An absolute joy to read!
923075
Before the books The McFlannels started out in 1939 as a radio soap opera on the BBC. Known as Scotland's Happy Soap! The first book came out in '47 and a subsequent book each year after. In 1958 it became a TV series.

The First Book of the McFlannels begins in 1914 and introduces us to Willie McFlannel and his girl Sarah McTwill and ends in 1939 with their 25th anniversary celebration. They marry and settle down in a flat, a room and a kitchen. Willie is a fitter in the Clyde Shipyard. After 4 children are born they move up to a tenement, 2 rooms, a kitchen and space on the stairs. A special little dog they name Lassie comes along when they move into the tenement and the story of how she comes to them is very funny! After Willie gets a promotion to foreman he gives in to Sarah's need to 'move on up' and they move to a Corporation house, 4 rooms and a kitchen with a yard and garden. Sarah wants so badly to be above her 'station' in life and is very funny and poor old Willie is happy to just be and is so kind and loving with Sarah and need to be 'more'. The four McFlannel children are Polly, Matt, Peter and Maisie. Polly much to her mother's disappointment refuses to go on to a higher education although she is very smart. She gets a job with the Sheriff's Office and makes her mom proud! Sarah is determined Matt will be a teacher, a very respectable job, but he hates school and has his nose in a silly book all the time. He wants to be a writer. Peter becomes an engineer and finally in Maisie, Sarah gets her teacher.

All the wonderful neighbors in their tenement and characters in their life are all named from different fabrics, McTweed, McCotton, McLeather, McRubber, McCamel Hair, McPlush, McVelvet. Their type of fabric gives you a clue to the way yare, McFlannel, warm and comfortable, McCotton well, cotton is just cotton nothing special! McTweed, scratchy and irritating. It's hilarious!

This quote from the book sums up the McFlannels:
'Oh, life was just grand! Willie was on full time again and his forman wasn't keeping at all well; Maisie was dux of her class; Matt was something or other in the school football team; wee Peter would be going to school next week (she certainly would miss the wee chap toddling about the house, but there was always Lassie, the best wee dog in the world, and weren't they the lucky people to have her!); it was a pity about Maisie's cold, but a day or two in bed would soon put her right; and here was Polly with a grand job. My-oh-my! Where would they end, with all this success!'

Just a joy to read.
4386982
This is an utterly delightful book!  I teach Italian and have a collection of "travel narratives," thus I was drawn to this book.  UP AT THE VILLA is absolutely replete with the writer's tone: humor, warmth, wit and adventure.  I smiled my ENTIRE way through this book, often chuckling along the way, not only at their adventures, but at her wonderful and clever writing. Linda Dini Jenkins is a born story teller. Her intellect, warmth and personality shine through every page of this book, which is filled with adventures regarding trips, not only to Italy, but many other exciting places, and are enhanced by her astonishing husband. Well worth the read.
2732431
I thoroughly enjoyed this book- what a great discovery!
1664757
Amazingly creative view of our world.  A joy to read.
3581536
Excellently written, fun to read in general!
1050727
This is obviously a classic in every respect! I'm very pleased to have finally gotten the chance to read the original. Each magical little retelling has been pretty brilliant for me, and it's all because of this wonderful little book!
I trust that you probably already know the story (and if not, that you can see the premise in another review), so I'll just focus on my experience on the read through. And what a delightful read it was! I laughed a lot through the opening (so clever and funny), I truly shuddered as the ghost of Jacob Marley was walking slowly up the stairs and dragging the chains behind him (really scary!), and I beamed my way through the last act-so thrilled for the outcome (that, by the way, we all already knew was coming...but the way it's written here makes it an even more joyous chapter than I expected). All in all, it's a grand Christmas book and timeless piece of literature that I would recommend to anyone.
Just as a side note about the Bantam Classic edition also-this is a wonderful, small book with an enchanting cover (as you can see from the Amazon picture). The binding held up wonderfully for me through my first read (it still looks brand new). As a bonus, this version also contains a small biographical sketch on Dickens and a story about him reading this book aloud at a public reading. I haven't checked to see if the other editions also contain this material, but I definitely found it to be an asset to this one. You can't beat the price, either.
3654672
Reading with and to a child is a great joy. When the book is so delightful you don't need a child in your lap to enjoy it, you've hit the jackpot! I purchased this book for the child of a friend and of course had to read it myself. I smiled, then I laughed out loud at the story, and smiled even more at the beautiful, clever illustrations. So well done, so visually appealing, and a nice little life lesson in the bargain. Every child should have this book.
4334976
I spend a bit of each day reading aloud to my three sons (aged  8, 10, and 12)This book was an absolute delight to each of us! We laughed and cried and felt like it all came together perfectly in the end. I also enjoyed the unapologetic references to religion- A perfect treat!
2210704
This book was a delight from beginning to end!  It was witty, clever, fun and so sweetly romantic.  It was fun to read lines from the original P&P but used in different contexts but all keeping you inevitably linked to Jane Austen's sparkling text.  Upon reading the last page, I closed the book with the silliest grin and enjoyed experiencing such pure reading pleasure.  I immediately e-mailed several friends suggesting they read this book and then got on line and ordered the other two books written by Ms. Mackrory.  I can't wait to read them!
3406268
I truly enjoyed reading this book from the first page to the last! The characters in this book are so relatable and delightful. This book draws you in and before you know it you find yourself reminiscing about your own past. Hopefully, we will be seeing more from this talented author!
2040984
Delightful!!  What a fascinating, charming, skillfully woven joy to read!  Ms Skye has a very refreshing, newly minted turn of phrase that lends an even more enthralling air to this book.  I'm breathlessly looking forward to more of her books, and especially more Draycott Abbey romances!
4220862
I read this book in a single sitting.  Incredibly funny and fast reading, with the individual vignettes, it was impossible to put down.  As the mother of five grown children, and the grandmother of 8, I found this book to be most entertaining and enlightening!  How many of us have NOT wondered about the actual costs involved in bringing our kids into this world?  It was refreshing to be able to look at Callie's "list" and know that those years are well behind me, thank goodness!  Ah........ but I definitely could still relate.
Betsy Howie has a special knack of making the reader feel a part of the unfolding drama of expecting and raising Callie through her first year.  The book certainly brought back memories of my child-rearing years, and I once again found myself trying to find ways to "cut corners" with those expenses. :-)  I found myself looking forward to the next party, the next "event", the next receipt...
Another plus was Ms. Howie's reporting of the actual feelings she experienced with raising her daughter.  Life isn't always a bed of roses when it comes to kids, and Ms. Howie honestly expressed her frustrations, her fears, her delights and her pride in her daughter.  Such candor can often be lacking in works of non-fiction.
And all of this is written with an underlying message that the dollars are not to be taken too seriously, that the expense is "worth it", and that in the end you get more than what you pay for.
This is a definite "must have" for parents-to-be as well as grandparents, when the cycle actually begins anew.  Which makes me wonder when "Bob" will publish HER accounting of grandmahood!  It would be interesting to see which list tallies higher (been there, done that!).
334878
For fans of fantasy young and old, this trilogy is absolutely delightful!  It is not a literary masterpiece if that is what you are looking for, but it is well written and a pure joy to read! The main character is a strong female, which was much appreciated as a parent of a teenage girl.  My teenager daughter enjoys fantasy, but is also very critical of the quality of what she reads- and she absolutely loved this trilogy. Her favorite books are Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle and she completely dislikes Twilight to give you a gauge of how this book might align with your interest.  I loved it just as much as she did and it was a great reading experience for us to enjoy together. Highly recommend this trilogy!
4704266
A wonderfully written book that is a pleasure and a joy to slowly read.  More than 1/2 way through it now, and enjoying every word and every minute.  We are reading it as a family, and it is all the more amazing having just returned from traveling in Japan for a month.  This book is for anyone that wants more out of their life, or who is dissatisfied with what's happening in today's society, and would like to make changes.  It is a very uplifting read, and something to savor rather than to rush through.  The individuals he profiles are really fascinating people living wonderfully rich lives.  Thanks for writing this terrific book!
63217
What a joy to read! I found myself nodding my head "Yes!" over and over again as I absorbed this book. Cheryl has written a warm, thoughtful and easy-to-understand book about subjects that can easily get confusing for most of us. It is easy to sense that she writes Soul Speak from her own experience, and directly from her heart. She says that there are several areas to be addressed if we want to be able to easily and naturally tap into our latent potentials as physical and spiritual Beings. These include examining our personal attitude, circumstances, history, health, and beliefs. Cheryl writes about each of them in a way that I find clear, direct and profound. She shows that learning to live in accord with Nature and Spirit is actually very simple and easy. She brings it all together with her personal story of her own awakening, demonstrating what is possible for every one of us. And that is the biggest message here - that the wonderful bliss, peace and contentment of living Soulfully is right here in front of us..... available right now.
1631742
What a delightful adventure reading this book has been! From the cover to the end, it is full of emotion, joy and sadness, hope and disappointment, delight and misery. I never knew an author that could walk through these ranges so perfectly. Icy Sparks is a young girl that must grow up with a strange affliction, Tourettes Syndrome. In grammar school, she suffers bouts of arm and leg jerks, her eyeballs pop out wide, and sometimes she croaks in loud throaty noises. At times she will let loose with the wildest string of cusses. You can imagine what the other children think of her. She lives with her grandparents, who love her dearly, but they too have to admit she needs some help. Tourettes Syndrome is unnamed at that time, so Icy is shipped off to a rehabilitation center, where we are taken from her despair, through her anger and hurt and pain, and finally back to hope again. Though not yet diagnosed and no where near a cure, she returns to live with her grandparents, and her unpredictable "fits" continue. Throughout the story, Icy talks and thinks and acts like the spunky, lovable little girl she is. I grew to love her by the end of the first chapter. Her dear friend Miss Emily is one person you will wish you'd had in your life when you were a child. Icy's grandparents adore her, Icy's mother died shortly after her birth and her Father died also. Icy's coming of age is particularly poignant given her condition. You will feel for her as I did, and you will grow with her as I did. Icy Sparks may have Tourettes Syndrome, but it came with a courage I wish I had! The author keeps the characters down to a few loved ones, and in so doing, makes the story that much closer to your heart. There is Matanni, Icy's wise grandma, and Patanni, her grandpa, a man of few words but a very golden heart, Miss Emily, whose size speaks for the amount of love she is capable of giving. Mr. Wooten, the principal at Ivy's school in not a developed character, but I was fond of him nevertheless. The rest I will let you find for yourself, but this time, Oprah picked it right!
4215194
This is such a fun book to read!  I love Shaelyn and Brady - they're almost more fun apart than they are together!  Maria Luis is a master at including multi-dimensional supporting characters in addition to absolutely wonderful main characters, and she's one of the funniest authors I've ever read!  Every part of this story is perfect - the love is deep and emotionally fulfilling, the tension is palpable, the meddling is well-intended, the antics are hilarious, and the HEA is exquisite.  It's a beautiful story, beautifully told.  I highly recommend this book - one of the best I've read this year!  I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.