The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, by Jennifer Ryan

An excellently written novel of women in a war-torn English village bravely carrying on, uniting as part of the Home Front. The plot was driven by a series of journals and letters, as the main characters each wrote of her own personal challenges, triumphs, and setbacks, and gave her own unique perspective on the events they all experienced. The Ladies' Choir was begun as a response to the absence of most of the men of the village, due to World War II. They did surprisingly well - even surprising themselves when they won a regional contest. Other complications to the plot included two infants born on the same day; one to the schoolteacher whose husband was in the military, and the other to the wealthy family whose only son had recently been shot down and killed in battle. It was very necessary that they have a son to carry on the family name and fortune. A newcomer to town raised suspicions. An artist, he had no visible means of supporting himself, and engaged in some very dubious dealings with shady characters. Two young girls, sisters, come of age in these perilous times, and learn about love and loss. A middle-aged widow, whose only son has just gone off to war, agrees to host one of the Senior Staff of the nearby War Center. A Jewish child refugee is housed with the Winthrops.

This is one of my favorite books, and I plan to keep it awhile and reread it. I highly recommend it, and I will look for more books by this author. This book was sent to me as part of the Early Reviewers program on LibraryThing. I was asked to provide an honest review in exchange.

The Naturalist: Theodore Roosevelt, A Lifetime of Exploration, and the Triumph of American Natural History

This is a book that I requested and received from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I requested it, thinking it was simply a biography of a U.S. president I had admired, but knew little about. I found his life story interesting, his poor health as a young child and his hard work to make himself fit and well, and his early fascination with the study of animals. I admire him for his work to promote conservation of natural resources and of wildlife, but the unending accounts of killing grizzlies, bison, elephants, hippos and rhinos were distressing to me. I note one quote from the book in particular, a narrative on hunting hippos: "As Roosevelt later pointed out, the cow's (female hippo) object may have been as benign as an escape to deeper water, but its wide-open jaws seemed to indicate that it was 'bent on mischief.' " Seemed like Roosevelt was the one bent on mischief; the hippos were minding their own business. I confess, I am one of the "mushy sentimentalists" like those deplored by Mr. Roosevelt. That said, his legacy cannot be denied, that of natural history and of conservation.

Since writing this review, last night (June 7) I enjoyed watching a Nova episode on PBS (American public television) titled "Wild Ways". It was about modern methods of studying and conserving wildlife: tracking animals with GPS enabled collars, and trying to open up corridors for migration. Very interesting and encouraging!

American Meteor, by Norman Lock

"American Meteor" could describe the protagonist of this novel, Stephen Moran, or the railroads that spanned the continent, or the US's declared "Manifest Destiny", or even Walt Whitman (quoted in the frontispiece "What am I myself but one of your meteors?"

Fast moving as a meteor, this brief novel (201 pages) encompasses the career of one man, and takes us from his childhood gathering oysters near Brooklyn, NY, to the American Civil War and an army hospital where he met Walt Whitman, to Abraham Lincoln's funeral train. He stayed with the train after the Union Pacific RR bought it, and having become enamored of the pioneer craft of photography, worked for U. P.'s Dr. Thomas Durant documenting the progress of the railroad's westward expansion. From there, it was a short step to becoming Gen. Custer's personal photographer, and meeting Crazy Horse..

The author takes a few liberties with actual historical events, as he freely admits in "Acknowledgements".

Sisters of Shiloh, by Kathy Hepinstall, Becky Hepinstall Hilliker

Read and released April-May, 2015

Received from LIbraryThing's Early Reviewers program, I started reading it right away. A fascinating plot, two sisters have joined the Confederate Army, disguised as men. Libby/Thomas is seeking revenge for her slain husband, and Josephine/Joseph came with her to try to protect her (from herself?). Quite graphic depictions of the horrors of war, not easy reading in that respect.

The Oblate's Confession, by William Peak

Read and reviewed in November, 2014. Released later

I found this a very interesting although slow moving narrative. I am learning about the Roman Catholic Church in medieval times, as I am looking up words and concepts unfamiliar to me. Winwaed was given by his father to the monastery at Redestone as a young child, as a fulfillment of a pledge, a vow made to God. He grows up in the silent monastery, learning the ways of the monks, and is befriended by a hermit who lives nearby and who teaches him about spirituality, praying, and living in the woods.

A beautifully written, descriptive book. I felt like I was there, in the monastery, climbing the mountain, and in the woods with Winwaed and Father Gwynnedd. Written from the perspective of an older man recalling his early years, the narrative seemed to skip the parts that led up to the need for his confession at a later time. He had already confessed to Father Gwynnedd, although Gwynnedd's advanced age and senility prevented him from fully participating in the hearing of it and the absolution of it. The reader is left wondering how the monastery had changed after the second plague and what Winwaed's life was like in his adult years.
*****
I received this Advanced Reader's copy from the publisher as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers, in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Mirror: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Jewish Iconography. by Sara Lipton

Reviewed in September, 2014

Received from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program (LTER)

I was excited to receive this book in the mail yesterday! I want to express appreciation now to Henry Holt and Company for sending it to me as part of the LT Early Reviewers program. I am looking forward to reading it, as I am reading Jews, God and History by Max I. Dimont and the National Geographic's booklet, Inside the Medieval World. Medieval history is a subject I have known little or nothing of, and have been curious about it. Also, as a conservative Christian, I have a deep respect for the Jewish people as God's Chosen People, forever.
I will be undergoing knee replacement surgery and physical therapy/rehabilitation next week and for the next few weeks, and don't know if I will feel like reading such deep subject matter. I hope the Early Reviewers program will not penalize me if I don't follow up with a "real" review for awhile.

Confession: This is still on my nightstand, unfinished. I want to read it; I want to learn about the history of the beginnings of anti-Semitism. This is a very deep and studious work, and there are too many fiction novels tempting me.