Tag Archives: History

Book Review #7: Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading Move over, Nancy Drew, there's a new gal detective in town!

A First Foray Into YA

Welcome to my first YA book review! I’m very excited to delve into this popular reading genre for my seventh book review thus far! As a teacher and mom of pre-adolescents, young adult (YA) fiction has definitely been a part of both my work and home life for some time. Additionally, I also choose to enjoy YA books for my own pleasure reading, even though I am obviously not a ‘YA’ any longer! I’m more of a MAA, I suppose. (That’s “Middle Aged Adult” to you. ?)

Therefore, when I was asked to read and review the book Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading, I was quite excited to do so! Upon finishing, the story did not disappoint, either! It was a real page-turner from beginning to end. In this book, adventure and mystery take center stage. A generous sprinkling of history lessons top off a plot full of exciting twists and turns, altogether resulting in an engaging read for middle-grade readers and up! Continue reading →

Book Review #6: With Ballet in My Soul by Eva Maze An Extraordinary Life, An Extraordinary Woman

Memoirs, I Love Em

The genre of memoir has always been a favorite of mine. Somewhat ‘nosey’ by nature, I tend to enjoy intimate glimpses into lives and experiences of different kinds of people. A few standout memoirs I have read to date include Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle, Carly’s Voice by Arthur and Carly Fleischmann, and of course, Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles 1974-2001 by Don Felder.

Don Felder’s slide guitar and Randy Meisner’s bass are SO on point here. Where is my time machine? 1974, please!

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed the book With Ballet in My Soul: Adventures of a Globetrotting Impresario by Eva Maze. This memoir is a chronicle of Maze’s amazing life as a 20th century theatrical impresario for the better part of four decades. Continue reading →

Book Review #5: The Conversations We Never Had by Jeffrey H. Konis A man's dream of a second chance, an author's tribute to a remarkable woman.

I’ve Been Waiting For This Conversation…

The book’s synopsis on the back cover.

Of all the books I’ve reviewed, none initially interested me to the degree of The Conversations We Never Had. Written by Jeffrey H. Konis, this ‘quasi-memoir’ is a unique hybrid of both historical fiction and autobiographical non-fiction. The storyline is told from Konis’ perspective as his younger self, a first generation Jewish-American law student living in Manhattan with his elderly Grandma Ola back in the mid-1980s.

This book is a fictional account of how a young Jeffrey Konis would have learned the details of his incredible family backstory, if he had asked his beloved Grandma Ola to tell him about it before she passed away. A descendant of Eastern European Jews, Konis has a thirst for as much knowledge of his family’s history as possible. But by the mid-1980s, Grandma Ola is the only relative left for him to ask. Why? I knew that answer right away. Us Jews always know why other Jewish families are quite often smaller than most. Continue reading →