Hawaii by James A Michener

 

Hawaii

by

James A. Michener

The historical fiction novel Hawaii by James A. Michener is a very long book.  It takes a commitment to get through it with only one renewal on Libby (the library ebook app allows one renewal).  But it is very much worth reading.  I had read his book Alaska prior to our trip to Alaska in 2024 and had regretted not reading Hawaii before our trip to Hawaii the year before.  But since I am returning to Hawaii for a shorter trip next month, I decided to not miss the opportunity again.  I was a little disappointed that Michener jumped from when the Polynesians arrived on the islands to when the missionaries arrived.  I would have liked to dig more into the history of the original inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands.  But I have to admit the book was long enough.  The reader will need to look for another book about the earlier history of Hawaii.  The interesting thing about this particular historical novel is that it delves into the race relations of the various ethnic groups on the island.  There were several groups.  The Polynesian people that first arrived are considered Hawaiian.  The missionaries that came in the early to mid 1800s and proceeded to destroy the Hawaiin culture and take over control of the islands for more than one hundred years.  The Chinese, Japanese and Philippine people who were  brought to Hawaii by the descendants of the missionaries to be migrant workers in sugar cane and pineapple fields.  Michener brings into the story health crisis' such as plague and Hansen's disease.  And he weaves in the story the financial fabric that maintained the social hierarchy of the area.  Which used control of the land much like the feudal system in England centuries before.  There is a lot of meat to discuss in this book.  The only short coming I see is that it leaves out  the Hawaiian's history.  Please click on the author's name above to follow the links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows. 

 

The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini

The Quilter's Apprentice

by

Jennifer Chiaverini

Another book by Jennifer Chiaverini was gifted to me.  This time by my sister in law.  She sent a signed edition of the first book in the Elm Creek Quilter's series: The Quilter's Apprentice.  As with the other book by Jennifer Chiaverini that  I recently read it is a clean cut delightful story of the relationships that women struggle with between family and friends and those that can develop among women who quilt.  This is also the story of the founding of the artist colony that becomes Elm's Creek Quilts which is the basis of the entire series.  The author weaves a story of family history, a story of the history of a home, and the story of a community from immigration, through the Second World War and into the mid 1990s.  I am sure that I will eventually finish this series.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the video that follows.  Although the video features another book in the series, the author also explains the series in general.  

 

The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd

 

The Indigo Girl

by

Natasha Boyd

The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd is a book I really enjoyed about a young teenaged girl who lives in the early 1700s in South Carolina.   She is running her father's plantations while he is fighting the Spanish for the English crown and decides they need a new cash crop.  She chooses to pursue growing and producing indigo even though others say it can be done.  After several false starts she is successful. A true historical figure in South Carolina's history  is really brought to life in this historical novel.  Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the  links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.  

Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960 by Eileen Jahnke Trestain

Dating Fabrics

A Color Guide

1800-1960

by

Eileen Jahnke Trestain

Seven weeks ago, when I arrived home to begin my recovery from open heart surgery I found a package had arrived from a friend.  She had enclosed a couple of books.  One was Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800 - 1960 by Eileen Jahnke Trestain.   It is a little over 200 pages and many of those pages are pictures of fabric swatches that represent examples of the various time periods. The author makes it clear how inventions such as the cotton gin and the domestic sewing machine provide earmarks for dating.  And current events, such as the death of Queen Victoria's husband, which loosely coincided with the rise of the number of civil war widows in the United States, influenced the color palates of a generation.   The development of science in relation to making fabric die is one factor to keep in mind when dating fabric.  Since I have had several old family quilts come in to my possession in recent years this is a subject that interests me.  Eileen Trestain has organized this book well and it will be a great reference book for me to utilize.  Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links for more information and enjoy the video that follows.  

Empire Falls by Charlie Russo

 

Empire Falls

by

Richard Russo

Empire Falls by Richard Russo is a novel that is not terribly long and I checked it out on my kindle app from the library.  The fact that I had to renew it says a lot for how much I felt lukewarm about it while reading it.  I will say it got better at the end.  The chapters that lead up to the school shooting and the chapter where the shooting occurred did hold my interest.  In fact the second half of the book was good.  I understand the first half of the book was spent developing characters.   But somehow it just came off gossipy to me.  I am glad I hung in there though because over all it is a good book.  It is the story of several individuals that live in a small town in Maine where industry has left and very little is left as far as opportunities for those that remain.  There are people who lie, people who have affairs, and people who are just discouraged.  The people in the town are trapped in their lives and they all want things to somehow change for them.  It isn't really my genre.  But over all it is a good book.  It was a best seller and they made a movie out of it.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the link to more information and enjoy the video that follows.  

Living The Life Of A Fabric-aholic by Sandy Gervais

 

Living The Life

Of A

Fabric-aholic

by

SANDY GERVAIS

This book is a little short story that is colorfully illustrated and meant to cheer up and poke fun at over spending on fabric.  Some quilters get carried away with their fabric purchases. It is easy to accumulate quite a bit and not realize what all you have.   A couple days after I got home from Cleveland Clinic a package arrived in the mail.  My brother and sister in law had sent it.  Included was a darling hand made pillow case in which the fabric had frogs wearing scrub suits and a Sandy Gervais's book, Living The Life Of A Fabric-aholic.  It took me less than thirty minutes to read the book and was good for several chuckles.  It is a thoughtful gift book to give to your quilter friends.  Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.  The video is a bit long but is an interview of the author explaining how she develops her fabric lines.  

Circle of Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini

 

Circle of Quilters

by

Jennifer Chiaverini

When I arrived home from Cleveland Clinic following my open heart mitral valve surgery last week, a package was waiting on me.  A good friend since childhood had sent me a couple of books to read during my convalescence.  One of the books she sent was a novel named Circle of Quilters from a series by Jennifer Chiaverini called the Elm Creek quilts.  While it is a different genre than I normally read, I found it a very refreshing story.  Elm Creek Quilts is a fictional quilt retreat center outside of Pittsburgh where people come and stay and take classes.  Staying several days they gather and chat while they sew.  Ideas are exchanged and it is a popular spot for quilters.  In this particular novel of the series the quilt retreat is losing two staff members and the board is interviewing for their replacement.  The stories of five of the applicants are included in the book with each of the five sections concluding with their interview.  The last chapter reveals who was selected and why.  It was a fun read and a quick read.  I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun book. Please click on the author's name and book title above and enjoy the video that follows.  The video is about another book in the Elm Creek Quilts series but talks some about Chiaverini's writing in general.