Review: I Deliver Parcels in Beijing

I Deliver Parcels in Beijing by Hu Anyan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World

The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World by Tilar J. Mazzeo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a non-fiction book that reads like fiction. There were moments when I wondered if the author went too far in attempting to do this readability like a fictional book. Yet I did quite enjoy the book.

It is sewn together by the true accounts of what happened. By genealogy, newspaper reports, diaries, ship logs and other documents. It is very well researched.

In 1857 Mary Ann Patten and her husband Captain Joshua Patten set sail from New York harbor on a trip to deliver goods around the world. The first destination port was San Francisco, and in a race with several other clipper ships in hopes of making it within 100 days. This was the second journey that Mary Ann joined her husband, impressing the crew on the first journey in her skills, healing injured or sick men as well as charting and using a sextant.

By the time they reached the most dangerous part of the journey to San Francisco, rounding the Cape Horn, the first mate was held in the brig. Captain Patten fell unconscious from lack of sleep and an illness that finally overtook him. And this was during a violent storm, one of the worst tempests in years. Despite being a woman, Mary Ann took over as captain to get them through this danger ensure they stayed on course.

This was an unheard of action. Mary Ann was just 19, pregnant and petite, which endeared her further in newspapers.

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Review: The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World

The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World by Tilar J. Mazzeo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a non-fiction book that reads like fiction. There were moments when I wondered if the author went too far in attempting to do this readability like a fictional book. Yet I did quite enjoy the book.
It is sewn together by the true accounts of what happened. By genealogy, newspaper reports, diaries, ship logs and other documents. It is very well researched.
In 1857 Mary Ann Patten and her husband Captain Joshua Patten set sail from New York harbor on a trip to deliver goods around the world. The first destination port was San Francisco, and in a race with several other clipper ships in hopes of making it within 100 days. This was the second journey that Mary Ann joined her husband, impressing the crew on the first journey in her skills, healing injured or sick men as well as charting and using a sextant.
By the time they reached the most dangerous part of the journey to San Francisco, rounding the Cape Horn, the first mate was held in the brig. Captain Patten fell unconscious from lack of sleep and an illness that finally overtook him. And this was during a violent storm, one of the worst tempests in years. Despite being a woman, Mary Ann took over as captain to get them through this danger ensure they stayed on course.
This was an unheard of action. Mary Ann was just 19, pregnant and petite, which endeared her further in newspapers.



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Review: The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World

The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World by Tilar J. Mazzeo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

will be posting some notes soon, am so behind...

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Review: The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives

The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives by Theresa Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you ever wanted to know what it was like in a day of a nurse, this may be a good book to read. This nurse, Theresa Brown works in oncology hematology, which is blood cancers. They may also get patients with rare blood disorders as one of her patients in this book.

Theresa was professor at Tufts University with a doctorate in English and made the odd shift to becoming a nurse after having twins. She first thought about being a maternity nurse but challenging care is in the cancer wards.

This book covers just one day, one shift, beginning at home and ending back at home at the end of the day. There are all the minute details of what goes on throughout the day. For some people this level of minutia may be a little too much, but it was fine for me.

The book title says four patients, but in the end there really are five. One goes home and a new patient is admitted, actually she gets two new patients that day, and both were already known to her.

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