I am always hesitant to jump into a dense nonfiction book, but Chernow made Washington's life accessible and intriguing. I was worried that my grasp on history wouldn't be solid enough to follow along, but Chernow gently held my hand, so I never felt totally lost or overwhelmed with the incredible story of the United States' first president. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who wants to dip into nonfiction but has felt intimidated by it.

Probably more like 2.5 stars. I had a really hard time with this one and wouldn't have finished if it hadn't been recommended by a dear friend. This is the story of King David, the King of Israel around 1000BC. This was difficult to read because I had no idea who anyone was. Brooks used Hebrew names for the characters and their location, which was difficult for me. Her writing was, predictably, beautiful; I just had a really hard time sticking with the story and paying attention.

I AM glad that I understand the history of David a bit better because I was a total neophyte to his life before reading this book. The ancient rifts in the Middle East are deep -- I sort of wish that Brooks explored that a bit more, but I recognize how difficult that would be given the lack of additional sources for David's life - much less the entire region!

This book was full of positive parenting skills that I've already started utilizing. It helped me reframe certain behaviors by my toddlers into manageable and age-appropriate quirks. This has been a useful guide for my family and I am sure I'll be referencing it for years to come!

When a parachutist falls in Farleigh Field, a British estate that is being shared with a regiment of the British army, everyone in the village is buzzing about who he was. Could he have been a German spy? This was an exciting look into the upper crust of British society and how many of their lives changed during the war. It was also a fun mystery - is someone in town a German sympathizer and feeding information back to their government?

This WWII book set in the UK had all of the delicious stuff: code breakers, spies, and double agents galore. This was good fun, but not one of my favorite WWII books of all time. The writing seemed a bit repetitive, but not in a way that was useful for the story. Still worth a read, especially if you love WWII books!

Humorous and down to earth - great strategies for positive parenting practices!

Still looking for help on how to get the 2.5 year old to stop eating crayons and cardboard boxes though.

I hadn't realized that this was the second book in the DS Manon series when I checked it out from Overdrive, but was delighted to revisit her life!

This was an engaging mystery that I couldn't put down. Steiner is exploring our internal biases with race while taking us on a wild ride of an investigation. There were times that my heart ached over the investigation, but there were times that I actually laughed out loud. Funny, moving, and yes - poignant. I can't wait to read more in this series!

The Rules of Magic is the prequel to my beloved Practical Magic – one of my very favorite books and movies. I’ve read the book once, but have seen the movie countless times. I’ve always wondered about the aunts – Jet and Franny – and this novel is like a dream come true because we finally get to learn about their lives.

Jet and Franny live with their brother Vincent and their parents in New York City. There are so many rules at home – no red shoes, no night blooming plants – that the trio just don’t understand. As they grow older, they start to realize that they are able to do things that other’s can’t, like turn out the streetlights or make objects move. When Franny gets an invitation from Aunt Isabelle at the family estate in Massachusetts, her parents send her brother and sister as protection. While there, all of the siblings explore love, life, and magic.

But remember that the deathwatch beetle always comes to call for the Owens family and the lives of their loves are cut short. But Aunt Isabelle says that it’s possible to beat the curse, so the Owens children are determined to do find a way.

The story follows the Owens sisters until Sally and Gilly move in with them after their own parents die and the Practical Magic story begins. This is exactly what I needed to read this summer. It’s full of witchy goodness: herbs, spells, gardens, and romance. Fans of Practical Magic have something to look for when this book is released in October, which will be the best time of year to cuddle up with it! Now is the time to pre-order!!

Phantom Tollbooth meets X-Men meets Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children meets The Mysterious Benedict Society. Need I say more??!

Oh, and you can read it in just a few hours - even better!

More of a 3.5 star book. What a fun adventure! Not the perfect book, but definitely a great start to the new year for me. Antiquarian book seller on the hunt for the true author of Shakespeare's plays. I've never read so much about repairing books and it sounds fascinating. Do you think it's too late to explore archiving as a career? I was often reminded of a couple of other books that I really enjoyed: The Swan Thieves and the Thirteenth Tale. It's a fast read and completely worth the time!

I found this book to be judgmental and preachy. I was looking for some practical advice on budgeting and being frugal and felt like much of the info here was not very helpful. It was well researched, but super boring.