↓
 

The PolyBlog

My view from the lilypads

  • Home
  • Life
    • Family (all posts)
    • Health and Spiritualism (all posts)
    • Learning and Ideas (all posts)
    • Computers (all posts)
    • Experiences (all posts)
    • Humour (all posts)
    • Quotes (all posts)
  • Reviews
    • Books
      • Master Reading and Reviews List (by Author)
        • Collections
          • The Sherlockian Universe
          • The World of Nancy Drew
        • #ABCDEF
          • Books and Reading – Numbers
          • Books and Reading – A
          • Books and Reading – B
          • Books and Reading – C
          • Books and Reading – D
          • Books and Reading – E
          • Books and Reading – F
        • GHIJKL
          • Books and Reading – G
          • Books and Reading – H
          • Books and Reading – I
          • Books and Reading – J
          • Books and Reading – K
          • Books and Reading – L
        • MNOPQR
          • Books and Reading – M
          • Books and Reading – N
          • Books and Reading – O
          • Books and Reading – P
          • Books and Reading – Q
          • Books and Reading – R
        • STUVWXYZ
          • Books and Reading – S
          • Books and Reading – T
          • Books and Reading – U
          • Books and Reading – V
          • Books and Reading – W
          • Books and Reading – X
          • Books and Reading – Y
          • Books and Reading – Z
      • Book Reviews List (by Date of Review)
      • Book Reviews (all posts)
      • PolyWogg’s Reading Challenge
        • 2023
        • 2022
        • 2021
        • 2020
        • 2019
        • 2015, 2016, 2017
    • Movies
      • Master Movie Reviews List (by Title)
      • Movie Reviews List (by Date of Review)
      • Movie Reviews (all posts)
    • Music and Podcasts
      • Master Music and Podcast Reviews (by Title)
      • Music Reviews (by Date of Review)
      • Music Reviews (all posts)
      • Podcast Reviews (by Date of Review)
      • Podcast Reviews (all posts)
    • Recipes
      • Master Recipe Reviews List (by Title)
      • Recipe Reviews List (by Date of Review)
      • Recipe Reviews (all posts)
    • Television
      • Master TV Season Reviews List (by Title)
      • TV Season Reviews List (by Date of Review)
      • Television Premieres (by Date of Post)
      • Television (all posts)
  • Writing
    • Writing (all posts)
  • Goals
    • Goals (all posts)
    • #50by50 – Status of completion
    • PolyWogg’s Bucket List, updated for 2016
  • Photo Galleries
    • PandA Gallery
    • PolyWogg AstroPhotography
    • Flickr Account
  • About Me
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • WP colour choices
    • PolySites
      • ThePolyBlog.ca (Home)
      • PolyWogg.ca
      • AstroPontiac.ca
      • About ThePolyBlog.ca
  • Andrea’s Corner

Tag Archives: historical

Post navigation

← Previous Post

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) – BR00187 (2020) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
March 20 2020

Plot or Premise

A man observes the comings and goings of a 1920s party host who is both his neighbour and a paramour of his cousin. 

What I Liked

It is weird to go back and read this book some 35 years after high school. I remember thinking it was this glamourous world of parties and high society, where people really did act differently from the common folk. As an adult, I see it for what it is — a portrayal of a shallow summer, without substance or value, leading to an inevitable tragedy of people over-estimating their self-importance and narcissism. Beautifully written, harshly portrayed as Nick Carroway observes the desires of Jay Gatsby for a married Daisy Buchanan, the woman he loved but lost years before. All of the summer reads like life without consequences, an embracing of hedonism and simple pleasures, but without anyone asking if it is really what they want or just what they think they want.

What I Didn’t Like

I find it intriguing that my young self saw it as a tragedy, but without particular indictment of the lifestyle of the secondary characters. They seemed more cliché or farce than real at the time, but now it just seems simply depressing across the board. I didn’t care about any character anywhere in the book, not even Nick, who is mostly a blank slate.

The Bottom Line

Over-rated as a classic.

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged Amazon.ca, B&N, book review, Chapters, e-book, fiction, Good Reads, Google, historical, Kobo, Library Thing, new, Nook, novel, OPL, PolyWogg, prose, Reading Challenge, romance, RRE, Savvy Reader, stand-alone | Leave a reply

Two O’Clock, Eastern Wartime by John Dunning (2001) – BR00176 (2020) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
January 12 2020

The year is 1942, and Jack Delaney is working as a writer for the local radio station where weird things happen, like actors going missing and potential German spies hiding in plain sight.

Continue reading →
Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged action, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, B&N, book review, Chapters, espionage, fiction, Good Reads, Google, historical, international, Kobo, Library Thing, mystery, new, Nook, novel, paperback, PolyWogg, prose, romance, sleuth, stand-alone | Leave a reply

A Spy In The House by Y.S. Lee (2016) – BR00173 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

The PolyBlog
December 5 2019

An orphan in the mid-1800s is diverted from the gallows to a school for girls, gets her high school education, and graduates to become an operative for a special investigating Agency of women run by the heads of the school.

Continue reading →
Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged action, adventure, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, B&N, book review, Chapters, crime, detective, fiction, Good Reads, Google, historical, history, Kobo, Library Thing, mystery, new, Nook, novel, OPL, paperback, PolyWogg, prose, Quinn, Reading Challenge, romance, Savvy Reader, series, Young Adult | Leave a reply

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness (2014) – BR00171 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
November 16 2019

After falling in love (book 1), and hiding in the past (book 2), Diana and Matthew return to the present to start a family and figure out what is in the Book of Life.

Continue reading →
Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged action, allsouls, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, B&N, book review, Chapters, e-book, epic, fantasy, fiction, Good Reads, Google, historical, Kobo, library, Library Thing, magic, mystery, Nook, novel, OPL, paranormal, PolyWogg, prose, Reading Challenge, romance, Savvy Reader, series, sleuth, suspense, time | Leave a reply

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (2014) – BR00170 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
November 14 2019

A witch and a vampire hide out in 1590 Europe while she learns to control her powers.

Continue reading →
Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged action, allsouls, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, B&N, book review, Chapters, e-book, epic, fantasy, fiction, Good Reads, Google, historical, Kobo, library, Library Thing, magic, mystery, Nook, novel, OPL, paranormal, PolyWogg, prose, Reading Challenge, romance, Savvy Reader, series, sleuth, suspense, time | Leave a reply

Post navigation

← Previous Post

Countdown to Retirement

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

Retirement!

My Latest Posts

  • JotD: Getting older (PWH00015)May 16, 2025
  • QotD: Friendship (PWQ00040)May 16, 2025
  • JotD: Surprises (PWH00010)May 15, 2025
  • QotD: Before you can write (PWQ00012)May 15, 2025
  • JotD: You might be an astronomer if… (PWH00030)May 14, 2025

Archives

Categories

© 1996-2023 - PolyWogg Privacy Policy
↑