Shirley's Updates en-US Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:12:28 -0800 60 Shirley's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7135095303 Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:12:28 -0800 <![CDATA[Shirley added 'Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine: A Recipe for Life in the French Countryside']]> /review/show/7135095303 Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine by Lindy Viandier Shirley gave 5 stars to Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine: A Recipe for Life in the French Countryside (Life at Les Libellules Book 2) by Lindy Viandier
Lindy Viandier's book is a pure delight. Not only can she write beautifully descriptive prose, but you get the bonus of wonderful recipes throughout the book. I made her recipe called Marie's Fondant au Chocolat and my guests nearly swooned over the rich, tasty, dessert. She's a funny writer, too, having me not only smile but burst out laughing at her vivid descriptions. "...sets his jet-powered hose into action on the roof, adding a fountain of chemicals and dirty water to pour over the besieged Marcel, who's crouching with a tape measure on the other side." Everything she describes, you see in exquisite detail. She's got an absolute command of using the perfect adjective for all the scenarios she brings you into. If you enjoy reading about life in the French countryside, the animals, the people, the food, then this is the book for you. A highly recommended read. ]]>
Review6999647461 Tue, 12 Nov 2024 13:58:17 -0800 <![CDATA[Shirley added 'The Lady in the Bay Window: A true story of a haunted Sheffield home']]> /review/show/6999647461 The Lady in the Bay Window by William C. Grave Shirley gave 4 stars to The Lady in the Bay Window: A true story of a haunted Sheffield home (Kindle Edition) by William C. Grave
I read The Lady in the Bay Window in two sittings. It was another one of those reads that is hard to put down. I’m interested and intrigued by the paranormal, knowing a ghostbuster here in Sydney and having experienced a couple of ghostly events through him. Mr Grace wrote about his and his friends� experiences of his haunted house in Sheffield, England with a balanced amount of scepticism yet belief, leaving me convinced at the end, like him, that his house is, indeed, haunted. As he pointed out, there’s no explanation for what’s been going on in his home. It’s a spine-chilling read; you’ll love it, and it will certainly leave you wondering� ]]>
Review6995245628 Sun, 10 Nov 2024 22:05:29 -0800 <![CDATA[Shirley added 'I Call Bullshit: Confronting Betrayals and Reclaiming My Self-Worth']]> /review/show/6995245628 I Call Bullshit by Becca  Christensen Shirley gave 4 stars to I Call Bullshit: Confronting Betrayals and Reclaiming My Self-Worth (Kindle Edition) by Becca Christensen
I read this book in one sitting. It was hard to put it down. I could relate to just a little of her experiences and therein lay my fascinated read. Such a difficult early home life and then, to grow up and fall in love only to discover she’d made a dreadful mistake—just awful for her. My heart went out to this amazingly brave woman. It must have been very hard to open herself up to tell this story; congratulations to Ms Christensen. It was very well written. ]]>
Review6932057840 Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:41:02 -0700 <![CDATA[Shirley added 'Avaning Around in Arabella: Travels and House-Sitting Adventures in Australia, during the Covid19 Pandemic']]> /review/show/6932057840 Avaning Around in Arabella by Rosie  Mitchell Shirley gave 5 stars to Avaning Around in Arabella: Travels and House-Sitting Adventures in Australia, during the Covid19 Pandemic (Kindle Edition) by Rosie Mitchell
This is an enjoyable read, especially if you have been, as I have, to so many of the places that Rosie Mitchell visited, and what a clever idea to housesit to see other Australian regions or even other countries. There were places and events she mentions that I’d like to know more about. For example, how did she get rid of the snake in her bedroom in Queensland? I met this interesting author recently and I’ll have the delight of meeting her again tomorrow and will be able to ask her in person! She and her husband had a fascinating journey throughout much of Australia and met many people, I found it interesting that she explains her story in a diary/journalistic style, so you can follow her trip on a map, read what a place is like, then either imagine it, or compare it to when you were there. As an added benefit, you can learn which campgrounds or places to go to, or which to avoid, such as, “Tuesday, we checked out Innes Park, Coral Cove and Elliott Heads, which were all wild and windy.� And “The following week a drive through Glenwood, Bauple, and Tinana up to Maryborough and home via the coast, Maaroom, Boonooroo, Tuan, Poona and Tin Can Bay.� Rosie has some funny linesß in this book, which made me laugh out loud, “We remembered when we brought our older son Sterling here when he was two and a half years old, on our return from living in Malaysia, and as soon as he got out of the car, he took off all his clothes and just ran into the water. Thankfully he doesn’t do that anymore, well, not as far as I know!� Rosie and her husband seem to have eaten a lot of really good food in lovely locations, which she describes with relish! “Sunday morning, we drove back to Canberra to have a late lunch at the vineyard, Contentious Character with our younger son Arthur and his partner Emma. The food was divine with four courses and twelve wines to taste. It was a lovely setting amongst the vines, and the glorious autumn weather made the perfect afternoon. Monday, we had a potter around the Dickson shops and later that evening, dinner at the local pub with our older son Sterling. Tuesday was much the same, and we managed to get both our boys together that evening for pizza and wine. It was a nice way to finish off our time in Canberra.� I felt as if I was there with the author every step of her journey and savouring each of her experiences with her. ]]>
Review6832074046 Mon, 07 Oct 2024 22:55:17 -0700 <![CDATA[Shirley added 'Sidesteps to The Somme on The Shoe: Travels by Barge Along the Western Front']]> /review/show/6832074046 Sidesteps to The Somme on The Shoe by Valerie Poore Shirley gave 5 stars to Sidesteps to The Somme on The Shoe: Travels by Barge Along the Western Front (Faring on The Shoe) by Valerie Poore
bookshelves: currently-reading
Ms. Poore has done it again, completely hooking me in with her way with words. I always feel I’m right there with her on her barge, in this case, the Hennie Ha, a/k/a The Shoe. This time from my armchair I fared with them along canals of the River Somme, taking in much of the history of the Western Front of World War One in northern France and Belgium. The best part, of course, was the sidesteps taken down unexpected watery ways that sometimes seemed too small for their sweet little barge, with the author’s terror of getting stuck and her partner’s keen ability to get the Hennie Ha through. All of this, and the bucolic scenery, meeting new and old friends, as well as seeing the scars of that terrible war, made the whole experience come to life for Ms. Poore. Her way with words is nothing short of brilliant, always evocative, and even funny. Her exasperation with Koos made me grin, as she wrote, “Koos? What are you thinking? ““That we need to explore over there.� “I thought we’d finished with sidesteps for this trip,� I said, sighing. But, in the end, it’s the sidesteps they took on their barge that made the whole trip so completely memorable for both of them. Five stars for this memoir, with no question. ]]>
Review6823073067 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 18:17:43 -0700 <![CDATA[Shirley added 'Repacking for Greece: A Mediterranean Odyssey']]> /review/show/6823073067 Repacking for Greece by Sally Jane Smith Shirley gave 4 stars to Repacking for Greece: A Mediterranean Odyssey (Kindle Edition) by Sally Jane Smith
A casual informative literary and historical wander through Greece.
Sally Smith has done a lot of research to produce another of her fascinating and informative books not only about present-day Greece but also its history. It’s quite like her earlier travel memoir, Packing for Greece, along with its historical and literary titbits but presented in a slightly more casual way. It’s good to read some back history, of course, but at times I thought there was perhaps just a tad too much of the myths, heroes, and legends of ancient Greece. I wanted to hear even more about the modern Greeks she met as well as those stories of ancient times. Yet that mild wish was overshadowed by her intelligently articulated shared thoughts and feelings, to an extent that we feel we’re slogging up a hill to view a church with her or putting a toe in the Mediterranean and experiencing pure delight.
This memoir tells us the details of the truly terrible bus accident she had some years earlier, which had caused the loss of her wanderlust. With her mother’s tiny red travel diary in hand, she follows in her mother’s footsteps and sees much of what her mother saw but with her own fresh eyes. Does the author regain her wanderlust or is it all too much for her? I encourage you to read this informative book about Greece to find out!
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Rating750276579 Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:30:17 -0700 <![CDATA[Shirley Read-Jahn liked a review]]> /
One Text Away by Tammy Horvath
"This new short memoir by Tammy Horvath (author of Gone in an Instant), reads like a novel. There’s lust, health scares, and a ‘will they, won’t they�, storyline which kept me gripped to the very end. Tammy’s raw, brutally honest style raises it above many other memoirs of this type and her real, no-holds-barred way of writing hits the solar plexus and makes the reader gasp. It also makes me think…would I have done the same in her shoes? Brave and fearless are words that spring to mind."
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Rating748510169 Sat, 13 Jul 2024 19:24:26 -0700 <![CDATA[Shirley Read-Jahn liked a review]]> /
Snowflake Goes to Queensland by Shirley Read-Jahn
"Recently moved to Australia, Shirley, her husband, and four friends travel through Queensland in three campervans. I loved seeing the outback and tropics of Australia through the eyes of someone who was experiencing them for the first time, and her delight in all the different places, people, and wildlife they encountered. Lots of interesting information on the places they visited. For "grey travelers", they certainly didn't let advancing years stop them! Well-written, entertaining and well edited, I definitely recommend this book."
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ReadStatus7939657465 Sat, 18 May 2024 03:05:48 -0700 <![CDATA[Shirley is currently reading 'Paradise: We travelled to the Mountains of Portugal with a boy, a dog and three horses and we found...']]> /review/show/6514223690 Paradise by Sandra Cross Shirley is currently reading Paradise: We travelled to the Mountains of Portugal with a boy, a dog and three horses and we found... by Sandra Cross
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Comment272332906 Mon, 26 Feb 2024 21:43:40 -0800 <![CDATA[Shirley commented on Pat's review of The Vanishing Book: A Fictionalised Memoir]]> /review/show/6041036418 Pat's review of The Vanishing Book: A Fictionalised Memoir
by Shirley Read-Jahn

Thank you, Pat. ]]>