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snugglekittyThe Clairvoyant Countess by Dorothy Gilman is the first in a new-to-me series. Gilman is well-known for her Mrs. Pollifax series. CC was a fast, light, and enjoyable read, featuring a down-on-her-luck noblewoman from Eastern Europe who uses her psychic skills to help solve crimes. Three stars.
Tamar was the first of many books I found on the Harry Potter reading lists. It was not a fantasy, but more of a historical suspense, featuring two British agents in the Netherlands during WW11. The descendants of one of them are trying to figure out what happened during that time. It was very suspenseful. I was able to see the central twist from the first chapter of the book, but it was still really really good. Four stars. Mal Peet is clearly an author to watch.
Buddhism's Women, Women's Buddhism was an anthology of essays presented at a conference on women and Buddhism, a while back. I didn't read every word. I read all of the non-academic essays - I guess there were about twenty - and maybe half of the others in their entirety. I skimmed the rest, not because they were too difficult, but because they had a tendency to repeat the other essays. After reading three essays about the difficulties of getting ordained as a Buddhist nun in Asia, I felt like I had a grasp on the concept. Ditto the financial difficulties of being a Buddhist nun in Asia, etc. This was a great companion book to Turning the Wheel because most of the essays were not about American Buddhism. My favorite section was "Art and Architecture" and my favorite essay was "How a Buddhist Decides Whether to Have Children." I'd give the whole book three stars - a good resource but I doubt I'll need to read it again.
To those who are curious, I found some things out while reading this book, but I still haven't found that elusive bit that will make me say, "Oh, good, I know what I need to know now, I can move on to a different topic."
Tamar was the first of many books I found on the Harry Potter reading lists. It was not a fantasy, but more of a historical suspense, featuring two British agents in the Netherlands during WW11. The descendants of one of them are trying to figure out what happened during that time. It was very suspenseful. I was able to see the central twist from the first chapter of the book, but it was still really really good. Four stars. Mal Peet is clearly an author to watch.
Buddhism's Women, Women's Buddhism was an anthology of essays presented at a conference on women and Buddhism, a while back. I didn't read every word. I read all of the non-academic essays - I guess there were about twenty - and maybe half of the others in their entirety. I skimmed the rest, not because they were too difficult, but because they had a tendency to repeat the other essays. After reading three essays about the difficulties of getting ordained as a Buddhist nun in Asia, I felt like I had a grasp on the concept. Ditto the financial difficulties of being a Buddhist nun in Asia, etc. This was a great companion book to Turning the Wheel because most of the essays were not about American Buddhism. My favorite section was "Art and Architecture" and my favorite essay was "How a Buddhist Decides Whether to Have Children." I'd give the whole book three stars - a good resource but I doubt I'll need to read it again.
To those who are curious, I found some things out while reading this book, but I still haven't found that elusive bit that will make me say, "Oh, good, I know what I need to know now, I can move on to a different topic."