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Tag Archives: good out loud
Recommendation: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers
PTSD and generational tensions regarding war service didn’t start with the Vietnam War. Both are explored in Sayer’s Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers is another delightful Lord Peter Wimsey novel. … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, British, Crime fiction, Fiction, General adult audience, Novel, Uncategorized
Tagged about more than just murder, convoluted plot, death, effects of war, good out loud, good place to start, intricate, Lord Peter Wimsey, Lord Peter Wimsey novel, men and women, mental illness, moral injury, Murder, mystery, observant, plot driven, police, rich setting, well written, wills and inheritance, WWI
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Small Steps by Louis Sachar: An engaging, amusing and compassionate sequel to Holes
The sequel to Sachar’s Holes is as hilarious, enjoyable carefully-woven and heart-warming as the original. Continue reading
A children’s series that ages with its audience: Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill captures 10 year old life well
Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill is the third in Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. The girls are now 10 years old and the largely standalone chapters of the first two books smoothly transition into larger story arcs … Continue reading
Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, American, Children's, Children's Classic, Children's Classics, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novel, Uncategorized
Tagged Betsy-Tacy books, childhood, children's classic, early 20th century, fiction, friendship, good out loud, growing up in America, historical, humour, illustrated, imagination, Maud Hart Lovelace, mid-western United States, play, school, semi-autobiographical, siblings, society, starting school
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Deadly lizards, delinquent boys, a sinister warden and a whole lot of HOLES feature in Louis Sachar’s acclaimed YA novel
When Stanley Yelnats gets caught holding a celebrity’s stolen sneakers which have just fallen on him out of the sky, he knows that it’s because of the family curse acquired by his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake, … Continue reading
Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century, 20th Century YA, Adventure, American, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage, Family Drama, Fiction, Light Fiction, Novel, YA Classic, Young Adult
Tagged boys, camping, friendship, good out loud, growing up, hardship, history, Louis Sachar, overcoming adversity, resourcefulness, summer camp, survival, Texas, well written
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Pleasant, light reading that leaves me with a warm feeling towards my fellow-human beings: The 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith
The 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith is a modern serial novel published daily in the Scotsman and subsequently in book form. It follows a number of characters in Edinburgh as they drink coffee, negotiate childhood with a … Continue reading
Posted in British, Contemporary, General adult audience, Light Fiction, Scottish, Serial Novel
Tagged Alexander McCall Smith, character-driven, child-raising, dogs, fiction, gap year, gentrification, good out loud, growing up, humour, lighthearted read, men and women, mild romance, modern life, music, narcissism, neighbours, poetry, Scotland, Scottish, social class, society, uni student life
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Climbing trees, cutting your own hair and making messes with all the things you find in the kitchen: Maud Hart Lovelace’s second Betsy-Tacy book beautifully captures the experience of being 8 years old
Betsy-Tacy and Tib continues Maud Hart Lovelace’s engaging series of early 20th century American childhood. Betsy, Tacy and their new friend Tib are now 8-year-olds. Life is full of adventures, often with their genesis in Betsy’s fertile imagination. In this … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Children's, 5 years and up, American, Children's Classics, Novel
Tagged 5 and up, American, Betsy-Tacy books, childhood, children's classic, early 20th century, fiction, friendship, good out loud, growing up in America, historical, humour, illustrated, imagination, Maud Hart Lovelace, mid-western United States, play, school, semi-autobiographical, siblings, society, starting school, well written
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Radio plays that were The Mark Drama of the 1940s: The Man Born to Be King by Dorothy L. Sayers
As I read The Man Born to be King I found myself thinking, this was the Mark Drama of the 1940s! A series of twelve radio plays about the life of Jesus Christ, they were written by Dorothy L. Sayers … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Biography/Autobiography, Christian, Christian Non-fiction, General adult audience, Nonfiction, Script/Play
Tagged 20th Century, ascension, British, character-driven, Christianity, Christmas, crucifixion, disciples, Dorothy L. Sayers, drama, Easter, good for spiritual health, good out loud, Gospels, historical, holiday reading, Jesus' ministry, radio plays, resurrection, The Inklings, wartime
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An alphabet book that keeps adults interested: Animalia by Graeme Base
Animalia is a classic Australian picture book by Graeme Base. I have delightful memories of eating gelato with my sister after buying this book as a gift for the children of some friends I was about to visit. K and … Continue reading
Capturing childhood: Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
I recently discovered Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series doing a literature-map search of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Similarly, Lovelace’s series draws on her own American childhood and the target audience ages with the protagonists. In the first book, Betsy-Tacy, the girls … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Children's, 5 years and up, American, Children's Classics, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage
Tagged 20th Century, 5 and up, American, Betsy-Tacy books, childhood, children's classic, early 20th century, fiction, friendship, good out loud, growing up in America, historical, humour, illustrated, imagination, Maud Hart Lovelace, mid-western United States, play, semi-autobiographical, siblings, society, starting school, under 7s, whimsical
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A nonsensical tale for grown-ups: Once On a Time by A.A. Milne
A little known story by A.A. Milne, Once On a Time is an absurd and whimsical fairy story. It starts when one king takes exception to another king taking a morning walk over his battlements during breakfast time while wearing … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Fantasy, General adult audience
Tagged 20th Century, adventure, British, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, humour, seven league boots, whimsical
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