Book Report August 2015

Mercy: Shake the World (1993) by J.M. Dematteis, Paul Johnson (illust)

This is the first graphic novel I’ve ever read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story was strong and the illustrations top-notch. Joshua Rose is a middle aged man who had a stroke and is on life support in a coma. His mind is still very active though. He is visited by an entity he calls “Mercy” and travels through time and space with her and witnesses Mercy/mercy in action.

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The Plums Hang High (1955) by Gertrude E. Finney

Good read!! The Howard family comes to the US in 1868 from England to start a farm. Young Mariah Howard is woefully unprepared for the hard life of a pioneer, coming from a background of wealth. She is strong of body and faith, however, and learns along with her husband how to make another country their home.

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It’s a Woman’s World (1944) by Mary Louise Aswell (ed.)

This is a collection of stories written by woman, taken from Harper’s Bazaar. Some were fiction, some were not. All very well written and interesting, and very much from a woman’s point of view.

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The Detective and Mr. Dickens (1990) by William J. Palmer

Very interesting point of view in this book. It’s a fictionalized account of Wilkie Collins and his friendship with Charles Dickens. They team up with Detective William Field and see the sordid side of London and the people who live there. I think there are 3 more books in this series.

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If Walls Could Talk (2014) by Emily Thomas

A Blue Hill Library story. Anne discovers that heavy rains have caused some crumbling at the base of one of the basement walls. When workers go to repair the wall, they discover a skeleton and another room beyond the basement. Anne sets out to discover the identity of the skeleton so he/she can be laid to rest properly.