Saturday, February 25, 2017

The Gaudí Tour, by Raul Fattore

Raul Fattore's "The Gaudí Tour" should be mandatory reading for any tourist who visits Barcelona. Published as part of Mr. Fattore's "Barcelona on a Budget" series, the book provides a "[s]elf-guided tour with clear turn-by-turn instructions to discover 15 Gaudí works in Barcelona, including all the tips and secrets to do it on a budget." For each of these works, the book provides a history and detailed description, information on any mass transportation to the building, street by street instructions on getting there via a YouTube linked-video guide, the hours the building is open, whether the admission is free or discounted, and a list of places to visit nearby. While the book is available in paperback, the ebook format, capable of being downloaded to a smart phone, is especially convenient for a visitor who wants to limit the amount or weight of cargo to carry while touring Barcelona.

This is a book that introduces the visitor to Barcelona and its important Gaudí buildings. While I would prefer to see more photos of the buildings in the guide, since it not a treatise on architecture or art, additional photos may not be necessary. "The Gaudí Tour" is a valuable, very helpful tool to be used when visiting Barcelona.

(In exchange for an honest review, I received a review copy of this book.)
Print Length: 138 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publication Date: October 31, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Friday, February 24, 2017

The Obsession, by Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts never disappoints. Naomi Bowes was the daughter of the most prolific, gruesome serial murderer of the 21st century. She didn't know it, however, until she was 12 and saved one of his victims. As a result of her actions, her father's killing spree ended and he was sent to prison for life. Seventeen years later, Naomi ends a nomadic existence and settles down in the small town of Sunrise Cove. She has become a successful and very gifted photographer. All is going well for her until the killings, identical to her father's, begin. Roberts is a wonderful storyteller who brings both exqusite character development and fascinating plot to her novels, and this novel proves it. Romance, art, mystery and the joy of good friends are all part of "The Obsession," I could not put it down.

Print Length: 464 pages
Publisher: Berkley (April 12, 2016)
Publication Date: April 12, 2016
Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Father's Big Improvements 
By Caroline Dwight Emerson

Caroline Dwight Emerson wrote this delightful book in 1936. Her clear intention was to demonstrate to the children of 1936 that the modern conveniences they took for granted were not always there. Indeed, 1936's modern conveniences were astonishing new inventions to children in the 1880s and 1890s.

In the 1880s and 1890s, the Marshall family was like everyone else in their town. Their house had been built in 1792 by great grandfather Marshall, and grandma thought it was perfect as is. Father, however, wanted indoor running water. So, the house was torn up while the pipes were installed. When the plumbers left there was an indoor bathroom where an old bedroom used to be! Father did not know, however, that pipes burst if they freeze during the winter. Next Father had a furnace installed to replace the old stoves in each room. But Jimmy Marshall forgot that he put his coat over the chimney while rescuing his kite, and the house filled with smoke.

Then Father wanted electricity, and the house was again torn up. When relatives came for Christmas, all the new lights were turned on, and from a distance the relatives thought the house was on fire! It was so much brighter than any other house on the street. Next, Father had a telephone installed and Mother complained that it rang constantly since each house was assigned a different number of rings and calls often rang in the wrong house.

Finally, Father bought an automobile, but it stoped working because Father did not know it needed refills of gasoline. Notwithstanding all of the initial problems with the new technologies, Jimmy and his sister Nan were excited over each new addition to the house, and the entire town was astonished at these modern miracles.

Ms. Emerson was born in 1891, so it's a sure bet that she was writing about her memories as a child. By 1936, electricity, indoor plumbing, central heating, telephones and automobiles were very common. Nonetheless, imagine the reaction of a 1936-child to the technology of 2017, and you will understand how incredible new technologies appeared to an 1890's child. Would Mr. Marshall be excited over the internet or cable television or smart phones or airplanes? I think so, but this would be a good question to ask after a child has read this book.

The book is out of print, but used copies can be bought from Amazon or Abe Books or other used book sellers. It also is for sale as a scanned version from Scrib.com, and it is available on the Open Library (https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15139411W/Father's_big_improvements). The book was reprinted at least three times in 1960s (and, as a child, I read and adored one of those reprints), so there are many used copies available. Hopefully, the publisher will one day in the near future re-release it.

Published 1965 by Scholastic Book Services, New York.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Forgotten Women, by Freda Lightfoot

The Spanish Civil War was a bloody fight that lasted from 1936 to 1939, and was fought between the Republicans who favored democracy, and the Nationalists, self-described fascists led by General Franco. Although much has been written about the men who fought this war, including General Franco, who ruled until his death in 1975, very little has been written about the women who kept the fighters on both sides of the battle alive through their nursing and their farming. It is these forgotten women that Freda Lightfoot focuses on in her novel of the same title. In truth, the novel is centered on the stories of four forgotten women. Two of them, Charlie and Libby, left Scotland in 1937 to provide support in Spain. The third woman is Rosita, a Spanish Republican, who found herself in the middle of the war married to a brutal fascist. The fourth woman is Jo, Libby's Scottish granddaughter who, in 1986, inadvertently instigates the unraveling of fifty year old mysteries when she displays in her art gallery an old painting that she found in her grandmother's attic. Lightfoot tells their stories in pieces. Some of the pieces belong to the 1930s, and some belong to 1986. All of the pieces are connected to each other and are interwoven with mysteries, love affairs and stories of deceit, betrayal and murder. This is a book that was hard to put down.


(I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

* Print Length: 384 pages
* Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (September 6, 2016)
* Publication Date: September 6, 2016
* Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Friday, February 3, 2017

Dream Big, by Kat Kronenberg

"Dream Big" is an extraordinary children's book that successfully transports the reader, young and old, to the magical time when life was forming and changing "in the wilds of East Africa, when the savannas were new." In the hot orange of the daytime, to the music of cynical Baboon's drum beat, Caterpillar longs to fly, Tadpole longs to dance, Flamingo longs to be beautiful, and Termite longs for a home. Cynical Baboon laughs and sneers at them, until, during the cool blue of the evening,"Whoosh Wham You Can Be Anything" flies across the night sky, and, because they believe that, Caterpillar grows wings to fly and becomes Butterfly, Tadpole grows legs to dance and becomes Frog, Flamingo turns pink and becomes Beautiful, and Termite creates a home filled with friends and family.

I fell in love with the incredible illustrations first, then I fell in love with the poetry of the story. If you haven't guessed already, I love this book and I wish I could give it more than five stars.

(I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

* Print Length: 21 pages
* Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press (January 10, 2017)
* Publication Date: January 10, 2017
* Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC