Book Review: An Autobiography of a One-Room School Teacher by E. Lucile Webster

An Autobiography of a One-Room School Teacher by E. Lucile Webster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating autobiography by a teacher who taught in several one-room schools in Michigan, from 1921 through her retirement in 1969.  For the majority of her career (1932-1969) she taught in the Scotch Settlement School located in Greenfield Village.  I was lucky enough to have her as my 6th grade teacher just the year before she retired and the Greenfield Village Schools were permanently closed!

It is full of information, anecdotes and pictures throughout the years, from her grandparents' portraits to her retirement parties and everything in between.  A large portion of the book is devoted to the Greenfield Village Schools, the Martha-Mary Chapel services, lunches at Clinton Inn, extracurricular classes and special activities.  Reading this book brought so many memories back to me, like stepping back in time to 1968.  All of my teachers at the Greenfield Village Schools were memorable, but Miss Webster was an outstanding teacher in all subjects.  What a gift it was to discover this book!  Highly recommended to anyone who is familiar with Greenfield Village.  

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Book Review: Coded Justice by Stacey Abrams (Avery Keene #3)

Coded Justice by Stacey Abrams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Avery Keene is back, working as an internal investigator for a DC law firm.  The general counsel for a prominent AI firm wants to hire her prior to their upcoming IPO to review a recent incident.  Avery gathers her team together - Jared, Ling and Noah - and they get to work investigating.

3 1/2 stars upgraded to 4 stars.  This is the third book in the Avery Keene series.  I thoroughly enjoyed the fast paced energy and themes of the first two books, but was disappointed with this one.  The 400+ pages are a deep dive into the world of artificial intelligence and its implementation as a clinical decision making tool at a VA clinic, making for a little too much 'inside baseball' and not enough action.  However, I appreciate the information and background provided on the subject.

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Book Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The shy and unassuming young woman, hired to be a personal companion to a boisterous and snobbish American, meets the brooding widower Maxim de Winter in Monte Carlo.  He impulsively proposes to her and they return to his opulent mansion, Manderly, on the Cornwall coast.  She immediately realizes that the house is inhabited by the ghost of his first wife, Rebecca, who is the polar opposite of the second Mrs. de Winter.  

I have been wanting to read this classic gothic novel for years, and I'm glad I finally got around to it this summer.  What an immersive and enjoyable reading experience it was!  I was immediately drawn into the haunting tale, especially the descriptions of the house and grounds.  Throw in a costume ball, the creepy maid Mrs. Danvers, and a shocking mystery, and you've got a wonderful five star read!  Highly recommended, and I'm sorry that I waited so long.  I'll definitely be reading more by Daphne du Maurier in the near future.

As a bonus, we watched the Criterion Collection restored version of the 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film, Rebecca, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.  An incredible film, particularly when paired with reading the book!

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Book Review: Before Fairlane by L. Glenn O'Kray

Before Fairlane by L. Glenn O’Kray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is another beautiful coffee table book from the Dearborn Historical Museum and L. Glenn O'Kray.   

Building the Fair Lane Estate began in 1914, and Henry and Clara Ford moved into their mansion in 1916.  It is located behind what is now the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus, next to Henry Ford College.  Although the estate is currently closed to visitors during a multi-year renovation, the grounds plus Clara's beautiful gardens are freely open to the public.  The book also contains articles on Henry Ford's birthplace (now located in Greenfield Village), Henry and Clara's Honeymoon Cottage, and the Fair Lane Gate House. 

The book also exhaustively spotlights all the houses in Dearborn that were built prior to Henry Ford's mansion, a period which ranges from 1832 to 1916.  Overall, this is an incredible book documenting the history of Dearborn through the houses and architecture.  A must-read for Dearborn residents, and is available at the local Dearborn public libraries!

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Book Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Piranesi lives in a house containing 7,678 halls, all full of statues and birds, and all of which are combined by halls.  As a scientist he keeps meticulous journals about the sun, moon, stars and tides, along with minute details about the locations of the halls and statues.  It's a very simple and lonely existence but he has a lot to keep himself busy - collecting rain water, fishing, cooking his meals, and collecting and drying seaweed.  "The Other" is the only other person in the house, and they meet twice a week for a one-hour meeting.  

I became immersed in the magical world of Piranesi, watching as the story unfolded, trying to figure out the mysterious house and inhabitants.  Piranesi's story is being told through his journal entries and the descriptions are very evocative. This genre is considered fantasy / magical realism and is definitely outside my comfort zone, but I was enthralled by the world in which he lived.  It's a difficult book - both to read and to describe to others - but it definitely makes you think.  I was able to discuss it at book club last night which was helpful in coalescing my thoughts about it.  It certainly was a unique reading experience!

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Book Review: The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rachel is a student in her early 20's living with her parents in Cork and working in a bookstore to put herself through college.  She meets James who also works in the bookstore and he immediately asks her to move in with him.  This is the story of Rachel, James and several of their other friends who try to figure out life and how to 'adult,' making some seriously poor decisions along the way.

Rachel's story is told in dual timelines -- 2009/2010/2011 in Cork during her college years and 2021 in London, looking back at her university life.  The dialog is humorous and the vignettes showing little slices of collegiate life are charming.  I enjoyed the Irish setting and information about the Irish culture and political landscape at the time.  However, virtually all of the characters were unlikable to me due to their impulsive life choices.  

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Book Review: Bread Illustrated: A Step-By-Step Guide to Achieving Bakery-Quality Results At Home by America's Test Kitchen

Bread Illustrated: A Step-By-Step Guide to Achieving Bakery-Quality Results At Home by America's Test Kitchen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The books and magazines published by America's Test Kitchen are always so well researched and of such high quality.  This bread book is no exception!  It's a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to making virtually every kind of bread.  There's detailed instructions at the beginning of the book describing the steps involved with bread making.  Each recipe has basic information:  ingredients, rising time, baking time, total time, and key equipment.  There's information on "why this recipe works" plus clear instructions and accompanying photos of each step.  

I checked this book out of my local library in an attempt to become more proficient at bread baking.  However, after reading this book and discovering the amount of time involved plus all the ways that things can go wrong, I think I'm going to stick with my bread maker machine instead!  Nothing against this book at all; I just realized that I'm not ready for such a great time commitment.

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