lory_enterenchanted's reviews
543 reviews

A painless way to learn a bit more about the real Maria von Trapp, with some likeable  fictional characters thrown in, though their story lacked the emotional weight of the true one. The writing was competent, not ver distinguished or original, but the author did a good job of incorporating facts into a fictional context. It was sad and somewhat disturbing to learn that the family wasn’t so happy as portrayed, but show business requires sch illusions. 

I've been reading a lot about nervous system dysregulation and healing lately, and this was another angle on the topic. It reframed much of the information I already had encountered, in a way that was often quite lucid and helpful, plus a few new concepts. The one of these I'm still thinking the most about is that our bodies and nervous systems need to build capacity to hold a sympathetic "charge" (she calls this "predator energy") in order to meet our full potential. This is something I think I definitely need to do, although I am not sure that for me it is going to be by crawling on the floor and growling. The particular angle on women's issues was also relevant to me.

I wanted something immersive and compelling, and this was that for the most part, but lacking in some substance. I knew of course there would be a twist from the start, and when it came out, I felt somehow cheated of the enjoyment I had in the foundational narrative. I don't think that's how a twist should work. The elaborate fortune-telling structure was more significant for the author than the reader, I think. 

Again, I found this not as amusing as I remembered. Too much of the same as in the first book, and characters who merely seem annoying rather than entertainingly eccentric . 

I enjoyed this glimpse at a past world of female camaraderie and daring easily forgotten nowadays. Chilling to realize the persistent appeal of fascism, as well. I’ll look forward to more of Noel’s story. 

Read as an easy French book — it was good for that, a simple and sweet story. I didn’t find it particularly memorable otherwise.  It was hard to understand what attracted this odd couple to each other; it just happened. Characters were pretty flat and one dimensional. 

This seemed a very good concise introduction to Buddhist principles and practices to awaken compassion. It just was not what I wanted to be reading at the moment but I may come back to it.

“Pain was a harvest like any other, it must be used, not allowed to go to waste.”

Certainly no shortage of pain in this book, which has one thing after another on two fronts, domestic and exotic—rape and murder are just the top of the list.  However somehow amidst all the dark stuff one manages to get attached to the sympathetic characters and root for them to survive (not all do). The wildest and most exhausting of the Paget series. 

Not as hilarious as I remembered. Mr Bagthorpe’s abusiveness bothered me. Maybe the rest of the series improved on this one, especially as Mr B was taken down a peg at the end. 

A brief but heartfelt reflection on the experience of becoming a Christian. The personal stories were the part I liked best, as opposed to the more general discussion of faith.