceived erotically enticing and memorable characters who will grip readers in their  otherworldly schemes of good vs evil.  The allure is irresistible and readers will be drawn forward without awareness of time.   I know I was a captive audience for the first two books and expect THE BOOK OF LIFE to be the same.

Below is an excerpt, tagged with the author credit lines.  I hope you will be as excited as I am for this highly anticipated conclusion.  If you haven't read the first two books, you have time to catch up on this
entertaining thriller from the other side.


BOOK OF LIFE- EXCERPT by Deborah Harkness*



Ghosts didn’t have much substance; they were composed only of memories and heart. Atop one of Sept-Tours’ round towers, Emily Mather pressed a diaphanous hand against the spot in the center of her chest that even now was heavy with dread.
It had been her witch’s sixth sense that someone was in mortal peril that had steered Emily down the path leading to this moment. But the death she had foreseen was her own. 
Does it ever get easier? Her voice, like the rest of her, was almost imperceptible. The watching? The waiting? The knowing?
Not that I’ve noticed, Philippe de Clermont replied shortly. He was perched nearby, studying his own transparent fingers.
Emily’s face fell, and Philippe silently cursed himself. Since she’d died, the witch had been his constant companion, cutting his loneliness in two.
Perhaps it will be easier when they don’t need us anymore, Philippe said more gently. He might be the more experienced ghost, but it was Emily who understood the metaphysics of their situation. What the witch had told him went against everything Philippe believed about the Afterworld.
Diana’s warm alto floated up to the battlements. Diana and Matthew, Emily and Philippe said in unison, peering down on the cobbled courtyard that surrounded the château.
There, Philippe said, pointing at the drive. Even dead, his vampire sight was sharper than any human’s. He was also still more handsome than any man had a right to be, with his broad shoulders and devilish grin. He turned the latter on Emily, who couldn’t help grinning back. They are a fine couple, are they not? Look how much my son has changed.
Vampires weren’t supposed to be altered by the passing of time, and so Emily expected to see the same black hair, so dark it glinted blue; the same celadon eyes, cool and remote as a winter sea; the same pale skin and wide mouth. There were a few subtle differences though, as Philippe suggested. Matthew’s hair was shorter, and he had a beard that made him look even more dangerous, like a pirate. She gasped.
Is Matthew—bigger? . . . Diana looks different, too. More like her mother, with that long coppery hair.
Diana stumbled on a cobblestone and Matthew’s hand shot out to steady her.
It’s not just Diana’s hair that has changed. Philippe’s face had a look of wonder. Diana is with child—Matthew’s child.
Emily examined her niece more carefully, using the supernatural grasp of truth that death afforded.
What will happen now, Philippe? Emily asked, her heart growing heavier.
Endings. Beginnings, Philippe said with deliberate vagueness. Change.
Diana has always resisted change, Emily said.
That is because she is afraid of what she must become, replied Philippe.

 
*From The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. Reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, a Penguin Random House company. Copyright © Deborah Harkness, 2014.




Sunday, January 5, 2014

A Charles Dickens Challenge in 2014

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Dickens 2014 Classic Challenge



Challenge Details


To sign up just use the Mister LInky widget and indicate how many books you think you will read. 

  • For this challenge, you decide which and the quantity of works by Charles Dickens you wish to read.

  1. Read One……You are: Oliver Twist
  2. Read Two……You are: A Tale of Two Cities
  3. Read Three….You are: Our Mutual Friend 


    • Will you be Oliver Twist---A Tale of Two Cities or … Our Mutual Friend?

  • For example: Bookworms Dinner, One Book, etc
  • Add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky. I’ll be adding to my monthly recap post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review). You may also link to your review on Goodreads. For example: Bookworms Dinner, Great Expectations, URL to your review.
  • ENOY THE CHALLENGE! I'm looking forward to reading your reviews.  I'm curious to find out how many Dickens fans are in the blog world. :)  You may read any selection written by Charles Dickens. 




© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2014]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.






Saturday, January 4, 2014

World Book Night is April 23, 2014

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In the past few years I have been a World Book Night Giver.  World Book Night has been very exciting for me as a library/media specialist.  Recipients have been excited, surprised and grateful for the opportunity to read something I have had previously read.  Just like my students, everyone wants to know about the book, so impromptu book talks are common. I hope to be a giver again this year. I have  linked the book selections below. 

For my readers who don't know about this organization, here is the press release:

World Book Night U.S. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading the love of reading, person to person. For more information about World Book Night, please visit our About Us section
The media plays an important role in the success of World Book Night U.S. For the past two years, they helped us broadcast to local and national communities the effort and hard work that went into distributing half a million books to light and non-readers across the country. Without the media, many of the wonderful stories that happened on April 23, 2013 would have gone unnoticed.
If you are a member of the media interested in learning more about World Book Night U.S., please contact us at April23@WorldBookNight.org, or email our Executive Director at Carl@WorldBookNight.org



If you would like to support World Book Night here is an easy link to follow:




Booklist for 2014

http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/images/2014/2014Resources_AND_docs/2014_WBN_Title_Information_for_Booksellers_and_Librarians.pdf


© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2014]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.