Read The World - Belgium - A Tall Man In A Low Land

Book: A Tall Man In A Low Land
Author: Harry Pearson
Pages: 256
Book takes place in the country: YES
The author is from the country: NO
I have visited: YES

This is my 150th read for the year.

150!

Yes - I have visited Belgium, although it was a brief stay.  We were just passing through on the way to and from The Netherlands.  We had planned a full weekend visit last December, but my daughter decided that she needed to have her appendix out instead, and the trip had to be canceled.  We are hoping to visit again in the near future.

This is the story of the author's own visit to Belgium in the late 1990s.  He and his wife and young daughter spent many months in Belgium - traveling all over the country visiting as many cities as they could.  He gives a recount of Belgium history, and speaks to many of the locals about their customs and cultures.  

This was a pretty good book.  It has a few funny parts, but I think it would have been funnier if I would have been 1) English and 2) up on English pop culture references of the 1990s.  So some of the humor was lost on me.  However - this did not really deter from the book - I enjoyed learning a lot about the different cities in Belgium and the history of Belgium as well.  It was a good find for my Read The World Challenge.  If you are planning on visiting Belgium, I would put this book on your list.

Stars: 4

November In Review

December has arrived!  This is my favorite month of the year.  I love the holidays, and we have been enjoying them even more now that we live in Europe.  The Christmas Markets here are fantastic.  I never tire of walking around the booths and eating the delicious food.  It is magical.

In the month of November I read 19 books - wow!!  I didn't have a chance to review them all yet, so some of those reviews will be coming in December.  It was a good reading month.  I had a few short books in there, so that helped.  Plus with the weather turning colder, and now my youngest daughter not needing me to pick her up from school any more (she can come home alone now), I have more time to read.  It is great!  Independence for her and for me.

I tried to read several nonfiction for the #nonfictionnovember challenge I was doing on Instagram.  I read 11 books for my Read The World Challenge, and 8 were extras.  More extras than I should have read, but some of those are books I read with my kids, so that doesn't really count.  I am going to work hard on my Read The World Challenge this coming month so that I get even closer to having that goal completed by the end of the year.

Here are the books I read.  Click on the title of the book and it will take you to the review (if I did one).

When Life Gives You Pears (Extra Book)

The Nomads, My Brothers, Go Out and Drink from the Big Dipper (country - Djibouti)

The Institute (Extra Book)

Mission to Kala (country - Cameroon)

Part Of Your World (Extra Book)

Cadence of the Moon (Costa Rica)

Call The Midwife (Extra Book)

The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw (country - Belize)

Beyond The Sky And Earth (country - Bhutan)

Dora Flor and Her Two Husbands (country - Brazil)

The Girl With The Hazel Eyes (country - Barbados)

Shadows Of The Workhouse (Extra Book)

Just Jaime (Extra Book)

Blood of Montenegro (country - Montenegro)

The Toll (Extra Book)

A Tall Man In A  Low Land (review coming soon) - country - Belgium

The Baby Sitters Club - Boy Crazy Stacey (review coming soon) - Extra Book

Stories From Puerto Rico (review coming soon) country - Puerto Rico

10 Minutes, 38 Seconds In This Strange World (review coming soon) country - Turkey

My top 5 books for this month where:

Call The Midwife
The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw
The Toll
When Life Gives You Pears
Beyond The Sky And Earth


The Bottom of the Pile where

Blood of Montenegro
The Girl With The Hazel Eyes
Cadence of the Moon


How was your reading month?

Extra Read: The Toll

Book: The Toll
Author: Neal Shusterman
Pages: 640

This is my 149th read for the year

I did put down my Read The World Challenge to work my way through this massive book.  I have been anticipating it for months - the 3rd in a fabulous trilogy - that I decided it deserved my full attention.

Endura has fallen.  Citra and Rowan are missing.  Scythe Curie has sacraficed herself, and Goddard is not in charge.  The Thunderhead has gone silent and everyone declared unsavory.  Goddard needs to be stopped, but by whom?  

I don't want to give anything away in this book because I know that many people have been waiting for this book.  It is a large book, and characters from all different directions are coming together to try and resolve what has happened.  Trying to rectify what has happened to Endura.  Getting the Thunderhead to talk to them again.  Figuring out where to go next and what role the Scythes should have moving forward.

The ending was a bit of a let down, but I think it was only because I was hoping for more.  He did wrap it up, and we know what is happening when he ends the book, but I wished for more none the less.  I am mostly just sad that this series is over because it has been awhile since I have found a good trilogy to be excited about.

Stars: 4

Read The World - Montenegro - Blood of Montenegro

Book: Blood of Montenegro
Author: Bajram Angelo Koljenovic
Pages: 361
Book Takes Place in the Country: YES (but just about 50%)
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: NO

This is my 148th read of the year

This is the story of the author and three generations of the Koljenovic family.  Intermixed with the author's personal story is history of Montenegro, the Bulkans and Yugoslavia.  The author expresses his feelings of communist rule, and his quest to escape it.  He speaks of the blood feud that was going on on Montenegro in the mid 20th century.  

This was an okay book.  The story was kind of all over the place, and at times, I found it a bit bland.  There was some really good parts that kept me reading, but overall, it wasn't a great book.  And it only takes place 50% of the book in Montenegro.  I was hoping for more.  I did learn a bit about the country and the wars that went on in the 20th century, so I will hold onto this one for now.

Stars: 3

Extra Book: Just Jaime

Book: Just Jaime
Author: Terri Libenson
Pages: 256

This is my 147th read of the year.

I read this one with my two youngest children.  We are big fans of Terri Libenson's books and her twist endings..

This is the story of Jaime and her best friend Maya.  It is the end of 7th grade for both girls, and Jaime senses something is wrong.  But she doesn't know what.  Maya has something she needs to tell Jaime, but she is having trouble getting the courage to do so.  When Maya finally confesses her secret, it sends Jaime and Maya on a new path that neither expected.  Maya and Jaime learn what true friendship is all about and how being true to yourself makes all the difference

This was another great installment in the Terri Libenson books.  These are graphic novels which are big hits with the kids, and a fun way to tell a story.  The stories are funny, enlightening, and always have an ending you don't see coming.  This ending wasn't nearly as surprising as the other books of hers we have read, but it didn't take away from the story.  

Great story.  Glad we found these books and my kids like them.

Stars: 4 1/2

Extra Book - Shadows of The Workhouse

Book: Shadows Of The Workhouse
Author: Jennifer Worth
Pages: 294

This is my 146th read for the year.

This is the second book in the Call The Midwife series that I bought.  I love the Call the Midwife books, and saw she wrote four books total, so I got them all.

This one is about the Workhouses that were in all over England in the 19th century.  Jenny - the author - recalls the people she spoke to who shared their stories of what it was like to grow up or work in these places.  From Jane - the quiet woman who works at Nonnartus house that can never make decisions.  To Frank - her brother who rescued her from the workhouse once he had enough money to support her.  Intermingeled in here is the story of Sister Monica Joan and her court trail when she is accused of stealing jewels.  And also Mr. Collett who is a patient of Jenny's that she grows to admire as she cares for him.  (all of these stories were a part of the TV series).

This book wasn't as good as the first, but I think it is becuase I just wasn't as interested in these stories as I was the midwife ones.  It was still wonderfully written, and I did learn quite a bit about the workhouse life while reading this book.  But it won't be my favorite among the pile.

Stars: 3 1/2

Read The World - Barbados - The Girl With The Hazel Eyes

Book: The Girl With The Hazel Eyes
Author: Callie Browning
Pages: 253
Book takes place in the country: YES
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: NO

This is my 145th book for the year.

I have been to the Caribbean - a few times.  But Barbados is not an island I have had the pleasure to explore yet.  I look forward to a return trip and adding it to my itinerary.

Susan Taylor is a recluse author who had to leave Barbados for the United States after she writes a novel that is a whistle blower on people running the new Barbados government in the 1960s.  After 50 years, she thinks it is time to write her memoirs, so she hires a girl named Cordelia from Barbados to pen it for her.  Cordelia agrees because she needs the money, so she flies to Susan's house in Florida to spend the next few months listening to Susan's life story.  Susan has a tough skin and is off putting to Cordelia when they first meet.  But over time, Susan softens, and Cordelia begins to enjoy their sessions together.  As the story of Susan's life unravels, secrets are revealed, and Cordelia finds that she has more qusetions than answers.  She is bound to get to the bottom of who Susan really is before she writes this book.

This book was.....fine.  I didn't hate it but I didn't love it.  It isn't well written.  The characters are not really likable.  The ending felt very rushed - the "surprise" not all that surprising.  It was a short book, and I wonder if the author would have taken more time to develop the characters if it would have flowed better and been a better read.

I will keep it my Barbados book for now, but may be on the lookout for another in the future.

Stars: 3