Kate’s 2¢: “Ask Again, yes.” By Mary Beth Keane

“Ask Again, yes.” By Mary Beth Keane

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   I thought this book was a well written saga of two families and how they inter-related to each other. I even liked the ending.

   Molly Pope did a good job of reading this book for the NLS and I’ll look for other stories she’s narrated.

Author Website:

Mary Beth Keane attended Barnard College and the University of Virginia, where she received an MFA. She was awarded a John S. Guggenheim fellowship for fiction writing, and has received citations from the National Book Foundation, PEN America, and the Hemingway Society. She is the author of The Walking People, Fever, and most recently, Ask Again, Yes, which spent eight weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List. To date, translation rights to Ask Again, Yes have sold in twenty-two languages, with most translated editions forthcoming in 2021.

Copyright © 2021 Mary Beth Keane · Site Design: Ilsa Brink

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Ask again, yes DB95483

Keane, Mary Beth. Reading time: 12 hours, 44 minutes.

Read by Molly Pope. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Family

1973. Rookie cops Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are assigned to the same precinct in the Bronx. They aren’t close, but they end up living next door and having children within months of each other. As their children grow, they are close, but are separated by a violent event. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.

Kate’s 2¢: the Century trilogy: “Fall of giants”, “Winter of the world”, “Edge of eternity” by Ken Follett

the Century trilogy: “Fall of giants”, “Winter of the world”, “Edge of eternity” by Ken Follett  

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   This trilogy follows several generations of five families American, German, Russian, English and Welsh; each reflecting the unprecedented issues of their eras.

   By a random selection from NLS,  I read Book II: “Winter of the World” first. I enjoyed it and  was curious about the ‘back story’, so I down-loaded Book I: “Fall of Giants”.  Then, naturally, I had to read Book III: “Edge of eternity”.

   Perhaps, because I wasn’t of the generation depicted in the first two books, I enjoyed how Follett enmeshed his fictional families into the factual issues of the world at that time. As for Book III, I noticed the stark contrast in sexual behaviors being so much more open than in the first books. “Edge of Eternity”  was my generation and it  reflected civil rights and politics; however, we weren’t interested in protest marches, promiscuous sex, and drugs or alcohol. We focused on higher education, establishing meaningful careers, and family bonding, anticipating building a strong America.

www.ken-follett.com

Follett was born on 5 June 1949 in Cardiff, Wales. He was the first child of Martin Follett, a tax inspector, and Lavinia (Veenie) Follett, who went on to have two more children, Hannah and James.[6][7] Barred from watching films and television by his Plymouth Brethren parents, he developed an early interest in reading but remained an indifferent student until he entered his teens.[6][7] His family moved to London when he was ten years old, and he began applying himself to his studies at Harrow Weald Grammar School and Poole Technical College.

He won admission in 1967 to University College London, where he studied philosophy and became involved in centre-left politics. He married Mary, in 1968, and their son Emanuele was born in the same year. After graduation in the autumn of 1970, Follett took a three-month post-graduate course in journalism and went to work as a trainee reporter in Cardiff on the South Wales Echo. In 1973 a daughter, Marie-Claire, was born.

Early career[edit]

After three years in Cardiff, he returned to London as a general-assignment reporter for the Evening News. Finding the work unchallenging, he eventually left journalism for publishing and became, by the late 1970s, deputy managing director of the small London publisher Everest Books.[6] He began writing fiction during evenings and weekends as a hobby. Later, he said, he began writing books when he needed extra money to fix his car, and the publishers’ advance a fellow journalist had been paid for a thriller was the sum required for the repairs.[8] Success came gradually at first, but the 1978 publication of Eye of the Needle, which became an international bestseller and sold over 10 million copies, made him both wealthy and internationally famous.[9]

Follett’s archival papers are housed at the Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, United States. They include outlines, first drafts, notes and correspondence, original manuscripts, and copies of early books now out of print.[25]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Fall of giants DB71970

Follett, Ken. Reading time: 35 hours, 3 minutes.

Read by Roy Avers. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Historical Fiction

Bestsellers

Saga of five interrelated families in the early twentieth century. Welshman Billy Williams enters the coal mines, British lady Maud Fitzherbert falls for German spy Walter von Ulrich, Russians Grigori and Lev Peshkov endure revolution, and American Gus Dewar becomes a diplomat. Some violence and some strong language. Bestseller. 2010.

Download Fall of giants

Winter of the world: book two of the Century trilogy DB75547

Follett, Ken. Reading time: 35 hours, 33 minutes.

Read by David Hartley-Margolin. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Historical Fiction

Bestsellers

War Stories

The five families from Fall of Giants (DB 71970) continue to struggle through the tumultuous 1930s and 1940s. Carla von Ulrich, daughter of Maud and Walter, fights the Nazis while Lloyd Williams and Boy Fitzherbert vie for the attentions of socialite Daisy Peshkov. Violence and some strong language. Bestseller. 2012.

Download Winter of the world: book two of the Century trilogy                            

Edge of eternity: the Century trilogy DB79915

Follett, Ken. Reading time: 36 hours, 53 minutes.

Read by John Lee. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Historical Fiction

Bestsellers

Following the turbulence of Winter of the World (DB 75547), the families find themselves both torn and uplifted by unfolding events, from the 1960s through 2008. Biracial George Jakes is hired by the Kennedy White House, while Rebecca Hoffman’s husband hides a dangerous secret in East Germany. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2014.

Downloaded: March 20, 2021

Kate’s 2¢: “The Hammer of Eden” by Ken Follett

“The Hammer of Eden” by Ken Follett

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   Maybe, because my favorite reader, Martha Harmon Pardee, was reading this book, I really enjoyed the suspense of the narrative arc.

   Fiction or not, it seems as if the premise is possible.

www.ken-follett.com and WIKKIPEDIA:

Follett was born on 5 June 1949 in Cardiff, Wales. He was the first child of Martin Follett, a tax inspector, and Lavinia (Veenie) Follett, who went on to have two more children, Hannah and James.[6][7] Barred from watching films and television by his Plymouth Brethren parents, he developed an early interest in reading but remained an indifferent student until he entered his teens.[6][7] His family moved to London when he was ten years old, and he began applying himself to his studies at Harrow Weald Grammar School and Poole Technical College.

He won admission in 1967 to University College London, where he studied philosophy and became involved in centre-left politics. He married Mary, in 1968, and their son Emanuele was born in the same year. After graduation in the autumn of 1970, Follett took a three-month post-graduate course in journalism and went to work as a trainee reporter in Cardiff on the South Wales Echo. In 1973 a daughter, Marie-Claire, was born.

Early career[edit]

After three years in Cardiff, he returned to London as a general-assignment reporter for the Evening News. Finding the work unchallenging, he eventually left journalism for publishing and became, by the late 1970s, deputy managing director of the small London publisher Everest Books.[6] He began writing fiction during evenings and weekends as a hobby. Later, he said, he began writing books when he needed extra money to fix his car, and the publishers’ advance a fellow journalist had been paid for a thriller was the sum required for the repairs.[8] Success came gradually at first, but the 1978 publication of Eye of the Needle, which became an international bestseller and sold over 10 million copies, made him both wealthy and internationally famous.[9]

Follett’s archival papers are housed at the Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, United States. They include outlines, first drafts, notes and correspondence, original manuscripts, and copies of early books now out of print.[25]

From NLS/BARD/LOC          :

The hammer of Eden: a novel DB47044

Follett, Ken. Reading time: 13 hours, 9 minutes.

Read by Martha Harmon Pardee. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Suspense Fiction

Bestsellers

An illiterate cult leader named Priest is angry about California’s plan to displace his commune for a nuclear power plant. Priest comes up with a plan to create earthquakes to blackmail the government to back down. FBI agent Judy Maddox is detailed to trace the rogue band. With the help of seismologist Michael Quercus, the agent tracks the earthquakes to Priest. Strong language, violence, and descriptions of sex. Bestseller.

Downloaded: March 20, 2021