Final thoughts for August, 2014

"Rule number one of survival: Never, never tell anyone what you really think."(From the thoughts of a character, Charles de Cygne, in Paris by Edward Rutherford).

I'm still wading through the lively pages of Paris by Rutherford, and I'm enjoying the ride. In reality, this book should "count" as three books because it's so lengthy (805 pages). I'm currently on page 500, so the end is in sight and I'm eager to find out how the story lines conclude. Every time that I begin a new chapter I read the date at the beginning so that I can remember what has happened to the characters of this time period. Unfortunately, one of the characters from 1667, Amelie, was forced to marry an elderly widower against her will, Roland de Cygne. Although Amelie was merely 19 years old, her parents thought it was time to "marry her off" to a man of good standing and wealth. So, the unhappy marriage took place even though Amelie was in love with another man, Pierre Renard. Her parents forced her to go and work at Versailles for the dauphine, wife of King Louis, so that she would have the opportunity to meet a man who could provide for her and give her "standing". Amelie obeys the command of her parents and the king himself, even though she believes she will never be happy. The women of the court were not allowed to make their own decisions as is evident here. There were many abuses that occurred at the hands of the king and his sons. The women were powerless. I'm glad that things have improved for women of the 1st century.

Today I want to share the first five titles in my index file of the 430 books that I've read since 1984. The books are Kinfolks, falling off the family tree (Lisa Althar, 2007). Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (Maya Angelou, 1993),  A Woman in Berlin (Anonymous, 2000), The Family of Henry Clay (Lindsey Apple, 2011), and The Life of Antony and The Letter to Marcellinus (Athanasius, 1980). Be sure to leave your comments regarding my blog - I'd love to hear from all of you!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, and be sure to read a good book and rest!

So, until next time...Melissa

Here is a picture from our July 2014  trip to England and Scotland. Can you identify the location?

Rich and I visited the _______________.