Reading The 1000 Books to Read Before I Die

"I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores ." Amos answered to Amaziah , The Dresser of Sycamore Trees A Review by James Romano Hello 1000 Bookies!!   This week my latest blog posting is from the list of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die is The Dresser of Sycamore Trees by Garret Keizer.   The 1,000 Book list has a subtitle, A Life Changing List.   And when I read books such as The Dresser of Sycamore Trees , the subtitle comes pops up in my mind.   This story is a memoir, of a lay Episcopal minister in a rural town in the Northeast Kingdom area of Vermont.   Garret “Gary” Keizer has published 8 books and numerous articles over the years.   Mr. Keizer has strikes me as a “regular” guy, the same man today as he was in 1990-1991 when he wrote The Dresser of Sycamore Trees .   How can I say that?   After reading this book, I emailed Mr. Keizer just to say I loved his book...

“A Person is always the hero in their own story, and thus an unreliable narrator. She’s hardly going to put pen to paper to write about what an embarrassing ninny she’s been”, Queen Eleanor, The Heir Affair “I’ll never forget,” she whispered.   And then, so subtly that I almost missed it: “But I’ll never forgive, either”, The Duchess of Clarence witnessing the words of the Queen.   The Heir Affair Hey 1000 Bookies!!   This week I am going to be discussing a novel I just finished while on vacation, The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan.   This story is the sequel to The Royal We which was published in 2015.   The original story and this sequel revolve around the romantic life of Prince Nicholas, heir of the British Royal Family and Rebecca Porter, the American student in Britain whom Nicholas falls in love.   The story was inspired by the romance of Prince William and Kate Middleton.   Each book is over 450 pages long, but ...

“So I try to make the light in others’ eyes my sun, the music in others’ ears my symphony, the smile on others’ lips my happiness” Helen Keller  The Story of My Life A Review of Helen Keller’s early Autobiography By: James Romano Hello 1000 Bookies!!! The most recent book I completed from The 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die , is The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. The story of Helen Keller is an American success story, one of triumph over tragedy. Helen Keller overcame great challenges to become the leading advocate for the disabled. At the age of 18 months, she was struck down from an illness, many experts speculate meningitis, that left her both blind and deaf. Incredibly she overcame those terrible disabilities to become what Winston Churchill called, “The greatest woman of our age” . That is high praise coming from a patronizing egotist like Churchill.  There are many parts of the Helen Keller story that fascinate me. Helen overcame severe...

“Ever since childhood, when I lived within earshot of the Boston and Maine, I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it.” Paul Theroux, The Great Railway Bazaar  The Great Railway Bazaar A Review by James Romano Hello 1000 Bookies, this next book I just completed was a treat for me.  Our next stop on the 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die is The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux.  In 1973, Mr. Theroux embarked on a trip from England to the continent and proceeded to travel by train through Europe to Istanbul in Turkey.  From IIstanbul, Mr. Theroux travelled via train throughout Asia.  According to James Mustich, Theroux traveled “[O]n some of the world’s greatest trains: The Orient Express, the Night Mail to Meshed, the Khyber Pass Local, the Golden Arrow, the Trans-Siberian Express.”   Paul returns to his family approximately on New Years Eve.  This story was the height of adventure to me. . Paul goes throughout Asia over ...

“Increasing vision is increasingly expensive” R.A. Janek A Review of The Andromeda Strain Greetings 1000 Bookies!  The next stop on our journey of reading and promoting the 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die we arrive in the late 1960s United States and enter the world of science fiction to discuss the classic novel, The Andromeda Strain .  In 2020 America, living under the burden of the Covid-19 virus, The Andromeda Strain does not seem that far fetched.  Candidly, the series of events raised in the book had never crossed my mind until reading—are there viruses in space?  And those viruses could attach to our probes and spacecraft?  The story shows that even with the best technology and communications system at the time, human error in decision making still plays a major role in processes and events.  The Andromeda Strain was published over 50 years ago.  The novel was the first published by famous author, Michael Crichton.  At approxima...

“I have always regretted that the historian allowed Vashti to drop out of sight so suddenly”, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The Book of V By Anna Solomon Hey 1000 Bookies, I just finished the novel, The Book of V by Anna Solomon.   This is a fictional account of the Book of Esther in the Bible combined with a modern retelling.   The book is the story of 4 women, two are in the ancient times and two are set in more modern times.   To understand the story, reading the very short Book of Esther would not be a bad place to start.    According to legend and scripture, Esther was a Jewish woman growing up in Persia during the Babylonian Captivity.   At one point in the ancient world, Nebuchadnezzar and his empire conquered Jerusalem and moved a segment of the Hebrew people to Babylon and other cities in the empire as slaves.   Through a series of events Esther is married to King Ahasuerus, one of the successors of Nebuchadnezzar.   At some poin...