Cheryl's Book Nook

Review by Nancy I learned about Helen Keller in school just like all kids my age. Did I see “The Miracle Worker” you bet I did! I was as awestruck by Anne Sullivan’s teaching methods and Helen’s “AHA” moment as you all were. Did a bit of research on dogs and Helen Keller because we were raising Akitas at the time and she brought the first one to America. What I had no clue about were the restrictions placed on Helen Keller the person. She was never allowed to go anywhere alone (probably a good idea considering….) she couldn’t really have friends outside of her circle which always included Anne and, unfortunately occasionally her mother and she certainly couldn’t go out with a man. I also didn’t know that Anne had married a man who took most of Helen’s money and left Anne for another woman. I was astonished that no one ever mentioned Peter Fagan - Helen’s love and lover. Anne has been stricken with tuberculosis and cannot carry on Helen’s tours which are bringing in less an...

Don McKeever just wants to go fishing. Instead, he has to check in on his employees at C Mart. Today the big corporate boss is paying the store a visit. The last time the boss came, Don got his ass chewed and it was not pretty. As if things could not be bad enough, Don has to put up with incompetent employees and complete with T Mart, another discount store that opened across the street. Sale Day at C Mart is like a bad comedy show and I mean it in a good way. This book will have you wanting to tear your hair out, pop a couple Tylenol and a couple of antacids. Ok, so you may not feel this way but this is how I felt reading this book. I wanted to scream at how dysfunction the characters were but at the same time, they were entertaining and I could not get enough of them. My only favorite character in this book was Billy. He seemed to be the normal one and he was kind hearted. Everyone else, I would avoid if I was shopping at C Mart and leave the store angry as many of the cust...

I have read several nonfiction books recently and they really intrigued me into checking this genre out more. That is why I wanted to check out Midnight in Peking. I thought the unsolved murder of a young Pamela Werner sounded intriguing. I was not the only one as Mr. French was also intrigued by Pamela’s story and felt that he wanted to research her story himself and see if he could once again give Pamela a voice. Pamela was the daughter of E.T.C. Werner, a former British consul at Foochow. Back in 1937, Pamela’s body was found lying on the ground near the Fox Tower outside the Legation Quarter. Pamela was almost unrecognizable due to all the stab wounds. In addition, her abdomen was spilt open with her heart and other organs removed and her clothing ripped to shreds. British Chief Detective Dennis and Chinese Detective Han work to try and solve the murder of Pamela. Unfortunately, Pamela’s body is laid to rest and her case is closed. While, I did find Pamela’s murder interest...

My Review I wanted to read this book because I enjoy a good glass of win every once in a while. Also, I have been fascinated by wine making and wanting to be a wine conissiour and host a wine party. Wow, I got more than I bargained for with this book. I now know more about wine making, grapes, and Jewish lifestyle than I ever thought I would. There is the process of Crushing the grapes, than Separation, Fermentating in eich grapes have sugar in them that makes them have a chemical reaction during this stage that the sugar from the grapes than turn into alcohol and carbon dioxide, Racking, Clarifying and Filtering, Aging and than finally the Bottling of the wine. This is when you finalyl can open the bottle, pour a glass and sit back and relax. Mr. Langer discusses the differences between six main wines...Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. I like the white wines but usually I perfer the red like Merlot, which has more of a full b...

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Review by Nancy Marlo Spencer has gone whole-hog into Retro. Clothes, decorations, TV movies/sit-coms were everywhere but nothing was more Retro than Marlo herself. Spending twelve years wondering “what if” is a total waste of time but that’s where the Laverne & Shirley lover was. She was still in love/like/lust for her high school sweetheart who left her to go to Chef school in Paris. What’s girl to do? When she finds that Josh has come home again nothing will do but she and her best guy-friend Nik go home as well. Her BFF Savannah has opened a hit bakery, Sav’s daughter is twelve and misses her aunt nearly as much as Marlo misses her. The trip north from LA is fun, long and relaxing for Nik. Marlo is on pins and needles the entire way. It’s her last chance and she means to make the best of it. However. Life never plays fair and the things Marlo learns back home stun her completely. She doesn’t know who to trust or where to turn. So many things, so little vacation tim...

A woman has been murdered. Her body has been laid in the form of a pentagram. She is pinned to the ground with a pitchfork in her neck. At first the murder seems to be the work of some sick and twisted person but the deeper Archie gets involved in the case, the more it seems the woman’s death could be the work of evil magic and witches. Deputy Marshall Archie Lean is on the case. He is joined by former Pinkerton agent and Native American, Perceval Grey, and historian, Helen Prescott. While, this book had elements of my genre…mystery, I still had my reservations about it. At first, it seemed like it was going to take a while to develop the story and progress but I was surprised in a good way by how much I did enjoy this book. Yes, it is a slow progression of a story but if you stick with it, than I guarantee that you will like it as much as I did. The last half of the book is where the story really picks up. For me, I picked up instantly on the fact that this book made me t...