Miller's Valley

  

Title: Miller's Valley

Author: Anna Quindlen

Narrator: Brittany Pressley

Format: 7 discs, 8 hours and 14 minutes

Published: 2016 by Brilliance Audio

Genre: fiction

Obtained: library





Summary: Mimi Miller shares her life story, most of which involves growing up in Miller's Valley, a small close-knit town in Pennsylvania.  She also relates the stories of her family, friends, and neighbors and how they influence, affect, and help to shape her life. Throughout the story, in the background, is the story of Miller's Valley.  This is a story about how people and places may come and go, but they always remain in your heart.

Thoughts:  This book is about life- the ups and downs, , choices we make- right and wrong, family, relationships- good and bad, surprises, secrets, problems, coping, celebrating, moving on, going back, deaths and births, and day to day activities.  There is no suspense and no action packed adventure.  It is not needed.
     The characters and setting are brought to life.  The characters are realistic, yet diverse.  They have different perspectives and they don't always share everything they know which makes them even more real.  The settings are described in just enough detail, so that I could picture them in my mind.  I felt like I knew each person and could visit Miller's Valley and see them all there.
     The writing style is simple, not flowery or over dramatic, yet the points conveyed are deep and thought provoking.  There are some clever, meaningful lines that I really thought about after.  This is a deep book- not one where you have to really think to understand what the writer is trying to convey, but one where there is so much meaning in a few simple lines.  At the same time, the author is able to move the story along and not get caught up in these underlying notions.  It is up to the reader to do the thinking.  The author tells you just enough.
     The narrator read the story at a good pace and had different voices for each character, which must have been a challenge because of the diverse individuals.   I have no criticism for the narrator, but for those that really like to think about what they are reading, I would recommend a printed copy to make it easier to go back and reread some of these amazing lines that pop up.
   

                                                               

Company: Joy's Teaspoon 

Tea: Cinnamon Roll

Obtained: purchased









     Cinnamon Roll is a black tea with cinnamon chunks from Joy's Teaspoon.  It was in a box of tea samples that I purchased.  Each sample is packaged in a good quality tin.  When I opened the tin, there was a sweet cinnamon scent.  The tea was composed of black tea leaves and light brown chunks of cinnamon.  I pored eight ounces of water that had been boiled over one teaspoon of tea.  I let it brew for four minutes.  The liquid was an orange brown color and the scent was of cinnamon.  It was a strong scent, but not overpowering.  The taste was of sweet cinnamon.
     If you love cinnamon, you'll love this tea.  It would make a wonderful tea to have with dessert, especially  fall desserts like pumpkin and apple pie.  It would also be wonderful for breakfast with a coffee cake or even oatmeal.