so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️ I couldn‘t care less about some characters, but was a little invested in others. A strange combo that made for a slightly boring read about half the time. I think some parts were great, but overall the book is just too long. I‘m glad to finally get this book read and off my shelves!
pickCandace Millard wrote a thoroughly researched, yet exciting, narrative nonfiction which is quite the adventure! The source of the Nile River was a mystery in 1850 until two British men were determined to discover the answer. Speke and Burton were highly invested, intelligent explorers who clashed during their expeditions. Burton was a highly skilled linguist who spoke 25 languages and translated the Kama sutra into English. Good but long!
Recent acquisitions:
📖 Richard Burton: A Life by Melvyn Bragg
📖 A Cornish Childhood by A.L. Rowse
#fREADom #UniteAgainstBookBans
pickCuriosity, bravery, greed, pride, and ambition brought these two men to the heights of fame and the pit of infamy. Speke, the Burtons, and Bombay come across as imperfect people in a perfect storm of exploration and politics. I am determined to read all of Millard‘s works of nonfiction but I hope she is working on something now as I have only one left.
panWhile there were some laugh-out-loud spots in this novel, overall I found it boring and overly sentimental. I only finished it because work has been exhausting and all I can do when I come home is put on my headphones and space out to an audiobook. A boring audiobook is perfect for this because I don't care if I miss details.
pickThis was too long, slow at times, but overall a nice weaving of interconnected lives over decades. It‘s a love story of course. Starring beautiful Italy, a tiny fishing village, famous & not so famous movie stars, and more.
Late posting my #joyousjanuary wrap up but I am feeling the joy! Thank you @Andrew65 for hosting 😊
✅ Finished Appointment with Death
✅ Finished What Meets the Eye
✅ Finished River of the Gods
✅ Read an installment of Serial Reader each day
Friday night #joyousjanuary update
Finished What Meets the Eye … Review to come
Finished part 3 of River of the Gods
Still reading one installment a day on Serial Reader - finished A Christmas Carol and returned to Little Women
#joyousjanuary Day 4 update! Having a Monday off is all fun and games until you have two days‘ work to finish on Tuesday 😬 but I did manage to get a little reading in. I‘m not loving What Meets The Eye so far, but maybe it will pick up once the plot gets cooking.
Finished Appointment With Death, read an issue of Christmas Carol, and now I‘m getting back to River of the Gods (which I started in Nov!). I was reading it for book club, but then I couldn‘t make it to the meeting and I moved on and never finished the book. But it‘s so good! I just have to get past my mental block. That‘s what readathons are for 😊 #joyousjanuary
