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Tag Archives: e-book

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Sprinting Through No Man’s Land by Adin Dobkin (2021) – BR00217 (2022) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸βšͺ

The PolyBlog
October 31 2022

Plot or Premise

The book provides an overview of the first Tour de France after WWI.

What I Liked

I was skeptical when I first chose the book. It showed up as a recommendation in a feed, but was I really going to read about the Tour de France? I am NOT a giant sports fan in general, and certainly not of cycling, nor even of the TdF, although I’ve always been impressed by the idea of it. A gruelling multi-day race, different terrain, and extensive coverage are truly, ahem, impressive. But would I like a book about the first one after WWI? In a word, yes.

For the actual racing part, I loved the story. Bits and pieces were pulled from reports of the day, old interviews with various people involved, etc. A historian’s dream to take something that might have been somewhat dry at times for secondary sources and turn it into a fun read. I could feel the struggle when a tire went flat, or the weather intervened, or they were racing on crappy surfaces. I admired the commitment to even compete given the timeframe, as much about recreating the old life from before the war as about creating a new normal. I enjoyed the contrast of what some of the regions had experienced even a few months previously.

What I Didn’t Like

I was surprised there wasn’t a bit more information about the previous TdF. As I said, I’m not a cycling fanatic, don’t know the whole history, and there was very little concrete detail on what happened before the war. It seems like a strange omission to talk about “what’s new after the war” without saying what was “old before the war”. Heck, even which version of the race it was by year!

However, as much as I enjoyed seeing what happened in various regions during the war, the overviews of the regions were often way too long and disconnected from the story. They were decent summaries but they read like a history textbook. Not exactly riveting and the main reason I’m docking it a star.

The Bottom Line

Good enough for even a non-cycling fan to enjoy

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged cycling, e-book, Good Reads, history, non-fiction, stand-alone, tour de france | Leave a reply

The Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton (1992) – BR00215 (2022) – 🐸🐸🐸βšͺβšͺ

The PolyBlog
October 29 2022

Plot or Premise Agatha Raisin retires from an active public relations life in London and settles down in a small town, expecting a relatively quiet existence. What I Liked The general premise is interesting, with a pie she enters in a contest ending up somehow killing someone. There are lots of characters running around, and once things settle down, it has the basis for a good universe to visit. What I Didn’t Like I struggled with three aspects of the story. First and foremost, Agatha herself is not particularly likable. She’s spent her career generally being oblivious to others, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged agatha raisin, e-book, fiction, Good Reads, OPL, series | Leave a reply

The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker (1973) – BR00199 (2021) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸βšͺ

The PolyBlog
July 13 2021

Spenser is hired to find a rare book stolen from a university and the first witness he talks to ends up standing over a dead body within a day, but claims she didn’t do it.

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Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged Amazon.ca, B&N, book review, Chapters, e-book, Ebook, Good Reads, Google, Kobo, library, Library Thing, My Book Pledge, Nook, OPL, PolyWogg, Reading Challenge, Savvy Reader, series, Spenser (1) | Leave a reply

A String of Beads by Thomas Perry (2015) – BR00198 (2021) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸βšͺ

The PolyBlog
July 11 2021

Jane is asked by the elders of her tribe to find an innocent man charged with murder and to help him until things are cleared up.

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Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged Amazon.ca, B&N, book review, Chapters, e-book, Ebook, Good Reads, Google, library, Library Thing, Nook, OPL, PolyWogg, Reading Challenge, Savvy Reader, series, Whitefield (8) | Leave a reply

Poison Flower by Thomas Perry (2012) – BR00197 (2021) – 🐸🐸🐸βšͺβšͺ

The PolyBlog
June 27 2021

Jane breaks an innocent man out of jail but the real criminals grab her and torture her to talk. She doesn’t, of course, which sets off a long series of other events.

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Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged action, Amazon.ca, B&N, book review, Chapters, e-book, Ebook, fiction, Good Reads, Google, Kobo, library, Library Thing, mystery, mythology, Nook, novel, OPL, PolyWogg, prose, Reading Challenge, Savvy Reader, series, suspense, Whitefield (7) | Leave a reply

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My Latest Posts

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