The song made famous by the Kingston Trio actually has a bit of fact to back it up. Of course it is not all true starting with it was Tom Dula and not a straight out murder that he hung his head and cried for.
Post Civil War times are hard and none of life is easy. Some people seem to just make life more difficult though. Tom Dula loves Ann Melton, how happens to be married. He will also sleep with two of her cousins who also sleep with other men. It seems there are lots and lots of lose morals about. Eventually there is a killing and Tom Dula goes to trial.
Zebulon Vance is the lawyer and he is always appealing, even when he knows he is not the best person for the job.
The rest of the characters are hard to like and at times I had to stop reading, sometimes for weeks, because they ticked me off so much.
The novel is well written, researched, and has a lot of flavor, I just spent the time disliking the characters so much I wanted to reach in the book and give them a good slap upside the head. It can be said the characters evoke strong emotion.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Ghost Riders by Sharyn McCrumb
Sometimes the layers of time are not so far apart and an innocent event can lead to the stirring of old events.
Following several characters in two different times the book is a well paced page turner that leaves the reader wanting to know more about the North Carolina mountains, Zebulon Vance, and Malinda Blalock.
Reading Ghost Riders after reading The Ballad of Tom Dooley and The Ballad of Frankie Silver makes those two novels even better.
Take some time to visit another time.
Following several characters in two different times the book is a well paced page turner that leaves the reader wanting to know more about the North Carolina mountains, Zebulon Vance, and Malinda Blalock.
Reading Ghost Riders after reading The Ballad of Tom Dooley and The Ballad of Frankie Silver makes those two novels even better.
Take some time to visit another time.
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Being the new kid is always tough. Being the new kid that is being hit on by the school bully is worse. Roy just wants to get along and be left alone and then one day he notices the running boy.
Following the boy becomes his focus which leads him to a new friend, trouble, and an environmental issue.
A fun read about burrowing owls in Florida which is presented with the usual Hiaasen wit and humor. If I taught an environmental science class this would be on my required reading list.
I read this when I bought it in 2004 and still enjoyed it again, always the sign of good writing.
Following the boy becomes his focus which leads him to a new friend, trouble, and an environmental issue.
A fun read about burrowing owls in Florida which is presented with the usual Hiaasen wit and humor. If I taught an environmental science class this would be on my required reading list.
I read this when I bought it in 2004 and still enjoyed it again, always the sign of good writing.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
The final installment in the Divergent series really makes you think. Several parts reminded me of A Clockwork Orange, some of the Hunger Games, and a few of 1984. In other words, it had all the components of a very good novel.
The ending was not as I had expected it to be but it was perfect after a bit of thought. Life does not have a happily ever after finale so it is fitting that books do not either.
I know I will read this series again at some point, simply because it makes me ponder society.
The ending was not as I had expected it to be but it was perfect after a bit of thought. Life does not have a happily ever after finale so it is fitting that books do not either.
I know I will read this series again at some point, simply because it makes me ponder society.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb
This is one of the first of the Ballad novels that I read by Mrs. McCrumb and it still my favorite. All stories to not have happy endings and sometimes things fall apart, but that is the way of life.
An escaped convict, a graduate student searching for answers to this dissertation on Katie Wilder, a lady that sees more than most, a new deputy, relationships, new, broken, and found again, the threads are all interwoven and connected well.
I really love the excerpts from the Tennessee Methodist Hymnal which fit each chapter so very well.
The best part of any Ballad novel is they stand alone but in many some of the same characters appear so it is like meeting old friends.
An escaped convict, a graduate student searching for answers to this dissertation on Katie Wilder, a lady that sees more than most, a new deputy, relationships, new, broken, and found again, the threads are all interwoven and connected well.
I really love the excerpts from the Tennessee Methodist Hymnal which fit each chapter so very well.
The best part of any Ballad novel is they stand alone but in many some of the same characters appear so it is like meeting old friends.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Disney At Dawn -Kingdom Keepers II - by Ridley Pearson
To be a Disney Interactive Host, DHI, seemed a simple enough endeavor but as we learned in the first novel the Magic Kingdom is never simple.
During a parade in the Magic Kingdom Amanda's sister Jess disappears. There are also wild monkeys running around and things are leading to the Animal Kingdom. Finn is contacted by Wayne, the imaginer that helped the DHIs previously, who tells them they must fight the Overtakers in Animal Kingdom.
Good character development, fast paced, and enjoyable. Another good read for the upper elementary reader, or anyone going to Disney Parks.
During a parade in the Magic Kingdom Amanda's sister Jess disappears. There are also wild monkeys running around and things are leading to the Animal Kingdom. Finn is contacted by Wayne, the imaginer that helped the DHIs previously, who tells them they must fight the Overtakers in Animal Kingdom.
Good character development, fast paced, and enjoyable. Another good read for the upper elementary reader, or anyone going to Disney Parks.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
The third in a series of a tale concerning Archangels, Fallen Angels and Nephilim.
In this latest installment Nora Grey awakes in a cemetery with no memory of the last five months and holding a black feather. As she searches to get her life back together she runs into a man named Jev that seems familiar, her mother is dating Hank Miller which she knows is wrong, and her best friend Vee seems to have no memory of anything that puzzles Nora.
The first two books, Hush, Hush and Crescendo were entertaining. Character development, action, and left you wanting more. This novel seems to be more of a "we sold a bunch of the other ones so will just throw out another one" deal. Characters were flat, situations contrived, and the lying by Nora to everyone around her got very old.
It ends as if there will be a forth book in the series but I will pass.
In this latest installment Nora Grey awakes in a cemetery with no memory of the last five months and holding a black feather. As she searches to get her life back together she runs into a man named Jev that seems familiar, her mother is dating Hank Miller which she knows is wrong, and her best friend Vee seems to have no memory of anything that puzzles Nora.
The first two books, Hush, Hush and Crescendo were entertaining. Character development, action, and left you wanting more. This novel seems to be more of a "we sold a bunch of the other ones so will just throw out another one" deal. Characters were flat, situations contrived, and the lying by Nora to everyone around her got very old.
It ends as if there will be a forth book in the series but I will pass.
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