A collection of letters Trachtenberg wrote while President of George Washington University. Some of them are thoughtful and worth reading. All are comA collection of letters Trachtenberg wrote while President of George Washington University. Some of them are thoughtful and worth reading. All are complemented by a cartoon on a closely related topic from the New Yorker. It's a fun quick read, and a nice way to have some memories of GWU....more
Really does what it says: a quick, modern introduction to the key things you need to know if you have any interest in doing genealogy research. A veryReally does what it says: a quick, modern introduction to the key things you need to know if you have any interest in doing genealogy research. A very good opening chapter (Chapter 2) on the usual admonition to talk and get documents from people in your family as the most important and first steps, and Combs-Bennett goes beyond the admonition to suggest (in chapters 2 and 3) to actually go about building and recording such information. She then talks about the most important sources of formal records beyond the family records, the role of digital files and tools (including a nice short discussion on the role of DNA testing), and a greatchapter on organizing, storing, and publishing your results.
If you are even mildly curious about modern approaches to genealogy -- or even if you just want tips in one of the areas discussed -- it is a very good use of 30 minutes. ...more
"Run away with me ... you like tea. I like books. Let's open a shop somewhere remote and forget the world exists."
"Forever seems such a long time ... "Run away with me ... you like tea. I like books. Let's open a shop somewhere remote and forget the world exists."
"Forever seems such a long time ... especially after the short passionate visits of the last two years"
This is a fun tale of two women with responsibilities and a strictly lain-out paths for their lives -- which they reject in order to follow their love for each other and for the pleasures of simple life. It is easy and satisfying to read, and perhaps suggests that by pursuing this way of life they may also help the world be a better place. For half of the book, I thought this was an interesting but okay read ... but at the time of the dragon attack (don't ask), Thorne writes with powerful clarity about the pain and fear that comes with commitment to deep love, and the book became much better than I expected.
I picked this up because I just became aware of the sub-genre of "Cozy Fantasy" and wanted to try one. This was perhaps a good example of why the sub-genre generates some unique work....more
“I suppose if you love someone, you don´t stop them doing the things that make them happy.”
An interesting mystery, with two deaths current, one long a“I suppose if you love someone, you don´t stop them doing the things that make them happy.”
An interesting mystery, with two deaths current, one long ago, one long-long-ago, and some surprising ways they are tied together. A really good read that kept me finding time to come back and finish. Interesting characters, very human motives, and a setting that is part of the story in a very real way. I liked it enough I may read more in the series.
Cleeves has an interesting way of telling the story; omniscient narrative with each chapter a single point-of-view that let me into the culture and the personal values of each character. I never felt jarred as each chapter gave me a new perspective, because each chapter also moved the plot along. The few times when something I'd already seen in a previous chapter came to light in a later chapter seemed natural for the point-of-view. It is a good writing style for a mystery, in which some things need to remain unclear until the denouement.
This is the third book in the series, and I had read none of the earlier ones nor seen the BBC series. I gather that the series focuses mostly on the detective Jimmy Perez, and he has to be the focus of solving the mystery. But I found the insight into the other characters, the Shetlanders and the incomers, really the most interesting. Perez has an interesting internal life, with quirks and doubts and strengths-he-does-not-see, but it was the story, and the Shetland culture, that brought me back when life allowed me time to read. And I didn't feel I needed the earlier books to completely understand this story.
I read this book mainly because I'd just visited Shetland, and my host there was the Regional Archaeologist who is a character in this novel (because it has archaeological elements). I will admit that my visit made me both interested in the Shetland culture, and made it easy to understand the words and events without having to look something up on Google every few pages. How could I resist a mystery so connected to places I had been? I picked up a copy in Edinburgh for my travel back to the States, and it was the perfect airplane read. I highly recommend it for the plot, the setting, and the writing, even if you haven't just experienced the horizontal rain and sudden noontime mists of Shetland....more
Rick Stevens guidebooks are the most fun and useful I've found, at least for Europe. I found a great B&B using this, and I figured out how to use my lRick Stevens guidebooks are the most fun and useful I've found, at least for Europe. I found a great B&B using this, and I figured out how to use my limited time in Glasgow and Edinburgh effectively. It also gave some historical context for my visits to Shetland and the Orkneys. Well worth my time....more
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