Reading The 1000 Books to Read Before I Die

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet things of life which are the real ones after all” Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1917 Little House in the Big Woods: A Review By Erica Romano & James Romano Greetings 1000 Bookies!!  Today the portal of our book travels leads us to the Wisconsin of the 1870s for our next stop on the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die .  We visit the world of Laura Ingalls Wilder through her first novel, Little House in the Big Woods .  The Little House on the Prairie saga has always held a special place in my life.  The TV classic was a staple in my home growing up.  My mother watched the show religiously both when it was in first-run and then in syndication.  The afternoons (after General Hospital) were devoted to Little House Reruns. The story of the Ingalls family and all of their trials and tribulations were very important in the house I grew up.  During the pandemic, as we approach month six of social distancing and quaranti...

  “It will be our aim to amuse, by producing a rapid succession of characters and incidents, and describing them as cheerfully and pleasantly as in us lies” Charles Dickens on the announcement of his latest novel Nicholas Nickleby  The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby A Review of the Classic by Jim Romano Hey 1000 Bookies!!  Today we open our portal and arrive in the late 1830s in London, England to review the Dickens classic, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby .  However, for the fun of it, the official name of the story is The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings and Complete Career of the Nickleby Family .  That title is quite the mouthful, I think you can tell that Dickens was being paid by the word.  A reader can always count on Dickens to use an extra 25 words when two words suffice—it is part of his charm.  I personally believe that Charle...

  “‘Writers are insecure, temperamental beings, aren’t they? I daresay they’re more difficult than queens.’  Maybe, but at least writers keep their murders to the page.”  George Carey to Toby   An Assassin’s Guide to Love & Treason A Review by James Romano   Hello 1000 Bookies!!   I hope you are all having a great summer and of course reading.   This blog post takes us to Elizabethan England for a young adult fiction novel, An Assassin’s Guide to Love & Treason by Virginia Boecker.   Ms. Boecker has written several books including The Witch Hunter series.   Her latest novel was a fairly quick read, with an interesting plot and many historical characters. The book is approximately 385 pages and is told from the perspective of the two main characters.   If you like historical fiction and anything to do with Shakespeare, this story is pretty good.   The storyline shares similarities to the Academy Award Winning movie, S...

“ Nowhere on earth could possibly live up to those halcyon days .   But that’s nostalgia for you, the tyranny of those memories of childhood that feel so golden, so perfect” Aoife, The Wedding Planner. The Guest List A Review by Jim Romano  Hello 1000 Bookies!  This week we land in a murder mystery, The Guest List by Lucy Foley.  I love a good mystery and this book delivers one.  The story takes place at a wedding on an island off the coast of Ireland—Inis an Amplora or its other name Cormorant.  What an awesome place to go for a wedding, Right?  Social influencers and minor celebrities Julia and Will are having their big day but not everyone is happy about it.  What makes this book very interesting to me is the reader does not know who is murdered and who is the murderer till the end.  At about 330 pages the story is a lot of fun and a quick read.  I read it in one weekend because I could not put it down. I always judge a mystery by t...