Century of Viewing, Month One, Thoughts and Lists

Century of Viewing Challenge

I was able to watch 70 things. (Things = movies, shorts, cartoons, television seasons, etc.) Thirty-one I rated four stars and above. It was relatively-relatively easy to determine five star ratings. These went above and beyond. The line between four and four and a half star ratings were BLURRY, BLURRED, EVER SHIFTING. I changed the rating on some of these half a dozen times. There were some three and a half star movies that I was almost tempted to raise as well. 

Two things became clear within the first two weeks of the challenge

1) I had seriously underestimated silent movies. Seriously I have spent all of my life ignoring silent movies and thinking that I wasn't missing out on much. I am going to be deep-diving down this particular rabbit hole.

2) I had fallen head over heels--truly, madly, deeply in love with Buster Keaton. 

Other observations

• I have watched three adaptations of the play Chicago.
• I have watched two adaptations of Three Men in a Boat.

My Five Star Movies

• Seven Chances (1925) (BUSTER KEATON)
• The General (1926) (BUSTER KEATON)
• Roxie Hart (1942)
• Harvey (1950)
• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
• Ivanhoe (1982)
• Places in the Heart (1984)
• One Life (2023)

My Four and Half Star Movies AND my Four Star Movies

• Chicago (1927)
• Steamboat Bill, JR (1928) (BUSTER KEATON)
• The Death Kiss (1932)
• Lured (1947)
• Singin in the Rain (1952)
• High Time (1960)
• The Heroes of Telemark (1965)
• One Week (1920) (BUSTER KEATON)
• Our Hospitality (1923) (BUSTER KEATON)
  
• Sherlock JR (1924) (BUSTER KEATON)
• The Navigator (1924) (BUSTER KEATON)
• College (1927) (BUSTER KEATON)
• Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
• My Dear Secretary (1948)
• Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949)
• Woman's World (1954)
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) (BUSTER KEATON)
• Follow Me Boys (1966)
• Capricorn One (1978)
• Soap Dish (1991)
  
• Black Beauty (1994)
• Moulin Rouge (2001)
• Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022)
  

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Week in Review #5

 

The fifth week of the year, I reviewed six books. 

What I read:

9. Lost in the Empire City. Avi. 2024. [October 29] 304 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, j fiction, mg fiction, j historical, mg historical, immigration/emigration]

Read this one if...

• You are looking to read a book IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN
• You are looking for a fast-paced, compelling, action-packed read
• You enjoy historical fiction; this one is set in the 1910s in New York City
• You enjoy immigrant stories

10. Three Men in a Boat. Jerome K. Jerome. 1889. 174 pages. [Source: Bought] [4 stars, adult classic, travel, humor]

Read this one if...

• You enjoy classics
• You enjoy classic travel stories
• You love rambling Victorians
• You enjoy humorous reads

 9. Chooch Helped. Andrea L. Rogers. Illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz. 2024. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, siblings, family, picture book]

Read this one if...

• The Caldecott medal means a great deal to you and you want to keep up with all the winners
• You have a sibling
• You enjoy family stories
• You seek out books by Native Americans

10. A Mouse Family Christmas. Deborah Underwood. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, picture book, holiday, Christmas]

Read this one if...

• You love fictional mice
• You enjoy holiday picture books
• You enjoy books that showcase kindness

8. Left Behind (Left Behind #1) Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. 1995. 470 pages. [Source: Library] [christian fiction, 2 stars, contemporary fiction]

Read this one if...
Well, there's bound to be a good reason or two to read it, right???

• If characters and dialogue and story matter less to you than a particular brand of end-times theology
• If you are curious about this at-one-time-mega-popular series and want to see if it's as bad as you've heard
• If you want to read the book before/after watching the movie(s)

9. People Pleaser: Breaking Free From the Burden of Imaginary Expectations. Jinger Duggar Vuolo. 2025. 224 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, christian nonfiction, christian living]

Read this one if...

• you struggle with people pleasing and boundaries
• you are looking for more Duggar content
• you are a fan of Jinger and Jeremy's vlog and podcast

What I watched (for my century of viewing challenge) Normally my cut-off time/date is Saturday midday. Anything I watch after typing up the blog post is included the next week. Since this is the end of the month, I am going to make a slight exception and have a cut-off date of January 31 midday. (My cut-off is noon 1/31).

1910s

• 1919 Feline Follies (Felix the Cat). This is the first Felix the Cat cartoon. He hadn't even been named Felix yet. In this one, he plays a tom cat catting around. It ends dark, super dark. I did not care for this one at all.

1940s

• 1949 Miss Grant Takes Richmond stars Lucille Ball and William Holden. She seems destined to fail as a secretary, however, she's chosen because of her lack of skills. Why? Well, yes, she's attractive enough. But mainly because they [the bad guys] think she'll never wise up to their illegal business. But looks can be deceiving and Miss Grant might just win the day after all. 

1950s

• 1959 Gidget stars Sandra Dee and James Darren! I've definitely seen this beach movie before. I adore Sandra Dee. The later Gidget movies--MOVIES, not television show--were never my cup of tea. This one was fun. Not great or fantastic, but fun. I think I've also read the book.

1960s

• 1960 Who Was That Lady? is a Dean Martin and Tony Curtis movie. Tony Curtis' character gets caught kissing a foreign exchange student by his wife. His best friend--a writer--starts spinning quite a web to deceive. Let's just say be careful WHO you impersonate.
• 1965 The Heroes of Telemark is war drama set during World War II in Norway; we follow several in the resistance. This one is quite dramatic. It stars Kirk Douglas. 
• 1966 Follow Me, Boys stars Fred MacMurray and Kurt Russell. This is one of those 'meaning of life' movies. Little things can make all the difference in the world. Such is the case with Lem (Fred MacMurray's character) who becomes a scout master in a small town.
  

1970s

• 1975 Three Men in a Boat is an adaptation of Jerome K. Jerome's novel. Tim Curry stars as "J." This adaptation is radically different from the comedy from 1956 which was all girls, girls, girls. This is a slower-paced more faithful adaptation of the classic. There are so many scenes that are practically lifted from the book. There were other places that did seemed like additions that were not in the book at all. (I read the book this week).
  

1980s

• 1982/1983 The Voyagers! is a time-travel television show. The characters travel through history via the omni--a gold device that looks like a watch. The theme that plays as they travel is epic. (Well, for the nostalgic sort anyway.) Each episode essentially stands alone. Viewers see the pair travel to two to three historical events as they repair history.
• 1984 Places in the Heart is a heart-crusher. It is brutal to your emotions, but, it's also beautiful. Can something be beautiful and ugly all at the same time???? I think it can. This one is set during the Depression and it's set in Texas as well. Sally Field's character is a widow with two young children who becomes reliant on a African-American man [a hobo] to help her save the family farm from the [evil] bank.

1990s

• 1994 Black Beauty is an adaptation from the novel. This one is SO WORTH IT. Beautiful narration, beautiful soundtrack. As much as I can recall, it is mostly faithful to the novel. I know some adaptations just have a black horse.

2000s

• 2002 Chicago is a movie that is not for me at all. If it wasn't an adaptation of a Broadway musical from the 1970s, then I'd say they were trying to out-do Moulin-Rouge. I liked very few things about it. I was mostly disgusted by all the costumes and choreography. Which leads me to think to myself, if it had starred Ewan McGregor would I have been more forgiving???? This one has two musical numbers that I almost like.

2020s

• 2022 Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is delightful. It has some musical numbers in it. It is an adaptation of a picture book. I really loved almost everything about it.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

January Reflections

 

In January, I read and reviewed thirty books. OF the thirty books, seven books were five-star reads. Ten were four-star reads. So clearly it was a great month for reading great books.

Books reviewed at Becky's Book Reviews

1. A Queen's Game. Katharine McGee. 2024 [November]. 368 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Historical, YA Romance, YA Fiction] [3 stars]

2.  We Are Wolves. Katrina Nannestad. 2020. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [historical fiction, mg historical fiction, world at war, 4 stars]

 3. The Oarsmen: Chasing Embers. Glenn Beck with Mikayla G. Hedrick. 2024. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, mg speculative fiction, mg dystopia, mg fiction]

4. Wolves at the Door. Steve Watkins. 2024. [December] 288 pages. [Source: Library] [MG historical, MG fiction, world war II, 5 stars]

5. Kidnapped From Ukraine Under Attack. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg realistic fiction, mg fiction, survival, war stories]

 6. Chicago. Maurine Dallas Watkins. 1926 (December). 111 pages. [Source: Online] [play, classic] [3 stars] 

7. All the Light We Cannot see. Anthony Doerr. 2014. 544 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, historical fiction, magic realism??? world war II]

8. Bluffton: My Summer with Buster Keaton. 2013. Candlewick Press. 240 pages. [Source: Library, 5 stars, graphic novel, historical fiction]

9. Lost in the Empire City. Avi. 2024. [October 29] 304 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, j fiction, mg fiction, j historical, mg historical, immigration/emigration]

10. Three Men in a Boat. Jerome K. Jerome. 1889. 174 pages. [Source: Bought] [4 stars, adult classic, travel, humor]

Books reviewed at Young Readers

 1. The Many Problems of Rochel-Leah. Jane Yolen. 2024. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 3 stars]
2. Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" David LaRochelle. Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. 2024. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 4 stars]
3. Sabrina Sue Loves the Mountain. Priscilla Burris. 2024. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [early reader, animal fantasy, ready to read, chickens and farms, 3 stars]
4. Mustache Baby. Bridget Heos. 2016. HMH. 36 pages. [Source: Review copy]
5. Pizza and Taco #9: Coolest Club Ever! Stephen Shaskan. 2025. 72 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, graphic novel, early chapter book, series book]
6. What-a-baby First Words Book. (Whataburger). Blue Star Press. 22 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, board book, novelty book]
7. Lefty: A Story That Is Not All Right. Mo Willems. Illustrated by Dan Santat. 2024. [December] 40 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, picture books, nonfiction]
8. Silent Movie. Avi. Illustrated by C.B. Mordan. 2003. 64 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 4 stars, historical picture book, immigration]
9. Chooch Helped. Andrea L. Rogers. Illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz. 2024. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, siblings, family, picture book]
10. A Mouse Family Christmas. Deborah Underwood. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, picture book, holiday, Christmas] 

Books reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible


1. Cloaked in Beauty. (Texas Ever After #3) Karen Witemeyer. 2024. 352 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, historical fiction, christian fiction, romance]
2. The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels About You. Dane Ortlund. 2024. 128 pages. [Source: Review copy] [4 stars] [christian nonfiction, devotional]
3. The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host. David Gibson. 2023. 157 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, christian nonfiction, christian living]4. Faith, Hope and Hilarity: The Child's Eye View of Religion. Dick Van Dyke. Edited by Ray Parker. Illustrated by Phil Interlandi. 1970. 153 pages. [Source: Bought] [3 stars] [humor]
5. Pilgrim's Progress in Today's English. John Bunyan. Retold by James H. Thomas. 1678/1992. 260 pages. [Source: Bought] [4 stars, christian fiction, christian classic, allegory]
6. Across the Ages. (Timeless #4) Gabrielle Meyer. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, christian fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction, historical romance]
7. Poems and Prayers for the Very Young. Martha Alexander (compiler and illustrator). 1973. Random House. 24 pages. [Source: Bought] [3 stars, vintage picture book, poetry]
8. Left Behind (Left Behind #1) Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. 1995. 470 pages. [Source: Library] [christian fiction, 2 stars, contemporary fiction]
9. People Pleaser: Breaking Free From the Burden of Imaginary Expectations. Jinger Duggar Vuolo. 2025. 224 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, christian nonfiction, christian living]

Bibles reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible

1. Amplified Bible (1965 first whole Bible edition, 1978 seventeenth printing). God. Zondervan. 1485 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars (because all Bibles get 5 stars regardless of translation]

Yearly Totals for 2025

2025 Totals
Books read in 2025	30
Pages read in 2025	7020

January 2025 Totals

January 2025
Books read in January	30
Pages read in January	7020

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

10. Three Men In a Boat

 

Three Men in a Boat. Jerome K. Jerome. 1889. 174 pages. [Source: Bought] [4 stars, adult classic, travel, humor]

 First sentence: There were four of us—George, and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. 

 

 Premise/plot: Three men and a DOG set sail on a boating holiday. Hilarity follows--or in other words nothing goes as planned and nature--both nature nature and human nature gets the last laugh.

My thoughts: I love this one. I can't believe I've only read and reviewed it once twice-and that back in 2009 and 2019. One of the things I love about the book is the narrator, J. He had me at hello. [ETA: I recently watched my first adaptation of the book on film. (1956 adaptation). At the time I wasn't sure how faithful it was. I think they captured several scenes well. They ADDED a lot in an attempt to make it cohesive. The book itself is rambles, rambles, more rambles. They definitely added a lot of nonsense with women and flirting and the like. But overall, I am glad I watched the adaptation.]

It is a most extraordinary thing, but I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease therein dealt with in its most virulent form. The diagnosis seems in every case to correspond exactly with all the sensations that I have ever felt.
I remember going to the British Museum one day to read up the treatment for some slight ailment of which I had a touch—hay fever, I fancy it was. I got down the book, and read all I came to read; and then, in an unthinking moment, I idly turned the leaves, and began to indolently study diseases, generally. I forget which was the first distemper I plunged into—some fearful, devastating scourge, I know—and, before I had glanced half down the list of “premonitory symptoms,” it was borne in upon me that I had fairly got it.
I sat for awhile, frozen with horror; and then, in the listlessness of despair, I again turned over the pages. I came to typhoid fever—read the symptoms—discovered that I had typhoid fever, must have had it for months without knowing it—wondered what else I had got; turned up St. Vitus’s Dance—found, as I expected, that I had that too,—began to get interested in my case, and determined to sift it to the bottom, and so started alphabetically—read up ague, and learnt that I was sickening for it, and that the acute stage would commence in about another fortnight. Bright’s disease, I was relieved to find, I had only in a modified form, and, so far as that was concerned, I might live for years. Cholera I had, with severe complications; and diphtheria I seemed to have been born with. I plodded conscientiously through the twenty-six letters, and the only malady I could conclude I had not got was housemaid’s knee.
I felt rather hurt about this at first; it seemed somehow to be a sort of slight. Why hadn’t I got housemaid’s knee? Why this invidious reservation? After a while, however, less grasping feelings prevailed. I reflected that I had every other known malady in the pharmacology, and I grew less selfish, and determined to do without housemaid’s knee. Gout, in its most malignant stage, it would appear, had seized me without my being aware of it; and zymosis I had evidently been suffering with from boyhood. There were no more diseases after zymosis, so I concluded there was nothing else the matter with me.
I sat and pondered. I thought what an interesting case I must be from a medical point of view, what an acquisition I should be to a class! Students would have no need to “walk the hospitals,” if they had me. I was a hospital in myself. All they need do would be to walk round me, and, after that, take their diploma.
Then I wondered how long I had to live. I tried to examine myself. I felt my pulse. I could not at first feel any pulse at all. Then, all of a sudden, it seemed to start off. I pulled out my watch and timed it. I made it a hundred and forty-seven to the minute. I tried to feel my heart. I could not feel my heart. It had stopped beating. I have since been induced to come to the opinion that it must have been there all the time, and must have been beating, but I cannot account for it. I patted myself all over my front, from what I call my waist up to my head, and I went a bit round each side, and a little way up the back. But I could not feel or hear anything. I tried to look at my tongue. I stuck it out as far as ever it would go, and I shut one eye, and tried to examine it with the other. I could only see the tip, and the only thing that I could gain from that was to feel more certain than before that I had scarlet fever.
I had walked into that reading-room a happy, healthy man. I crawled out a decrepit wreck.
I went to my medical man. He is an old chum of mine, and feels my pulse, and looks at my tongue, and talks about the weather, all for nothing, when I fancy I’m ill; so I thought I would do him a good turn by going to him now. “What a doctor wants,” I said, “is practice. He shall have me. He will get more practice out of me than out of seventeen hundred of your ordinary, commonplace patients, with only one or two diseases each.” So I went straight up and saw him, and he said:
“Well, what’s the matter with you?”
I said:
“I will not take up your time, dear boy, with telling you what is the matter with me. Life is brief, and you might pass away before I had finished. But I will tell you what is not the matter with me. I have not got housemaid’s knee. Why I have not got housemaid’s knee, I cannot tell you; but the fact remains that I have not got it. Everything else, however, I have got.”
And I told him how I came to discover it all.
Then he opened me and looked down me, and clutched hold of my wrist, and then he hit me over the chest when I wasn’t expecting it—a cowardly thing to do, I call it—and immediately afterwards butted me with the side of his head. After that, he sat down and wrote out a prescription, and folded it up and gave it me, and I put it in my pocket and went out.

and

In the present instance, going back to the liver-pill circular, I had the symptoms, beyond all mistake, the chief among them being “a general disinclination to work of any kind.”
What I suffer in that way no tongue can tell.  From my earliest infancy I have been a martyr to it.  As a boy, the disease hardly ever left me for a day.  They did not know, then, that it was my liver.  Medical science was in a far less advanced state than now, and they used to put it down to laziness.
“Why, you skulking little devil, you,” they would say, “get up and do something for your living, can’t you?”—not knowing, of course, that I was ill.
And they didn’t give me pills; they gave me clumps on the side of the head.  And, strange as it may appear, those clumps on the head often cured me—for the time being.  I have known one clump on the head have more effect upon my liver, and make me feel more anxious to go straight away then and there, and do what was wanted to be done, without further loss of time, than a whole box of pills does now.
You know, it often is so—those simple, old-fashioned remedies are sometimes more efficacious than all the dispensary stuff.

Other favorite quotes:

Why a boat trip...

Harris said he didn’t think George ought to do anything that would have a tendency to make him sleepier than he always was, as it might be dangerous.  He said he didn’t very well understand how George was going to sleep any more than he did now, seeing that there were only twenty-four hours in each day, summer and winter alike; but thought that if he did sleep any more, he might just as well be dead, and so save his board and lodging.

 J on packing:

We must not think of the things we could do with, but only of the things that we can’t do without.

J turns philosophical:

Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need—a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.

J on stinky cheese:

Cheese, like oil, makes too much of itself. It wants the whole boat to itself. It goes through the hamper, and gives a cheesy flavour to everything else there. You can't tell whether you are eating apple-pie or German sausage, or strawberries and cream. It all seems cheese. There is too much odour about cheese.
I remember a friend of mine, buying a couple of cheeses at Liverpool. Splendid cheeses they were, ripe and mellow, and with a two hundred horse-power scent about them that might have been warranted to carry three miles, and knock a man over at two hundred yards. I was in Liverpool at the time, and my friend said that if I didn't mind he would get me to take them back with me to London, as he should not be coming up for a day or two himself, and he did not think the cheeses ought to be kept much longer.
"Oh, with pleasure, dear boy," I replied, "with pleasure."
I called for the cheeses, and took them away in a cab. It was a ramshackle affair, dragged along by a knock-kneed, broken-winded somnambulist, which his owner, in a moment of enthusiasm, during conversation, referred to as a horse. I put the cheeses on the top, and we started off at a shamble that would have done credit to the swiftest steam-roller ever built, and all went merry as a funeral bell, until we turned the corner. There, the wind carried a whiff from the cheeses full on to our steed. It woke him up, and, with a snort of terror, he dashed off at three miles an hour. The wind still blew in his direction, and before we reached the end of the street he was laying himself out at the rate of nearly four miles an hour, leaving the cripples and stout old ladies simply nowhere.
It took two porters as well as the driver to hold him in at the station; and I do not think they would have done it, even then, had not one of the men had the presence of mind to put a handkerchief over his nose, and to light a bit of brown paper.
I took my ticket, and marched proudly up the platform, with my cheeses, the people falling back respectfully on either side. The train was crowded, and I had to get into a carriage where there were already seven other people. One crusty old gentleman objected, but I got in, notwithstanding; and, putting my cheeses upon the rack, squeezed down with a pleasant smile, and said it was a warm day.
A few moments passed, and then the old gentleman began to fidget.
"Very close in here," he said.
"Quite oppressive," said the man next him.
And then they both began sniffing, and, at the third sniff, they caught it right on the chest, and rose up without another word and went out. And then a stout lady got up, and said it was disgraceful that a respectable married woman should be harried about in this way, and gathered up a bag and eight parcels and went. The remaining four passengers sat on for a while, until a solemn-looking man in the corner, who, from his dress and general appearance, seemed to belong to the undertaker class, said it put him in mind of dead baby; and the other three passengers tried to get out of the door at the same time, and hurt themselves.
I smiled at the black gentleman, and said I thought we were going to have the carriage to ourselves; and he laughed pleasantly, and said that some people made such a fuss over a little thing. But even he grew strangely depressed after we had started, and so, when we reached Crewe, I asked him to come and have a drink. He accepted, and we forced our way into the buffet, where we yelled, and stamped, and waved our umbrellas for a quarter of an hour; and then a young lady came, and asked us if we wanted anything.
"What's yours?" I said, turning to my friend.
"I'll have half-a-crown's worth of brandy, neat, if you please, miss," he responded.
And he went off quietly after he had drunk it and got into another carriage, which I thought mean.
From Crewe I had the compartment to myself, though the train was crowded. As we drew up at the different stations, the people, seeing my empty carriage, would rush for it. "Here y' are, Maria; come along, plenty of room." "All right, Tom; we'll get in here," they would shout. And they would run along, carrying heavy bags, and fight round the door to get in first. And one would open the door and mount the steps, and stagger back into the arms of the man behind him; and they would all come and have a sniff, and then droop off and squeeze into other carriages, or pay the difference and go first.
From Euston, I took the cheeses down to my friend's house. When his wife came into the room she smelt round for an instant. Then she said:
"What is it? Tell me the worst."
I said:
"It's cheeses. Tom bought them in Liverpool, and asked me to bring them up with me."
And I added that I hoped she understood that it had nothing to do with me; and she said that she was sure of that, but that she would speak to Tom about it when he came back.
My friend was detained in Liverpool longer than he expected; and, three days later, as he hadn't returned home, his wife called on me. She said:
"What did Tom say about those cheeses?"
I replied that he had directed they were to be kept in a moist place, and that nobody was to touch them.
She said:
"Nobody's likely to touch them. Had he smelt them?"
I thought he had, and added that he seemed greatly attached to them.
"You think he would be upset," she queried, "if I gave a man a sovereign to take them away and bury them?"
I answered that I thought he would never smile again.
An idea struck her. She said:
"Do you mind keeping them for him? Let me send them round to you."
"Madam," I replied, "for myself I like the smell of cheese, and the journey the other day with them from Liverpool I shall ever look back upon as a happy ending to a pleasant holiday. But, in this world, we must consider others. The lady under whose roof I have the honour of residing is a widow, and, for all I know, possibly an orphan too. She has a strong, I may say an eloquent, objection to being what she terms 'put upon.' The presence of your husband's cheeses in her house she would, I instinctively feel, regard as a 'put upon'; and it shall never be said that I put upon the widow and the orphan."
"Very well, then," said my friend's wife, rising, "all I have to say is, that I shall take the children and go to an hotel until those cheeses are eaten. I decline to live any longer in the same house with them."
She kept her word, leaving the place in charge of the charwoman, who, when asked if she could stand the smell, replied, "What smell?" and who, when taken close to the cheeses and told to sniff hard, said she could detect a faint odour of melons. It was argued from this that little injury could result to the woman from the atmosphere, and she was left.
The hotel bill came to fifteen guineas; and my friend, after reckoning everything up, found that the cheeses had cost him eight-and-sixpence a pound. He said he dearly loved a bit of cheese, but it was beyond his means; so he determined to get rid of them. He threw them into the canal; but had to fish them out again, as the bargemen complained. They said it made them feel quite faint. And, after that, he took them one dark night and left them in the parish mortuary. But the coroner discovered them, and made a fearful fuss.
He said it was a plot to deprive him of his living by waking up the corpses.
My friend got rid of them, at last, by taking them down to a sea-side town, and burying them on the beach. It gained the place quite a reputation. Visitors said they had never noticed before how strong the air was, and weak-chested and consumptive people used to throng there for years afterwards.

J on his toothbrush:

My tooth-brush is a thing that haunts me when I’m travelling, and makes my life a misery.  I dream that I haven’t packed it, and wake up in a cold perspiration, and get out of bed and hunt for it.  Of course, I found George’s and Harris’s eighteen times over, but I couldn’t find my own.  I put the things back one by one, and held everything up and shook it. 

J on weather forecasts:

I do think that, of all the silly, irritating tomfoolishness by which we are plagued, this “weather-forecast” fraud is about the most aggravating.  It “forecasts” precisely what happened yesterday or a the day before, and precisely the opposite of what is going to happen to-day. But who wants to be foretold the weather?  It is bad enough when it comes, without our having the misery of knowing about it beforehand.  For the man that prophesies us bad weather, on the contrary, we entertain only bitter and revengeful thoughts.

J philosophizes again:

It seems to be the rule of this world.  Each person has what he doesn’t want, and other people have what he does want. 

J on Harris' singing:

It is one of Harris’s fixed ideas that he can sing a comic song; the fixed idea, on the contrary, among those of Harris’s friends who have heard him try, is that he can’t...Harris never sees what an ass he is making of himself, and how he is annoying a lot of people who never did him any harm. 

J on tea kettles:

That is the only way to get a kettle to boil up the river.  If it sees that you are waiting for it and are anxious, it will never even sing.  You have to go away and begin your meal, as if you were not going to have any tea at all.  It is a good plan, too, if you are in a great hurry, to talk very loudly to each other about how you don’t need any tea, and are not going to have any. 
You get near the kettle, so that it can overhear you, and then you shout out, “I don’t want any tea; do you, George?” to which George shouts back, “Oh, no, I don’t like tea; we’ll have lemonade instead—tea’s so indigestible.”  Upon which the kettle boils over, and puts the stove out.

 J on stomachs:

How good one feels when one is full—how satisfied with ourselves and with the world!  People who have tried it, tell me that a clear conscience makes you very happy and contented; but a full stomach does the business quite as well, and is cheaper, and more easily obtained.  We cannot work, we cannot think, unless our stomach wills so.  It dictates to us our emotions, our passions.  We are but the veriest, sorriest slaves of our stomach.  Reach not after morality and righteousness, my friends; watch vigilantly your stomach, and diet it with care and judgment.  

J on peeling potatoes:

I should never have thought that peeling potatoes was such an undertaking. The more we peeled, the more peel there seemed to be left on; by the time we had got all the peel off and all the eyes out, there was no potato left—at least none worth speaking of.  George came and had a look at it—it was about the size of a peanut. He said: “Oh, that won’t do!  You’re wasting them.  You must scrape them.” So we scraped them, and that was harder work than peeling.  They are such an extraordinary shape, potatoes—all bumps and warts and hollows.    

J on musical instruments:

It must be disheartening work learning a musical instrument.  You would think that Society, for its own sake, would do all it could to assist a man to acquire the art of playing a musical instrument.  But it doesn’t!
There is, it must be confessed, something very sad about the early efforts of an amateur in bagpipes.  

J on work:

It always does seem to me that I am doing more work than I should do.  It is not that I object to the work, mind you;

I like work: it fascinates me.  I can sit and look at it for hours.  I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my heart.

You cannot give me too much work; to accumulate work has almost become a passion with me: my study is so full of it now, that there is hardly an inch of room for any more.  I shall have to throw out a wing soon. And I am careful of my work, too.  Why, some of the work that I have by me now has been in my possession for years and years, and there isn’t a finger-mark on.

 No man keeps his work in a better state of preservation than I do. But, though I crave for work, I still like to be fair.  I do not ask for more than my proper share.

J on heroines:

The heroine of a modern novel is always “divinely tall,” and she is ever “drawing herself up to her full height.” 

J on sleeping while camping:

It is surprising how early one can get up, when camping out.  One does not yearn for “just another five minutes” nearly so much.

Their final toast:

Here’s to Three Men well out of a Boat!”

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

9. Lost in the Empire City

  

9. Lost in the Empire City. Avi. 2024. [October 29] 304 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, j fiction, mg fiction, j historical, mg historical, immigration/emigration]

First sentence: The promise took a second to make but became the story of my young life. I made the promise in Italy in 1905. 

Premise/plot: COULD A BOOK BE MORE PERFECTLY PACED?!?!?! Seriously, Avi could teach a master class on how to make a book IMPOSSIBLE to put down.

The premise is simple enough, Santo, our hero, makes a promise to keep his family together always and forever. This promise becomes a challenge once the family immigrates to America. The family is separated at Ellis Island. Santo finds himself ALONE in a foreign country where he knows only the tiniest amount of English and he is essentially without resources. Every single day is focused on surviving--living long enough to keep that promise and reunite the family, somehow someway. This book chronicles that dangerous journey. 

My thoughts: I LOVED this one. I didn't know if I would or not. (Though Ms. Yingling's review led me to believe that I would.) I loved the pacing, the suspense, the characterization, the story itself. It was SO good.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Week in Review #4

 The fourth week of the year I reviewed nine books!

What I read:

 6. Chicago. Maurine Dallas Watkins. 1926 (December). 111 pages. [Source: Online] [play, classic] [3 stars]

Read this one if...

• You enjoy reading classic plays
• You have enjoyed the Chicago musical and are interested in the origins
• You want to read the play that has inspired several films
• You are a law nerd

7. All the Light We Cannot see. Anthony Doerr. 2014. 544 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, historical fiction, magic realism??? world war II] 

Read this one if...

• You enjoy historical fiction with a lightly magical element
• You enjoy war dramas, particularly world war II
• You enjoy fiction with dual narrators

8. Bluffton: My Summer with Buster Keaton. 2013. Candlewick Press. 240 pages. [Source: Library, 5 stars, graphic novel, historical fiction]

Read this one if...

• If you enjoy historical fiction loosely based on true events (and people)
• If you enjoy graphic novels for elementary and middle grade
• If you enjoy Buster Keaton
• If you enjoy stories about baseball and friendship

6. What-a-baby First Words Book. (Whataburger). Blue Star Press. 22 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, board book, novelty book]

Read this one if...

• you enjoy Whataburger
• you enjoy novelty board books
• you are looking for a fun, silly gift for new parents

7. Lefty: A Story That Is Not All Right. Mo Willems. Illustrated by Dan Santat. 2024. [December] 40 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, picture books, nonfiction]

Read this one if...

• you enjoy picture books with a heavy hand [literally] (This one the illustrations are mostly hand-related)
• you enjoy nonfiction picture books

8. Silent Movie. Avi. Illustrated by C.B. Mordan. 2003. 64 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 4 stars, historical picture book, immigration]

Read this one if...

• you enjoy historical picture books
• you enjoy immigration stories
• you enjoy happy endings
• you have an interest in silent films and early movie industry

1. Amplified Bible (1965 first whole Bible edition, 1978 seventeenth printing). God. Zondervan. 1485 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars (because all Bibles get 5 stars regardless of translation]

Read this one if...

• you are looking for an additional resource in Bible reading
• you are looking for more commentary than a strict translation as such
• you love thesauruses 

6. Across the Ages. (Timeless #4) Gabrielle Meyer. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, christian fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction, historical romance]

Read this one if...

• you enjoy the premise of crossing time -- living two lives in one body
• you don't mind ridiculously obvious love triangles
• you don't mind if the characters are a bit simple-minded

7. Poems and Prayers for the Very Young. Martha Alexander (compiler and illustrator). 1973. Random House. 24 pages. [Source: Bought] [3 stars, vintage picture book, poetry]

Read this one if...

• you enjoy poetry
• you enjoy poetry collections
• you enjoy poems with a focus on nature

What I watched (for my century of viewing challenge):

1910s

• 1918 The Cook features Buster Keaton but not technically in the lead role. He was sidekick to Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. This one features an incredible dance sequence that you may have seen clips of in other videos. One has been paired with Madonna's VOGUE. It is uncanny how well "The Cook" pairs with it.

1920s

• 1921 The Play House stars Buster Keaton--one of his shorts. It is many things. The first half features Buster Keaton in ALL THE ROLES. He easily is playing forty or fifty characters at once. Including the audience members, the orchestra, the theatrical performers, etc. You can marvel at the filmmaking or be offended at the blackface that is about 1% of the content. Your choice.
• 1922 The Paleface is a Buster Keaton short. He plays a butterfly/bug collector at the wrong place at the wrong time. He may just save a tribe's land from greedy oil men, however, only by accident. This one has hilarious moments, however, I could see some people feeling obligated to feel incredibly offended. The ending was fun. Again, a snippet that you might see clipped into other videos.
• 1923 Our Hospitality is a Buster Keaton feature film. It has a historical setting--feuding families. Buster Keaton plays a character--the last in his family line--and the other family has vowed to kill him....but they cannot kill him so long as he remains a guest in their house. Their sister has fallen for him. This one combines some intense scenes--dramatic stunts--and some comedic ones. Very enjoyable overall.
• 1924 The Navigator is another Buster Keaton feature. I loved, loved, loved, loved this one. It is a whole mood or vibe. Buster Keaton plays a character coincidentally trapped aboard a drifting ship with his ex girlfriend. Highly recommended.
• 1928 The Campus Vamp is a comedy set on a college campus. The blond trying to steal all the guys is played by Carole Lombard. This one features several scenes--including a baseball game at the beach and a school dance.

1950s

• 1956 Three Men In A Boat stars David Tomlinson, Laurence Harvey, and Jimmy Edwards. Not sure how faithful it is to the novel. I have my suspicions this one focuses more on girls, girls, girls than the novel does. But it was very funny in places--like getting lost in the maze, and opening (but failing) the pineapple can.
• 1957 Fire Down Below. Literally. This one stars Jack Lemmon--which is one reason I watched it. Two friends are torn apart by a woman on the run in need of a favor. This one has an INTENSITY to it once you reach a certain point.

1960s

• 1961 The Devil at 4 O'Clock stars Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy. I can't decide if I love it or hate it. Truly. I am so conflicted. What is it about???? Prisoners rescuing folks from a leper colony on an island with a literal erupting volcano. This one is DANGER-packed with a smidge of romance. A priest--the founder of the hospital for the lepers--has lost all faith...but it is restored during this dramatic/traumatic event through the heroism of those involved. There's a scene that gets an A+++++++ in terms of theological goodness. However, the ending was brutal.
• 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. I'm beginning to see the world through Buster Keaton colored glasses. True he gets a brief cameo in this one. But the gags and stunts of this one just are so reminiscent of that kind of early comedy. I also was reminded of several Scripture verses about greed and money! This one is worth watching though lengthy, you might just love it. It is over-the-top in some ways, but it also stars just about everybody who was anybody.
• 1966 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. This is a slapstick musical comedy set in Ancient Rome. Buster Keaton is one of many in the cast. I'm trying to sum up the story and can't. It features two households--neighbors. One is a brothel of sorts--a man with many courtesans. The other is a family with a son. The son falls in love with one of the new arrivals and wants to run away with her...he enlists the help of a slave [a big troublemaker] who will do anything to get his freedom. The other [third] neighbor is Buster Keaton.

1970s

• 1971 Nicholas and Alexandra is historical drama with a tragic ending. You can *know* the ending is coming before you ever hit play, yet it still hits ROUGH. I am curious if this one was made because historical period dramas were "big" at the time or if it was a result of the popularity of such films as Doctor Zhivago.
• 1979. Hanover Street stars Harrison Ford and Christopher Plummer. Harrison Ford is a world war II pilot who is forced to protect an intelligence officer when the mission goes horribly wrong--the catch, he is the husband of his girlfriend. I could have used less adultery. But I adore Christopher Plummer. This one has some uncanny similarities to Star Wars IV. 

1990s

• 1996 Independence Day. It had been years since I watched this alien invasion story. Still enjoyable enough.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

8. Bluffton

 

 

8. Bluffton: My Summer with Buster Keaton. 2013. Candlewick Press. 240 pages. [Source: Library, 5 stars, graphic novel, historical fiction]

First sentence: Life in Muskegon, Michigan, was quiet. Ordinary. 

Premise/plot: Bluffton is a graphic novel with a historical setting (1908-1910?). The book focuses on the summer vacations of a young Buster Keaton. These special summer days are told not from his point of view, however, but from a local boy named Henry Harrison who absolutely idolizes the show people.

Henry Harrison is thrilled when a troupe of vaudeville performers settles down to summer near Muskegon, Michigan. There are boys his own age among the troupe. One of these boys is Buster Keaton. Henry had not heard of Buster before, but he becomes mesmerized by his new friend. Buster? Well, he enjoys clowning around and making the local folk laugh now and then, but, mainly he wants to play ball. He wants to play, have fun, relax. He's shown as wanting to pack a whole summer into each and every day. I got the impression that Henry didn't really see things clearly; he saw what he wanted to see: the glamor, the wow.

The story of several summers (and winters) are told through art and dialogue. An epilogue informs readers of Buster Keaton's transition from stage to film.

My thoughts: I first read Bluffton in 2013 (and rated it three stars). At the time I had never seen a single silent movie. I was unfamiliar with the subject--vaudeville, silent movies, etc. It was "just" a book about boys playing baseball. Now that I've fallen deep, deep, deep, deep into all things Buster Keaton, I have a new appreciation for this fictional graphic novel. I do think most of my review stands true. I think I read it "right." However, I now have a stronger appreciation for the story. 

For example, having no familiarity with "The Great Stone Face" I didn't really appreciate the illustrations. I didn't have a likeness to which to compare the illustrations. Now I do and this one works.

I would DEFINITELY recommend reading this one AND diving into Buster Keaton's films--short and feature. At the very, very, very least seek out compilations of Buster's work. 

The movie I would recommend for pairing with this one is COLLEGE which has a sporty theme.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

7. All the Light We Cannot See

 

7. All the Light We Cannot see. Anthony Doerr. 2014. 544 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, historical fiction, magic realism??? world war II] 

First sentence: At dusk they pour from the sky. They blow across the ramparts, turn cartwheels over rooftops, flutter into the ravines between houses. Entire streets swirl with them, flashing white against the cobbles. Urgent message to the inhabitants of this town, they say. Depart immediately to open country.

Premise/plot: All the Light We Cannot See has dual narrators: Marie-Laure and Werner. Marie-Laure is a young French blind girl and Werner is a German orphan coming of age during the Nazi regime and getting swept up into the messy ideological nonsense. The novel not only goes back and forth between narrators--opposing sides of the war at that--but back and forth in time. There are indicators at the start of the chapters so you know *when* but time seems to be a merry-go-round.

My thoughts: The strength of this one is in the writing. The premise is other-worldly and mildly fantastical. (A supernatural/magical object that prevents one from dying) The characterization is strong.

This one definitely kept me intrigued. I'm not sure that I absolutely loved it. It stayed in "almost" territory--hence the four stars not five.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

6. Chicago

 

 6. Chicago. Maurine Dallas Watkins. 1926 (December). 111 pages. [Source: Online] [play, classic] [3 stars]

First sentence from the prologue: You damned tightwad!

Premise/plot: Roxie Hart stands trial for murder in Maurine Dallas Watkins' play titled Chicago. Will Amos, her husband, stand by her side faithfully? Will Flynn, her lawyer, be able to talk his client out of trouble? Will the newspapers stay focused on the prettiest little murderer the city has ever seen? 

The fictional play was inspired by a handful of crime stories from the time--circa 1924--notably Beulah Annan. The play premiered on Broadway in December 1926 (at least according to Wikipedia).

My thoughts: I saw the musical in theaters when it released ages ago; I wasn't particularly impressed. I became interested in the story again during my deep-diving into silent films. I watched the 1927 silent film, Chicago, and found it intriguing/entertaining. The next day I watched Roxie Hart a 1942 film adaptation. Chicago (1927) and Roxie Hart (1942) are two very different adaptations. Same basic story, radically different interpretations. After watching these two I decided to seek out the play which I believe may be in the public domain? I found it on archive.org. 

I am glad I read this three-act play. It was interesting to see what lines (dialogue) the film(s) kept and how they interpreted the story. Of course, the silent film didn't really have dialogue. But it did capture ALL the melodrama. And it had quite the cat fight between women prisoners. There were scenes that were just GOLD in terms of their timelessness in being entertaining. The 1942 film, of course, had dialogue. Both movies were WORTH watching. I appreciated them for different reasons.

Notably the main difference between Chicago (1927) and Roxie Hart (1942) was WHO was likeable!

In terms of preference, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Roxie Hart (1942). I loved Chicago (1927). I liked the play.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Week in Review #3

 

 The third week of the year I read and reviewed six books!

What I read:

4. Wolves at the Door. Steve Watkins. 2024. [December] 288 pages. [Source: Library] [MG historical, MG fiction, world war II, 5 stars]

Read this one if....

• You enjoy historical fiction with a survival element
• You enjoy historical fiction set during the Second World War
• You enjoy books that are impossible to put down

5. Kidnapped From Ukraine Under Attack. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg realistic fiction, mg fiction, survival, war stories]

Read this one if...

• You enjoy compelling, realistic reads
• You enjoy war stories
• You enjoy books that are impossible to put down
• You enjoy survival  books

4. Mustache Baby. Bridget Heos. 2016. HMH. 36 pages. [Source: Review copy] 

Read this one if...

• You enjoy picture books about babies
• You enjoy humorous stories

5. Pizza and Taco #9: Coolest Club Ever! Stephen Shaskan. 2025. 72 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, graphic novel, early chapter book, series book] 

Read this one if...

• You enjoy series books
• You enjoyed early chapter books in graphic novel format

4. Faith, Hope and Hilarity: The Child's Eye View of Religion. Dick Van Dyke. Edited by Ray Parker. Illustrated by Phil Interlandi. 1970. 153 pages. [Source: Bought] [3 stars] [humor]

Read this one if...

• You enjoy vintage books
• You enjoy a lot of humor with a little religion
• Care more about a giggle than theology

5. Pilgrim's Progress in Today's English. John Bunyan. Retold by James H. Thomas. 1678/1992. 260 pages. [Source: Bought] [4 stars, christian fiction, christian classic, allegory]

Read this one if

• You are looking for an easier to read edition of Pilgrim's Progress
• You want a refresher course in Pilgrim's Progress
• Enjoy allegories

What I watched (for my Century of Viewing challenge)

1920s

• 1922 Daydreams is a silent movie with dark comedy vibes. He is madly in love with a woman, but her father wants proof that he can support her. He goes through various jobs without success and returns a failure... This one does feature him working with animals as a vet assistant. The SKUNK scene was great. But this one is VERY, VERY, VERY dark.
• 1927 College is a humorous sports movie starring Buster Keaton. He is smart, smart, super-smart. He makes a graduation speech about how dumb sports are. His girl is offended and tells him that HER man must be athletic. He becomes determined to work his way through college--he can't afford it otherwise--and he attempts to become sport-y. Will he ever impress her? Buster Keaton is always awesome. I definitely enjoyed this one. It should not be overlooked.
• 1927 Wings is a silent movie with some sound syncopation. It may appear to be a love triangle, but it is more a circle of unrequited love. It is set during World War I. Two pilots are "in love" with the same beautiful girl from their home town. The problem? She only loves ONE of them. The other is beloved by the girl next door. The girl he does not appreciate... This one has some heartbreak....
• 1927 Chicago. This is a silent movie with some sound effects, I believe. It is based on a new play (1926) by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Roxie Hart stands trial for murder....will she be found innocent? The play (and subsequent movies) is loosely based on the trial of Beulah Annan. I really ENJOYED this one. It was interesting to see how the "justice system" works and the court hysterics. There were a few scenes that I thought would be GREAT gifs or memes.
  

1930s

• 1930 All Quiet on the Western Front is a war movie set during the first world war. Told from the point of view of German soldiers--boys really--taken straight from the classroom to the battlefield.
• 1932 The Death's Kiss was an AWESOME black and white mystery. The murder occurs DURING THE FILMING OF A MYSTERY MOVIE. The leading man is shot down with one of the prop guns--real bullet. As the police fumble through an investigation, a writer of detective stories has a go at solving the real thing. Again, like Chicago (see above) it was interesting to see how cases are "investigated." This one didn't make it to trial, so it wasn't really about court procedures. But the POLICE procedures were all over the mess sloppy and just horrid. No chain of evidence. No proper collection of evidence. No segregating witnesses. No true preservation of the crime scene. All this leads to the amateur detective being super smart.
  

• 1937 Navy Blue and Gold tricked me. This James Stewart movie is secretly-not-so-secretly about football. I wasn't aware of that!

1940s

• 1942 Roxie Hart is another adaptation of the play Chicago (see above). Ginger Rogers plays Roxie Hart a woman on trial for murder. This one is told within a reflective framework. A newspaper man is retelling about the "good old days" of Chicago and the most beautiful woman to ever stand trial. As he captivates the audience at the bar, pay attention to the bartender played by William Frawley! Again in this one we get to see the "justice system" in action. Would love to see some LawTubers react to Roxie Hart and/or Chicago.
• 1944 Arsenic and Old Lace is a dark comedy. Cary Grant stars in this melodramatic comedy. Definitely worth a watch at least once.
• 1947 Lured is a crime drama with thriller-ish elements. It stars Lucille Ball working undercover to catch a serial killer. It was FANTASTIC.

1950s

• 1950 Harvey. James Stewart at his best????? Maybe. Maybe not. I absolutely thought this one so WONDERFUL and humorous. Movies with great dialogue shouldn't have gone extinct.

2000s

• 2009 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past stars Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. He plays a jerk....and he is visited by three ghosts who are trying to teach him lessons to help him reform his ways and become a better person and find true love. It's all set over the wedding weekend of his brother.

2010s

• 2018 The Great Buster is a documentary about Buster Keaton--his life and films. This one was great in that it pointed me towards his COMMERCIALS as well. I also learned that Dick Van Dyke did the eulogy for Buster Keaton's funeral. Overall, I enjoyed this introduction to his work. I'd already seen many of his silent films. Still haven't gotten to the later stuff.
• 2019 Pilgrim's Progress is an animated adaptation of John Bunyan's classic. This one got the Polar Express treatment. I don't know WHY they went the direction they did. It took away from the theological value of the allegory and was just weird and scary.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

5. Kidnapped From Ukraine Under Attack

 

5. Kidnapped From Ukraine Under Attack. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg realistic fiction, mg fiction, survival, war stories]

First sentence: I was snuggled deep in my bed with my twin sister, Rada. We had heard that the Russians might be attacking, but I didn't believe it. Mariupol may have been a Ukrainian city, but everyone here could speak Russian. We weren't their enemies. 

My thoughts preview: I will want to read ANYTHING Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch writes. I will. She has proven she is a great writer over and over again. Though really all it took was one book to make me a forever fan.

Premise/plot: While Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch typically writes action-packed, dramatic historical fiction novels, this time she has written a contemporary, realistic novel that opens in February 2022 with the Russians attacking Ukraine. We see these dark days--dark but not so distant--through the eyes of a child, Dariia Popkova. (She's twelve. Perhaps (though fiction) she wouldn't appreciate being called a child.) When the attack begins--bombing--Dariia and her mother are out of the apartment and running a quick errand--picking up a few things from a corner market. So close to home yet so far when the attack begins. Soon the two find themselves unable to return home and reunite with their family because of the destruction and danger. This danger is unrelenting--there is little calm in the storm their lives become. As the two try to survive hour by hour, day by day, week by week--in the basement where they have found temporary refuge--they have both too much time and too little time to worry. 

Readers get to see everything through Dariia's eyes and it's not a comfy, cozy story with a few boo-boos. The whole novel is [realistically] intense.

My thoughts: What a novel!!!! Truly I cannot do the book justice. It's an incredible read from cover to cover. I am not surprised--I'd expect nothing less from Skrypuch. She excels at everything--writing, plotting, characterization. But it is the characterization that particularly wows me every time. Because though it shouldn't be rare, it mostly is. The depth of characterization is outstanding. It isn't just that there's depth and substance of the main character, but it is how expansive the characterization is. There's no shortcuts, no character too small to not get treated as important. It makes it impossible not to get invested and thoroughly absorbed in the story.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

4. Wolves at the Door

 

4. Wolves at the Door. Steve Watkins. 2024. [December] 288 pages. [Source: Library] [MG historical, MG fiction, world war II, 5 stars]

First sentence: We are in the shelter near our apartment building in Konigsberg when the bombing starts, the swelter of August trapped underground with us. The explosions are distant, east of the city. We feel slight tremors, but the walls only shake a little.

Wolves at the Door by Steve Watkins is a compelling historical middle grade novel set towards the end of World War II. Earlier this year--last week to be precise--I read a book with this exact, precise setting--East Prussia, German children, Russian invasion, hiding in the woods, fighting to survive, etc. (We Are Wolves by Katrina Nannestad). This one is narrated by two sisters--Asta and Pieta. 

It is action-packed historical fiction. I would definitely recommend for readers who have begun to outgrow the I Survived series yet still enjoy historical fiction with survival themes. There are so many world war II books out there for this audience, this one is GREAT.  

If my summary is lacking it isn't that the book isn't good--it's phenomenal. This coming of age story is SO compelling, so emotional, so WELL DONE, so impossible to put down. It was the first book of the year that I read in one sitting.

All the "almosts" I felt about We Are Wolves were realized in Wolves at the Door. It was SUCH a great read. It didn't hold back. It may be written for middle school--upper elementary and up. But it didn't pretty things up. It didn't gloss over the brutal, harsh facts. It was all in for history. And I think it showed how brutal war is and always will be. 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Week in Review #2

 The second week of the year I read and reviewed six books! 

The books I read:

 We Are Wolves. Katrina Nannestad. 2020. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [historical fiction, mg historical fiction, world at war, 4 stars]

I would recommend this one to readers who...

• Enjoy historical fiction
• Enjoy war stories (fictional)
• Enjoy happy endings

The Oarsmen: Chasing Embers. Glenn Beck with Mikayla G. Hedrick. 2024. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, mg speculative fiction, mg dystopia, mg fiction]

I would recommend this one to readers who....

• Enjoy premise-driven and plot-driven stories
• Are patient when it comes to action and plot
• Care more about world-building than characterization
• Value ideas more than carry through

Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" David LaRochelle. Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. 2024. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 4 stars] 

I would recommend this one to readers who....

• Enjoy picture books that are "interactive" and invite audience participation
• Looking for a read aloud for small groups
• Enjoy silly books trying to get a giggle from little ones

Sabrina Sue Loves the Mountain. Priscilla Burris. 2024. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [early reader, animal fantasy, ready to read, chickens and farms, 3 stars] 

I would recommend this one to readers who...

• Enjoy predictable series books
• Love chickens [seriously, there are a LOT of series books starring lovable chickens]
• Looking for an early reader that is fun and not just "educational"

The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels About You. Dane Ortlund. 2024. 128 pages. [Source: Review copy] [4 stars] [christian nonfiction, devotional]

I would recommend this one to readers who...

• Enjoy Christian devotionals with meat and substance
• Looking for encouragement and reassurance in their spiritual lives

The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host. David Gibson. 2023. 157 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, christian nonfiction, christian living] 

I would recommend this one to readers who....

• Enjoy Christian devotionals with meat and substance
• Enjoy their commentary on the light side
• Love Psalm 23

I made a LOT of progress in my century-viewing project. These are the films I watched from last Saturday night (my cut off was 5PM) through this Saturday (my cut off is 5PM).

1920s

• 1923 Love Nest is a short silent film starring Buster Keaton and Joe Roberts. Buster plays a brokenhearted man taking to life at sea as a last resort of sorts. There's comedic skits, but, not much plot. [So glad this one wasn't my first introduction to Buster Keaton.]
• 1925 Seven Chances is a GREAT romantic comedy starring Buster Keaton as James "Jimmie" Shannon. His grandfather has left him a LOT of money...if he marries by 7PM on his twenty-seventh birthday which happened to be that very day. He has a woman he loves and adores, however, the proposal left something to be desired...can he find ANY woman willing to marry him?
• 1926 The General is another Buster Keaton movie. Is it my favorite, favorite Keaton movie???? YES. At least so far. This one is set during the Civil War--don't let that intimidate you. He plays a man, Johnny Gray, I believe, who loves two things: his train--the General--and his girl. When the bad guys steal his train and his girl....he'll stop at nothing to get them back!
• 1928 Steamboat Bill Jr is another great Buster Keaton film. Buster Keaton plays a son that is a huge disappointment to his father. He wants his father's approval...and the heart of the girl he loves...who just happens to be the daughter of his father's rival. A big STORM changes everything. Highly recommend this one. (And of course The General too).
• 1928 Steamboat Willie is the first animated Mickey Mouse cartoon. I can't help--granted I'm submersed deeply into all things Buster Keaton--that there's some influence here. I am glad I watched this cartoon while I was deep diving into silent films. This one definitely featured music and sound effects, but, it also feels very much a "silent" comedy.
• 1929 Big Business is a Laurel and Hardy short film starring two Christmas tree salesmen who essentially went to PETTY UNIVERSITY (if you know you know). 
• 1929 Broadway Melody 1929 is a musical. Two sisters head to New York City to make it big--one having a previous engagement to a songwriter named Eddie. Eddie reunites with the sisters; however, he switches his affections to the other sister thus ruining the song "You Were Meant for Me." This one features three songs that would make their way--to some degree--into 1952's Singin' in the Rain. I don't know how other viewers take this [wretched] love triangle but I was having none of it. 
  

1930s

• 1931 Kept Husbands is a romantic comedy where the love interests are from two different socio-economic classes, can true love win out? Or will he end up a kept husband? This one stars Joel McCrea and Dorothy Mackaill but it was Ned Sparks that--at least for me--stole the show in every scene he was in.
• 1932 Barnyard Olympics is another Disney cartoon--this one features Mickey and Minnie mouse. It is sports-themed. Again much more slapstick comedy.
• 1933 Kennel Murder Case (Philo Vance) is a murder mystery--so many bodies!--starring William Powell. I have not read any Philo Vance mysteries, but, I know that he was one of the more famous detectives of the golden age of mysteries.

1940s

• 1948 My Dear Secretary is a romantic comedy starring Kirk Douglas and Laraine Day. She certainly holds her on and steals each scene. What I enjoyed most about this one was the WRITING. The script, the dialogue, was SO good. I love good banter.

1950s

• 1951 Another Man's Poison is a Bette Davis movie. It's definitely a crime drama. I can't say that any of the characters are particularly likable, yet, the story itself was fine. If you like dark crime dramas, then this might be a good fit for you.
• 1952 Singin' in the Rain is a musical starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Conner. Love this one so much though it isn't my favorite musical. After seeing so many silent movies the past two weeks I can't help but think this movie mislead me for years and years into thinking that silent movies were not worth my time. That there wasn't "real acting" and that if you've seen one you've seen them all.
• 1954 Woman's World is a thought-provoking movie. A automotive company will be promoting someone from within to a higher position--that means a move to New York City--three couples come to spend the week. The husbands and wives will be closely watched to see who is most suitable for the job....the movie follows these three relationships and all the drama that unfolds. This one has six main characters. One of the actors if Fred Macmurray. I really enjoyed this one so much.
• 1957 Buster Keaton Story is the so-called "bio pic" of Buster Keaton's life. With Donald O'Conner in the role of Buster Keaton you would think this one would be all kinds of fabulous. Too bad they made up ALL of the movie and there's little resemblance to his life story. It was such a disappointment.

1960s

• 1960 High Time is a Bing Crosby movie that I love and adore. A middle-aged man--a successful business man at that--attends college much to the dismay of his grown children. This movie is charming through and through. Highly recommended.

1970s

• 1978 Capricorn One is an action-thriller. NASA's space program is increasingly uncertain as public and political apathy and disgust grow. The next mission Capricorn One faces even more challenges when a technical flaw that could shelve the mission permanently come to light. A few individuals take it upon themselves to "save" the mission, the program, and the world by kidnapping the astronauts and faking the Mars mission. Problems result when investigative reporters get a little too close to the truth. (Among other problems). This one is DRAMA and ACTION with quite a few thrilling sequences. It stars many familiar faces including O.J. Simpson. (Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Sam Waterson for example).

1990s

• 1991 Soap Dish is a comedy, a parody, of all things soap operas. This one probably couldn't or wouldn't get made today. However it is hilarious. This one features so many stars and guest stars. And the writing is just so good--it's SO QUOTABLE. Even though I've only seen it four or five times in my life, there are so many memorable scenes that I quote all the time.
• 1993 Swing Kids is a period drama starring Robert Sean Leonard and Christian Bale. This one is set in Nazi Germany and features rebellious teens addicted to swing music. I would say the most concise summary is can a friendship survive differing opinions about Hitler.... I have such conflicting feelings about this one.
• 1999 The Bachelor is loosely connected to Seven Chances. It stars Chris O'Donnell as Jimmie Shannon III. After his grandfather's will is read, he learns he will inherit millions of dollars if he marries before his thirtieth birthday? (thirty-first???) birthday. (All I remember for sure is he gets longer than Buster Keaton). The BIG, BIG, BIG difference is that this Jimmie Shannon is opposed to marriage. He does not ever want to get married--not really. He has had a LOT of failed relationships in his past. He's terrified of anything resembling commitment. For me this makes The Bachelor less enjoyable than the original. However, it was super interesting to see what was the same and what had been changed.

2000s

• 2001 Moulin Rouge is a wild, crazy "bohemian" themed musical starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. I loved and adored it when it came out--having both soundtracks--and I still love this movie now.
• 2006 Catch and Release is an ODD movie. It is way too sad to be a romantic comedy, yet, it features so many elements of a romantic comedy. Jennifer Garner stars in this one. She learns after the death of the man she was to marry that he was not who she thought he was...

2020s

• 2023 One Life is a BEAUTIFUL, beautiful film. It is based on a true story. It is an incredible movie set in two different time periods, the "present" being the 1980s and the past being the 1940s. Anthony Hopkins plays Nicholas Winton a young man who rescued over six-hundred Jewish children just before the start of World War II.

 

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