DebHumm

Chock Full O Nuts

Revisado: 12-25-24

Audible sent me from the superb 1959 autobiography, Moss Hart’s Act One to Shy. Both of these wonders took me back to the golden age of Theater and to that equally fascinating era when young single adults went for a week at camps in the Poconos or the Adirondacks where new theater talent wrote and performed future hits and flops for Broadway!
Special Kudos go to the narration for Shy as Christine Baranski seemed possessed with the spirit of Mary Rodgers. Jesse Green, the coauthor, added in snarky corrections that clued in us clueless readers who might not know all the wondrous characters Mary grew up with, slept with, or collaborated with! Google him and listen to his side of how he helped this gem of a book along and how he loved its subject! All of it is PURE MAGIC and chock full of the most endearing nuts 🥜!

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Steampunk in the Wild Wild Europe

Revisado: 09-08-24

Set in 1860 England where Prince Albert’s passion for science reigns. A steampunk scavenger hunt takes you to places like Gutenberg Square in Strasberg and clock-related sites in Prague. Charge of the Light Brigade survivor and a young woman spurned but desperate to keep her animal activist mother and inventor grandfather safe from harm. Then think of Artemis Gordon from the old show Wild Wild West and hang on to your seats!

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A most wondrous and magical tale

Revisado: 09-03-24

Within the comforting framework of historical fiction, going back and forward to time periods and their characters, comes the magic that suspends belief. Mix in a bit of Shakespeare and Company’s Sylvia Beach and James Joyce. And finally some Brontë sisters in Haworth for antiquarian book sleuthing along with some sweet romance. Tie it up with a pretty bow of wonderful prose and poetry.

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How to solve? Start with awareness.

Revisado: 06-08-24

This book of essays has opened my eyes to the sad reality of bitter hatred in one part of the world. So reminiscent of Northern Ireland’s struggles to coexist in the same way as our American South once was and in many ways still is. One people sure they are better than another.

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Insightful look at an inspirational life

Revisado: 10-23-23

Not many auto biographies are as beautifully written with the thoughts provoked by the times lived through.
One example I had to write down to remember and also to share with potential readers:

Reflecting on the End of the 60s
“It had been a decade of change, of asking questions that were more interesting than the available answers.
Why ARE women unequal?
Why are races segregated?
Why do ideology and religion lead to war?
Why is sex SO regulated?
As the decade progressed, the drumbeat of these questions grew louder and louder until it became evident that the answers would have to be made up, dreamed into existence by the same people asking the questions.”

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Ok, now I have a new favorite author!

Revisado: 07-21-23

Thought I knew all the Newbery winners, but this one is genius. How perfect and childlike is this imagination and tale. I’ve added every Neil Gaiman book that is also narrated by Neil Gaiman. Coraline is the only one that had previously reached by conscientiousness. It must be because I’ve retired from teaching and am an empty nester. Ah, but word has it, I will finally become a grandma in the coming year and now I have a new source for captivating children!

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Science made endearing!

Revisado: 07-19-23

Oppenheimer was such an open mind, ready to soak up all opportunities as well as imparting his rich background in social justice, fine art, food and music and educational foundation. Reading about his first years at Berkeley as he learned to profess and not bloviate was fascinating. I learned so much political history, especially in my California. Who knew Upton Sinclair ran in 1934 for governor!

I can see the criticism of the narration, but it wasn’t off putting. I just thought there were two narrators rather than two authors!

I like to read books before the movie comes out and this one was a winner. And that says a lot because I have a mental block against science! My high school was super rigorous and we took a field trip to the linear accelerator, but Physics was a struggle/slog for me. I feel guilty about my elementary school classes that I taught because they got short shrift in science and a heavy dose of history and geography.
This book will not disappoint!

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LeVar is the icing on this epic cake!

Revisado: 07-03-23

I’m listening to LeVar Burton narrate a wondrous book told from a kid’s point of view. Unforgettable.

Reading Rainbow began in 1983 and taught kids WHY to read.

But under the Bush administration, the No Child Left Behind education policy shifted the emphasis on teaching children HOW to read.

So the show that encouraged kids to pick up a book and to read, lost its funding in 2008.

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A few bad reviewers

Revisado: 06-19-23

They don’t spoil the whole story! How anyone can consider this child porn probably wouldn’t believe women who allege rape. It’s always the fault of the woman. This novel shows quite the opposite. The resilience of people whom life has stripped them of all the family love and hard work because of a variety of prejudices. The characters have endured and used their talents in ways that show character despite their circumstances.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Lilting

Revisado: 12-29-22

The first of the Ravenswood Series, I got on one of Audible sales. At the end I wanted it to go on. And it did. And on. And I was rewarded. Toward the end with the reading of the Years poem, I lost it and blubbered like a baby. Characters are the reward and the narrator’s accents for each are enchanting.

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