The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal Audiobook

" I liked this book but didn't love it. I thought there would be more from the diary. Most of the story was just that.. a story. The entries from the diary are just one sentence... not a whole entry. "

" This was a decent book, I usually read dark memoirs, this was a healthy change of pace. "

" Amazingly the author took a great gift of a story idea that fell right into her lap and turned it into a fairly terrible read. Some good parts, but not worth reading the whole book for. She should have just let the woman that actually wrote the diary in the first place write the book. "

" Terrible book. Only got through half of it. It's the true story of a spoiled rich girl growing up in Manhattan during the Great Depression. Could not feel for this character and her extravagant life when the majority of the country at that time was waiting in bread lines. "

" I really wanted to like this book. The idea that the author found an old diary, and then located the still-living diarist, is amazing. However, the writing was really awkward and sort of boring. It didn't help that Koppel wrote so heavily in the past tense. I agree with another reviewer who wrote that the best thing about this book is the premise. I only read up to page 78 and called it quits. I rarely give up on a book, but life is too short to waste on something sort of boring like this. As a side note, I do think that this would make a really interesting movie. "

" Didn't care for this one. Did a LOT of skimming. Wouldn't recommend it. I didn't really care about what the owner of the diary was feeling or what was happening in her life. There was no connection for me with the writer of the diary. "

" Really more of a three and a half stars for me. "

" An interesting peek into the life of a teenager in the 1930's in New York City, biographical, based on an old diary found by the author and interviews with the 90-year old woman who had kept the diary. "

" I love historical fiction and this tells a touching story, by way of a discovered diary, of New York in the 1930s "

" The idea of it kept me reading. I like that the author found a diary, found the woman and then wrote about her life as well as there were pictures. The writing is not great and there's a lot of social name dropping I don't get. Still enjoyed it though... "

" What a story! I just loved Florence, who I began to think of as flapper-era New York's answer to a Doris Lessing heroine. (She reminds me very much of Martha Quest, in particular.) What a fascinating life and serendipidous tale of a chance encounter with the living past. "

" this is a weird book, couldn't get through it. "

" This was an easy, entertaining read. I enjoyed parts of it, particularly those that dealt with old New York. However, the intimate details of the subject's life grew weary, and there was quite a bit of name-dropping involving people I could not relate to. "

" This was a fascinating look at early 1900's New York City seen through the eyes of a 15-19 year old girl. Well put together with the diary and the interviews with the diarist. Worth the read, definately; but especially if you are interested in New York City. "

" I enjoyed the descriptions of NY in the 20s and 30s, but honestly the description of the girl's life was poorly written and just made her look like a typical bored girl with money looking for a quick thrill. If it was meant to be inspirational...it fell short. "

" If you are interested in stories that come from other people's stuff (which I am) this is a great book. If you are not interested in those things, you'll probably be bored. Still, it is well written for what it is. "

" A voyeuristic glimpse into the life of a young woman in the 1920's. "

" Found this a bit annoying. The woman who wrote the diary was in love with herself. "

" My review can be found HERE "

" I read this book in one night - I was sucked in from the first page. Such a good book. "

" I'm not sure what I think of this book...in many ways I was more curious about the author, Lily Koppel, and the twist of fate which led her to the discovery of the diary and the startling discovery that the author was still alive and well. "

" I really loved this book. What a wonderful gift as a writer to find such a story and such a woman. "

" I didn't really plan on liking this book. I enjoyed it very much. I loved the atmosphere lily shared and I love that rhe real characters were fleshed out under the circumstances. I will watch for more from her. "