Rachel's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 28 Nov 2024 03:01:08 -0800 60 Rachel's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen Rachel 4 want-to-re-read 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: want-to-re-read
review:

]]> Mansfield Park 18300262
"The most perfect artist among women, the writer whose books are immortal." — Virginia Woolf

The Vintage Classics Austen series is designed by the writer and illustrator Leanne Shapton and introduced by some of our finest contemporary writers and Austen fans: Alexander McCall Smith, Lynne Truss, Amanda Vickery, Francesca Segal, P.D. James and Andrew Motion.]]> 560 Jane Austen 0099589281 Rachel 5 3.66 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.66
book published: 1814
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/16
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Mister Pip 543873
On a copper-rich tropical island shattered by war, where the teachers have fled with most everyone else, only one white man chooses to stay behind: the eccentric Mr. Watts, object of much curiosity and scorn, who sweeps out the ruined schoolhouse and begins to read to the children each day from Charles Dickens's classic Great Expectations.

So begins this rare, original story about the abiding strength that imagination, once ignited, can provide. As artillery echoes in the mountains, thirteen-year-old Matilda and her peers are riveted by the adventures of a young orphan named Pip in a city called London, a city whose contours soon become more real than their own blighted landscape. As Mr. Watts says, “A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe.” Soon come the rest of the villagers, initially threatened, finally inspired to share tales of their own that bring alive the rich mythology of their past. But in a ravaged place where even children are forced to live by their wits and daily survival is the only objective, imagination can be a dangerous thing.]]> 256 Lloyd Jones 0385341067 Rachel 4 3.67 2006 Mister Pip
author: Lloyd Jones
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/03
date added: 2024/02/27
shelves:
review:

]]> 84 Charing Cross Road 2727537
"84, Charing Cross Road" is a charming record of bibliophilia, cultural differences, and imaginative sympathy. For 20 years, an outspoken New York writer and a rather more restrained London bookseller carried on an increasingly touching correspondence. In her first letter to Marks & Co., Helene Hanff encloses a wish list, but warns, "The phrase 'antiquarian booksellers' scares me somewhat, as I equate 'antique' with expensive." Twenty days later, on October 25, 1949, a correspondent identified only as FPD let Hanff know that works by Hazlitt and Robert Louis Stevenson would be coming under separate cover. When they arrive, Hanff is ecstatic - but unsure she'll ever conquer "bilingual arithmetic." By early December 1949, Hanff is suddenly worried that the six-pound ham she's sent off to augment British rations will arrive in a kosher office. But only when FPD turns out to have an actual name, Frank Doel, does the real fun begin.

Two years later, Hanff is outraged that Marks & Co. has dared to send an abridged Pepys diary. "I enclose two limp singles, I will make do with this thing till you find me a real Pepys. THEN I will rip up this ersatz book, page by page, AND WRAP THINGS IN IT." Nonetheless, her postscript asks whether they want fresh or powdered eggs for Christmas. Soon they're sharing news of Frank's family and Hanff's career.

"The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street" is a memoir of the author's visit to London following the publication of "84 Charing Cross Road." It is based on diary entries written during her stay and chronicles the events she attended, the people she met, and her impressions of a city she had long dreamed of experiencing.]]> 220 Helene Hanff 0860074382 Rachel 5 So, to every bibliophile everywhere, stop what you are doing right now and read this book. You will never regret it.]]> 4.20 1970 84 Charing Cross Road
author: Helene Hanff
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1970
rating: 5
read at: 2020/02/24
date added: 2022/09/21
shelves: favourites, all-time-favourites, want-to-re-read
review:
How pleased I was to finally be able to add this book to my 'currently reading' file. Now that its finished, I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. Except that it's not quite finished. This story will live on long after we are all gone. I watched the movie twice before reading it (a huge faux pa, I know, but I didn't actually know it was a book the first time, and then I couldn't find a copy, so the movie had to suffice the second time). Each bookish letter melted like butter on a fresh slice of toast. It was heartwarming and, well, perfect. Five stars does not seem fair, since I have rated other books five stars, but they just don't compare to 84 Charing Cross Road. It was the best piece of non-fiction I have ever read. So much so that I kept on reminding myself that the situations in the book actually happened. The whole scenario is idyllic, and if it wasn't for an unreliable postal system, I would've loved to have Miss Helene Hanff's experience.
So, to every bibliophile everywhere, stop what you are doing right now and read this book. You will never regret it.
]]> The Librarian 36383125 A charmingly subversive novel about a library in 1950s England, by the acclaimed author of The Cleaner of Chartres

Sylvia Blackwell, a young woman in her twenties, moves to East Mole, a quaint market town in middle England, to start a new job as a children's librarian. But the apparently pleasant town is not all it seems. Sylvia falls in love with an older man - but it's her connection to his precocious young daughter and her neighbours' son which will change her life and put them, the library and her job under threat.

How does the library alter the young children's lives and how do the children fare as a result of the books Sylvia introduces them to?]]> 400 Salley Vickers 0241321735 Rachel 0 dnf 3.31 2018 The Librarian
author: Salley Vickers
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/17
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> The Lottie Project 850253 I don't want to do a boring old project. Who wants to be like everyone else? I'm doing a diary...

Hi! I'm Charlie (DON'T call me Charlotte - ever!). History is boring, right? Wrong! The Victorians weren't all deadly dull and drippy. Lottie certainly isn't. She's eleven - like me - but she's left school and has a job as a nursery maid. Her life is really hard, just work work work, but I bet she'd know what to do about my mum's awful boyfriend and his wimpy little son. I bet she wouldn't mess it all up like I do...]]> 204 Jacqueline Wilson 044086366X Rachel 0 childhood-favourites 3.72 1997 The Lottie Project
author: Jacqueline Wilson
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/13
shelves: childhood-favourites
review:

]]> Language Of Flowers 38887312
The Everyman Language of Flowers without sacrificing the charm of its Victorian predecessors aims to provide extended, updated and rather more robust floral anthology for the 21st century, presenting poetry from ancient Greece to contemporary Britain and America, and spanning the world from Cuba to Korea, Russia to Zimbabwe.

Here are Rumi and Rilke on the rose; Herrick and Louise Glück on the lily; Chaucer, Emily Dickinson and Jon Silkin on the daisy; Mary Robinson and Ted Hughes on the snowdrop; Lorenzo de Medici, John Clare and Alice Oswald on the violet; Hugo and Roethke on carnations; Ovid and Goethe on poppies; Blake and Eugenio Montale on the sunflower; Christina Rossetti on heartsease and forget-me-nots; Emily Brontë on harebells and heather, Seamus Heaney on lupins, Pasternak on night-scented stock...

Eastern cultures, rich in flower associations, are well represented: there are Tang poems celebrating chrysanthemums and peonies, Zen poems about orchids and lotus flowers, poems about jasmine and marigolds from India, roses, tulips and narcissi from Persia, the Ottoman empire and the Arabic world.

Flowers are arranged by season, with roses and lilies in a section of their own. In a final section poets comment directly or indirectly on the language of flowers itself. The book concludes with a selected glossary drawn from several celebrated Victorian collections.]]> 256 Jane Holloway 1841598070 Rachel 5 4.70 2017 Language Of Flowers
author: Jane Holloway
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.70
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/08/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society]]> 39832183 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE ON NETFLIX - A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

"I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers." January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb...

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.]]> 291 Mary Ann Shaffer 1984801813 Rachel 5 4.27 2008 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
author: Mary Ann Shaffer
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2019/06/20
date added: 2021/07/29
shelves: favourites, all-time-favourites, want-to-re-read, currently-reading
review:
If you proclaim to be a book-lover, then you must read this book. It accentuates the innocent love of reading, and no matter who you are or what you have faced, a book is a book and is always enjoyed. My absolute favourite book.
]]> When Rain Clouds Gather 28278 188 Bessie Head 0435909614 Rachel 0 3.84 1969 When Rain Clouds Gather
author: Bessie Head
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1969
rating: 0
read at: 2021/07/24
date added: 2021/07/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Schumann (The Master musicians series)]]> 553988 257 Joan Chissell 0460021923 Rachel 0 3.83 1948 Schumann (The Master musicians series)
author: Joan Chissell
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1948
rating: 0
read at: 2021/07/21
date added: 2021/07/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Middlemarch 9822053
This edition is part of the Penguin Classics Clothbound series designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.]]> 880 George Eliot 0141196890 Rachel 0 currently-reading 4.22 1872 Middlemarch
author: George Eliot
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1872
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 84, Charing Cross Road 368916
[text from the back cover of the book]]]> 106 Helene Hanff Rachel 5 4.17 1970 84, Charing Cross Road
author: Helene Hanff
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1970
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/20
date added: 2021/07/20
shelves:
review:
Second time round after discovering it for the first time last year. And it just re-established my love for it. There are only two books I am committed to re-reading every year - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and 84 Charing Cross Road. Sweet, heartfelt correspondence with sassy and sarcastic humour between book lovers make this book a forever favourite. After you read this book, you will always look for inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins.
]]> <![CDATA[It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (All Creatures Great and Small, #2)]]> 278262 229 James Herriot 0330443461 Rachel 0 4.36 1972 It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (All Creatures Great and Small, #2)
author: James Herriot
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1972
rating: 0
read at: 2021/07/19
date added: 2021/07/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants]]> 12338204 Downton Abbey -- the most successful British period drama in years and the number -- one most-watched new drama programme of 2010. Captivated by the secrets, the scandal and the servant-master divide of an Edwardian household, viewers religiously watched in their millions.

In Life Below Stairs, bestselling author Alison Maloney responds to the public's desire to know more, going behind the scenes to reveal a detailed picture of what really went on 'downstairs', describing the true-life trials and tribulations of the servants in a gripping non-fiction account.

Thoroughly researched and reliably informed, it also contains first-hand stories from the staff of the time. This charming and beautifully presented volume is a must-read for anyone interested in the lifestyle and conduct of a bygone era.]]> 192 Alison Maloney 1843176971 Rachel 0 3.29 2011 Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants
author: Alison Maloney
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.29
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2021/07/12
date added: 2021/07/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Death in the Clouds (Hercule Poirot, #12)]]> 16326
From seat No.9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers. Over to his right sat a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite; ahead, in seat No.13, sat a Countess with a poorly-concealed cocaine habit; across the gangway in seat No.8, a detective writer was being troubled by an aggressive wasp. What Poirot did not yet realize was that behind him, in seat No.2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman.

How could this happen with the world's No. 1 private detective on board?]]> 336 Agatha Christie 000711933X Rachel 0 3.84 1935 Death in the Clouds (Hercule Poirot, #12)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1935
rating: 0
read at: 2021/01/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Why Didn't They Ask Evans? 102303 Why didn't they ask Evans? Bobby and Frances would love to know. Unfortunately, asking the wrong people has sent the amateur sleuths running for their lives--on a wild and deadly pursuit to discover who Evans is, what it was he wasn't asked, and why the mysterious inquiry has put their own lives in mortal danger...
]]> 288 Agatha Christie 0312981597 Rachel 0 3.91 1934 Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1934
rating: 0
read at: 2021/01/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> The Prince and the Pauper 62446 240 Mark Twain 0451528352 Rachel 0 3.88 1881 The Prince and the Pauper
author: Mark Twain
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1881
rating: 0
read at: 2021/02/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[4:50 from Paddington (Miss Marple, #7)]]> 140278
Who, apart from Miss Marple, would take her story seriously? After all, there were no suspects, no other witnesses... and no corpse. Not the police.

Librarian's note: this entry is for the novel, "4:50 from Paddington." Collections and other Miss Marple stories are located elsewhere on ŔĎ»˘»úÎČÓ®·˝·¨. The series includes 12 novels and 20 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching ŔĎ»˘»úÎČÓ®·˝·¨ for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."]]> 288 Agatha Christie 1579126936 Rachel 0 3.96 1957 4:50 from Paddington (Miss Marple, #7)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1957
rating: 0
read at: 2021/02/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lord Edgware Dies (Hercule Poirot, #9)]]> 215492
Now the man was dead. And yet the great Belgian detective couldn’t help feeling that he was being taken for a ride. After all, how could Jane have stabbed her thoroughly detestable husband to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? And what could be her motive now that the aristocrat had finally agreed to grant her a divorce?

Librarian's note: the first fifteen novels in the Hercule Poirot series are 1) The Mysterious Affair at Styles, 1920; 2) The Murder on the Links, 1923; 3) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, 1926; 4) The Big Four, 1927; 5) The Mystery of the Blue Train, 1928; 6) Peril at End House, 1932; 7) Lord Edgware Dies, 1933; 8) Murder on the Orient Express, 1934; 9) Three Act Tragedy, 1935; 10) Death in the Clouds, 1935; 11) The A.B.C. Murders, 1936; 12) Murder in Mesopotamia, 1936; 13) Cards on the Table, 1936; 14) Dumb Witness, 1937; and 15) Death on the Nile, 1937. These are just the novels; Poirot also appears in this period in a play, Black Coffee, 1930, and two collections of short stories, Poirot Investigates, 1924, and Murder in the Mews, 1937. Each novel, play and short story has its own entry on ŔĎ»˘»úÎČÓ®·˝·¨.]]> 219 Agatha Christie 0002314576 Rachel 0 3.94 1933 Lord Edgware Dies (Hercule Poirot, #9)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1933
rating: 0
read at: 2021/02/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Murder in Mesopotamia (Hercule Poirot, #14)]]> 16360
It was clear to nurse Amy Leatheran that something sinister was going on at the Hassanieh dig, something associated with the presence of â€Lovely Louise’, the wife of the celebrated archaeologist Dr. Leidner. But she couldn't pinpoint it.

In a few days’ time Hercule Poirot was due to drop in at the excavation site. With Louise suffering terrifying hallucinations, and tension within the group becoming almost unbearable, Poirot might just be too late…]]> 264 Agatha Christie 0007113803 Rachel 0 3.92 1936 Murder in Mesopotamia (Hercule Poirot, #14)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1936
rating: 0
read at: 2021/02/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Emma: A Modern Retelling 23395733 Emma is wise, witty, and totally enchanting, and will appeal equally to Alexander McCall Smith's multitude of fans and to the enormous community of wildly enthusiastic Austen aficionados.]]> 361 Alexander McCall Smith 0804197954 Rachel 0 3.01 2014 Emma: A Modern Retelling
author: Alexander McCall Smith
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.01
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2021/02/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 24583
Unlike his brother Sid, Tom receives "lickings" from his Aunt Polly; ever the mischief-maker, would rather play hooky than attend school and often sneaks out his bedroom window at night to adventure with his friend, Huckleberry Finn ­ the town's social outcast. Tom, despite his dread of schooling, is extremely clever and would normally get away with his pranks if Sid were not such a "tattle-tale."

As punishment for skipping school to go swimming, Aunt Polly assigns Tom the chore of whitewashing the fence surrounding the house. In a brilliant scheme, Tom is able to con the neighborhood boys into completing the chore for him, managing to convince them of the joys of whitewashing. At school, Tom is equally as flamboyant, and attracts attention by chasing other boys, yelling, and running around. With his usual antics, Tom attempts to catch the eye of Becky Thatcher, a new girl in town, and persuades her to get "engaged" by kissing him. But their romance collapses when she learns Tom has been "engaged" previously to Amy Lawrence. Shortly after Becky shuns him, he accompanies Huckleberry Finn to the graveyard at night, where they witness the murder of Dr. Robinson.

Excerpt:
"TOM!"
No answer.
"TOM!"
No answer.
"What's gone with that boy,  I wonder? You TOM!"
No answer.
The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the room; then she put them up and looked out under them. She seldom or never looked through them for so small a thing as a boy; they were her state pair, the pride of her heart, and were built for "style," not service—she could have seen through a pair of stove-lids just as well. She looked perplexed for a moment, and then said, not fiercely, but still loud enough for the furniture to hear:
"Well, I lay if I get hold of you I'll—"
She did not finish, for by this time she was bending down and punching under the bed with the broom, and so she needed breath to punctuate the punches with. She resurrected nothing but the cat.
"I never did see the beat of that boy!"]]> 244 Mark Twain Rachel 0 3.92 1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
author: Mark Twain
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1876
rating: 0
read at: 2021/02/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)]]> 48132 My Family and Other Animals was intended to embrace the natural history of the island but ended up as a delightful account of Durrell’s family’s experiences, from the many eccentric hangers-on to the ceaseless procession of puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their home.]]> 273 Gerald Durrell 0142004413 Rachel 0 4.19 1956 My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)
author: Gerald Durrell
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1956
rating: 0
read at: 2021/03/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Belgravia 35106178 FROM THE CREATOR OF DOWNTON ABBEY The New York Times bestselling novel about scandalous secrets and star-crossed lovers On the evening of 15 June 1815, the great and the good of British society have gathered in Brussels at what is to become one of the most tragic parties in history - the Duchess of Richmond's ball. For this is the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, and many of the handsome young men attending the ball will find themselves, the very next day, on the battlefield.
For Sophia Trenchard, the young and beautiful daughter of Wellington's chief supplier, this night will change everything. But it is only twenty-five years later, when the upwardly mobile Trenchards move into the fashionable new area of Belgravia, that the true repercussions of that moment will be felt. For in this new world, where the aristocracy rub shoulders with the emerging nouveau riche, there are those who would prefer the secrets of the past to remain buried...



]]> 417 Julian Fellowes 1455541192 Rachel 0 3.83 2016 Belgravia
author: Julian Fellowes
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2021/03/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Pollyanna (Pollyanna, #1) 1000751 304 Eleanor H. Porter 0689849109 Rachel 0 3.99 1913 Pollyanna (Pollyanna, #1)
author: Eleanor H. Porter
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1913
rating: 0
read at: 2021/03/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Destination Unknown 310226 316 Agatha Christie 0007154909 Rachel 0 3.73 1954 Destination Unknown
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1954
rating: 0
read at: 2021/03/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Hard Times 5344
Without a moral compass to guide them, the children sink into lives of desperation and despair, played out against the grim background of Coketown, a wretched community shadowed by an industrial behemoth. Louisa falls into a loveless marriage with Josiah Bouderby, a vulgar banker, while the unscrupulous Tom, totally lacking in principle, becomes a thief who frames an innocent man for his crime. Witnessing the degradation and downfall of his children, Gradgrind realizes that his own misguided principles have ruined their lives.

Considered Dickens' harshest indictment of mid-19th-century industrial practices and their dehumanizing effects, this novel offers a fascinating tapestry of Victorian life, filled with the richness of detail, brilliant characterization, and passionate social concern that typify the novelist's finest creations.

Of Dickens' work, the eminent Victorian critic John Ruskin had this to say: "He is entirely right in his main drift and purpose in every book he has written; and all of them, but especially Hard Times, should be studied with close and earnest care by persons interested in social questions."]]> 384 Charles Dickens 0321107217 Rachel 0 3.55 1854 Hard Times
author: Charles Dickens
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.55
book published: 1854
rating: 0
read at: 2021/04/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Souls Belated 1960735 48 Edith Wharton 1419148370 Rachel 0 3.68 1899 Souls Belated
author: Edith Wharton
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1899
rating: 0
read at: 2021/04/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay, #1)]]> 153492 100 John Buchan 1419151126 Rachel 0 3.61 1915 The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay, #1)
author: John Buchan
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1915
rating: 0
read at: 2021/04/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[One Hundred Miracles: Music, Auschwitz, Survival and Love]]> 45006280
Zuzana Ružicková grew up in 1930s Czechoslovakia dreaming of two Johann Sebastian Bach and the piano. But her peaceful, melodic childhood was torn apart when, in 1939, the Nazis invaded. Uprooted from her home, transported from Auschwitz to Hamburg to Bergen-Belsen, bereaved, starved, and afflicted with crippling injuries to her musician's hands, the teenage Zuzana faced a series of devastating losses. Yet with every truck and train ride, a small slip of paper printed with her favourite piece of Bach's music became her talisman.

Armed with this 'proof that beauty still existed', Zuzana's fierce bravery and passion ensured her survival of the greatest human atrocities of all time, and would continue to sustain her through the brutalities of post-war Communist rule. Harnessing her talent and dedication, and fortified by the love of her husband, the Czech composer Viktor Kalabis, Zuzana went on to become one of the twentieth century's most renowned musicians and the first harpsichordist to record the entirety of Bach's keyboard works.

Zuzana's story, told here in her own words before her death in 2017, is a profound and powerful testimony of the horrors of the Holocaust, and a testament in itself to the importance of amplifying the voices of its survivors today. It is also a joyful celebration of art and resistance that defined the life of the 'first lady of the harpsichord'– a woman who spent her life being ceaselessly reborn through her music. Like the music of her beloved Bach, Zuzana's life is the story of the tragic transmuted through art into the state of the sublime.]]> 373 Zuzana Růžičková 1408896818 Rachel 0 4.44 2019 One Hundred Miracles: Music, Auschwitz, Survival and Love
author: Zuzana Růžičková
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2021/04/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)]]> 16328
The peaceful English village of King’s Abbot is stunned. The widow Ferrars dies from an overdose of Veronal. Not twenty-four hours later, Roger Ackroyd—the man she had planned to marry—is murdered. It is a baffling case involving blackmail and death that taxes Hercule Poirot’s “little grey cells” before he reaches one of the most startling conclusions of his career.

Librarian's note: the first fifteen novels in the Hercule Poirot series are 1) The Mysterious Affair at Styles, 1920; 2) The Murder on the Links, 1923; 3) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, 1926; 4) The Big Four, 1927; 5) The Mystery of the Blue Train, 1928; 6) Peril at End House, 1932; 7) Lord Edgware Dies, 1933; 8) Murder on the Orient Express, 1934; 9) Three Act Tragedy, 1935; 10) Death in the Clouds, 1935; 11) The A.B.C. Murders, 1936; 12) Murder in Mesopotamia, 1936; 13) Cards on the Table, 1936; 14) Dumb Witness, 1937; and 15) Death on the Nile, 1937. These are just the novels; Poirot also appears in this period in a play, Black Coffee, 1930, and two collections of short stories, Poirot Investigates, 1924, and Murder in the Mews, 1937. Each novel, play and short story has its own entry on ŔĎ»˘»úÎČÓ®·˝·¨.]]> 288 Agatha Christie 1579126278 Rachel 0 4.26 1926 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1926
rating: 0
read at: 2021/04/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[They Do It With Mirrors (Miss Marple, #5)]]> 68930
Miss Marple senses danger when she visits a friend living in a Victorian mansion which doubles as a rehabilitation centre for delinquents. Her fears are confirmed when a youth fires a revolver at the administrator, Lewis Serrocold. Neither is injured. But a mysterious visitor, Mr Gulbrandsen, is less fortunate – shot dead simultaneously in another part of the building.

Pure coincidence? Miss Marple thinks not, and vows to discover the real reason for Mr Gulbrandsen’s visit.

Librarian's note: this entry is for the novel, "They Do It with Mirrors." Collections and other Miss Marple stories are located elsewhere on ŔĎ»˘»úÎČÓ®·˝·¨. The series includes 12 novels and 20 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching ŔĎ»˘»úÎČÓ®·˝·¨ for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."]]> 224 Agatha Christie 0451199901 Rachel 0 3.78 1952 They Do It With Mirrors (Miss Marple, #5)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1952
rating: 0
read at: 2021/04/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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]]> Literary Taste 1458550 Literary Taste, which has a sub-title "how to form it, with detailed instructions for collecting a complete library of English Literarure", came into that category, and was a very successful publication. More than 100 years after it first appeared (in 1909) it will seem rather quaint, but there is much of value in it, and, bearing in mind that much good and great literary work has been produced in modern times, it is still worth a study. Remember it is a book that pointed the way for the generation of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers!]]> 60 Arnold Bennett 1406927031 Rachel 0 3.86 1909 Literary Taste
author: Arnold Bennett
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1909
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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]]> The Summer Before the War 25776122
East Sussex, 1914. It is the end of England's brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha's husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won't come to anything. And Agatha has more immediate concerns; she has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master.

When Beatrice Nash arrives with one trunk and several large crates of books, it is clear she is significantly more freethinking—and attractive—than anyone believes a Latin teacher should be. For her part, mourning the death of her beloved father, who has left her penniless, Beatrice simply wants to be left alone to pursue her teaching and writing.

But just as Beatrice comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha's reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war.]]> 481 Helen Simonson 0812993101 Rachel 0 3.73 2016 The Summer Before the War
author: Helen Simonson
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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]]> North and South 156538
In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully fuses individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale creates one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.]]> 521 Elizabeth Gaskell 0140620192 Rachel 0 4.14 1855 North and South
author: Elizabeth Gaskell
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1855
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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]]> A Man Called Ove 18774964
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.]]> 337 Fredrik Backman 1476738017 Rachel 0 4.35 2012 A Man Called Ove
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2021/06/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot, #32)]]> 121622 Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, one of Agatha Christie’s most ingenious mysteries, the intrepid Hercule Poirot must look into the case of a brutally murdered landlady.

Mrs. McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion falls immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes reveal traces of the victim’s blood and hair. Yet something is amiss: Bentley just doesn’t seem like a murderer.

Could the answer lie in an article clipped from a newspaper two days before the death? With a desperate killer still free, Hercule Poirot will have to stay alive long enough to find out. . . .]]> 244 Agatha Christie 1572707313 Rachel 0 3.85 1952 Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot, #32)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1952
rating: 0
read at: 2021/06/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[A book of friendship and flowers: A pictorial selection of flowers and gardens throughout the year with verses]]> 3659221 64 Kathleen Partridge 0853064008 Rachel 0 3.00 A book of friendship and flowers: A pictorial selection of flowers and gardens throughout the year with verses
author: Kathleen Partridge
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2021/06/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Running Sky: A Bird-Watching Life]]> 7052771 258 Tim Dee 0224081985 Rachel 0 3.88 2009 The Running Sky: A Bird-Watching Life
author: Tim Dee
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at: 2021/06/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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]]> <![CDATA[If Only They Could Talk (All Creatures Great and Small, #1)]]> 1038979 Librarian Note: An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here

When the newly qualified vet, James Herriot, arrives in the small Yorkshire village of Darrowby, he has no idea of the new friends he will meet or adventures that lie ahead. From the author whose books inspired the BBC series "All Creatures Great and Small", this first volume of unforgettable memoirs chronicles James Herriot's first years as a country vet, with the signature storytelling magic that has made him a favourite the world over. Here is a book for all those who find laughter and joy in animals, and who know and understand the magic of wild places and beautiful countryside.]]> 206 James Herriot 0330237837 Rachel 0 4.32 1970 If Only They Could Talk (All Creatures Great and Small, #1)
author: James Herriot
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1970
rating: 0
read at: 2021/07/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Charles Dickens (Pocket Biographies)]]> 4308839 Book by Peters, Catherine 111 Catherine Peters 0750916192 Rachel 0 4.00 1998 Charles Dickens (Pocket Biographies)
author: Catherine Peters
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at: 2021/03/01
date added: 2021/07/11
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]]> The footsteps of Anne Frank 2209312 160 Ernst Schnabel 0330029967 Rachel 0 4.13 1958 The footsteps of Anne Frank
author: Ernst Schnabel
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1958
rating: 0
read at: 2021/03/01
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Rilla of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, #8)]]> 55883213 Rilla of Ingleside is the final installment of L. M. Montgomery's much-loved Anne Shirley novels. It follows Rilla Blythe, Anne's youngest daughter, as she grows up against the backdrop of the First World War. Complete and unabridged, this classic tale will delight readers both young and old.

ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus Essential Anne of Green Gables presents L.M. Montgomery's best-loved series with striking contemporary cover-designs. These unique paperback editions are wonderful collectibles which celebrate this iconic red-headed heroine.]]> 352 L.M. Montgomery 1398803391 Rachel 0 4.33 1921 Rilla of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, #8)
author: L.M. Montgomery
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1921
rating: 0
read at: 2021/01/01
date added: 2021/03/20
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]]> <![CDATA[Rainbow Valley (Anne of Green Gables, #7)]]> 55883211 Rainbow Valley is the fifth book in the beloved Anne Shirley series. A now grown-up Anne and her children find themselves match-making for John Meredith, the new minister in Glen St. Mary. Complete and unabridged, this classic tale is beloved by readers both young and old.

ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus Essential Anne of Green Gables presents L.M. Montgomery's best-loved series with striking contemporary cover-designs. These unique paperback editions are wonderful collectibles which celebrate this iconic red-headed heroine.]]> 288 L.M. Montgomery 1398803413 Rachel 0 3.53 1919 Rainbow Valley (Anne of Green Gables, #7)
author: L.M. Montgomery
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.53
book published: 1919
rating: 0
read at: 2021/01/10
date added: 2021/03/20
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]]> <![CDATA[Anne of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, #6)]]> 55883204
ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus Essential Anne of Green Gables presents L.M. Montgomery's best-loved series with striking contemporary cover-designs. These unique paperback editions are wonderful collectibles which celebrate this iconic red-headed heroine.]]> 352 L.M. Montgomery 1398803405 Rachel 0 3.76 1939 Anne of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, #6)
author: L.M. Montgomery
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1939
rating: 0
read at: 2021/01/05
date added: 2021/03/20
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)]]> 853510
One of the passengers is none other than detective Hercule Poirot. On vacation.

Isolated and with a killer on board, Poirot must identify the murderer—in case he or she decides to strike again.]]> 274 Agatha Christie 0007119313 Rachel 0 4.22 1934 Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1934
rating: 0
read at: 2021/01/16
date added: 2021/03/20
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]]> <![CDATA[The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers]]> 177598 offers information on choosing and caring for a flute, sketches a history of the flute, and discusses differences between members of the flute family. In the Performance section, readers learn about breathing, tone, vibrato, articulation, technique, style, performing, and recording. In the extensive
analysis of flute literature that follows, Toff places individual pieces in historical context. The book ends with a comprehensive catalog of solo and chamber repertoire, and includes appendices with fingering charts as well as lists of current flute manufacturers, repair shops, sources for flute
music and books, and flute clubs and related organizations worldwide.]]> 520 Nancy Toff 0195105028 Rachel 0 4.38 1985 The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers
author: Nancy Toff
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at: 2021/03/20
date added: 2021/03/20
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]]> <![CDATA[Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)]]> 40604658
Until something goes wrong. . . .

In Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton taps all his mesmerizing talent and scientific brilliance to create his most electrifying technothriller.]]> 450 Michael Crichton 0307763056 Rachel 4 4.38 1990 Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
author: Michael Crichton
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2020/11/15
date added: 2020/11/16
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]]> On Playing the Flute 200743 453 johann-joachim-quantz 0571207804 Rachel 0 to-read 4.41 1985 On Playing the Flute
author: johann-joachim-quantz
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Reading By Moonlight: How Books Saved A Life]]> 8080427
The first time Brenda Walker packed her bag to go into hospital, she wondered which book to take with her. As a novelist and professor of literature, her life had been built around reading and writing. Now she was also a patient, being treated for breast cancer, fighting for her life and afraid for herself and her family. But turning to medicine didn't mean she turned away from fiction. Books had always been her solace and sustenance, and now choosing the right one was the most important thing she could do for herself.

In Reading by Moonlight, Brenda describes the five stages of her treatment and how different books and authors helped her through the tumultuous process of recovery. As well as offering wonderful introductions and insights into the work of writers like Dante, Tolstoy, Nabokov, Beckett and Dickens, Brenda shows how the very process of reading – surrendering and then regathering yourself – echoes the process of healing.

Reading by Moonlight guides, reassures, throws light on dark places, and finds beauty in the stories that come to us in times of jeopardy. It affirms that reading can be essential to life itself.]]> 244 Brenda Walker 192642803X Rachel 4 3.34 2010 Reading By Moonlight: How Books Saved A Life
author: Brenda Walker
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2020/11/16
date added: 2020/11/16
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]]> <![CDATA[The Harrap Book of Modern Short Stories]]> 17926887 191 Harrap's Publishing Rachel 2 3.17 1956 The Harrap Book of Modern Short Stories
author: Harrap's Publishing
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.17
book published: 1956
rating: 2
read at: 2020/10/09
date added: 2020/10/09
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Perhaps closer to 2.5/5 stars. I was highly entertained straight from the Introduction, but of the short stories I found only 3 or 4 of the 17 to be to my taste. A good way of getting to know the writing styles of new writers, and overall the collection contained quite a variety of different styles.
]]> She Stoops to Conquer 388997 84 Oliver Goldsmith 141914698X Rachel 5 3.65 1773 She Stoops to Conquer
author: Oliver Goldsmith
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1773
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/01
date added: 2020/10/01
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]]> The White Peacock 778729 367 D.H. Lawrence 0140187782 Rachel 0 dnf 3.36 1911 The White Peacock
author: D.H. Lawrence
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.36
book published: 1911
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/09/30
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> <![CDATA[After Auschwitz: A story of heartbreak and survival by the stepsister of Anne Frank]]> 18595563
When Auschwitz was liberated, Eva and Fritzi began the long journey home. They searched desperately for Eva's father and brother, from whom they had been separated. The news came some months later. Tragically, both men had been killed.

Before the war, in Amsterdam, Eva had become friendly with a young girl called Anne Frank. Though their fates were very different, Eva's life was set to be entwined with her friend's for ever more, after her mother Fritzi married Anne's father Otto Frank in 1953.

This is a searingly honest account of how an ordinary person survived the Holocaust. Eva's memories and descriptions are heartbreakingly clear, her account brings the horror as close as it can possibly be.

But this is also an exploration of what happened next, of Eva's struggle to live with herself after the war and to continue the work of her step-father Otto, ensuring that the legacy of Anne Frank is never forgotten.]]> 326 Eva Schloss 1444760718 Rachel 4 4.40 2013 After Auschwitz: A story of heartbreak and survival by the stepsister of Anne Frank
author: Eva Schloss
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/29
date added: 2020/09/29
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]]> In and Out of the Garden 228657
The most elegant and subtle of books to give and to have, it evokes the English gardens of Sara Midda's childhood, sowing the imagination with glorious images. Dozens and dozens of illustrations and tender reflections recall a hut in the wood, or a topiary maze, a summer day spent podding peas, or an herb patch that yields Biblical fragrances. Ruby-red radishes are the jewels of the underworld. Myriad colors fall upon warm green moss. Painted with Sara Midda's fine brush, it is a book of lasting enchantment.]]> 128 Sara Midda 0894801937 Rachel 4 4.29 1982 In and Out of the Garden
author: Sara Midda
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/25
date added: 2020/09/28
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review:

]]> Complete Sonnets 143483 Overt 150 poems deal with love, friendship, the tyranny of time, beauty's evanescence in power, death, and other themes in language unsurpassed in power, precision, and beauty. Now this inexpensive Dover edition enables any lover of poetry or fine literature to have this exquisite verse in his or her personal library. A brief glossary illuminates a number of archaic terms.]]> 74 William Shakespeare 0486266869 Rachel 3 4.15 1609 Complete Sonnets
author: William Shakespeare
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1609
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/28
date added: 2020/09/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Sonnets from the Portuguese and Other Poems]]> 752825 In the very heart and center of our modern world of the nineteenth century there was enacted and immortally sung one of the most exquisite love-histories of which the world has knowledge. The marriage of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett has been well named "the most perfect example of wedded happiness in the history of literature - perfect in the inner life and perfect in its poetical expression."]]> 55 Elizabeth Barrett Browning 0486270521 Rachel 3 4.03 1954 Sonnets from the Portuguese and Other Poems
author: Elizabeth Barrett Browning
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1954
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/20
date added: 2020/09/20
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]]> Curtain (Hercule Poirot, #44) 81903
Poirot’s final case, a mystery which brings him and Hastings back to Styles where they first solved a crime together. The story was both anticipated and dreaded by Agatha Christie fans worldwide, many of whom still refuse to read it, as it is known to contain Poirot’s death.

Agatha Christie wrote it during World War II, as a gift for her daughter should she not survive the bombings, and it was kept in a safe for over thirty years. It was agreed among the family that Curtain would be published finally in 1975 by Collins, her long-standing publishers, and that Sleeping Murder (the Marple story written during the war for her husband, Max) would follow.

The reception of Poirot’s death was international, even earning him an obituary in The New York Times; he is still the only fictional character to have received such an honour. The first actor to take on the role of portraying Poirot in his final hours was David Suchet, as the final episode of the series Agatha Christie’s Poirot for which he’d been playing the role for twenty-five years. The episode was adapted in 2013.]]> 215 Agatha Christie 0425173747 Rachel 4 4.09 1975 Curtain (Hercule Poirot, #44)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1975
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/20
date added: 2020/09/20
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]]> To Sir, With Love 895163 The all-time Classic schoolroom drama - as relevant as today's headlines ...

He shamed them, wrestled with them, enlightened them, and - ultimately - learned to love them. Mr. Braithwaite, the new teacher, had first to fight the class bully. Then he taught defiant, hard-bitten delinquents to call him "Sir," and to address the girls who had grown up beside them in the gutter as "Miss".

He taught them to wash their faces and to read Shakespeare. When he took all forty-six to museums and to the opera, riots were predicted. But instead of a catastrophe, a miracle happened. A dedicated teacher had turned hate into love, teenage rebelliousness into self-respect, contempt into into consideration for others. A man's own integrity - his concern and love for others - had won through.

The modern classic about a dedicated teacher in a tough London school who slowly and painfully breaks down the barriers of racial prejudice, this is the story of a man's integrity winning through against the odds.]]> 189 E.R. Braithwaite 0515105198 Rachel 5 4.17 1959 To Sir, With Love
author: E.R. Braithwaite
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1959
rating: 5
read at: 2020/09/16
date added: 2020/09/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Dear Mrs. Bird (The Emmy Lake Chronicles, #1)]]> 36373413 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Lilac Girls.

London 1940, bombs are falling. Emmy Lake is Doing Her Bit for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the London Evening Chronicle, her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent seem suddenly achievable. But the job turns out to be typist to the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird. Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down.

Mrs Bird is very clear: Any letters containing Unpleasantness—must go straight in the bin. But when Emmy reads poignant letters from women who are lonely, may have Gone Too Far with the wrong men and found themselves in trouble, or who can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she is unable to resist responding. As the German planes make their nightly raids, and London picks up the smoldering pieces each morning, Emmy secretly begins to write letters back to the women of all ages who have spilled out their troubles.

Prepare to fall head over heels with Emmy and her best friend, Bunty, who are spirited and gutsy, even in the face of events that bring a terrible blow. As the bombs continue to fall, the irrepressible Emmy keeps writing, and readers are transformed by AJ Pearce’s hilarious, heartwarming, and enormously moving tale of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and ordinary people in extraordinary times.]]> 281 A.J. Pearce 1501170066 Rachel 3 3.76 2018 Dear Mrs. Bird (The Emmy Lake Chronicles, #1)
author: A.J. Pearce
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/01
date added: 2020/09/17
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]]> Silas Marner 54539 262 George Eliot Rachel 5 3.67 1861 Silas Marner
author: George Eliot
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1861
rating: 5
read at: 2020/08/01
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers from the Spectator]]> 1671110 Roger De Coverley 0898759307 Rachel 2 3.80 1904 The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers from the Spectator
author: Roger De Coverley
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1904
rating: 2
read at: 2020/08/01
date added: 2020/09/17
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]]> The Chilbury Ladies' Choir 30269104 The village of Chilbury in Kent is about to ring in some changes.
This is a delightful novel of wartime gumption and village spirit that will make your heart sing out.

Kent, 1940.

In the idyllic village of Chilbury change is afoot. Hearts are breaking as sons and husbands leave to fight, and when the Vicar decides to close the choir until the men return, all seems lost.

But coming together in song is just what the women of Chilbury need in these dark hours, and they are ready to sing. With a little fighting spirit and the arrival of a new musical resident, the charismatic Miss Primrose Trent, the choir is reborn.

Some see the choir as a chance to forget their troubles, others the chance to shine. Though for one villager, the choir is the perfect cover to destroy Chilbury’s new-found harmony.

Uplifting and profoundly moving, THE CHILBURY LADIES’ CHOIR explores how a village can endure the onslaught of war, how monumental history affects small lives and how survival is as much about friendship as it is about courage.

]]> 371 Jennifer Ryan 1101906758 Rachel 4 3.94 2017 The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
author: Jennifer Ryan
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/01
date added: 2020/09/17
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]]> The History of Mr. Polly 483583 227 H.G. Wells 0141441070 Rachel 3 3.65 1910 The History of Mr. Polly
author: H.G. Wells
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1910
rating: 3
read at: 2020/08/01
date added: 2020/09/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Beethoven (Evergreen Lives Series)]]> 2075586 128 R.M. James 0712700013 Rachel 3 4.00 1984 Beethoven (Evergreen Lives Series)
author: R.M. James
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1984
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/01
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness]]> 24186666
But the average doesn’t just influence how we see ourselves—our entire social system has been built around this average-size-fits-all model. Schools are designed for the average student. Healthcare is designed for the average patient. Employers try to fill average job descriptions with employees on an average career trajectory. Our government implements programs and initiatives to serve the average person. For more than a century, we’ve believed that the best way to run our institutions is by focusing on the average person. But when you actually drill down into the numbers, you find an amazing fact: no one is average—which means that our society built for everyone is actually serving no one.

In the 1950s, the American Air Force found itself with a massive problem—performance in expensive, custom-made planes was suffering terribly, with crashes peaking at seventeen in a single day. Since the state-of-the-art planes they were flying had been meticulously crafted to fit the average pilot, pilot error was assumed to be at fault. Until, that is, the Air Force investigated just how many of their pilots were actually average. The shocking answer: out of thousands of active-duty pilots, exactly zero were average. Not one. This discovery led to simple solutions (like adjustable seats) that dramatically reduced accidents, improved performance, and expanded the pool of potential pilots. It also led to a huge change in thinking: planes didn’t need to be designed for everyone—they needed to be designed so they could adapt to suit the individual flying them.

The End of Average shows how success lies in customizing to our individual needs in all aspects of our lives, from the way we mark tests to the medical treatment we receive. Using principles from The Science of the Individual, it shows how we can break down the average to create individualized success that benefits everyone in the long run. It's time we stopped settling for average, and in The End of Average, Todd Rose will show you how.]]> 256 Todd Rose 0062358367 Rachel 5 4.03 2016 The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness
author: Todd Rose
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2020/07/01
date added: 2020/09/17
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]]> The Secret Garden 2998
Mary Lennox, a spoiled, ill-tempered, and unhealthy child, comes to live with her reclusive uncle in Misselthwaite Manor on England’s Yorkshire moors after the death of her parents. There she meets a hearty housekeeper and her spirited brother, a dour gardener, a cheerful robin, and her wilful, hysterical, and sickly cousin, Master Colin, whose wails she hears echoing through the house at night.

With the help of the robin, Mary finds the door to a secret garden, neglected and hidden for years. When she decides to restore the garden in secret, the story becomes a charming journey into the places of the heart, where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit, and the magic of the garden, coming to life anew, brings health to Colin and happiness to Mary.]]> 331 Frances Hodgson Burnett 0517189607 Rachel 4 4.16 1911 The Secret Garden
author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1911
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/01
date added: 2020/09/17
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]]> Psychology for Musicians 9410128 124 Percy Carter Buck 0193119145 Rachel 5 4.50 1975 Psychology for Musicians
author: Percy Carter Buck
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at: 2020/07/01
date added: 2020/09/17
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]]> The Town in Bloom 1187435 271 Dodie Smith 0434713538 Rachel 1 3.54 1965 The Town in Bloom
author: Dodie Smith
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.54
book published: 1965
rating: 1
read at: 2020/07/13
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves:
review:

]]> Cider with Rosie 292314 Cider With Rosie is a charming memoir of Laurie Lee's childhood in a remote Cotswold village, a world that is tangibly real and yet reminiscent of a now distant past.

In this idyllic pastoral setting, unencumbered by the callous father who so quickly abandoned his family responsibilities, Laurie's adoring mother becomes the centre of his world as she struggles to raise a growing family against the backdrop of the Great War.

The sophisticated adult author's retrospective commentary on events is endearingly juxtaposed with that of the innocent, spotty youth, permanently prone to tears and self-absorption.

Rosie's identity from the novel Cider with Rosie was kept secret for 25 years. She was Rose Buckland, Lee's cousin by marriage.


From the Paperback edition.]]> 231 Laurie Lee Rachel 1 3.91 1959 Cider with Rosie
author: Laurie Lee
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1959
rating: 1
read at: 2020/07/08
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Flute (Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides)]]> 135382 256 James Galway 1871082137 Rachel 3 3.98 1983 Flute (Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides)
author: James Galway
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1983
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/09
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves:
review:

]]> In Another Time 35068588
It’s 1942, and Maisie McCall is in the Scottish Highlands doing her bit for the war effort as a Women’s Timber Corps lumberjill. Maisie relishes her newfound independence and her growing friendships—especially with the enigmatic John Lindsay.

As Maisie and John work side-by-side felling trees, Maisie can’t help but feel like their friendship has the spark of something more to it. And yet every time she gets close to him, John pulls away. It’s not until Maisie rescues John from a terrible logging accident that he begins to open up to her about the truth of his past, and the pain he’s been hiding.

Suddenly everything is more complicated than Maisie expected. And as she helps John untangle his shattered history, she must decide if she’s willing to risk her heart to help heal his. But in a world devastated by war, love might be the only thing left that can begin to heal what’s broken.]]> 378 Caroline Leech 0062459937 Rachel 4 3.81 2018 In Another Time
author: Caroline Leech
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/04
date added: 2020/09/17
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Little Treasury of Favorite Poems]]> 10565105 Avenel Books Rachel 5 3.56 1978 A Little Treasury of Favorite Poems
author: Avenel Books
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1978
rating: 5
read at: 2020/09/17
date added: 2020/09/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Anne Frank's Tales from the Secret Annexe]]> 2892167 Book by ANNE FRANK 144 Anne Frank 0140086757 Rachel 5 I adore this collection, but am heartbroken at the same time. Not only that she could not live to see the success of her writing (which was her dream) but that a girl so young and tender could suffer severe persecution and still believe that deep down everyone has goodness.
Anne's words are still relevant today, which is a sobering thought. I want to give this book to every person who has thought themself above anyone of a different nationality of race.

I have learnt so much from this book about finding inner peace, not judging people by their outward appearance, and what it actually means to be truly alone.]]> 4.05 1960 Anne Frank's Tales from the Secret Annexe
author: Anne Frank
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1960
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/25
date added: 2020/06/25
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review:
I am blown away by the wisdom and sensitivity that this young teenage girl possessed. I read her diary a few years back, but was oblivious to her short stories and essays. A particular favourite is her essay, 'Give!'
I adore this collection, but am heartbroken at the same time. Not only that she could not live to see the success of her writing (which was her dream) but that a girl so young and tender could suffer severe persecution and still believe that deep down everyone has goodness.
Anne's words are still relevant today, which is a sobering thought. I want to give this book to every person who has thought themself above anyone of a different nationality of race.

I have learnt so much from this book about finding inner peace, not judging people by their outward appearance, and what it actually means to be truly alone.
]]> <![CDATA[The Art of Playing the Flute: A Series of Workbooks]]> 18190241 251 Roger Mather Rachel 5 3.75 1980 The Art of Playing the Flute: A Series of Workbooks
author: Roger Mather
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1980
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/24
date added: 2020/06/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Conversations with Igor Stravinsky]]> 9453311 Conversations with Igor Stravinsky is the first of the celebrated series of conversation books in which Stravinsky, prompted by Robert Craft, reviewed his long and remarkable life. The composer brings the Imperial Russia of his childhood vividly into focus, at the same time scanning what were at the time the brave new horizons of Boulez and Stockhausen with extraordinary acuity.

Stravinsky answers searching questions about his musical development and recalls his association with Diaghilev and the Russian Ballet. There are sympathetic and extraordinarily illuminating reminiscences of such composers as Debussy and Ravel ('the only musicians who immediately understood Le Sacre du Printemps'), while mischievous squibs are directed at others, most notably perhaps against Richard Strauss, all of whose operas Stravinsky wished 'to admit ... to whichever purgatory punishes triumphant banality'.

The conversations are by no means confined to musical subjects, ranging uninhibitedly across all the arts: Stravinsky gives unforgettable sketches of Ibsen, Rodin, Proust, Giacometti, Dylan Thomas and T S Eliot.

'The conversations between Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft are unique in musical history. The penetration of Craft's questions and the patience and detail of Stravinsky's answers combine to produce an intimate picture of a man who has sometimes puzzled, often delighted, and always intrigued ...' The Sunday Times]]> 156 Igor Stravinsky 0571255779 Rachel 4 4.03 1959 Conversations with Igor Stravinsky
author: Igor Stravinsky
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1959
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/26
date added: 2020/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, #40)]]> 16332 365 Agatha Christie 0007121105 Rachel 4 3.68 1966 Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, #40)
author: Agatha Christie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1966
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/23
date added: 2020/06/23
shelves:
review:

]]> The Library of Lost and Found 39873227
All of that changes when a book of fairy tales arrives on her doorstep. Inside, Martha finds a dedication written to her by her best friend - her grandmother Zelda - who died under mysterious circumstances years earlier. When Martha discovers a clue within the book that her grandmother may still be alive, she becomes determined to discover the truth. As she delves deeper into Zelda's past, she unwittingly reveals a family secret that will change her life forever.

Filled with Phaedra Patrick's signature charm and vivid characters, The Library of Lost and Found is a heartwarming and poignant tale of how one woman must take control of her destiny to write her own happy ending.]]> 352 Phaedra Patrick 0778369358 Rachel 3 3.66 2019 The Library of Lost and Found
author: Phaedra Patrick
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/06/18
date added: 2020/06/18
shelves:
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]]> The Rudiments of Music 3174590 128 William Lovelock 0713507446 Rachel 4 4.60 The Rudiments of Music
author: William Lovelock
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.60
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/18
date added: 2020/06/18
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]]> The Secret Lives of Colour 31171659 The history of colors and the vivid stories behind them in a multi-colored volume

The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of seventy-five fascinating shades, dyes and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso's blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history.

In this book, Kassia St. Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colors and where they come from (whether Van Gogh's chrome yellow sunflowers or punk's fluorescent pink) into a study of human civilization. Across fashion and politics, art and war, the secret lives of color tell the vivid story of our culture.]]> 320 Kassia St. Clair 1473630819 Rachel 0 to-read 4.20 2016 The Secret Lives of Colour
author: Kassia St. Clair
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/06/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady]]> 641087 Edith Holden recorded in words and images the flora and fauna of the British countryside through the changing seasons. For 70 years, her enchanting journal lay undiscovered--until 1977, when it was first published with great success (as any bookseller will recall). Now, it is back in print, ours to treasure once again. All the charm and beauty of the original remains intact in this facsimile, with Holden's carefully handwritten favorite poems, personal thoughts, observations of the wildlife she saw in her native Warwickshire; and remarks on her travels throughout England and Scotland. On every page, her exquisitely rendered paintings--executed with a naturalist's eye for detail and an artist's sensitivity and skill--capture birds perched on branches, their mouths open in song; a tiny shrew mouse, sniffing the air; delicate butterflies and slithering snakes; fluttering leaves; and an array of flowers, from pink foxgloves and trailing roses to yellow water lilies. And, each spellbinding picture reflects her deep love of nature. Surely a beloved classic for a new generation of book buyers.]]> 176 Edith Holden 1846660157 Rachel 5 all-time-favourites 4.29 1977 The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
author: Edith Holden
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1977
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/16
date added: 2020/06/16
shelves: all-time-favourites
review:
What a delightful book. I enjoyed every single page of it, and the fact that a replica was printed of her exact handwriting made the experience all the more sweet and will forever be cherished. Edith Holden not only possessed an immense talent with her paintbrush, but also in her observational skills, her ability to slow down and take in her surroundings. From this country diary I learnt the names of beloved flowers I pressed during camping trips, but couldn't properly identify, I rediscovered names and characteristics of birds I had once vaguely known, and my desire to be completely immersed in nature, and know it's every twig and blossom, was renewed. I feel refreshed and at ease after reading this, and it is a book to always keep close at hand to flip through when in need of some comfort. As I was gifted this book, I can highly recommend it as a gift for all your nature-loving friends, but most importantly for yourself.
]]> <![CDATA[The Common Reader: Volume 1 (Vintage Classics)]]> 25054329 This is Virginia Woolf's first collection of essays, published in 1925. In them, she attempts to see literature from the point of view of the 'common reader' - someone whom she, with Dr Johnson, distinguished from the critic and the scholar. She read, and wrote, as an outsider: a woman set to school in her father's library, denied the educational privileges of her male siblings - and with no fixed view of what constitutes 'English Literature'.



What she produced is an eccentric and unofficial literary and social history from the fourteenth to the twentieth century, with an excursion to ancient Greece thrown in. She investigates medieval England, tsarist Russia, Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian novelists and modern essayists. When she published this book Woolf's fame as a novelist was already established: now she was hailed as a brilliant interpretative critic. Here, she addresses her 'common reader' in the remarkable prose and with all the imagination and gaiety that are the stamp of her genius.

]]> 255 Virginia Woolf Rachel 0 to-read 3.50 1925 The Common Reader: Volume 1 (Vintage Classics)
author: Virginia Woolf
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1925
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/06/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #4)]]> 194373 Silver Blaze
The Cardboard Box
The Yellow Face
The Stockbroker's Clerk
The 'Gloria Scott'
The Musgrave Ritual
The Reigate Squire
The Crooked Man
The Resident Patient
The Greek Interpreter
The Naval Treaty
The Final Problem]]> 378 Arthur Conan Doyle 0192123092 Rachel 4 4.31 1893 The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #4)
author: Arthur Conan Doyle
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1893
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/12
date added: 2020/06/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Guide to the Birds of East Africa (Mr Malik #1)]]> 3476509 Khan has also become enraptured with Rose and announces his intent to invite her to the Ball. Rather than force Rose to choose between the two men, a clever solution is proposed. Whoever can identify the most species of birds in one week’s time gets the privilege of asking Ms. Mbikwa to the ball.]]> 202 Nicholas Drayson 0547152582 Rachel 3 3.80 2008 A Guide to the Birds of East Africa (Mr Malik #1)
author: Nicholas Drayson
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2020/06/11
date added: 2020/06/11
shelves:
review:

]]> The Secret Garden 44076759 9780241411148 Black Beauty
9780241411155 Dracula
9780241411193 A Christmas Carol
9780241411209 The Wizard of Oz
9780241411216 Treasure Island]]> 341 Frances Hodgson Burnett 0241411165 Rachel 0 hope-to-read-in-2020 4.17 1911 The Secret Garden
author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1911
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/06/08
shelves: hope-to-read-in-2020
review:

]]> How to Stop Time 35411685 “The first rule is that you don’t fall in love," he said…, "There are other rules too, but that is the main one. No falling in love. No staying in love. No daydreaming of love. If you stick to this you will just about be okay."

A love story across the ages - and for the ages - about a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live.

Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history--performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life.

So Tom moves back his to London, his old home, to become a high school history teacher--the perfect job for someone who has witnessed the city's history first hand. Better yet, a captivating French teacher at his school seems fascinated by him.

But the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: Never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behavior of the Society's watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present.

How to Stop Time is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness.]]> 325 Matt Haig 0525522875 Rachel 3 3.77 2018 How to Stop Time
author: Matt Haig
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/06/08
date added: 2020/06/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mozartiana: Two Centuries of Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]> 84931 224 Joseph Solman 0802776256 Rachel 4 4.00 1990 Mozartiana: Two Centuries of Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
author: Joseph Solman
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/04
date added: 2020/06/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society]]> 2728527
“Treat yourself to this book, please - I can’t recommend it highly enough.” (Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love)

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb....

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends - and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island - boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

Praise for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

“A jewel... Poignant and keenly observed, Guernsey is a small masterpiece about love, war, and the immeasurable sustenance to be found in good books and good friends.” (People)

“A book-lover’s delight, an implicit and sometimes explicit paean to all things literary.” (Chicago Sun-Times)

“A sparkling epistolary novel radiating wit, lightly worn erudition and written with great assurance and aplomb.” (The Sunday Times [London])

“Cooked perfectly à point: subtle and elegant in flavour, yet emotionally satisfying to the finish.” (The Times [London])]]> 277 Mary Ann Shaffer 0385340990 Rachel 5 4.13 2008 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
author: Mary Ann Shaffer
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/03
date added: 2020/06/03
shelves: all-time-favourites, want-to-re-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Gift Book of Herbs and Herbal Flowers: A Collection/Book in Slipcase]]> 12779609 112 Rosemary Hemphill 0882668854 Rachel 5 3.50 1992 A Gift Book of Herbs and Herbal Flowers: A Collection/Book in Slipcase
author: Rosemary Hemphill
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/01
date added: 2020/06/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #3)]]> 3590 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the series of short stories that made the fortunes of the Strand magazine, in which they were first published, and won immense popularity for Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. The detective is at the height of his powers and the volume is full of famous cases, including 'The Red-Headed League', 'The Blue Carbuncle', and 'The Speckled Band'.
The editor of this volume, Richard Lancelyn Green is editor of The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes and The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. With John Michael Gibson, he compiled the Soho Series Bibliography of A. Conan Doyle.
1. A Scandal In Bohemia
2. The Red-Headed League
3. A Case Of Identity
4. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
5. The Five Orange Pips
6. The Man With The Twisted Lip
7. The Adventure Of The Blue Carbuncle
8. The Adventure Of The Speckled Band
9. The Adventure Of The Engineer's Thumb
10. The Adventure Of The Noble Bachelor
11. The Adventure Of The Beryl Coronet
12. The Adventure Of The Copper Beaches]]> 389 Arthur Conan Doyle Rachel 4 4.32 1892 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #3)
author: Arthur Conan Doyle
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1892
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/05/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Paper & Hearts Society (The Paper & Hearts Society, #1)]]> 40853731 A brand new series from Booktuber Lucy Powrie - about what happens when you give up on trying to fit in and let your weird out! It's time to join The Paper & Hearts Society ...

Tabby Brown is tired of trying to fit in. She doesn't want to go to parties - in fact, she would much rather snuggle up on the sofa with her favourite book.

It's like she hasn't found her people ...

Then Tabby joins a club that promises to celebrate books. What could go wrong? EVERYTHING - especially when making new friends brings out an AWKWARD BUZZING feeling all over her body.

But Olivia, Cassie, Henry and Ed have something that makes Tabby come back. Maybe it's the Austen-themed fancy-dress parties, or Ed's fluffy cat Mrs Simpkins, or could it be Henry himself ...

Can Tabby let her weird out AND live THE BEST BOOKISH LIFE POSSIBLE?

Perfect for fans of Holly Smale and Super Awkward.]]> 355 Lucy Powrie 1444949233 Rachel 1 books-i-didn-t-enjoy 3.97 2019 The Paper & Hearts Society (The Paper & Hearts Society, #1)
author: Lucy Powrie
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2020/05/28
date added: 2020/05/28
shelves: books-i-didn-t-enjoy
review:

]]> The Attribute of Poetry 28205657 44 Elisa Galgut 1928215025 Rachel 1 books-i-didn-t-enjoy 3.78 The Attribute of Poetry
author: Elisa Galgut
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.78
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2019/12/27
date added: 2020/05/28
shelves: books-i-didn-t-enjoy
review:

]]> Selected Poems, 1966-1987 19575236 288 Seamus Heaney Rachel 1 books-i-didn-t-enjoy 3.38 1990 Selected Poems, 1966-1987
author: Seamus Heaney
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.38
book published: 1990
rating: 1
read at: 2020/01/02
date added: 2020/05/28
shelves: books-i-didn-t-enjoy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lyric Poems (Dover Thrift Editions: Poetry)]]> 752622 This collection contains 30 of his finest poems, including such favorites as "On first looking into Chapman's Homer," "The Eve of St. Agnes," "On seeing the Elgin Marbles," "La Belle Dame sans Merci," "Isabella; or, the pot of Basil" and the celebrated Odes: "To a Nightingale," "On a Grecian Urn," "On Melancholy," "On Indolence," "To Psyche," and "To Autumn." These and many other poems, reproduced here from a standard edition, represent a treasury of time-honored poetry that ranks among the glories of English verse.]]> 66 John Keats 0486268713 Rachel 2 books-i-didn-t-enjoy 4.09 1991 Lyric Poems (Dover Thrift Editions: Poetry)
author: John Keats
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1991
rating: 2
read at: 2020/02/03
date added: 2020/05/28
shelves: books-i-didn-t-enjoy
review:

]]> Words in Deep Blue 31952703
Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can't see her future.

Henry's future isn't looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart.

As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because life may be uncontrollable, even unbearable sometimes. But it’s possible that words, and love, and second chances are enough.]]> 273 Cath Crowley 1101937645 Rachel 1 books-i-didn-t-enjoy 3.97 2016 Words in Deep Blue
author: Cath Crowley
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2016
rating: 1
read at: 2020/05/21
date added: 2020/05/28
shelves: books-i-didn-t-enjoy
review:

]]> The Waves 46114 The Waves introduces six characters—three men and three women—who are grappling with the death of a beloved friend, Percival. Instead of describing their outward expressions of grief, Virginia Woolf draws her characters from the inside, revealing them through their thoughts and interior soliloquies. As their understanding of nature’s trials grows, the chorus of narrative voices blends together in miraculous harmony, remarking not only on the inevitable death of individuals but on the eternal connection of everyone. The novel that most epitomizes Virginia Woolf’s theories of fiction in the working form, The Waves is an amazing book very much ahead of its time. It is a poetic dreamscape, visual, experimental, and thrilling.]]> 297 Virginia Woolf 0156949601 Rachel 5 4.17 1931 The Waves
author: Virginia Woolf
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1931
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/26
date added: 2020/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life]]> 38502471
I'd Rather Be Reading is the perfect literary companion for everyone who feels that way. In this collection of charming and relatable reflections on the reading life, beloved blogger and author Anne Bogel leads readers to remember the book that first hooked them, the place where they first fell in love with reading, and all of the moments afterward that helped make them the reader they are today. Known as a reading tastemaker through her popular podcast What Should I Read Next?, Bogel invites book lovers into a community of like-minded people to discover new ways to approach literature, learn fascinating new things about books and publishing, and reflect on the role reading plays in their lives.

The perfect gift for the bibliophile in everyone's life, I'd Rather Be Reading will command an honored place on the overstuffed bookshelves of any book lover.]]> 156 Anne Bogel 0801072921 Rachel 4 4.02 2018 I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
author: Anne Bogel
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/19
date added: 2020/05/19
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood, #3)]]> 5452
Pants = love. Love your pals. Love yourself.]]> 338 Ann Brashares 0553375938 Rachel 2 3.84 2005 Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood, #3)
author: Ann Brashares
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2005
rating: 2
read at: 2020/05/18
date added: 2020/05/18
shelves:
review:

]]> What to Listen for in Music 99126 266 Aaron Copland 0451528670 Rachel 5 3.95 1939 What to Listen for in Music
author: Aaron Copland
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1939
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/17
date added: 2020/05/17
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood, #2)]]> 5454
Bridget: Impulsively sets off for Alabama, wanting to both confront and avoid her demons... but she can't keep the truth from the Pants.

Carmen: Is concerned that her mother is making a fool of herself over a man. When she discovers that her mom borrowed the Pants to wear on a date, she's certain of it.

Tibby: Makes a movie she'd like to be proud of... while the Pants keep alive the memory of a friend who could see beyond appearances.

Lena: Has spent months hiding from love... only to find that she's at last ready to put on the Pants and let them lead her where they will.]]> 373 Ann Brashares 0385731051 Rachel 3 3.82 2003 The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood, #2)
author: Ann Brashares
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2020/05/16
date added: 2020/05/16
shelves:
review:

]]>