Marked for Life
Book
When a high-ranking head of the migration board is found shot to death in his living room, there is...
Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion
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Dorothy Parker, Rebecca West, Hannah Arendt, Mary McCarthy, Susan Sontag, Pauline Kael, Joan Didion,...
ClareR (5991 KP) rated Love Orange in Books
Jan 23, 2023
I can see why Jenny becomes increasingly frustrated with Hank - from his constant references to his Viking heritage, to his Mindfulness - he has little time for her.
Jenny hates her job, and decides to do something meaningful by writing to a prison inmate. She looks forward to receiving his letters that smell of oranges and taste rather too nice when she licks them. To be fair, it seems reasonable to lick an envelope (yes, I know how this sounds!) if it helps her though the daily drudgery and having to put up with in-laws who clearly dislike her.
Jenny’s life may look perfect on the outside, but it’s anything but that.
There’s a rather sizeable reference to the opioid crisis in the US that I found interesting, but what I found MOST interesting was how Jenny appeared to be completely hollowed out by her boring life, the lack of attention and care she gets from her husband and children, and what’s expected of her from society. I’d want to escape her life too.
There’s some seriously dark humour in this, and it does come across as bleak. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.
ClareR (5991 KP) rated Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power in Books
May 31, 2023
This book is about the lives of Catherine de’ Medici (married to the French Henry II), Elisabeth of Spain and Mary, Queen of Scots and how their lives wove together.
There are some really interesting facts here (Mary was nearly 6 feet tall - now THIS is the kind of fact I live for!). But it was the personal side that really interested me. Catherine loved her children fiercely even though she had little time with them. She wanted to know every detail of their lives. Her letters to Elisabeth when she went to Spain were filled with family gossip and instructions. Just the kind of stuff that any mother would send their daughter, and Elisabeth appeared to want to always make her mother proud.
Mary and Elisabeth were like sisters, so when Mary needed Elizabeth’s and Spain’s support when the Scottish Lords turned against her, it must have hurt her greatly when they refused to help.
What I liked most was having the opportunity to dip my toes in to the history of France and Spain. It sounded as tumultuous as our own.
I do think that I’m going to have to follow up on Cathrine de’ Medici, though. Now she sounds fascinating!
I’m so glad that I read this - thanks to The Pigeonhole!
The Chalice of the Gods
10.0
Rate It
Book
The original heroes from The Lightning Thief are reunited for their biggest challenge yet: getting...
Avocadolist PRO Grocery Shopping List, Lists apps
Productivity, Shopping and Stickers
8.0
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Avocadolist is easy-to-use and sophisticated application for making and sharing shopping lists. Do...
iCaller - T9 set, fast, search for contacts,secret
Productivity and Utilities
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QUICK SEARCH AND SET OF CONTACTS New utility ICaller from KiraLine Inc is a modern search engine...
Note Taker HD
Productivity and Utilities
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One of the first note taking apps designed specifically for the Apple iPad, Note Taker HD has long...
Tableau d'école pour iPhone et iPod : Ecrivez et dessinez en couleur, même sur vos photos !
Entertainment and Productivity
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Want to make a drawing, play Tic Tac Toe? Need to quickly record a telephone number or code of the...
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Sisterhood Everlasting (Sisterhood, #5) in Books
Jan 15, 2018
I have to say it didn't really matter that I knew nothing about the series prior to this book. It was able to stand on its own. There was back story, but not knowing it didn't seem to effect my enjoyment of this book. It was a bit difficult to get into at first, but once I was in, I was in & invested in Lena, Carmen, TIbby, & Bee.
The book seems to be a final installment in the series. It opens with the 4 friends hardly speaking to each other as life has gotten in the way. 3 of them recieve letters from Tibby who is currently living in Australia. They contain requests to meet her in Greece & also the plane tickets to allow them to do so. The 3 head off, meet up in JFK airport, & fly off to Greece to get there. They mysetery begins when they arrive & Tibby is not there waiting for them as she said she would be.
This is a sad read, but it is also very real. The characters jump off the page & the writing plunges you deep into their lives. I love that in a book.