Mirkwood Reflections

Clara & Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland - 3/1/2011 Fair - Historical Fiction Clara is a designer at Tiffany Studios around the turn of the 20th century. I listened to this on audiobook and I didn't particularly like the narrator. It was a good story, though. GOVERNESS: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres by Ruth Brandon - 3/2/2011 Fair - Nonfiction This was more about the lives of several real women who were governesses at some point. So, more about the TIMES than the LIVES of governesses. Mildly interesting and somewhat lurid (because one of the women was Byron's mistress and another was the mother of Mary Shelley), but not what I expected. I had expected something else, as this didn't seem like a fair account of the average governess. But I did learn a lot! Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo - 3/5/2011 Excellent - Chick Lit Emma Grant, college professor in disgrace, travels to England hot on the trail of some previously unknown Austen letters. Enjoyed...

Margins are acting crazy again. Sorry!   Me and Mr. Darcy Alexandra Potter 2/4/2011 Good Fiction Bookstore manager goes on Jane Austen tour on a whim and, through a twist in time, meets the real Darcy. But he's not all she imagined. Interesting, if you need something light and Austen-related.   Emma Jane Austen 2/8/2011 Good Classic Spoiled rich Emma Woodhouse tries to make matches for everyone but herself. Loved Emma this time! The Postcard Killers James Patterson & Liza Marklund 2/8/2011 Good Suspense A pair of killers roams Europe killing young lovers. Gory but interesting.   Northanger Abbey Jane Austen 2/10/2011 Good Classic Catherine Morland visits Bath for the 1st time and meets Henry Tilney Tilney is my fav. Austen hero!!!   One Tough Mother: it's time to step up and be the Mom Julie Barnhill 2/11/2011 Good Parenting Tips on parenting Took me forever to read this. Really, I started it a couple years ago and then it sat in my basket for a ...

Guess I never did a January or February post! Will remedy that now.   Beguiled by Deeanne Gist & J. Mark Bertrand - 1/2/2011 Good - Inspirational Suspense Dogwalker Rylee finds herself in the middle of a Robin Hood robbery and is implicated. Will reporter Logan Woods be an ally or an enemy? Not my favorite Deeanne Gist novel.   Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust Story by Ann Kirschner - 1/3/2011 Good - Nonfiction As a young woman during WW2, Sala was placed in a Nazi work camp. She survived but never talked about her experiences until she gave letters she had saved for 50+ years to her adult daughter who then researched her mother's story. I never knew much about the WW2 work camps - very interesting and sad part of WW2 history.   The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe - 1/18/2011 Good - Gothic Romance Emily St. Aubert is orphaned and taken from France to Italy by her aunt and eventually to the castle of Udolpho where strange things occur. Read this to bet...