A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer

Usually I have an image of the front cover of the book I have just read pasted at the top of my comments, but PhotoElements is trying to be troublesome this morning. You will just have to imagine it instead. Picture Jeffrey's name in bold, shiny gold raised letters on top of the cover against a greyish background. Below is the appearance of a pointed, black fence and further near the bottom of the cover is the title in simple, white letters.

This book was a gift to my Dad from me for Christmas. One of the few books/favorite authors I found for him at my Goodwill. He told me that he stayed up one night just to finish it so I knew it would be a good read. Therefore when I was in the process of devouring my mother's all time favorite book, I put it down in order to read this one. I knew my mother's would only simmer on my side table and only get more tantalizing like a good meal, which is always worth anticipating.

A Prisoner of Birth is a story about two young men and how destiny brings them together in a prison cell. Another person is in the cell as well, but he is a strong, quiet presence who becomes the thread that sews these two lives together. Is it destiny? Can one say that a jail cell is one's destiny which turns one's life around from poverty to riches?

But when two of those people in that tiny space begin to transform and could pass for brothers or even each other, then the stage is set. One's release becomes anothers freedom and even the courtroom cannot banish the truth. The truth will make one free and imprison others.

Check this book out of the library or borrow it off someones bookshelf like I did and get ready for a great read. You may be burning the midnight candle with this one so go ahead and get out the book of matches.

THE SHELL SEEKERS by ROSAMUNDE PILCHER

 

Does your father or mother have a favorite book? The one they call "their favorite book" every time they talk about it or pick it off their bookshelf? Well this one is my father's favorite. He just reread it for the umpteenth time so I decided to get my copy off my bookshelf and read it again too just to be on par with my Dad. Then we could talk about it again. One more time.

 

He is now 96 but when he was turning 90 I wrote to Rosamunde Pilcher and told her that my Dad was turning 90 and that she was "his favorite author" in the whole world. Would she consider making his birthday one to remember by autographing one of her books and sending it to me so I could give it to my Dad for his birthday? I would pay of course for it and shipping, etc.

 

Lo and behold I got an email from her son, Robin, who said they would be glad to do just that and they sent an autographed book to me over the sea and never asked for payment. I wanted to fly over the Atlantic and give them both a huge hug. They really made my Dad's birthday, or rather I did through them. It's a group thing. He has his signed copy, with much pride, on his shelf.

 

But of all of Rosamunde Pilcher's books, The Shell Seekers is my Dad's all time favorite.

 

I am not going to tell you what or who are The Shell Seekers. You will have to read the book in order to figure out that mystery. But let's just say that I wouldn't mind having a Shell Seeker in my home.

 

At any rate this book is primarily about Penelope Keeling who has had a very colorful life but it isn't over yet. We get to feel through her eyes and memory what she has lived and loved through. We get to see her three grown children through her thoughts and how different the siblings all are from each other and from Rosamunde as well. Who really "gets her"? We want to be Rosamunde's friend. She is intelligent, giving and highly passionate underneath her simple attire. We want to sit in her tiny but delicious kitchen and eat her homey dishes or sit with her in front of her fire and have a drink and chat. We get to understand what The Shell Seekers means to her and how it has effected her life.

 

My paperback is 582 pages of delight. It is resting once again on my bookshelf among its other Pilcher novels until I reach for it again, thinking of my father, and reading it with him in mind.

 

Next you will hear about my mother's favorite all time book which I am in the joy of reading now. It's thick so hold on to your cup of coffee. It will be a week or two before you see the post about it.

Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende

 

Don't you love the cover of this book? I received this story on loan from a friend. I wondered if I would like this book because I had previously tried to read two other books by this person, also given to me by the same friend, and I was leary about its' magnetism. But I didn't have to worry long. As I began to read I kept turning the pages and wanted to keep turning the pages. I wanted to sit longer in the morning with my cup of coffee or in the late afternoons with a cup of tea. I wanted to turn the TV off earlier at night so that I could go to my bedroom and read under the warm covers in the quiet of the winter night.

 

Now I will have to go out and find the two other books which go with this tale as they form a trilogy.

 

This is the second book. It is about a grandmother who takes her grandson and eventually a young friend of his as well on a journey to the Kingdom of the Golden Dragon. You learn that there are such things as Yetis and that you can transport yourself, by concentrated meditation, outside your body in order to fly among the wind. Is that really true? I do not know. You will have to make up your own mind. I do know that there are things that have been done as old as time and an open mind allows one to "see". It's a bit scary I think. What do you think?

 

At any rate, you will enter a Forbidden Kingdom in the Himalayas where a King has ruled for centuries and only he and his heir can know how to unlock the Golden Dragon's secrets. Who doesn't like that idea? But there are those who want to take what is not theirs and the Kingdom may find that it is no longer at peace.

 

I think you may like this one.

Standup Guy by STUART WOODS

 

I am a little new to Stuart Woods but my Dad's bookshelf  holds just about all of his books. So when I saw this paperback at my Rite Aid store I bought it for him because I knew he didn't have this one. But before I gave it to him, I decided to read it. Why? Because I had just finished whatever I was reading and needed something to read in bed before I turned the light out.

 

I was not disappointed.

 

The action kept up but it was also not so detailed that I thought I had to figure out the Da Vinci Code before I fell asleep or before a heavy book fell on top of my eyes and startled me back into wakefulness. But that would be a fantasy because I never fall asleep holding a book. That's just not me. And anyway how much harm could a paperback do?

 

So if you like Stuart then you will have someone that could keep the light on for you as you read a Stone Barrington novel. I know once I find a character that I like then it's a good thing.

 



SKETCHES of OLD WARRENTON North Carolina

 

I bought this book in Warrenton, N.C. at a wonderful bookstore on the main street. I was on a "day trip" with my parents and my niece. Since my parents were getting older and could not make the effort for huge trips, we had come up with a plan to take little "day trips" from our home town. It couldn't be more than 45 minutes away.

 

So we drove to Warrenton and walked around on the main street and went into some shops. But mostly we drove around in order to see all the wonderful, old homes. We let our imaginations run wild as to what life had been like and who lived there and we enjoyed fabricating our own history. I took pictures and when they were developed I made copies for my parents and put them in book for them. I included the "diary" I took that day which described our adventure.

When we left Warrenton my father said we should drive home through Wake Forest. Why? Because it would be more rustic and we could then have tea at this nice, little tea shop that mom had been to previously. In that shop were hats which were fun to try on and I bought one for my niece. She looks good in hats.

 

So this book brought me back to that day in my life and I was able to read about its true history. Believe it or not I found a reference to one of my ancestors between its pages. A Blount, of course. He had moved there from Washington in order to "give his children a better education". Warrenton, in its heyday, was known for its schools for boys and girls. Not only did they board there but also the town's children could attend as day students. There was also a horse racing track built outside of town and there was also a health spa down the road. So Warrenton was a hopping place way back when and it is fascinating to read, in this book, about the houses, the people and the institutions. Included were some old pictures of the houses, etc.

 

I really enjoyed the tour. But you would enjoy visiting that town too, I think.

The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn

 

I take pictures of all the book covers for this blog but I have to admit that I returned this book back into the library drop off bin before I realized I had not done that...so this picture is a copy from the web. My apologies.

 

 

A friend of mine asked me if I had read this book and I said "No" so I went to the library and had to put my name on the waiting list. About three weeks later I got a notice that it was in and that I could pick it up. It was coming up on a weekend. A rainy weekend. So what did I do? I picked it up and started reading it and I could not put it down.

 

The author tells facts in a parable style narrative that really caught my imagination. But the facts woven through it remained clear, look uppable on the web and fascinating. (Is 'uppable' a word or did I just make it up? Either way I like it.)

 

Do you want to know more about 911 and what it means historically, biblically, spiritually, politically? Then dive in. You won't get the grass mowed or the leaves raked and you may have to call out for pizza ... you may even have to record Outlander. Why? Because you will want to know what is happening next and what everything means, how things tie in with each other, what does it mean for you and the world you live in?

 

So don't pick this book up off the Barnes and Noble shelf or from the library counter if you have a huge honey-do list because you won't get anything scratched off and your honey will get mad and then you will be sleeping on the couch which will be ok because then you will be able to stay up all night and get to the end at which point you will be wishing it kept going.

WALDEN by Henry David Thoreau

One of the things I wanted to do this Summer was to read some classics. I picked this one up at Barnes & Noble. Then I began reading it, putting it down when a more compelling book found its way into my hands, picked it up again and and so forth all summer. I finally decided to finish it today come hell or high Walden water.

I can see why it may have fascinated people of that era when it was published because it was outside the norm of what people were striving to do which was get out of the woods! To live in a more comfortable and sophisticated world where one could enjoy prosperity and lots of food at the table. To be in society and surround one's self with others of the same feathers.

Yet here was Thoreau who longed to be in solitude and was the happiest there where gossip was something he could do without or walk into town for  it if the need arose in him to suffer its appeal. But only for a short span as if to drink at a well of superficial knowledge then turn around and go back to one's own mind where questions and answers are forever battling within and the Universe is pondered continually. Simplicity was its own reward.

My goal in reading this particular classic was to have in hand an orange marker and highlight things that would tell me of the man who wrote the lines within. What was is character? Who was he inside? What made him tick? What fascinated him and why did he go to the woods?

I did find that I may have understood him more fully and I did find out about all the animals he came to know and the kind of visitors that he liked most who would come to his cabin to exchange minds.

Some books you read again, like A Prayer For Owen Meany, but I wouldn't read this one again. Perhaps a nap would be more satisfying.