Ours Blog will cover with Biographies Memoirs Books Reviews. All of book are share here is about Biographies and Memoirs of someone. I hope you will enjoy what I share to you.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks >> Fascinating Story Wow This book tells the true story of Henrietta Lacks and her family s attempts at understanding how her cells have impacted science It is part medical research history part human interest and part science lesson Civil rights and patient s medical rights are also woven in throughout the book I w
Three Cups of Tea With Headphones Playaway Adult Nonfiction
Three Cups of Tea With Headphones Playaway Adult Nonfiction >> A Treasure There are few books in life that a person would forever keep at his side and of those select few I treasure this one most I find solace in the pages of this book especially in my most trying times and this is because those precious words contained within them remind me that difficulty is always
Liar s Poker >> Terrific portrait of 1980s Wall Street before the MBAs arrived If you want to know what the big Wall Street bond firms were like before the MBAs took over this is the book It s a great portrait of 1980s Wall Street the way that traders and investment bankers used to appear in the eyes of the young MBAs they hired and the ridiculous training that newcomer
Courage and Consequence My Life as a Conservative in the Fight
Courage and Consequence My Life as a Conservative in the Fight >> Setting Bush s record straight A well written clarification of the President s accomplishments and yes some significant mistakes A book like this from an insider who was so close to the facts is much needed to counter the reporting by a media that on the whole tended to be politically biased against President Bush
Author : John Sherrill Total Page : 272 Publisher : Chosen Publication Date : 2006 01 01
The Hiding Place >> Very pleased Thank you for the book It arrived in good order and I appreciate your service Thank you
Sandra Eddy >> Exceedingly encouraging for anyone living in troubled times Corrie s experiences and how God carried her through will remind Christians that no matter what we ever face God will be with us and give us strength to endure I have many times told people about Corrie and how her story gives comfort that we can trust God through every storm no matter how horrendous I highly recommend everyone read her story >> Inspirational True Story This is one of the most amazing true life world war II stories ever written Shocking and inspirational at the same time If you liked The Diary of Anne Frank you will love this book
Author : Robert Goolrick Total Page : 227 Publisher : Algonquin Books Publication Date : 2008 04 15
The End of the World as We Know It Scenes from a Life >> Strange title He is a very interesting man and had a very different life Having read his novel and then his memoir was helpful He writes well and the book was full of life altering stories which I enjoyed Life can be so hard at times but people do survive I will be interested in future novels of his >> Dragged on forever This book took me FOREVER to finish The whole story was pointless until the last chapter when the author finally reveals why he was so disfunctional Even then I was less than interested in the storyline I m glad the author was able to move on by telling his story however I guess it wasn t a winner for me >> A little too drawn out I chose to read this after reading A Reliable Wife which I had found to be stunning with its imagery This was a disappointment in that the imagery that had made Wife so amazing was overdone here and made the book feel like ramblings rather than a story The story buried in the words was a good one But I do feel as though it got lost as I had some trouble staying focused
Author : Philippa Gregory Publisher : Simon Schuster Audio Publication Date : 2010 08 03
The Other Queen >> Hm Slow cheesy with characters whose interior monologues tend to repeat the same few statements over and over again this book is NOTHING compared to Philippa Gregory s other novels it s as if this is her roughest of rough drafts Still I finished it It s not a waste because even a bad Gregory novel is still going to depict some fascinating and vivid historical moments Just don t expect The Other Boleyn Girl >> The Scots Mary Romanticized Tudor history has always fascinated me It is no surprise then that I picked up The Other Queen a story of Mary Queen of Scots Philippa Gregory has proven herself as the ruler of English historical fiction though her novels have been going south in quality But I m not here to review the other novels
The Other Queen tells a story of Mary s exile to England up until her death As with other Gregory novels the novel is a narration a very effective tool in historical fiction In this case we have three narrators Mary herself her Queen appointed guardian George Talbot and George s wife Bess I had hoped that at least one of the three characters would cover Mary s road to the point of her exile While there are snippets of it it was told as seen by Mary and in not much detail and much emotion has been given to Mary While I don t mind characters feeling emotion authors should be careful with enormous historical figures after all Gregory herself said that she prides herself on the depth of her research and accuracy in novels Taking that into consideration if one is unfamiliar with the story of Mary they may be somewhat confused after reading this novel
Mary Queen of Scots arrived England shortly after the birth of her son and heir James VI of Scotland exiled under suspicion of murdering her husband Lord Darnley in order to marry someone else Fleeing south to England England s Queen and Mary s cousin Elizabeth I feels threatened by Mary on many levels Mary is a Catholic and Elizabeth is Protestant at a time when Protestants barely hung onto power Mary was a legitimate child and descendant while Elizabeth was proclaimed a bastard by her father a fact which was never corrected Mary had a son an heir while Elizabeth didn t Finally Mary was thought to be the most beautiful woman in Europe which was a threat to vain and capricious Elizabeth who was on top of it all older than Mary
Mary feeling invincible because she was an annointed queen and Elizabeth s cousin did not worry at first That changed in time as each uprising to free Mary and put her on the English throne resulted in tighter control of Mary and a further delay of her release Gregory does a fine job portraying Mary through different phases that of a confident arrogant woman to that of a scared young monarch However Gregory dedicated most of her novel to the first couple of years of Mary s detention Towards the end the novel skips a dozen years into the future to the time of Mary s death That particular time was not well covered at all In the novel Mary s death was recounted by Bess in the past tense creating a feeling of what just happened instead of a rising tension as the death approaches There is an entire period of time not even touched by Gregory Also Gregory covered two rebellions in details then kind of brushed the rest of Mary s history away as if it was an annoyance hurrying towards the end The total effect was that of an excellent start to the novel with the rest of it being exceptionally rushed
All in all The Other Queen is an easy read though somewhat disappointing The historical events in the novel are correct and Gregory uses a lot of poetic license in her description of Mary s interactions with those around her Lovers of Tudor history will find this novel lacking and disappointing Recommended with caution
This review also published on Epinions >> The Other Queen Mary Queen of Scots has been driven from Scotland by the lords that will not accept her there She is now seeking refuge in England and help from her cousin Queen Elizabeth Instead of refuge and assistance to return to her throne she faces inquiry and is sent as a prisoner/guest to George the earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Bess
This is the setting for the opening of The Other Queen which tells the story of the downfall of Mary Queen of Scots through the voices of Mary herself and George and Bess Shewsbury The impact of this arrangement affects them all as Bess has to share her household with the Queen and George has to decide between love for his country and wife and his desire to help Mary be free All three are put in a dangerous position with Queen Elizabeth
While I enjoyed the story the novel had to tell there were a few things that irritated me Each character clearly had their role to play which they stated each time the narrative switched back to them For example Bess her worry about her fortunes each time she speaks Readers will pick up on this even without the repetition which I feel could have been scaled back Mary also becomes somewhat repetitive in her sections
The intrigues are enjoyable and this is a quick read despite the size of the novel The descriptions of the properties around England are interesting as are the costs of housing a royal court and all the items that a queen requires to live comfortably
Mary Queen of Scots is an interesting subject and a well written book by Philippa just not one of my favorites of hers The Boleyn Inheritance is written in the same manner with the switching of the narratives but it is a more interesting read with more fleshed out characters
Author : Jen Lancaster Total Page : 384 Publisher : NAL Hardcover Publication Date : 2010 05 04
My Fair Lazy One Reality Television Addict s Attempt to Discover If Not Being A Dumb Ass Is the New Black or a Culture Up Manifesto >> Forget about Reality TV Jen Lancaster is MY guilty pleasure Life as we know it Average Life as Jen Lancaster knows it Hilarious
MY FAIR LAZY is Jen s foray into self enlightenment She wonders if it is time to get off the couch away from TV Reality Shows and venture into the world of culture At the same time she has a reflection that perhaps if she were a kinder gentler Jen she might have more success or at least not piss off quite as many people around her
This is a great premise for her to explore with her wit and sarcasm For anyone not familiar with her work she is a bit like an bitter Seinfeld and her observations on life and all the people surrounding her are truly entertaining
If you have been a fan of her books right from the beginning Bitter is the New Black you will love this book However be prepared that she has actually softened an ever so tiny bit to my pleasant surprise Having read all of her books which by the way I strongly recommend before just jumping into this one though it can certainly stand alone why miss out I have seen her grow from a very bitter bitingly sarcastic fairly angry and even occasionally caustic person into a slightly emphasis on that word more laid back version of that same woman I can t help but feel that I have had a part in that Okay so I only read her books but still it s been like watching my child develop into well rounded individual minus all the college tuition bills
During Jen s explorations she makes some great strides in culturing up as she puts it and gains some insight regarding her personality most importantly without losing her Fabulous self I think one of her friends says it best at one point in the book telling her that it might not be about what she is saying but about what she is listening to A lesson we could ALL learn grudgingly as she does
I most definitely recommend following Jen as she leaps off the couch and into the real world
>> My Favorite So Far I m a huge fan of Jen Lancaster s books they are hilarious fun and sarcastic I ve read all the previous novels kept up on her blog and subscribed to her twitter feed she s just that much fun to follow I mean come on she posts LOLcat pictures That pretty much secures you a place in awesomeland
This book follows Jen s journey to get a little bit more culture beyond her current realm of reality shows like The Hills and The Real Housewives and takes place over a little over a year ending with the big event at The Hamptons She pushes herself to read beyond her comfort zone of Lauren Conrad eat beyond her comfort zone of cheeseburgers and try cheese that isn t made by Kraft As a cheeseburger loving chick lit reading gal I cheered her on every step of the way and giggled at the interludes with rats along the way I am glad to be back in the present with Jen as Such a Pretty Plaid was more remembering the past than the present because her life at least how she writes it is pretty darn funny I still am a bit scared of Ambien but also wanna try it to see if I wind up with a Barbie head or a cake on the counter It s not easy to write a memoir it s also not easy to write a memoir if you are someone that claims everyone pretty much hates upon meeting however Jen does write her memoirs well and makes you want to be BFFs with her and meet her for cupcakes It takes a darn good writer to do that
I realize that Jen s wit and writing style isn t for everyone She can be crass and overly sarcastic However if that s the kind of person you are you will love this and her other books
If you are thinking that you don t need to buy the latest novel because you follow her blog and/or twitter and if you don t you NEED TO think again because reading both only enhances the novel I was online the night she took ambien and tweeted about it laughing along the way and part of that made it into the book and made me laugh even more remembering it
PS Jen if you read these to read your Kindle in the bath put it in a ziploc bag the kind with the slider thing Voila bath readable kindle I ve used this method for a year and it s worked like a charm >> More of Jen s fun antics I ve read all four of Jen Lancaster s previous books and really loved the first two but by the time that I got to her third and fourth ones I felt like they weren t as funny as her first two had been Since I was able to get an advanced copy of Lancaster s new book though I couldn t pass by this opportunity and I have to say that this is great fun and feels fresh Jen is back to her hysterical antics in this new book and I couldn t put it down once I started it
The book opens with Candace Bushnell writer of Sex and the Series interviewing Jen and mentioning something about Baudelaire Jen realizes that she has no idea who Baudelaire is since she s spent so much time in front of the TV watching reality shows lately and not as much time broadening her horizons as she puts it The result of this realization Jen s quest to discover it not being a dumb ass is the new black the sub title of the book
If you re familiar with Jen s previous books you ll be happy to see that she still gets into her usual escapades with her familiar cast of characters patient husband Fletch personal trainer Barbie writer friend Stacey and her personal menagerie of dogs and cats Also I m not familiar with many of the reality TV show references that pop up in the book I m not much of a TV watcher but still found the humor to fun and found myself laughing out loud throughout the book
I think you ll find this book funny if you re in the same age group as Jen late thirties and early to mid forties As a child of the 80 s I found her references to things like Jon Hughes movies especially the chapter about a party where discussion of Ryan Jake a character from the film Sixteen Candles comes up to be funny and nostalgic You also don t need to have read any of her other books to enjoy this one since this new one will still give you a strong sense of Jen s personality
If you need a good laugh and a fun read I definitely recommend Lancaster s new book
Author : Lynn Toler Total Page : 180 Publisher : Agate Publication Date : 2007 01 01
My Mother s Rules A Practical Guide to Becoming an Emotional Genius >> My Mother s Rule I m still in the process of reading this book but so far there are fabulous ideas on how to not let your emotions take over in various negative situations and how to overcome triumphantly certain trials in life
I don t agree that any woman should stay in a relationship that might put herself or kids in danger whether she thinks a person who is mentally unstable will never hurt the kids I was very alarmed to hear that but I think that may be a generational thing
In my opinion Judge Toler s emotional makeup was directly linked to all that her dad put the family through and her mother exposed them to too much of his craziness I feel that a person should never make a decision to stay in a potential toxic relationship because of financial benefit for the kids sake I just feel that to take a chance on a mentally unstable person because of what can be gained materially is selfish and a little nuts in itself But I m so very happy that Judge Toler was able to overcome this very serious problem but this is not the way to go in most cases I applaud Judge Toler s courage in writing this book She is my 2nd favorite judge Judge Brown 1st Judge Milan 3rd and Judge Mathis 4th These judges are not afraid to tell it like it is
The book was well written If anyone follows Judge Toler in her t v show you could see that these are truly her words her speech pattern and I would love to have this in an audiobook but I couldn t find it on iTunes I did see one typographical error >> Great Book This book is great And the price was great too but if you have a problem learning how to control your emotions this is the book for you >> A MUST Read My Mother s Rules is a book everyone should read It will help you through anything life can throw at you I speak from experience made it through the worst depression of my life thanks to the steps in this book Buy a copy for all your friends too It s the nicest thing you can do for someone you love
Author : Eileen E Power Total Page : 240 Publisher : Harper Perennial Publication Date : 1992 05 20
Medieval People >> A view of History from the Medieval Kitchens Eileen Power s Medieval People sets out to study the Middle Ages not from the viewpoint of an Historical abstraction but rather from that of the people who lived during the age It is an account of six individuals who lived during the MA s Bodo a Frankish Peasant Marco Polo the famous Venetian merchant Madame Eglentyne prioress of Chaucer an anonymous middle class Parisian housewife and two English merchants one engaged in the wool trade and the other a clothier in Essex The author has illustrated various aspects of social life of the era by drawing on such sources as account books diaries letters records and wills She starts the work with a previously unpublished essay entitled The Precursors which describes the barbarian conquest of Rome In this she describes the lives of three men Ausonius Sidonius and Fortunatus and uses them to foreshadow the life that would re emerge in the Middle Ages She starts by imagining a day in the life of the Peasant Bodo in the time of Charlemagne From her study of primarily economic documents from the Middle Ages of this time she not only extrapolates but truly brings to life Bodo and his wife Ermentrude From there she goes on to the better documented life of Marco Polo and also describes how he served as an inspiration for Columbus Madam Eglentyne is next Here Power humorously details the inner workings of a gossipy nunnery and how Eglentyne would have gone about her life as an aristocratic women of God She next details the life of a middle class Parisian housewife by studying the contents of the Menagier s Wife and validating many of it s points by citing other documents She concludes by detailing the lives of the two Thomases Betson and Paycocke of Coggeshall Both are merchants and provide a chance for Power to really show off her grasp of medieval economics as well as an ability to compile disparate correspondences into a story of a life This is a rare scholarly work that truly entertains while being read One of the best books I ve ever read >> History at its best up close and personal Wonderful scholarship in a most readable written style Goes beyond institutions to discover real people of the middle ages >> The real taste of real life Eileen Power studies the Middle Ages not from an abstract historical point of view but from simple and real people and what we can know about them I particularly like her study of Marco Polo from his notes and diaries which gives us a materialistic and realistic vision of what they saw of the world and not what we want to see of what they saw I also loved Madame Eglentyne a prioress taken from Chaucer but at once identified to one particular prioress through real life archives and descriptions A very interesting and useful book to enable us to capture the density of everyday life in the Middle Ages
Author : Melissa Milgrom Total Page : 304 Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication Date : 2010 03 08
Still Life Adventures in Taxidermy >> very hard to follow I was very excited to read this book but could only get halfway through it It wasn t a flowing style of writing and was hard to follow I was really disappointed that there were no pictures I spent a lot of time on the internet looking up people and displays that were mentioned >> Taxidermy has always fascinated me from childhood up Taxidermy has always fascinated me even from when I was a child At that time we had a beautiful pheasant on my Dad s guncabinet and I was always allowed to dust it Melissa s book was like a research project but I really was disappointed to get no pictures in it It was a very interesting read and kept my attention as to how much is involved in the taxidermy itself I sorely regret that I was not able to see Mr Potter s Museum of Curiosities and consider it a real shame that it was sold and no longer in existence That broke my heart I certainly will view taxidermy with much more respect and try to get to museum s Natural Science parts to see whatever is left of their taxidermy projects I also have no problem with someone wanting to have their most favorite pet done so they don t have to part forever although I m sure there are lots of people who would not agree with me on that An enjoyable book and learning experience >> More Than Skin Deep Melissa Milgrom did a fantastic review of taxidermy from a lay persons perspective Those of us familiar with this art form know it requires attention to detail that makes one be a student of anatomy as well as a naturalist As a hunter and conservationist I love being able to preserve the memories of the hunt Paleolithic hunters painted animals on the cave walls modern hunters have sculpted animals to remind them of atavistic tendencies that are worth revisiting and reliving its part of who we are and where we came from As a young boy my parents brought me to the Chicago Field Museum and I was mesmerized by the dioramas Each one was an adventure that fueled my imagination It is still one of my most vivid childhood memories Some of my friends collected baseball cards I collected skins and skulls I think Melissa Milgrom touched upon this experience and followed it through with some world class artisans that keep the memories alive I only wish there were photos of the mounts including her squirrel Well worth the read heads off to Melissa Joe Grote
More Blood More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea >> Good thing it was free I guess I didn t read the reviews well enough This is not so much a story as a bunch of diary entries Not impressed He doesn t seem like he enjoys his job very much
The Blind Side Evolution of a Game >> Casual football fans will love this book What a great book Michael Lewis not only knows how to put together a captivating story he does so with subtle wit and plenty of insight His meticulous research is obvious he ll casually mention a former player and then go into detail about that player s career and its importance to the history o
In Defense of Food An Eater s Manifesto >> Pithy and Powerful Eat food Not too much Mostly plants writes Pollan It s been a few weeks since I read the book and I still remember that Words to live by The book expands on those simple sentences in the subsequent chapters The book is short and well written and dare I say life changing I was already a f
With the Old Breed >> Good read Does a great job of putting you in the shoes of a grunt Didn t serve during WWII but have served in every conflict since Viet Nam and he nails some of the experiences HIs descriptions of what you see hear and smell are dead on Good book and it s on the list of required reading for Marines
Eat Pray Love One Woman s Search for Everything Across Italy India and Indonesia
Eat Pray Love One Woman s Search for Everything Across Italy India and Indonesia >> Another crazy divorcee writes a book How original If I have to read one more mind numbingly insipid novel written by some pill popping neurotic woman who can t keep her life together I will scream I am SO SICK of these women thinking they can write books I am just so tired of their pathetic attempts at humor They allll think they hav
