Category: From My Bookshelf – Lynn Willoughby

  • From My Bookshelf: The Best Laid Plans

    From My Bookshelf: The Best Laid Plans

    By Lynn Willoughby The Best Laid Plans ~ Terry Fallis This humorous book was the Canada Reads 2011 winner.  It is a satire on Canadian politics and had me laughing out loud at the absurdity of democracy at work.   A burnt out government aide leaves Parliament Hill and turns to the University of Ottawa…

  • From My Bookshelf: The Lines We Leave Behind

    From My Bookshelf: The Lines We Leave Behind

    By Lynn Willoughby The Lines We Leave Behind ~ Eliza Graham This is a WWII story that is very different from others I have read.  Maud, a shy young woman living in England in 1945, is recruited to be parachuted into Yugoslavia as a secret agent.  Her mother is Croatian and the family lived there…

  • From My Bookshelf: The Tour

    From My Bookshelf: The Tour

    By Lynn Willoughby The Tour: A Trip Through Ireland ~ Jean Grainger A group of American tourists are thrown together on a bus tour.  They are a diverse bunch – in age, experience, finance and personalities.   Their tour guide, Conor, is engaging and humourous – and an expert historian.  He has been doing this job…

  • From My Bookshelf: Becoming

    From My Bookshelf: Becoming

    By Lynn Willoughby Becoming ~ Michelle Obama This book is well written, candid, funny and also brought me to tears several times.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.   Obama starts with her childhood in south Chicago in a tiny apartment on Euclid Avenue.  I think this early history is necessary for us…

  • From My Bookshelf: The Night Shift – Real Life in the Heart of the ER

    From My Bookshelf: The Night Shift – Real Life in the Heart of the ER

    By Lynn Willoughby The Night Shift: Real Life in the Heart of the ER ~ Dr Brian Goldman You may have listened to Dr Brian Goldman’s CBC Radio show “White Coat, Black Art”. I always enjoy it as he attempts to demystify the medical profession, explain what goes on behind closed doors and explain that…

  • From My Bookshelf: The Edge of Lost

    From My Bookshelf: The Edge of Lost

    By Lynn Willoughby The Edge of Lost ~ Kristina McMorris This novel took a long time to get going.  To begin with it is the story of Shan Keegan – a young boy of twelve living with his brutal, drunen uncle in Dublin.  We’ve read too many of these stories.   It got interesting when…

  • From My Bookshelf: The Rosie Result

    From My Bookshelf: The Rosie Result

    By Lynn Willoughby The Rosie Result ~ Graeme Simsion This is the third “Rosie” book and I  have loved every one. They are quirky, funny, tender and philosophical. This one deals with eleven year old Hudson – Rosie and Don’s son.   When Hudson corrects his teacher’s grammar, it is not appreciated. When Hudson’s awkward…

  • From My Bookshelf: The Healing

    From My Bookshelf: The Healing

    By Lynn Willoughby The Healing ~Jonathan Odell What to say about this novel?  It was not what I expected for a setting in Antebellum Mississippi, but it did have a certain mood for the times.  It deals with three generations of female healers. It is  subtle, almost gentle in the descriptions of people, period and…

  • From My Bookshelf: Me Before You

    From My Bookshelf: Me Before You

    By Lynn Willoughby Me Before You ~ Jojo Moyes This is an easy read that manages to deal with a man’s disability and having you laughing and crying.  I enjoyed it much more than I expected I would. Lou Clark ha a small life, in a small town in England.  She works at “The Buttered…

  • From My Bookshelf: The Marrow Thieves

    From My Bookshelf: The Marrow Thieves

    By Lynn Willoughby The Marrow Thieves ~ Cherie Dimaline This book was a Canada Reads choice in 2018.  It is classified as a young adult book but I enjoyed it a lot, after it had been recommended to me – twice. The Indigenous people of North America are being hunted in order to harvest their…

  • From My Bookshelf: Trains and Lovers

    From My Bookshelf: Trains and Lovers

    By Lynn Willoughby Trains and Lovers ~ Alexander McCall Smith This very prolific writer has successfully published another great little book.  At under 250 pages I was totally engaged in the lives of the four people sitting together on a train travelling from Edinburgh to London, and how love touched their lives in very different…

  • From My Bookshelf: One Good Thing

    From My Bookshelf: One Good Thing

    By Lynn Willoughby One Good Thing ~ Rebecca Hendry If you have spent any time in Yellowknife, you will love this book.  It is told through the eyes of twelve year old Delilah, whose father has been living in the north for some time.  Annie, Delilah’s troubled, flighty, arty, hippy mother, decides they will join…

  • From My Bookshelf: Sandstorm

    From My Bookshelf: Sandstorm

    By Lynn Willoughby Sandstorm ~ Michael Asher It is 1946 when a plane crashed in Africa.  Fourteen year old Billy comes to and finds himself alone in the wreckage.  There is sand as far as he can see and no one comes to rescue him. The war, Nazi gold, MI-5, heroes, pilots, secret agents, spies,…

  • From My Bookshelf: Unsheltered

    From My Bookshelf: Unsheltered

    By Lynn Willoughby Unsheltered ~ Barbara Kingsolver Kingsolver’s extensive research, her exposure of history as seen through the eyes of her characters, the mix of fictional and non-fictional characters, all kept me coming back.  As in all her writing, there are no lack of social issues of the day.  This book did not disappoint. The…

  • From My Bookshelf: The Wonder Garden

    From My Bookshelf: The Wonder Garden

    By Lynn Willoughby The Wonder Garden ~ Lauren Acampora This novel had a great concept and lots of potential, and while I am not one who needs a conclusion where everything is settled and tied neatly together, it does have to have a conclusion.  This fell short by not creating any real relationships or connections. It…