This is the original Mary Poppins from P.L. Travers. Ms. Travers (Golf). This particular book started a series of other books in which Mary Poppins is the protagonist.
Mary Poppins
My Thoughts
The first thing I noticed is that there were 4 Banks children. The youngest were John and Barbara who were twins. Mary herself is called out as “vain” and admires herself in every reflective surface she can find. In short, there were a lot of things I didn’t anticipate.
Recommendation
I’m glad I read it and I will be reading the following books.
This book is a version of a true love story in the worst place. 2 people met and stayed alive throughout their time at the Auschwitz concentration camp. This story wasn’t told until recently and was originally made into a screenplay. The book, was released in 2018.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
My Thoughts
The concentration camps of the 2nd world war were something that is barely even imaginable today. Even with so many descriptions of the horrors there, I keep coming back to wondering how people can be that horrible to other people. Yet, just a look around at any social media will show hints of how people are willing to treat others. We seem to forget the lessons of the past so easily. Study after study seem to confirm we are all capable of these deeds with much less incentive than what we might think. The key seems to be the ability to categorize others as something other than ourselves. If they are “other”, they are different and worthy of different treatment. Yet, it never seems to cross our mind that we may be “other” to them and worthy of the same.
Recommendation
I’m not sure whether to recommend this or not. I’m glad of the reminder in a way but it wasn’t pleasant. I won’t be seeing the movie.
The Mark of Athena is the 3rd book in the Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan. Published in 2012, it details the coming together of demigods from Camp Halfblood and the Roman Legion. The gods are torn between their Greek and Roman forms and the Earth Goddess Gaea is rising.
The Mark of Athena
My Thoughts
I really like the character of Leo as he is interacting with everyone. The scene with Arachne was super creepy all and all. Nope, I’m not a fan of spiders. The characters are getting older and there is some smooching going on. That is a slight difference then the other books so far. Of course, they were all a bit young for it so it only seems natural. The book was fun to listen to and I’m looking forward to the next book.
The Son of Neptune is the 2nd book in The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. It was published in 2011 and follows The Lost Hero. This story follows Percy as he is dropped off in the Roman camp. He’s memory is gone with the exception of his love interest Annabeth. Yet, there is another threat he will have to face.
The Son of Neptune
My Thoughts
Mr. Riordan does a good job to make his characters likeable. Percy has a lot of power and is a natural leader. Somehow, he bumbles his way to be the best in camp. He later becomes the hero of the demigods. However, somehow Mr. Riordan takes you through the journey without every thinking, “Hey, this Percy guy is too powerful and arrogant.” That’s fairly impressive.
Book 10 in The Series of Unfortunate Events is The Slippery Slope. The orphans are trying to get their littlest sister back from the clutches of the evil Count Olaf. This time, they are in the snowy mountains and have help from someone they thought was dead.
The Slippery Slope
My Thoughts
I had to jump a few books as this is the only one available after The Ersatz Elevator. There has been a lot that seemed to happen in the meantime. We learned more about BFV and Count Olaf has successfully kidnapped Sunny. It feels like we are building toward some closure though I’m sure it is a while off.
