Kind of Hindu by Mindy KalingMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Friday, December 31, 2021
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Review: The Christmas Boutique
The Christmas Boutique by Jennifer ChiaveriniMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
It's nearly Christmas at the Elm Creek Manor, the home of Sylvia Compson, a newly married and very mature woman who has turned her childhood estate into a quilting school for the women of the area. With the onset of the holidays, a local church is getting ready for their annual Christmas Boutique fair, but an unfortunate accident renders their venue at the church unusable. The coordinators approach Sylvia and her team of quilters to see if they can help out with the venue and provide some much-needed physical labor to pull off a last-minute art fair. Along with the main story, the author delves into the lives of the women and men who make Elm Creek Manor a quilting school and a home.
I will admit that I have only read the first of the Elm Creek Quilt books, The Quilter's Apprentice. I have read several of Chiaverini's historical fiction books and have enjoyed them all. It didn't take me long to remember the original characters of the first Elm Creek Quilt series and I instantly fell into the rhythm of Chiaverini's writing. Reading through some of the reviews, it's evident that some of the material for this book may have been a repeat of several books in the series, stitched together to make a sweet Christmas read. I think of it as watching a TV show that looks back on some of the special scenes from previous shows wrapped up in a new storyline. Since I've only read one book in the series, I was not bothered by any repeats of past books. This one has inspired me to go back to the series.
I received this book gratis through Goodreads Giveaways.
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Saturday, December 18, 2021
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Friday, December 3, 2021
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Monday, November 8, 2021
Monday, November 1, 2021
Review: There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights, 1945-1975
There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights, 1945-1975 by Jason SokolMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
“You’ve got to open the wound and clean it before it can heal,” James Prince reflected. “It’s as if we’ve had this open gash on the arm for 40 years and have done nothing but put a bandage on it.”
This is a book about racism. It is a different viewpoint of the Civil Rights movement from 1945 through 1975. Jason Sokol takes a look at how white southerners changed, or not, during this tumultuous time in American history. Many white southerners had very strong and direct viewpoints on race relations and many would not budge. There were those, though, who listened as Martin Luther King, Jr. and his followers marched through the streets, as students went to luncheonettes for sit-ins, as busing was protested. Their eyes were opened, sometimes slowly, but they did open.
The issue of racism was always there and is still seen in some parts today. In some southern towns, race relations are like a festering wound that will not heal. It is a subject not often discussed for fear of retribution from those whose beliefs are staunchly holding on to old segregationist ideology. Prince's analogy of the wound that will not heal until it is opened and cleaned still holds true today, in some parts of southern America.
This book takes a look at the history of those beliefs and the people who continued to fight for segregation and those that fought for desegregation and equal rights for all people. Sokol covers the battles of politicians fighting against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, desegregation, and voting rights, as well as following some ordinary citizens who fought to keep their businesses and restaurants segregated. There are those who willingly desegregated and others that were forced to integrate but would find new ways to draw racial lines. Sokol also revealed who truly seemed to change and see that we're all equal people deserving of the same human and civil rights.
I have read and studied many books on American Civil Rights. This book is one that should be read and discussed. Sadly, racism is not dead and it is important to continue fighting for equality for all.
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Saturday, October 23, 2021
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Monday, October 4, 2021
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Sunday, August 29, 2021
Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Sunday, July 25, 2021
Saturday, July 17, 2021
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Monday, July 12, 2021
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Thursday, July 1, 2021
Review: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African: With linked Table of Contents
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Saturday, June 19, 2021
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Monday, May 24, 2021
Monday, April 26, 2021
Friday, April 23, 2021
Review: An Authentic Narrative of the Shipwreck and Sufferings of Mrs. Eliza Bradley: The Wife of Capt. James Bradley of Liverpool, Commander of the Ship Sally Which Was Wrecked on the Coast of Barbary, in June 1818 ...
Review: The Female Captive: A Narrative of Facts, Which Happened in Barbary, in the Year 1756. ... Written by Herself. Volume 2 of 2
Review: The Female Captive: A Narrative of Facts, Which Happened in Barbary, in the Year 1756. ... Written by Herself. Volume 1 of 2
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Review: The Atlantic Slave Trade
The Atlantic Slave Trade by Herbert S. KleinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a comprehensive book on the transatlantic slave trade from its development through the abolition of slavery. Klein concentrates on 400 years of slavery and the role of western nations that perpetuated the trade but also puts the trade in context with slavery around the world. Besides the development of the slave trade, the author examines in separate chapters, the labor demand, a look at Africa at the time of the trade, then hones in on European and African organization of the slave trade. A vital chapter in the book details the experience of the middle passage. Finally, the author looks at the social and cultural impacts of the trade in the Americas and the ending of the British and the American trade.
Klien supports his thesis with an array of resources including quantifiable data. This will be a great reference for anyone studying the transatlantic slave trade.
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Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Review: Catholic Pirates and Greek Merchants: A Maritime History of the Early Modern Mediterranean
Catholic Pirates and Greek Merchants: A Maritime History of the Early Modern Mediterranean by Molly GreeneMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Greene attempts to provide a maritime history of the early modern Mediterranean according to her book's title, but the author's thesis is more narrow in focus. Greene examines the dynamics between Venetian Christian and Muslim corsairs and pirates who pillaged Greek merchants during the early modern era. Greene posits that religion played a key role in piracy as opposed to economic gains. Greek merchants were in a precarious position living as Christian citizens on the outskirts of the Ottoman Empire. Yet Christian corsairs, namely fraternal organizations like the Knights of St. John and the Knights of St. Stephan who normally would avoid other Christian merchants, pillaged at will, including the Greek merchants. Reclamation cases would play out in court through the Tribunale Degli Armamemnti, which were mainly controlled by the Knights. The Greek merchants rarely stood a chance to recover their goods.
Greene leans heavily on the mostly untapped resources of the Tribunale archives. The records of the Tribunale provide historians an opportunity to understand the effects that Christian corsairs and piracy had on trade in the Mediterranean. They had been given free rein by their religious order and political statehood to pillage at will as long as their victims weren't fellow Christians. Greek merchants attempted to hide behind Christian orthodoxy, yet were pillaged and captured anyway. Their only recourse was to look to the courts for reclamation. Greene follows several specific cases to support her thesis and this is where things become disjointed.
The court cases within Greene's book provide support for her thesis; however, they are interspersed throughout the book. Often Green introduces characters and cases early in the book then mentions that she'll pick up their stories in later chapters. This causes the storyline to become fragmented and at times a bit confusing. Had Green started with background and history, then utilized each chapter on a specific case with specific points and supporting evidence, her overall position would have been more clear. This issue should not overshadow the fact that Greene has tapped into an area of Mediterranean historiography that had, at the time, been overlooked. The book likely was originally a series of papers that were collated to be a more broad look at piracy and captivity in the Mediterranean. For the subject matter, this is a book worth examining for those interested in this area of history.
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Thursday, March 25, 2021
Friday, March 19, 2021
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