Barbara Kochick > Recent Status Updates

I had heard of Francis Perkins in FDR’s cabinet but knew not a thing about her. The early evolution of Social Security was fascinating as was the portrayal of Roosevelt’s character.

Exhaustively researched. There’s always another facet of this horrendous global war. Very academic.

I have to give five stars to a novel that had me forgoing all else to keep turning the pages, that made me weep and gutted me .

Martha’s newest garden guide covers a plethora of topics none of them in depth. As a quick reference for any gardener the basics are covered. As expected from her imprint the presentation is lush enough to be a coffee table book. I couldn’t help wishing that all of the beautiful photos had been labeled.

A beautiful, powerful, brilliant novel. Tom Kettle is the best kind of unreliable narrator. At times his story is painful to read but the very difficult topics are handled with sensitivity. This one will stick with me.

I am rating the man. This remarkable public servant worked diligently to protect us from assaults on our health and from misinformation and over zealous politicians. The scientific and political machinations were a little much for me but necessary to the full story.

And now I know about Thomas Mann.

I’m conflicted on this one. True crime facts, quotations and timeline mixed with fictional characters and an imagined look into the life and mind of a victim.
Throughout the book an effort is made to debunk the glamorization of serial killers but writing about them in any form brings them to the public eye.

This is the third time I have read through this book for various groups. I have had a time wrestling with why I did not like it better. Ultimately I think that I am just so angry with the characters that their actions are selfish to a criminal level.

Totally on the fence about this. I planed to give it to my granddaughter but not certain after reading it. She would love the animals and Julie’s relationship with them but other parts of the story might be outside of her current understanding.

Unique and original. The descriptions were five stars. The plot is barely there.
The six characters could be explored deeply. Still thinking about it!

My reactions to Erdrich’s books have been very up and down. This one clings barely to the middle. Of course her writing is faultless but the plot and characters missed the mark for me.

I had to know what happened so I moved this second in the Ruth Galloway series up on my reading list. Just as good as the first.

I do love epistolatory stories and this one includes actual letters to remove from envelopes! I’m told that it is a modern classic. I’m sure opinions vary greatly. Are these characters real? Has one created the other? Which one?
What has happened to them? Hopping to find out in further books in the series. Multi layered illustrations.

Brilliant writing. Every word is weighted with importance. Alice’s deterioration is marked in the many tiny details of life and is impossibly sad.

I went into this with know knowledge of the subject which in this case was a disadvantage. The early sections dealt with a global pandemic that targeted children. Very difficult to read. As generations progressed and the plot veered into sci-fi, it became easier to read and harder to understand.

Right from the get-go the reader knows what happened but the author takes her time revealing how and why. Even with that knowledge she manages to build tension and keep the pages turning at speed. A spot on examination of social medias ability to fill in the gap and disseminate false information and speculation. Highly recommend.

A master storyteller is at work here. I thought the duel timeline and book within a book tropes worked well to promote the mystery. Clues were dropped like crumbs from the get go. I figures some out but honestly I did not see the ending coming. Well done!

Yes! Like A Man Called Ove but Ove was simply better. It does tug at the heartstrings.

I had no idea where this two stories were goin but I trusted O’Farrell to get me there in writing style. Once the connection was made it became a quest to find how the situation came to be. She cleverly conceals hints until she is ready to reveal her plot points. Very pleasurable reading.

This was a non-fiction reference listed in Kristin Hannah’s The Women.
I found it moving and powerful.

Loved looking T the world through this photographic lens.

A truly original WWII/Holocaust story showing how the truth was lost at that time. Albom at his best. This one will stay with me.

3.5 plot details and reasoning made a rather implausible plot twist seem almost believable.

This is just a perfect cozy mystery! Great 92 year old sleuth. Good and bad guys easily delineated. Uncomplicated plot. Lovely cover.

3.5. Cleverly imagined next gen Austen characters. Mystery easily solved as murderer is the only one not heaped with suspicion. Nice job of keeping the tone of strict social mores and obsession with matrimonial prospects.

3.5. I could not wait to see how this resolved and switched from audio to print so I could go faster. I was not disappointed!

This pales in comparison to Corrie ten Booms The Hiding Place. Much seemed like filler. Too long.

I found this very educational. I knew very little about Hasidic communities their history, laws and customs. It was an eye opener on that account. Many questions I had were unanswered but I see there is a sequel.

I listened to the audio and found the multiple characters from multiple worlds rather confusing. The narrators voice only contributed to this .