Most definitely a comfort read that brings me back to the days of my childhood, reading Goosebumps and Fear Street and binging through the novels at a brisk rate. Rowling does a great job coercing the reader into the story and developing a strong bond with the characters. Consequently, I can hardly wait to read the sequel and say hello again to a great group of friends.

“The cohesion of biodiversity in a forest, the musicians in an orchestra, the members of a family growing through conversation and feedback, through memories and learning from the past, even if chaotic and unpredictable, leveraging scarce resources to thrive.” Mothers trees linking to a mycorrhizal network assisting primarily its own kin but also assisting trees apart of the surrounding network to improve the environment and further biodiversity.

Dracula or Drakulya who may have been based of the vicious, despotic, blood thirsty Wallachian (Romanian) ruler of the mid 15th century has hints of the man behind the undead mask‘s prior fleets in real life. The story in itself has defied my expectations. I honestly thought that this would be another tacky and fruitless horror novel but it was so much more than that! From Nosferatu to Dracula Untold, Stoker far exceeds the cinematic experience.

A children‘s classic from 1911 based in England. Although a children‘s classic, it could be purported as a young adult classic. A lovely read with mysticism and spiritual gathering, including all the best elements life has to offer. Love, community, wisdom, books, and gardens shaping to display that how one perceives life is how one will experience it. Fill your mind with the positive elements of your life suffusing little room for the negative.

A gift from my wife for my Birthday! And what a great gift indeed! ❤️

Little Dorrit demonstrates and insists on the possibility of moral self-cultivation and rewards or punishes those characters according to their moral behavior. In short, no one gets away with anything because everyone's accountable for themselves. The intricate development of the characters predisposes the reader to be heavily vested in the story‘s characters and the stories development, an overall delightful read!

If you have a love for history, an affinity for botany and gardening, then you will appreciate how the founding gardeners have been induced to take magnanimous roles for the betterment of our country but have always deigned to journey home to hearth and garden with their books amongst their garden where some trees planted were only second to Methuselah. I also appreciated the account of Bartram‘s garden and his contribution to the Franklinia.

When the skipper was attempting to dissuade the sailors from going on leave one of the sailors denouncing him as “a lying old son of a sea-cook who begrudged a fellow a few hours Liberty,” exclaimed an oath, “ but you don‘t bounce me out of my liberty, old chap, for all your yarns; for I would go ashore if every pebble on the beach was a live coal, and every stick a gridiron, and the cannibals stood ready to boil me on landing.”

“In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live.”

A little more drawn out then was necessary. Anna Karenina was more compact and definitely preferred over War & Peace. That being said, this is definitely a masterpiece and should be required reading. The second epilogue was repetitive. The point of free will vs the laws of nature could have been summed up in one chapter. 12 chapters was a little excessive to make this point. Much of the novel had many examples of excess indulgences throughout.

Not my cup of tea. The beauty of life is that we have many variations of people with many varying interests. This one did not peak mine after 136 pages. I will be giving this to a close friend who loves King‘s works. I know he will enjoy it more than I ever could. Bail for me.

Fact, this book was a painful read. There were moments that the book was enjoyable to read but this is subpar in comparison to many other of Dickens‘ works that I have read. I wouldn‘t recommend this one. Unfortunately not his best work in my subjective opinion.

If you want to read a book in regards to the human condition and how life and upbringing and circumstance can afflict or allow advantage, this is the book to read. Even though this book was based in the 1850s and was a pre civil war novel, it has many instances where the human condition paired on this earth has not changed entirely too much, good and bad. Uncle Tom‘s Cabin is a great novel to remind mankind to love thy neighbor.

My initial grounds for reading the following book was for my love of literature of the sea, the romanticism of whaling, and its confluence with 19th century New England. In the Heart of the Sea navigates the true story of the Essex whaleship out of Nantucket in 1819, which was Melville‘s inspiration to writing his masterpiece. This was an enjoyable account to read and the movie was also very well done. Highly recommend to the fellow thalassophile.

A relaxing read prior to moving back to NY. Betty Smith was a New Yorker that had lived in Chapel Hill as I have and I am now moving back to my old roots. Coincidentally I was reading this book at the time we made our final decision to move back. A great read about a girl and her family during the early part of the 20th century. Gives a good account on what it may have been like to grow up in poverty and the arduous struggle to climb out of it.

Very enjoyable and relaxing read and no it‘s not just about crawfish 🦞 😆 Some unexpected twists in turns in this one, I would like to give a more thorough review but I fear I would reveal some of the plot while doing so.

Took a break from studying to read another one of Colson Whitehead‘s books, The Nickel Boys. This is a fictional novel based on true evens on what happened to the tenants at the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida. This was a gripping read that really displayed the injustice of institutional racism in the Deep South. Highly Recommend.

What attracted me to this book was my previous attraction to the efficiency of Toyota and the use of lean methods to improve processes throughout any organization. If you desire waste reduction, increased efficiency processes while improving staff and company moral, higher quality output than this is the book for you. These principles can be used in a personal setting as well as professional and still applies today.

I just realized that my fandom for Mark Twain correlates with my annoyance of Austen, Twain once said “ I often want to criticize Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Every time I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” Mark Twain might be a bit extreme but I find accuracy in his candor.

Dickens does a great job grasping the reader into the story but the mid section of the book tends to lag a bit and could have been more concise. At times I found myself putting the novel down to take a break from the conglomeration of wordiness in the story. It was all worth it in the end though as Dickens does an articulate job recalling the earlier pieces of the book and bringing the past and future in unison together.

Pudd‘nhead Wilson (1894) by Mark Twain. A fantastic read and a very underrated book amongst the collective of all of Twain‘s works. Not a very long or arduous read, only 203 pages in length but it was hard not to be engaged at every interval and gifted with very suspenseful ending. A book that was hard to put down and will more than likely be reread in the future.

Completed this reading of Fahrenheit 451. This was a profound read at a profound moment in history. This book displays how censorship can negatively effect society inadvertently and also with malicious intent. “Books are sacred to free men for very good reasons, and that wars have been fought against nations which hate books and burn them. If you are an American, you must allow all ideas to circulate freely in your community, not merely your own.

Reading Farenheit 451 on my lunch break, a little over 20 pages in and definitely an interesting read. Without giving too much away, the Fireman Montag doesn‘t actually put out fires, he is in a profession of firemen that burn books for a living. This man would be public enemy #1 in my world.

Am interesting read, taking place pre-WW 1, at the beginning of the novel it showed references to diplomatic interrelations in Europe. At first I thought Forester was going to be going in the direction of a pre war novel but as I delved further into the book I noticed the real moral of the story which applies not only to people but to nations as well. “A place, as well as a person, may catch the glow. It is part of the battle against sameness.”Meg

Completed this book in two days. A real page turner, I normally delve into classic literature but I really enjoyed this autobiographical account of Trevor Noah. This was a first hand account of what apartheid did to Africans in South Africa with regards to segregation, and purposeful isolationism and its after effect. Trevor Noah still manages to take such a serious topic such as apartheid and dabbles humorous content throughout the book.

Just completed the last remaining of Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes stories. His Last Bow: a 1917 collection including the short story, "His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes" (1917). In the last story the reader is made aware of the advances in technology during the early 20th century and also makes reference to the First World War. The most enjoyable read amongst these stories was The Adventures of the Devils Foot (1910).

The Valley of Fear is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915. The first book edition was copyrighted in 1914. I am hard pressed to find a better Holmes novel than this one. I have read most of his works now and find this one to be top notch. The twist at the end was unexpected and a treat. Highly recommended for the mystery buff.

Just completed the Hound of the Baskervilles, circa 1902, my first Sherlock Holmes 20th century novel, no cars mentioned yet. I have to say this and Conan Doyle‘s A Study in Scarlet were my two favorite reads of his works so far. I thought the memoirs, the adventures, and the return were decent reading but I confess his larger stories are far more developed and interesting. These pieces were mainly written in periodicals for which he was limited.

Very similar to his Memoirs except for the first story but I won‘t spoil the surprise. My favorite amongst the 13 tales was The Second Stain. A high profile case that could have led to A World War or scandal had it not been for the inquisitive Holmes and his ever curious side-kick Watson. An enjoyable read. Highly recommended for a bus ride to work as you could easily get through one tale in a half hours time.

Just completed The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes 1893. I felt that after reading the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes that this particular 11 case series would be more of the same deductions and “obvious” reasoning from our friend Sherlock. I admit the stories can be cumbersome at times but this was slightly better than the Adventure series. My favorite remains A Study in Scarlet which was Doyle‘s original Sherlock story.

Just completed The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - 1892. The adventures were entertaining from one to the next but I noticed many similarities between them all. Holmes always found each new case more singular than the past cases, he was always sitting in his Baker Street Home when a new case came to him with some aggrieved person showed to his door and he automatically knew it was for him before they came to the door. Ect

Just completed The Sign of the Four (1890), also called The Sign of Four, is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective. This is the second Conan Doyle book I have read this far and have to say I am enjoying it thoroughly.

A Study in Scarlet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s first Sherlock Holmes story written in 1887. A very good start to the Holmes series. Next will be The Sign of the Four. I enjoy the first person account by Watson and also enjoyed the account in the second part on the predisposition of the said account in Utah. At first I wasn‘t quite sure where the second part was taking me but then it all became clear. A great short story overall.

I finally completed this novel, it took me much longer than I would have thought. That being said, a very wonderful read. I could not be more surprised at the demise of Anna and the gruesome nature of it described so eloquently by Tolstoy. I know that‘s a odd thing to say of ones demise but it‘s my sentiments exactly. I love the ending where Levin finds peace and knows that fulfilling ones soul by what is inherently good is the meaning of life.

Just finished my second reading of the Hobbit with this delightful collectors edition. The first time reading this was back in the 9th or 10th grade. Back in those days I read a lot of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. This collectors edition made reading it the second time all the more enjoyable with the colorful illustrations included within. I will now watch the 3 movies and compare them to the book. I remember watching the first movie some time ago.

Hemingway‘s first main novel published in 1926. It started out slow for me, but after about page 60 the book was starting to peak my interest. Not one of my favorite Hemingway novels but a decent book overall. The characters in the story (especially Brett) were very contradictory.

Scribners 1952 version of The Old Man and the Sea. A genuine classic. An amazing but quick read. This book has enticed me to read more of Hemingway‘s works. And just like that a new favorite has taken the top spot.

Just completed The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens first novel. Not my favorite amongst Dickens‘ novels. It is his first though written at the age of 24 in 1836, and Queen Victoria was found laughing off her chair while reading this. Has a English Don Quixote vibe of going on multiple adventures throughout England.

I have read this book for the first time in Spring of 2019. Hard to believe I lasted this long without reading this masterpiece. If you want to read something hilarious and not too lengthy, this is the pick for you!

A very good book. I have read this first in 11th grade in High School and bought this version at Powell Books in Portland, Oregon in 2019. I re-read it this December 2019. Highly recommended!

One of my favorite Ibsen plays. He is such an elegant writer.

A gorgeous and reasonably priced version for any bookshelf. A very long read. I have read this in 9th grade in High School, saw the play, saw all the movie renditions, my favorite was the 1998 film adaptation with Liam Neeson. I re-read this book mid 2019. A long but worthwhile read.

One of my favorite books of all-time. Melville is a literary genius. The three versions I have are the Easton Press 1977 version on the left, the 1976 W.W. Norton & Company version in the middle, and a Modern Library version from 1950. It was the first piece of true literature I read as a child. I found it lying about my mother‘s old books in the basement.

My favorite book I have read thus far. Highly recommended!

Another good read by Paulo Coehlo, I read this on my trip to Charleston.

An amazing and quick read. Paulo Coelho captures what an adventure novel should depict, not lengthy and redundant like Don Quixote. Very enjoyable. I would re-read this in the future.

To repetitive and redundant. The story could have been trimmed to a more tolerable length to avoid the repetition of the same chivalrous story (just in a different format). Highly overrated by the literary community. A bust.