Every Word Unsaid by Kimberly Duffy

In Every Word Unsaid by Kimberly Duffy, we meet Augusta "Gussie" Travers. Gussie is an adventuress, writer, and photographer using Kodak's newfangled portable camera. It's 1897 and her family is the social climbing variety, her father a banker who has managed to marry off one of his daughters into New York's high society; a second daughter will marry soon. Gussie's readers know her only as "Miss Adventuress" and the family worries about damage to their reputations if her traveling is exposed. 

As the book opens, Gussie is in Deadwood, South Dakota with a paid companion but she knows she will need to return home, soon. She just has one last place to photograph. After things get a little complicated and Gussie arrives home barely in time for an important event, everything goes downhill and the family decides Gussie must go stay with her aunt in Chicago till the fervor dies down. They hope everyone's memories will be short. But, Gussie is not interested in being stuck with a stodgy aunt in a town everyone's familiar with. She wants to go somewhere exotic. 

With a guarantee that her adventures will continue to be published, Gussie sneaks away to India. There, her childhood friends Gabriel (aka "Specs") and Catherine live. Specs is a doctor and his sister Catherine has been recently widowed. They're happy to see Gussie but there's one small problem: there's an ongoing outbreak of bubonic plague in the area. And, then, a second problem arrives when Gussie realizes she is in love with Specs. 

Will Gussie and her friends be able to stay safe from the plague? When Gussie also finds herself falling in love with India, will she be able to convince herself that it's possible to both settle down and still have an adventurous life? Or, will everything be halted by the arrival of her Uncle James, who has been tasked with chasing her down and bringing her back to Chicago?

Recommended - While I thought Every Word Unsaid was a bit overlong (it could have been trimmed by at least 50 pages, in my humble opinion), I liked Gussie from the first page. She's headstrong in a good way, a very likable character, and I liked the secondary characters, as well. I also found the author's vivid descriptions of India enchanting; she made me want to jump on a plane. It was clear the author has spent some time in India; she didn't just look it up on the Internet. One note: the conflict in the book is mostly internal. Gussie has been told she's not good enough since her family started climbing the social ladder and she rejected their wishes to be a compliant daughter in search of a wealthy husband. Her experiences in India force her to confront herself and her dreams and question whether it's time for a major change. But, it's also a nice, clean novel of romance and friendship and an examination of social constructs and how they impact individuals, particularly women. 

Bethany House is a Christian publisher, so there is some mention of God and Jesus. I didn't find it preachy, although there is an uptick in talk of Christianity and God's will for various characters that some might consider a little heavy-handed in the last 100 pages. I'm a Christian, so talk of faith and God's will, etc., doesn't bother me, although I did find it interesting that there were only a few vague references to God till that last quarter of the book. If that kind of thing bugs you, I think it's worth overlooking; the writing really swept me away and judging from the author's note, she did her research. I really loved the learning experience; I spent a lot of time looking up various sites, types of carriages, etc., on my phone, and there's more I want to look up that I put off while reading. I love that!

My thanks to Bethany House and Laurel Ann of Austenprose for the review copy! 

©2021 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen

I made the cover image really big because I love this cover. I felt transported to the time and place of A Castaway in Cornwall every time I looked at that cover. 

In A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen, Laura is living with her Uncle Matthew, his wife, and her daughter, Eseld in Cornwall. The year is 1813 and England is at war with France. Orphaned as an adolescent, Laura longs to visit the isle of Jersey to see her parents' graves. She feels as if she was cast aside by them when they went to tend to her sick aunt. 

Near Laura's home is a dangerous reef that is notorious for causing shipwrecks and Laura has a habit of salvaging items she finds on the rocky shore, cleaning them, searching for the loved ones of those who died in a shipwreck, and returning the items if she can. But, there are dangerous men who will do anything to acquire the cargo of a wrecked ship.

When the Kittiwake is wrecked and Laura finds a man nearly drowned on the beach, one of those dangerous wreckers threatens to kill him but Laura protects him and nurses him back to health. Alexander, the survivor, claims to have been returning to his home in Jersey. But, he is keeping secrets from the people who help him. Where is Alexander really from? Is he a dangerous escaped prisoner? When Laura finds herself falling for him, is she making a mistake? Will he end up leaving for his home, never to return? 

There's a lot that I'm leaving out because I think it's best to let this one unfold and I don't want to spoil any of the surprises. I enjoyed how it played out and I was happy with the ending, although a few too many people found romance in a fairly short timespan and that felt a little over-the-top, at least to me. 

Recommended - I should mention that last week was such a stressful week that I had a terrible time reading and didn't even read at all for 3 days in a row (shocking!) so my reading of A Castaway in Cornwall was likely colored by my inability to focus. So, please take my thoughts as atypical. I enjoyed A Castaway in Cornwall but since I was struggling to read, I never felt truly sucked in by the story and normally would have stopped to read something quick and easy then returned to it. But, I was scheduled for a tour so I didn't feel like I had the time to do what I normally do when I'm having difficulty focusing. Probably because of that, the story felt like it was too descriptive and drawn out. I have enjoyed Julie Klassen's books immensely, in the past, and the ratings of A Castaway in Cornwall are very high at Goodreads; it probably would have been a pretty quick read and more enjoyable at any other time. I did like the main characters and was rooting for them. 

Many thanks to Bethany House for the review copy and Laurel Ann for the opportunity to tour this book! 

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Catch-up #1: Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck, A Survival Guide for Life by Grylls, Tomorrow We Die by Grady

I had such a fantastic reading month in September that my sidebar has been taunting me for ages. Yes, true, I am under no obligation to write about every book I read (I do skip a book if I feel like there's nothing to say and the book in question is from my personal library). But, the whole point of blogging is to keep a record of what I've read and my thoughts about each of those books so I'm going to do some catch-up posts. The following were either recently purchased or on my home shelves. I absolutely loved and highly recommend all three.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - I just found out I'm not the only person in America who missed out on reading and discussing Of Mice and Men in school, yesterday! Whew! Good to know.

Short version of the storyline, lacking spoilers: Two friends travel around working odd jobs together. Lennie is intellectually challenged; George watches out for his friend. When they end up in trouble -- which invariably happens because Lennie has difficulty understanding boundaries and doesn't know his own strength -- George takes charge of their escape. When Lennie does something so horrific their lives are both put in danger, what will George do?

I love Steinbeck. For such a small book, Of Mice and Men certainly packs a wallop. Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year. I wish I'd read it in a group setting. When I closed the book, I was dying to discuss the moral dilemma.

I love Bear Grylls and have been thinking, "I need to read one of his books" for quite a while. So, when I indulged in some stress shopping in September I went in search of a book by Grylls. Any title would do -- and since I was looking at a discount website I took what was available.

A Survival Guide for Life by Bear Grylls is about achieving your goals, with focus on paying attention to what makes you happy, maintaining enthusiasm, dealing with adversity, working on strength of character -- really great advice. The author refers to the book as "self help" within its text. I'm not generally a fan of self-help because I've found the majority of such books are not particularly helpful or their effects are short-lived. However, I do love books on positive thinking and have several favorites that I periodically reread when I need an upper.

A Survival Guide for Life definitely falls into the "uppers worth rereading" category. Although much of Grylls' advice is common sense or already in practice here, there is still plenty to think about and his infectious can-do attitude just can't be beat. I haven't yet talked my youngest into reading the book because he's been reading business books recommended by his father while working on his second degree but I think there are aspects to A Survival Guide for Life that are particularly relevant to young people on the verge of entering the work force so I hope he'll find the time to read the book soon. In the meantime, I may even give it a second go. A Survival Guide for Life is definitely a book I plan to reread repeatedly. And, I would especially recommend it for those who need a little mental boost. It would also make a fabulous graduation gift. Bear Grylls is truly an inspiration.

I've already talked about Tomorrow We Die by Shawn Grady a bit, here, but without describing the storyline.

Jonathan Trestle is a paramedic working for a private ambulance service. When he's called to a cardiac arrest, he manages to revive the patient, an unkempt man who may have overdosed. Before the patient slips back into unconsciousness, he hands Jonathan a note and tells him to give it to Martin. Of course, Jonathan has no idea who Martin is.

There is so much going on in this book that I realize now why I didn't post a synopsis, before. First, there's the patient with the note. Jonathan tracks down the patient and goes in search of Martin. There's an old girlfriend Jonathan keeps running into; they have a lot of baggage but the mutual attraction is still there. His alcoholic dad is fading. Jonathan has flashbacks to his mother's death. And, when the ambulance company gets after Jonathan for not meeting the city's standard response time because there aren't enough ambulances to cover the quantity of calls coming in, he stumbles across a corporate cover-up that puts his life (and the lives of several other people) in danger.

I have a feeling there's more that I've forgotten but the bottom line is that Tomorrow We Die is action-packed, well paced and the pages absolutely flew. I loved this book. My only problem with it was that it could be a little too descriptive. But, that's something you just have to be prepared for when you're reading a book written by a paramedic. The things they see are not pretty. I'm currently reading Bringing Out the Dead by Joe Connelly (yet another novel written by a paramedic) and it is equally stomach-turning, at times, but I love this stuff. Tomorrow We Die was definitely the most exciting novel I've read by a paramedic, so far. We'll see how the next one goes.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

For Such a Time by Kate Breslin

For Such a Time by Kate Breslin
Copyright 2014
Bethany House - Historical Fiction/WWII - Inspirational/Christian elements
Source: Bethany House via TLC Tours

Updated on 5/4/14.  Update is below the section entitled "My thoughts, so far."

This one is an "oops" post.  For Such a Time is over 400 pages long and this hasn't been a good reading week because of the changing weather (a day of running back and forth between safe room and TV as tornadoes hit all around us and 3 days of migraines -- ugh). 

So, I'll just tell you a little about the book and what I think, at this point.

Brief synopsis:

Stella was on the verge of being shot by a firing squad when a stranger saved her from certain death. Held prisoner in a small room after her rescue, she is still unable to eat. Her time in Dachau concentration camp has made her weak and unable to stomach much of anything. But, then an SS man takes her to his home next to Theresienstadt in Czechoslavakia and makes sure she gains strength so that she can work as his secretary.

Theresienstadt is where Stella's uncle Morty now resides. And, with a Red Cross inspection imminent, new prisoners are going to be imported, the sickly and thin ones taken to Auschwitz, where they'll undoubtedly be marched straight to the gas chambers.  Can Stella, whose real name is Hadassah,  convince her boss, the Kommandant, to help her save her people?

My thoughts, so far:

I'm currently on page 153.  At the beginning of the book, I liked the dialogue and the writing, in general, but thought some of the set-up sounded iffy. I was concerned it was going to be a book that ended up irritating but by about page 120 I had changed my mind. This is definitely a well thought-out book. There is, at this point, only one plot point that I have difficulty buying and I'm no longer dwelling on it because I'm enjoying the reading so much.

The author makes it clear, via the scriptures at the head of each chapter and the name Hadassah (which was the Biblical Esther's Jewish name), that the story is patterned after the story of Esther in the Bible, one of my personal favorites, and I'm eager to see where the author takes this story.  I'll let you know when I finish.

Update! ---------------------------

I finished reading For Such a Time, late last night. Toward the end, there's a great deal of action but I don't want to give away what happens so I'll just say I enjoyed the faster-paced portions toward the end, for the most part, but found that there were moments I thought, "Could that really have happened?" or was disappointed that the author recycled a bit of action by having a different character do the same exact thing another had done mere pages before. But, in general, I really enjoyed the book.  I couldn't decide what rating to give For Such a Time so I slept on it and I'm thinking it falls somewhere between good and very good but I enjoyed it enough that I'm giving it a 4/5. Although For Such a Time is Kate Breslin's first publication, I'd be willing to bet she has at least 4 or 5 other manuscripts in a drawer, somewhere. It doesn't read like a beginner's writing.

The problems I had with the book are mostly minor. But, I will say that I agreed with a reviewer at Goodreads who said the verses from Esther at the head of each chapter, the fact that Stella's real name was Hadassah and Uncle Morty was Mordecai, etc., ended up being more distracting than helpful or necessary. The story bears similarities to Esther but it isn't the same; it can't be. So, being hit on the head with the Esther parallels was a touch annoying. And, the romance didn't work for me entirely, especially passionate kisses at inappropriate moments, when I can't imagine I'd be able to even think about romance if I was in those characters' shoes.

I didn't find the book preachy -- since it's a Bethany House book and they publish Christian/Inspirational fiction, I expected the Christian references and anticipated some sort of big conversion to happen to the Jewish character. There was no conversion, which was a tremendous relief because it wouldn't have been plausible in this particular story.  

Recommended - An enjoyable WWII story that parallels the Biblical tale of Esther, I found the conclusion satisfying, the romance a little heavy-handed, the setting well drawn. In general, I enjoyed the reading but would have liked it better if it had been a little less wordy so while I recommend the book and think it's one of the better Christian WWII novels I've read in recent years, it does have its flaws. They weren't enough to stop my enjoyment but occasionally I did find myself questioning the plausibility, here or there.

End update ------------------------

Of course, because it's Friday, a cat photo is obligatory:

This photo was taken in Isabel's new favorite sleeping spot inside a clothing cabinet. In the evening I open one door and let her jump in. She'll climb into the dark side and settle down, happy to have a dark place to settle that's reasonably near me. You can tell I had to open the door that's normally closed to snap her photo by that, "You're disturbing my calm," look.  

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen

The first time I was tempted to read a Julie Klassen book it was the Cornish setting that caught my eye.  This time, it was the author's name.  I loved that first book, The Tutor's Daughter, so much that I only gave the storyline of The Dancing Master passing notice, thinking I'd happily read anything by Julie Klassen.

The Dancing Master, though, is dramatically different in form from The Tutor's Daughter -- the former a slow-paced, somewhat predictable romance whose weight is on relationships moreso than action and the latter a plot-heavy, adventurous romance.  In The Dancing Master, Alec Valcourt has moved to a small village in Devonshire with his mother and sister.  Formerly a London dance and fencing master (I had no idea the two went together, although it certainly makes sense when you think about the fact that both involve precise movements), the London business has failed, his father is gone, and the family has been forced to live with a subdued uncle of average means.

Julia Midwinter has grown up privileged but her angry and distant father left her feeling unloved and desirous of escape.  Her widowed mother has secrets and worries that make her appear overbearing and cold.  Oddly, her mother has at some point forbidden dancing in the town. Nobody will tell Julia the reason, although she knows both her aunt and uncle died long ago. And, the villagers comply with the elder Mrs. Midwinter's wishes to avoid losing her business as it's her wealth that keeps most of the village employed.

There's a lot more to the story.  Julia has a best friend whose oldest brother expects to marry Julia, eventually. They're friends and Julia adores his close family but there's no romance between the two. There are a couple of village bullies who wreak havoc. Alec needs a job and is hired by Mrs. Midwinter specifically so she can keep an eye on him but instead she ends up throwing Alec and Julia into each other's paths.  Someone from the past has returned to the village and is trying to keep his presence from being known. Julia is naturally drawn to Alec because he's a Londoner, handsome, and charming. And, Alec has a troublesome horse.

What happened to cause Julia's mother to enforce a dancing ban on the village? Why was Julia's father so horrid? What deep dark secrets does Mrs. Midwinter harbor? Will Alec find a way to end the ban on dancing so he can earn his keep? What caused his family to flee London? Who is the mysterious stranger from the village's past and why does everyone hate him?  And, will Alec ever be able to ride that horse?

While it sounds like there's an awful lot going on in the book, The Dancing Master is so subtle and quiet that it came off as dull, at first.  I was expecting action, adventure, plot!  About 1/3 of the way into the book, I decided to go read some Goodreads reviews to see what people who finished it had to say because nothing seemed to be happening. Many of Klassen's fans said it was weak by comparison with her other titles. I read some spoilers, though, and they didn't persuade me that the book was worth giving up.

In fact, instead of driving me away from the reading, knowing that the plot points were as weak as I suspected helped me to relax my expectations and enjoy the book for its characterization and interaction. I did think there was a belief-stretching parallel between two characters and the reasoning for this or that secret turned out to be flimsy, etc., but none of that mattered. When I viewed The Dancing Master as a book about relationships and interaction, it became enjoyable and I ended up loving it.

Recommended - A gentle, clean Regency romance that made me smile a lot. The plot points are rather weak and I won't go into detail about that, but once I became aware of its weaknesses, I was better able to enjoy its strengths - well-drawn characters, entertaining dialogue, a sweet romance, and a lovely examination of friendship, family and the power of love to both hurt and heal.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate (DNF)

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate
Copyright 2013
Bethany House - Contemporary Fiction
379 pp.  

The first time I opened up Firefly Island, it was late at night and I awakened in the morning without any memory whatsoever of what I'd read.  I figured that was just because I started reading when I was sleepy.  But, then it happened again.  I do most of my reading at bedtime and I had waited a few days before my second attempt.  In the morning . . . nothing.  I flipped back a few pages and couldn't remember who Daniel was.  Daniel is a key character.

At this point, I went to Amazon and Goodreads to see if it was just me.  Was I missing something or was this a book that was seriously not memorable?  Judging from the ratings at the time, it was just me. There were 62 five-star reviews at Amazon, 12 four-stars and 2 three-stars, nothing lower.  So, you must know up front that a lot of people really love this story.  It was because of the glowing reviews that I opted to go back to the beginning a third time.

The third time went better.  I sat on the deck and read during the daylight hours.  I got to know Daniel, Mallory and little Nick.  There is a whirlwind romance in which a career woman falls for a scientist, he's offered a job in a remote part of Texas by a man of questionable background, they quickly marry and drive to Texas.  On the way to their new home they nearly hit a deer, arrive to a house with no electricity and awaken to find the place needs a bit of work but little Nick is happy.  

As Mallory begins cleaning the house, she opens closets to find that critters are living in them; they scatter when she opens a door.  That, I'm afraid, was it for me.  Mallory was lamenting the things in the closet when I closed the book at page 83.  I tried very hard to keep going because I typically love Lisa Wingate's books, but it was too everyday for me.  Nothing of interest was happening.  There are hints of a mystery surrounding Daniel's employer, Jack West, whose wife and child disappeared and were never found many years ago, but that was not enough to intrigue me.  In fact, when Mallory nearly hit a deer on the way through Texas, I found myself wishing she had hit the deer so something would start happening.

Since I gave up, I've looked again at Goodreads and Amazon.  A few more 3-star reviews have popped up.  I have a feeling I would have given the book 3 stars if I'd held out.  I like Lisa Wingate's writing. 

Here's a favorite sentence:

He looked at me, the expression in his eyes almost pleading with me to breathe gently on the dream, cause it to spark rather than blow out.

I love that.  "Breathe gently on the dream."  That echoed in my head for a while.  There are more moments like that one, beautiful wording, wise reflections.  There just wasn't enough meat to the story in Firefly Island to hold me.

I'd recommend Firefly Island to people who like a relationship story better than a story that's plot-heavy. Firefly Island is a Bethany House book, so the heroine is Christian.  She saves herself for marriage (although she doesn't have to wait long) and occasionally ponders God or prays. There wasn't anything preachy in the book, in my opinion, by the point that I gave up.  But, talking to God in your head is no big deal to me.

I also must admit that I had a little trouble with the science aspect of this book.  Daniel was going to work for a man who wanted to produce "super crops" -- genetically modified, in other words.  GMOs have been implicated in the sudden die-offs of bees and in most of Europe people can avoid genetically modified products by looking on the labels of their foods. They're not labeled in the U.S. and they're not studied for their potential dangers here, either.  My husband has visited a lab where that kind of work is done in Europe.  So, I admit there was a bit of bias on my part. I thought the science was dubious.

My thanks to Litfuse Publicity for the review copy and to Christen Krumm for the extension when I wasn't able to finish reading Firefly Island in time for my tour date.


©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen

The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen 
Copyright 2012
Bethany House - Historical Fiction/Regency 
409 pp.

The Tutor's Daughter is a novel set in Regency England, on the Cornish coast, and I think it was probably the setting that drew my interest when I read about it.  Wow, great choice, by far one of the most engrossing, entertaining books I've read, so far this year!

Synopsis:

Emma Smallwood's father, a tutor, has slowly lost interest in life since the death of his wife, two years past.  With his small boarding school now trickling down to nothing, Emma is concerned and takes it upon herself to write to Sir Giles Weston.  His two eldest sons attended her father's school but the younger ones have not.  Perhaps he would be interested in sending the twins?

Sir Giles responds with an offer to pay Mr. Smallwood twice his normal fee if he'll move into Ebbington Manor to teach his youngest sons for a year.  Miss Smallwood is invited, as well.  Eager for a change of pace, Mr. Smallwood accepts.

But, strange things are afoot at the manor on the cliff.  Everyone seems to have a secret and mysterious happenings are a part of daily life.  Is a ghost playing the pianoforte at night?  Why isn't Emma allowed into the North wing of the manor?  Who is sneaking into her bedroom, stealing things and leaving frightening messages?  Is that shifty man who occasionally appears at the home a wrecker who watches men die on the rocks then sells their possessions?

Questions, questions.  And, I haven't even addressed the main characters.  Emma and two of the sons, Henry and Phillip, seem to be involved in a love triangle. But, maybe not.  What about the Weston's ward, Lizzie?  Who is she in love with and what is she hiding?  And, ugh, the nasty stepmother who wants to marry off Henry or Phillip to her wealthy friend's eligible daughter!

What I loved about The Tutor's Daughter:

Things happen.  Lots of things happen.  But The Tutor's Daughter is not only plot heavy but also has beautifully developed characters that you'll either love or love to hate and they don't all turn out to be quite what they seem.  There are some truly exciting moments.  Danger!  Action!  The setting in Cornwall is likely the same area you read about in some of Daphne DuMaurier's books, like Jamaica Inn, a dangerous coastline notorious for causing shipwrecks and where "wreckers" would lurk to claim goods from the ships as they washed to shore.

The romance in this novel, such as it is, develops slowly and realistically.  There's the usual, "But, she can't possibly end up with either of the brothers because she's nothing but a lowly tutor's daughter!"  We all know how that always ends, but . . . well, let's just say this is my first book by Julie Klassen but it will definitely not be my last.  I was so impressed.  There are plenty of little twists and turns and surprises.

I think it's worth mentioning that Emma also has a crisis of faith.  One of the characters gets a tiny bit preachy with Emma, but he's genuine about his beliefs and if The Tutor's Daughter didn't happen to be a Bethany House novel, I don't think I'd have given it much thought.  I'm always looking for the God references in Christian publications because I know some people get freaked about about them.  I didn't personally find the Christian aspect dominant although, as I said, the one character does have his moments of preachiness. They tend to occur at times that reflection on faith is common.

What I disliked about The Tutor's Daughter:

I have absolutely nothing to criticize, although a couple Americanisms did manage to sneak into the narrative.  Just a couple.  In general, the dialogue and writing was otherwise utterly convincing - among the best I've read.  I don't think I can take off even a fraction of a point for such slight errors.

The Bottom Line:

5/5 - Highly, Enthusiastically Recommended - A delightful, adventurous, romantic, sometimes creepy, often sweet and refreshingly clean tale with highly-developed characterization, believable dialogue, a rocking fine setting that is well-described, and an extraordinarily satisfying conclusion.

My thanks to Christen at Litfuse for the review copy.

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.