Cut or Uncut Jade Needs Polishing

Things have been rather hectic lately and I haven't had the opportunity to read as I usually do. The latest book I've read is Jade by Pat Barr. Once again I chose a book set at the turn of the 20th Century and is set in China. This novel main character is Alice Greenwood to her British compatriots and Uncut Jade to masters when she was taken hostage as young girl and held for many years.

Barr goes into the history of China at the time with the evil dowerage empress and the boxer rebellion but these facts in history were less impacting than what Robert S. Elegant did with his book Mandarin.

While an interesting story, I couldn't help but feel Alice's instability and flipping from event to event unsettingly. I thought that she'd never be settled and live happily every after and kept looking for that on each page. Whether she did or didn't you will have to read the book to find out. It could have been me and the circumstances in my life at the time I was trying to read this - but Jade wasn't a book that held me enthralled. I found that I could put it down for days at time. I will recommended it though.

Read the book!

Authors Are Not Supposed to Talk to Me

In John Fowles' The French Lieutenants Woman the story was sad yet didn't affect me the way other really good novels do and then, the author stops mid-story to talk to the reader. Tell a story, don't talk to the reader it's really annoying just like the idiots who talk during movies.

I didn't like this book...don't read it.

King Richard a pedophile?

In Pamela Kaufman's Shield of Three Lions, Alix, a young daughter of English baron, is sent on a daunting task to reclaim her right to her father's land after he is killed by a usurper. His last instructions to his 11 year old daughter is to disguise herself as a boy and go to King Henry for help. Alix become Alex or Alexander and hooks up with Enoch, a Scottish man who takes the wee one along and agrees to help. With many twists and turns, the death of King Henry by his son who becomes King Richard - Alex finds himself/herself on the crusades working as a page for the King. The King falls in love the boy and more twist and turns. Alex believes that Enoch wants to take his/her land but needs his help to survive the military camp.

I didn't like the pedophilia story line - I got bored with Alex's paranoia about Enoch and the ending once again disappointed. I can't recommended this book - bummer!

Don't Read this Book!

Finishing the Series....Feist's Fantasy

I could go on and on about how much fun it was to read Raymond E. Feist series of books on Medkemia but I truly believe six more reviews on these books would get very old. My adventure with his books began by accident when I purchased The King's Buccaneer, this book had no dust jacket so I assumed it was about medieval England - what a great mistake! Then I spent months tracking down the other books to read.

One thing I found as I traveled through this adventure was that the characters never got boring. I was sad as they aged and made way for new characters but I never got bored with the fight for good over evil. I couldn't help but think that these books were written for young boys - who cares, I loved them!

The Prince of the Blood, Shadow of a Dark Queen, Rise of Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King and Shards of a Broken Crown - are worth every minute!

Read these Books!

Move Over Pug - Jimmy the Hand is Here!

Raymond E. Feist takes us back to Midkemi with his Riftwar Legacy Saga only with our favorite characters a little older and many new character such as Jimmy the Hand who becomes a favorite of mine. Once again evil wages war against good and everyone must step up to the plate. Dark elves, trolls and serpent people race to gain dominance. Prince Arutha must plot and plan to counter the evil.

The ride in this saga is just as fun as the first Riftwar Saga. If you wish to plunge into this story it starts with Kondor the Betrayal, then moves to Kondor the Assassins, and finishes with Kondor Tears of the Gods.Beware once you begin the series, you really have to read all three to feel as though the story is done.

It is worth the time and I recommend these highly especially if you've read the Riftwar Saga. Where else can you get royalty, gangsters, elves, magicians, dark elves, trolls, and more other worldly creatures?

Pug is so Cool!

I love novels based in fantasy. Raymond E. Fiest is great in this genre. The problem with fantasy is that rarely do you get away with only one book. In Fiest's Riftwar Saga you have to read three (or four) books to reach the end.

The series begins with Magician. I read the author's perferred edition which included rewrites of his previously published the Magician's Apprentice and the Magician's Master. The story is based in Midkemia and Kilwan - not of this world as you can see.

There we are intorduced to rich characters such as Pug, Thomas, Kulgan, Arutha and many more. As with any great fantasy there is royalty, wars, magic darves, elves, aliens from Kelwan and their strange animals, demons, dragons, and more.

Should you be a Tolkien purest there are points in theis book that might anger you. I see influences in several areas but I didn't mind.

Once you begin the ride with Magician - you must continue with Silverthorne and Darkness at Sethanan. These books are a blast to read with superhuman strength, magic and good that fights to prevail over evil.

Read these books!

There's No Bad Books - WRONG!

Okay, I didn't care for The Secret Life of Laszlo Count Dracula by Roderick Anscombe - not one bit. First, it's written in the journal form and I have already discussed how much I dislike this style of writing. Second, not one vampire in the whole book! (okay, had I read the book jacket I would have known this but at the Friends of the Library book sales who reads the jackets?). Three, the book is about the secret musings of a man who murders women.

This is not a murder mystery since you are privy to the inner thoughts of the murder the suspense is non-existent. Also, non-existent is the ending - stupid, stupid ending.

DON'T READ THIS BOOK!

A Saga of China and Her Differences

(no picture available) I truly enjoyed Robert S. Elegant's Dynasty. This novel/tome travels through the prickly situations of China from the early 1900s through the moderizations of the world in to the 1970s. The blending of cultures with European and Chinese spouses. The attitudes of the followers of Mao and those of his opponents. This book is definitely worth the time if you are interested in China from its time of the Empress to its turn to Communism. I learned a great deal about political, social and cultural issues that I didn't even know to ask about.

Fabulous! Read the book.

What an Eye Opener

(no picture available) Robert Elegant's Mandarin is a sweeping saga of two families, one Chinese and the other Jewish. Set in the mid-nineteenth century all around China but mainly in Shanghai. The Emperor's reign is in jeopardy with the Taiping rebellion.

I learned much about both cultures that before was unknown to me. For example, a Jewish mother has Jewish children but a Jewish man who marries a non-Jewish woman does not have Jewish children. When Saul's daughter marries an English man not of the Jewish religion, his wife told him to let it go that the children would be Jewish.

Also, that charged with a crime of doing something against the Chinese idea of filial piety is an executable offense. So when Aisek Lee's mother commits suicide leaving a note that they are broke and going to starve, even though they were very wealthy, Aisek Lee was charged for not taking better care of his mother.

These are only two of minor but very interesting things that I found interesting. Both the Chinese and Jewish cultures are very different from my own, which peaks my interest. If you want to learn about history as well as these culture this book is very interesting and engaging.

Read the book!

Vengeance a Dish Best Served Cold

Imagine being 19 or 20 on your wedding day, and the police come and whisk you off to jail where you sit for 20 years. You find an opportunity to escape and do....then you discover a large treasure to set you financially for the rest of your life. What do you do?

Edmund Dantes in Alexandre Dumas' Monte Cristo goes on a wild adventure to discover why he was accused of this crime and avenge the wrong done to him. He hunts out his finace` to find her married with a son. Edmund is a fabulous hero/anti-hero depends on how you view his actions. There is a moral dilemma here - is revenge okay? Does Edmund have a right to go after those who wronged him?

This book has a vast array of characters that fill the pages and I recommend it highly.

Read the book!

The Avenue Opened a New World for Me

(no pic available, sorry) Okay this will finish my reviews on R.F. Delderfield until I find other books he has written. The Avenue was the same as his other books - wonderful and easily read. However, this book showed me and I mean showed me a small glimpse of what it would be like to live your life while some maniac (Hitler) is sending bombs into your neighborhood. Being of the generation that I am, where Wars are discussed on the political issues in schools - I had no idea that once it became dark that people had to black out their windows with heavy fabric, run to a shelter the minute sirens went off or learn how to bake differently because of the shortages. This book gave me a new perspective of what the Brits went through during the second world war.

I am flat amazed how Delderfield can create so many characters all fully formed where you read to the point of exhaustion because he moves from one part of the story line to another so fluidly. This story encompasses the lives of six to eight different families all on the same street - each one different, unique and special.

Read the book!

Another Book I Couldn't Put Down!

As with many of R.F. Delderfield's books this one begins as a soldier returns home from the First World War in To Serve Them All My Days. This is another sweet story full of love and loss. Being sent to the country for a job interview as a school teacher, David, doubts that the job will be anything but a temporary stop to help him heal from his shell shock from the war.

He finds his niche with the boys and the school. He enjoys their pranks and they enjoy his company. The teachers form a community of family that brings stability to students and humor. He meets his wife in a neighboring town rooting him to the school even more as she embraces her new role at the school. There is laughter, joy, children and tragedy.

As the years pass, David finds that he is fixture there and accepts his role but as in true Delderfield fashion the World War II threatens and takes the lives of the young boys from his school. The characters are well rounded with virtue and flaws, the heroes are realistic and the story carries you forward effortlessly.

Read the Book!

MY FAVORITE! Watching the Swann's Grow

More of R.F. Delderfield! My goal in this life is to read each and every book he has written basically because of the seven I have read, I have not been disappointed. To date the Swann Saga is my favorite. It all begins with God Was an Englishman then comes Theirs Was the Kingdom and it ends with Give Us This Day. I fell in love with Adam, the patriarch of the family. He's the hero with flaws.


The saga starts in the 1800s in India when the soldier Adam decides to end his military career and go home. As he travels home he runs into the young run away Henrietta who he later marries only to keep her from having to return to her father and marry a man she doesn't want to. As the story builds so does Adams family and his company Swann on Wheels, a hauling company.


Not only does the reader experience the daily lives of the Swanns, Adam and Henrietta and their 10 children but also includes the Swann on Wheels family, which becomes as important to Adams as his own family. I love how we are allowed to follow these two families for more than 50 years.

Each of these books is over 1,000 pages but worth every minute of it! READ THESE BOOKS!

Lives of the Right Men and The Wrong Wars

R.F. Delderfield's Seven Men of Gascony was wonderful! The book's setting is all over Europe during the reign of Napoleon. The seven men are in Napoleon's Army, the reader lives the lives of these soldiers, their comrady, their deep friendship, their losses and their loves. Each one of these characters are very dear to me for their individual uniqueness that builds the team and advances the story.

If you like historical sagas, this is a good one. From fighting in trenches in Germany to the burning of Moscow and finally the end at Waterloo, it gives the novel a great backdrop. It also addresses the social issues of what do with soldiers of a failed emperior after he is deposed - it showed the how and why these men would support Napoleon's failed return from exile.

Read the book!

A Family's Rise and Fall in Japan

12th Century Japan, gang land warring, with water and wind gods, and ghosts, Genpei by Kara Dalkey is a historical story of raise of one family to emperiors good graces and it's subquent fall, however in this versions of the history Dalkey includes all the Japanese myth of gods as reality. It is chalked full of the emotions of shame, disgrace, ambition, and greed. This book interested me but I found it somewhat slow and sometimes boring (sometimes). On the whole it was a good book and interesting - a unique insight to a culture very different from my own.

Read the book.

D'Artagnan Come to My Rescue!

If I never find Mr. Right it is Alexandre Dumas' fault! I loved all the books based on the D'Artagnan, Aramis, Porthos and Athos. If you were like me thinking that the Three Musketeers was all there was - luckily you'd be wrong! The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte De Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere and The Man in the Iron Mask (the last three books originally were one complete story called In the King's Service) are a wild ride in mystery and conspiracy worth every minute of your time. The Three Musketeers is the first book to ever make me laugh out loud and stop reading for moment.




Dumas has a flare for action and intrigue that spell binds you to story and makes you want more. I was sad to see the end of the story come and to me that makes a great series. The Three Musketeers involves the four musketeers in the 20s and 30s, Twenty Years After is just that 20 years later and In The King's Service picks up when the guys are in their 60s and have to band together to save the day.


As with all series the first book is usually always the best of the lot, so if you don't want to read all five books - read the Three Musketeers! They are in my favorite bin and will always be remembered fondly!

Valhalla and Vikings Yeah - NOT!

I still laugh at what I thought I was buying and what I got when I bought Clive Clusser's Valhalla Rising (for .99 cents and no dust jacket). I thought that I had bought a book about the Vikings and their Mythical characters. Nopey! I got a book set in modern day with the hero as ocean scientist who somehow keeps finding himself in disaster situations and thwarting criminal activities. It's wasn't the type of book that I really like but if you like sinking cruise ships, mysteries to be solved, and action - then hey you need to read this book. It was okay with a rather strange ending that I believe really is a set up for another book. For the money, it was worth it.

What NOT to Read - Unless Your A Perv

(Not worth going and getting the pic) Timothy Taylor's Elaine the Fair is horrible! IT'S PORN and bad porn at that. I think I could have come up with a better description for a woman's privates than "her flower." Even to make matters worse the story line is silly and stupid - characters unbelievable, actions unrealistic and general badness all the way around.

Don't read this book!

What Every Collection Must Have

Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory is an essay/short story and will only take the slowest readers an hour. But he captures memories and sweetness of the sort I have never read before. He recounts Christmas time when he was a child with his Aunt. I remember finishing this book and taking it directly to my mom insisting she read it too. I knew she wouldn't but it hit me so hard that I had to try.

Get the book, keep it and read it!

Living the Life Long Gone

I absolutely love R.F. Dederfield as an author. Not one of his books has disappointed me. If you like a book that relates life in England pre-WWI to WWII, you might enjoy his books. A Horseman Riding By didn't disappoint me and reminded me of his Swann Saga that I didn't want to end.

Paul, a young man of 23, returns from the Boer War with a busted up knee ventured off to buy a country estate with seven farms and an equal amount of odd little country farmers. This city boy who turns his back on the city and his father's very profitable iron and metal scrap business, takes to the land and never looks back.

After a failed marriage of two years or so to a Woman Suffragette radical, Paul remarries and builds again. He navigates through the farmers' problems with ease.
WWI breaks out and takes the young men of the Valley, his six children grow up to face the outbreak of WWII but the Valley holds on to their sense of community and bans together.

This book creates the feel that you are living life with him and all the emotions of loves and regret. The simplicity of the story with a few jolts here and there make this another one his masterpieces.

Vodoo, Dog Walking (no dog) and booz!

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt peaked my interest in wanting to go to Savannah to see if the insanity of its residents was as obvious as he writes. Sadly, he wrote about his experience in journal form. I hate that. I wished he had written the book in more of story form. It didn't work form me at all. The screen writers did a better job for the movie than he did for the book! Crazy and funny things all happen in the book and if you don't have a better book on hand go ahead and read this one but I bet my bottom dollar you'd enjoy the movie more than the book. Gads! I hate that.

King Arthur Rules!

Okay, it's really hard to write a review on books that you've read two or three years ago. I may not get all the books I've read reviewed but I may utilize short cuts such as this post!



I love all the various forms of the King Arthur story. Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Athur was a favorite of mine because it goes deeper into the other knights than most. The old english wording and long dialogs aren't especially great for kids but I struggled through the language and loved the story.


Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mist of Avalon gives a different perspective via the
High Priestess of Avalon but what I didn't like was the authors involvement in practicing witchcraft herself. The book was good but I made the mistake of reading about the author and that tainted my view. I was raised in a religious home and hold many of the values I was taught. so the fact that she started her own coven kind of freaked me out. That will explain why I never read her other books on the subject.



Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment is the story of camelot told via Merlin. I had a fabulous time reading these. I also, liked The Wicked Day, the story of Modred, King Arthur's bastard son. However, these written in the 1960's have a kind of innocence that are perfect for pre-teen little boys more than adults. But the story is timeless and she spun a great story out of an old one.

So if you like the camelot tale and all the characters all these are good reads!

Different Views......

There are books that you can identify with a certain character more than others. I identified with Rebecca in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. I don't want to review my thoughts on this book or remember that I ever read it. One of the main reasons for this blog is this book.

I was emailing with a friend about this book and took a different position than he did. Somehow I pissed him off about the actions of the characters, he never emailed me again. Petty, you think? Not if you had read our emails or knew our backgrounds. After that I kept my opinions about books to myself. Stupid, you think? Yes, I love books and I will always want to talk about the stories I read. I therefore decided to create this blog about books with my opinions voiced loud and clear. I want to be able to rant or rave without fear of losing a friendship but will not be muted by one bad episode. Books are personal relationship experienced differently by each reader.

Ivanhoe - decide for yourself. It holds no good memories for me but they are all unrelated to the story.

The Precipice Without Fear

Ben Bova's The Precipice didn't enthrall me. The book was one of my sci-fi fantasies that I usually reserve for the movies. I expected them to make it to the astrobelt. I expected the bad guy to get in the end. I expected the hero would be heroic. I didn't find the moon base as adventurous as it could have been. The Anti-hero being a financial guru that conspired against hero Dan wasn't evil enough. This one left me wanting more. Sorry but I recommend passing this one by.

A Summer Friendship With A Samurai

The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama is a fabulous story! This is one of my very favorite stories to date. Tsukiyama has a wonderful way of weaving lives of different people from different classes with a tone of sorrow and joy.

This is the story of a young Chinese man at the time of WWII. Stephen is sick and goes to his family's summer house in Japan to rest and get well. There Matsu, the care taker for their home, is Stephen's main companion. The stoic Matsu is somewhat intimidating with his strength and quiet demeanor.

As time goes, a friendship grows and much is revealed. Matsu, to the town's knowledge is a confirmed bachelor; to Sachi, he is her husband without the ceremony. After coming down with leprosy in her teenage years, Sachi was lost. Matsu came to her rescue - took her to a village with other lepers and saw that she was taken care of.

Now in their sixties, Matsu and Sachi bring joy and happiness to young Stephen along with a general feeling of peace. Tsukiyama writes this story in a way that will make you cry and feel proud and everything else wrapped up in a very sweet way.
It is a very short book according to my standards - only around 200 pages.

This is a must read! I promise you won't regret it!

Lost Illusions - The Title of My Life

I thought I liked all French writers but I do know now that while Dumas and Hugo are wonderful writers Honore de Balzac is not one of them. When I read Lost Illusions I had such high hopes but alas my hopes were only lost illusions!

Lucien believed himself to be better than anyone else and would use and abuse any and all to get what he wanted - fame and fortune. While the story depicted life of Paris in the 1800's and was somewhat interesting. I have read books where the main character is less than heroic and truly enjoyed them but not in this book. Balzac didn't capture my attention or desire to see the end. There is more books to this series but I have no desire to read them.

I may attempt another Balzac book but not of this series. I also believe that the writing could have lost some through translations so I will reserve my judgement on the writer but can't recommend this book.

Tie Your Child To the Loom-Adorable!

George Eliot's Silas Marner, The Weaver of Raveloe was a sweet story! It was hard for me to read and took me a long time. It did not rivet me to the page but the idea of the story was perfect.

Eliot lost me sometimes with the way she told the story but the whole premise was great. A wronged man shuns the world and find happiness only in the gold he hords from the sales of his weaving. When the gold is stolen, Silas is lost....he has no purpose and is crushed. Then a child wanders into his house one winter night and changes his world.

Little Eppie brings Silas back to world and shows him how to live....

It's a hard and slow read for such a small book but I recommend it! Read the book!

How could she go so wrong with Emma?

I absolutely loved Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice but absolutely loathed Emma! I was held captive with the first two novels. I'd give anything to be able to speak my mind as well as Elizabeth Bennet (even though she was often wrong!). I don't believe there are any gentlemen of the calibur of Mr. Darcy left in this world. I want the stolicism and strength of Elinor Dashwood. There are in today's world many, many Mr. Willoughby's (what a cad!).

So tell me how does as a main character, Austen create such a self-centered little witch as Emma and expect us to like her? I put this book down unfinished and vowed not to finish it....but that is wrong. Good or bad - a book has to be read cover to cover.

Read Pride and Prejudice! Read Sense and Sensibility! Skip Emma!

Mr. Heathcliff scared the snot out of me!

Emily Bronte wrote a masterpiece with Wuthering Heights! This tale is told to you via an outsider who recently moved to the area gave you the feeling that you were peeking in on these people.

Heathcliff is the most horrible human being that had me yelling at my book "what an ass!" Unlike, her sister's Charlotte, Emily places few in this book who make you endeared to them. The book is dark but addictive and yet, I had to know if Heathcliff won at destroying all those in his life.

If you got the time this one's worth it!

I want to be Mrs. Rochester!

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre had me all up in arms! Boy could she and her sister spin a tale! I loved Jane Eyre the characters jumped off the page for me!

If you have no desire to ever read this book I dare you to read just the first portion of Jane's little life and I promise you'll finish it. The level of dispair and hatred in the little Jane hooked me like no other book. The cruelity of Mrs. Reed is unbelievable and you find yourself automatically wanting to jump inside the book to protect Jane.

After fortune finds it's way to her, in the form of the local apothecary who confides in Jane and convinces her step mother to send her to school. Off Jane went to a bording school for ophans there she saw more hardship but she takes it in stride.

After her schooling and a few years teaching at the school that had been her escape from the evils of her childhood. Jane takes a governess job at Mr. Rochester's estate teaching his wild Parisian illegitamate daughter. There the story of love and friendship builds but what comes on the day of their marriage will shock and amaze you!

Once again dispair and agony grip Jane that separate her and Mr. Rochester..........as this is my blog to remember and relish a good book I refuse to reveal the plot and/or ending.

Read the book!

What In the World Am I Doing...

Okay, okay, I know you think I am nuts but I really liked this blog template but I also liked my other one. So I thought that I would use this one just for book reviews. I love talking about the stories I read and yet, my friends and family run from me when I say "You wouldn't believe what happened in the book I am reading...." POOF! They're gone! This won't be a site that list my daily happenings, daily delimmas or Friday Fives.

I just thought, if I am going to be a geek might as well go all out!