My first disappointment is "The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared" by Alice Ozma. This book is based on the author's experience of having her father read to her every night of her life from the time she was about 9 or 10 until she left home for college. Every night! They didn't miss a beat. What a cool idea! If she was out late, the read when she got home even if it was midnight. If she had a sleep-over, the read over the phone. These times the reading time was short, but other times they read for much longer. Sounds great and so intriguing, right? The idea was very interesting to me and my son and I even decided to make a goal to do this for one month. However, the book was just boring. Her reminisces of her life are not exciting enough to engage an audience for an entire novel. I have related to you already the best part of the book. My disclaimer is: I did not make it to the end. I just puttered out after a while.
The next thumbs down is "Washington's Lady" by Nancy Moser. Now right up front I have to admit that this one might just be me. I have read extensively about George and Martha Washington and I found this book to be ridiculously elementary for an adult audience. That is not to say that it couldn't be more appealing to someone who is less experienced in the subject matter. However, there were a couple of glaring mistakes that made me want to scream, "Really? Do you have an editor? Does anyone know anything about this time period?" The most obvious and appalling was referring to John Adams as the representative from Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania? I am quite certain that John Adams was very much from Massachusetts. The first time I read it I excused the mistake thinking it was a terrible oversight and I must be confused somehow. After all, that is such an simple, obvious fact. But, later in the book the mistake was repeated and I was chagrined and stunned. A person who considers herself an authority on history should not make mistakes of this calliber. I did read to the end of this book and the writing wasn't awful, just very shallow. (This is apparently #3 of a 'Ladies of History' series by this author. Number 2 is "Just Jane" about Jane Austen and #1 is so stunning that it is not even listed on Amazon. I have no idea who it is about. Or, possible, she is writing the a trilogy backward and #1 is not out yet? Hmmm.....intriguing idea......)
My third adult dissatisfaction was "The Eyre Affair: a Thursday Next Novel" by Jasper Fforde. This book received rave reviews and was on my wish list for some time before I bought it, so again this may be a book that is really great and I am the strange one. But for me, this book was just that: strange! It would be classed as science fiction and I have to admit that is my least favorite genre. Excepting 'Star Wars' I don't think I have every enjoyed anything in that area. Not even 'Star Trek'. So there is the disclaimer: science fiction fans will probably love this book. Again, I didn't finish it. It just wasn't my thing.
The fourth of my "stay away" books is a children's book that I read aloud to my children, "A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home" by Henry Cole. Doesn't it sound great? Again, I have read worse but the premise of the book was objectionable to me and the action was not engaging enough to override that problem. It is not a book I regret reading, but I wouldn't recommend anyone spend their money on it. I wish I had not. I have to say, though, I wanted to love this book because the art work is so amazing. It is worth browsing through the book just to look at the pictures. They are pencil sketches which I love, and the artist is truly talented! One more positive aspect. The book has John James Audobon as a supporting character and this led us to learn more about him and his work. That was a good thing and very interesting. We especially enjoyed reading "The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audobon" by Jacqueline Davies and Melissa Sweet and "Into the Woods: John James Audobon Lives His Dream" by Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor. So, good things came out of it in the end, after all!
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