The Pattern Artist
By Nancy Moser
OK, I was desperate for a book and this was what I had so I had to read it. It looked interesting: the story of a young immigrant woman in New York who finds her talent as a pattern/fashion designer. Through a series of opening doors, she finds work at Macy's, and then Butterick patterns, and she also finds a man.
The story of the Butterick Pattern Company is true, and quite interesting.
In summary, it's romance novel with Christian undertones (I skipped those parts). Readable.
Rating: 1/5
Recommendation: Only if you're absolutely desperate!
Saturday, July 29, 2017
#63 The Mother's Promise
The Mother's Promise
By Sally Hepworth
Chic lit at it's best. A mother and daughter duo live an insular life. There is no dad in the picture, and no immediate family except for an alcoholic brother. Zoe, the daughter, has social anxiety disorder. Mom, Alice is diagnosed with cancer. Somehow, these two souls, so alone in life, find a network of caring people to help them as they struggle on with their lives. Those people too have their own struggles, but in the end, they all find a way to move on.
Short chapters, easy to read, good pacing.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: If you like chic lit, sure.
By Sally Hepworth
Chic lit at it's best. A mother and daughter duo live an insular life. There is no dad in the picture, and no immediate family except for an alcoholic brother. Zoe, the daughter, has social anxiety disorder. Mom, Alice is diagnosed with cancer. Somehow, these two souls, so alone in life, find a network of caring people to help them as they struggle on with their lives. Those people too have their own struggles, but in the end, they all find a way to move on.
Short chapters, easy to read, good pacing.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: If you like chic lit, sure.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
#62 The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
By Lisa See
An interesting novel, featuring the Akha hill tribe people of China and the culture of tea.
Lin-yan is an. Akha woman, and we meet her and the culture before the modern world invades her world. Interesting details about their beliefs and traditions. She meets a young man, and as is the tradition, they have "the intercourse" before marriage, as the custom is to sample various options before marriage. Lin-yan gets pregnant, however, her lover has gone to Thailand for work, and thus she gives birth without being married, as her lover doesn't know she is pregnant. As she has no way to bring up a child as a single parent, and no one knows where her lover is, she gives the child up for adoption, but she. never forgets about her baby. Her baby is adopted by an American couple, and faces many issues, growing up in a white family as their only child in America.
Throughout the novel is the story of tea, and it's rise to prominence as not only a revered drink in China, but as a commodity, making and losing fortunes and prices rise and fall.
In the end, mother and daughter are reunited at the family's secret tea grove, high in the hills of the famous tea district of Nannuo. A satisfying ending.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: An interesting read, though perhaps just a bit contrived.
By Lisa See
An interesting novel, featuring the Akha hill tribe people of China and the culture of tea.
Lin-yan is an. Akha woman, and we meet her and the culture before the modern world invades her world. Interesting details about their beliefs and traditions. She meets a young man, and as is the tradition, they have "the intercourse" before marriage, as the custom is to sample various options before marriage. Lin-yan gets pregnant, however, her lover has gone to Thailand for work, and thus she gives birth without being married, as her lover doesn't know she is pregnant. As she has no way to bring up a child as a single parent, and no one knows where her lover is, she gives the child up for adoption, but she. never forgets about her baby. Her baby is adopted by an American couple, and faces many issues, growing up in a white family as their only child in America.
Throughout the novel is the story of tea, and it's rise to prominence as not only a revered drink in China, but as a commodity, making and losing fortunes and prices rise and fall.
In the end, mother and daughter are reunited at the family's secret tea grove, high in the hills of the famous tea district of Nannuo. A satisfying ending.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: An interesting read, though perhaps just a bit contrived.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
#61 Everything Was Good-Bye
Everything Was Good-Bye
By Gurjinder Basran
This novel takes place in the lower mainland, including Surrey, Delta, and Vancouver, so a familiar setting. It's the story of a young Punjabi woman and how she negotiates her identity, living between tradition and western culture. She falls in love with a white man, but she ends up following tradition and accepting an arranged marriage. Her marriage is loveless, her husband selfish and abusive, and he is infertile so the couple cannot have children.
Meena ends up having an affair with her former white lover and she gets pregnant. She finally leaves her husband, has the baby, and eventually reunites with her lover. In an unfortunate twist of fate, her ex and her lover meet at a wedding, and her lover falls to his death after being pushed over a balcony by her ex.
Well written, but tragic.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: An interesting look at negotiating Punjabi culture in contemporary Vancouver, and how tradition still dictates the lives of women, often to their detriment.
By Gurjinder Basran
This novel takes place in the lower mainland, including Surrey, Delta, and Vancouver, so a familiar setting. It's the story of a young Punjabi woman and how she negotiates her identity, living between tradition and western culture. She falls in love with a white man, but she ends up following tradition and accepting an arranged marriage. Her marriage is loveless, her husband selfish and abusive, and he is infertile so the couple cannot have children.
Meena ends up having an affair with her former white lover and she gets pregnant. She finally leaves her husband, has the baby, and eventually reunites with her lover. In an unfortunate twist of fate, her ex and her lover meet at a wedding, and her lover falls to his death after being pushed over a balcony by her ex.
Well written, but tragic.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: An interesting look at negotiating Punjabi culture in contemporary Vancouver, and how tradition still dictates the lives of women, often to their detriment.
#60
I Forget the Name Already!
Haha. I took this one back to the library, figuring for sure I'd remember the name, but I already forgot!
The story of a young man and a young woman in modern day India. Both of them try to break free from the dictates of their culture. He falls in love iwht a Muslim, but cannot marry her. She goes to London and falls in love with an Irish man, gets pregnant, and has an abortion. Society finds them a good match for marriage and once married they attempt to survive. He by having sex with prostitutes, she by going on business trips to London.
Rating: 3.5/5
Recommendation: An interesting look at the world of marriage in India.
Haha. I took this one back to the library, figuring for sure I'd remember the name, but I already forgot!
The story of a young man and a young woman in modern day India. Both of them try to break free from the dictates of their culture. He falls in love iwht a Muslim, but cannot marry her. She goes to London and falls in love with an Irish man, gets pregnant, and has an abortion. Society finds them a good match for marriage and once married they attempt to survive. He by having sex with prostitutes, she by going on business trips to London.
Rating: 3.5/5
Recommendation: An interesting look at the world of marriage in India.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
#59 Salt Houses
Salt Houses
By Hala Alyan
A book about Palestine, those who had to leave, and where successive generations ended up and lived. About trying to go back to Palestine, when Palestine is only a story told by the grandparents who had to leave. The story of immigrants, of finding new homes, of never quite belonging anywhere, always identified by an accent, by skin colour.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: A bit slow at times, but a good read.
By Hala Alyan
A book about Palestine, those who had to leave, and where successive generations ended up and lived. About trying to go back to Palestine, when Palestine is only a story told by the grandparents who had to leave. The story of immigrants, of finding new homes, of never quite belonging anywhere, always identified by an accent, by skin colour.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: A bit slow at times, but a good read.
#58 The Whole Town's Talking
The Whole Town's Talking
By Fannie Flagg
I chose this book because it's written by the same author as "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe" which I seem to remember reading a very long time ago and enjoying.
This is chic lit, about a small town in the U.S. originally settled by Swedish immigrant farmers. The novel follows the progress of the town through it's founding members and their offspring, through the days of farms and farmers up to current times and beyond.
One quirky feature is that those who die and are buried in the local cemetery talk and comment on the lives of those still living from wherever they are after they die.
Cute, easy read.
Rating: 3.5/5
Recommendation: Easy reading.
By Fannie Flagg
I chose this book because it's written by the same author as "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe" which I seem to remember reading a very long time ago and enjoying.
This is chic lit, about a small town in the U.S. originally settled by Swedish immigrant farmers. The novel follows the progress of the town through it's founding members and their offspring, through the days of farms and farmers up to current times and beyond.
One quirky feature is that those who die and are buried in the local cemetery talk and comment on the lives of those still living from wherever they are after they die.
Cute, easy read.
Rating: 3.5/5
Recommendation: Easy reading.
Sunday, July 2, 2017
#57 Miss Burma
Miss Burma
By Charmaine Craig.
Don't bother reading this one! OMG. It had such a good premise: Burma in 1939, and a young Jewish man marries a young Karen women in Rangoon.They have children and live through the days of Burma becoming a nation and the majority Burmese systematically wiping out various ethnic minorities, including the Karen people. Their daughter becomes Miss Burma, and then goes on to become a movie star. She marries one of the leaders of the Karen revolution, and when he is killed, she takes on his leadership role to try and free her people.
OMG, so BORING! On and on about the politics. I skimmed through most of the last part of the novel, just to see if anything happened. But the novel could have been half the length and left out all the political stuff and had more of the human drama aspect.
Rating: 1/5
Recommendation: NO!!
By Charmaine Craig.
Don't bother reading this one! OMG. It had such a good premise: Burma in 1939, and a young Jewish man marries a young Karen women in Rangoon.They have children and live through the days of Burma becoming a nation and the majority Burmese systematically wiping out various ethnic minorities, including the Karen people. Their daughter becomes Miss Burma, and then goes on to become a movie star. She marries one of the leaders of the Karen revolution, and when he is killed, she takes on his leadership role to try and free her people.
OMG, so BORING! On and on about the politics. I skimmed through most of the last part of the novel, just to see if anything happened. But the novel could have been half the length and left out all the political stuff and had more of the human drama aspect.
Rating: 1/5
Recommendation: NO!!
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