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A Place of Peace (Kauffman Amish Bakery, #3)
A Place of Peace (Kauffman Amish Bakery, #3)
Amy Clipston | 2010 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book starts out with Miriam in Indiana and living with her cousin. She get a phone call from her sister about the mother. She then rushes home to Lancaster. When she arrives there she and her cousin stay with their aunt on the back of her father property.

Miriam is struggling to make amends with her father and also with Timothy. She finds out that her sister made lies for she was jealous of her older sister Miriam. Her father and the rest of the community blame her for the death of a child that died of SIDS.

She arrives home for the funeral of her mother's death. Her father makes it clear she not welcome. She hears that her past boyfriend has moved on and is marrying another girl. Does Miriam find the peace is seeking and get her love of her future? find out by reading. I recommend this book. Though I suggest that your read the earlier books first for this book refer to them a bit. "A Gift of Grace", "A Promise of Hope" are the two book before this book.
  
A Place of Peace (Kauffman Amish Bakery, #3)
A Place of Peace (Kauffman Amish Bakery, #3)
Amy Clipston | 2010 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book starts out with Miriam in Indiana and living with her cousin. She get a phone call from her sister about the mother. She then rushes home to Lancaster. When she arrives there she and her cousin stay with their aunt on the back of her father property.

Miriam is struggling to make amends with her father and also with Timothy. She finds out that her sister made lies for she was jealous of her older sister Miriam. Her father and the rest of the community blame her for the death of a child that died of SIDS.

She arrives home for the funeral of her mother's death. Her father makes it clear she not welcome. She hears that her past boyfriend has moved on and is marrying another girl. Does Miriam find the peace is seeking and get her love of her future? find out by reading. I recommend this book. Though I suggest that your read the earlier books first for this book refer to them a bit. "A Gift of Grace", "A Promise of Hope" are the two book before this book.
  
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Paul Morrissey recommended The Leopard (1963) in Movies (curated)

 
The Leopard (1963)
The Leopard (1963)
1963 | International, Classics, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"A magnificent example of European filmmaking, totally undramatic and hypnotically watchable thanks to the extraordinary visual beauty of the photography by Giuseppe Rotunno, the set design by Mario Garbuglia, and the costumes by Piero Tosi, all under the superb control of a great director, Luchino Visconti. An extended time-travel visit to another world, the film is comprised of two major events are a family’s trip from the city to a summer residence and a forty-minute attendance at a ball. It’s probably the finest physical production ever filmed anywhere in Europe or America, a relic of a time when taste, intelligence, and artistry were still in operation, but perhaps even then only in Italy, and only with Visconti. The undisputed master of the costume film (he made only six), this is his masterpiece, dominated by the extraordinarily majestic performance of Burt Lancaster. The tall, athletic, handsome Irish American from 116th Street in Manhattan brought a dignity, strength, and reserve to the part of a Sicilian prince that no one else could have played better. Without him, it would be hard to imagine the film as good."

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Night of Camp David
Night of Camp David
Fletcher Knebel | 1965 | History & Politics, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Night of Camp David by Fletcher Knebel was originally published in 1965. Some of the words were outdated but the story itself stood the test of time.

In Night of Camp David a junior senator, James F. MacVeigh, had a private meeting with President Mark Hollenbach at Camp David. Hollenbach begins to bring MacVeigh into his confidence. At first, MacVeigh is honored but he notices odd behavior of the president and wonders if Hollenbach is unstable.

I have never done this but I am going to copy Howard's Goodreads review which he posted 3/15/15. He wrote "I didn't write a review of this book, because in this instance the publisher's blurb is a perfect review that does not spoil the plot. That is rare." https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1228015367

Because of the current political climate I do not discuss politics. That being said, this is intriguing story and am glad I read it. Just remember it was published in 1965 so some of the attitudes toward women will annoy some people.

I added Fletcher Knebel's 1962 novel, "Seven Days In May" and the corresponding movie starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas to my want to read/see lists.

Review published on Philomathinphila.com on 3/27/19.
  
Unearthly Stranger  (1964)
Unearthly Stranger (1964)
1964 | Romance, Sci-Fi
6
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Slightly bonkers British sci-fi B-movie isn't quite as good as some people would have you believe, but scores heavily for sheer weirdness, ingenuity, and the cult credentials of its cast. A project to achieve spaceship-free space-travel by unlocking the hidden powers of the human brain is being hampered by the fact that anyone who makes a breakthrough turns up dead with their brain exploded from the inside - could there possibly be foul play involved? Top boffins Davidson and Lancaster think so, but their investigations lead them to Davidson's beautiful new wife, who is a whizz in the kitchen but has no pulse, never blinks, and scares off small children at a hundred paces...

Dingbat attempt at knocking off Quatermass and Village of the Damned; may be a very distant ancestor of films like Under the Skin, but not the kind they talk about. Once you get past all the silliness, which is actually delivered with impressive conviction ('May I come to your house and anaesthetise your wife, so we can see if she is real or an illusion?'), there are a few reasonably eerie moments and curious insights into 60s gender politics - the viewpoint throughout is that of middle-aged white guys, with the women all wives or secretaries. The film is too daft for its sexist overtones to be really offensive. By no means a great movie but fun to watch if you're in the right mood.
  
The Lost Kings: Lancaster, York and Tudor
The Lost Kings: Lancaster, York and Tudor
Amy Licence | 2017 | Biography
1
1.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ummmm, the paper quality was nice...... (0 more)
Errors, Errors, Errors (0 more)
Riddled with Errors - Drove me to Despair!
The Lost Kings of Lancaster, York & Tudor by Amy Licence might be better as The Lost Copy Editor. There were so many mistakes it was just laughable. You're trying to read something and stopping really frequently as brain is telling you something doesn't add up. I got so frustrated that even in the first chapter I started writing in amendments with a pencil! In fact the first chapter is itself a massive blunder - it's entitled Edmund, Duke (Sic) of Rutland! How could the son of James I die in 1598 when Elizabeth I was still on the English throne and he wasn't James I? Well, he didn't die until 1612, as I ascertained within seconds - if only someone here had done the same!

The stuff about attitudes towards death and the impact of the deaths of these individuals was fairly interesting, but a lot of it was trying to squeeze complicated history into a relatively short space, which didn't do it justice. There are also rather large assumptions made without any particular evidence of reasoning. She goes on and on about Edward V being murdered, when in fact there isn't any evidence that would stand up in a court of law that he was killed by anyone. She apparently thinks that the Tyrell smothering story is 'most likely'. If she really believes that, there's a bridge I'd like to sell her......
  
The Familiars
The Familiars
Stacey Halls | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Thriller
9
8.7 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
51 of 230
Book
The Familiars
By Stacey Halls
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 In 1612 Lancaster, England, the hunt for witches has reached a fever pitch . . .

But in a time of suspicion and accusation, to be a woman may be the greatest risk of all.

Fleetwood Shuttleworth, the mistress of Pendle Hill’s Gawthorpe Hall, is with child. Anxious to produce an heir, she is distraught to find a letter from her physician that warns her husband she will not survive this pregnancy.

Devastated, Fleetwood wanders the estate grounds, where she catches a young woman poaching. Alice Gray claims she is a local midwife and promises to help Fleetwood deliver a healthy baby. But a witch-obsessed frenzy sweeps the countryside. Even woodland creatures or “familiars” are thought to be dark companions of the unholy. And Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.

Time is running out. The witch trials are about to begin. With both their lives at stake, Fleetwood must prove Alice’s innocence. Only they know the truth.

Set against the real Pendle witch trials, this compelling novel draws its characters from historical figures as it explores the lives of seventeenth-century women. Ultimately it raises the question: Was witch hunting really just women hunting?

I absolutely loved it! Completely devoured it in 1 day! I’ve always loved the stories that are based on the Pendall witch trials and this was so so good!
The characters and story kept me glued to they book.
  
IS
In Search of Sam
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Dani Lancaster has just found out that the father she hardly knew, Sam Swan, had passed away and left her with a few things in his will. When she goes to collect these things from his attorney, she finds a few personal belongings that send her on a quest to find her family. With Sam being in the foster system his whole life, finding the truth about his past may not be so easy.

This is a very touching story about finding the truth. Most of Dani's life she didn't even know her father existed. When they were finally united, it was for only a few weeks at which time Dani found out that Sam had cancer and not too long to live. In her journey to find out more about her father and herself, she travels through Canada finding people who knew Sam. When she finally discovers the truth it is a shock to her and to me as well.

This book made me cry. It touches a place in your heart. Even though we may know who our family is, we all have a desire to find out about our past and our ancestors. This is the first book I have read by Kristin Butcher. I look forward to reading more of her books starting with the prequel to this book, [bc:Truths I Learned from Sam|17335590|Truths I Learned from Sam|Kristin Butcher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371222882s/17335590.jpg|24067750].

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**
  
This is only a fairly short book with a limited focus, but nevertheless I found it very interesting. It's odd really, because opinion on the subject tends to be so polarised that it's easy to lose sight of a few simple facts and some of what Ashdown-Hill presents here should really be so obvious! For starters, for all the association of Bosworth with Richard III he didn't know it was going to happen and obviously didn't go in 'knowing' that he was going to be defeated - hindsight may be a great thing, but not if you want to look at historical events in context!

The Portuguese marriage proposals was something that I did know about, but here it's presented so logically it makes absolute sense. The chosen bride was a princes of Portugal, with a Spanish Infanta also in the playing as a reserve option. Both of these princesses were descended from the legitimate and senior branch of the House of Lancaster! Furthermore, it seems that a Portuguese marriage was also in the offing for Elizabeth of York. That being so, the letter supposedly written by her (reported by Buck, but now seemingly lost) makes more sense as does the confusion over Richard II wanting to marry Elizabeth, his niece, which never made any real sort of sense as, if we accept the truth of the Eleanor Butler pre-contract, then the children of Edward IV by Elizabeth Woodville were undoubtedly illegitimate, so there would be absolutely no point in Richard marrying her. On the other hand, Elizabeth and her sisters were the closest things available to Royal Princesses to be traded on the dynastic marriage market.
  
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Michael Barker recommended The Killers (1964) in Movies (curated)

 
The Killers (1964)
The Killers (1964)
1964 | Crime, Drama, Mystery
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Ernest Hemingway’s superb eight-page short story is the jumping-off point and inspiration for these two essential and very different movies (Stacy Keach reads the story magnificently in one of the DVD extras). I don’t understand why more people don’t know the 1946 Siodmak film. For my money, this is not only the best noir movie of all time but is just about my favorite Hollywood drama from the 1940s. The complex narrative structure begins as a jumbled Rubik’s Cube, and, slowly but surely, each piece falls into its precise place by movie’s end (the stuff Quentin Tarantino’s dreams are made of). The moody atmosphere provided by Siodmak and his technicians is a marvel. The cinematic execution of a heist has never been better. Here marks the birth of two glorious stars: Burt Lancaster (a beautiful caged animal, all teeth) and Ava Gardner (wow). Paul Schrader’s seminal essay on film noir, as a DVD extra, is invaluable. For those of you who wonder why Siegel’s 1964 violent, stylish, quirkily entertaining B version (the first TV movie ever made) is on this list, I have two words for you: Lee Marvin. There has never been a star like him before or since. Words simply cannot do justice to the magic of this guy—the timbre of his voice, the calm, paranoid, roughneck danger in his physical moves. In a spectacular extra on this DVD, fellow actor Clu Gulager gives a very moving (and, one feels while watching it, very truthful) account of working with Marvin, Siegel, and Ronald Reagan (who hated the movie—yet another reason to see it!)."

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