2009 December

Let the New Year Read-a-Thon Begin!

Thursday 31 December, 2009 by knittingmomof3 2 Comments

It is 5pm my time and so for me, the New Year Read-A-Thon, which is being hosted by Bookworming In the 21st Century has begun!

The book I am currently reading is A Visit From Voltaire by Dinah Lee Kung (348 pages) and from there I will delve into Leading Lady by Heywood Gould (297 pages). As time allows I will list updates. I would like to finish both thee novels tonight however I believe my DH and the twins want me to take out some time to watch a movie with them. No worries, I will indeed be Reading Into the New Year, as will my entire family, save my oldest.

Filed Under: books Tagged With: A Visit From Voltaire, Dinah Lee Kung, Heywood Gould, Leading Lady, New Year Read-a-Thon

New Year’s Eve means….

Thursday 31 December, 2009 by knittingmomof3 6 Comments

I have decided to make some blogging resolutions based on past failures from last year.

Blog about each book read for a specific challenge.
Keep accurate page, book, and author counts for all challenges.
Add reviews of my personal books I read.
Stick with my specific blogging times, my family is not getting younger, time is precious.
Comment more when I visit blogs, this will also help me meet more bloggers.

Certainly there are many more areas I need to improve on, yet this list will keep me motivated. It may take some time to get used to these resolutions, since I have fallen into some bad habits, especially when it comes to reading challenges. Wish me luck, I shall need it.

Filed Under: books Tagged With: Blogging while ill, Book Reviews, New Year's Eve, Resolutions

Abandoned and Forgotten by Evelyne Tannehill: A Book Review

Thursday 31 December, 2009 by knittingmomof3 1 Comment

Title: Abandoned and Forgotten: An Orphan Girl’s Tale of Survival During World War II
Author: Evelyne Tannehill
Publisher: Wheatmark
Publication Date: January 15, 2007
Paperback: 440 pages
ISBN: 978-1587366932
Genre: Autobiography

About the Book:

Much has been written about World War II, but not often do we hear about the immeasurable suffering of the Germans who wanted no part of Hitler’s regime.

Abandoned and Forgotten is the memoir of a young girl growing up in the then-German province of East Prussia by the Baltic Sea. Orphaned at the age of nine and left to fend for herself in a hostile world, Evelyne Tannehill witnessed firsthand what happens when law and order break down and self-preservation becomes the only thing that matters. Her journey is a poignant example of how resilient the human spirit can be, even in the face of war’s greatest horrors.

My Review:

Abandoned and Forgotten is not a typical WWII memoir and once begun the reader will not be able to set the novel down, let alone forget. When WWII broke out Evelyne’s father had planned to take his wife and children out of Germany, to live in America, however his dream was not to be realised. According to Evelyne, life was not too altered one way or another in East Prussia until the later stages of the war due to how far removed they were in the country. Prior to being cut off from the main part of Germany, the Reich, Evelyne lived with her family and went to school as did her siblings. Evelyne writes lovingly of her family, even when she was in trouble as often the young find themselves almost unaware of the war moving closer and closer to her beloved home. By the time her family decided to flee their East Prussian home, it was too late; the Russians had closed in and cut off East Prussia from the Reich. Nine is an extremely young and tender age to witness war atrocities and yet Evelyne’s horrific experiences were just beginning. By nine Evelyne become an orphan in her beloved East Prussia, now occupied by Russian troops and was about to experience the best and the worst of humanity. Abandoned and Forgotten is brilliantly divided into four sections, which profoundly defined the times. Abandoned and Forgotten is a beautiful and at times emotionally heart-wrenching story of one young girls coming of age under the worst circumstances. Told as only one who lived it could tell, this historical autobiography is told fluidly, beautifully, and oftentimes with a wit that one does not expect. Abandoned and Forgotten is a novel not only worth reading once, but numerous times.

About the Author:

Evelyne Tannehill is retired and resides in Reno, Nevada. She has two children and four grandchildren.

I would live to thank AME, Inc. for supplying me with a copy of this book. My review was in no part influenced by my receiving a free review copy.

Filed Under: A Book review Tagged With: Abandoned and Forgotten, AME Inc, Autobiography, Evelyne Tannehill, Wheatmark

Preparing for the New Year – Wordful and Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday 30 December, 2009 by knittingmomof3 35 Comments

Christmas 2009 was wonderful and has come to an end.

All the decorations are safely packed away, ready for Christmas 2010.

To view other Wordful Wednesday blogs head over to:

Filed Under: Wordful Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday Tagged With: Christmas, Decorations

Deadly Codes by JP O’Donnell: A Book Review

Tuesday 29 December, 2009 by knittingmomof3 Leave a Comment

Title: Deadly Codes
Author: JP O’Donnell
Publisher: iUniverse
Publication Date: February 17, 2009
Paperback: 206 pages
ISBN: 978-0595514113
Genre: Suspense/Thriller

About the Novel:

In the thriller, Deadly Codes, Daniel Cormac Gallagher, Jr., a Boston private eye, is hired to investigate the death of Jennifer Clark, tragically killed in a car bombing in her own driveway.

Gallagher has been commissioned by Jeanne Campbell, Jennifer’s twin sister, to find a mysterious woman—Jennifer’s secret lesbian lover who vanished immediately after the bombing. While the authorities continue to pursue their suspicions that the terrorist act may have been intended for Jennifer’s husband, Bill, who holds a top-secret position in the counter-intelligence division of the National Security Agency, Jeanne reveals intricate details to Gallagher that intrigue him enough to take on the case. While Gallagher begins searching for the missing woman, he has no idea that a bounty has been placed on his own head—two hired gunmen are plotting to kill him. Gallagher’s search takes him to Washington DC, where he discovers that the car bombing is only a backdrop to a complex, treasonous scheme to sell code-breaking formulas to a hostile enemy nation.

As the violent mystery unravels, Gallagher finds himself under deadly attack from two shocking but powerful forces—one he knows and another he never expects.

My Review:

Deadly Codes is the second novel in JP O’Donnell’s Gallagher series. I have not as of yet had the pleasure of reading his first novel, Fatal Gamble, yet was able to follow the story line rather well. As a relatively new author I was amazed at how well this novel was written and the vast attention to details, including foreign affairs. While reading the novel I was rather excited to be reading so much about my main college degree and was surprised to learn JP O’Donnell was not in foreign relations but instead he was a pediatric dentist. Gallagher, recently married is closing his private detective agency for a safer job in business, yet Gallagher cannot resist this one last case, where the client’s sister was killed in a car bomb. Jennifer’s sister wants to hire Gallagher to discover who planted the car bomb, and to determine who killed her twin sister and why. I found his novel to be a well-woven thriller filled with plot twists, treason, espionage, subversion, and betrayal. Deadly Codes is an excellent novel to curl up with if one is looking for a fantastic suspenseful thriller.

About the Author:

JP O’Donnell is a board-certified pediatric dentist with more than thiry-five years of experience in clinical practice and dental education. Dr. O’Donnell holds degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Tufts University. He and his wife reside in Bedford, Massachusetts. He is also the author of Fatal Gamble. For more information, please visit the author’s website.

I would live to thank AME, Inc. for supplying me with a copy of this book. My review was in no part influenced by my receiving a free review copy.