Spring Reading Thing...Book Review #1

Song Yet Sung by James McBride is set in Dorchester County of Maryland at the time of the Underground Railroad. The story is a historical fiction work , but many of the characters, according to the author, are taken from real history.

In reading this book, I think the one theme that I will remember is the "spirit" of the black slave. They never gave up dreaming about what could be, or what might be better once they were free. Unfortunately, that spirit is lost today.
One character, Liz, is noted as the "dreamer." Through the book, I never put two and two together, but the author was portraying her to be similar to Harriet Tubman. Once I read that, I immediately started reading everything I could find online about Harriet Tubman and I also have a list of books that I want to read about her. Harriet was the heart behind the Underground Railroad and the Gospel Train. She should be commended and remembered more than she is!

One final thought...the heart and soul of the slave community is one that should be remembered. A large part of our American population today has no idea where they come from, or the hardships of our ancestors. Finding time to research history and important people in history is a passion of mine...and it's always great to read works of historical fiction that depict the heart of America.

I also wanted to add the map to where this book was located...the following shows Cambridge, Maryland:



View Larger Map

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday question:

This week's question comes from Julie, who asks:

While acknowledging that we can't judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?

Well, I am one that likes to look at the book cover and see how it ties in to the story. I am a librarian, and so most of my books come from the library. Very rarely will I buy a fiction title for myself, unless it was a memorable book. Because of this, there are times when the cover is important, and times when it isn't. Most books from the library are hardback and I actually prefer hardback to paperback just because of its durability.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that...a nice cover never hurt anybody, but never judge a book by it's cover!

~Happy Reading

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Spring Reading Thing 2008

Katrina over at Callapidder Days is hosting a Spring Reading Thing for 2008. I'm very excited since this is my first time to participate! If you want to join, go ahead and click the above link and head on over. We're in for a lot of fun and a lot of reading.

Now for my picks...I have chosen to focus on Historical Fiction. I had the idea that I want to buy a big world map and start pin pointing the places that I read about. This will enable me to learn more about the particular part of history that I'm reading, as well as have a neat visual of all the places I have "visited." So, without further ado, here is my list:

To Finish:
Song Yet Sung by: James McBride

Kidnapped by: Jan Burke (not historical fiction, but I still need to finish it)

The Historian by: Elizabeth Kostova

To Read:

Mary by: Janis Cooke Newman

The House of Seven Gables by: Nathaniel Hawthorne

The History of Love by: Nicole Krauss

Bryson City Tales by: Walt Larimore

Candle In the Darkness by: Lynn Austin

You Remind Me of Me by: Dan Chaon

Black Cross by: Greg Iles

I am thoroughly looking forward to this list of titles and can't wait to start reviewing them here also.

Happy Reading!

Booking Through Thursday

This week's Booking Through Thursday question is:

You've just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you're going to read? What?

(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)

Normally, if it's an easy read like a Mystery title, I will go right into another book on my "to-be-read" list. I like to read in bed before falling asleep and I always try to time it to where I don't finish a book when it's time to sleep...otherwise I'll be up all night thinking about the book.

Lately though, I have been on a Historical Fiction kick. Currently I'm reading Song Yet Sung by James McBride. I can tell that this will be one that I won't forget for a long time. Another such title is The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Unfortunately, I finished this book around 2 am and was balling my eyes out by the end. My husband woke to my sobbing and literally came around to my side of the bed and took the book from me saying "you can't keep doing this to yourself!" I think he's right.

So, with all of that being said, I choose to finish a book during the day and start another by night. If I linger too much, I'm doomed...especially if it's a deep subject. I suppose that makes me a softy!

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