In Black & White Life of Sammy Davis Jr. by Wil Haygood

I disliked the way this book was organized. It did not read like a typical bio at all. The first two chapters were about the previous collaborative biographers of Sammy's and their writing and publishing nightmares of "Yes I Can". I couldn't tell if this book was about Sammy or his previous biographers. The narrative is fragmented and repetitive. The story was too roundabout to capture my interest. I found it infuriating and I gave up half way through. Sorry I cannot give this bio a good recommendation.

The Sea Lady by Margaret Drabble

Perhaps I am missing something...and I admit I quit reading this after about 30 pages...but I simply could not continue. It was so disjointed and boring!

 

The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard

This book was so boring I could barely stand it. In fact, I had to abandon ship halfway through. The main character is kind of interesting, as are the two kids, but the story itself is so slow-paced that the characters can't carry the book. I found myself daydreaming everytime I tried to read it. The writing was over the top...the author sounds as if she's writing to try to get an award rather than tell a story. Pretentious readers may try to act like they enjoyed this mess, but don't believe them. One of the worst books I've ever read.

My Antonia by Willa Cather

My Antonia by Willa Cather is a classic American novel. Cather tells the story of Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda. Jim is sent to live with his grandparents in Nebraska after being orphaned and Antonia arrives with her parents from Bohemia. The story is told through Jim's point of view. We see the harsh realities of living on the prairie while trying to scratch a living from the dirt. We are given the constant contrast between town and country living, growing up and facing the consequences of our choices. Both characters make choices, some sad and others life altering. This is not a love story per se, but both characters share an affection and caring for each other despite the life choices each make.

While reading this story I kept hoping Antonia and Jim would end up together. Instead, the reader is given more and perhaps a true depiction of what life was like during the time. You grow to care for the characters and there are times when you wish you could reach into the book and make them choose differently. While the story ends differently than one would expect, it is still satisfying

The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin

The main character of The Pleasure of My Company is Daniel Pecan Cambridge, a man with so many flaws, tics and odd phobias that I will limit myself to describing those which immediately come to mind—fear of curbs, a need to touch all the corners of all the printers at Kinko’s, a need for all the lights in his apartment to always be running at an amount equal to 1125 watts, obsessively sorting his mail, and an almost religious devotion to the local Rite-Aid. These tics and phobias are his way (though he would never directly admit it) of restoring order in the universe. He is amazingly smart with numbers, yet he seems to be almost incapable of human interaction. These interactions between Daniel and other human beings are frequently the funniest parts of the novel—his social ineptitude and extremely bad timing cause many problems for both those who surround him and himself.

Daniel is, in spite of his mathematical obsessions, a hopeless romantic who maintains crushes or goes after almost every woman in the novel. He tries to get the women’s attention in various ways, usually relating to their work situation. (In the case of Elizabeth, the realtor that he spies from his window one afternoon, he invents a long-winded and complex tale about needing a new apartment, just to spend time with her.) His success varies through the novel, though, like all good comedies, he finds happiness at the end. He has a crush on his therapist, Clarissa, whose self-imposed distance from him makes him more attracted to and interested in her. He has a crush on Zandy, the girl behind the prescription counter at the all-holy Rite-Aid. Through the novel, his quirks vary depending on the situation—sometimes he can pass as a “normal” person; other times he can’t help but appear odd to others (even those, like Clarissa, who know him very well). At one point in the novel, perhaps in a nod to French novelist Georges Perec, he stops using the letter “E” in his speech. This goes very well, except for the fact that he cannot say his name.

With nothing else going on in his life at the moment, Daniel finds himself entering into an essay contest sponsored by Tepperton’s Frozen Apple Pies. Asked to explain “why I am the most average American,” he quickly comes up with an essay so full of sap that it isn’t surprising that he winds up making it to the finals. As a reason to hang around Zandy while at the Rite-Aid one day, he takes out another entry form and writes another essay, without even thinking about what he is doing.

There are, really, two parts to Daniel Pecan Cambridge, and these are exemplified in his two essays. He is able to see both sides to a point, even if he radically disagrees with one or doesn’t really
understand what’s going on.

By the end of the book, Daniel slowly loses some of his obsessive-compulsive habits—though he still does keep making magic squares, trying to balance out his universe. While he may adjust to society by the end of the book, he still remains his own man—he does not lose his colorful identity like so many others. And there is hope for him in the end—like in every great comedy.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie is a great character. Excessively smart, she gets up very early before the rest of the household, to read in the library for a couple of hours, before she has to start her day as a maid in the house. One day she is busted by the Lord and Lady who actually hadn't yet come home from their evening out, and Lady Rowan takes Maisie's education in hand, partnering with her friend Maurice Blanche to be sure Maisie's learning properly. By 16, she takes the entrance exam for Cambridge and passes. While at school, she makes an eccentric friend, Priscilla, who introduces her to a handsome young doctor, Simon, and inspires her to do something for the Great War.

In 1929, Maisie has finished her apprenticeship with Maurice and embarks on her own, setting up shop as a private investigator. A gentleman suspects his wife of an affair, and Maisie discovers it isn't at all what he thinks but the investigation opens a door to a suspect home for crippled veterans. Lady Rowan's son wants to join this unusual and mysterious group, including signing over all his money to them, so Maisie has two reasons to find out more about The Retreat. Along the way she recalls images and feelings from the past that bring her affair with Simon back to her, and we learn some of the privations and horrors Maisie experienced as a field nurse in France.

Maisie solves the mystery with help from Maurice and Billy, a friendly neighbor and fellow vet, and all is well. Except that you know all isn't well with Maisie. She's not fully recovered from France, from the loss of Simon, and she's investigating in order to be able to put things right, since there are important things in her own life which cannot be righted.

Maisie is from the lower classes (her father is a vegetable seller, turned into a horse groom), but with her smarts and education she manages both to fit in everywhere, and no where. She has a distinctive voice, and in the scenes when she is much younger, the voice very believably is more naive. Maisie's common sense and her devotion to Maurice's lessons, as well as to her beloved Dad, make her an endearing and well-rounded character. I truly enjoyed spending time with her, and looked for the sequel at the library today (checked out.) I hope to be spending more time with Miss Maisie Dobbs in the future.

The Known World by Edward P. Jones

This book is wonderfully written, and opens up people's eyes to see the ENTIRE aspect of slavery that people may often overlook.

In summary,Henry and Caldonia Townsend are black plantation owners in Manchester County, Virginia. They are highly respected by most everyone in the county. Henry himself was once a slave for Mr. Robbins, and it is Mr. Robbins who helped Henry to become the plantation owner he is today. In the beginning of the book, Henry dies at a young age, leaving Caldonia (his wife) the sole owner of the plantation. Though they are her slaves, Caldonia still treats them like humans. Her daily discussions with the married slave overseer, Moses, eventually leads to an affair between the two.

The many daily occurences-both good and bad- that go on in the Townsend's slaves' lives are revealed in snippets throughout the book, making it hard to put down. Church services the slaves have on the plantation are described, punishments for disobedient slaves are seen, and the yearning that some slaves, such as Moses, have for freedom is brilliantly revealed. Additionally, the book follows an affair between the white Mr. Robbins and one of his slaves. The two go on to have children together, and one of them eventually marries Caldonia.

This novel is so engaging because it opens people's eyes to all circumstances of slavery. People see how slaves themselves viwed slavery, how plantation owners viewed it, and how others such as deputies and on-lookers viewed this matter.

Additionally, the book is very historically accurate. It mentions the Underground Railroad and US Census statistics, which further strengthened the book.

This book was overall great. It is very easy to read. It provides a number of different viewpoints that people had in this trying time over the slave issue. The only downside to the novel is that it gets off to a somewhat confusing start with all of the characters. However, there is a character list in the back of the book which greatly helps to keep track of who is who. As the novel progresses, it becomes more and more engaging with each turn of the page.

This book is amazing, and would most likely be enjoyed by anyone, no matter if they are interested in history or not. Most definitely this is a must-read.