tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20079442721314379482024-03-20T04:41:44.793-07:00Annarita's Readers CornerAnnarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-87888123388247066992018-05-25T12:43:00.001-07:002018-05-25T12:43:44.098-07:00<a href="https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/42545051" class="iubenda-white iubenda-embed " title="Privacy Policy">Privacy Policy</a> <script type="text/javascript">(function (w,d) {var loader = function () {var s = d.createElement("script"), tag = d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.src="https://cdn.iubenda.com/iubenda.js"; tag.parentNode.insertBefore(s,tag);}; if(w.addEventListener){w.addEventListener("load", loader, false);}else if(w.attachEvent){w.attachEvent("onload", loader);}else{w.onload = loader;}})(window, document);</script>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-42190392496380644352012-01-09T06:13:00.000-08:002012-01-09T06:13:25.341-08:00Second Chances, by Dannye Williamsen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAE0UeE_2PLP02wip8v8hSUeFWWf9i8O0SYkkjp9t9KmQ9pbvUciS6otg0w2g4zKfDnQ5QeWMVMUST_5NcqGt6a_V06TDpQWrQevBlkCKN-gxb04BXsEUGNu-iLMatbZS-f5idGw8NjwU/s1600/Second+Chances.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAE0UeE_2PLP02wip8v8hSUeFWWf9i8O0SYkkjp9t9KmQ9pbvUciS6otg0w2g4zKfDnQ5QeWMVMUST_5NcqGt6a_V06TDpQWrQevBlkCKN-gxb04BXsEUGNu-iLMatbZS-f5idGw8NjwU/s320/Second+Chances.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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I found myself reading Second Chances in a period in which I had precious little time to devote to reading… and after the first few pages I was so hooked that I started carving out every possible moment to go on reading… during meals and even in the bathtub, something I never do for fear of damaging the reader!<br />
Today, I finished the book, and I must confess I did not read the incipit for the following book, Threads that Bind, because I want to be surprised and enchanted again by the dexterity with which Dannye Williamsen manages to bind the reader, both with the plot and with her fluent, rich style, full of beautiful descriptions so well calibrated that they become precious ornaments to the story without suffocating it.<br />
Another gift this book has to offer is the underlying philosophy of the eternal struggle between good and evil, faced here from a new, original perspective, that of two twins, parted at birth and forced by life along totally different paths. Is evil something we are born with? And is there something good even in the most evil person? These are some of the questions Dannye Williamsen addresses in her book, and while she gives, of course, her own answer to them, Second Chances offers the reader the possibility of lingering and pondering on the mystery of ying and yang, present in each of us, but that we often tend to ignore.<br />
Add to all this a plot that verges on horror in a very new way, which reminded me of Dan Simmons’ Carrion Comfort (for Darian has something in common with the “mind vampires” we find there, even if he uses his power in a very self-centered and distorted way) and you have the recipe for the perfect book to keep you company in a long and cold January evening!<br />
A five star book, no doubt!Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-23703720515585824472011-12-24T05:06:00.001-08:002011-12-24T05:06:14.387-08:00<img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEzMjQ3MzE4MTU3NDgmcHQ9MTMyNDczMTg3NzA2OCZwPTU*OTI4MiZkPSZnPTImbz*zZmI5ZDVkOGQwNTk*ZTAyYTFl/MGRjOWYwYWIxMDY1YiZvZj*w.gif" /><object id='bookwidget' name='bookwidget' width='328' height='220'><param name='book' value='http://www.freado.com/bookwidget.swf' ></param><param name ='flashVars' Value='document_Id=11692_30681_1'></param><param name='allowScriptAccess' value='always'></param><param name='allowFullScreen' value='true'></param><param name='allownetworking' value='all'></param><embed src='http://www.freado.com/11692/widget' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' allowfullscreen='true' width='328' height='220'FlashVars="document_Id=11692_30681_1"></embed></object>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-8042383576327995542011-12-10T15:17:00.000-08:002011-12-10T15:17:47.319-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4Pb6Zmt-ACmQx5JNIas6ih9xDXQl9HALhW58MpiU9BMoVhaYTbvr6xYBlLkV6D6eDvJpy2wMKZcn-9hAb6cefD6LqmpsUbtQ-BB0Hlr6gEEnT6WCviJuap9xWCFjuwOuRA27Lf1rQa8/s1600/Versatileblogger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4Pb6Zmt-ACmQx5JNIas6ih9xDXQl9HALhW58MpiU9BMoVhaYTbvr6xYBlLkV6D6eDvJpy2wMKZcn-9hAb6cefD6LqmpsUbtQ-BB0Hlr6gEEnT6WCviJuap9xWCFjuwOuRA27Lf1rQa8/s1600/Versatileblogger.png" /></a></div><br />
For once, this is NOT a review!<br />
Tonight, when I discovered my very good friend Sue Palmer had awarded me this, I felt more than flattered.<br />
My first thought was, "What ever did I do to deserve this?"<br />
My blog is not very elaborate, it does not hold hot discussions about important subjects, it is only what its name says, my reading corner, the place where the impressions, feelings and thoughts evoked by the books I read find their way from my mind and heart to the written page (or should I say to the screen?).<br />
All I want is to share these feelings and thoughts, and maybe show to other people good books that truly deserve to be read, nothing more.<br />
So, what can I say? Just thank you!<br />
<br />
Now, they tell me that with the award comes the task of:<br />
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1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post... I do not know how to do that, I admit my absolute ignorance, so I'll try to do it my own way!<br />
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2. Share seven things about yourself... okay, this is hard too. Let's see...<br />
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a) I love cats, but I suppose all the world knows that, by now.<br />
b) I love horses too, and horseriding, which I've been doing since I was a child... and this is something few people know.<br />
c) I absolutely love weapons, most of all firearms of the Nineteenth century. My dream is to own a Winchester 1873<br />
d) I tried to shoot my ex-husband. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong pistol and it fired only blanks. But he gave me the divorce without any trouble, after that<br />
e) Once I got to ride a mechanichal Brahama bull... I lasted five seconds, at most, but it was fun!<br />
f)I got to meet Clint Eastwood, when I was 14... just five minutes, but worth a life, at least for a teenager!<br />
g) I wrote my first short story when I was 13, and I threw it away when I was 18<br />
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3. Pass the award off to 5 recently discovered blogs and let them know about it... again, choosing it's not so easy... let's see...<br />
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<a href="http://vickiejohnstone.blogspot.com/">http://vickiejohnstone.blogspot.com</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://terapiacanton.blogspot.com/">http://terapiacanton.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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<a href="http://johnfitchv.livejournal.com/">http://johnfitchv.livejournal.com/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmindslaponline.blogspot.com%2F&h=WAQEM6n7h" rel="nofollow me" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>mindslaponline.blogsp<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>ot.com</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://wyndwitch.blogspot.com/">http://wyndwitch.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
Well, it seems I did it!!!!<br />
Now, all of you who are so kind as to pay a visit to my quiet reading corner, go and meet these friends too... I'm sure you'll find other very interesting whings awaiting you there!Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-25340547107052791522011-11-07T05:35:00.000-08:002011-11-07T05:35:23.759-08:00Sweat, glamour and light sins By Alex Cantòn Dutari<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Op7b6z3Can8JdtGHfFCUlSOJfxvf9DuXpGKHZ3DYmfWJ01s_LB-rcmFIAbGmnY_Uaf0umpVMs5hOXcquYLolp3LVaCpaokrUnm2b2h5gXHxeyl3iY0bVfm73-LpeAIBia9iBol4sqyU/s1600/Sweat%252C+Glamour+and+Light+Sins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Op7b6z3Can8JdtGHfFCUlSOJfxvf9DuXpGKHZ3DYmfWJ01s_LB-rcmFIAbGmnY_Uaf0umpVMs5hOXcquYLolp3LVaCpaokrUnm2b2h5gXHxeyl3iY0bVfm73-LpeAIBia9iBol4sqyU/s1600/Sweat%252C+Glamour+and+Light+Sins.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This is one of those books I approach with a slight anxiousness, because it doens’t belong to any of the genres I usually read… actually, it is a genre I do not like very much… and I was afraid that might throw a shade on my evaluation of the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And I was pleasantly surprised. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The story started just as I expected, with a light tone, light situations… in a few words, it seemed to be nothing more than a way to spend a few pleasant hours reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">As I went on, however, as I got to know Rhonda, Issi, Jack and all the other characters much better, I gradually became aware of the true value and potential of the book, and of the talent Alex Cantòn has as a writer.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">For in this 49 pages there are more different layers and there is more depth than I have found in many more ponderous tomes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">What fashinated me… so gradually it took me a little while to become aware of what was happening… was not only the way Alex delved into the personal history and problems of each character, but also the way he explored the human mind using those characters as models through which to exemplify different situations and the way they overcame their difficulties.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">From Issi’s (apparently) silly problem of getting rid of an embarassing name, to Jack’s more serious problem of getting involved into something that might mar his reputation and Marcos way of carving a place in life for himself, the reader travels through a microcosm that in a very subtle way prompts some inner evaluation and bring his/her own problems into perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">While somewhat original, the style in which the book is written is brilliant too, and perfectly complements the development of the plot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-24066738170981013942011-10-10T07:13:00.000-07:002011-10-10T07:13:20.026-07:00Outcome, a novel: there's more than a hurricane coming - by Barbara Ebel<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Outcome is a book that is difficult to place in any given genre, because it touches so many aspects of life and of the human soul. My very first impression is that it reminds me of a book I read, and loved, many years ago, The Human Comedy, by William Saroyan.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The setting is quite different, of course, but the elements of tragedy, and of the ability of the human soul to cope with it are the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Here we aren’t facing the World One period, but we have a life-threatening situation all the same, with the hurricane Ivan heading toward Florida, and we see how a place so wonderful that it can be considered a piece of heaven on earth can become a deadly trap in a matter of minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">A life is lost, another is in the balance, and in between a small dog, Putt-Putt, fights to understand this sudden subversion of his world and to survive.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And around this central tragedy, which is made of despair and hope, of loss and recovery, a whole universe of characters comes to life. People who otherwise would never have met find their way into each other’s life, and this interaction changes their life forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Barbara Ebel proves herself to be not only a skilled physician but also a very skilled author. Her medical insight lends a deeper ring of truth to the parts of the story that unfold between the OR and the ICU of the Good Samaritan Hospital, and her skill as an author is proved by the way she weaves the threads of so many lives throughout the book and to the proper end for each of them. Even for Putt-Putt, who is one of the main characters, never far from the heart of the reader.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Decidedly a good reading, a book hard to put down, fully worth a five star review</span>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-47871031466288701382011-09-24T11:01:00.000-07:002011-09-24T11:12:41.947-07:00Thief of Todays and Tomorrows - by Susan Wells Bennett<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC21-RRR50bGCiV4igGDf3B-tMUGkBrpJG5-HtNQOwJRUkIHXCBjhoaqArnp62YBYpSkv5OxqfgDRPg_877cE6RoinAaB6KfZXsDT80PsxhppAJLEUhnGTROy6C_9zWB69TjBHu0E-3Mg/s1600/Thief+of+Todays+and+Tomorrows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC21-RRR50bGCiV4igGDf3B-tMUGkBrpJG5-HtNQOwJRUkIHXCBjhoaqArnp62YBYpSkv5OxqfgDRPg_877cE6RoinAaB6KfZXsDT80PsxhppAJLEUhnGTROy6C_9zWB69TjBHu0E-3Mg/s1600/Thief+of+Todays+and+Tomorrows.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This book came to me in an “odd” way. Months ago I won a few books through a contest and “Thief of Todays and Tomorrows” was one of the titles I could choose from. I found the unusual title intriguing, and another thing that caught my attention was the fact that it told the story of an Irish woman and her Italian husband… I’m Italian, and my companion is Irish.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It took me a while to get to read it, but once I began I could not put it down. No, this is not the whole truth… I had to put it down, from time to time, because the story was so full of emotion, so tender and sad and true that I found it almost overwhelming.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I have no limits of genre in my choice of books, so I read almost anything, from mainstream to fantasy to thrillers. But I find it difficult to say at what genre this book could belong. In my opinion, as most really good books do, it goes beyond genres and classifications, and reaches that wider, tragic stage that is real life.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Once more, Susan Bennet gives us characters so well defined and with such a strong personality that they impress themselves in the mind of the reader, to stay there forever. And this is true not only for the main characters, such as Kate or Francis, but also for all the other people that surround them and that for the good or the bad influence their life.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Another thing that I truly loved of the book is the picture it gives of how life was in the US between the end of the Second World War and the Sixties. With a truly masterly hand, Susan Bennet paints a picture of the society of the period, and we could almost consider it another silent character, that slowly evolves and changes throughout the book, creating on one hand the stage on which the personal drama of the characters unfolds, and on the other lending to the book a feeling of “historical” novel, even if it is a rather recent history.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Thief of Todays and Tomorrows is a little masterpiece that carries the reader away to another time and another way of life, not very far removed from our present life but, under some aspects, light years away from it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Definitely, a book worth reading, that fully deserves a five stars evaluation<o:p></o:p></span></div>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-88216820502254914652011-09-24T10:59:00.000-07:002011-09-24T10:59:05.902-07:00The Lonely Mile - By Allen Leverone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRR2mzlob7udlEHlpMhG7P2GleTyT-Om1XiHEnv-z2m4Ogpz-QzK0yzJ6w2hHCeFqyxO57CNqwXYZBxdxRs7MHfGR90K_1CtgdedyJ-r34HE0g_bZQt6ZMAB_VHEDscCy2Lf2xVwTtzc/s1600/The+Lonely+Mile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRR2mzlob7udlEHlpMhG7P2GleTyT-Om1XiHEnv-z2m4Ogpz-QzK0yzJ6w2hHCeFqyxO57CNqwXYZBxdxRs7MHfGR90K_1CtgdedyJ-r34HE0g_bZQt6ZMAB_VHEDscCy2Lf2xVwTtzc/s1600/The+Lonely+Mile.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I’m a sort of bookworm, so I have many favorite genres and authors, of the past and of the present. To mention a couple, just to stay with The Lonely Mile genre, Alistair McLean and David Baldacci.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This novel was a very nice surprise to me, because it reaches those same levels of tension and has the same fast pace, hooking the reader from the very beginning and managing in just a short chapter to create an atmosphere of anguish, terror and suspense that will underlie the whole story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">As it often happens in both McLean’s and Baldacci’s novels, the main character, Bill Ferguson, is not some superhuman secret agent or detective, he is just a normal man, with a normal family and a normal life, who suddenly finds himself dragged in a nightmarish situation just because he simply could not let a young girl to be kidnapped under his nose without doing anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In many ways, he is much more of a hero than all those very qualified agents and detectives we find elsewhere, just because he never expected to become one.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And his enemy, his nemesis, whose plans he has thwarted, is in its own right a much more original “bad guy” than those we usually find in thrillers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">There isn’t much more I can say without spoiling the story. I can add, however, that Leverone ability emerges not only in the way he depicts his character, but also in his building of the plot, apparently very simple but very much misleading in its simplicity, just as in the best McLean novels.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Definitely, in my opinion, a five star novel no lover of the genre can bypass without reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-15986850068452013982011-09-24T10:57:00.000-07:002011-09-24T11:13:33.899-07:00Wild life - By Susan Wells Bennett<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz41gql28Q090ejIgmrnPgOM7wDMl8Bu3xYNIT5P0FktJJRYGMNAIm96m_GmlPkzn46ftMlxCfCP-BkU0hrxaIl3xsd2EXZ0rFg3B2yvU6ygMHNJq4CEV88iGhwhEht3b6na5H2YI9l3U/s1600/Wild+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz41gql28Q090ejIgmrnPgOM7wDMl8Bu3xYNIT5P0FktJJRYGMNAIm96m_GmlPkzn46ftMlxCfCP-BkU0hrxaIl3xsd2EXZ0rFg3B2yvU6ygMHNJq4CEV88iGhwhEht3b6na5H2YI9l3U/s320/Wild+Life.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Wild life is a book that intrigued me from the very beginning, starting with its title. Usually the title of a book would give away a little of its “soul”, tell the reader what to expect… all I could glean from this one was that the book had something to do with animals. And since I love animals, I set to reading it with enthusiasm.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Just to discover that Wild Life became more intriguing by the minute. Every time I thought I had it pegged down to one genre, the story would have some new twist that would somewhat change it, always keeping me on a razor edge about how it would end.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">There are so many things I loved about it that I’m finding it difficult to list them all.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">First and foremost, the style in which the book is written, clean, flowing, at times downright ironical and amusing, at times meditative or even sad, but always in tone with the events.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Then the characters… they come to life, page after page, making you feel like you’ve always known them, and making you feel for them and with them. Claire and Sondra are very different from each other, and yet each is so vivid and “true” to the last detail. And while being a middle aged man, <st1:place w:st="on">Milo</st1:place> is also the sort of “hero” a reader will find it difficult to forget. And behind all of them, in the background but always very much present, there are the zoo animals that give the book its title.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">A zoo is an unusual setting for a book, and yet even if it is a little startling in the beginning, it soon becomes the natural stage for the characters to move on, even Sondra, who’s clearly more at ease in a bar than in a zoo.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And last but not least, the blending of genres. At the beginning, I thought I was reading a romance, very well written and very unusual, but a romance nonetheless, so I expected the book to develop on the lines of a romance… what I did not foresee nor expect was that what I was discovering about the personal life of the main character would lead to a blending of romance and mystery, brought into being with the utmost ability, with no hanging leads and while maintaining coherence to the whole story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Definitely, this is a very good novel, which I would set at the same level with the works of the best authors of both genres I have read, and that I highly recommend reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-91517714521599672752011-09-24T10:54:00.000-07:002011-09-24T10:54:34.154-07:00The Midnight Eye 1: The Amulet - By William Meikle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEjOfbcscn-kvS1edfaAHz8RjZGA5Mckaw96dAr70Q8YlGwGx6lBLMvMMs32EkAEn2DKzus4ucQ7nUdiqRmtc6hl_eK0PF4WR-ZCOwmTbdG4ZKb7SAmyccHI4xBzQ7easzng79lma6f0/s1600/The+Amulet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEjOfbcscn-kvS1edfaAHz8RjZGA5Mckaw96dAr70Q8YlGwGx6lBLMvMMs32EkAEn2DKzus4ucQ7nUdiqRmtc6hl_eK0PF4WR-ZCOwmTbdG4ZKb7SAmyccHI4xBzQ7easzng79lma6f0/s320/The+Amulet.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Amulet is a very peculiar book, in which several different elements meet and mix an a very original way. At first you find yourself immersed in a typical "Marlowe" atmosphere, and you think you are reading a classic mystery. Even when you realize the artifact the main character is looking for is not simply a very old, and therefore valuable, object, you aren't prepared for the sudden twist in the story, with the blending of the practical, everyday investigation with a sudden trip in the world of magic and even nightmare, with that good dollop of horror that gives a much different taste to the story, but is artfully added one drop at a time, until the nightmare explodes to its fullest.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Another thing to fully enjoy are the artful descriptions of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city>, of its rainy streets and pubs and life.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And, of course, the writing style of the author himself, clean, essential and yet powerful where it needs to be<o:p></o:p></span></div>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-79939740170607973242011-09-24T10:51:00.000-07:002011-09-24T10:51:06.842-07:00Wheezer and the Painted Frog - By Kitty Sutton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmuhyphenhyphennsI0sqWeEvjcPsOXUuMgLkV0WTO6quSGpbpX7bIkwxjwtOWZb_qVmJd8rNU-6LeSETxWx8PlxbK-HNUlziRUGtcdWL4kg9pw1diXnwrarSfl3NvFwUzcrBSFcm35v5AEI7RpaQw/s1600/Wheezer+and+the+Painted+Frog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmuhyphenhyphennsI0sqWeEvjcPsOXUuMgLkV0WTO6quSGpbpX7bIkwxjwtOWZb_qVmJd8rNU-6LeSETxWx8PlxbK-HNUlziRUGtcdWL4kg9pw1diXnwrarSfl3NvFwUzcrBSFcm35v5AEI7RpaQw/s1600/Wheezer+and+the+Painted+Frog.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I approached this book with happy trepidation, because it was carrying me back to a genre I had loved as a child and as a teenager, the one I had grown up with and then I had been forced to leave behind because there weren’t any good western books to read any more.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And it did not fail me. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I realize, however, that defining it just a “western” is highly reductive, for “Wheezer” is much more than that, and can be read on different levels, by people with different interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It is, first and foremost, a historical book,<span> </span>looking into one of the most sorrowful pages of the Native Americans’ history, the “Trail where They Cried”, the forced migration of the Cherokee tribe from their native land to the arid Territory of Oklahoma.<span> </span>Kitty Sutton has manage to paint the odissey, the agony of a people with just a few words here and there, never getting boring (as historical books could be) and always touching the heart of the reader.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Then there is Wheezer himself… any reader who loves animals in general and dogs in particular cannot help but being captivated by this small, extremely clever dog, who’s a sort of “deus ex machina” throughout the novel. He’s so cute, so brave, so clever, you’ll never have enough of him, you’ll wish to read more about him.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And the other characters, from Jackson Halley to the little, brave Cherokee girl Sasa, to all the other minor characters, are unforgettable too. Kitty has a way of making them come to life with her words so that the reader can actually “see” them and share their emotions, their despair, their pride, their happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And then there is the “western atmosphere” proper, the landscape, the wide spaces, the forest and the arid plains, all brought to life in such way the reader cannot help but feel transported in another land and in another time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">As I said at the beginning, this book brought me back to the love of my childhood and youth,<span> </span>and I must say that reading Wheezer’s story, the Cherokee people story, Sasa’s story, captivated me as much as the best novels by Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour<span> </span>managed to do so many years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I definitely recommend reading this book. You’ll feel the richer for</span>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-41297186130626115762011-09-24T10:48:00.000-07:002011-09-24T10:48:34.466-07:00Kiwi in Cat City - By Vickie Johnstone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pyv8ZugTaxZb2CerJRKyrftpIP4q-LP18x97dvjnGbxNAWQXJTvcrcc2epsCZgyP1CW-m2AoS5RkG4rnALmNRN_usw_z0PeEKl-U9hzvX5SbSSg12JFFjIYO5fmVYzDI3y7c-CMosnk/s1600/Kiwi+in+Cat+City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pyv8ZugTaxZb2CerJRKyrftpIP4q-LP18x97dvjnGbxNAWQXJTvcrcc2epsCZgyP1CW-m2AoS5RkG4rnALmNRN_usw_z0PeEKl-U9hzvX5SbSSg12JFFjIYO5fmVYzDI3y7c-CMosnk/s1600/Kiwi+in+Cat+City.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I must confess that I approached this book with a few misgivings, because I had not read anything meant for children in ages. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">But after just a few pages I had already forgotten it was a book for children, or at least I found out that I did not mind it at all. While simple enough that children can understand and enjoy it, the narration is flowing and the style elegant, clean and amusing. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And the plot hooks you from the very start. The idea of children turning into cats and following their own (supposedly) domestic cat to a strange land and toward adventure is quite original in its own right, and the whole story develops with a steady rhythm, in the best mystery style, with a few surprises here and there.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It was a very enjoyable reading, so much so that I’m now looking forward to reading the next volume of Kiwi’s adventures (a few threads are left hanging in the end, but the story is self-conclusive).<o:p></o:p></span></div>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2007944272131437948.post-14397492627163409432011-09-24T10:46:00.000-07:002011-09-24T10:46:03.492-07:00Land of Nod: the Artifact - By Gary Hoover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1unqgXa9gyRMvt2IePNK-UTPppwWYRjAfQCgnlfzvLhOCyMeJ60dVmLSAGJeKxBj3fmU68mRDWJQ6F6PTptUCxN_gshG6T1CF_uLvD4mQIY5TgQIjXDZDKvmRTgQncMJu9ELAr-TqacA/s1600/The+Land+of+Nod+-+The+Artifact.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1unqgXa9gyRMvt2IePNK-UTPppwWYRjAfQCgnlfzvLhOCyMeJ60dVmLSAGJeKxBj3fmU68mRDWJQ6F6PTptUCxN_gshG6T1CF_uLvD4mQIY5TgQIjXDZDKvmRTgQncMJu9ELAr-TqacA/s320/The+Land+of+Nod+-+The+Artifact.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve just finished reading Land of Nod, and I must say it left me with the same feeling most good readings do… a sense of regret that here wasn’t more to read, and a wish for the sequel to come out soon.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s been a long time since I read a sci-fi book that appealed so much to me… light enough on the scientific side not to get boring for somebody who, like me, doesn’t like techology and science very much, and yet really powerful on the adventure side and with a very good, enthralling plot. I only wish the psychology of some character had been further explored, but since most of them are seen mostly through Jeff’s eyes, I realize that would have been rather difficult.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">All considered, The Land of Nod makes a very good and pleasant reading. <o:p></o:p></div>Annarita Guarnierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663764250693676018noreply@blogger.com0