Review of Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

 This will be my, I believe fifth, book to review for the outdo yourself challenge. I read this for the book club I belong too. Even though this book has autobiography in the title, it is actually a novel, written in "first" person. It is about the life of Mrs. Tom Thumb (otherwise known as Vinnie Warren) in the mid to late 1800's. She was born like any other child, but at some point stopped growing very early so she was very petite in stature. She ended up meeting President's, Queens and performed for P.T. Barnum. According to the author Melanie Benjamin, Mrs. Tom Thumb own journal didn't go into too much detail about her experiences, I think this adds to the reason for sometimes the lack of detail on certain events.  I wanted more information about her meeting the famous people during her lifetime and sadly it wasn't there. I just felt in the middle of the book she wasn't fair to others, came off as being uncaring, and more into her own ego. She definitely comes off as having complicated relationships, perhaps not knowing how to interact with others, at least with her husband (another famous person). There is no doubt that Mrs. Tom Thumb changed throughout the book, but at the end I didn't know how to feel about her. As the author said at the end of her book, that Mrs. Tom Thumb didn't go into detail of her own feelings, it is hard for us to really know for sure what she really thought or felt. 

 

I enjoyed this story more in the beginning, but overall it was a good book.

 

Rank: 3 out of 5

Light Between Oceans Review...

This past month for a book club I belong too, we read Light Between Oceans. Everyone enjoyed the book, and it does bring out a variety of emotions. It is the first book by M.L. Stedman and hopefully not the last. Tom who happens to be a lightkeeper along with his wife live by themselves, except for the few times a year that supplies or sent to them. One day a small boat with a deceased man and baby appear. In reading this book it reminds us that all of the decisions we make, not only change our own lives, but several others as well. That is all I am going to say, as I don't want to give away spoilers. I ranked this a 5 out of 5, and the other people in the book club either ranked it a 4 or 4.5. Everyone enjoyed it, even if we didn't agree with some characters decisions. I am counting this book towards my fourth review for the Outdo Yourself Challenge.

 

 

The next book that I will be reading, that has been chosen for this book club

Review of Oliver Twist

I think there is so much to learn about society in reading Oliver Twist. The poor tale of Oliver in his upbringing, how some things have changed in the world while some have remained unchanged. There is still poverty in the world, criminals, people of higher power abusing their authority (in thinking they are above the law), etc. It does give one a lot to think about. I often thought perhaps if Dickens himself could see and relate to Oliver as he was writing this book, I guess this maybe answered if I read Little Dorrit. Everyone's life experiences shape who we are in same way, this can of course be either good or bad. Oliver Twist I think also shows the resilience of humans, as far as Oliver never giving up, even though he was not treated kindly by a great majority of people and didn't have much of a support system in several instances. In reading Oliver Twist I wanted to keep reading to see what occurred, and I enjoyed knowing the end of all the characters in such detail. This is a definate reread. I rate this book a 5 out of 5. This is my third book review for the Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge, second for Historical Fiction Challenge, and fifth book for Classics Club.

My next book to read is The Little Princess. I still plan on having movie reviews for Ivanhoe and Oliver soon.

A Season for Tending review..

I finished reading A Season for Tending by Cindy Woodsmall. This is my second review for my outdo yourself reading challenge. I have read books by Cindy Woodsmall before and am a huge fan of amish books. The main character in this book is Rhoda who  is a young amish women who lives with her parents and siblings (along with sister in laws and neices/nephews). She loves to have a garden and help people with her herbs. However, she has a unique gift that make some Englischer's and amish alike afraid of her. She ends up meeting Samuel King who along with his family own King's Apple Orchards. You actually find out more and feel more connected to Samuel's family, and his girlfriend Catherine than Rhoda's family (they are more in the back ground). I do wish that there was more in depth characters in Rhoda's family. At first I wasn't too much of a fan of Leah, Samuel's sister, but she grew on me. I never did care for Catherine's character and am still leery of her. There are a few secrets that several characters have, some you find out and others you don't find out everything. I can't wait for the second book in the series to see what will occur. I give this book 4 out of 5.

Ivanhoe Review....

I have never read anything by Sir Walter Scott before.  I vaguely knew  a little bit about this classic book, that it took place during the 12th century in England. During this time the ruler was Prince John (while his brother King Richard was away), of course if this reminds anyone of then Robin Hood (how can it not with the saying the name of Prince John?), combine all of that with a few damsels and Knights is the main setting of the tale. Ivanhoe has just returned from fighting in the Crusades and wants to marry his beloved, Rowena. There is opposition to this and even to who Ivanhoe represents for other people. This book is rampant with the distrust of several groups against each other and even within them; saxons, normans, knights or common people, templars, holy orders, christians, muslims, jews, unbelievers, etc. It brings to mind of the injustices, superstition, and corruption done in history, especially during this lawless time in the medieval era. It was a wonderul read, and I can only say that I am disappointed in not knowing more detail of what happened afterwards to a few characters. I rate this a 4.5 out of 5. The first 100+ is mostly about the history and setting of this story, which some may feel drags on or is boring. I actually enjoyed this part, but I am a huge fan of reading history. After this the characters are talked more of and we are then introduced to more as well, the issue with that is it is harder to remember who was who. The version I had consisted of thee's and thou's among other type of old English language, so just be prepared for that (maybe there are versions without it?).

The version I had also had an index which helped. This is my fourth book review for the classics club and the first for outdo yourself reading challenge as well as my first review for historical fiction reading challenge.  The next book up to read is Oliver Twist.