Meaningful Conversations
Book
A holistic overview of the essential leading methods of techniques and a hands-on guide for business...
Hope: A Memoir of Survival
9.0
Rate It
Book
"We have written here about terrible things that we never wanted to think about again...Now we want...
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: Thirty Years with a Rolling Stone
Book
When young model and mother Jo met rock star Ronnie Wood, she had no idea what her brief flirtation...
Information Security Policies, Procedures, and Standards: A Practitioner's Reference
Book
Information Security Policies, Procedures, and Standards: A Practitioner's Reference gives you a...
An Eccentric Engagement
5.5
Rate It
Book
From the author of A Lady’s Choice comes a Regency romance celebrating the witty and romantic...
Historical Romance Romance Regency
The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories
Leo Tolstoy, Andrew Kahn and Nicolas Pasternak Slater
10.0
Rate It
Book
'no one pitied him as he would have liked to be pitied' As Ivan Ilyich lies dying he begins to...
Waiting for Walter
Book
Set partly in late 1950's London, Waiting for Walter follows the fortunes of two people over a...
David McK (3600 KP) rated Lion of Macedon (Greek series #1) in Books
Jul 7, 2020
Unlike the Troy books, however, this is set (much) later in the ancient Greek world, even well after the battle of Thermopylae, and follows the life and times of the half-Spartan/half Macedonian Parmenion - the actual Lion of Macedon of the title - of whom little is apparently known, other than that he was an actual Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon (who doesn't even appear in this until about 2/3rd of the way through the book): the father (or was he?) of the most famous Macedonian of all: Alexander. As in Alexander the Great.
I add the 'or was he' question to the above as this novel provides an alternative patronage. It also, unlike his later Troy series, mixes on some of Gemmell's more 'fantastical' elements (I hesitate to even use that word), with the philosopher Aristotle reimagined and the inclusion of the Stones of Power (aka the Siptrassi Stones - as an aside, I'm not sure where these novels were written in relation to those?), albeit not to the extent of Dark Prince. The themes of redemption, honour, courage and Good (the Source) Vs Evil are as strong as any other in his oeuvre!
Da Nang Diary: A Forward Air Controller's Gunsight View of Flying with Sog
Book
The classic, revised story of how an elite group of US Air Force pilots fought a secret air war over...
ClareR (5955 KP) rated Miss Benson's Beetle in Books
Dec 5, 2020
It must have been very unusual for a woman in 1950 to up sticks and travel to the other side of the world, searching for a beetle that might not even exist. And the fact that she does this with no prior travel experience, not knowing the language at her destination, and with very basic equipment, made me feel that Margery Benson was even more courageous. I loved her companion, Enid Pretty, too - although I think Margery really struggles with her huge personality (despite her diminutive size) for a large part of the book. Enid is confident where Margery is unsure, loud where Margery is quiet - and she teaches Margery the importance of female friendship.
In the wings is an ex-prisoner of war who had been held captive by the Japanese. He suffers from PTSD and a tropical disease, and there is a feeling of constant unease that he will do something to harm Margery or Enid. I felt so sorry for him though. He really wasn’t in a good place mentally or physically throughout.
This book is a story of courage, trials and tribulations, tragedy, and joy in the small things in life (not just beetles!) and I loved it. It’s a book with a lot of laughter and a good helping of tears.