A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same period.

The first half of this book killed me. I nearly died of boredom, but around halfway through the characters started to connect and form storylines that twisted together instead of remain individualistic. I really enjoyed the last couple chapters because there was some suspense. A literal life and death situation was at stake. I have to admit throughout this whole book, I was ashamed of my ignorance about the French Revolution. I knew the basics but I didn't realize what a terrifying, bloody, gory and violent time it was. Anyway, I'm proud of myself for finishing a classic such as this. Great read once you get into the writing style of Dickens.

7 out of 10

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

Wishful Drinking is an autobiographical humor book by American actress and author Carrie Fisher, published by Simon & Schuster in 2008. Fisher's book was based on her one-woman stage show, which she developed with writer/director Joshua Ravetch.

This autobiography was not only written by Carrie Fisher but also read by her in the audiobook version. If the book you're listening to is read by the author, I feel like you get so much more depth out of it. That being said, this book was a quick read. Hilarious. Interesting. Terribly inappropriate. And worth it to a true fan of Carrie Fisher. I'll give you the bad news first. This book is from an extremely worldly point of view. There is alot of swearing, sexual references and drug/alcohol abuse references. Carrie can get really raunchy at times. The good news: there are things about the woman Carrie Fisher instead of the character Princess Leia that go unknown simply because that's who she's known as around the world. In this novel, Carrie gets real about her childhood, her parents, her marriage, her identity, her addiction problems, her mental disorders, and her child. I think she was a wise woman after having gone through so much. As you may or may not know, Carrie and her brother Todd were the product of a marriage between Debbie Reynolds, known famously for her role in Dancing in the Rain, and Eddie Fisher, known for his singing career. Carrie talks alot about her parents' divorce, her father's absence, and the step parents she gained and lost as a result of their split. 
Overall, I think Carrie has written this book with a decent sense of humor (who wouldn't with what some of those crazy stories entail?) And has come to the conclusion that she's not perfect, but human. And she was determined to love and raise her daughter, Billy, to the best of her ability. Again, Carrie gets really explicit in some of her stories so don't leave this book out for young readers, but it brings the real Princess Leia to life as a person rather than a character.

4 out of 10

The Homesman by Glendon Swarthout

The Homesman opens in the 1850s, when early pioneers are doing anything they can to survive dreadful conditions. Women especially struggle with broken hearts and minds as they face bitter hardships: One nineteen-year-old mother loses her three children to diphtheria in three days; another woman left alone for two nights is forced to shoot wolves to protect herself.

The situation calls for a “homesman”—a person charged with taking these women, driven mad by the conditions of rural life, to asylums in the East. Not exactly a job people are lining up for, it falls to Mary Bee Cuddy, an ex-teacher and spinster, who is indomitable, resourceful, and “plain as an old tin pail.” Brave as she is, Mary Bee knows she can’t make it alone, so she takes along her only available companion: the lowlife and untrustworthy George Briggs.

Mary Bee and George know it won’t be easy, but their endurance is truly tested as they fight the tide of colonization, Indian attacks, ice storms, loneliness, and the unceasing aggravation of a disparate group of mad women. This is the tale of their journey and a tribute to the men and women who homesteaded the frontier, whether they survived or not.

Winner of both the Spur Award and the Wrangler (Best Western Novel) Award in 1988, The Homesman is fiction of the highest rank. Glendon Swarthout has created a magnificent tale and a portrait of a frontier woman who is as moving and believable as she is unforgettable.

This book was not worth the 7 hours I spent listening to it via audio book. All of it was interesting except for the last 50 or so pages. Suddenly our main character, Mary Bee Cutty is cut out of the story and the plotline refers to the secondary character, Briggs. There is no moral storyline, no greener grass on the other side, no silver lining. What one woman set out to do to help others did nothing because she didn't see it through. You don't see if anyone claimed "crazy" recovers. It was a waste of time and I can't believe they actually made a movie - though I'd love to see Meryl Streep play a clinically insane person for about 5 minutes. Bascially, my whole feeling is that the husbands of that the women who go insane are cowards, Mary Bee Cutty starts out as the heroine but falls short, Briggs may fulfill his end of the bargain but there is no silver lining for that guy either. It's dumb.

2 out of 10

The Revenant by Michael Punke

The year is 1823, and the trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company live a brutal frontier life. Hugh Glass is among the company’s finest men, an experienced frontiersman and an expert tracker. But when a scouting mission puts him face-to-face with a grizzly bear, he is viciously mauled and not expected to survive. Two company men are dispatched to stay behind and tend to Glass before he dies. When the men abandon him instead, Glass is driven to survive by one desire: revenge. With shocking grit and determination, Glass sets out, crawling at first, across hundreds of miles of uncharted American frontier. Based on a true story, The Revenant is a remarkable tale of obsession, the human will stretched to its limits, and the lengths that one man will go to for retribution.

Listening to this audio book after seeing the movie a year or so ago (I know, I know... I did it backwards...), was really interesting. For one, I prefer the movie in some instances and the book in others. The book, generally speaking, is almost always better than the movie. However, in the book Hugh Glass does not have a son who is killed and for whom he seeks revenge. His revenge in the book consists solely on the fact that he was abandoned as an injured man and his rifle, knife and a bunch of personal possessions were stolen when he was left alone. That alone was pretty disappointing... that he'd travel hundreds of miles for the sole purpose of his own revenge. The ending, however, is better than in the movie. In the movie, Glass hunts down Fitzgerald and slaughters him unmercifully... a Frenchman in the book refocuses Glass on who he really is near the end instead of encouraging him to pursue his revengeful quest. 
It still amazes me that this book was based on the dairies of the real Hugh Glass... that one man survived such horrors as Indian attacks, wolf attacks, bear mauling, near starvation, hypothermia and crawling/walking hundreds of miles on his own. The end of the book has a little bit of a history note that tells what actually happens to many of the main characters that is worth reading. 

5 out of 10 

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Everyone knows the classic story of Heidi, a young orphan who is sent to live in the Swiss Alps with her disgruntled hermit grandfather. Before this I had seen movie adaptations of the novel, but had never read it. This is a great classic, easy read and a sweet children's story. As always it makes me want to visit the Swiss Alps and smell the sweet air, see the brilliance of the fir trees against a blur sky and feel a baby goat under my fingertips.

Great story.

8 out of 10

Loving Vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell

From acclaimed author Patricia Hruby Powell comes the story of a landmark civil rights case, told in spare and gorgeous verse. In 1955 in Caroline County, Virginia, amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love. Their life together broke the law but their determination would change it. Richard and Mildred Loving were at the heart of a Supreme Court case that legalized marriage between races, and the story of the devoted couple who faced discrimination, fought it and won.

This is a beautiful story of sacrifice and devotion and love. I was driving in my car back and forth for my job when I was listening to this via audio book. I could not get enough of Richard and Mildred Loving. Their love and devotion to one another amidst such cruelty and injustice was amazing to me. By remaining loyal to one another and married they faced prison time along with the cruelty of prejudices between the races. Name-calling, the KKK, everything was so real in their lifetime. I know in today's world the races is still fight against one another and discriminate against one another but this book really brings it into account how truly cruel and prejudice the world was in the 1960s. And it wasn't just against the black people during this time. Any white person who married or dated or became friends with someone of A different race was also persecuted. I admire Richard and Mildred Loving so much. They lived in a world where their dream to be together was a possible and over nine years they fought to remain together through it all. When at last they could go home to Virginia as a true married couple I can't imagine the joy and the relief. This is an excellent book and really it's not that long about 200 pages. And it's based on a true story.

9 out of 10.

Stars Over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner

LOS ANGELES, PRESENT DAY: when an iconic hat worn by Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind ends up in Christine McAlister's vintage clothing boutique by mistake her efforts to return it to its owner take her on a journey more enchanting than any classic movie...
LOS ANGELES, 1938: Violet Mayfield sets out to reinvent herself in Hollywood after her dream of becoming a wife and mother falls apart and lands a job on the film set of Gone with the Wind. There she meets enigmatic Audrey Duvall, a once rising film star who is now a fellow secretary. Audrey's zest for life and their adventures together among Hollywood's glitterati enthrall Violet... until each woman's deepest desires collide. What Audrey and violet are willing to risk for themselves and each other to ensure their own happy endings will shape their friendship and their lives far into the future.

This is a great read. I love all things Gone with the Wind...  the movie, the book, the independently written sequels by other authors... *sigh*...
First of all I've never heard of this book before now and I gushed when I realized it was all centered around a certain green velvet hat. It makes me want to read and watch Gone With the Wind all over again. There were a lot of similarities to Gone With The Wind in this book. Not only is it about the iconic movie and novel by Margaret Mitchell but the characters Susan makes come alive in this book remind you so much of Scarlett and Ashley and Melanie. I liked the character development. Overall a great read about friendship, love and sacrifice. There are many quotes by the characters themselves that I found myself nodding along to in agreement. A gem of a book.

8 out of 10.

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom's haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands. Long ago, Kelsea's forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea's nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen's Guard—loyal soldiers who protect the throne—have appeared to escort the princess on a perilous journey to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling. Though born of royal blood and in possession of the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic, Kelsea has never felt more uncertain of her ability to rule. But the shocking evil she discovers in the heart of her realm will precipitate an act of immense daring, throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil—and unleashing the Red Queen's vengeance. A cabal of enemies with an array of deadly weapons, from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic, plots to destroy her. But Kelsea is growing in strength and stealth, her steely resolve earning her loyal allies, including the Queen's Guard, led by the enigmatic Lazarus, and the intriguing outlaw known simply as "the Fetch." Kelsea's quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea's journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her.


I decided to borrow this via audio book from the library because...
1. My new job has added alot of driving time to my everyday routine.
2. I don't have time to sit on the couch and read as I did a month ago.
I still count this as reading though, because audio books seriously take commitment and investment of time, just like a regular book, though I have a feeling like I've "cheated" on those beautiful hardcover/paperbacks... the ones with the pages and the smell of dusty old libraries. *sigh*
Anyway, this book was... interesting. I chose it on a whim. I wasn't super interested in anything the library had up for grabs concerning audio books, but the cover on this one caught my eye. Isn't that how it always starts? For me, if it doesn't depend on the author themselves, the cover art plus the synopsis is what gets me hooked. If I can't read through the synopsis without getting bored, then I don't borrow it.  So, this book is the first of a serious, if I remember correctly. It's written pretty slowly, but with some quicker read parts. Some parts are questionable and some parts make you grimace because it just doesn't make sense. But it's a good story idea. A young queen hidden away for years until she can claim the throne. I think my favorite character in the whole book is the "Fetch", who honestly only gets about 30 minutes of audio book time. Sad. But if I decide to pick up the next one, I would hope to hear more of him. Also... the Red Queen... spoiler alert, but I was super disappointed that Kelsea and the Red Queen didn't actually meet. Ever. At all. So... yeah. I guess if you read it as a series, it'll probably make more sense. I've got a list of books I'm working on so maybe later I'll pick up the next one. 

All in all... 4 out of 10.