Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales

 

Title: Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales

Author: Marta McDowell

Genre: gardening, nonfiction, biography memoir,  nature, British literature, history, books about books, animals, Patsy, audio

Summary: (Goodreads) A New York Times Bestseller
There aren’t many books more beloved than The Tale of Peter Rabbit and even fewer authors as iconic as Beatrix Potter. Her characters—Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle Duck, and all the rest—exist in a charmed world filled with flowers and gardens. In Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life , bestselling author Marta McDowell explores the origins of Beatrix Potter’s love of gardening and plants and shows how this passion came to be reflected in her work.

The book begins with a gardener’s biography, highlighting the key moments and places throughout her life that helped define her. Next, follow Beatrix Potter through a year in her garden, with a season-by-season overview of what is blooming that truly brings her gardens alive. The book culminates in a traveler’s guide, with information on how and where to visit Potter’s gardens today.

Rating: Excellent!

Why I Like It: So well done & interesting,

Other: I did audio & also got the book out of the library so I could follow along with the beautiful pictures. Both were excellent & so easy to follow!

Reviewer: Patsy

Unearthing the Secret Garden

 Title:  Unearthing the Secret Garden

Author:  Marta McDowell

Genre: Nonfiction

Summary:  In Unearthing The Secret Garden, best-selling author Marta McDowell delves into the professional and gardening life of Frances Hodgson Burnett. Complementing her fascinating account with charming period photographs and illustrations, McDowell paints an unforgettable portrait of a great artist and reminds us why The Secret Garden continues to touch readers after more than a century. This deeply moving and gift-worthy book is a must-read for fans of The Secret Garden and anyone who loves the story behind the story.

Rating: Good
Why I Like It:  Frances Hodgson Burnett had an interesting life and I am familiar with the horticulture catalogs and references she used.

Reviewer: Nancy Bucher

Pride of America, We're With You: The Letters of Grace Anderson U.S. Army Nurse Corps, World War

Title: Pride of America, We're With You: The Letters of Grace Anderson U.S. Army Nurse Corps, World War I (American Voices Series)

Author: Shari Lynn Wigle (Editor), Grace Anderson

Genre: biography, historical non-fiction, WWI

Summary: All of our strength we'll gladly give you ... In their unit song, Grace Anderson and the Base Hospital No. 115 nurses promised the soldiers: "Pride of America, we're with you, all of our strength we'll gladly give you ." More than ten thousand World War I army nurses volunteered for a perilous overseas venture. They aided the troops in the fight for democracy before American women had the right to vote. Grace, a nurse anesthetist, helped save lives in the operating rooms and hospital wards. She healed "our boys" and her own heartaches-a life-changing romance and the tragic loss of a loved one. Her 1917-1925 letters follow her from Camp Pike training to France, occupied Germany, and her return home. The narrative interweaves her correspondence with World War I history and her personal life, including her secret relationship with an army surgeon. The true story focuses on the human side of the Great War and recounts Grace's challenges in the postwar years. About the Author During a home remodeling project, Dana and Lynn Swan found the World War I letters of his grandmother, Grace Anderson, a U.S. Army nurse. The serendipitous event led Shari Lynn Wigle on a journey back to the Great War and offered her a new adventure in research and writing. About the Author: Shari Wigle has had many articles published in magazines and newspapers. Her career also includes newspaper reporting, film production, and corporate publications/publications. A graduate of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana and the University of California, Los Angeles, she lives in Westlake Village, California. Pride of America, We're With You is the author's first book.

Rating: Excellent!

Why I Like It: So easy to read, interesting, learned so much in many different areas of WWI. Photos included through out the book.

Reviewer: Patsy

The Anthropocene Reviewed

 

Title: The Anthropocene Reviewed

Author: John Green
Genre: Non-fiction, History, Memoir, Short stories, Science, Essays

Summary: A deeply moving and insightful collection of personal essays.

The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast, bestselling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale—from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar.

Funny, complex, and rich with detail, the reviews chart the contradictions of contemporary humanity. As a species, we are both far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough, a paradox that came into sharp focus as we faced a global pandemic that both separated us and bound us together.

John Green’s gift for storytelling shines throughout this masterful collection. The Anthropocene Reviewed is a open-hearted exploration of the paths we forge and an unironic celebration of falling in love with the world.

Rating: Excellent

Why I Like It: So interesting! Kept my attention & learned so much. Indianapolis was mentioned a lot.

Other: Audio, read by the author

Reviewer: Patsy

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever

Title: Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever

Author: Bill O’Reilly

Genre: Biography, War, History

Summary: From Goodreads: The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the spring of 1865, the bloody saga of America's Civil War finally comes to an end after a series of increasingly harrowing battles. President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation, with the former Confederates allowed to reintegrate into American society. But one man and his band of murderous accomplices, perhaps reaching into the highest ranks of the U.S. government, are not appeased.

In the midst of the patriotic celebrations in Washington D.C., John Wilkes Booth—charismatic ladies' man and impenitent racist—murders Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. A furious manhunt ensues and Booth immediately becomes the country's most wanted fugitive. Lafayette C. Baker, a smart but shifty New York detective and former Union spy, unravels the string of clues leading to Booth, while federal forces track his accomplices. The thrilling chase ends in a fiery shootout and a series of court-ordered executions—including that of the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government, Mary Surratt. Featuring some of history's most remarkable figures, vivid detail, and page-turning action, Killing Lincoln is history that reads like a thriller.
Rating: Really liked it
Why I Like It:

Had many interesting details but easy to follow. Went along well with another book I had read about Lincoln, "A Team of Rivals."

Other: Audio
Reviewer: Patsy

Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail

Title: Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail

Author: Ben Montgomery

Genre: biography, nonfiction, travel, nature, history

Summary: (From Goodreads) Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes and less than two hundred dollars. The next anybody heard from her, this genteel, farm-reared, 67-year-old great-grandmother had walked 800 miles along the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail. And in September 1955, having survived a rattlesnake strike, two hurricanes, and a run-in with gangsters from Harlem, she stood atop Maine’s Mount Katahdin. There she sang the first verse of “America, the Beautiful” and proclaimed, “I said I’ll do it, and I’ve done it.”

Grandma Gatewood, as the reporters called her, became the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alone, as well as the first person—man or woman—to walk it twice and three times. Gatewood became a hiking celebrity and appeared on TV and in the pages of Sports Illustrated. The public attention she brought to the little-known footpath was unprecedented. Her vocal criticism of the lousy, difficult stretches led to bolstered maintenance, and very likely saved the trail from extinction.

Author Ben Montgomery was given unprecedented access to Gatewood’s own diaries, trail journals, and correspondence, and interviewed surviving family members and those she met along her hike, all to answer the question so many asked: Why did she do it? The story of Grandma Gatewood will inspire readers of all ages by illustrating the full power of human spirit and determination. Even those who know of Gatewood don’t know the full story—a story of triumph from pain, rebellion from brutality, hope from suffering. 

Rating: amazing

Why I Like It: Since I was born in 1952 & grew up in Ohio, I found this book was very interesting & fun! I liked the going back and forth with the history of what was going on at the time & Grandma Gatewood's Life story. Made me wonder if our Mom & Dad knew about her.

Other: audio

Reviewer: Patsy

Jim Henson: The Biography

Title: Jim Henson: The Biography

Author: Brian Jay Jones

Genre: Biography

Summary: (Part of a summary from Amazon) This extraordinary biography—written with the generous cooperation of the Henson family—covers the full arc of Henson’s all-too-brief life: from his childhood in Leland, Mississippi, through the years of burgeoning fame in America, to the decade of international celebrity that preceded his untimely death at age fifty-three. Drawing on hundreds of hours of new interviews with Henson's family, friends, and closest collaborators, as well as unprecedented access to private family and company archives, Brian Jay Jones explores the creation of the Muppets, Henson’s contributions to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, and his nearly ten-year campaign to bring The Muppet Show to television. Jones provides the imaginative context for Henson’s non-Muppet projects, including the richly imagined worlds of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth—as well as fascinating misfires like Henson’s dream of opening an inflatable psychedelic nightclub.

An up-close look at the charmed life of a legend, Jim Henson gives the full measure to a man whose joyful genius transcended age, language, geography, and culture—and continues to beguile audiences worldwide.
Rating: Excellent

Why I Like It: Easy to listen to &entertaining.  So interesting, especially because I really didn’t know much about Jim Henson. But my children grew up with the muppets, sesame street, etc. being a big part of their lives.

Other: Audio, this is what made this book so excellent – listening to the narrator, Kirby Heyborne, who has a wide range of voices, dialects & characters.

Reviewer: Patsy

Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White

Title: Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White

Author: Melissa Sweet

Genre: nonfiction, biography, young readers

Summary: From Goodreads:

“SOME PIG,” Charlotte the spider’s praise for Wilbur, is just one fondly remembered snippet from E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. In Some Writer!, the two-time Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet mixes White’s personal letters, photos, and family ephemera with her own exquisite artwork to tell his story, from his birth in 1899 to his death in 1985. Budding young writers will be fascinated and inspired by the journalist, New Yorker contributor, and children’s book author who loved words his whole life. This authorized tribute is the first fully illustrated biography of E. B. White and includes an afterword by Martha White, E. B. White's granddaughter.

Rating: Excellent!

Why I Like It: This book is at the house where Rich & I are vacationing, So, I picked it up & read it. Such a delightful & easy read! Loved the illustrations & how it was all put together. Learned a lot about E.B. White & I want to read more of his writings.

Other: Actually read the book (wasn’t audio). Best this way since it has so many illustrations & photos.

Reviewer: Patsy

Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Title: Seabiscuit: An American Legend
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Genre: Biography
Summary: Amazon.com Review:  Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest news maker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail.

Seabiscuit rose to prominence with the help of an unlikely triumvirate: owner Charles Howard, an automobile baron who once declared that "the day of the horse is past"; trainer Tom Smith, a man who "had cultivated an almost mystical communication with horses"; and jockey Red Pollard, who was down on his luck when he charmed a then-surly horse with his calm demeanor and a sugar cube. Hillenbrand details the ups and downs of "team Seabiscuit," from early training sessions to record-breaking victories, and from serious injury to "Horse of the Year"--as well as the Biscuit's fabled rivalry with War Admiral. She also describes the world of horse racing in the 1930s, from the snobbery of Eastern journalists regarding Western horses and public fascination with the great thoroughbreds to the jockeys' torturous weight-loss regimens, including saunas in rubber suits, strong purgatives, even tapeworms.
Rating: Amazingly excellent
Why I Like It: Kathy had mentioned in her comment about another book, “Unbroken,” by the same author, that she had read “Seabiscuit” - and said it was very good. Other people had mentioned this to me, so I finally got it & really enjoyed all the historical information included. It was interesting to learn more about the depression years & think about the ages of our parents as the events of Seabicuit were going on.
Other: Audio – starting listening to it on my trip to Whitehouse over Memorial Weekend. I felt very connected to the race at Bellmont, this past weekend, with the possibility of the first triple-crown winner in over 30 years. And it happened! American Pharoah won it June 6, 2015.
Reviewer: Patsy