Reviews and Comments

DirkReading

drkprmbs@bookwyrm.social

Joined 3 weeks, 1 day ago

German Torontonian. Universally curious. Fedizen since 2018.

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Karolyn Smardz Frost: I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad (2007) 5 stars

I life story like no other

5 stars

Since I moved to North America I started reading up on black and indigenous history of this continent. This book paints a vivid picture of the underground railroad, the trek that thousands of slaves took to flee the US towards Kanada. It anchors on the inspiring and rich life story or Thornton and Lucie Blackburn who escaped slavery on that trek. Well worth your time! There's also a fabulous audiobook read by Karen Chilton.

Karolyn Smardz Frost: I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad (2007) 5 stars

Since I moved to North America I started reading up on black and indigenous history of this continent. This book paints a vivid picture of the underground railroad, the trek that thousands of slaves took to flee the US towards Kanada. It anchors on the inspiring and rich life story or Thornton and Lucie Blackburn who escaped slavery on that trek. Well worth your time!

Rodney Rothman: Early Bird (Paperback, 2006, Simon & Schuster) 4 stars

Everyone says they would like to retire early, but comedy writer Rothman actually did it--forty …

Funny, witty, entertaining

4 stars

This was a quick and fun read, giving a small glimpse into the retirement communities in Florida. I enjoyed the book even though it wasn't exactly high literature or particularly insightful.

Ira Levin: Rosemary's Baby (2010, WW Norton Publishers) 4 stars

She is a housewife—young, healthy, blissfully happy. He is an actor—charismatic and ambitious. The spacious, …

I couldn't put it down

5 stars

Even though I knew the plot from the movie I was truly mesmerised by this story. It is a fairly short and gripping novel about betrayal, paranoia, and a satanic cult. Fantastic read, completed it in two sittings.

Allan Gerald Levine: Toronto (2014) 5 stars

Toronto, the more I know about it, the more I love it here

5 stars

This book was a fantastic read and a whirlwind tour through 300 years of fascinating stories and personalities. I learned to understand some of the landmarks and local stories much better and was blown away by how colorful the people were that shaped this city. I will come back to this book for sure, as it was not only an entertaining read but also a great starting point for further research.

Karolyn Smardz Frost: I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad (2007) 5 stars

Learned about this book through a story I found in "Toronto, biography of a city". It is about the fascinating story of how two slaves escaped their masters, made their ways to Toronto and not only made a successful life there but started the first cab service and became really influential. Yet, they were completely forgotten until an archeological citizen science project found the remains of their home and pieced their story back together...

Charlotte Gray: The Massey Murder (Hardcover, 2013, HarperCollins Publishers) 4 stars

A crime telling the story of societal change in Canada

5 stars

This book tells the fascinating narrative re-telling of a crime that captured the imagination of Canadians at the beginning of the 20th century, but it does so much more than that. The author left me with a better understanding of the changes for women at the time, for the impact WW1 had on Canada, for British Colonial Society, for the history of Toronto, and much more. I'm grateful I stumbled over this book, it is one of the best reads in months.

Kelly Bishop: The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir (Paperback, Gallery Books) 5 stars

Kelly Bishop’s long, storied career has been defined by landmark achievements, from winning a Tony …

A life lived to the fullest

5 stars

I read this book because I'm a fan of Gilmore Girls and Kelly's Emily is one of my favourite characters in the show. I read it back to back to Lauren Graham's book "Talking as fast as I can" and was pleasantly surprised about the depth and quality of writing. Kelly has had a fascinating life and shares her experiences and insights openly. Her days on "A chorus line", her experience on the set of Dirty Dancing, her time at Gilmore Girls gave structure to much deeper experiences. She is open about what broke her first marriage, why she had an abortion, how it was to find and loose your true love and how she steers through her eventful life. Wonderful read, highly recommended.

Lauren Graham: Talking as fast as I can (2016) 4 stars

"This book contains some stories from my life: the awkward growing-up years, the confusing dating …

Easy read

3 stars

This book was a quick and easy read and somewhat interesting if you are (like me) a fan of Lauren's performance in the Gilmore Girls. However, this book could have been shortened to 20 pages without loosing any important material and her writing has, well, room for improvement stylistically. While I don't regret reading this I would not have missed a thing without it.

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (2003) 4 stars

The Canterbury Tales (Middle English: Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that …

I was surprised how much fun I had with these stories

5 stars

I didn't know what I got myself into when I started with this book. However, this was an enjoyable experience as I paired the reading on the page with the audible version so I got the spoken word in my ear while following along. The stories range from tragic to funny, from boring to exciting, and from well-known to ideas I never heard before. I loved the experience and was surprised how much fun I had with this canon of stories.

Mordecai Richler: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1999, Pocket) 3 stars

The younger son of a working-class Jewish family in Montreal, Duddy Kravitz yearns to make …

meh

3 stars

This book is considered a modern classic and a friend of mine warmly suggested reading this. I do like Richler's writing style overall. However, this book lacks coherent plot and the main character (Duddy Kravitz) is not only very unlikable and rude, I also had a hard time really following along. Overall this book was a good read but a somewhat mediocre story.