Belinda’s Book Nook Review: Obama: An Intimate Portrait, Deluxe Limited Edition: The Historic Presidency in Photographs

Hello, my bookworm friends! I thought I would share another book review

Title: Obama: An Intimate Portrait, Deluxe Limited Edition: The Historic Presidency in Photographs
Author: Pete Souza
Copyright: March 2018
Genre: non-fiction, biography
Format: book
Pages: 352

Summary (from Goodreads):

This is the definitive visual biography of Barack Obama’s presidency, captured in intimate, unprecedented detail by his official White House photographer.
Pete Souza began photographing President Obama on his first day as a U.S. senator, in January 2005, and served as the chief official White House photographer for the President’s full two terms. Souza was with President Obama more often, and at more crucial moments, than any friend or staff member, or even the First Lady–and he photographed it all. Souza captured nearly 2 million photographs of Obama, in moments ranging from classified to disarmingly candid.

About the Author (Pete Souza):

Pete Souza is a freelance photographer and assistant professor of photojournalism at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication. He has worked as an Official White House Photographer for President Reagan, a freelancer for National Geographic, and as the national photographer for the Chicago Tribune based in their Washington bureau.

My Thoughts:

I was just out of the recovery phase of the flu and visiting the library with my son and the children’s librarian ran over to me and picked up this magnificent book and told me she just finished it and I should read it. I hesitated because I had already gathered 3 other books to check out for myself and this book looked like a chunker to carry out of the library. But then as we talked, I told her this book might just be what I need.

Boy was it ever. This photographer did an amazing job of capturing much of President Obama’s presidency. Each photo was accompanied by more information. So much I never saw before and I was often moved to tears.

I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my personal library.

For these reasons, I give this book 5 butterflies!


Happy reading!

Belinda

Belinda’s Book Nook Review: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

 

Hello, my bookworm friends! I thought I would share another book review for the Literary Voyage Around the World Reading challenge.

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Title: Maisie Dobbs
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Copyright: May 25, 2004
Genre: fiction
Format: book
Pages: 309

 

Summary (from Goodreads):

Maisie Dobbs isn’t just any young housemaid. Through her own natural intelligence—and the patronage of her benevolent employers—she works her way into college at Cambridge. When World War I breaks out, Maisie goes to the front as a nurse. It is there that she learns that coincidences are meaningful and the truth elusive. After the War, Maisie sets up on her own as a private investigator. But her very first assignment, seemingly an ordinary infidelity case, soon reveals a much deeper, darker web of secrets, which will force Maisie to revisit the horrors of the Great War and the love she left behind.

About the Author (Jacqueline Winspear):

 

Truth walks toward us on the paths of our questions. As soon as you think you have the answer, you have closed the path and may miss the vital new information. Wait awhile in the stillness, and do not rush to conclusions, no matter how uncomfortable the unknowing.”

– Jacqueline Winspear

While looking up Ms. Winspear’s information online, I came across quite a lot of wonderful quotes from her. If you don’t know it, I am a quote hoarder!! I love writing quotes in a little book and in my journal. So I thought I would share the one above with you.

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the UK.

Jacqueline found her inspiration in the ordinary people of wartime from her grandfather who was severely wounded and shell-shocked at The Battle of the Somme in 1916, and it was as she understood the extent of his suffering that, even in childhood, Jacqueline became deeply interested in the “war to end all wars” and its aftereffects.

My Thoughts:

I have been collecting the books in this series prior to reading this first book for some time from thrift shops. I love the covers and I liked the premise of the story so I was hoping that I was investing in a good series. Now that I finally read the first book, and I now know I am happy I have been collecting them.

The first book provides readers with Maisie’s backstory. Some critics say that it spent too much time on her backstory but I found it both interesting and helpful for me to understand her character. It helps to develop the reader’s investment in the character. It also provided us with a mystery to keep things interesting.

The story is told alternating back and forth in time and I kept coming back to see what next was in store for her.  I liked that Maisie was such a strong and independent character throughout the book and it was great to watch her confidence grow as the story develops.

Being an avid reader, I have come to the realization that not everyone’s first book might wow you but quite often if you stick with an author, you get to witness them grow and you connect more with their stories. I feel this way with this book. I enjoyed the story and I switched back and forth between reading the printed edition and listening to the audiobook. Which also provides a different experience. I love series because I always feel like with each book you are visiting a old friend. The beauty of starting this series so late is that I believe there are already 13 books in the series so I have plenty more to explore. I look forward to tagging along with Maisie in her next case.

For these reasons, I give this book 3  1/2 butterflies!
Happy reading!

Belinda

Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: The No. 1 Ladies Dectective Agency (#1) by Alexander McCall Smith

Hello, my bookworm friends! Oh, these gray days are perfect for beautifully illustrated books. This is another book review for the Literary Voyage Around the World Reading challenge. It is also a book I am using for March Mystery Madness, a BookTube reading challenge for the month of March. So for the month of March you are to read mysteries and they challenge you to read a book for each of the following categories:

1. SHELF 2. BORROW 3. NEW 4. HISTORICAL 5. FOREIGN 6. OPPOSITE

You can interpret these words any way you would like. For instance, the word SHELF could be a book off of your shelf etc. I might use this book for FOREIGN since it is set in Botswana.

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Title: The No. 1 Ladies Detetive Agency (Book #1)
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Copyright: February 18, 2003
Genre: fiction
Format: audiobook Narrator: Lisette Lecat
Duration: 08:11:14

“Detective agencies rely on human intuition and intelligence, both of which Mma Ramotswe had in abundance. No inventory would ever include those, of course.” p. 3

Summary (from Goodreads):

Mma “Precious” Ramotswe sets up a detective agency in Botswana on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, making her the only female detective in the country. At first, cases are hard to come by. But eventually, troubled people come to Precious with a variety of concerns. Potentially philandering husbands, seemingly schizophrenic doctors, and a missing boy who may have been killed by witch doctors all compel Precious to roam about in her tiny van, searching for clues.

About the Author (Genevieve Cogman):

 

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland.

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Botswana flag

My Thoughts:

For many years now I have collected books in this series as I come across them at thrift shops. The covers always struck me a beautiful. So what better time for an audiobook than when you catch the flu. Yup, you heard it right, I was brought down by the flu. So I downloaded it off of Hoopla and let the story unfold.

I also chose this book because it fulfills the Mystery March Book challenge and the Literary Voyage Around the World.

I truly enjoyed listening to Mma Ramostwe’s story and how she became a lady detective. There were several cases that she tended to in the book and I appreciated being able to learn a little more each time about life in Botswana. Even though the stories are fiction, these types of cases to occur so it allowed the reader to see some of the struggles that society has to deal with in Botswana.

“I love all the people whom God made, but I especially know how to love the people who live in this place. They are my people, my brothers and sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries in their lives. That is what I am called to do.” Mma Ramotswe, p. 4

Rather than follow tradition Mma Ramotswe feels compelled to help her people and despite the obstacles for women in this profession, she pursues it with gusto.

I really look forward to reading book two and will be sure to come back with another review.

Overall I enjoyed the story of Mma Ramotswe and the variety of cases she solved. The audiobook was delightful and although I wasn’t feeling well, this book was a welcome distraction. For these reasons, I would give this book 4 butterflies.

Happy reading!

Belinda

Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: A Path of Stars by Anne Sibley O’Brien

Hello, my bookworm friends! Oh, these gray days are perfect for beautifully illustrated books. This is my second book review for the Literary Voyage Around the World Reading challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

Title: A Path of Stars
Author: Anne Sibley O’Brien
Copyright: February 7, 2017
Genre: fiction
Format: e-book
Pages: 40

Summary (from Goodreads):

A touching story of family, loss, and memory.
Dara’s grandmother, Lok Yeay, is full of stories about her life growing up in Cambodia, before she immigrated to the United States. Lok Yeay tells her granddaughter of the fruits and plants that grew there, and how her family would sit in their yard and watch the stars that glowed like fireflies. Lok Yeay tells Dara about her brother, Lok Ta, who is still in Cambodia, and how one day she will return with Dara and Dara’s family to visit the place she still considers home.

About the Author (Genevieve Cogman):

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“My career creating multicultural children’s books is a direct response to my childhood in Korea, which kindled in me a fascination for the beauty and glory of human differences, and a passion for the truth that, across our differences, we are all one human family. We belong to each other. That’s what I’m trying to get to, through all my work.”

 

When I visited her website I think I liked her even more. This quote from her reflects my own wishes for my company. I always wanted to create products that celebrate diversity. I put more of her books on hold at the library. A few I plan on reading with Apollo.

My Thoughts:

I often come across new books while listening to podcasts, reading book blogs or watching BookTube. But sometimes, books come to me by chance. I was actually just puttering around Hoopla looking at books and came across this book. The beautiful illustration of the girl on the cover pulled me in immediately so I clicked on it to see what it was about.

When I saw that was a story about Cambodian refugees. I immediately thought back to my college days and studies about the Khmer Rouge.

“The Khmer Rouge was the name given to Cambodian (Khmer) communists (rouge, French for red) and later the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in Cambodia who infamously carried out the Cambodian genocide.” – Wikipedia

I remember that when I learned about the mass genocides that killed between 1.5 – 3 million Cambodian peoples that occurred between 1975-1978. I had never been taught anything about Cambodia prior to my college experience so it came as such a shock. The obvious questions of why and how could this happen were the topics of discussion. It was troubling information to process and I didn’t know what to do with it but to be honest, after college, it didn’t pass by my radar again until I saw this book. Despite the fact that it is a children’s book and does not go into depth on the topic of genocide, it does focus on the Cambodian traditional familial bonds of grandparents and grandchildren as well as life as a refugee and it has stirred my heart again. So let me share this lovely book with you. These are a few pages viewed on my Kindle. The lighting wasn’t the best but trust me the illustrations were so beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think that this is good for both young and old to read. The illustrations are magnificent and the story is touching. I really like the way the author paced the story withholding certain information to allow the reader to really appreciate the bond between the grandmother and her grandchild as well as appreciate the details of Cambodian life before and after the event.

Cambodian flag

I really enjoyed this book and for the messages that it conveys about family, loss, love, being a refugee and the beautiful illustrations I give it 5 butterflies.

Happy reading!

Belinda

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