Books

The Brethren (Large Print) (Annie's People, 3)

Average customer rating:

A very good read
A Wonderful Sequel-Amish and Modern Alike. A++ !
Too Much information in one book!
Very good.
Too predictable

The Brethren (Large Print) (Annie's People, 3)
Beverly Lewis
Manufacturer: Bethany House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

The Englisher (Annie's People #2)
The Preacher's Daughter (Annie's People #1)
The Bishop's Daughter (Daughters of Lancaster County #3)
The Quilter's Daughter (Daughters of Lancaster County #2)
The Storekeeper's Daughter (Daughters of Lancaster County #1)

ASIN: 0739475754

Customer Reviews:

A very good read.......2007-05-18

I love all of Beverly Lewis' books, and this is no exception. This is the third book in her latest series. I never thought I'd enjoy reading fiction about Amish people. I like to read fast-paced, exciting stories, and these books don't exactly fall into that category. Until I got used to her style of writing, it was a little slow-going. After a while I found myself becoming so involved in the story developing that I couldn't put the books down. I always look forward to the next new one. I'm hooked!

A Wonderful Sequel-Amish and Modern Alike. A++ !.......2007-04-28

In this third book of the series, Annie Zook is now living with Esther who is banned for taking the Lord Jesus as her personal savior and friend. After Preacher Zook found Annie in the front seat with her boyfriend Ben's car, it was too unbearable living at home. Moving in with Esther was a good choice, and besides Annie was there to help with the children.

Ben Martin after having left in the last book back to Kentucky, discovers a horrible secret that he is adopted and his parents never told him. He discovers he was kidnapped at age 4, and left unattended until someone found him alone. This is devastating to Ben, and he wants to know the whole story of what really happened. So he travels back to Annie and Pennsylvania, trying to find his memories from way back then.

Zeke, Esther's husband, is very unwell mentally. He has a breakdown over his brother Isaac of whom he never did know what happened 16 years ago. Zeke is convinced that he himself killed him. So he calls the police to turn himself in when they come to arrest him. That is only until they find out the real story here. Surprisingly, the body of the person that was dug up from the last book was not Isaac's but those of a little girl. After a lot of searching, it looks as though Isaac is not dead, but very much alive someplace. And when this story line draws to a climax, it is a REAL shocker.

Louisa went back to modern life in Colorado, but she still misses the Amish terribly and being with Annie-and Sam her newfound love there. While going back to her art students is nice at home, she still dreams of Sam. Michael, her rich former fiance wants to start over again, and is just begging Louisa to come back into his life. But Louisa can't quite do that-and knows in her heart she doesn't want Michael and longs for Sam.

When Ben tries to get Annie to commit to their relationship in the book, Annie longs to do that. But the problem there is that Annie against her father's wishes again, wants to turn modern, and Ben wants to turn plain. Not only that, but Annie longs to return to her art, and she won't be able to do that living Amish, and if she marries Ben who wants to turn plain and join her father's church.

Annie and her father have a real time. Preacher Zook actually seems like he hates his daughter and won't hear of anything she has to say. Not only that, but Rev. Jeese seems to favor his sons so much more.

The whole story is the best one yet and all life issues within this community of Amish and Modern alike resolve in one way or another.

Too Much information in one book!.......2007-04-21

I listend to the other 2 books on CD, which I checked out from the library. My Library did not have the last book so I just had to buy it and find out what happened to Annie, Louisa, and Esther. This book what not as good at the other two. The conclusion to this series went way too fast. I would like to have seen the charaters developed a little more, explaining their feelings and creating a little bit more suspense. I needed to find out what happened to the characters because I was hook by the first two books. If this would have been my first Beverly Lewis book it would have been my last.

Very good........2007-04-04

I wish this had been longer; I actually felt rushed listening to it. But it was still a pleasure and well worth the time. I was very sorry to see this series end!

Too predictable.......2007-03-23

I'd waited for this book for a long anticipating what would happen with various characters and the relationships that were developing. This books has too much going on and too many happy endings. It is like a fairy tale with a "and everyone lived happily ever after" ending. It glamourizes a life style that isn't always what it seems. It would be interesting to learn more about how the Amish truly make a living and how they manage to stay within the law while not paying taxes, using the facilities of hospitals, marriages between close cousins are common, etc. The puppy mills where dogs are caged their entire lives while they produce litter after litter is a regular practice in the Amish community; watching TV in houses of the fancy people but not owning one of their own; riding in cars but not owning cars - isn't this a little hypocritical? I'd like to have had fewer story lines going with more details of what life is like for the shunned. It is absolutely imperative that you read these books in the order they were written but I wouldn't waste my time on the Brethren and I'm very glad that I took it out of the library which I strongly recommend if you must read it.

The Preacher's Daughter - Large Print (Annie's People, #1)

Average customer rating:

The Preacher's Daughter - Large Print (Annie's People, #1)

Manufacturer: Bethany House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

The Englisher (Annie's People #2)
The Brethren (Annie's People #3)
The Covenant (LARGE PRINT)

ASIN: 0739458868

The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom (G.K. Hall Large Print Inspirational Collection)

Average customer rating:

I can't go any higher than 5 Stars???
pleasantly surprised in CA
Wisdom Pays
Everyday Book of Wisdom
A book you can read over and over.

The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom (G.K. Hall Large Print Inspirational Collection)
Sarah Delany , Annie Elizabeth Delany , and Amy Hill Hearth
Manufacturer: G. K. Hall & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
On My Own at 107: Reflections on Life Without Bessie
The Delany Sisters Reach High
My Journey into Alzheimer's Disease
Family Interaction: A Multigenerational Developmental Perspective (4th Edition)

ASIN: 0783811985

Customer Reviews:

I can't go any higher than 5 Stars???.......2007-05-21

What an experience reading about these two delightful sisters who were winners in every area of life...Back when Black people weren't accepted by most white people the one sister became a dentist of all things...Here she was Negro, a woman on top of it and going against all odds she didn't let that stop her! During the depression years they made candy and sold it at dept. stores. and survived without any kind of welfare. Never had a phone in their house. "if people wanted to talk with us they could come see us" was their motto..

The time they moved the refrigerator downstairs from an upper floor because the man they had hired kept putting them off day after day....and they were near 100 yrs old! Forget the exact age but they never let anything stop them if they needed to do it.

They did their yoga exercises and shows pictures of them. Also some simple recipes they used over the years. They never bought detergent or dishwashing liquid...made their own and the recipe is included. They even include a recipe for Rose Wine and their hot yeast rolls. The candy recipe is included also.

This book is my all-time favorite and I have ended up buying it 3 times since I am in the health care business and work with seniors and try to encourage and give them the joy and hope of this wonderful book.

The Delaney sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom

Lovelaffs

pleasantly surprised in CA.......2005-01-12

I came across this book at a library book sale. It really wasn't anything I would normally read but the price was right and I was so pleasantly suprised at the book. I've recommented it to family, friends and my grown kids. I'm now checking out other books written about them.

Wisdom Pays.......2001-10-31

There's nothing quite like wisdom from someone who's older and has gone through a lot. Readers will delight in the nuggets here, as well as the humor that goes along with them.

Everyday Book of Wisdom.......2001-05-25

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The title is very fitting for this little book of wisdom. These ladies are living a full life and have alot of experiences to share that are common to all peoples of all walks of life. I continually found myself reading this book out loud to whoever was around. It is funny, contemplative, and inspiring. It's one you'll want to share with friends and family.

A book you can read over and over........2000-03-16

I only wish that I could have met these 2 special women. They had such wit and wisdom. I recommended their books to a friend who passed it on to her sister, mother, nephew and so on. Well worth buying.

Annie's Rainbow (G K Hall Large Print Book Series (Cloth))

Average customer rating:

No pot of gold at the end of this rainbow
Not the best...
iceD tea, thank you
Read this book!
Spectacular!

Annie's Rainbow (G K Hall Large Print Book Series (Cloth))
Fern Michaels
Manufacturer: G. K. Hall & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0783886691

Customer Reviews:

No pot of gold at the end of this rainbow.......2000-09-20

Annie and her best friend Jane just graduated from college and leaving to open their own coffee and art business. The day before they leave there's a bank robbery and the money ended up in Annie's car unknown to everyone. Except Annie... Should she keep it or give it back.. Soon without the help of the money Annie makes a success of her business and becomes a millionaire in her own right. But her deep dark secret burdens her everyday life. There's an insurance investigator that is convinced Annie is guilty and dogs her for many years. Read this book to find out what she does. If you like Ms. Michaels book, then I suggest reading: The Guest List (see my review) and Finders keepers (see my review)

Not the best..........2000-05-10

This was my first Fern Michaels book after hearing people rave about her, and I don't know if this was just a bad one or if all of hers are like this, but ANNIE'S RAINBOW wasn't that great. Fern tries to make Annie an interesting character, but I really didn't care what happened to her. Fern's writing is also a little offbeat. ANNIE'S RAINBOW did have a unique storyline. Don't go spend money on this one; borrow from a friend.

iceD tea, thank you.......2000-04-22

This book was a great first draft. As with all first drafts, it needed some polishing, and some filling in. The author had a great plot, but, not enough details. I wanted to know how she struggled and what all she went through to succeed in her business, instead we read that she opens her business on a shoestring and boom, she's rich and owns stores everywhere. The "urst" element was there, (unrequited lust), but was taken a little bit too far and began to get a bit tedious. I would have given this book three stars except that for several chapters the author kept mentioning "ice tea", over and over. Now one grammatical error is understandable, but to keep saying it over and over again really gets on one's nerves and takes away from the story. Why not serve lemonade or bourbon, at least she could spell it.

Read this book!.......2000-02-01

This book is really good. It's about greed, trust, fortune, hope, and deception. Annie's rainbow is just money, and as she finds, money can't fix everything. I don't want to spoil any plotlines, but this book kept me captivated. I would recommend it for sure!

Spectacular!.......1999-08-23

On graduation day for Anna and Jane, the bank was robbed, the crooks caught, and Anna found the missing stolen money hidden in her car. Instead of immediately returning it, she tells no one and uses it to begin her new business and care for her ailing mother. Once financially secure, she planned to return the money, anonymously, with interest. The insurance investigator is hot on her trail, but has no proof. In fact, he thinks Jane found the money and Anna is covering for her!

Ten years later, business has gone as she dreamed. However, the thief is now out of prison and hunting Anna.

Download Description

When her parents died, lovely Annie Lash was left alone in old St. Louis--a prize catch for the elderly suitors lined up at her door. But, yearning for a man who could love her completely--and whom she could love in return, Annie refused them all. Then a young frontiersman named Jefferson Merrick offered her the chance to love in a distant settlement. Dreaming of a future by the wide Missouri, she accepted--never realizing that she would have to face hostile Indians, river bandits, and Jefferson's political enemies. Even more dangerous were the storms of her own heart. For the rugged man who dared to tame the wild country around them was now starting to tame the wild Annie Lash.

Customer Reviews:

Not my idea of a romantic hero.......2002-09-08

I have read several of Dorothy Garlock's books and expected this to be an enjoyable read. While Garlock is an entertaining writer and the story is very exciting with all of its twists and turns, I found this particular story very unenjoyable because the hero was such a brute. The hero, Jefferson, is so physically attracted to the heroine that he attempts to rape her fairly early on in the story. Yet all of the "good" characters that Annie trusts seem to think this guy is so wonderful and the author certainly otherwise portrays him as one of the "good" guys. Why would such a strong willed, intelligent heroine fall for a lout who mauled her roughly in the woods and would have successfuly raped her is someone hadn't come along. Usually this is the type of guy the heroine is miraculously saved from by the "good" male lead - she doesn't usually fall in love with him a few chapters down the road. I couldn't finish this book - I just didn't care about such a mean hero enough to find out what happens. This author has written much better books.

Excellent!.......2002-02-23

This has to be one of my favorite Dorothy Garlock stories, outside of the With Hope series. This story is full of exciting twists and turns, with a very spirited and independent female character.

There are two very touching and emotional love stories within these pages, that will keep you intrigued to find out what's happening next. At the conclusion of this story, another romance is developing between Maggie and Light... you'll find them next in the follow-up book, ALMOST EDEN.

Not good.......2001-05-04

I love Dorothy Garlock's books but this one just didn't make it with me. The male character wasn't nice to anyone, especially Annie Lash. The story was disjointed and at times unbelievable. Maybe the 1700's just isn't the time period for me although I did like Wild Sweet Wilderness by the same author.

WOW!!!.......2000-08-03

This book is perhaps the most satisfying, wonderful romance/adventure novel I've ever read. I cried and laughed and . . . finished the book in one day! When I tried to put it down, I couldn't stop thinking about it and just had to keep reading. The depiction of life in the time of Thomas Jefferson seemed so real. The characters were perfect. The plot moves along briskly leaving the reader to constantly speculate on the next turn it will take. If this had been a play, when the last words were uttered, it would have received a standing ovation.

Excellent Story from a talented story teller........1996-12-05

This the best book she has ever written because the charactor "Amos" is based on me. Dorothy Garlock is my grandma. She is someone special to me, I will love her forever. Amos Mix

Average customer rating:

A Lot of Words, Not Much Substance
One Great Book
Grand Scale
Extemely Detailed - Classic Annie Dillard
Depressing, but vivid

The Living
Annie Dillard
Manufacturer: Thorndike Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1560545003

Amazon.com

Listening to Lawrence Luckinbill read Annie Dillard's historical novel The Living takes a little getting used to. The very first sentence reveals a pronounced and distracting lisp, but don't let that dissuade you from continuing. Luckinbill's voice also exhibits a simple honesty, a gruffness that is perfectly suited to the steely pioneer spirit of Dillard's story. Surprisingly quickly, the vocal idiosyncrasy fades away, leaving only the emotional resonance of Luckenbill's obviously heartfelt connection to this powerful tale.

Dillard's finely crafted prose and Luckinbill's sincere voice carry you back to the early days of American expansion, into the truly Wild West and the stone-hard life these settlers would be forced to endure. "She had cried out to God all day and maybe all night, too, that he would lend her strength to bear affliction and go on. She was not aware that underneath she prayed another prayer as if to a power above God, or at least to his better nature, that he was finished with the worst of it." Of course, God isn't finished, and neither are these brave souls. Dillard opens their world slowly, stretching the horizon generation by generation, tethering the fate of one small family to that of the struggling town that they are helping to build and, ultimately, to the inexorable rise of the emerging nation. (Running time: six hours, four cassettes) --George Laney

Book Description

This New York Times bestselling novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard is a mesmerizing evocation of life in the Pacific Northwest during the last decades of the 19th century.

Customer Reviews:

A Lot of Words, Not Much Substance.......2006-03-13

The writing style is slow, with long paragraphs of little meaningful content. There are gems, but they are few and buried. By the last couple of hundred pages, I found myself just reading a few words per paragraph, and didn't feel like I was missing anything. To the extent that it interestingly conveys information about characters and the historical setting, it could have done so much more engagingly.

One Great Book.......2005-11-29

Annie Dillard wrote an amazing novel of western struggle in the late 1800's. This book was filled with conflict, vivid images, and a great plot. This book takes the reader to the northern part of Washington in the late 1800's. The book fallows many charcters through hardships, death, joy, and many generations of families. I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters pulled me into their world by the triangles that intangled their lives. This book deals a lot with death and imagetry that seems pull the reader into the charcters lives. Ada Fishburn the main character of the book sets the theme for the book. Her family moved to Whatcom, a providence in Washington to start a new life. The reader gets a sence of sadness from this charcter that seems to fallow to the other charaters that come together later in the book. I thought that this book gave a very historical point of view and also a faction view of what life might of been like in those trying times. I give this book five stars because I know that any intellectual reader will fall in love with this book and its many charcters. The only negitive thing I have to say about this book is that the reading is at a high level and may take a while to read. Besides that point I think that it is worth all the hard work.

Grand Scale.......2003-04-14

Grand in scope and finely detailed...this is just the kind of journey-driven writing that I like. Quirky but real, like the conditions of our lives. I missed the lack of dialogue, though, and feel like she walks a thin line between showing and telling. A bit too much telling for my taste, because I was a little distracted worn & out by the end of this journey.

Extemely Detailed - Classic Annie Dillard.......2003-04-06

An exhasutive piece of brilliance set in the Pacific Northwest circa 1850-90s. Dillard paints word pictures of the magnificent scenary as well as of the characters down to the minutest detail. A must read for those who want a realistic portrait of the difficult yet full lives the men and women led in settling and growing this land. She has cleverly written into her characters many underlying and intertwining themes that are evidence of her great talent. Only that she would write another novel.

Depressing, but vivid.......2001-09-15

Annie Dillard has one of the clearest, most attractive writing voices I have ever read. It's almost always an eye-opening joy to read her, just for the way she puts words and sentences together. This novel is no exception, although it's not her best work.

The plot here - about the settlement of the Pacific Northwest, and some characters in and around Bellingham, Washington - is fairly interesting, although not compelling.

After about 100 pages, I started to find the title ironic: I felt it should be called "The Dead and Dying." One gets a real taste of how difficult life was in the 19th century, when the frontier was still being opened.

But Dillard's style does not mesh well with the demands of a novel. She is far better at conveying her innermost thoughts; her memoirs and essays are what make her so good. If you have the choice, read those rather than this.

Annie's Rainbow
Average customer rating:
Annie's Rainbow

Manufacturer: Zebra Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739403249

Product Description

Large Print. Dust jacket has some minor shelf wear.

Sugar Plum Dead : A Death on Demand Mystery (GK Hall Large Print Core Series)

Average customer rating:

Sisters, Sweet as Sugarplums
A pleasing Christmas tale
Pretty good entry in this series
Something of a disappointment
Pretty Dull

Sugar Plum Dead : A Death on Demand Mystery (GK Hall Large Print Core Series)
Carolyn G. Hart
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0783893779

Book Description

Carolyn Hart's Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-winning mystery series, Death on Demand, has long been a readers' favorite, with its richly evoked Southern atmosphere, ticklish wit, wildly eccentric characters, perplexing puzzles, and the most endearing pair of married sleuths since Nick and Nora Charles. Now the investigative efforts of Annie and Max Darling soar to a breathtaking new level, with a delightfully unexpected whodunit that's as sumptuous as a holiday dessert.

Sugarplum Dead

It's getting to look a lot like Christmas on the sea island of Broward's Rock, South Carolina. At the popular Death on Demand mystery bookstore, owner Annie Darling's energetic Yuletide preparations have to be put on hold thanks to several rather inconvenient distractions--including a slew of family woes ... and murder.

Annie's mother-in-law Laurel -- not normally the straightest of arrows anyway -- has taken to chatting up ghosts in the local graveyard. Across the island in a spacious, spooky mansion, ancient onetime movie star Marguerite Dumaney Ladson has called together all her living kin and their multitude of exes for her gala combination Xmas/birthday bash. Among the honored guests are two that Annie could well do without: her errant father, whom she hasn't seen in twenty five years, and Dr. Emory Swanson, Laurel's guide down "The Golden Path."

Like Laurel, wealthy old Rita Dumaney Ladson has fallen for Swanson's new-age-pseudo-occult gobbledygook. The question is: how are the gathered relatives going to react to the grande dame's announcement that she's leaving her fortune to the charismatic charlatan's Evermore Foundation? Not well, apparently, since a murder follows right on the heels of Rita's shocking revelation. And the finger of suspicion seems to be pointing straight at Annie Darling's recently arrived deadbeat dad.

Annie can feel no loyalty toward the father she's never really known, but she doesn't believe for a minute he's guilty. And when a second murder puts her conflicted emotions into an even more chaotic tailspin, Annie realizes that she will need all the help her easy-going PI. husband Max can offer to solve a related pair of homicides. Because, in this season of giving, fate is giving her more major headaches -- and a killer is giving her more corpses -- than even the normally unflappable Annie Darling may be able to handle.

Customer Reviews:

Sisters, Sweet as Sugarplums.......2006-10-01

This is a story about two sets of sisters, Annie and her newly found sort-of-step-sister Rachel, and Happy and Margaret Dumaney. And of course, nasty murder interrupts all attempts at Christmas cheer at the Dumaney/Ladson spooky eclectic mansion where seances are held, and the dead speak. Matters become more worrisome when Annie's long-lost deadbeat dad turns up as prime suspect #1, and Rachel as sub-prime suspect #2. Meanwhile, Max's looney mother Laurel is attempting some spirit conversation of her own. And the town is in an uproar about swarmy Emory Swanson and his influence over the leading ladies of Broward's Rock. A second murder, even more confusing than the first occurs with a conveniently hated suspect. Yet all is not what it seems, until a lack of sisterly love points to the face of the real murderer, one so familiar yet so void of true feeling.

A pleasing Christmas tale.......2002-07-15

Sugarplum Dead is one of the best books in the Death on Demand Series. In this edition, Annie Laurence is reunited with her long-lost father, and discovers her step-sister Rachel. Rachel is living with her mother at the home of her aunt, Marguerite Dumaney, a former movie star. Annie's father, Pudge, is visiting for the holidays. When Pudge's ex-wife is found dead, he and Rachel are the chief suspects. A complicating factor is that Marguerite is in the clutches of an unscrupulous man who is stealing her fortune under the guise of enabling her to communicate with her dead husband. Her immediate heirs are all present for the Christmas season, and all of them want to inherit her money. This is a well-crafted and ingenious mystery which has the added charm of acquainting readers with Annie's long-lost family.

Pretty good entry in this series.......2002-01-28

After having read -- and been annoyed by -- three previous entries in this series, I had sworn I'd never read another Death On Demand mystery. But I was intrigued enough by some of the reviews of this book to give it a whirl. And it is in many ways much, much better than some of the other Carolyn Hart books I've tried.

I have never felt like I was being given a chance to really KNOW the sleuths, Annie and Max. In previous books, the author kept stepping between me and them and insisting on how I should think -- "Annie is like THIS. Max is like THAT." In the end, I was told so much that I should have been shown, that I felt nothing for the sleuths at all. Hart still interferes, insisting on character traits she should be demonstrating, and there is far too much about what Max and Annie look like, as opposed to what they are like. But Annie's concern for a teenage girl comes through pretty well, and I found myself believing it. Likewise, her reluctant feelings for her estranged father eventually became believable when Hart stopped insisting.

I didn't buy the estranged father's excuses for why he'd been gone so long any more than some other reviewers have. If you really, really want to know where your child is, and only one person on earth can help you, you go to that person and make a nuisance of yourself. You don't phone and write a few times and then give up. This element of the plot was thin. Max's behaviour ("You think YOUR dad was bad? Let me tell you about MINE!") is insensitive, and I would have been more convinced if the lovebirds had had a knock-down fight over it, with a suitable reconciliation later. Hart, however, does not seem interested in delving very deeply into this relationship, and to that extent she leaves her sleuths as two pretty, but rather empty, shells.

Max's mother, on the other hand, is a hoot in this novel. And I usually agree with readers who find her irritating and unbelievable beyond words. I don't quite see why Annie, who knows Laurel is nuts, is suddenly so worried about her. And when a minor character frets that seances and such "aren't God's will," I wasn't convinced by Hart's pious disclaimer that this minor character represented "true goodness," and would be ignored at peril. I don't like people telling me what is and isn't "God's will." It too often leads to boycotts of libraries that carry books about little English wizards, and protesters explaining why God hates various sexual orientations. Hart's tendency to sermonize isn't pronounced in this novel, but that one jarred.

There are fewer extraneous references to every mystery ever written in this than in most of the "Death On Demand" novels, which is a relief. Annie's first scene features lists of other books and authors, but then Hart gets this urge under control for most of the story and mainly sticks to the point.

The real problem with this mystery is, unfortunately, the mystery itself. Hart introduces the potential victims and suspects in the first chapter, then ignores most of them in favour of Annie and her personal life for the next hundred or so pages. Which means that by the time someone is finally offed (about halfway through the book) I had forgotten who these people were -- and the explanation of their relationships was confusing. At one point, it sounds as if everyone is siblings. Then we see that some are one character's stepchildren. Then the stepmother's sister sounds as if she's actually a sibling of the stepchildren... It was confusing. And since she doesn't spend any time developing these characters, it was hard to care who did it or why. There is an obvious, overly-clever solution to the mystery, and that turns out to be it.

Hart also needs to learn a little more about what personal information is and isn't freely available on the Internet, because she has a public librarian performing feats of spying the CIA might envy. As a librarian, I am dubious. And doing things the easy way like this doesn't help the book -- the sleuths don't need to be clever or to interview the suspects, they only need a magical computer. At one point, Annie muses that conversation is a better way of gatherin information than clicking a mouse. If only Hart really believed that, it would have improved her subplot. (Hart has a habit in this book of writing in unexplained technical miracles -- at one point, someone "rigged the lights' so they'd go out at a crucial juncture. As far as I can find, we are never told HOW.)

Overall, better-written than most of this series, and with more humanity. A middling, but reasonably enjoyable, read.

Something of a disappointment.......2002-01-26

I really like these characters, Annie, Max, Laurel, Dora, Emma et al, and the sense of place, Browards Rock is great. I don't really read these for the mystery aspect, so I wasn't looking for that, but this started with a really great premise, Annie's long lost father. That story line somehow got lost in the confusion. Not one of Hart's best, but an enjoyable read for a rainy afternoon, with some great coffee and chocolate rasberry brownies.

Pretty Dull.......2002-01-09

I listened to this (unabridged) on tape, and found my mind wandering a lot. These books are usually a fun read, but this one limped along. If I had read it, I don't think I would have made it through to the end. I thought the premise and characters were cliche and the plot was contrived, and I was very disappointed in the element of Annie's long-lost father. Having had an absentee father of my own, I looked forward to more mystery and conflict from this situation.

The Story of My Life (Dover Large Print Classics)

Average customer rating:

Sightless and unable to hear, but hardly mute.
A continuous page-turner
The Story of My Life
A Classic
Think about it , Helen was successful in life even though she was blind and deaf

The Story of My Life (Dover Large Print Classics)
Helen Keller
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Helen Keller would not be bound by conditions. Rendered deaf and blind at 19 months by scarlet fever, she learned to read (in several languages) and even speak, eventually graduating with honors from Radcliffe College in 1904, where as a student she wrote The Story of My Life. That she accomplished all of this in an age when few women attended college and the disabled were often relegated to the background, spoken of only in hushed tones, is remarkable. But Keller's many other achievements are impressive by any standard: she authored 13 books, wrote countless articles, and devoted her life to social reform. An active and effective suffragist, pacifist, and socialist (the latter association earned her an FBI file), she lectured on behalf of disabled people everywhere. She also helped start several foundations that continue to improve the lives of the deaf and blind around the world.

As a young girl Keller was obstinate, prone to fits of violence, and seething with rage at her inability to express herself. But at the age of 7 this wild child was transformed when, at the urging of Alexander Graham Bell, Anne Sullivan became her teacher, an event she declares "the most important day I remember in all my life." (Sullivan herself had once been blind, but partially recovered her sight after a series of operations.) In a memorable passage, Keller writes of the day "Teacher" led her to a stream and repeatedly spelled out the letters w-a-t-e-r on one of her hands while pouring water over the other. This method proved a revelation: "That living world awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away." And, indeed, most of them were.

In her lovingly crafted and deeply perceptive autobiography, Keller's joyous spirit is most vividly expressed in her connection to nature:

Indeed, everything that could hum, or buzz, or sing, or bloom, had a part in my education.... Few know what joy it is to feel the roses pressing softly into the hand, or the beautiful motion of the lilies as they sway in the morning breeze. Sometimes I caught an insect in the flower I was plucking, and I felt the faint noise of a pair of wings rubbed together in a sudden terror....

The idea of feeling rather than hearing a sound, or of admiring a flower's motion rather than its color, evokes a strong visceral sensation in the reader, giving The Story of My Life a subtle power and beauty. Keller's celebration of discovery becomes our own. In the end, this blind and deaf woman succeeds in sharpening our eyes and ears to the beauty of the world. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

Left blind, deaf, and mute after an illness in infancy, Helen Keller overcame her disabilities with the help of Anne Sullivan, her inspired teacher. Her classic autobiography, first published in 1903, covers her first 22 years. This deeply moving memoir offers an unforgettable portrait of one of the 20th century's most remarkable women.

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I recall my surprise on discovering that a mysterious hand had stripped the trees and bushes, leaving only here and there a wrinkled leaf. The birds had flown, and their empty nests in the bare trees were filled with snow. Winter was on hill and field. The earth seemed benumbed by his icy touch, and the very spirits of the trees had withdrawn to their roots, and there, curled up in the dark, lay fast asleep. All life seemed to have ebbed away, and even when the sun shone the day was.

Customer Reviews:

Sightless and unable to hear, but hardly mute........2007-05-20

Helen Keller gives a sweetly innocent rundown of her life in this brief book. It's just enough to get a glimpse into her well publicized transformation into a girl lost in her own inability to communicate to a wonderfully prolific soul; a person who changed the world. She is disarming and self aware and isn't afraid to gloss over a little bit of the struggle to paint a journey of searching that led to many rivers of experience. It's a charming book and if one is curious about Helen Keller it is best to 'hear' the words from the author than another source.

A continuous page-turner.......2007-04-18

The Story Of My Life was a life-changing book for me. The reason for this is because I never thought that a person who had no power could do so much and have so much of it. As soon as I read this book it made me feel that no matter how small you are you can accomplish your dreams and goals. My opinion about this book is that it taught me that even if you are disabled, like Helen Keller you can still do many things. I think what Helen Keller did was outstanding because even though she was blind, deaf, and only a kid she did some indescribable things. I think this book will be a page-turner for people in middle school and up. This has inspired me to do anything and believe that I can accomplish many goals that I have.

The Story of My Life .......2006-12-15

"Helen, you are charged with plagiarism of a whole book. Your sentence is to never see Miss Sullivan again." The Story of My Life is an autobiography by Helen Keller. Helen Keller was a blind and deaf girl who came over all these odds by learning how to read lips with her fingers, how to speak, how to read Braille, and understand things like a normal child. Her teacher throughout her life was Miss Sullivan. She taught Helen Keller just about everything she could when it came to communicating. Because of how she overcame her handicaps, many people, including celebrities, wanted to meet her and have her as a friend. I recommend this book if you like learning about amazing people.

Helen Keller wrote this book on her own. If you can think about how hard it would be to write a book when you are deaf and blind, then you will be amazed at how she did this. She wrote a book in her early childhood, but apparently it was read to her when she was younger and it was very close to the same thing, so the institution she was going to accused her of plagiarism. She could not see Miss Sullivan again as long as Miss Sullivan worked for the institution. So, Miss Sullivan quit her job and moved in with Helen and her family and taught her until she was older.

Helen Keller got to do many things a normal child would not. She got to travel the world with Miss Sullivan because everybody wanted to meet her and celebrities would pay to fly her out to where they lived. She also had to go to the institution for the deaf and blind, which was far away. Many people there were also amazed at how Miss Sullivan had taught Helen to communicate.

If you read this book, also note how many things Miss Sullivan taught Helen. Miss Sullivan taught Helen how to communicate with everybody. Even though Helen has been deaf since she was 3 months old, she learned how to pronounce words so she could talk to people. The hardest thing was probably to teach her to read Braille, which would have been hard because she would not understand the letters at first and what they meant.

Helen Keller is one amazing person. She overcame two very harsh defects, being blind and deaf. Any person having just one of those defects may never overcome these illnesses but she did. She not only overcame them she was taught how to communicate even though it was along and struggling process. Helen Keller is an amazing person and you should read the book she wrote.

-Jaycee Elliott

A Classic.......2006-07-21

Of course this book is a classic. It is Helen Keller in her own words. It is well written and interesting to be "there" as she developes and learns. If you haven't read the book yet, I recommend you do. I "read" the book as a book on tape. Email:boland7214@aol.

Think about it , Helen was successful in life even though she was blind and deaf.......2006-06-16

Helen Keller was indeed blind and deaf. I liked this book because it tells you about so much things Helen overcame being blind, deaf and earlier on "dumb" ( bcause she was unable to speak). It makes you realize that you can do anything if you really want to no matter what your circumtance is. Also it teahces people to be content and accept the way or conditions that you are in. It's true when they say " it could have been worse". I read this book to do an essay and i think it was a good choice although it was a little challenging to really comprehend what Helen was always talking about. So if you want to learn more about Helen Keller this is a good good book to learn from.

The Little Colonel s Chum (Large Print Edition): Mary Ware

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The Little Colonel s Chum (Large Print Edition): Mary Ware
Annie Fellows Johnston
Manufacturer: BiblioBazaar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1426491417

Book Description

When I finished the eighth volume of the Little Colonel Stories The Maid of Honour I thought I had reached the end of the series but such a flood of letters came pouring in demanding to know what happened next that I could not ignore such a plea and in consequence The Little Colonel s Knight came riding by.

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