This is such a great story! To quote another reviewer, "This is a gripping book about the single-minded pursuit of justice in the 1870s, written in the amazing voice of a deadpan, plain-speaking prose of a woman looking back at the events some 30-40 years later."   posted Apr 11, 2011 at 11:17AM

Charming tale (pun accidental!) about a small town librarian. A pleasant, quick read about community & relationships.   posted Mar 23, 2011 at 8:14AM

I thoroughly enjoyed the book - at first. Shanghai is not a city who's history is well known to me & I was fascinated by the description of life through the eyes of Pearl. But part way thru the book I tired of her and her attitude towards life. I could barely finish reading the book. However, our book club had a great conversation, as we'd all reacted differently to the sisters. Very thought provoking!   posted Feb 8, 2011 at 9:28PM

FABULOUS! A must read. A wonderful story about a man who, despite a hellish event, still sees beauty, goodness, kindness and joy in the world. Beautifully written with the no-nonsense detailed speech of a soldier who firmly believes in the 7 Army values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage   posted Dec 29, 2010 at 9:40PM

This book got great reviews, so I had high hopes. Unfortunately, I didn't agree with those reviewers :-( Maybe it was because I'm not a bra-burning feminist, or a single, lesbian mother who grew up on the west coast? I guess I should have known when I learned that she publishes a magazine called Hip Mama... I picked up a copy & immediately found it a total waste of paper. IMHO, that is. Others must like it, as it has been successful for 17 years.   posted Apr 10, 2010 at 7:52AM

Very good! Practical advice that covers any parent/child relationship and can be applied to children younger than college age.   posted Nov 9, 2009 at 7:02PM

I could not get interested in this book, so did not finish reading it.   posted Nov 9, 2009 at 7:01PM

A charming & believable tale with a surprising ending.   posted Nov 9, 2009 at 7:00PM

Wow. I learned so much from reading this book. The author does a wonderful job of explaining in a matter-of-fact tone what life is like as a girl and a woman in the Islamic culture. How the belief & values have a completely different base than Christianity, Judaism, or any western countries. How actions have consequences and affects on people's lives that we in the western world might not expect.   posted Nov 9, 2009 at 6:59PM

Loved it! L'Amour is such a fabulous story teller! The story is of an American pilot escaping captivity in cold war Russia. He decides to walk to the east coast & cross the Bering Strait. How he survives the brutal Siberian winter without capture makes the book impossible to put down.   posted Nov 6, 2009 at 6:10PM

Delightful! I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into the past in India   posted Nov 6, 2009 at 6:09PM

Just OK. Seemed like a nice trip down memory lane   posted Nov 6, 2009 at 6:09PM

boring chick lit   posted Nov 6, 2009 at 6:08PM

The idea of this book intrigued me, as my g-g-grandmother immigrated from Galway. However, I was not prepared for a 550 page long "sweeping family saga"! As one Amazon reviewer wrote: "Galway Bay is many stories - a love story, a story of the history of Ireland and the Great Starvation, a story of courage, faith, devotion, family, community and the undying spirit of a land and it's people." The detail & history of the 'before times' & the 'great starvation' was overwhelming. I personally felt it was too much for me! Beautifully written, I would have been happier if it were broken up into a series of books rather than one large one. Especially since once they arrive in the US, there seemed to be fewer details. It would be nice if there were a TOC, to show that there was a glossary of Irish terms at the back of the book! It would also be nice to have an appendix which listed what parts & people in the story are actually true.   posted Mar 30, 2009 at 2:00PM

This was a interesting twist on the typical 'what might have happened' to the Tsar & his family. However, I got a bit bored by the middle of the book....   posted Jan 3, 2009 at 8:32PM

Fabulous! I truly enjoyed seeing post WWII Guernsey through the 'letters' of Juliet & the literary society.   posted Jan 3, 2009 at 8:30PM

Wonderfully written! It really did seem as if we were listening to Dinah remembering the events of her life. The author also did a great job of putting biblical events into the context of the culture of the time.   posted Jan 3, 2009 at 8:29PM

It was very good, but the intertwining of 3 story lines with 3 writing styles didn't work for me. There were so many voices in each story that it was distracting. It wasn't totally clear to me what was fact & what was fiction   posted Nov 10, 2008 at 3:03PM

Very good! All titles in this series are a must read!   posted Nov 10, 2008 at 2:59PM

Wow! Fabulous. I could not put this thriller down. There is so much rich detail - but you never know what is relevent! The author combines a murder mystery with international espionage, mental illness & corporate greed. It was so good I had to go back to read the 1st two books in this series! The translator uses British English, which can be amusing at times.   posted Nov 8, 2008 at 12:58PM

Mesmerizing glimpse into life in Berlin early 1900 thru WWII.   posted Nov 8, 2008 at 12:53PM