This is an historical account of the creation and downfall of the town called Deadwood which started as a mining town illegally built on Lakota land. It tells the real stories, not the myths of the town and its inhabitants including Wild Bill Hickcock. It was well told, but I am just not a fan of straight history.

ALL IN ALL AN ENJOYABLE READ ABOUT A DISFUNTIONAL FAMILY AND A FAMILY WITH SECRETS AND HOW THEY COPE. I DIDN'T FALL IN LOVE WITH ANY OF THE CHARACTERS BUT I WAS HAPPY WITH THE ENDING. I DO LIKE A HAPPY ENDING MOST OF THE TIME. BUT SOME TIME I WOULD LIKE IT IF THE AUTHOR LEFT YOU HANGING AS THOUGH SHE MIGHT WRITE A NEXT BOOK

A unique style for a book- it’s a collection of letters being written by and sent to an elderly woman. Seeing her life through this lens is a very interesting method.

Evelyn Hugo hires a journalist to write her biography with the stipulation that it be published after her death. There is a reason she selects this journalist which we find out towards the end of the book. Quite honestly even though it got rave reviews, I didn't really like it, and have read much better books.

Highly recommend. I wanted to read this book before the movie came out and I'm so glad that I did. It was a feel good read.

I loved reading GO GENTLE by Maria Semple. The main character Adora Hazzard is a woman of a certain age living the life she loves in NYC. In addition to that she is a divorced mother of a teenage daughter, a former TV comedy writer, and a current accomplished Doctor of Philosophy with a PhD degree to prove it. Obviously her life goes off the rails in spectacular fashion or her story would hardly be worth writing. I will admit that at times I wasn't quite sure what was happening or why, but I was happy to continue reading to find out ...

I chose this book because of the title and my heritage. The story takes place on Long Island. It centers around an Irish Mother who immigrated to America and met her husband. They have four children (a boy and three girls). Each member of the family is affected by the loss of the oldest child. The story is well developed. In many ways, I saw my own family on the pages as well as the family of a few friends.

A well-written accounting of the American colonies and the struggles they went through to gain independence from British rule. As a staunch patriot, John Adams played a pivotal role in many altercations and fights against British parliament and their tax levies against the Americans.. Abigail Adams is seen to have been very bright and resourceful and a constant force in her husband's corner. The book is full of details about their daily lives in and out of Boston.

Despite the picture of the horse on the cover of the book, Whistler is not a story about a horse. It is a story about Daphne Fuller and her step dad, Eddie Triplett. Although Daphne’s mother was married to Eddie for only a little over a year when Daphne was nine, a chance meeting of the two many years later at a NY museum brought them back together. Patchett weaves their story through the years and back to the accident that brought Daphne and Eddie’s personal qualities to the forefront. Whistler reinforces my belief that all families are messy and allows the characters to develop and shine. The story about the horse is a small but important component within the beautifully crafted work. My favorite line, although there are many in Whistler, is when Eddie explains Daphne to their rescuers. “Line up all the girls in the world, you’re never gonna find a girl as good as this one.”

FIVE by Ilona Bannister is a fascinating idea for a novel. Not what I expected. It started slowly and then I was able to follow the premise. It was mundane. It should have been better, which is why I gave it only 3 stars.