May # Who
– person with a person’s name in the title
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Author: Conan Doyle
Genre: short stories
Page number: 281
First published: 1894
Rating: two stars
First sentence: “I am afraid, Watson, that
I shall have to go,” said Holmes, as we sat down together to our breakfast one
morning.
One sentence comment: Sherlock Homes book
series were among my favorite classics when I was a kid, but I have obviously
grown out of it after reading many modern mysteries in recent years.
May # What – a book title indicating what
the person is/does
Call the Midwife
Author: Jennifer Worth
Genre: nonfiction
Page number: 340
First published: 2002
5ating: 5 stars
First sentence: Nonnatus House was situated
in the heart of the London Docklands.
One sentence comment: East Enders’ bitter
but heartwarming history in the 1950’s survived becaue of the author who saved
their babies during that time.
It’s a
marvelous accounts about a lost world, including the convent and the workhouse.
Both of them are institutes of Christianity but carrying opposite effects.
Children were brought to the world safely by midwives sent from the convent.
However, many children died from separanting from their parents, who entered
the workhouse in order to survive from hunger. I realize that perhaps it is
better to be paupers than staying in a workhouse. The work condition was so
appaling that human beings were downgraded into working animals. I guess that’s
why social welfare developed first in the Christian countries.
The author
must have a good system of recording events. She brought to us many memorable
characters that lived half centuries ago.
A Clue for the Puzzle Lady
Author: Parnell Hall
Genre: mystery
Page number: 323
First published: 1999
Rating: 4 stars
First sentence: The first clue came with a
corpse.
One sentence comment: I have been fascinated
to find a mystery combined with puzzles even though I am not a puzzle fan.
I have always thought that a crossword
puzzle maker is a genius. It was out of my imagination how a crossword puzzle
could be embedded into a cozy mystery. The author did it and made the story
twist and fun. The intuitive old lady in the title role is fun and nasty at the
same time but that won’t deter me from reading more about her.